Older Sidekick: Difference between revisions

{{quote box|[[File:Dan-Dare-and-Digby_6528Digby 6528.jpg|link=Dan Dare|right]]}}

One is that the older character doesn't fall out of the [[Competence Zone]] because they're under the direction of the hero, and thus doesn't undermine the maturity of the younger hero. If the relationship is close, the sidekick's more adult personality actually fulfills some parental role, which the hero might lack from having [[Parental Abandonment|no family]], without being intrusive. On the other hand, the [['''Older Sidekick]]''' can be a non-threatening yet incredibly appealing fantasy object for the audience, who identifies with the main hero. A variant of this is when the younger character leads out of status or rank but requires the more experienced sidekick for advice. A typical example of this would be [[Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough]].

Another is that the main character may be too young or small for physical power. Their expertise lay elsewhere, thus the [['''Older Sidekick]]''' also is the [[Battle Butler]] who goes ''everywhere'' the main character does, instead of merely staying home and guarding/minding the house. Often, in these cases, there only [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|appears to be an age difference, or the age difference is the opposite of what it appears]] so it's not as hard to [[Must Have Lots of Free Time|justify them hanging around each other]].

In fact, the [['''Older Sidekick]]''' is very handy for lessening the perceived [[Squick]] of shipping the characters, as the audience seem much more willing to rationalize that the characters are on equal ground.

See also [[Miss Robinson Boy Wonder]]. Contrast with [[The Obi -Wan]].

* ''[[Vampire Princess Miyu]]'''s minion Larva was eventually revealed to be an incredibly attractive man underneath his mask, and due to [[Squee|fan pressure]], we saw it much more frequently.

** ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' actually has a number of these, since the series takes place (mostly) in the real world rather than the digital one. In the latter parts of the series, the kids are backed up by the middle-aged Monster Makers, as well as {{spoiler|man in black Yamaki and his Hypnos organization}}. In fact, their ultimate triumph can be attributed fairly equally to the efforts of both children and adults.

* [[Bee Train]] became famous for its "[[Small Girl, Big Gun|Girls With Guns]]" dynamic, usually featuring a [[Cool Big Sis|hot, confident older woman]] [[Ho Yay|partnered with]] a [[Moe Moe|younger]], [[One Head Taller|shorter]], but still quite capable girl.

* Alyssa and Miyu from ''[[MaiMy-HiME]]''. (Well, at least so it seems. Since {{spoiler|Miyu was an android built specifically to protect Alyssa, the latter was ''technically'' slightly older}}.)

* Arf of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' for Fate, though considering how she's a wolf familiar that Fate bonded with, she may be [[Younger Than They Look|Younger Than She Looks]] (well, when she's not using her [[Fun Size]] mode).

* Though there are many fans who don't want to think of it this way, Kamina of [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]] is really just an [[Older Sidekick]] to the true main character, Simon.

* Sven Volfied of ''[[Black Cat (Mangamanga)|Black Cat]]'' is both Train's Older Sidekick and the [[Team Dad]]. His primary role (aside from kicking ass when necessary) is to be the voice of reason, maturity, and emotional stability, as [[Adult Child|Train's]] mental age is about 12 and [[Emotionless Girl|Eve]] is discovering what emotions are.

* In the 1989-93 NOW Comics comic book adaptation of ''[[The Green Hornet]]'', Hayashi Kato (sidekick of the second Green Hornet, based on the Bruce Lee role in the 1966 TV adaptation) becomes [[Older Sidekick]] to Alan and Paul Reid (the third and fourth Hornets, respectively).

* Rip Hunter and [[Booster Gold]] are an interesting case. Since Rip Hunter is the leader of the Time Masters, Booster could be considered his sidekick -- {{spoiler|[[Timey -Wimey Ball|except he's actually Rip's father later in the timeline]]. Rip, in turn, is advised by the ''older'' Booster from time to time}}.

* Han Solo to Luke Skywalker in ''[[Star Wars]]'', where the older, more worldly ([[The Snark Knight|and cynical]]) Han serves as a foil to the [[Wide -Eyed Idealist|younger and more idealistic]] Luke. Later they develop a [[Big Brother Mentor|older/younger brother]] kind of relationship.

* In ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Literature)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'', Dorothy is a child of about 9-129–12 years old. The ages of her companions tend to vary by adaptation or interpretation. Going by the book, though, Nick Chopper (the Tin Woodsman) was a full-grown man before the Witch's curse caused him to become a steampunk cyborg.

** Amped up in ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'' where DG is explicitly stated to be 20 "annuals" old. Glitch and Cain are easily 15-2015–20 years older, the former being {{spoiler|an obviously long-term adviser/old friend to her mother}}, the latter {{spoiler|having a son roughly DG's age}}.

