Sidekick Some Ass! (Writing Workshop)

Ah, the sidekick. An oft overlooked, but (if done properly) ever present force for your storytelling good. When I wrote Cheating Your Way To Likable Characters, I talked a bit about how giving your main character a friend is one of the most important things you can do in establishing your main character’s likability. A good friend/sidekick can be one of the most important/valuable tools you keep hidden in your storytelling toolbox.

When used correctly they help establish tone, backstory, subtle infodumping, and opportunity for banter/dialogue. Think back on the old Adam West era Batman and Robin. Surely this ranks as one of the hokiest shows of all time, but the relationship between Batman and Robin serves to illustrate almost all of the aforementioned points.

Robin is sort of slow on the uptake, which means Batman is constantly explaining things to him (and by extension, the viewer). Robin sets Batman up for all sorts of witty quips which adds a layer of comedic relief to what could be considered (if not for all the KAPOW! cut scenes) dramatic/intense scenes.

In a lot of classic stories the MC is significantly cooler than the sidekick. I mean, just the title sidekick is, if not derogatory, then certainly demeaning. But that’s not always the case. In fact, in recent years there has been a reversal of roles. By that, I mean the sidekicks start off the story significantly more awesome than our MC. As the story progresses, and the main character grows in terms of skill, ability, and confidence, the power relationship undergoes an inversion.

A good way to think about this is as follows:

In the beginning we relate to the MC, but we want to be the sidekick.

No, I’m not talking about Batman and Robin anymore. I’m talking Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, Neo and Trinity.

Consider Han and Luke. When we meet Han Solo, he is a rough and tumble, roguishly good looking, quick with the quips sort of bad-ass.

Luke on the other hand spends the first half of the movie whining, learning not to stab himself with a lightsaber, and pretty much trying his hardest not to get in everybody’s way.

By the end of the series, Han hasn’t evolved much, however. He becomes a better person, sure. But in terms of skill and ability, there isn’t much of an arc there. Luke, by comparison, goes from a limp-wristed farm hand to a Force wielding sociopath (or something, I’m not remembering very clearly how the whole series ended. Pretty sure Luke does some father killing, yes?).

So throughout the story we relate to Luke, because he’s flaunting levels of ineptitude we’d all probably find ourselves in possession of–

–but secretly we want to be Han.

Of course, that relationship changes over time. If it doesn’t, then I hate to break it to you, but your MC might be lame-sauce.

Sorry, bro.

Alright, let’s reinforce the point by using the example of Neo and Trinity from the Matrix. We relate to Neo, after all he is the everyman quite literally granny-tossed down the rabbit hole. In the first Matrix (the only one really worth watching, by the way) he spends the first 3/4 of the movie getting his ass kicked by every dude and dudette sporting a blazer or leather duster.

Lord, bless his soul, he tries, but sometimes being the One isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Luckily we have characters like Trinity who swoop in to save the day with their repeated bad-assery. Trinity isn’t exactly a fount of personality, but there’s no denying she’s an ass-kicker in that first movie.

By the end of the Matrix, though, Trinity hasn’t really changed much. Sure, her candy-coated exterior of I-don’t-give-a-fuck has been cracked, but she’s not significantly more capable than in the beginning of the movie when she’s handing out naps to a building full of cops.

Neo, by contrast, stops motherfriggin’ bullets.

It would be reverse hyperbole to say he hasn’t come very far in terms of skill and ability. What do they call that? Understatement? Hm… seems like there should be a cooler word for that.

Oh, well.

Point is, we start the movie relating to Neo, but wishing we were like Trinity.

Sidekicks such as Trinity and Han Solo give our MC’s a pedestal for which to aim. If you’re writing a story with this sort of relationship, then you need to be thinking about slowly inverting the power discrepancy.

Seriously, if I get to the end of your story, and the sidekick is still cooler than your MC, I’m gonna be extraordinarily pissed at you mainly because it’ll have felt like we were following the wrong character.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Watson and Sherlock Holmes serve as a good counterpoint. Watson is our Point-of-View character, but Sherlock is the protagonist. An argument could therefore be made that Sherlock is in fact Watson’s sidekick. That makes Sherlock either a really cool sidekick, or Watson a really lame MC, depending on your perspective.

Another example would be Sam and Frodo. Personally, I always thought Sam was way cooler than Frodo. Less whining, more doing.

(This example is weird, because it doesn’t really go through a power inversion.Ultimately Frodo can’t take much responsibility for the completion of his quest. Then again, I’m a Frodo hater, so take my words with a grain of salt).

One of my favorite sidekicks in recent cinema was Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy. Part of that could be the fact he is a super-intelligent, rocket wielding Raccoon, which is pretty much the definition of awesome. (Seriously, check the dictionary. I’m not kidding.)

At the beginning of the story he is saving the day, breaking the team out of prison, and doing all the heavy mental lifting. We sort of want to be like Rocket (fluffy and with a tail), not Starlord who strikes us as sort of a screw-up. The relationship undergoes a power-inversion, however, and by the end, Starlord is saving the galaxy and getting the nod as team leader.

Anyways, I cooked all of this up during my last meth-dream, so take from it what you will. Juts some observations about character relationships and how you can use them to subvert/exceed reader expectations. Think about playing with it in your own fiction. See how deep you can go with it.

Now, do me a favor, prance on over to the comments page and tell me about some of your favorite hero/sidekick relationships. There’s no rush, but seriously, do it now.

I’m waiting.