Things I've Learned from Sidekicks

Written by Shae Rufe

​When you hear the word Sidekick your mind instantly goes to what? For me, it’s Robin from Batman, why? Because he was the first sidekick I was ever really exposed to. Well, that and that late 90’s early 2000’s flip phone thing. Yeah, you all know what I’m talking about. We all wanted one, but it was really expensive at the time, and to top it all off, it was the quintessential phone for texting. Enough about phones that no longer exist!

Sidekicks taught me a great deal in life….while they were always playing second fiddle, they were a critical part to the hero's success. Sidekicks never were in the spotlight solo, in fact they hardly got credit for anything, really. That’s probably why a lot of them grew up to become their own badass heroes. Case and point, Robin became Nightwing, and I know, by now, how much you all know of my love for him. Yes, it seems that sidekicks eventually tire of living in their mentor's shadow. But, before they can get their own cool names, they have to be a tagalong. Sidekicks always know how to cause trouble, or get into trouble. Robin saw his fair share of kidnappings and whatnot. Jason Todd was even murdered, ish…so really, the life of a sidekick isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Regardless of the storyline, a sidekick serves an important purpose. He, or she, helps to balance out the hero.

Robin made Batman less murder-y. Is that a thing? It is now. In a way, he also gave Batman more of a grounding. Robin was also there to have his own belt of tricks and knew how to fight and save people. Maybe not as well as Batman, but hey, he held his own. Or did he? That’s really a matter of interpretation. Being a sidekick, though, means corny one-liners and snarky remarks. By this logic, I’m the perfect sidekick. Just kidding, I work alone…from time to time the sidekick has to save the hero, or be saved, or…be brainwashed into trying to kill the hero…which isn’t cool, but also awesome.

Sidekicks aren’t always human either, as Krypto the Superdog shows us. He got his own cartoon series for a bit there…which, I’m not sure how animals as sidekicks works, but they end up working out pretty well because many a hero has one. A sidekick can also not be directly involved in the action, like Alfred or the Oracle. Either way, a Sidekick's main job is to help the hero no matter what…sometimes that’s costly. Sometimes it means wearing spandex, and other times it just means looking cool. Like I said before though, sidekicks eventually grow up and many become their own heroes.  

The true meaning of a sidekick is that bond between mentor and mentee. Or, maybe just hero and random kid that totally wanted to be a hero too. Or super-powered dog. From needing rescuing, grounding heroes, and giving them a little help, to even saving them in ways we readers/viewers don’t even know. The sidekick holds many roles and many things can be learned from them. The best thing, however, is that sidekick isn’t a demeaning position. It means you are part of a team. Part of something bigger, and you’re generally saving the world with your best friend. Really? What’s more fun than that? Still, the role of a sidekick shouldn’t be discounted. Even villains have them. Look at Harley? She’s a tad more popular than the Joker nowadays. But she’s another blog waiting to happen…

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