# Who\`s your favourite fictional sidekick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2002, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318 "2002-04-24T10:24:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2002, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/21 "2002-04-24T21:45:33Z")
Doc Savage had not one, but five great sidekicks, each with his own talents and eccentricities: Monk, Ham, Johnnie, Reggie, and Long Tom. Every one an expert in his profession, loyal, and always ready for a brawl. I’m surprised no one has mentioned Little John, Robin Hood’s right-hand man. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2002, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/22 "2002-04-24T21:48:01Z")
Let me throw in my favorite, **Bucky** , Captain America’s sidekick. Or one of the great sidekick names of all times **Little Beaver** , the sidekick of Red Ryder (It might be noted that **Little Beaver** was played on television by none other than Robert Blake). I also liked **California** as Hopalong Cassidy’s sidekick. I too love **Penfold**. There just aren’t enough good all out cowards around today. **Penfold** held that banner high, “Oh ecck”. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/23 "2002-04-24T23:06:34Z")
_Moonglum friend without a reason Moonglum friend without a cause No words for his silent trust As the sword goes on to sate it’s lust_ ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2002, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/24 "2002-04-24T23:40:41Z")
Cheeks, the Toy Wonder! ---
**Author:** ![ScriptAnalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@ScriptAnalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScriptAnalyst)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/25 "2002-04-24T23:52:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gonzoron \* > \*\*And of cource, Bela Lugosi. He was great as Karloff’s sidekick. 🙂 \*\* “Karloff? Sidekick? Fuck you! That limey cocksucker can rot in hell!” Sorry, didn’t mean to make this sound like a flamewar – just quoting from ED WOOD. Not that Lugosi ever said anything remotely like this in real life, at least not in English. Apparently, when he lost his temper, he lapsed into his native Hungarian. By the way, I would have picked Archie Goodwin, but I see at least two others have already beat me to it. steve biodrowski [www.thescriptanalyst.com](http://www.thescriptanalyst.com) ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/26 "2002-04-25T00:15:27Z")
I’m going with **Bunter** , for where would Peter Wimsey be without Bunter’s photography skills, ability to shadow any unsavory character, and culinary prowess, not to mention his knack for chatting up unsuspecting housemaids and livery drivers? ---
**Author:** ![DaPearl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DaPearl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaPearl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/27 "2002-04-25T01:16:02Z")
Dean Moriarty from Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. And the 300 lb. Samoan lawyer from Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in las Vegas. (Although both are actually only semi-fictional. Dean Moriarty is based on Neal Cassidy [whom I know nothing about besides the fact that he was a beatnik] and the Samoan lawyer is Oscar Zeta Acosta, a chicano civil rights lawyer/fighter who acompanied Thompson on his insane visit to Las Vegas.) ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/28 "2002-04-25T02:35:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by delphica \* > **I’m going with Bunter** I’ll see your **Bunter** and raise a **Jeeves** and since **Alfred** has already been played… ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/29 "2002-04-25T03:35:47Z")
Hmm… I think Captain Haddock could win this war. I can only think of one sidekick who outweighs the mighty Haddock and that’s… **Obelix** from the Asterix series. He fell in a cauldron of magic potion when he was a baby and so is immensely strong. He is fiercely loyal, he eats nothing but whole roast boars and (for some strange reason that never really gets explained) he loves menhirs. The magic potion was brewed by the village druid, Getafix. The village chief was Vitalstatistix. The village bard (who was such a bad singer that he always ended up bound and gagged) was called Cacophonix. But I think Obelix would get my vote as best sidekick with Captain Haddock coming a close second. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/30 "2002-04-25T05:01:28Z")
My favorites are: Hawk, Spenser’s Real Man Gabrielle, Xena’s girlfriend and of course: Kato, Green Hornet’s fighter. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/31 "2002-04-25T05:44:36Z")
