The Most Iconic Detective Sidekicks, Ranked - 45 of the greatest detective-adjacent crime-solvers in history.
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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your eyes. The time has come to do a giant, comprehensive ranking of the detective sidekicks that have graced crime fiction. This list spans books, film, and television. It’s big. It’s long. And it’s necessitated a lot of thought about what it means to actually be a sidekick, versus the other archetypes that frequently appear in the genres where you expect to find sidekicks.
So let us define the qualifications for sidekicking. The detective, the one who has the sidekick, is probably the story’s clear protagonist. But the most difficult thing about putting together this list was making sure that none of the assembled sidekicks are actually, technically partners with their detectives. If two people open a PI business together, even if one of them is clearly the protagonist and the other is supporting, there is no “sidekick” in this dynamic. Britt Pollack is not Hank Dolworth’s sidekick. Nor is Burton “Gus” Guster Shawn Spencer’s sidekick. Same with Maddie Hayes and David Addison (if all those names don’t ring a bell, go watch Terriers, Psych, and Moonlighting, respectively. Three very different shows, all excellent for very different reasons.)
Now, if the two collaborators are fellow police officers of equal rank in a department and they are paired on cases together (or from different departments brought on to a case to work on it from different angles), they are also “partners” and not sidekicks. This rules out some big pairings, like McNulty and Moreland, Booth and Brennan, Cagney and Lacey, and Mulder and Scully. And, certainly, if there are two amateur detectives working on a case together, like Frank and Joe Hardy, they are also doing so as partners and without sidekicks.
Okay, now onto genre. We thought long and hard about the different genres that this list might include. We’re including detectives of every kind, but NOT spies. NOT spies. Which is a shame, because Ron Stoppable is the BEST sidekick there is (and I would really love to put Kim Possible on a list one of these days). No spies or secret agents, alas. The spy genre is just too distinct.
What about superheroes? My first instinct is “no,” because, while superheroes are crime-fighters, by and large, they aren’t detectives… but then again, Batman, who has one of the most classic sidekicks, is technically a detective and not even a real superhero. And the Green Hornet is in a similar situation. So, we included superheroes on this list as long as their primary work is solving crimes, as opposed to simply using extraordinary abilities to fight them. Cowboys and “sheriffs” are also fine, as long as they, also, primarily function as detectives. Same with “adventurers.” Speaking of dogs, can animals and non-human entities count as sidekicks? Yes, absolutely.
The main function of the sidekick is to be a supportive friend and loyal helper to the detective—so protégés and assistants definitely qualify. Deputies, however, only count as sidekicks if they stick with the main investigator and help; if they’re simply lower in command and they also cause stress, they don’t qualify. Barney Fife is not a sidekick. Do you hear me? Barney Fife is not a sidekick. He is a stressful supporting character and that is all. But a sidekick isn’t just a friend, either. Detectives can have friends and relationships that have nothing to do with sidekick-dom. And more often than not, the main relationship between the detective and sidekick should not be romantic. If a romance forms, it has to be after the detective-sidekick dynamic has already been established. But a character who is not initially set up to be a sidekick cannot become a sidekick. Harriet Vane, for example, is not a sidekick to Lord Peter Wimsey, and don’t ever let anyone call her that. Neither is Nora Charles, even if Nick ends up doing most of the legwork.
A sidekick is probably not a parent or a superior officer (though exceptions can be made for retirees), but a sidekick can be more knowledgeable than the detective, like if the sidekick is a computer wiz. And remember folks, we’re not ranking the “best” sidekicks, but the “most iconic” ones,” because there are ultimately too many to do an all-inclusive list.
Okay, that was a lot. Everybody good? Here we go.
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