Not to toot my own horn, but Stan Lee and I happen to agree on something: sidekicks are dumb. They’re pointless for the most part, and generally are lame copycats of their mentors. Very few teen sidekicks can actually hold their own with their mentor…Cato anyone?
I know, you’re probably thinking I’m anti DC Universe after making a statement like that- since DC is the most notable repeat offender when it comes to teen sidekicks- but the truth is, I like DC and it’s not personal. DC has some of the most amazing and memorable superheroes and villains, but I feel that they too often are forced to share the limelight with teenagers who should be elsewhere; like school maybe. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of why I think teen sidekicks suck.
Not so Secret Desire to Replace Mentor
Name one teen sidekick who NEVER turned on his/her mentor. Eventually they all turn on the very one who has taken the time to cultivate them. It’s a shame because in theory teen sidekicks kind of sound like a good idea: kid is taken from the violent streets and is taught to turn angst into vigilantism. The actuality of it though is far more disturbing.
Here’s how it always goes. A badass superhero no doubt has too much on his/her plate. At the same time, some poor rejected kid who no doubt has been stalking the superhero, shows up at the right moment and provides a much needed assist in a criminal take down. After which, the stalker- I mean sidekick wannabe- proceeds to make their case for why they should be the superhero’s partner. The superhero usually says no, initially.
Smart, but then something else happens- maybe the superhero feels compelled to save a youth from going down the wrong path- and then reluctantly takes the youngster under his/her wings. Although the teen sidekick is initially a pain in the (you know what), he/she eventually proves that they are worthy of their mentor’s time. Until, the inevitable day that the teen sidekick finally works up the nerve to challenge his/her mentor and ends up putting the mentor/superhero in the position to have to make a choice: set the teen sidekick free or put them in their place. See, nobody wins!
Drag Me Down With You
You ever notice how all the really awesome superheroes, especially in the DC Universe, always get teen groupies that want to be a sidekick? The superheroes are awesome up until they take in some homeless kid with a score to settle. The mean streets of say a Gotham or Star City are no place for a kid to play “follow the leader.” Every time they do, something almost always goes wrong and instead of focusing on the task at hand- get the bad guy- the superhero has to go and save the kid that they brought to the adult party. So, instead of being awesome all the time, our favorite superheroes get downgraded from vigilante to babysitter.
Teen Heroes…A Much Better Idea
I think the Marvel Universe has the right idea with teen heroes, instead of teen sidekicks. You take out all the annoying aspects of teen sidekicks and the result is a much cooler concept. Teen heroes have their own identity and perhaps of equal importance, while they may still have a reverence for the older superheroes, they are not stalkers who secretly want to replace a mentor. They don’t need mentors. They just need allies to help them fight crime. For instance, the first generation of X-men, Johnny Storm and Spider-man all got their start as teen heroes. They didn’t tag along with a mentor; they stood on their own as a full fledged superhero, only younger and a tad bit less experienced than their older superheroes counterparts. And, in the process, they came to earn respect as a superhero in their own right.