Hypercompetent Sidekick: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

The underling who is [[Conservation of Competence|much smarter, more efficient and more industrious]] than their (usually [[Pointy-Haired Boss|totally incompetent]]) boss, and is the one actually responsible for anything that gets done in the workplace. Despite the fact that they work their butt off for little pay and no credit, this person is generally pretty happy the way things are. If you're looking for a character that would rather not be in this position, that's the [[Beleaguered Assistant]] (though there's probably some overlap). If they or the incompetent boss aren't the lead character, they'll often use their skills and position in order to help the lead character out. If their incompetent boss is the [[Big Bad]], they're his [[The Dragon|right hand]] and act in the opposite manner to [[The Starscream]] even though they may have plenty of motivation to be one. They are often known for appearing right before they are called, always with whatever they were going to be asked to bring.

Frequently the [[Only Sane Man]]. See also [[The Reliable One]] and [[The Jeeves]]. Contrast [[Bumbling Sidekick]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'', one gets the impression that the Club wouldn't survive without Kyouya keeping an eye on Tamaki. He decided early on after they met that he would do everything in his vast intellect to make Tamaki seem as awesome as possible for Tamaki's sake, ''even at the cost of his own reputation.'' Every club member knows this and calls Kyouya the Shadow King. Tamaki even spends an entire event trying to get Kyouya to compete ''against'' him.

*** {{spoiler|Subverted in episode 26 of the Anime, when Kyoya's father claims it was all a [[Batman Gambit]] to get Kyouya to excel at something he cared about, though given the circumstances of his confession (Kyouya engineered a hostile takeover of his father's company ''just to prove he could'') he may just be trying to save face.}}

**** Played straight in the manga, though.

* Rob Lucci from ''[[One Piece]]''. Not only is he far, far, far (etc.) stronger than Spandam, but by being a [[General Failure]], Spandam shouldn't be a boss at all. It seems, that Lucci doesn't try to take over the leading chair only because unquestioning loyalty to his superiors was hammered into him from childhood.

** Also on One Piece, when people see Zoro's [[Charles Atlas Superpower|absurd strength]], they often assume that he's this to the usually much less serious [[Idiot Hero|Luffy]]. Of course, once Luffy [[Let's Get Dangerous|shows what he can do]], that theory is quickly put to rest.

** Kamina is good enough to [[Lampshade Hanging]] this by refusing to take credit for Simon's victories and repeatedly telling him what great things he's destined for. {{spoiler|Since Simon becomes leader of Team Gurren after Kamina's death and saves first the planet, then the universe, Kamina was bang on the money.}}

* Arguably, Garo in ''[[Skull Man]]''.

 

 

 

 

* Subverted in the ''[[Deliver Us from Evil Series]]''. Davy Wiggins is the Hypercompetent Sidekick of an ''equally'' [[The Leader|Hyper Competent]] [[The Hero|Hero]], '''''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'''''. Later on in the stories, Wiggins is the Hypercompetent Sidekick to [[The Hero|Dr. Watson]] - both are equally smart and invert the [[Dumb Blond]] stereotype.

 

** He also invested his considerable pay to such good effect that he could probably retire to a private planet if he wanted to.

* In Miquel de Cervantes's ''[[Don Quixote]]'' Sancho Panza occupies this position by the sheer fact that he's not completely crazy. This trope is older than the Enlightenment.

* Sydney Carton from ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' is the Hypercompetent Sidekick to his boss, C. J. Stryver. He does all the paperwork and is responsible for winning the one case we see them handle. He has no ambition, however, while his boss [[Meaningful Name|Stryver]] is always shouldering his way through life.

* Burtsev and several other exiled Decembrist officers are this to supposed [[General Failure]] Paskevich in ''[[The Death of the Vazir Mukhtar]]''. Each of them manages one of the crucial areas of warfare, and their efforts seem crucial to all of Paskevich's victories.

* In ''[[The Shahnameh]]'', the ever-more reluctant Rostem is this to Kay Kavus, who is constantly leading Iran into trouble.

* Milo in the [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] series leans towards this in the first few books. He's unfortunately so good at his job that he attracts the attention of the Inquisition, thinking he's a previously un-identified pskyer. He later leaves Gaunt's side to become a full time soldier.

** Pretty much everyone knows he's the heir to the throne, but he steadfastly denies it except on a very few occasions that hint at [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] the rest of the time. And, for that matter, let's also not forget that #3 in the Watch hierarchy is his girlfriend, a gorgeous werewolf with an amazing sense of smell, super strength, and the ability to regenerate from almost anything. The only reasons she isn't a [[Mary Sue]] are that a) the criminals all know there's a werewolf in the Watch, so silver and peppermint bombs are becoming standard and b) [[Terry Pratchett]] is a freaking ''genius''.

