Cult Spy Icons: Ando from 'Heroes'

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride? That initially seemed to be the case for Ando Masahashi, a sheltered Japanese office worker who was thrown into a nightmarish world of brain-guzzling, time-travelling and cheerleading through his association with a colleague called Hiro. Playing the comparatively impotent sidekick and comic foil was his apparent destiny, but over the course of the first series of Heroes he grew in stature, confidence and balls. (Those watching the show at BBC2 pace should beware - a few spoilers a below.)

Ando, often on hand to provide moments of both comic relief and poignancy, effectively turned from a boy to a man and a hero in his own right – despite not being blessed (or cursed) with superpowers of his own.

When we first met him, he was rather adolescent in nature. He regularly viewed Niki Sanders' webcam stripping sessions and suggested Hiro teleport into ladies' bathrooms. These traits continued as he became embroiled in events Stateside, but there was a move from pixels to reality. He whacked on aftershave to woo Hiro's sister and shared a few snogs with the crooked thief Hope before he discovered her duplicitous nature. He was being taken for a ride, but not the kind he was hoping for. He was also constantly urging Hiro to return home, although the bright lights, pretty ladies and casinos of America were certainly an attractive proposition for the wide-eyed young chap.

As the season progressed, Ando became increasingly wrapped up in the mission, urging Hiro not to travel back in time and pursue his crush on Sylar-slaughtered waitress Charlie. Even when Ando appeared to head off home, tail between his legs, after being hurt by Hope, he soon popped up in a New York museum as a security guard in order to help Hiro secure the sword from Linderman.

A major catalyst for his eventual transformation occurred when he travelled five years into the future and found out that his future self is long since dead. When he returns to the present day, he buys a sword to finish off Sylar himself, fearing that Hiro might not be up to the task. A noble attempt, but he's only saved from a serious slicing up by Hiro intervening and teleporting him back to Japan.

But the Ando we first encountered would have undoubtedly been cowering in some nearby corner instead of confronting the enemy. He may not have delivered the all-important blow to Sylar, but what mattered was that Ando was willing to stand up and be counted, having emerged from his shell throughout the season.