Friday Five: Sidekicks

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Welcome to the Friday Five! Each week we help you get to know our staff a little better with the help of an awesome top five list! This weeks topic: Sidekicks.

We’re surrounded by sidekicks in life, and more often then not we forget that the sidekick is just as important as the main hero. Sure Robin wears short-shorts, but without him (and his predecessors) we wouldn’t have they Dynamic Duo! Instead we’d just have Broody McBrooderton crying about his dead parents while simultaneously punching people in the face all the time, without any of the humor to be found by Robins stupid, over-exaggerated comments and girly ass shorts! Like it or not, he’s necessary, as are many others! Here’s our lists:

Anthony
My sidekick list may not be all that diverse but, give me a break, there’s a couple good ones.

1. Dick Grayson aka Robin – Batman- They are the Dynamic Duo, he’s the quintessential sidekick
2. Harley Quinn – Joker – The craziest couple of all time, if Batman and Robin are the best Duo, their enemies need to be the 2nd best.
3. Damian Wayne aka Robin V – Batman(Dick Grayson) – Another Batman and Robin? Yeah that’s right. I actually read this series so I have to include it.
4. Hit-Girl – Big Daddy(Kickass) – Whats cooler than a vigilante training his daughter to be lethal?!
5. Barry Gabrewski – Chuck Norris – How can we do a list of sidekicks without mentioning the 1992 martial arts classic where a boy with asthma dreams of being Chuck Norris’ sidekick! **Spoiler** It happens at the end!

Audra
Sidekicks come in all forms. Personally my number one sidekick would be Eric, since we can finish each others sentences and gay stuff like that. But for the sake of argument I’ll write a list that others can relate to.

1. Gus (Psych) – A true sidekick isn’t one that will stand and fight the battle with you, but rather the one that will decisively conclude, at a moments notice, to get the crap out of there. Gus never left Sean hanging, accepting his weight issues throughout the seasons and also all the fun, spunky names Sean had given him like “ShDynasty”, “Longbranch Pennywhistle”, and of course “Gustice!!”.
2. Gladstone (Sherlock Holmes) – Technically, Gladstone would be more Watson’s sidekick, considering it is his dog. But Gladstone seems to feel comfortable enough around Holmes to allow him to administer his harmless tests. And really, isn’t that the best that can be asked of from any good side kick?
3. Ranch (Condiment) – Not much discussion here. Goes well with everything, perfect sidekick.(EN: And like any good sidekick it has a hated enemy.)
4. Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter) – Loyal Death Eater, always having Lord Voldemort’s back. Had a grumps side but, whenever called upon by Voldemort, would put on a good face while manipulating and slowly torturing others.
5. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) – He was the perfect match to Leonardo DiCaprio’s character and was reliable. Not many could fight a manic man, while floating weightless in a hallway, and still keep enough composure to get what needs to be done accomplished.

Chris
My list is very similar to Anthony’s, guess that’s because Batman and his villains have the best sidekicks.

1. Damian Wayne (Current Robin) – Damian is a great Robin whether it’s with Dick Grayson or his dad Bruce Wayne his character is so different from them, but similar at the same time. And he’s one of the few heroes who is ready and willing to kill, and he’s only a kid.
2. Dick Grayson (Original Robin, Current Nightwing) – Dick was the first Robin and arguably the greatest of the comic book sidekicks. Not because of anything he has done, more for the impact on history. If you don’t read comics odds are you know still know Robin as Dick Grayson. He also proved sidekicks can do their own thing. He founded the Teen Titans as Robin, and went on to become his own hero in Nightwing, as well as took over the Cowl for Bruce while was dead/traveling through time/missing
3. Bucky Barnes (Current Winter Soldier) – Bucky was Captain America’s sidekick in the 40’s. And as the Golden Age came to an end and Captain America was frozen in ice (in the stories anyway) Bucky was just killed off and left for no one to use. Fast forward over 60 years and Bucky comes back as the Winter Soldier and soviet assassin. Then after Civil War when Cap his shot, Bucky comes back to his roots and takes over as Captain America, for a while at least.
4. Harley Quinn – She’s crazy, probably just as crazy as the Joker. Because really you need to be crazier than the craziest guy there is to fall in love with him, or whatever creepy feelings Harley has for Mr. J. Plus she’s one of the few characters created in a show that ended up popular enough to have a role made in comics that actually endures.
5. Short Round – “No Time for Love Doctor Jones.”

Eric

A good sidekick isn’t just a separate character, they’re an extension of the ones we love. To name a few great sidekick relationships: Batman and Robin, Cap and Bucky, Siskel and Ebert. While these teams don’t suffer without one another, there are some pairings that would. Here’s my picks for top 5 sidekicks.

1. Ampersand and Yorick – Ampersand is a disabled helper monkey in training, and his trainer is Yorick Brown. The two of them, for whatever reason, are the last 2 males of any species left on earth after a strange plague instantly causes everything with a Y chromosome to simultaneously die. They have some crazy adventures over the next few years while trying to survive in a female run world, without giving up their identities to those that may want to kill them.
2. Victor “Scully” Sullivan and Nathan Drake – These two met when Nate was an orphan on the streets trying to rob Sully. Sully noticed his talents and recruited and raised him to be the coolest treasure hunter since Indiana Jones! They plan plenty of high profile finds, and rarely travel without one another.
3. Clank and Ratchet – Normally you hear those names in the other order, but Clank is the star of this one! He’s a cute little robot created to help destroy the galaxy, but lost his memory when he falls and meets Ratchet. These two become one hell of a duo and go on to save the galaxy numerous times!
4. Jarvis and Iron Man – I prefer the movie version of Jarvis over the comic versions. Something about a snarky AI resonates with me.
5. Lawrence and Dr. Nefarious – The only villains on my list are essentially evil versions of Jarvis and Iron Man. Except Dr. Nefarious is an idiot… But they’re still hilarious!

Eric is not a boss. You can Email Eric or follow Eric on Twitter @EricSweeten or Facebook

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