** Somewhat averted in Carrot's case - he has a chance to run the Watch and consciously decides not to largely on the grounds that, "People shouldn't do what I say because Captain Carrot is good at being obeyed". He doesn't want to be in charge precisely because it's too easy. It's also worth pointing out that in the first few books, Carrot very clearly ''is'' [[The Hero]]; it's just that Pratchett ended up [[Breakout Character|finding Vimes more interesting...]]

** While Blackadder was certainly the brains of the outfit, he was only the sidekick if no opportunity for being [[The Man Behind the Man]] or [[The Starscream]] presented themselves.

* In ''The Adventures of FATMAN'', the [[Show Within a Show]] in ''[[The Weird Al Show]]'', Fatman's sidekick, Harvey, despite having no superpowers and being a hamster, can talk and is generally more quick-witted than Fatman.

** This becomes reversed when the two guest host a cooking show together. Al is the far superior cook, but Tim's inferiority complex at being upstaged by Al's abilities causes him to study hard and learn how to cook decently. Al, for his part, does not like being corrected by Tim and makes similar mistakes to the ones Tim usually makes.

* Polly in ''[[Fawlty Towers]]''.

 

== Table Top Games ==

{{quote|"[Sememmnon] WAS the Black Network, having calmly picked up the pieces on innumerable occasions and ensured its smooth operation while his superiors raved, pursued mad schemes, or fought each other."}}

* Commissar ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'''s aide, Gunner Ferik Jurgen, probably qualifies somewhat. Cain himself isn't so much incompetent as merely lazy, fobbing off most of the boring office work onto his aide unless his personal involvement is absolutely necessary. Also the [[Battle Butler]] - Ciaphas is annoyed that none of the official histories mention Jurgen's part in his numerous victories.

* Between [[Those Two Bad Guys|Korg and Zet]] of ''[[Magi Nation]]'', Zet is by far the more intelligent and capable of the two, both in the animated series and in the game. However, for some reason Korg is Zet's superior; Korg's poor planning in both mediums results in much suffering for Zet. In the game at least, when Zet is finally alone, he not only proves to be smarter, but also much, much stronger.

* [[Chess|The Queen]], anyone?

** Although somewhat evened out in Battle Chess. The queen gets magic whilst the king... [[Hammerspace|pulls out a bazooka from his robes.]] Among other standard comedy trope weaponry.

* ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'': While the "Sidekick" feat buys you an NPC Cohort of less skill or ability, the game specifically suggests that you can play the character you build with this feat as your PC and the more able PC as your NPC Sidekick to duplicate instances of this occurring in comic books.

 

 

** Sort of. [[Child Prodigy|Genis]] only fulfills this role in the very beginning, and [[Idiot Hero|Lloyd]] is consistently shown to be better both at combat and at thinking on his feet. After the first part of the game, Raine fulfills this role more consistently, letting Lloyd be the main leader of the group but still figuring out key information before anyone else. In battle, Raine's [[The Medic|healing, support]] and Photon provide a lot of assistance with Lloyd's [[Lightning Bruiser|fast combos]].

** '' [[Tales of the Abyss]]'' has Guy. Granted that it's not hard to look hyper-competent compared to {{spoiler|the 7-year old}} Luke, but [[The Smart Guy|Jade]] suspects that Guy is not a mere servant because he is too smart for a commoner.

** {{spoiler|1=Kerrigan mocks DuGalle this way. She claims that Stukov was twice the man DuGalle was, and she's ever so grateful that DuGalle saved her the trouble of killing Stukov.}}

** The player's [[Non-Entity General]] fills this function throughout the campaigns, commanding forces for most of the plot important events in the story. This only applies inside the first game, in the books and the second game, these characters are assumed not to exist (except [possibly] the magistrate, who may just be hiding).

** Of course, this is different in battle (Aika is a [[Fragile Speedster]] who can cast magic fairly well, but becomes near-useless by the end of the game)

* [[Metal Gear Solid|Otacon]] has been called more effective than Snake at everything that Snake does, despite his tendency to [[Squick|urinate in fear.]]

* Bleu (Deis) from the ''[[Breath of Fire]]'' series can be recruited into your party and aid your quest. She's pretty much a [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|beautiful, ancient sorceress]] that's the strongest character in your party.

