No Love for the Sidekick

Why is it that whenever there is a heroic accomplishment by a group of people one gets remembered and the other doesn’t? It has happened multiple times over hundreds of years and no one has said anything. I am going to take a stand and announce that the sidekick never gets enough credit. Yup I said it, someone had to do it. The little guy never gets any of the fame or the respect compared to the main protagonist of any book, movie, game or anything!

Take someone like Michael Jordan, everyone knows who he is. People who don’t even watch the sport of basketball know who the best basketball player of all time is and that is Michael Jordan. What about his right hand men Scottie Pippin and Dennis Rodman? If you say those names to the average person they would say, who the heck is that? Sure, Jordan was the arguably the greatest of all time, but if he didn’t have Pippin and Rodman, he would have not been the same legendary player without them.

How about Luigi from Mario, he is always there for Mario every step of the way, but all he gets is a pat on the back while Mario gets the princess and all of the attention. How about Batman and Robin? Batman gets his own movies and stardom while Robin just sits back being the nice guy who gets none of that spotlight. The list can go on and on, I am talking lists and lists of duos where one always outshines the other.

Every music band has a main singer, drummer and a guitarist. Guess who gets all of the credit, fame and attention from all of the fans? You named it, the lead singer of course. What fan would brag about that them getting an autograph from the drummer or the back up guitarist, not many. The drummer and the guitarist are the ones who work the hardest and are probably the most talented. Yet the main singer gets all of the credit because they in the front and center of the stage.

Ever hear of the famous phrase it takes two to tango? I am sure you have, it pretty much means that without one there would not be the other. Say a pitcher throws a perfect game in baseball, that means that he doesn’t allow a single hit or walk the whole entire game. The only person who ever gets credit for the perfect game is the pitcher, but what about the eight other players on the field? The catcher is the one who calls what pitch the pitcher throws and there are also seven fielders who have to make sure they do their part and field any ball put into play, so that the pitcher could achieve a perfect game.

It is time that Robin, Luigi, Scottie Pippin, Dennis Rodman, all the other sidekicks and back ups take a stand. They need to stand up and say, hey you know that Michael Jordan guy? He was good and all, but without me he wouldn’t be the star he is today. Luigi needs to stop helping Mario all of the time and Robin needs to get his own movie, Robin the Green Knight. Let’s make it happen!