Top 8 Groovy Kid Sidekicks

 

 

If your lil geek has watched Young Justice or The Teen Titans, they may already be getting the sidekick bug.  As a young geek in training, I was fascinated by the concept of sidekicks.  How cool would it be to be the partner of one of the world coolest superheroes.  While all us geeks young and older can admire world’s superheroes, it’s the sidekicks that carry us into the world that few kids get to see.  I think it may be time for the TOP 8 GROOVY SIDEKICKS list.  These are characters that your kid may become inexplicably obsessed with as they begin their Geek journey and now you will be equipped to talk intelligently about them.  Some can be found in cartoons (in one form or another), they wear costumes and while they are all fun to watch or read about, they also serve as role models.  I personally like the idea that even you can stand side by side with the coolest hero on earth and punch evil in the face.

 

#8 The Wonder Twins

 

I know I’m old and these characters are lost in limbo, but at one point on my life, I loved them.  They were sidekicks to all of the Super Friends.  They were strangely alien, looked kinda like elves, they had a pet monkey and they are definitely groovy.  I won’t go into their powers, because I realize that for the last 2 decades they have been relegated to punchlines.  But as a kid, me and my friends would smash our hands together and scream “Wonder Twins Powers, activate!”  They deserve a shout out and i’m giving them one.  While they appeared in an episode of Smallville, I’m still waiting for the kid friendly-no apologies-cheesy cartoon on cartoon network.  Come on guys, we all know kids would go crazy for those wonder twin rings.

 

#7 Bucky Barnes

Why haven’t we seen an awesome Captain America and Bucky kids comic or cartoon?  He is young and tough and is essentially Robin.  Oh Yeah, he carries a gun, kills Nazis and was blown up on a rocket.  While he is from a pretty violent time in comics, I think a softer version might actually catch on with patriotic little geeks or maybe The Patriot from Young Avengers can fill that role.  Speaking of Young Avengers.

 

 

 

 

 

#6 The Young Avengers

This group of young heroes are not technically sidekicks, but they are awesome and they are very groovy.  They all have possible connections to popular Avengers and they all have very cool personalities.  With the Avengers getting so much Hollywood buzz, I think the Patriot, Hawkingbird, Hulkling, Wiccan, Speed, and Iron Lad may find their way into cartoon lore pretty soon.

 

 

 

#5 Butterfly

Butterfly is a creation of Dean Trippe and it is genius.  He is the sidekick to a sidekick.  Totally cheesy and totally adorable.  Butterfly fights crime with the hopes to become your friend.  It’s different, fun and cute.  A sidekick story for the youngest of lil geeks.

 

#4 Donna Troy/Wonder Girl

Wonder Girl has been around forever and she is about to gain new fans when she appears in the cartoon, Super Best Friends.  I love that Wonder Woman has a sidekick.  Wonder Woman is the most recognizable of all female comic superheroes and I look forward to her youthful sidekick getting a boost of popularity.  She has all the powers of Wonder Woman and her own magic lasso.  I will be the first one in line to buy some Wonder Girl toys if my girls fall in love with her later this year.

 

#3 The Superman Family

Superman doesn’t actually have sidekicks, but he does have some officially approved youthful compatriots.  Superboy, Supergirl and Krypto the dog all were the S Shield and later this year they will all star in the Superman Family All Ages comic book.  I have high hopes for this book and with Supergirl appearing in it and being on the Super Best Friends cartoon, geeky lil girls everywhere are going to want to be her.  Buy your Supergirl shirts now while you still can.

 

 

#2 Batgirl

She appeared on the live action show with Batman and Robin, she was a character in almost every animated version of Batman over the last 20 years and she is crazy cool.  Her dad is Commissioner Gordon and she is a super smart, funny and amazing character.  I hope my lil girls grow up to be Barbara Gordon.  She is the 3rd Super Best Friend, by the way.

 

 

#1 Robin

This Character is without question deserving of the #1 spot.  The Robin Costume has been filled by many people over the years (including me on that special Halloween) and yet the consistency of what the character is about still prevails.  Robin is the reminder to Batman and the reader, that we are reading comics and comics are fun.  This character has appeared is so many different forms of media, that there are tons of ways for a Robin fan to follow the character.  He currently appears on the Cartoon Networks Young Justice.  Introduce your lil geek to Robin and they will be a fan for life.

 

So remember folks, Sidekicks serve an important purpose, they remind us that comic book are fun.  They keep us young and they help us remember why we love this hobby.  So go out and buy some Tiny Titans or Young Justice books or pop some popcorn and watch the awesomeness of young justice with your lil sidekicks.  We may not be able to punch evil in the face with our sidekicks, we can certainly cheer on the groovy characters above as they do that punching for us.

 

As always, Sidekicks rule!

 

If you have any suggestions for future articles or comic questions you might want answered, let me know at [email protected].  You can also follow me on Twitter @mylilgeeks and/or @billystrick .

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