Great Cohorts of Myth, Fiction and History

Robbert Raets · Dec 3, 2003

Sherlock Holmes had dr. John Watson.
The Lone Ranger had Tonto, and Robin Hood had Little John.

Was Brutus a cohort of Caesar's? Frodo & Sam? In series like Batman, Hercules & Xena there's a 'duo-dynamic' as well.

Can you think of other examples, and reasons for the double-team in stories?

Mercule · Dec 3, 2003

Things I can think of:

1) We like our heroes to be leaders, so the stories give the heroes at least one person to lead on a constant basis.

2) The sidekick can be used to relate insight into the inscrutable figure that is the hero. In other words, he's a literary bridge.

3) Sidekicks are sometimes comedy relief for an otherwise grim tale.

Examples:

-Charlemagne had Roland.
-Michael Knight had KITT.
-Arthur had Merlin (or Lancelot).
-Karl Cullinane has Walter Slovotsky.
-Dr. Who had the Brigadier (in one incarnation, at least).
-Angel had Cordy.
-Neo had Trinity.
-I have my cat (although I'm not sure who's the sidekick).

Hand of Evil · Dec 3, 2003

In many cases the side kick is there to make the prime character stand out more, be it faults or other things, to provide dialog and understanding of the prime character actions and/or create loop holes for plot elements.

Hand of Evil · Dec 3, 2003

In many cases the side kick is there to make the prime character stand out more, be it faults or other things, to provide dialog and understanding of the prime character actions and/or create loop holes for plot elements.

Hand of Evil · Dec 3, 2003

In many cases the side kick is there to make the prime character stand out more, be it faults or other things, to provide dialog and understanding of the prime character actions and/or create loop holes for plot elements.

Hypersmurf · Dec 4, 2003

Mercule said:
-Dr. Who had the Brigadier (in one incarnation, at least).

You forgot Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, Vicki, Steven Taylor, Katarina, Sara Kingdom, Dodo Chaplet, Polly Lopez, Ben Jackson, Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield, Zoe Heriot, Liz Shaw, Jo Grant, Sarah-Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan, Leela, Romana, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan Jovanka, Turlough, Perpugilliam Brown, Melanie Bush, Ace, and K-9...

Han Solo and Chewbacca.
Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.
Vlad Taltos and Loiosh (although one might consider him an Improved Familiar instead).
Grégoire de Fronsac and Mani.
Maverick and Goose.
Martel and Adus and Krager.
Wayne and Garth.
Captain Hook and Smee.
Dr Frankenstein and Igor.

-Hyp.

astralpwka · Dec 4, 2003

Hypersmurf said:
Wayne and Garth.

I (Garth) refuse the sidekick role. Wayne is the sidekick.

Sorry. It's just funny to be in a gaming group where the one of the other players is named Wayne. What's even creepier is that there is *another* Garth in the group besides myself (in which case, he might be the sidekick...).

Hypersmurf · Dec 4, 2003

astralpwka said:
I (Garth) refuse the sidekick role. Wayne is the sidekick.

Sorry, buddy. Garth is so Wayne's cohort.

-Hyp.

MerakSpielman · Dec 4, 2003

Mercule said:
-Angel had Cordy.

You remember them but you forget Buffy and Xander? Sheesh, people these days...

Mercule · Dec 4, 2003

MerakSpielman said:
You remember them but you forget Buffy and Xander? Sheesh, people these days...

I didn't forget. I just wasn't sure how to categorize it. Early on, especially, both Willow and Xander could have been considered Buffy's sidekicks and 1:2 just doesn't fit the mold.

As the show progressed, it seems like all the core three got their own sidekicks. Willow had Tara (for a while). Xander had Anya (most of the time). And Buffy had Spike. Even if you ignore Tara and Anya, Spike ended up being more of Buffy's sidekick than Xander by the end.