Sidekick Powers

Over the last two days I have been celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the US Television series of Batman.

It was a phenomena in 1966 when it was launched with mass appeal translating into those all important ratings which justified the investment and effort behind the highly camp and stylised production.

However, the management at 20th Century Fox and ABC pulled the show after only three years. My childhood was peppered with re-runs on the UK channels and through this succession of repeats  a whole new audience , like myself, were captivated.

We all wanted to be Batman, so much more so than the sidekick Boy Wonder, Robin.

SIDEKICK, a term that conjurs up many images and definitions and has sparked many, many hours of debates amongst friends and strangers as to which characters qualify for this distinction.

The actual descriptions of a Sidekick in different dictionaries and reference works are quite short and concise.

One such is "a person who helps and spends a lot of time with someone who is usually more important", another being "a friend or associate of a more popular person who receives acclaim by the connection" or in simplistic terms, "a pal, partner or helper".

These seem quite clear cut but yet there are raging arguments about pairings in literature, movies, popular culture and through history and whether indeed one half is a sidekick.

The typical list of those referred to as sidekicks is seemingly endless, the most quoted being Tonto to the Lone Ranger, Barney Rubble to Fred Flintstone, Doctor Watson to Sherlock Holmes, Spock to James Kirk, Donkey to Shrek, Chewbacca to Han Solo, Frodo to Bilbo, Sarah Jane Smith to Doctor Who, Scooby Doo to Shaggy, Huckleberry Finn to Tom Sawyer, Christian Fletcher to Captain Bligh, Teller to Penn, Obelix to Asterix and many, many more that you may think of yourself as candidates.

In fact, I am of the firm opinion that none of the above fit the sidekick profile.

In the main definitions there is a contrast between a charismatic individual and someone who is more subservient, not to the point of disenfranchisement but sufficient to be different in manner, outlook, morals and opinion.

Sidekick suggests to me someone assisting a master figure in an environment of crime or general malevolence and so the lighter cartoon and film duos just do not figure by my reckoning in the sidekick stakes.

There is a certain equality in the populist pairings, for example, Han Solo and Chewbacca could never be described as being of one dominant and one lesser character, similarly Watson and Holmes and even Scooby Doo and Shaggy all of whom are only ever to be regarded as a team, strong, united and determined in their quest or struggle against respective adversaries in the form of  The Empire, Moriarty and some disgruntled Janitor respectively.

From my research I contend that most sidekicks to arch villains fit a specific job description.

They are invariably clever, scheming and diplomatic although this comes across as being toady, compliant and weak. They generally agree with the master in the relationship and would do anything and everything to support them but are in an ideal position, poised at the elbow or ear to offer new ideas and encouragement, often more extreme and uncompromising than the original plan.

They can be very cruel to the point of being a psychopath but at the same time compassionate and with a keen sense of morals and justice.

In some circumstances the sidekick has disagreed vehemently with the villain and acted decisively to protect the victims or targets of violence, extortion or worse.

In the final throes of a crisis the sidekick has often emerged as the hero, but of course too far implicated in the action to be be pardoned or escape without sanction and punishment.

The movie business, world of literature and general public just demand a sidekick to embellish a dramatic situation and to give balance to a potentially overpowering persona but in my opinion this demands a certain amount of invisibility and mystery. Long live the Sidekick, whoever he or she may be.