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Siblings can be your best friend, worst enemy, or maybe a little bit of both. They can share every interest and personality trait with you or be your polar opposite. You can talk every day with them or only connect every few weeks or so. No matter what your relationship with your siblings, they’re a major part of life from childhood all the way through adolescence and even into adulthood. If you have one or more siblings, you definitely have things to say about them, good or bad. Saturday, April 10th, is National Siblings Day. In honor of such an occasion, let’s take a look at the best and most memorable fictional siblings in pop culture. From superheroes to scheming amateur detectives, this list features siblings who encapsulate nearly every family dynamic.
Thor & Loki
The God of Thunder and the God of Mischief in the Marvel Cinematic Universe couldn’t be more different. And yet, when these two powerful brothers team up and actually work together, they’re unstoppable. From fighting against the evil elves in Thor: The Dark World to battle an army of the undead in Thor: Ragnarok, it’s clear that Thor’s brawn and immense strength pairs well with Loki’s brains and quicker, more lithe fighting style. Even when Thor opts to recreate their childhood trick of pretending Loki is dying in order to take out a few guards in Ragnarok by tossing Loki’s body at said guards, they succeed in what they were trying to accomplish. When Loki ignores his mischievous impulses and instead chooses to do what’s right, and when Thor trusts his younger brother and gives him the room to grow, this duo is untouchable.
Their relationship serves as the core of the Thor trilogy. From Loki’s turn to the dark side in the first installment all the way to their reconciliation at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, these two brothers have been through a lot and fought one another countless times. This duo makes the list due to the complexity of their relationship. It can be inferred that they were close as kids, despite their father’s obvious favoritism of Thor. After Thor’s coronation goes horribly wrong and Loki learns he’s actually an adopted frost giant, their relationship quickly turns as cold as Jotunheim, the planet Loki is from. The first Avengers movie even explicitly shows the brothers physically and verbally fighting. Their petty squabbles and more intense battles remain a staple of each film they make an appearance in.
Deep down, Thor wants Loki to be good, to make the right decision, and be the brother he grew up with. Loki wants Thor to understand his pain, his rightful anger at their father for lying to him all his life and treating him as lesser than his big brother. And fortunately, right before Loki’s untimely death in Avengers: Infinity War, Thor and Loki feel like brothers again. After Loki dies, Thor crawls to his body and stays with him, even as the ship they’re on falls to pieces. They’re still as different from one another as day and night, but their brotherly love ultimately prevails despite the past. They’re a great example of giving a sibling a second chance and both parties working to repair the relationship they once had.
Dipper & Mabel Pines
Dipper and Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls are one of the closer pairs of siblings on this list. From the pilot episode to the series finale, it’s clear these twins are best friends and love each other very much. Whether they’re off in the Oregon woods solving a supernatural mystery or just messing around in the Mystery Shack, their similar senses of humor and deep respect for one other is palpable in every scene. Dipper makes numerous sacrifices in order to help make his sister happy, like going back in time so she can win her beloved pet pig Waddles, even though it means losing the only chance he had to win his crush a stuffed animal at the carnival.
The Mystery Twins spend the majority of the series together. One is rarely seen without the other by their side. The arguments they have are minuscule compared to the amount of time they spend getting along. Mabel may annoy Dipper at times, but when her first boyfriend turns out to be a bunch of gnomes, Dipper races to find and rescue her without hesitation. Mabel may tease Dipper about his crush and general awkwardness, but when she discovers he may stay behind in Gravity Falls when the summer ends, she grows fearful and heartbroken at the thought of living life without her twin next to her. It’s rare to see siblings who feel more like best friends than brother and sister, and they’re a great example of the closeness siblings can share.
By the time the show ends, Dipper and Mabel have fought off monsters, supernatural demons, and a bad string of ex-summer romances in Mabel’s case. They did so together, and without their teamwork and commitment to one another, their battles could’ve ended much differently. Whether they’re sharing an awkward sibling hug or piecing together clues to who really founded the town, whatever they do on-screen is engaging because of their strong friendship and platonic chemistry. Mabel’s extroversion and bubbly nature couldn’t be more different from Dipper’s anxious, shy demeanor, and yet their personalities mesh extremely well together. The Pines Twins change Gravity Falls’ town and their Grunkle Stan’s life for the better, and they’re one of the best-written siblings in recent TV history.
