Boy (And Girl) Wonders: Batman’s 10 Greatest Sidekicks

Despite being the poster boy for lonely, brooding superheroes, Batman has one of the biggest supporting casts of sidekicks and allies in comic book history. As The LEGO Batman Movie so insightfully pointed out, Bruce Wayne lost his biological family as a boy and so has built up his own surrogate family in adulthood. But what constitutes a sidekick? For this list, we're defining the term as any costumed character who routinely acts as Batman's partner in crime-fighting. Thereby, plain clothes characters who don't usually help in the field are disqualified - so commiserations to Commissioner Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth. Likewise, the same goes for those Batfamily-related heroes who are more known for operating independently of the Dark Knight, like Terry McGinnis' Batman, Huntress and Batwoman. But even with these exclusions, the Caped Crusader still has more sidekicks than batarangs. There's Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael), Gotham Girl (Claire Clover) and most recently, Duke Thomas, the yelllow-suited sidekick who's gone by the superhero names Lark and The Signal. But if none of these characters made it into the top 10 Batman sidekicks of all-time, then who did? Read on to find out... 10) Ace The Bat-Hound Ah, the Silver Age and its obsession with super-pets. Just as Superman had Krypto the Superdog and Supergirl had Streaky the Supercat, Batman and Robin were joined in their adventures by Ace the Bat-Hound. He even had his own cowl - to cover up the distinctive star-like mark on his forehead, lest anyone recognize him as Bruce Wayne's dog. Back in the day, Ace was an indispensable ally in Batman's quest to clean up Gotham as the canine crusader was adept at sniffing out clues, helping his master out of danger and giving criminals a hard time. He hasn't been a proper sidekick for decades, but Ace will always have a special place in the Batfamily. He holds such a fondness in the hearts of Bat-fans, in fact, that he's been brought back in various less campy versions over the years. Elderly Bruce's pooch in Batman Beyond was named Ace and Damian's pet dog in current comics, Titus, is a clear homage to the original Bat-Hound. 9) Batman Incorporated OK, so we're kind of stretching the definition of sidekick by including the global network of Batman wannabes that is Batman Incorporated. However, they're distinctly part of the Bat-brand and default to Bruce Wayne as their ringleader. So, they do technically operate at his side... Just on a global scale. After returning from the dead, Bruce Wayne decided that he needed to take his work as Batman to the next level and so created a worldwide unit of Bat-related vigilantes under his command. Batman's multinational recruits include Black Bat (Congo), Dark Ranger (Australia), Nightrunner (France) and Knight (England). Batman Inc. was a fresh approach to the Dark Knight's tendency to recruit soldiers in his endless war against crime, as this time he'd actually formed an entire global army. The individual members of the worldwide network aren't usually particular standouts, but the idea of there being a Batman for every country is too awesome to discount. 8) Carrie Kelley It's testament to how much of an impact Carrie Kelley made that she's on this list despite being non-canon. In Frank Miller's seminal grim n' gritty The Dark Knight Returns, an aged Bruce Wayne returns to crime-fighting after years out of the cowl. Of course, where there's Batman, there needs to be a Robin and Carrie Kelley was the plucky teen who got to don the red and green togs this time. Despite growing up in a crime-ridden Gotham with two neglectful parents, Carrie was a brave and optimistic soul who sought to become Robin out of her own volition. Her guts so impressed Batman that he recruited her and the new dynamic duo went on to face the brutal Mutants gang. In the (far inferior) sequel, The Dark Knight Strikes Back, Carrie stays on as Batman's sidekick but has graduated from being Robin. Now, clad in a leopardskin unitard, she operates as Catgirl. Though she isn't part of mainstream DC continuity, Carrie deserves some kudos for being the first ever female Robin. But she wouldn't be the last... 7) Stephanie Brown Batman's sidekicks always go through the wars, but Stephanie Brown has had a tougher time than most in service of saving Gotham City. A teenage mother who put her child up for adoption, she's also the victim of attempted rape and torture. The fact that she's always soldiered on to fight the good fight proves just how much of a hero she is. The daughter of supervillain the Cluemaster, Stephanie defied her father and became a crime-fighting vigilante known as Spoiler. After starting a relationship with Tim Drake, Stephanie's begrudgingly accepted by Batman into the Batfamily. Despite her testy relationship with Bruce, she later briefly took over as Robin. However, this ended in her apparent death. Probably motivated by the controversy her violent end caused, this was later retconned away and Stephanie returned, later becoming the fifth Batgirl - making her the only hero to sport the mantle of both Robin and Batgirl. As of The New 52, her journey has come full circle, as she's returned to being Spoiler. 6) Cassandra Cain Raised to be the world's greatest assassin by her villainous parents David Cain and Lady Shiva, Cassandra grew up to be a master martial artist but was deprived of a formal education and social interaction to the point where she was mute and illiterate (though she's later given a mental boost by a telepath). Despite her background, Cassandra proves herself fiercely protective of human life and is quickly welcomed into the Batfamily as Batgirl. Fans took to her, too, with the Eurasian Cassandra being acclaimed as one of the first non-Caucasian Batfamily members. She was even the first Batgirl to receive her own solo series. Over the years, though, she's left the Batgirl mantle behind and has gone on to become known as Black Bat and, currently, Orphan. So far, Cassie has never been brought to the screen, despite her popularity. