No Love for the Sidekick
June 10, 2012
Why is it that whenever there is a heroic accomplishment by a group of people one gets remembered and the other doesn’t? It has happened multiple times over hundreds of years and no one has said anything. I am going to take a stand and announce that the sidekick never gets enough credit. Yup I said it, someone had to do it. The little guy never gets any of the fame or the respect compared to the main protagonist of any book, movie, game or anything!
Take someone like Michael Jordan, everyone knows who he is. People who don’t even watch the sport of basketball know who the best basketball player of all time is and that is Michael Jordan. What about his right hand men Scottie Pippin and Dennis Rodman? If you say those names to the average person they would say, who the heck is that? Sure, Jordan was the arguably the greatest of all time, but if he didn’t have Pippin and Rodman, he would have not been the same legendary player without them.
Jordan just has to be in the middle! Why can’t Pippin or Rodman be in the middle?
How about Luigi from Mario, he is always there for Mario every step of the way, but all he gets is a pat on the back while Mario gets the princess and all of the attention. How about Batman and Robin? Batman gets his own movies and stardom while Robin just sits back being the nice guy who gets none of that spotlight. The list can go on and on, I am talking lists and lists of duos where one always outshines the other.
Every music band has a main singer, drummer and a guitarist. Guess who gets all of the credit, fame and attention from all of the fans? You named it, the lead singer of course. What fan would brag about that them getting an autograph from the drummer or the back up guitarist, not many. The drummer and the guitarist are the ones who work the hardest and are probably the most talented. Yet the main singer gets all of the credit because they in the front and center of the stage.
Ever hear of the famous phrase it takes two to tango? I am sure you have, it pretty much means that without one there would not be the other. Say a pitcher throws a perfect game in baseball, that means that he doesn’t allow a single hit or walk the whole entire game. The only person who ever gets credit for the perfect game is the pitcher, but what about the eight other players on the field? The catcher is the one who calls what pitch the pitcher throws and there are also seven fielders who have to make sure they do their part and field any ball put into play, so that the pitcher could achieve a perfect game.
It is time that Robin, Luigi, Scottie Pippin, Dennis Rodman, all the other sidekicks and back ups take a stand. They need to stand up and say, hey you know that Michael Jordan guy? He was good and all, but without me he wouldn’t be the star he is today. Luigi needs to stop helping Mario all of the time and Robin needs to get his own movie, Robin the Green Knight. Let’s make it happen!
June 10, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Yeah, what about Wrex, Tali, Garrus, etc for Commander Shepard??
June 10, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Seriously! Those main guys and super heroes would be freaking no where without help from those little guys that go unnoticed!
June 11, 2012 at 8:31 am
Thanks for the great post… I remember the Jordan / Rodman / Pippen days… Jordan’s one of my favourite athletes of all time!
June 11, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Jordan is the greatest of all time, but I would like to see if he would be as good without Pippin and Rodman. That would be something!
June 11, 2012 at 11:09 am
Ahh you are so right! It’s about time that someone speaks out about sidekicks getting the short end of the stick! Whoo-hoo! Often times, sidekicks fare well on their own if they are given a chance! I mean, look at Luigi-he was finally given his own game, and it became one of the top-selling games ever released for Gamecube! And supposedly, there is going to be a sequel to that game that will be released for the Nintendo DS! Way to go Luigi! You are an inspiration for all sidekicks! ;D
June 11, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Whenever Luigi is an option over Mario in a game I always chose him :D lol The green dude really doesn’t get enough credit. He does just as much as Mario and without him, Mario would be nowhere!
June 11, 2012 at 11:24 am
Luigi did get his shot in the GCN game “Luigi’s Mansion” where he did get to save Mario for once.
June 11, 2012 at 12:30 pm
That is very true, but it was like a 1B title kind of game. The classic Mario games were called Mario World, Mario All-Stars, Mario Tennis and so on. Even Yoshi got a game too, but you can tell those games where no where as good as the classic Mario games. Those were just cash-in games. Besides Yoshi’s Island, that is my favorite game of all-time right there.
June 11, 2012 at 10:06 pm
This is so true. After all, Harry Potter would never have survived if not for Ron and Hermione! Same goes for pretty much any “hero” and his sidekicks. Your post is great – and it reminded me of that movie, Sky High!
June 12, 2012 at 1:40 am
Thanks! That is why I am shedding some light on the sidekick for once. Being a hero is overrated, I much rather be the sidekick lol
June 11, 2012 at 10:45 pm
I love this! I find this happening a lot in novels. However, what I also find interesting about this, is that from a woman’s perspective, there are also very few women “hero’s” they always have to have the male “sidekick” or “knight and shinning armor.” Why not just let the women stand alone? Interesting post!
June 12, 2012 at 1:43 am
Seriously, there are girl superheros like cat woman and wonder woman, but they are always out shined by the main hero. I am going to write a letter to some comic book makers and change this!
June 13, 2012 at 1:08 am
I prefer Robin to Batman any day of the week. :)
June 13, 2012 at 12:23 pm
I swear he is like 500 bagillion times better :P
June 13, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Ya know… In The Avengers group it seems a couple take front and center and a few are barely acknowledged. Everyone knows Thor, Captain America, Ironman and The Hulk. But it seems Black Widow, Ant-man, Hawkeye and Wasp are barely ever given the credit they deserve. It’s a shame too. Black Widow is awesome. I totally stand behind you on this one =)
June 13, 2012 at 8:42 pm
I know! They should make an Avengers movie that included all of those unknown guys that no credit, that would be pretty darn cool!
June 13, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Agreed!