5 DC Heroes Who Would Be Amazing With a Full-Time Sidekick

The sidekick has long been a venerable part of storytelling for what is almost certainly millennia. A sidekick adds things to the story that wouldn’t be there without them, allowing us to see the situation, the main character, and the world through another set of eyes. DC Comics brought the sidekick to superheroes in 1940, creating Dick Grayson as a reader insert. It worked like a charm and eventually the superhero sidekick became one of the most important parts of superhero comics. Over the years, we’ve gotten all kinds of sidekicks, from young people looking for a chance to become a hero, older people who want to help their heroic friends, and various other kinds, from partners both platonic and romantic all the way to former villains out for redemption.

One of the things that fans quickly realized is that not every hero needs a sidekick. DC has tried to give many heroes who don’t need one a sidekick and it doesn’t ever stick. However, there are some heroes who would be even better with a sidekick that rarely get to keep one. These heroes could use a full-time partner for a variety of reasons and it would make them much more popular. These five DC heroes should get a full-time sidekick, passing on what they’ve learned and making their stories that much better.

5) Cyborg

Cyborg was one of the best Teen Titans, helping make the team into a pop culture phenomenon. He was a key part of the New Teen Titans and has become one of DC’s most beloved heroes. In 2011, he was given the biggest push of his existence and made into a founder of the Justice League in the New 52 (something which has stuck, with that added to his origin; he still becomes a Titan, unlike in the New 52, he just first appeared with the League against Darkseid and then his father had to work on him more), but DC has mostly dropped the ball with the character.

Cyborg is one of those characters who works solo but has never really found an audience. A sidekick could help change that. Cyborg is one of the most skilled heroes around and he plays well of numerous characters; you could even make the argument that Beast Boy was his sidekick for years and it worked perfectly. Giving him a sidekick would show that he’s ready to become a mentor, which will make him feel more important.

4) Catwoman

Catwoman has become one of the most popular characters in comics, starting out as a villain and growing into one of the best anti-heroes in Gotham. Catwoman is a character who works well on her own, but she’s always been best when playing off other characters. She has acted as Batman’s sidekick many times over the years and has worked with Holly Robinson, Slam Bradley, and many others. Selina Kyle is popular on her own, but putting her with another character is often magic.

Catwoman is a character who almost always has a book (her current solo series is one of the highest-numbered Big Two series currently in comics), but it’s rarely a book anyone talks about. The right sidekick can do wonders for a book and Catwoman is exactly the kind of character who works best when she’s with other characters. I’ll be honest – ever since “Gotham War”, I’ve wanted to see Selina and Jason Todd as partners actually done right, so he would be great choice. However, even if it isn’t him, a sidekick would do wonders for Selina.

3) Hawkman

Hawkman is a DC legend, having survived 86 years of continuity reboots, multiversal shenanigans, and an origin that somehow only started to make sense the more complicated its gotten. Hawkman usually fights alongside Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman, but she has never been his sidekick; they have been equal partners. Earth-Two Hawkman had a son Hector (who became Silver Scarab and much later Doctor Fate before dying) and his foster son Northwind, but neither of them were really sidekicks. It’s about time DC changes that.

Hawkman is one of the most experienced heroes in the DC Multiverse, so he has a lot of pass on. On top of that, he’s exactly the kind of character who would be fun with young, mouthy sidekick, someone who will challenge him as a mentor and hero. Hawkman with a sidekick would be like when Batman is annoyed taken to the Nth (metal) degree, which is always fun to read. Hawkman needs a boost and a sidekick is exactly what’s missing.

2) Zatanna

Zatanna is the Justice League’s premiere magic user and the current Prime Magus, protecting the DC Multiverse from the biggest magical threats. She’s become a legend over the years, battling the most dangerous foes and coming in clutch for both the regular and Dark versions of the Justice League. She also is known as one of the most pleasant people in the superhuman community, a caring, compassionate person who sees the good in anyone, even someone like John Constantine.

Zatanna has done her best over the years to step into her father’s place in the magical community. Giovanni Zatara trained her and numerous others and it’s about time that she got to this phase of her life. She has so much experience and plays off all manner of characters nicely. Zatanna with a sidekick is way more of a no-brainer than it seems, especially when you remember that there are characters out there like Alice 13 or Witchfire who could use a mentor.

1) Nightwing

Nightwing is a bona fide icon, one of the most popular fictional characters of the 20th century. Dick Grayson first appeared as a sidekick and became the best of all time. Every sidekick that came after him was basically trying to be him for their hero, and he’s helped change the way superhero comics work many times. He was the leader of the New Teen Titans and the Titans, has acted as Batman, and is one of the most important heroes in the metahuman community; he’s ranked right below the Trinity (and there’s an argument to be that it Quartet).

Nightwing has worked with lots of heroes over the years and even just had a sidekick named Nightwing-Prime. It was awesome, but it didn’t last and it made a lot of fans realize how great Dick would be if he always had a sidekick. He’s exactly the kind of hero you’d want to mentor others and has so much to teach. On top of all that, he’s the kind of character that you can play off just about any other kind successfully. Nightwing needs a sidekick and readers deserve for him to have one.

What DC hero do you think needs a sidekick? Any of these you disagree with? Sound off in the comments below.

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