Do we like Scooby-Doo?
A character from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969)
Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He runs away from every monster, but he comes back for his friends every time, and a loyal coward who does that is a good one to have.
Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane who talks in a rolling, R-heavy drawl. He lives with Shaggy Rogers and travels in the Mystery Machine van with Fred, Daphne and Velma. The gang visits spooky places, meets ghosts and monsters, and works out who is behind them. The original series began in 1969, and Don Messick gave him his voice for decades. Frank Welker has played him since 2002.
Scooby is a coward by design. He hears a creak and he's gone, usually with Shaggy attached. Yet the gang's plans rely on him being bait, a distraction or a nose for clues, and he often ends up at the centre of the capture. He can be talked into nearly anything for a Scooby Snack, and he's very good at the chase scenes that follow.
What earns him the score is his loyalty. He grumbles, shakes and hides, but he is always on Shaggy's side. He is funny and warm, he does no real harm, and he gets the job done when it matters. He loses a couple of points because he is never the one who solves the case. He's a lovable sidekick more than a hero you'd follow into battle.