T’Challa & Shuri
Another iconic duo from the MCU, the Black Panther himself and his brainiac sister, are a great pair who help make the other sibling better. It’s Shuri’s technology that T’Challa trusts to use on his missions, and during a high-stakes car chase, he trusts her to guide him through it. It’s T’Challa who risks his life to protect Shuri during battle. These two lookout for one another constantly and help one another not because they have to, but because they want to. When T’Challa enters Shuri’s lab for the first time, and they see each other, they share a handshake and the Wakandian salute. Both of them wear genuine smiles on their faces when they do this. They’re delighted to be seeing and spending time with one another.
And like any siblings, they have their moments of pushing each other’s buttons. Whether Shuri flips the bird at her big brother or films him falling over, the teasing the two engage in comes from a place of love, not malice. It’s clear their familial love runs deep. Just look at Shuri’s reaction when T’Challa plummets down a waterfall after his loss to villain Killmonger and is presumed to be dead; she’s utterly heartbroken and terrified. She thinks she just lost not only her brother but her best friend. If the film hadn’t dedicated the time to showing audiences the deep bond Shuri and T’Challa share, her reaction wouldn’t have been as believable or as heartbreaking as it is.
While Thor and Loki have a complicated and messy history with one another, the King of Wakanda and the brilliant princess are inferred to have been friends for their entire lives. If you have a sibling you’re incredibly close to; you say their name when asked who your first friend was. You two may share dozens of happy memories together, and the thought of losing them hurts so badly you can’t bear to think about it for more than a few seconds. T’Challa and Shuri are a great example of siblings who help one another out, get along, and rib the other now and again. Black Panther made sure to establish these two as more than just brother and sister, but best friends, and the film is better because of it.
Sokka & Katara
No best fictional siblings list would be complete without the boomerang master and waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sokka and Katara share a lot of traits: loyalty, bravery, and strength. They both dropped everything to go with Aang and join him on his journey to master the four elements and help save the world. Without their fight in the first episode, Aang may never have been freed from the iceberg. They’re both integral to the story, from Sokka’s strategic thinking that helps save the day more than once to Katara teaching the young Avatar waterbending and using her skills to win fights and get the Gaang out of sticky situations.
Being born into a world shaped by war impacts much of Sokka and Katara’s life. Losing their mother as children at the hands of the Fire Nation forced both of them to grow up much quicker than they should’ve. In season 3, Sokka confesses to Toph that he can’t remember what his and Katara’s mother even looks like, and when he tries to remember, all he sees is Katara. He’s grateful that she’s always been there for him. Katara, likewise, has spent much of her life looking out for Sokka and keeping their household running after their mother’s death. While this did lead to some resentment on Katara’s end due to bearing the burden of chores and holding everything together while their father was off fighting, it’s the Fire Nation she truly resents, not her brother.
Katara’s not the only one who has to take up more responsibility at home. Sokka’s protective nature comes from his place as the older sibling and having to be the ‘man’ and leader of the house while his father is gone. Once he and Katara join Team Avatar, he makes the battle plans and the travel schedules. He wants to protect his friends even if it comes at a cost to him. He and Katara may not always get along, but when Aang accidentally burns her while learning firebending, Sokka immediately confronts him and grows angry that his sister got hurt. While they may look out for each other in different ways, Sokka and Katara show how different siblings can be
David & Alexis Rose
Ew, David! Alexis’s iconic catchphrase makes its appearance whenever her brother David gets on her last nerve. These former rich kids may bicker more often than two elementary schoolers, but when push comes to shove, their love for one another prevails. They’re a sibling duo that slowly comes together throughout each season, closing the distance between them with each nice thing they do or say to each other. David and Alexis Rose might not always show it, but they do care about their sibling, and subtly, they grow to become the closest they’ve ever been.
In season 1, these two do nothing but fight and insult the other. But by season 6, David asks Alexis to walk him down the aisle and give him away at his wedding. David encourages Ted, Alexis’s ex-boyfriend, to go after her when it becomes clear to him that Alexis wants Ted back. Likewise, Alexis pushes David to go for Patrick, his business partner and the man he ends up marrying in the show’s finale. David, who’s often a closed book, tells Alexis that he was worried about her when she was globe-trotting and getting into wild adventures. And before a driving test David is terrified for, Alexis tells him no one is thinking about him as much as he is, and it helps calm him down. And Alexis endures a painful lunch with the ex she still loves and his new girlfriend in order to secure the new girlfriend’s cheeses for David’s business.