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has said though that if he ever worked for DC he would make a Cassandra Cain Batgirl movie. So, who knows? Hopefully the character will get her due at some point. 5) Damian Wayne Damian's Robin marks a big change from Batman's usual sidekicks. After decades of training up his adoptive children as superheroes, Damian is Bruce Wayne's actual, biological son. Initially brought up by his mother Talia al Ghul - yes, another supervillain parent - Damian had been trained by the League of Assassins his whole life. If any kid's capable of being Batman's partner, it's him. The trouble is that Damian knows that he's a child prodigy and has a serious narcissist complex. Due to his mother's influence, he was initially violent and lacking his father's moral code. However, over time, Batman rubbed off on him. He even died a tragic hero's death during a battle with his grandpappy Ra's al Ghul. Don't worry, though, this is comics we're talking about, so he soon came back. Nowadays, Damian has become a firm fan favourite and is also a major player in DC Rebirth. He remains the current Robin, has formed a partnership with Superman's son Superboy and is head of the Teen Titans. Bruce must be proud. 4) Jason Todd We've proven by now that death is no obstacle if you're a sidekick of Batman's, but sometimes it can actually improve a character. Take Jason Todd, for instance. As the first successor to Dick Grayson as Robin, Jason was hated by fans for replacing a beloved favourite and for his generally irritating attitude. In response, DC gave fans a choice: vote to save Jason or vote to kill him off. And so, in one of the most controversial moments in DC history, readers voted in favour of murder and Jason came to meet a grisly end at the hands of the Joker. And that seemed to be it... Until he returned decades later, rebooted, redesigned and a whole lot cooler. Now calling himself Red Hood, the revived Todd is unique amongst the Batfamily for packing heat. As a former victim of the Joker's, Jason knows the outcome of Batman's own leniency with Gotham's criminals and is not going to let any get away on his watch. Hopefully we'll be seeing Red Hood in the movies soon, as Jason's death has been hinted at in both Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. 3) Tim Drake While Jason Todd never lived up to Dick Grayson during his original tenure as Robin, the third Boy Wonder didn't have any such trouble. Tim Drake immediately set himself apart from Dick by way of one area in which he surpassed his predecessor: Tim had almost as fine a mind as Batman. With incredible powers of deduction, Tim was a born detective. He even worked out Batman and Robin's secret identities before he knew them. Over his twenty year stretch as Robin, Drake not only served as Batman's partner but also led the Teen Titans, much like Grayson had before him, and was a founding member of Young Justice, along with his best bud Superboy (Conner Kent). Tim didn't even vacate the role of Robin by choice, as he was forcibly replaced with Damian when Dick Grayson took over as Batman. But, as is par for the course for former Robins, Tim later took up a different superhero mantle once he'd matured - in his case, he became Red Robin. Thanks to his long history and appearance in the beloved The New Batman Adventures (where he was partially blended with Jason Todd), Tim Drake is Robin for a generation of Batman fans. 2) Barbara Gordon Barbara Gordon might not be the first Batgirl - that honor falls to the oft-forgotten Betty Kane - but she's by far the most iconic and beloved holder of that title. Initially created in conjunction with the 1960s Batman TV series, Babs has grown to become one of the most perennially popular female heroes in all of comics. One of the character's defining moments is her paralysis at the hands of the Joker. Though still highly criticized today, Barbara's proactive attitude towards her disability was praised, as she didn't let it keep her from crime-fighting. Instead, she became Batman's indispensable tech support, under the codename Oracle, and started up the all-female superteam the Birds of Prey. In recent years, Barbara's regained the use of her legs and is now operating as Batgirl once again. And with Joss Whedon working on the character's first solo outing, it seems like things are looking up for her. 1) Dick Grayson As brilliant as Babs is, there's only one who can be named Batman's greatest sidekick. The original and the best Boy Wonder, Richard 'Dick' Grayson. Over his near eighty years of history, Dick has gone through one of the most dramatic evolutions of any comic book character. He's come a long way since being the orphaned circus acrobat that Bruce Wayne took into his care and subsequently trained up as his sidekick. Perhaps the big turning point for Grayson's character was the creation of the Teen Titans, which he formed with a bunch of other child sidekicks, as it proved that Dick didn't need to be at Batman's side to save the day. This led to him distancing himself from his former mentor and operating as Nightwing, watching over Gotham's neighboring city Bludhaven as its protector. Grayson has even donned Batman's cowl himself a few times over the years, when Bruce has been indisposed/suffering from a broken back/dead, but has never felt truly comfortable as the Dark Knight. There aren't many sidekicks who are as famous as their hero, but Dick Grayson, as the original Robin, can claim that rare honour. As both the upcoming Titans TV series and Nightwing solo movie show, wherever there's Batman, Dick Grayson is never far behind.