The Sidekick: “Batman’s Bitch”?

Who would you rather be, Batman or Robin?  Xena or Gabrielle? Tell the truth! Some may be fine with the role of the sidekick, but others usually would prefer to play the hero in a story line. This is not a bad thing. It is just human nature for people to want to feel superior and important in a story line. Urban dictionary bluntly defines a sidekick as a “super hero’s bitch. ”Even the Oxford English Dictionary defines a sidekick as a “companion” who is “a subordinate member of a pair or group” (OED “sidekick” 1). I believe that the OED’s definition of a sidekick is misleading.  Subordinate is defined as “of less importance, or secondary”  (dictionary.com). The sidekick is not at all subordinate. The sidekick is usually very important to his protagonist companion. The hero or protagonist in many instances could not accomplish their goals without the help of his sidekick. The hero in many cases would actually be dead without his sidekick. I strongly believe that sidekicks are not subordinate, but in fact they are supportive, and therefore heroes and sidekicks can be true friends.

The most concrete example of a sidekick is T-Moblie’s Sidekick phone. This phone was all the rave when it was first released. Before the Sidekick, it took people ages to compose a text. Now people could write one at the speed of lightning. In fact this phone alone is what made texting so popular because you no longer had to spend minutes at a time pressing the same key until the letter that you wanted appeared on the screen. I think the Sidekick is appropriately named. Not only does the name of this phone relate to the modern meaning of the word sidekick, but it relates to the primitive meaning of it. Sidekick was first used as a term for the side pocket that was the most difficult pocket for criminals to steal from. We keep Sidekicks and other phones in our pockets for easy access. Sidekicks are helpful because it made it easier to browse the Internet and send texts. It performed all of the tasks it you inputted into it, but it was still looked upon as just a phone. The sidekick phone is a perfect analogy for a modern today sidekick. Sidekicks do everything that the hero asks them to do but they receive no credit. They are looked upon as inherently inferior and just an extra asset of the hero. They should not be looked upon as inferior because without them the hero wouldn’t be able to survive.

Sidekicks throughout their history in television and books have been depicted as playing the subordinate role physically, intellectually, or both. Perpetuating the stereotype of sidekicks being subordinate in film and media leads people to believe that that the sidekick is actually subordinate, which is not the case.

People refer to Robin as Batman’s sidekick, giving the role of a sidekick a possessive quality. It’s as if Robin belongs to Batman like a pet or inanimate object. In the movie and comics, Batman and Robin always work tirelessly together and equally to save the city of Gotham from havoc. Although they do their job of being heroes together, Batman always receives the glory. Robin is always depicted as smaller and much weaker than Batman. Even in The Dark Knight Rises, Robin, who was know throughout most of the story as Officer John Blake, is depicted as a measly police officer on duty and Batman is seen as the powerful and buff one who eventually helps save the city “all by himself”. I put all by himself him quotation marks because Robin helped bring the children and others to safety in this movie although he is not really credited for helping the city until Batman gives Officer Blake his Bat Cave. Still, he is not publicly credited for his big contribution because the public doesn’t know about the Bat Cave or the symbolism that comes with Batman giving the cave to Blake. The fact that Batman passed the torch to Robin also makes the point that Robin is not inferior like many think, but he is as equally capable as Batman.

In Xena Warrior Princess, Xena’s sidekick is also seen as subordinate and possessed by Xena. Xena is a past Warlord who seeks redemption by using her war abilities to help people. She is a physically strong character who has dark hair and resembles an Amazonian woman. Her sidekick Gabrielle on the other hand was first discovered as a scrawny innocent farm girl who was saved by Xena before she could be sold as a slave. She soon becomes Xena’s fierce warrior sidekick, but she still possessed innocent qualities such as her blonde locks, blue eyes, and slender, fragile, physique.  Xena plays a maternal role in her life (until later in the season when they began to develop a romantic relationship) teaching her how to fight and survive in her chaotic world. It was as if Gabrielle was her child and she belonged to Xena.  Gabrielle was never as strong and as brave as Xena but she was the one who kept her legacy alive by writing down the adventures she and Xena experienced on scrolls. Without those scrolls, which were found during World War II, the legend of Xena would be forever lost, there would be no Xena Warrior Princess show, and my childhood would have been eternally incomplete. Still Gabrielle is not given as much credit as Xena and is seen as subordinate through the public eye because the show maintained a weak image of her.

Sidekicks are not only seen as subordinate physically, but subordinate intellectually in media. The sidekicks in these cases are noticed by the public because they provided some sort of comic relief. A prime example is The Pinky and the Brain. The Brain longs for world domination while Pinky is indifferent about the topic. Because Pinky believes he is the Brain’s best friend, he will try and help him to do anything although he has a terrible attention span. Although Brain constantly insults Pinky, he has a soft spot for his friend and in one episode he even goes save his lost friend because he misses him so much and he knows that Pinky would do the same for him.  Dory from Finding Nemo is another example of the sidekick being intellectually subordinate. Throughout the movie, Dory tries to help Marlon find his son Nemo but she can barely remember anything. This frustrates Marlon but they stick together and she is ultimately is the reason why Marlon ends up finding Nemo.

Sidekick has morphed from a term for the side pocket to “A companion or close associate; specifically: an accomplice or partner in crime; a subordinate member of a pair or group. More loosely, a friend, a colleague” (OED “sidekick 1). Sidekick’s origin and transition into what it is now has many implications. Since the sidekick used to be known as the pocket that is most safe from theft it could imply that a sidekick is a person who protects the protagonist and has his or her back when someone is trying to wrong him or her. It would be nearly impossible to not call a sidekick your friend because that person is there for when you’re in danger even though he or she may not be noticed for helping you. Being labeled someone’s “bitch” comes with the territory of being a sidekick in the public eye because people are constantly going to judge. What matters the most is the private relationship that the sidekick and protagonist have with each other. There is a mutual respect between Batman and Robin which is seen when Batman retires his Bat Cave to him. Xena showed mutual respect to Gabrielle by letting her fight beside her and follow her in her journeys. The examples are endless. As I keep on stressing, it is utterly incorrect to say that the sidekick is subordinate to the hero. Many may think they are because they media perpetuates this image, but when looking at the reality of it, the hero would be nothing without the sidekick and the sidekick would be nothing without the hero. The sidekick and hero have a mutual respect and loyalty for one another, helping each other out equally and that’s what makes them true friends and equals.

Works Cited

Finding Nemo. Dir. Andrew Stanton. Perf. Albert Brooks, Ellen Degenres. Pixar, 2003. Film.

Ruegger, Tom. Pinky and the Brain. Kids’ WB! United States, 9 Sept. 1995. Television.

Schulian, John, and Robert Tapert. Xena Warrior Princess. Syndication. New Zealand, 4 Sept. 1995. Television.

“ˈside-kick, n.”. OED Online. March 2013. Oxford University Press. 29 April 2013. Web.

The Dark Knight Rises. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christan Bale. Warner Bros, 2012. Film.