DC comics has been home to many sidekicks following the introduction of Robin in 1940 and the concept has been a staple of superhero comics ever since. While not every sidekick can be as iconic as the many Robins Batman has had over the years, every hero brings something new to the table for sidekicks. Even villains have had their sidekicks, with these frequently younger characters even branching off into their own stories. Now with DC not actively doing anything with the Young Justice or Teen Titans teams, the awesome sidekicks have more or less just become interesting cameos in the larger stories of their heroes and villains and frankly, that’s a shame.
Here are 7 DC sidekicks that honestly deserve more love on the pages of comics. And, don’t think we stuck entirely to heroes here. There are some great villain sidekicks out there that we’d like to see more of, too. Let’s get into it.
1) Speedy
Our first pick is the second Speedy, Mia Dearden. Taking up the mantle from Roy Harper aka Arsenal, we have our faithful sidekick to Green Arrow. Mia first appeared as an orphan living on the streets of Star City when Oliver Queen returned. Oliver ended up taking her under his proverbial wing which lead to the girl suiting up as his sidekick. The duo’s dynamic out of costume is less of a father/daughter and more of older brother and younger sister who idolizes her brother and it’s perfect.
When she’s in Green Arrow’s book she adds a fun personality with Oliver that nobody has matched and made the Speedy role her own. Roy’s time was met with hardships and addiction while Mia brought back the role with pride. Even with a diagnosis of HIV at the age of fifteen, she still manages to thrive as a hero. Truly one of the most unique sidekicks and hands down the best one for Green Arrow (besides Connor — more on that later on.)
2) Spoiler
Stephanie Brown has the notable distinction of being both Robin and Batgirl while also having her main identity, Spoiler. First appearing asTim Drake’s love interest, she is one of the main members of the Bat Family to enter without being recruited. Although her father is Cluemaster, she didn’t enter through his death, or an act of vengeance or being adopted by Bruce Wayne like the rest of Batman’s sidekicks.
Since then she has mostly remained as Spoiler often filling a more comedic role for Batman. As she and Batman are mismatched partners, she adds a fun dynamic when she’s with the team, though in terms of her time as Robin, she doesn’t get the creditshe deserves. She’s a great character that adds a lot to character dynamics and has shined greatly in leading roles and needs more of them.
3) Superboy
The Boy of Steel aka Conner Kent is a clone of Kal-El with a different power set. Debuting after the fallout of “The Death of Superman,” Conner became a new hit for DC. He’s only gotten better as he’s been around so why doesn’t DC do more with him? He’s been in and out of books having more appearances than anyone on the list but feels inconsistent. With two very being ideas of what he’s like from his classic look to his Geoff Johns take, he’s all over the place.
Conner has lacked urgency since he’s not on a team with other characters like him and since Jon Kent arrived. Both he and Jon are great, but the original Superboy has been shafted the same way and is stuck as second best when he’s been around longer.
4) Wonder Girl
Cassie Sandsmark is one of the many girls to use the mantle of Wonder Girl. Cassie was created as a new, younger sidekick as Donna Troy aged up with the likes of the New Teen Titans cast. When Young Justice was around, she was created a bit before that to join up with that teenage DC hero cast. Armed with her own lasso that controls Zeus’ lighting she made a name for herself.
On the surface, Cassie gets lost behind Donna Troy as well as Yara Flor who all out rank her in age. But she’s been around for a while and never gets her proper credit despite being a big help to Diana. She adds a more human element to the Wonder Woman mythos being a demigod rather than full on Amazonian. She is sorely missed outside of her current cameo’s in Tom King’s Wonder Woman.
5) Connor Hawke
Our second pick from Green Arrow’s family is his son Connor Hawke. While you could argue, Connor is a main in Green Arrow’s book why is he here? Connor not only was a great sidekick but he was Green Arrow when his father died briefly. He’s a master archer and knows when to make the right calls as a hero yet that’s all he gets. He doesn’t even have an alternate identity, he’s just Connor.
While Roy is on the Titans currently and who knows where the rest of Oliver’s supporting cast is, Connor was only ever on the Justice League, but only to fill his father’s spot, not because he was wanted as a hero in his own right. He deserves so much more.
6) Impulse
Bart Allen has gone by Impulse and Kid Flash on multiple occasions and is stuck in a similar place as Connor Hawke. He had his own solo series but was retconned into a different character in the New 52 as Bar Torr. Once Rebirth happened, he slowly returned to the main universe and he’s just been stagnant since. Add to that, the character really only gets utilized within the Flash family, unlike other sidekicks who have had mixed teams at various points and it just feels like wasted opportunity.
7) Punchline
Last but certainly not least, where has Punchline been the past few years? While you could argue she’s just Joker’s love interest, she definitely works with him as an accomplice and sidekick. Concocting her own schemes and doing it all because she finds him intelligent, she’s been a modern fan favorite. So where has she been? In the past few years we’ve seen cameos of her here and there but nothing major.
I’m not saying we need more Joker, we have plenty of him, but if he does get more appearances, she should be there too. There’s a lot more with the concept of her being in love with the Joker and being an inverse of Harley as she willingly went for him and wasn’t manipulated. There’s a lot there DC could work with.
What sidekick at DC do you think needs more love? Let us know down in the comments.
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