8) Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
Over its ten year run, Smallville brought pretty much the entire DC universe to TV – including everyone from Green Arrow and The Flash to Booster Gold and the Justice Society of America. That said, it wasn’t happy to simply take from DC mythology without adding a little of its own. One of the biggest characters in the show was a Smallville original – Clark’s best friend, Chloe Sullivan.
Originally created to add some diversity to the cast, Allison Mack impressed the production team so much that they changed their plans (instead, Pete Ross was made African-American, as played by Sam Jones III). It’s easy to see why, too, as Mack’s charm and comic timing made Chloe a fan-favourite character.
Beginning the show as a sort of proto-Lois Lane – an aspiring journalist with a crush on Clark – Chloe grew into a valuable asset in Clark’s early crime-fighting career. In many ways, the one-liners and tech support she offered mark her out as a precursor to the likes of Arrow’s Felicity, The Flash’s Cisco and Winn from Supergirl.
In fact, while the comics characters came and went, Smallville couldn’t do without Chloe. Apart from Tom Welling, obviously, Mack was the only main cast member to remain so across all ten seasons.