When I spoke with Dern about this comic, we tried to come up with a good trio before committing to the idea. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that while there are plenty of good heroic trios, they never truly stay as a “pure” trio for long.
We knew – for example – that somebody would point out Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli right away. But really, how long do they stay as a pure trio and what do they really accomplish as one? It’s not very long before Gandalf the White joins them (oops, spoilers!), and although Gandalf most certainly comes and goes, they’re mostly just a group of three protagonists working with a whole bunch of other people. Sure enough, later on when Aragorn embarks on his journey of ghostly recruitment, they become a trio again. But they’re on their way to get the support of an undead army. That’s hardly staying a trio.
Of course, in spite of the two of us talking for a while, trying to come up with a good trio, we’re well aware that there’s a very good chance a legitimate trio will pop up in the comments section- We’re not worried about that because – naturally – there’s a lot of stuff we haven’t read or watched. Even better, we might get a chance to find some new worthwhile reading or watching material we might’ve missed.
So be sure to mention any legitimate trios you might know about in the comments section. But remember: legitimate trio.
Good hunting;
O
ninja found!
O, How did you not think of the LOTR trio ? D:
It’s probably the most obvious one.
See, this is why Al should have played a Cleric. If the rest of the party is being mean to you, just start withholding heals. They’ll be begging at your feet soon enough.
ARAGON
LEGOLAS
GIMLI
need i say more
ash
brock
misty
boom…
Rand, Mat and Perrin (reading Memory of Light)
LotR added Gandalf to their party for wizard DPS. Wheel of Time’s “trio” is a quintet – they don’t leave the village without the two ladies.
For LotR also Frodo, Samwise, Gollum…
Beren, Luthien and Huan
Minmax, Forgath and Kin
Mass effect – Shepard + 2 squadmates, all the time
Luke
Han
Leia
most of the trios i see here, are a momentarily trio. (unless in the hobbit the 3 guys keep together all the movie without add ons to the party)
The first one i tought it was the 3 muskeeters, but it was dartagnan and the 3 musketeers.
So, Chewbacca didn’t count? Was he just the dog?
Crono
Marle
Lucca
(yeah yeah, more characters come and go, but they’re always a trio)
Oh yeah!
Obsidian
Carlos
Batey
B-but weretiger is my favorite D:
Harry – Ron – Hermione
Boom. There you have it!
Most Bioware games also have the PC + 2 squad members – though I wouldn’t count that because there’s always the whole backup on the ship (or the equivalent of a ship).
For that reason I also wouldn’t count Chrono Trigger – while there are always only 3 characters playable at the same time, they hardly *stay* a trio and you’re often forced to take one or more characters into the team to continue (e.g. Ayla in the Stone Age).
Buffy – Willow – Xander (I would say they are a legitimate trio through the entire first season. Angel and Cordelia aren’t in ‘The Scoobies’ yet and Giles doesn’t do more than advise.)
Speaking of Buffverse: Angel – Cordelia – Doyle/Wesley (Again, just the first season, but still a legitimate trio)
And the ultimate sci-fi trio:
Kirk – Spock – McCoy ( I know, there were redshirts and other crewmembers, but the three of them are at the center of most stories, and often are on their own.)
Artos, Portos and Aramis? The THREE Musketeers?
Well, I know – in the book they also met an annoying little prick called d’Artagnon(sp?), but they were three musketeers.
I guess, I’d go with Kirk, Spock and McCoy as well, everything else was an extension – Potter, Granger & Weasley are also sound candidates, but I guess there really aren’t too many. In greek mythology we usually see one badass+sidekick which gets repeated throughout most european writing in later years. We might have to look to other cultures to find if they have anything. If you enter “trio hero” and do an image search on google you get quite a few things from mangas, but I don’t know any of them… look like pokemons to me : )
The Three Stooges! I think that’s what we’re really after here…
@ Heath: You got there first
ok, Here’s mine:
The Rat Pack
The ???
Jesus Maria y Josef
Rei, Asuka & Shinji
The Mother, The Crone, The Maiden (disambiguation: the characters written by Terry Pratchett)
O: Check out the last two – they are well worth it…
Greetings from Germany
Jack, Will, Elizabeth – Pirates of the Caribbean.
Tintin, Captain Haddock and Milou.
Every single ninja team in Naruto, if you don’t count the senior ninjas who are only here to supervise.
or the fundamental of fundamentals: The warrior, the mage and the thief (which is pretty much what dwarf, elf and weretiger were)
If you want a named exemple, the guys from Trine.
I could go on for hours and hours xD
Lucky Day (Steve Martin), Dusty Bottoms (Chevy Chase), and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short) better known as the Three Amigos were the first to come to my mind. Then came the Three Caballeros: Donald Duck, José “Zé” Carioca and Panchito. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy should be mentioned too. Musically, there is Peter, Paul and Mary as well the Bee Gees. The Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico and Harpo) are comic geniuses. However, I am torn between Snap, Crackle and Pop or Alvin, Simon and Theodore as my favorite trio.