** In ''[[Breath of Fire III]]'' and ''[[Breath of Fire IV|IV]]'', {{spoiler|she really is a [[Physical God]]. In ''IV'' she's stuck inside a suit of armor and the main character is a free god, so it's a bit less jarring.}}

* The Flash game ''[[Help the Hero]]'' is all about this. While the hero is the one that fights monsters and gets all the glory, the player is his sidekick who has to make sure that he's properly equipped for said fights or else end up beaten to a bloody pulp.

* While [[Super Mario Bros.|Luigi]] is certainly smart enough and powerful enough to be one of these, he has serious confidence issues that prevent it unless absolutely necessary.

 

== Webcomics ==

*** {{spoiler|Somewhat voluntarily at least. It's partly that that keeps him working for Xykon, and partly because he doesn't want the death of his brother to have been a complete waste.}}

* Judy, the Doctor's receptionist, in ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]''. While Dr. McNinja is competent [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|in his own way]], Judy's dependability and no-nonsense attitude are pretty much the only reason anything gets accomplished in the office. She's also a gorilla. Just thought that should be out there.

** Also Gordito. In the Doctor's own words:

{{quote|"Do you think I run around with a ''twelve year old boy'' just because I like his inferior grasp of girls and higher level math? Do you think I left him with my psychotic parents because I wanted him to '''die'''? '''No''', you undead pale ponce! '''Gordito''' is the effing '''badass kid'''. So go ahead and finish up your masterful scheme to make me let you kill me, because Gordito's going to slap around whatever ghost lackey you have like he was a pinata on the Mexican day of the dead."}}

* Bill the Extra Guy is the sidekick to Fred the Spanyard from ''Neglected Character Comix'', a sprite comic series involving Mario characters on the Neglected Character subpage of ''[[Super Mario Bros.|Super Mario Bros]]'' HQ. A seemingly useless sidekick compared to Fred's death rays and other such powers, he freezes time and space with his "extra power" which leaves his friend more than impressed.

* ''[[Last Res0rt|Last Res 0 rt]]'' has Adharia Kuvoe's servant {{spoiler|and consort}}, Sedja the Efreet. Sedja is essentially a [[Benevolent Genie]], but is bound to and protected by Adharia (as it's been heavily implied that Sedja would've been destroyed by the Star Org if not for Adharia protecting her, acting as a translator, and having hidden her up until the point [[It Makes Sense in Context|Sedja was shot out of a pistol]]).

 

== Web Original ==

* Stan is Xander Crews' hypercompetent sidekick in ''[[Frisky Dingo]]''. Likewise, Sin is Killface's.

* ''[[The Simpsons]]'': Although Mr. Burns is not incompetent so much as out of touch with the times, Waylon Smithers arguably serves this role.

* Don't forget Cyclonus from ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]''. He was sane, calculating, dangerous... everything Galvatron was not.

** Well, Galvatron was dangerous, but to his troops just as much as the Autobots.

* Porky Pig when he's depicted as Daffy Duck's sidekick (in numerous Chuck Jones movie parody shorts, perhaps mostly famously ''[[Duck Dodgers]]'') -- in most of these cases, Daffy breaks the fourth wall to insist that Porky's character is ''supposed'' to be the [[Plucky Comic Relief]], so this character type may be a subversion.

** This holds especially true in the ''series'' ''[[Duck Dodgers]]'', where Dodgers doesn't so much hold the [[Idiot Ball]] as have it surgically implanted in place of his actual brain. Apparently, the Cadet is so competent that he singlehandedly ''cured world hunger'' in his younger days.

** True to their [[Spinoff Babies]] nature, in ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' Hampton J. Pig has more than once been Hypercompetent Sidekick to Plucky Duck, most notably in [[Affectionate Parody|Batduck]] where Hampton was "Decoy, the Pig Hostage."

*** Humorously, Plucky himself has once has served this role to Daffy in a Duck Dodgers short where he was "the eager young space cadet." Somewhat odd, since Plucky is a [[Spinoff Babies|child version]] of Daffy and normally suffers the same defeat-by-hubris role that Daffy does.

* Shego from ''[[Kim Possible]]'' She fights all the battles for [[Harmless Villain|Dr. Drakken]], she ''tries'' to keep his [[Evil Plan|evil plans]] in line, she even provides Drakken with the [[Unobtainium]]/[[Phlebotinum]] needed for his capers (either by stealing them, or actually buying them). Add her being [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] to the list, and the reason why she isn't the [[Big Bad]] instead comes down to pure [[Brilliant but Lazy|lack of motivation]].

** It should also be mentioned that the one time she did a caper on her own, during ''[[The Movie|A Sitch in Time]]'', she actually took over the world. But even then, she had to be talked into it by her future self.

