Kid Sidekick: Difference between revisions

* Lin and Bat in ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''.

* Wendy Garret of ''[[Gun X Sword]]'' is a teenage example of this. She very rarely helps out in battle, but she's better at thinking than Van is. She functions as a manager, handling the money and making travel arrangements.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* Robin, sidekick of [[Batman]], is the [[Ur Example]], and is retained in almost every incarnation of Batman, no matter how [[Darker and Edgier]], simply because [[Grandfather Clause|of tradition]]. (notable exception in the [[Dark Knight Trilogy]])

** Subversion: the makers of the new Batman movies have stated emphatically that Robin will not be included. They [[Handwaved]] this with stuff about him still being a kid, but we know it's actually about wanting to stay [[Darker and Edgier]] and not get [[The Sixties|60s]]-style campy.

** He's also stated that at this point in Batman's life Dick Grayson is most likely still sleeping in a crib.

* Step forward Rick Jones. For decades Rick has been [[Marvel Comics]]' stock sidekick. He has been partners with [[The Hulk]], [[Captain America]], two [[Captain Mar-Vell|Captains Marvel]], and [[ROM Spaceknight]]. Must be some kind of record.

** Also on the sidekick squad: Aqualad to [[Aquaman (Comic Book)|Aquaman]]. Kid Flash to [[Flash]].

** Wonder Girl, Spoiler, Flamebird ([[Canon Dis Continuity|or not]]).

* [[The Clock]], a very first [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] hero (last seen in 1944) and his kid sidekick Butch (a girl). Butch, incidentally, originally wanted to be the Clock's "moll", much to the hero's mortification. She eventually got over it.

* The [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]]-inspired ''Freedom Force'' computer games give us ''Liberty Lad'', sidekick to [[Super Patriot]] ''The Minuteman.'' Young Nick Craft, founder and president of the Freedom Force Fan Club, tags along after the team as they try to bring down mobster-turned-supervillain Pinstripe. Naturally, he gets shot.

{{quote| '''Pinstripe:''' Now youse gotsta choose, heroes. Come afta me, or save da brat! Mentor reports that he needs an immediate transfusion... ''or he'll die!'' Minuteman, feeling responsible for the plucky youngster, valiantly volunteers to give his own blood to the boy. Mentor warns him that they have no idea what will happen, because Minuteman's blood is infused with... ''Energy X''.<br />

* Bucky Barnes was this to [[Captain America]] in [[World War II]]. On the Invaders as well was the first [[Human Torch]], who had sidekick Toro, with near identical powers.

* Oddly enough, [[Moon Knight]] had an adult sidekick (or at least young adult) who was [[Death Is Cheap|temporarily killed off]] and [[We Can Rebuild Him|rebuilt]] as an [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul|evil cyborg]] named Midnight.

* [[Spider-Man]] started as a deliberate subversion of this trope. [[Stan Lee]] had grown sick of teen sidekicks, so he decided to create a series that featured a teenager as the main star, rather than as support to an adult hero. Everyone thought that [[It Will Never Catch On]]...but it did.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* Kenny from ''[[Film/Gamera|Gamera]]''

* ''[[Last Action Hero]]'' even has the Kid Sidekick refer to himself as the 'Comedy Sidekick', which should be a sub-trope of sidekick.

* The Jedi in ''[[Star Wars]]'' pair up young padawans with older Jedi to teach them the way of the force. The difference here is that they often remain padawans into their twenties, making them former Kid Sidekicks by that age. They are usually [[Sidekick Graduations Stick|Knighted]] after that, and soon begin the cycle again by choosing their own padawan. Generally padawans and their masters are sent on diplomatic missions, but with the way the [[Star Wars]] universe works, and with the advent of the Clone Wars, it's almost a given that the [[Child Soldiers|padawan will be forced to fight]].

 

== [[Literature]] ==

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* Mark Hollander to the titular ''[[Ace Lightning]]'' (albeit sometimes reluctantly).

* In [[Nickelodeon]]'s U-Pick Live segment, they held a contest where the winner would be added to the show as Pick Boy's new sidekick. Something must have gone wrong backstage though, because no kid was ever brought in.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Subverted in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' with Chrono and Rosette. Chrono looks like (and sometimes acts like) a twelve-year-old, but it's soon revealed that he's [[Older Than They Look|really a demon that's probably at least a century old]], making him actually Rosette's [[Older Sidekick]]. Also played somewhat straight with Azmaria, a 12-year-old apprentice in the Order who is assigned to work with Chrono and Rosette.

* ''[[Kirby]]'': [[Meaningful Name|Sword and Blade]] to Metaknight.

* Maya Fey, the main assistant in the ''[[Phoenix Wright]] [[Ace Attorney]]'' games may or may not count, as she starts 17 but becomes 19 by ''Trials and Tribulations'', although she tends to act like a little kid sometimes. Phoenix also had Ema Skye in one case when she was 16, and ''[[Apollo Justice]]'' has Trucy, who is 15.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Sunspot to Stardust in [[Attack of the Super Wizards]].

* In [[The Adventures of Gyno Star]], Gyno-Star's sidekick is a teenager named Little Sappho.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* In The [[Fairly Oddparents]], The Crimson Chin's sidekick, Cleft the Boy Chin Wonder, is a ten-year older. Makes sense, because his alter ego is actually no other than {{spoiler|Timmy Turner}} himself.

* Jan and Jace, for ''[[Space Ghost]]''.

* Spinner (and his dog Paddlefoot) of ''[[Clutch Cargo]]''.

* The [[Transformers]] have a bad habit of dragging young humans into their battles - young humans who tend to have no powers or skills that make letting them within a mile of Decepticons anything less than criminal negligence. Giving them a reason to be around ''at all'' is relatively new to the franchise.

* The Cadets in ''[[Voltron Force]]'' are a fairly good example. They bring considerable talents to the team - Vince's [[Technopathy]], Larmina's martial arts talent and Daniel's piloting skills and agility (both physical and mental) complement, rather than overshadowing, the rest of the Voltron Force.