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.
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”.
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
Cheeks, the Toy Wonder!
“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
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?
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.)
I’ll see your Bunter and raise a Jeeves and since Alfred has already been played…
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.
My favorites are:
Hawk, Spenser’s Real Man
Gabrielle, Xena’s girlfriend
and of course: Kato, Green Hornet’s fighter.
Arthur from The Tick is the perfect longsuffering straight man.
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.
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.
River Runner,
Jack Aubrey is definitely the sidekick …
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”
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
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?
Chewbacca
Also, Slinky Dog from Toy Story.
Skywise, Cutter’s lieutenant from Elfquest.
Apache Dick from The Trouble With Girls.
Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Gabrielle fromXena, 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.
Not to worry, I was hoping someone would complete the joke. 
Bump, set and… spike.