* In the third and fourth ''[[Tortall Universe|Alanna]]'' books, having won her shield, Alanna goes out to roam the world. Her only travelling companions are her cat Faithful and Coram, technically in her employ, but more or less a father figure.

* [[Artemis Fowl (Literature)|Artemis Fowl]] is always accompanied by his [[Battle Butler]] (known, self-descriptively, as Butler). The author justifies the name as the fact that one of Butler's ancestors may have been the person whose name became the title of the profession. This is a case of [[Did Not Do the Research]], since Butler comes from the Old French word for "wine bottle" by way of the Anglo-French word for cup-bearer.

* This is [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In [[Homer]]'s ''[[The Iliad (Literature)|The Iliad]]'', Patroclus was traditionally an [[Older Sidekick]] (and, later, the ultimate {{spoiler|[[Dead Sidekick]]}}) to Achilles, although modern adaptations such as the movie ''Troy'' tend to portray him as younger to be more in keeping with audience expectations.

* In ''[[The Chronicles of Prydain]]'', [[Wandering Minstrel|Fflewddur Fflam]] is the [[Older Sidekick]] to [[Farm Boy|Taran]] and [[Rebellious Princess|Eilonwy]], who are barely out of their teens. He subverts the expectation that he would be more mature and responsible than them, however, being something of a [[Wide -Eyed Idealist|romantic and a daydreamer]] ([[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|although he's still handy in a fight]]).

* Captain Jack Harkness to the Doctor in the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' two-parter "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End". {{spoiler|After being trapped under Cardiff for 2000 years}} in his spinoff show ''[[Torchwood (TV)|Torchwood]]'', he's now {{spoiler|twice as old as the Doctor, who claimed to be 903 around that time}}.

** Though naturally much younger than [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|The Doctor]], Wilf in [[Doctor Who (TV)/NS/Recap/S4 S30/E17 E18 The End of Time|The End Of Time]] certainly looks the part, being the Doctor's oldest human companion.

* [[BioBioShock Shock(series)|"Hop hop, Mr. Bubbles!"]]

* Both of the sidekick [[NPC|NPCs]]s from ''[[Beyond Good and& Evil (Videovideo Gamegame)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'' are significantly older than the 21-year-old protagonist Jade. One of them is her middle-aged "uncle," the other is a soldier in his mid-30s.

* The obscure platformer ''[[Scaler]]'' has the [[Kid Hero]] Scaler assisted by Leon, a [[Lantern Jaw of Justice|jowly]] lizard-man with a [[Giant Flyer]]. While they don't exactly [[Teeth -Clenched Teamwork|get along well at first]], eventually they take a shine to each other. {{spoiler|Good thing, too, since Leon is Scaler's long-lost father}}.

* ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' has two instances of these. First is Date Masamune's [[Battle Butler]] Katakura Kojuro, who has a good ten years on his master and is implied to be somewhat stronger, and second is Sanada Yukimura's [[Ninja]] Sarutobi Sasuke. Both examples also play the part of the [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]] to their rather young and inexperienced leaders, serving as a calmer counterpart to the [[Hot -Blooded]] teenagers. Incidentally, both masters and sidekicks are [[The Rival|rivals]] to one another.

* [[Donald Duck]] and Goofy to Sora in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series. While they're [[Funny Animal|Funny Animals]]s who don't really have a set age, they're still pretty much adults.

* ''[[BaldursBaldur's Gate]]'' has Jaheira and Khalid, two sensible elves and old friends of your foster father. While you don't have to bring them along (or even meet them at all, if you so choose), they are canonical in the sequel, not to mention that you're given explicit instructions to seek them out.

* ''[[Fallout 2]]'' has Cassidy. Though his character model lacks the detail to confirm it, he is firmly established to be in at least his late fifties. Marcus would also qualify; his Super Mutant status has made him stop aging, but her served in the Master's army during ''Fallout 1''--eighty—eighty years previous.

** As in previous examples, Raul and Lily from ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]''. While Raul and Lily have the same age-defying abilities as Charon and Marcus (respectively), they come across as much older because of Raul's constant referring to himself as a feeble old man (and his loyalty quest hinging on it), and Lily's mental instability leading her to mistake the [[Player Character|Courier]] for her grandchild.

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'': Not only was Aang the youngest member of his trio in the first season ([[Human Popsicle|sort of]]), but the cheerful and experienced General Iroh is the foil to the bitter but complex teenage [[Anti -Villain]] Prince Zuko.

* Jake in ''[[Adventure Time (Animation)|Adventure Time]]''.

* Joe Biden, Vice President to [[Barack Obama]], chosen by Obama to compensate for his lack of political experience. Before him, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], Vice President to [[John F. Kennedy]].

* Then we have Dick Cheney's vice presidency to [[George W. Bush]].

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