Child Guardians: Ranking the Top 5

Child Guardians: Two for the Price of One!

Badass loners are a dime a dozen. You’ve got assassins, mobsters, wandering gunslingers, and other jaded leads who can mow down armies of mooks. But why would they get involved in plots that don’t concern them? The easiest way to see the character beyond the killing machine is to give them a child to protect.

Child Guardians are an easy story to tell. The child is younger than 18 and often a different gender than the guardian. They generally can’t protect themselves and are more optimistic and innocent. The guardian is at least a decade older than their charge. They are unstoppable and slowly become vulnerable by raising the child. Guardians often die in the sequels so the child can become the main character.

Who are the top 5 child guardians? How many Pedro Pascals will make the list? Let’s find out.

#5 Zabuza and Haku

Voiced By: Steve Blum and Jason Marsden
Series: Naruto

Child Guardians are often heroes. Most villains lack the empathy and patience needed to care about a tagalong. This cold-hearted killer found a perfect tool.

The Child: Haku was a farmer’s child. He discovered that he had been born with ice magic and showed his parents. His father gathered an angry, frightened mob and murdered his wife for having the same powers. Haku slaughtered the mob with ice spikes in retaliation.

Haku wandered the countryside, not sure what to do next. He was found by a runaway ninja named Zabusa who was impressed by his magic. Haku swore to live for Zabusa’s sake and became a living weapon for the older warrior.

The Guardian: Zabusa Momochi was a child soldier raised in the Hidden Mist Village. He was nicknamed “The Demon” after murdering his graduating class to prove his skills. Zabusa joined the elite Seven Swordsmen and led a failed coup d’etat against his village. 

Zabusa knew that Haku’s ice magic would be useful for a second rebellion and trained him as a medic. Zabusa believed that people could only use others, but slowly embraced Haku’s philosophy of living for others.

The Duo: Zabusa and Haku reluctantly worked as hired muscle for a mobster named Gato. They battled a team of ninjas protecting their latest target. Haku became friends with a young ninja named Naruto, debating philosophy with the headstrong rookie.

Haku fought Naruto while Zabusa battled his teacher. Haku’s ice magic overwhelmed Naruto until he abandoned the fight to save Zabusa from a lethal attack. Zabusa claimed that Haku’s sacrifice meant nothing, but admitted to caring after an impassioned speech from Naruto. Zabusa sacrificed himself to kill Gato and died next to Haku, wondering if a sudden snowfall was his companion’s tears.

#4 Child Guardian: Wolverine and Jubilee

Played By: Hugh Jackman and Lana Condor
Series: X-Men

Wolverine adopting surrogate daughters is a running gag. It’s such a common trait that it made our list of Wolverine Secrets. So why did Jubilee get chosen to represent him as a child guardian?

The Child: Jubilee was a runaway whose parents had been murdered. She discovered her Mutant powers and began living in a mall. The X-Men saved her from Mutant hunters and unknowingly brought Jubilee to their base.

The Guardian: Wolverine is a 200 year old Mutant who has fought his way across the planet. He was captured by Weapon X, which coated his bones in unbreakable metal and removed Wolverine’s memories to make him a perfect weapon. He escaped and went on the run.

Wolverine was recruited for the X-Men and became a troublemaker. He often disobeyed orders and flirted with teammate Jean Grey. Even after warming up to the team, he kept many secrets and was rude.

The Duo: Jubilee saved Wolverine from the X-Men’s enemies and traveled the world with him while they tried to reunite with the globetrotting team. The mall rat was forced to grow up as Wolverine became her mentor, teaching her how to survive in the real world.

After reuniting with the X-Men, Jubilee continued acting as Wolverine’s sidekick. That made her a target for Dracula’s son Xarus, who turned her into a vampire to bait a trap. Wolverine was able to cure himself of vampirism, but she was stuck as a bloodsucker. Our Jubilee Backstory has the rest of that tale.

#3 Jinx and Isha

Voiced By: Ella Purnell and Lucy Lowe
Series: Arcane

A child guardian’s charge isn’t always special. There are only so many people with a secret heritage or magic blood. Sometimes, the specialness is in how mundane they are, giving their guardian something tangible.

The Child: Isha is a non-verbal girl living in the Undercity of Zaun. As Zaun edged towards war with its sister city Piltover, Isha was pursued by thugs. She accidentally fell onto notorious terrorist Jinx, who killed her assailants.

