Sidekick — tvdatabase

A sidekick is an individual, usually of heroic calibre, who apprentices under or works with a more trained and dominant individual. Although they are generally regarded as partners to the individual that they support, the sidekick is often relegated to performing secondary tasks, leaving the more heroic colleague to take on larger functions. Sidekicks are usually found in the superhero fantasy or adventure subgenres of television fiction. The most famous sidekick of all time is arguably Dick Grayson, aka, Robin, the Boy Wonder - masked teen sidekick to the cowled superhero Batman. In classic sidekick pattern, Batman would usually serve as the front line of a fight or an investigation, leaving Robin to perform more mundane functions such as tackling henchmen, rescuing hostages and gassing up the Batmobile.

from the . — Aqualad from the *Superman-Aquaman Hour of Adventure*.

Only slightly less well-known than Robin is the Native American warrior Tonto - friend and partner to the infamous masked lawman, the Lone Ranger. As with many sidekicks, Tonto usually served as a surrogate set of ears, allowing the Lone Ranger to explain details of a situation not only to him, but to the viewer as well. Although Tonto was a loyal and able-bodied fighter, he usually got the crap kicked out of him and has been captured by bandits and outlaws more times than one can count.

Another sidekick of note is Kato, partner of the Green Hornet who was immortalized by Asian actor and martial artist Bruce Lee in The Green Hornet television series of the 1960s. Kato was actually a more experienced fighter than the Green Hornet, and his martial arts prowess helped to pave the way for similar styles of TV entertainment throughout the 1960s and 1970s and launched the US film career of Bruce Lee.

Classically, a sidekick is usually younger than the partner that he or she supports, but this is not always the case. Tonto appeared to be the same age as the Lone Ranger. Kato appeared to be only slightly younger than the Green Hornet, and Pat Dugan, aka, Stripsey, was considerably older than his teenage mentor, the Star-Spangled Kid.

Supervillains rarely have sidekicks, preferring to have their more menial dastardly functions performed by henchmen. One notable exception however is the Joker from Batman: The Animated Series. He had a plucky female sidekick named Harley Quinn, who was unabashedly in love with the Joker and referred to him by the pet name of Mister J. Harley is unique in that the character was created specifically for the cartoon series and at the time had no comic book counterpart. As the character gained popularity amongst viewers, DC Comics created a comic book version of her and inserted her into the Batman universe, where she even carried her own solo title for a brief while.

The role of a sidekick may also apply to non-superhero fare as well, though this is rarely done. One example would be Mike Ross from the USA Network television series Suits - a junior lawyer who apprentices under senior partner Harvey Specter. Because of the secret nature of their relationship and their shared values, it could be argued that Mike is Harvey's sidekick.