Sidekicks have become a major part of the superhero structure. Dick Grayson was the first sidekick of them all, first appearing way back in 1940’s Detective Comics #38, and since then, we’ve gotten many, many sidekicks. Sidekicks first came about because creators and editors of the time didn’t think that the young readership would be able to empathize with adult character. Robin was there so that kids could pretend to be him, hanging out with their favorite hero. Since then, sidekicks have risen and fallen in prominence; while the sidekicks of the Bat-Family have almost always been around, other sidekicks have come and gone in waves over the years. We got a new renaissance of sidekicks in the ’90s, and since then, they’ve been a major part of the superhero spectrum at Marvel and DC Comics again.
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Sidekicks have had all kinds of roles over the decades. Sometimes, they’re just co-stars. Sometimes, they’re the stars. And sometimes, they are used as a source of drama for the heroes. Sidekicks dying has been as tried and true a trope of the superhero as any. It has a major effect on the hero, as well as the readers. However, because sidekicks are well-known by readers, these dead sidekicks are often brought back. Sometimes, these dead sidekicks deserved to return. However, there have been other times when they should have dead. These ten sidekicks came back and returned, but it would have better if they had stayed dead.
10) Damian Wayne
Damian Wayne is the current Robin, first introduced during the landmark Grant Morrison run on Batman. Damian is the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul, trained his entire life to be the heir to both Batman and Ra’s al Ghul. Damian made for an interesting Robin at times, but there was something annoying about the character. He’s arrogant and overestimates his own abilities. In the New 52, Damian ended up being killed when Talia went after Batman. It was a pretty shocking death, but it honestly fit the story being told, with Talia burning down everything in her life to try and destroy Batman. However, DC decided to bring Damian back but we didn’t really need him back. Damian is a fine character, and has had some cool turns over the years, but Robins dying and constantly coming back robs the whole thing of any drama. Damian’s death could have led to cool Batman stories, but instead we got him back and very little interesting has been done with him.
9) Sandy the Golden Boy/Sands/Sandman IV
The original Sandman started out as more of a noir-influenced hero, but the success of Batman and other costumed superheroes saw him changed. He was given a traditional superhero costume and a sidekick, Sandy the Golden Boy. Sandy was basically just Robin-lite, much like Speedy was over in the Green Arrow comics, and eventually, he got written out by being transformed into a sand monster. That’s not technically a death, but it was enough to take him out of things for years, as he was put in suspended animation. Eventually, they were able to restore his human form, and he joined the cast of the best superteam of the ’00s JSA. As Sands, he started out as important to the team, but fell far from grace. He’s since taken over as Sandman IV and has done nothing. Bringing him back wasn’t really worth it, as he’s basically just became a background character.
8) Dum Dum Dugan
Dum Dum Dugan is the most famous member of Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos, mostly because of his unique look and his bowler hat. Dugan was long Fury’s right hand man, but a lot of readers forget something important about Dugan. Dum Dum Dugan actually died ages ago, and Fury just kept implanting his consciousness into Life Model Decoy robots because he missed his friend and wanted him around. Fury would end up telling the LMD that he also took the Infinity Formula like Fury did to stay young, but really he’s just a robot. Dugan never really done anything important as an LMD (he was a Skrull leading up to Secret Invasion). He’s better as a dead friend of Fury, Captain America, and Wolverine than he has been as a living character in the present.
7) Toro
The original Human Torch is Marvel’s first superhero, appearing on the cover of Marvel Comics #1. He fought against the Sub-Mariner, and eventually ended up teaming with Namor and Captain America to fight in World War II. During this time, he got his sidekick, Toro. Thomas Raymond was born with fire powers (thanks, somehow, to the fact that his mother worked with asbestos on the original Human Torch robot and his father was exposed to radium). He battled the Nazis alongside Bucky, and he ended up having a life after the war, getting married. Eventually, he came back in the Age of Marvels, and ended up dying helping the Sub-Mariner battle the Thinker. Then he was resurrected, and has since been revealed to be an Inhuman. Toro is a character that no one loves, and there was never any reason to bring back him back at all. The original Human Torch is a great character, but Toro was just an also-ran.
6) Ben Reilly
Spider-Man’s Clone Saga was something of a failure, but we did get a few good characters out of it, including Ben Reilly. Now, there are some out there who would question whether Ben counts as a sidekick, since he was Spider-Man for a while, but an argument can be made that his early days of the Scarlet Spider saw him as Spider-Man’s sidekick. Eventually, he became Spider-Man, and then was killed by a returning Norman Osborn. This was a pretty great death. It fit the story, and it had great emotional stakes. And then Marvel decided to bring him back. Then they killed him again. Then they brought him back again. Since then, he’s become a villain who is jealous of Peter Parker having a life, now known as Chasm, and it’s just terrible. There was no reason to make him into a villain, but there was never any reason to bring him back to life in the first place. Marvel has ruined everything good about the character to make him into stereotypical evil opposite villain.
