A Semi-Serious, Somewhat Coherent, Completely Subjective List of the Best Sidekicks of All Time

Superman's true right-hand man.

By Sean Tuohy and Daniel Ford

Kids don’t want to be Alfred when they grow up. They want to be Batman. Why aspire to be Chewbacca when you can be the much less hairy Han Solo who gets to kiss one of only two women in the entire galaxy?

It’s fucking tough being the sidekick.

You arguably do all the hero’s dirty work and get none of the glory or reward. How good of a detective is Batman without his butler and Barbara Gordon’s computer know-how? If Superman is a god, than why does he bother keeping Lois and Jimmy around? Because they need help like everyone else.

Here are a bunch of sidekicks Sean and Daniel came up with that they feel need more recognition. Feel free to share your own underrated sidekicks in the comments section or tweet us @WritersBone.

Einstein From “Back to the Future”

Einstein was loyal, he allowed himself to be put in the time machine, and when Marty and Doc were attacked, he warned them about it.

Alfred Pennyworth From “Batman: The Animated Series”

Alfred Pennyworth has been the gold standard for loyal sidekicks. However, while he was still Bruce Wayne/Batman’s steadfast butler in “Batman: The Animated Series,” he was also a huge dick. He had a snide comment for everything Bruce Wayne said. He was going to do his duty and take care of his lunatic charge, but he was going to be good and snarky while doing it! (Sean add fact about Joker)

Oracle From “Batman” Comic Book Series

One could argue that Barbara Gordon is more valuable than Alfred, and certainly more badass. She starts out as Batgirl, gets shot through the spine by the Joker in "The Killing Joke," and then becomes Batman’s savvy computer/code breaker goddess Oracle. Image with caption

Barbara Gordon would get up from this moment and continue being a badass sidekick. Robin...not so much.

All of John McClane’s Sidekicks From the “Die Hard” Series

Before he became a superhero in the most recent films, John McClane needed a lot of help to defeat the bad guys. In the first two films, it was the dad from “Family Matters” who carried McClane over the finish line. “Die Hard With a Vengeance” featured Samuel L Jackson as a sidekick that started out viscerally hating the hero.

Chewbacca From “Star Wars” Trilogy

Chewie is another loyal lieutenant to a colossal, reckless prick. He suffers a ton of insults (“walking carpet”—fuck you, Leia) while keeping his friends safe largely through others fear he’ll rip their arms off. Chewbacca reuniting with Han in “Return of the Jedi” is a real tearjerker moment.

Winston From “Ghostbusters”

Winston Zeddemore wasn’t part of the original “Ghostbusters” trio and didn’t completely buy into what Peter, Ray, and Egon were doing. However, he earned his paycheck and delivered some classic lines in the process. He also provided everyone with the answer to the question,“Are you a god?”

April O’Neil From “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”

Not only did April O’Neil buy the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a bunch of pizza and let them hang out at her apartment, but she was also a hard news journalist that looked smashing in a yellow trench coat. She also got kidnapped a lot so the green guys would have something to do. You’re welcome, fellas.

Jonathan Mardukas From “Midnight Run”

Jonathan Mardukas is a weasel, but at least he’s a helpful one. Robert De Niro’s bounty hunter would be in even more trouble without Charles Grodin’s quick-thinking character. Plus, there might not be a funnier exchange in the movie than this one (and that is saying something):

Mardukas: “You seen any suspicious characters around here?”

Creepy regular at the bar: “Nope.”

Mardukas: “Do you live around here?”

The Kid From “Dick Tracy”

Any sidekick that eats this much has to be included on any list Sean and Daniel come up with. The Kid also ends up taking Dick Tracy’s name which is a nice touch.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Scooby Gang

Daniel is an unabashed fan of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” He couldn’t pick just one from Buffy’s self-proclaimed “Scooby gang,” so we’re making him include this video to shame him.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

This pair is arguably the most symbiotic duo in movie history. Butch’s quips and bullets wouldn’t be so biting without Sundance’s dry responses, and Sundance wouldn’t jump off the cliff without Butch. It’s the rare case of the two heroes also being perfect sidekicks.