* Ms. Sara Bellum, assistant to the Mayor of Townsville, from ''[[Powerpuff Girls]]''.

* Similarly, Deputy Mayor Calico "Callie" Briggs from ''[[Swat Kats]]: The Radical Squadron'', who assists the lazy Mayor Manx.

* Gromit from ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]''.

* Haroud serves this function (and combines it with [[Deadpan Snarker]] as usual) for Abys-Mal in ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]: the Series.''

** A classic example of this is Abys-Mal explaining (for exposition) his plan to attack the heroes. Haroud politely replies "I know what the plan is, master. Why are you telling me this?"

* Boo Boo exhibited this in the ''[[Yogi Bear]]'' cartoons, often knowing when to stay out of a situation, and warning Yogi, [[Catch Phrase|"Mr. Ranger isn't gonna like this."]]

* Generally speaking, the cartoons of the late 70's and early 80's each seemed to have their protagonists be best friends with an [[Small Annoying Creature|irritatingly cute]] [[Fairy Companion]] who could pretty much [[Combo-Platter Powers|do anything the plot required]]. The most bizarre/notorious example would be ''[[Rubik the Amazing Cube]]'', which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: the adventures of some kids and their magical talking, er, Rubik's Cube. Yes, as in the little cube-shaped puzzle where you match all the colors on each side. Really.

** The only reason Rubik was a sidekick at all is that he could only walk/talk/save the day after he had been "solved", and the young boy he hung around with had the amazing ability to solve him quickly. So every episode Rubik had to be dropped or something, which was apparently enough to mix him up so that he couldn't fix everything in the first two minutes.

* Genie in ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]''.

** Of course Mandy is the [[Apocalypse Maiden|humorless girl]] who defeats Death himself with one word, then grows up to become [[One-Winged Angel|far more formidable]].

* There are two ways ''[[Hong Kong Phooey]]'' defeats a villain. Either by luck (when he's alone), or by his cat sidekick, who usually takes advantage of the villain being distracted by the hero screwing up.

* Surprisngly, this is what Ron Stoppable becomes in the [[Grand Finale]] of ''[[Kim Possible]]''. Though he might've been promoted to partner for his heroics. [[Team Pet]] Rufus can be this to Ron, sometimes appearing to be smarter than his owner and much more mechanically adept.

* In [[Hanna-Barbera]]'s ''[[The Godzilla Power Hour]]'', poor [[The Scrappy|Godzooky]] gets a lot of grief from fans because he's cute and much tinier than Godzilla. But taken objectively, Zooky is ''still'' a twelve-foot tall flying monster who dwarfs the human castmembers, and can handily intimidate humans who aren't expecting him. Apart from being a standard cute cartoon sidekick, he's also there so that even the [[Just Here for Godzilla|human-scale filler scenes]] all [[Kaiju|Dai Kaiju]] stories have can ''still'' have a cool big monster in them.

* Cornfed on ''[[Duckman]]'' alternates between this and mere Hypercompetent Sidekick, depending on the needs of the plot.

** However, in the [[Adventure Game]] based on the series, Cornfed decides that this time Duckman has to stop relying on him and save the day himself. Because of this he mainly just gives advice on how to progress.

 

== Real Life ==

* This happened a lot during the later parts of the Roman Empire, especially in the 5th Century West, where ineffectual emperors were backed by military strongmen. Not all of them were constructive, but a few of them pretty much kept the West from falling apart immediately, most notably Aetius and Stilicho. Their deaths didn't bode well for Rome. Even the East had this. Belisarius was the famed general of Justinian and a fantastic commander.

* Claudius was this to Caligula. At least for the first six months, when Caligula was sane. The jury's still out on after that; but it was only by accident that Claudius became emperor at all.

* In a rather vile example of this; Heinrich Himmler, the man who supposedly carried out the Holocaust, had Reinhard Heydrich who carried out and created many of the ideas of the Holocaust. He was so vicious, it is said some of the Nazi officials who were his subordinates were more afraid of him than Hitler. This makes sense, as he created the concentration camps and the rest of the Final Solution.

* Vice President Walter Mondale was this to Jimmy Carter, serving as Carter's troubleshooter (particularly in foreign affairs).<ref>Mondale's foreign affairs experience later earned him an appointment as ambassador to Japan under the Clinton administration.</ref> Richard Nixon filled the same role for Eisenhower. Prior to Mondale and Nixon the vice-presidency was little more than a ceremonial posting, and usually a dead end for a political career. [[Your Mileage May Vary]] as to how effective either was in the job.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Servant Tropes]]

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Hidden Badass]]

[[Category:Sidekick]]

[[Category:Ind Ex Machina]]