Everett Collection

24. GOOSE
Sidekick to: Pete ''Maverick'' Mitchell
He's smart and honest and has a wit that travels at Mach 1. But it's only after his final ride into the danger zone that we realize just how special Top Gun's Goose truly is: Without him, Maverick has nobody to navigate his F-14 while giving bogeys the bird, nobody to harmonize with on ''You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin','' nobody to set up studly volleyball spikes, and — most significantly — nobody to high-five when he feels ''the need, the need for speed.'' —Joshua Rich