Favorite Fictional Heroes

My favorite fictional character is Ando Masahashi from the science fiction television show, and comic, Heroes.
The series is telling the tale of multiple people with special abilities. Some people can fly, some can read minds, some stop time, some can control other people, and the list goes on and on. Ando is a unique character though. He starts out as simply the best friend of Hiro Nakamura. Early on, Hiro discovers he has the ability to bend time and space. Ando does not have a power, but just serves as a trustworthy, strong willed, and loyal friend to him. There are many times when Hiro and Ando lose their way with each other and try to work alone, but they always end up realizing how much they really need each other.

Although Ando does not start out with any abnormal ability, towards the end of the third season of the television series he gets a hold of a syringe filled with a drug created by Dr. Mohinder Suresh (a scientist struggling to find a cure to the Shanti virus and many other side effects concerning people with powers), designed to give a normal person a power. He, without any supervision and without taking any precautions, injected himself with it. His powers as far as we know are still untamed and are simply the ability to absorb and accelerate another person's power for his own temporary use.

Throughout the ups and downs of being Hiro's best friend he always stays true to him, and never lets Hiro give up on himself or his mission to save the world. This is the main reason Ando is my favorite character. He never fails to be there for his best friend, even though at one point Hiro shuns him, stops listening to all of his advice, and even accuses him of being a traitor- though he ended up not being one. To me, he is truly a great example of what a friend should be. He serves as a fantastic role model for Hiro when he needs someone to look up to, and he is perfect as someone to be the base of Hiro's support and encouragement when he needs it.

I also really like his character because even though he doesn't seem like too much of an important character in the beginning, he proves himself many times, and you learn just how important he is in the big picture. This is really important to me, because even though someone may seem like they have no purpose in the real world, there is no such thing as a useless person. Everyone has an influence, and everyone has a purpose.