Daniel

You say he was an antagonist in his early titles, but he actually was the good guy.

He was a horribly abused circus pet that Mario kept in a tiny little cage and would hit with a whip to get him to perform. His escape was one of desperation more than anything else.

He was caught by Mario and put back in the cage, and DK Jr had to save him from Evil Mario.

Bear in mind that those claptrap Crocs you see in DKC? They started out as minions of Mario in DK Jr...