Not too many pure trios, sure. But not so many less. 3+ is more common.
In any case, as much as i like Weretiger, i think he should find a group that appreciates him. Frankly, i would have punched somneone by now.
augmented trios:
Crosby, Still and Nash +Young
Fagen, Becker and Baxter +a ton of sidepeople
Father, Son and Holy Spirit +Mary +Saints
Doctor, Amy, and Rory +guest bystanders
and of course the Untouchable Trio Plus One from KODT.
To my understanding (and to how I was taught to play D&D) all parties are best in 3′s at minimum. In each party you need 1. a Meatwall (someone heavy melee and strong – who can take some damage and break things), 2. stealth (most of the time your rogue/ranger/ninja ranged combat or sneak attack characters), and 3. magic (wizards or cleric, who can hide behind the meatwall and either keep him alive or lob deadly rains of fire from a distance. Cause, let’s face it, most meatwalls aren’t very bright – they just like to slaughter things. Or at least all the one’s I’ve played with are like that.) I’ve even played in games where if we didn’t have a 3rd member we made one and kept him on “standby” mode, or kept him in a bag of holding with his head sticking out (so as not to suffocate until we needed help in combat).
Not sure if this counts, but the Triumvirate from the Hindu pantheon: Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva.
Other examples…
Disgaea: Laharl, Etna & Flonne
The Dragonlance Chronicles (in the introductory phase of the story): Tanis, Flint & Tasslehoff
Donald Duck’s three nephews: Huey, Duey & Louis
The 3 Fates, The 3 Furies
Most good parties are in threes. Best friends and hang-outs as well. I usually find myself in a group of three. *shrugs* I find that most trios usually have a whole slew of supporting, back-up and side characters plus all the cannon fodder & expendables.
Alvin and the chipmunks!
Biker Mice From Mars!
Ariel Sebastien and Flounder!
Bread Ham and Cheese!
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles!
The Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick-maker!
Spike, Jet, and Faye (I count Ed and Ein as support, not bounty hunters)
Vash the stampede, and the 2 insurance girls (Wolfwood is only there occasionally)
Ang Katara and Sokka!….and later Toph and Zuco…..
Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane.
Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.
And, of course: BACON, LETTUCE, AND TOMATO!
The trick is, don’t think of a group that starts at three. Almost every group gets others added on sooner or later so what you usually need is a lone protagonist or duo who find that they are balanced out by making it a solid three. Couple of pretty good adventuring examples here though.
Kudos.
Oh…blast, that team from the Space Marine game…Captain Titus, Sergeant Sidonus, and Leandros.
Gah, also the Battletoads, though not sure if they are really adventurers…
Huwey, Dewey and Louie.
Wesley, Inigo Montoya, and Fezzik
Jin, Mugen and Fuu – Samurai Champloo
Start as a pure trio, stay a pure trio
Now that I think about it, there’s more pure duo than pure trio…
So they don’t really need Al.
Robin Hood, Tarzan, and R2-D2
OK, I got nothing.
The Three Caballeros!
I’d like to argue that the reason you need three is BECAUSE of the “momentary trios.” As shown by poor Weretiger, bringing a third person into a two-man group is almost painful (or actually painful, sometimes.) But if you have a steady group of three, any additional person rounds off the group exquisitely. Like a lot of people are saying; some of the best “trios” end up getting a fourth person. Personally, I like the phrase Dr Pepper used; they aren’t “temporary” trios. They’re AUGMENTED trios.
Here goes, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu of Three Kingdoms Fame. In Mythology we’ve got the Three prime Shinto gods (Suzanaou, Amaterasu, and Tsukiyomi), the First Humans of the Bible (Adam, Lilith, Eve), the family of Christ (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph).
There’s also a few military powers which are well known as threes. The Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) and the Allied Powers (America, Britain and Russia), in WW2, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Wu, Wei and Shu).
In Modern Television, you have the Charlie’s Angels, the Charmed sisters, Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition always showed up as three, (nearly) Any Reality TV show with Judges, Dean Sam and Bobby/Castiel in Supernatural, Mal Zoe and Jayne in Firefly were almost always the away team, and JD Turk and Elliot from Scrubs.
I’m gonna stop there because I’ve got way too many.
BatMan/Robin/Alfred
three musketeers, three little pigs, the good, the bad, the ugly,.. nyahn
Ghostbusters – well they had 4 but the forth was more of an extra than part of the core
The Doctor, Amy, and Rory or The Doctor, Captain Jack, and Rose or The Doctor Sarah Jane, and K-9.
Drizzt, Wulfgar, Cattie-Brie