[sigmaleph]

I would favour the transition towards “henchmen” if it weren’t gendered. “Henchpeople” just doesn’t sound right.

[asocratesgonemad]

Agreed. I think I’m going to go with “henchmen” for the time being, because my interest in language-neutering has frankly been long worn away.

My brief search for a gender-neutral version that was still #the aesthetic returned “cronies” and “toadies”, but I think those would make me sound more liks Richard Nixon than Doctor Doom.

“Underlings” also occured to me, but that puts one in mind of a Dilbert-esque CEO. Hmph.

[thededekindadafunction]

I reiterate the excellent option of just going with “hench”

Although I am also currently considering henchgirl positions

[argumate]

Henchlings! Because underlings sounds like some kind of exotic lingerie.

[mitigatedchaos]

In my old organization they were just referred to as “personnel”, because true evil is a faceless and impersonal, like a force of nature.

I’m on my own now, though, and there just isn’t a good word in English for a crew of repurposed salvaged mass-production gynoids held together by duct-tape and deep elastomer patches.  I know a few good words for it in Channish, but it just doesn’t have the same ring when you know the audience doesn’t understand it and never will.