5) Terra
So, I know what you’re thinking: “Who was Terra a sidekick to?” Well, you’re not going to like the answer. Terra is, in my opinion, the sidekick of Deathstroke, the Titans’ greatest villain. Now, yes, there is a lot to unpack there, and I’m not making any excuses for Deathstroke’s actions with Terra. However, for the sake of this list, Terra is Deathstroke’s sidekick. She joined the Teen Titans to help him destroy them, and he helped train her in the use of her powers. That’s sidekick stuff right there. For some reason, DC constantly brings Terra back. Terra’s death and what it meant to the history of the Titans is too great a moment to constantly resurrect her (she’s currently alive again, working with Deathstroke against the Titans). It takes away so much of what her death meant, and we never really get a satisfactory story out of her returns. Leave her dead.
4) Bucky Barnes
This one is going to controversial, but I don’t think bringing back Bucky has been worth it in the long run. Hear me out. “Winter Soldier” is an excellent story, but part of what makes it so good is that we never expected Bucky to come back. You could sub in any of Captain America’s sidekicks, for example Jack Monroe, and it would have been the same story. Bucky became Captain America for a couple of years, and it was cool, but it never reached the heights that it could have. We had his fake out death in Fear Itself, and since then, Winter Soldier has failed as a character repeatedly. It would be different if Bucky came back to life and was part of amazing story after amazing story, but he hasn’t. Honestly, he either should have never been brought back (I can make a pretty good argument that “Winter Soldier” would have been just as good with Jack Monroe as the Winter Soldier) or should have stayed dead after Fear Itself. We’ve had a lot of mediocre Winter Soldier stories, and that’s about it.
3) Huntress
Huntress was Helena Wayne, the daughter of Earth-Two’s Batman and Catwoman. She ended up taking over protecting Gotham after Batman’s death, alongside Dick Grayson, and was a member of the Justice Society. She made best friends with Power Girl, and ended up dying in Crisis on Infinite Earths. It worked pretty well, but for some reason, DC decided that they needed another Helena, so we got Helena Bartinelli, a vigilante who was more violent and got chewed out by Batman for that constantly. Recently, the Helena Wayne of the future showed up, hung out with the Justice Society for a bit, then went to the future to form a 31st century Justice Society. There really no reason to ever bring back any form of Huntress, but DC just can’t leave legacy alone.
2) Bart Allen
Bart Allen is one of DC’s biggest fumbles. Bart Allen was part of the sidekick renaissance of the ’90s, which was begun by Tim Drake and Superboy. Fans loved Bart as Impulse, and he got his own solo book for years from Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo (it was excellent, and I wish DC put out a new compendium or omnibus). It would get cancelled and he’d be moved over to Young Justice, which would then lead to him becoming Kid Flash in Teen Titans. Fans still loved him and then he got the same chance that Wally West had gotten in Infinite Crisis. Bart was integral to defeating Superboy-Prime in Infinite Crisis #4, and then he returned at the end of the book as an adult, having aged in the Speed Force. He became the Flash, but fans didn’t like it all, and he was killed off. He returned a few years later in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds to help fight Superboy-Prime, and since then has done nothing. He was part of the disastrous New 52 Teen Titans books, and has since become Impulse again. However, the Flash Family has grown past him, with Wallace West taking his place as Kid Flash, and Jai and Irey West becoming the next generation of speedsters. Bart Allen was once amazing, but since his return, there’s been no reason for him to be around. Even his return to the Impulse mantle couldn’t save him.
1) Jason Todd
Jason Todd is a huge missed opportunity in every way, both in the past and in the present. Jason was meant to replace Dick Grayson. Pre-Crisis Jason was basically just Dick by another name (even their origins are basically the same), and he would get his more mouthy, angry origin in the post-Crisis years. However, fans never cottoned to him, and that led to his death. Now, DC could have done more with the character, but they messed up in the past. However, his death was the best thing to happen to him, because he major part of Batman’s story. He was Batman’s failure, and it worked. Then, they brought him back. Now, if he would have stayed a villain, I think Jason Todd as Red Hood would have worked very well. However, making him into a hero was a huge mistake, because he just became another edgy anti-hero type character. His resurrection takes away a lot of what his original death meant. If you like Jason Todd, that’s great, but you know deep in your heart that he was better off dead.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm.