The Pimp From “Superman II”

Superman really needed that extra boost of confidence right before he saved Lois Lane.

For posts from The Boneyard, check out our full archive.

Farewell Egon: Our Favorite Moments From the Career of Harold Ramis

"I always claim that the writer has done 90 percent of the director's work." Harold Ramis

Actor, writer, producer, and director Harold Ramis has passed away from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis. He was 69 years old. A press release from his agency read: “His creativity, compassion, intelligence, humor and spirit will be missed by all who knew and loved him.”

The Writer’s Bone team remembers their favorite moments from Ramis’ career:

Hassel Velasco: Harold Ramis is known by most people for his work on the “Ghostbusters” movies, but his body of work expands way beyond the 1984 classic and its 1989 sequel. Ramis was not only an actor; he was also a writer, producer and director.

As a writer, I’d like to believe a lot of my comedy and structure derived from his early work. In 1998, I discovered a new channel on my television, Comedy Central. My parents had just paid for cable and one of the first movies I watched was “Caddyshack.”

I admit it, some of the humor was a little over my head. However, to a 13-year-old boy, a dancing gopher is a sure fire shot comedy-wise. 15 years later, I own the movie and I can comfortably say it gets a lot of playback. I consider it my “feel good” movie.

So, to the writer of “Groundhog Day,” “Bedazzled,” “Year One,” “Caddyshack,” “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” “Stripes,” “Back to School,” “Ghostbusters I & II,” “Analyze This,” “Analyze That;” and to the director of “National Lampoon’s Vacation;” and for his contribution to countless other films and television series, we thank you for all the laughter.

Harold Ramis, you will be missed greatly. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

Sean Tuohy: As much as I loved Harold Ramis in front of the camera (“Ghostbusters,” “Knocked Up”) his true skill was behind the camera. Ramis was a gifted comedy writer who upped the playing field for all of Hollywood.

I grew to love Ramis when I was 14 years old and was given a special copy of “Animal House,” the undisputed king of all college comedies, and I watched a special where Ramis talked about writing the movie.

Ramis spoke about comedy writing the same way baseball coaches talk about the game; they know so much but are always willing to learn more. Ramis always made sure that all his scripts had strong jokes but had stronger characters. “Well, for me, it's the relationship between comedy and life”, Ramis once said regarding his work. His characters were flawed humans who despite all their hard work would always be flawed because his characters were real people and real people always have flaws.

To prove how funny he was, Ramis died when he was 69, knowing it was the funniest number to go out on.

Daniel Ford: Damn it Egon.

I haven’t been this bummed about a celebrity death since John Spencer died in 2005.

I’ve loved everything Harold Ramis has done in front of and behind the camera, but he’ll always be Egon Spengler to me. As I’ve mentioned on this website and our podcast, I was a “Ghostbusters” fanatic as a kid. Back then, all I cared about was a cool group of guys with awesome proton packs running around the city trappin’ ghosts.

As an adult, I’m better able to appreciate the snarky and dark humor of both the original and 1989 sequel. While I enjoyed Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman more as a youngster, it’s Harold Ramis’ Egon that cracks up me up today. Ramis’ comedic timing and delivery of Egon’s staccato egghead lines are comedy gold.

Few things in either movie make me laugh out loud harder than Egon’s face after Peter asks, “You’re not sleeping with it, are you Ray,” and his smirk after singing “Egon” following his partners’ “Do” and “Re.”

Egon also forecasted the death of my chosen profession in 1984. We can also thank Egon for giving men one of the best pick-up lines of all time. “I collect spores, molds, and fungus.” Ghostbusters: "Print is Dead"

RIP Harold Ramis. You had one of the biggest Twinkies in comedy.