The longer the show goes on, the closer they become, and the better they get along. There’s still plenty of petty bickering between them, but they also open up to one another in ways they may never have if their family hadn’t lost their fortune. The Rose family isn’t the most affectionate, verbally or physically. As the show progresses, through forced proximity and genuine effort, they became closer after years of barely interacting with one another. Alexis and David begin exchanging hugs, compliments, and encouragements. Their newfound familial love culminates when Alexis tells David she’s planning to move out of Schitt’s Creek in the final season. He’s visibly upset at the thought of losing his sister’s company. Nevertheless, he’s genuinely happy for her, and when Alexis gives David away at his wedding, she tells her big brother she loves him. It’s never too late to start building a bond with a sibling, and David and Alexis are a great example of that.
Luke & Leia Skywalker
Luke and Leia Skywalker are both strong, quick-thinking rebels. Minus the kiss from A New Hope that shall not be mentioned further (to be fair, neither of them knew they were siblings at the time, but still, what the heck George Lucas?), these twins form a strong sibling relationship that transcends time and space itself. When Leia is a prisoner in the Death Star in the original film, she has to put her blind faith in Luke and Han Solo to help get her out. At one point, he even uses a grappling hook to swing himself and Leia above a seemingly bottomless chasm in the Death Star, a testament to how dedicated Luke is to saving her. In The Empire Strikes Back, Leia gets to return the favor. When Luke dangles off a metal pole after losing to Darth Vader, he uses the Force to reach out to her, and she senses he’s in trouble and where he is despite being nowhere near him.
These two both save each other and always have their sibling’s back. Despite not growing up together and not even knowing of the other’s existence until they were in the latter half of their teen years, their bond forms quickly and becomes strong after a short period of time. When Leia awards Luke the medal at the end of A New Hope, it’s an impactful moment because of how close they’d gotten over the course of the film. When Luke tells Leia she’s Force-sensitive in Return of the Jedi, it perfectly sets up for the latter scenes in The Rise of Skywalker, which features flashbacks of Luke training Leia to become a Jedi. Being a Jedi and Force-sensitive are important to Luke, and he wants to help his sister with becoming stronger and utilizing these gifts she has.
Even decades after the original trilogy, this brother and sister share light-hearted banter before Luke sacrifices himself in The Last Jedi. Even with their time apart, their bond has never wavered or grown weaker. The entirety of this franchise hinges on Luke seeing Leia’s message R2D2 projects. Without knowing that’s his twin, Luke decides he and his new friends need to help her. This selflessness and determination are traits shared by both him and his sister, and together, they save the galaxy. If Luke chose not to help Leia, they never would’ve met their long-lost twin, much less save the galaxy together. Familial relationships are a pivotal part of Star Wars as a whole, and Luke and Leia’s relationship plays a huge part in the original trilogy.
The Powerpuff Girls
These pint-sized superheroes just had to make the list. These triplets are a joy to watch, encapsulating the childlike innocence and wholesome interactions only little kids can have. The Powerpuff Girls were created from sugar, spice, and everything nice (with a little chemical X accidentally in the mix), and it shows in their personalities. Blossom is a confident, assertive leader. Bubbles is optimistic, friendly, and as bubbly as her first name. Buttercup is tough, blunt, and the sassiest of the bunch. But these three girls, despite conflicting personalities, all get along very well. They share the same morals and values, which are more important than the slight differences in interests.
The city of Townsville would be a much more dangerous place without the Powerpuffs coming in to stop whatever monster is wreaking havoc downtown that episode. Their close sisterly ties are reflected in their fighting style. When they work together, they successfully save the day, and when they bicker or become divided, they lose. Even at home and school, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup love playing, watching tv, and talking with each other. The episode ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever’ doesn’t even feature the girls fighting crime; they simply spend their rainy day playing pretend, dress-up, video games, and hide and seek together. Even without any action, the episode is enjoyable because it’s these sisters just innocently having the kind of adventures indoors you’d expect from kindergarteners.
What Makes Strong Fictional Siblings?
There’s a pattern with all of the siblings on this list. No matter if they’ve always been close or they’ve drifted apart, deep down, they all care for each other. Loki may trick Thor regularly, and Sokka and Katara may tease one another every other episode, but the siblings on this list all love one another at the end of the day. If one sibling is in danger, the other risks their life to save them or even just goes out of their way to help them if the story doesn’t involve superheroes or space travel. The thought of losing each other scares each duo or trio way more than whatever external threat they may be facing.
Relationships between siblings are like the tide, ever-changing and shifting. One day you may spend all day being mad at your brother after a petty fight, and the next day you two are going for ice cream and laughing together. Seeing realistic relationships between siblings on screen can help audiences connect with a film or TV show more. The complexity of these relationships helps the characters resonate more with viewers. As National Siblings Day comes and goes, enjoy a TV show or film that features one of your favorite fictional siblings, and maybe give your sibling, biological, adopted, or by choice, a phone call.
