labby, these are great! thanks for sharing.
but i must object to this one...
14. If you associate with the Hero, you run the risk of becoming a True Love or a Sidekick, depending on your availability and mutual gender preferences. The former situation will involve hostage situations on a semi-regular basis, but chances of survival are optimal. The latter position can be quite hazardous to your health; avoid it.
offhand, i can think of 3 sidekicks who were killed in the line of duty... captain america's bucky (who was, i believe, killed back in the 40's), captain america's second bucky (he disappeared for a while, then showed up as a brainwashed supervillain, and then died in battle), and batman's second robin (jason todd).
there was also batgirl, i suppose. she wasn't really a sidekick, and she wasn't hurt in her superhero role. she was shot and paralyzed from the waist down by the joker while in her civillain identity, as a way to send a message to her father, the police comissioner.
i can also think of 3 sidekicks who outlived their heroes. kid flash outlived barry allen (the flash). speedy/arsenal outlived green arrow (though GA later turned out to have been alive.. still, he was dead for a few solid years). and, in astro city (not a monthly title with regular characters, but still the best comic out there), alter boy outlived the confessor.
otoh, there are the dead love interests:
batman's silver st cloud, batman's vesper fairchild, daredevil's electra (though she was later brought back from the dead by an evil ninja cult.. these things happen), daredevil's karen paige, wolverine's silver fox (and i think a couple others), spider-man's gwen stacy, the punisher's wife and kids (as part of his origin... they were "collateral damage" in a mob hit), and quite likely a few others. so that's at least 7, offhand.
now, jimmy oleson had a thing back in the 70s where, on a semi-regular basis, some freak accident or alien virus or something would turn him into a giant hideous monster, but he always came out of that okay. he wasn't really a sidekick, in any case.
of course, i also have to say that there are plenty of love interests who survived. it's just that, as far as i can tell, it's a lot more dangerous to be a love interest than a sidekick. sidekicks get into dangerous situations more often, but they're somewhat more likely to come out of them intact.
okay, done ranting and spewing odd facts now.
thanks again for the list, labby.
Paul
