A sidekick is a stock character, a close companion who assists a partner in a superior position. Sancho Panza in Don Quixote, Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes, and Robin, Batman's companion, are some well-known sidekicks.

The origin of the term comes from pickpocket slang of the late 19th and early 20th century. The "kick" is the front side pocket of a pair of trousers, and was found to be the safest pocket from thieves. Thus the "side-kick" became an inseparable companion. (^*)

In fiction, the term sidekick most commonly refers to assistants to heroes, usually in a crimefighting capacity. The sidekick has the literary function of playing against the hero, often contrasting in skill, asking the questions the reader would ask, or performing functions not suited to the hero.

Those functions may include being funny. The comic sidekick was a common feature in westerns, where Fuzzy Knight, Al "Fuzzy" St. John, and Andy Devine had longer careers than some of the heroic singing cowboys for whom they took pratfalls. In science fiction a subtype of sidekick has been established - namely, the Alien sidekick.

A villain's supporters are normally called henchmen, minions, or lackeys, not sidekicks. While this is partially a convention in terminology, it also reflects that few villains are capable of bonds of friendship and loyalty, which are normal in the relationship between a hero and sidekick.

See also

• List of Sidekicks

Stock characters | Fictional sidekicks

Sidekick | Csatlós | Sidekick | Sidekick | Sidekick