The Guardian: Jinx was the adopted daughter of crime lord Silco. While coping with many mental health issues, she committed crimes to prove her worth to him. Jinx discovered that her estranged sister Vi had returned to Zaun and was caught in a power struggle. Her madness spiraled out of control, causing her to accidentally kill Silco and Piltover’s Council.

Jinx wandered Zaun, unsure what to do as the Undercity made her a symbol of rebellion. Silco’s second in command wanted to make her a figurehead and Piltover wanted her head on a spike. All Jinx wanted was one last fight with Vi so she could die by her sister’s hand.

The Duo: Isha began following Jinx around, saving her from Vi and acting like Jinx’s little sister. Jinx indulged Isha, helping her slowly recover. Isha responded by performing terrorist attacks disguised as Jinx and riling up the whole city.

Jinx and Isha reconciled with Vi after finding their adopted father, Vander, who had been transformed into a monster. They searched for a way to help him until their enemies caused Vander to go berserk and attack everyone. Isha stole Jinx’s gun, overloaded it, and sacrificed herself to kill Vander while Jinx could only watch.

#2 Child Guardian: Din Djarin and Grogu

Played By: Pedro Pascal
Series: Star Wars

Show of hands, who didn’t see these two coming? The Mandalorian and Grogu movie release helps, but the truth is that it’s hard to demonstrate a more ideal child guardian than Space Clint Eastwood and Baby Yoda.

The Child: Grogu was a Padawan who survived The Empire’s purge of the Jedi Order. He was evacuated from the temple and placed in hiding. Monks kept Grogu safe because of his powerful connection to The Force.

Grogu was found by Din Djarin, who defied the bounty hunter guild to protect him. Grogu bonded to his new guardian, following him around and occasionally helping him with The Force. 

The Guardian: Din Djarin is a Mandalorian bounty hunter. He saved Grogu from another hunter after learning Grogu was a child, which Mandalorians are protective of. His sect assigned Din to find Grogu’s people and return him to them.

Din traveled the galaxy while working itinerant jobs to fund the search. He doesn’t have The Force, but his armor is made out of unbreakable Beskar steel, and he has decades of Mandalorian training with dozens of weapons. 

The Duo: Din and Grogu were constantly on the run, but forged an alliance with many bounty hunters and people they had helped. They were eventually found by Luke Skywalker, who agreed to train Grogu. That apprenticeship ended when he realized the child wanted to stay with Din and become a Mandalorian.

#1 Joel Miller and Ellie Williams

Played By: Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey
Series: The Last of Us

Superpowers and special training don’t make a child guardian. There are many important traits, but only one question that matters in the end: The kid or the world? This guardian was forced to make that choice.

The Child: Ellie Williams was raised in a fascist society following a fungal apocalypse. While exploring with her girlfriend, they were bitten by a zombie. Ellie discovered that she was immune to the virus and was forced to kill her now-zombified lover.

Ellie was smuggled out of the city and traveled the country, searching for a group of rebels called The Fireflies. She saw many people suffering from the virus and hoped that her blood could create a vaccine. The difficult journey turned Ellie into a survivor.

The Guardian: Joel Miller was a carpenter and single father. He lived through the pandemic, but his daughter Sarah was executed after being mistaken for an infected. Joel became a smuggler in the new world, performing crimes for extra supplies.

Joel was contracted to bring Ellie to the Fireflies. He killed zombies and hostile survivors to protect her, slowly seeing Ellie as a surrogate daughter. Joel often feared he wasn’t strong enough to keep Ellie safe and kept her at arm’s length.

The Duo: Joel and Ellie became inseparable, despite knowing that they would have to part once they found The Fireflies. That changed when the Fireflies drugged Ellie and planned on lethal surgery to extract the cure from her brain cells. Joel went on a rampage, slaughtering the Fireflies and saving his adopted daughter.

Joel and Ellie retired to a survivor compound founded by his brother. Ellie was outraged after realizing what Joel had done because she would have sacrificed herself to save the world. They reconciled just in time for Firefly remnants to track Joel down and kill him in front of Ellie. She swore revenge and left her newfound home to hunt them down.

Who is your favorite Child Guardian? Is there a duo that should be with these ten? Tell us in the comments.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.