Sidekick

A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany.

Origins

The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of the late 19th century. The "kick" was the front pocket of a pair of trousers, believed to be the pocket safest from theft. Thus, by analogy, a "side-kick" was a person's closest companion.Morris, Evan
Word Detective
(December 20, 1999).

One of the earliest recorded examples of a sidekick may be Enkidu, who played a sidekick role to Gilgamesh after they became allies in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. Other early examples are Achilles and Patroclus in the ''Iliad'' and Moses and Aaron in the Old Testament.Hay, Noelle
"Evolution of a sidekick,"
SFFWorld.com (2002).

In fiction

Sidekicks can fulfill one or multiple functions in fiction, such as a counterpoint to the hero,McNamera, Mary
"Critic's Notebook: Sidekicks are second bananas no more,"
''Los Angeles Times'' (May 5, 2008). an alternate point of view, or knowledge, skills, or anything else the hero does not have. They often function as comic relief, and/or the straight man to the hero's comedic actions. A sidekick can also be a character to whom the audience can more easily relate than the hero, or whom the audience can imagine themselves as being (such as teen sidekicks). And by asking questions of the hero, or giving the hero someone to talk to, the sidekick provides an opportunity for the author to provide exposition, thereby filling the same role as a Greek chorus.

Sidekicks frequently serve as an emotional connection, especially when the hero is depicted as detached and distant, traits which might make it difficult to like the hero. The sidekick is often the confidant who knows the main character better than anyone else, and gives a convincing reason to like the hero. Although Sherlock Holmes was portrayed as a difficult man to know, his friendship with Dr. Watson convinces the reader that Holmes is a good person. The Left Hand of Vampire Hunter D, being mentally linked to the reticent protagonist, often reveals thoughts, feelings, and the physical condition of his host, as well as background elements of the story.

The apparent stupidity of some comedy sidekicks is often used to make a non-intellectual hero look intelligent. Similarly, a flamboyant or effeminate sidekick may make an otherwise unimposing hero look more masculine. And a strong, silent and modest hero may have his fighting qualities revealed to the other characters and the audience by a talkative sidekick.

While many sidekicks are used for comic relief, there are other sidekicks who are less outrageous than the heroes they pledge themselves to, and comedy derived from the hero can often be amplified by the presence or reaction of the sidekick. Examples include Porky Pig, who is more sensible and calmer than Daffy Duck in later short films; similarly, Sancho Panza is more rational than Don Quixote.

It is typical for the character and sidekick to be of the same gender — otherwise the term "sidekick" is replaced with "partner" or "companion". Whenever there is a team of more than two characters, the term sidekick is generally reserved for another team member of the same sex. It is rare for the relationship between a character and an opposite-sex sidekick to lack romantic or sexual overtones of any kind — though there are examples, like Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin, The original ''Doctor Who'' series intentionally avoided any explicit onscreen indications of romantic or sexual attraction between The Doctor and his female companions. ( See the discussion of comic books' teenage sidekicks below.)

While unusual, it is not unheard of for a sidekick to be more attractive, charismatic, or physically capable than the supposed hero. This is most typically encountered when the hero's appeal is more intellectual rather than sexual. Such heroes (usually fictional sleuths and scientists) are often middle-aged or older and tend towards eccentricity. Such protagonists may, due to either age or physical unsuitability, be limited to cerebral conflicts, while leaving the physical action to a younger or more physically capable sidekick. This type of sidekick is rarely encountered in fiction, because the hero runs the risk of being upstaged by them. However, examples of successful such pairings include Detective Monk and his sidekick Sharona, Inspector Morse and his sidekick Detective Sergeant Robbie Lewis, Nero Wolfe and his sidekick Archie Goodwin, Hiro Nakamura and his sidekick Ando Masahashi, and Miles Vorkosigan and his sidekick cousin Ivan Vorpatril. In other media, The Green Hornet's sidekick, Kato, has (especially since the 1960s television series with Bruce Lee) been depicted as a capable man of action, for instance in martial arts. The earliest Doctor Who serials, particularly during the First Doctor era, had young male companions who were capable of the physical action that the elderly William Hartnell was not. This became more important as Hartnell's health declined during his tenure as The Doctor. This was not an issue with the following Doctors as they were cast with significantly younger actors.

It is also not unusual, especially in more recent TV programs such as ''Bones'' and ''NCIS'', for there to be a ''team'' of sidekicks. In ''Bones'', for example, FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth often fulfills one of the traditional roles of a sidekick by providing translations for the brilliant but socially incapable Dr. Temperance Brennan. Both Brennan and Booth, however, are heroes in their own right. The sidekicks in this case are the team of "squints" back in the Jeffersonian Institution's Medico-Legal Lab, each with their own scientific specialty, all of whom are usually needed to break the case.

In certain cases, a sidekick can grow out of their role of second fiddle to the hero and become a hero in their own right. Dick Grayson is one such example, having outgrown the mantle of Robin when he was under Batman and taken up the new identity of Nightwing. Grayson for awhile succeeded his mentor and took on the costumed identity of Batman himself. Another example is the popular comic-strip soldier of fortune Captain Easy, who started as the two-fisted sidekick of the scrawny eponymous hero of the strip Wash Tubbs.

Use

Frodo Baggins's Samwise Gamgee, and Harry Potter's Ron Weasley, as well as the afore-mentioned Sancho Panza and Doctor Watson, are notable sidekicks from fiction.

In fiction, the term "sidekick" commonly refers to assistants to crime-fighting heroes. However, sidekicks do not necessarily accompany a crime-fighter, such as Leporello, Don Giovanni's servant in the 1787 opera. Villains can also have sidekicks, who are usually portrayed as less brilliant or lacking cunning. The sidekick has the literary function of playing against the hero, often contrasting in skill, or performing functions not suited to the hero.

The sidekick was a regular presence in westerns, where Fuzzy Knight, Al "Fuzzy" St. John, Smiley Burnette, and Andy Devine had longer careers than some of the heroic singing cowboys for whom they took pratfalls.

In science fiction the sub-type of the alien sidekick has been established. Examples of alien sidekicks are Mr. Spock (sidekick of Captain James T. Kirk) on ''Star Trek'' and Chewbacca (sidekick of Han Solo) in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. One of the roles of the alien sidekick is to act as a mouthpiece for social commentary on the human condition from an outsider's point of view.

Heroic sidekicks such as Streaky the Supercat of ''Krypto the Superdog'', Festus Haggen of ''Gunsmoke'''s Matt Dillon, or Gabrielle of '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' not only provide comic relief, but can occasionally be brave and/or resourceful and rescue the hero from a dire fate.
Kalimán, a heroic character depicted on movies, radio theatre and comic books, mentors a young lad named Solín.

Comparisons

A villain's supporters are normally called henchmen, minions, or lackeys, not sidekicks. While this is partially a convention in terminology, it also reflects that few villains are capable of bonds of friendship and loyalty, which are normal in the relationship between a hero and sidekick. This may also be due to the different roles in fiction of the protagonist and the antagonist

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