Batman: Superheroes, Sidekicks and Their Friends

Batman, Iron Man, Superman, The Punisher, The Fantastic Four, Spiderman and Buffy The Vampire Slayer all share the same thing: they fight evil, either alone or in a group. Sky High's Coach Boomer divides his freshman class of super-people into two groups, heroes or side-kicks. Of course, each hero has his choice of who he tells about his hero identity and the private war fought against the seedy underbelly of their city. Some superheroes fight with a tight knit group of "non-super" people who know their secret, keep it, and put their own touch on the hero's operation. I'm going to divide them into five separate groups: superhero, sidekick, secret-keeper, oblivious accomplice and weapons-master. The first group is the easy one: The Superhero. This person is a benevolent fictional character with superhuman abilities. This is the leader of our team, it's his persona that "the bad guy" fears. He sets the tone for the style of the operation and chooses who to fight and how to live outside his superhero personae. It's his choice to include others in the fight and which level his private and public worlds are made aware of the man behind the mask. Some choose to be publicly known, such as Iron Man and The Fantastic Four, while others choose to hide themselves from the public and their family and friends. Most choose the latter to safeguard those who they love, while others keep their public face secret and let a small group know. For instance, initially only one person knows that sixteen-year-old Buffy is The Slayer, her watcher, Giles. Batman is initially this model, too. Alfred is the only one who knows initially knows that Batman's public face is Bruce Wayne, but he eventually lets others into his confidence, building a network of people who are hip to his real mask. Working alongside the superhero is his close associate, but sometimes equally skilled friend and partner, or, as Coach Boomer would call him: "SIDEKICK!!!" This person has different skills to the superhero, but is dedicated to the same goal. His origins have an initially dark past linked with the superhero. Most often, it's someone who's younger and inexperienced, suffering a loss that is caused by a chosen inaction by the hero which devastates their world. They discover, on their own, the public identity of the hero and demand to join the team. Sometimes, however, as is the case with Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's one of the hero's friends who's gained a skill, leveling the risk taken fighting "the bad guy." Or sometimes, the hero is just incapable of taking on his opposition by himself, such as is the case with War Machine in Iron Man 2. Robin comes from the dark past angle, as his parents and brother are killed by Two Face Harvey Dent because they are trying to stop a terrorist attack by Two Face who's trying to call out Batman. Batgirl, on the other hand, is a skilled fighter and daredevil, who discovers the Batcave on her own and chooses to help Batman and Robin fight Poison Ivy, Bane and Mr. Freeze. She later proposes joining them, to which Batman agrees. Borrowing the term from the Harry Potter Series, The Secret-Keeper is self-defined. These are people who are aware of both sides of a Super-Hero's schizoid personality and choose, sometimes to their peril, to seriously keep the public identity confidential. Whereas sidekicks and weapons-masters can also be secret-keepers, secret-keepers are not always on the front lines. Pepper Potts, Mary-Jane, Lois Lane and Xander Harris are prime examples of those who sometimes are on the front lines but sometimes are made to stay behind while the battle rages. Alfred Pennyworth, Vicki Vale, Chase Meridian and Rachel Dawes are Batman's Secret Keepers who don't fight on the front lines. Richard Grayson, Barbara and Lucius Fox are secret-keepers who are either sidekicks or weapons masters. Although it can also be said that Alfred is a weapons-master also, due to the fact that he is responsible for the kit that Batman, Robin and Batgirl use for four of the six films. Speaking of weapons-masters: this is the person responsible for the weapons, armor and vehicles that the superhero and his sidekick use. JARVIS, with instructions from Tony Stark, is Iron Man's weapons-master. Rupert Giles is Buffy's. Reed Richards does the kit for the Fantastic Four, which mostly consists of their uniforms, but there is a vehicle involved. For the Burton and Schumacher eras, Alfred is Batman's weapons-master, as he fixes, designs and suggests possible armor, vehicles and weapons for Batman, Robin and Batgirl to use. The position is shared in the Nolan Era by Alfred and Lucius Fox, who in The Dark Knight, helps out with Batman's fight against the Joker in the final showdown. Leaving the last one, the oblivious accomplice. This is someone who is aware of, and helps, the superhero but doesn't know his public face as the one behind the mask. This is best exemplified by Jim Gordon of Gotham's Police Force during the Nolan Era. Gordon, during the Nolan Era, is the only clean cop on the force and Batman assists him in bringing in the mob boss of the city. However, he's not aware of who Bruce Wayne plays during his off hours. This is clearly portrayed during the Joker's hospital hostage situation when Bruce saves the Joker's intended target and plays dumb when Gordon checks on him. Superman's Lois Lane personifies this character in Superman, although she eventually figures out that Clark Kent is Superman. As I've said, I like a diverse cast; but, in order for a great cast to happen, good characters must be present. And I'm not just attracted to the bad side of the story, I like seeing well-done "good guys," too. And the Batman series is full of wonderfully fleshed out "good guys." **** Coming Soon: Batman: A Series Analysis