Arthur from The Tick is the perfect longsuffering straight man. ---
**Author:** ![Vorae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Vorae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vorae)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/32 "2002-04-25T05:58:59Z")
Eh, Wedge’s status always struck me as something the fans desired (and created) rather than anything that was actually represented in the films. Robin put up with a hell of a lot from that taskmaster Batman (and turned out quite capable because of it, even able to stand in for the old man for extended periods of time). But all in all, I’d have to give it to Dirk Calloway (sp?) of “Rushmore.” That kid has the loyalty, the brains, the dignity, and the killer instinct. Truly a worthy right-hand man. ---
**Author:** ![JubilationTCornpone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@JubilationTCornpone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JubilationTCornpone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/33 "2002-04-25T06:20:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Baldwin \* > \*\*Doc Savage had not one, but five great sidekicks, each with his own talents and eccentricities: Monk, Ham, Johnnie, Reggie, and Long Tom. Every one an expert in his profession, loyal, and always ready for a brawl. > \*\* That was Renny, not Reggie. He was the civil engineer who made a sport of throwing his fist through wooden doors. As for favorite sidekicks, I hereby cast my vote for Roy “Speedy/Arsenal” Harper. ---
**Author:** ![parsnip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parsnip/32/4564_2.png) [@parsnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parsnip)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/34 "2002-04-25T10:48:46Z")
River Runner, Jack Aubrey is definitely the sidekick … ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/35 "2002-04-25T12:05:27Z")
Neal Cassidy, beside from being the character behind Dean in On The Road, was the bus driver for a large part of Ken Kesey’s trip across the US in Further (the name of the bus they travelled in). He was a member of Kesey’s Merry Prankster coterie and was the inspiration for that great first set closer “Cassidy,” by the Grateful Dead. A speed freak and benzedrine addict, Cassidy died in Mexico in the late 1960s. He is a fascinating character and was hailed by nearly everyone that I’ve ever heard mention him as an American original. He is also the the indirect source of my most famous comment “Turn down the radio. We’re at an intersection.” “I have seen where the wolf has slept by a silver stream” ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/36 "2002-04-25T15:43:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Doc Savage had not one, but five great sidekicks, each with his own talents and eccentricities: Monk, Ham, Johnnie, Reggie, and Long Tom. Every one an expert in his profession, loyal, and always ready for a brawl. How could I forget the Fabulous Five? In the world of **Doc Savage** , even the sidekicks had sidekicks: Monk (my favorite) had the pig Habeas Corpus and Ham had the ape Chemistry. And, **parsnip** , I’d say it depends on which particular episode. I still like Clouseau’s Kato, though. Who else, when the main guy was supposed to be dead, turned his place into a “Chinese nookie factory?” RR ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/37 "2002-04-25T16:08:31Z")
I keep recommending Modesty Blaise as a favourite character… so how could I possibly not nominate her right-hand man Willie Garvin in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/38 "2002-04-25T17:50:08Z")
**Chewbacca** Also, **Slinky Dog** from Toy Story. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/39 "2002-04-25T18:08:49Z")
**Skywise** , Cutter’s lieutenant from _Elfquest._ **Apache Dick** from _The Trouble With Girls._ **Xander** from _Buffy the Vampire Slayer._ **Gabrielle** from_Xena, Warrior Princess._ Being a sidekick’s a pretty good deal, isn’t it? You get most of the glory of your primary, have just as much fun and meet the same quality babes (or guys). But you never have to take the biggest risks or make the hard decisions. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318/40 "2002-04-25T18:32:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ScriptAnalyst \* > \*\* > > “Karloff? Sidekick? Fuck you! That limey cocksucker can rot in hell!” > > Sorry, didn’t mean to make this sound like a flamewar – just quoting from ED WOOD. > \*\* Not to worry, I was hoping someone would complete the joke. 🙂 Bump, set and… spike. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-your-favourite-fictional-sidekick/105318.md?page=3)