Here are a few of our other favorite Harold Ramis moments:

For posts from The Boneyard, check out our full archive.

10 of the Most Underrated Sequels of All Time

Not every sequel is as great as “The Godfather: Part II” or as bad as “The Next Karate Kid.”

A good sequel needs to remind us of why we loved the original movie, but also contain characters and a plot that justifies revisiting the same world.

Here are 10 sequels Daniel and Sean think are underrated and deserve to be as beloved as their predecessors. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comment section or tweet us @WritersBone.

1. “Die Hard: With a Vengeance”

Daniel Ford: My first reaction was that we couldn’t include something as popular and beloved as the third “Die Hard” movie. As always, Sean made a convincing argument and here it is on our list. He also took advantage of my love for New York City porn. Damn him!

Sean Tuohy: Writer story: So when Jonathan Hesleigh, the writer of “Die Hard: With a Vengeance,” was writing the script in New York City, he read about a tunnel being built just outside of the city. He then went to the Federal Reserve in lower Manhattan and asked for a tour. They allowed him to walk in to the vault--one of the largest in the world—and hold gold bars. Then they told him that the subway messed around with their alarm system, so they are removing it. Well, he writes the script in which the bad guys rob the vault using the subway and take the gold up the tunnel to escape. The FBI got their hands on this and held him for questioning. It turns out that at that time someone could have pulled off that robbery just like in the movie.

2. “The Rescuers Down Under”

DF: I had no idea this was a sequel until later in life. I still haven’t seen the first flick. Why bother? This movie is awesome. The cricket yelling pea soup at the restaurant still makes me laugh. I can hear my mother and brother laughing when we first saw it too. That eagle is also majestic as fuck.

ST: I can remember this movie from one of the first summer camps I went to as a kid. We watched it on a small television in a massive room. The scene where the boy rides the bird still sticks out in my mind. It starts off with a heart-racing scene where the kid free falls and then he’s scooped up by the bird.

The artwork is amazing and even the jokes are really funny.

3. “Batman Returns”

DF: Sean and I cover why this movie is so great in a recent installment of The Boneyard, but we could talk about it for days. This sequel has the right amount of seriousness, camp, and black leather. Plus, Danny DeVito as a pitch perfect Penguin. Michael Keaton’s scowl in this movie is on the short list of best scowls of all time.

ST: As Dan said, we can talk about this movie for days. It’s such a stand out in the Batman movie franchise. It’s a movie that understands itself very well. It can be dark and brooding, but then switch on the camp and humor. Also, who didn’t want an army of rocket-throwing birds?

4. “Airplane 2”

DF: Sean, take over, I’m too busy laughing at Simon turning to jelly.

ST: While Dan is busy rolling on the floor and grabbing his side—and I’ll be joining him soon enough—I have to point that this movie is one of the best comedies ever made. From William Shatner’s scenes as the moon base commander to the “Out of coffee?!?!” scene, Airplane 2 will leave you, well, just like Dan.

5. “Blade 2”

DF: My friend Steve-O and I were on a big vampire kick at one point. We tore through “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” and the three “Blade” movies. I’m sure all of this happened during one weekend. The second movie is clearly the best. It has everything you want, villain progression, haunted protagonist, and cool fight scenes that could end up with someone chowing down on someone else’s neck.

ST: My version of "Blade 2" would have had Blade going down to a sun-soaked island to get his groove back with the help of a sexy young vampire. But wisely, the studio didn't listen to me and they instead went with Guillermo del Toro to helm the edgier sequel. The movie is filled with action, awesome fight scenes, and a stone-faced Wesley Snipes. Sadly, they lost their way with the third film...

6./7. “Back to the Future Part II” and “Back to the Future Part III”

DF: I can’t talk objectively about these movies. I spent too much time in a vest carrying around a cardboard hover board for that to happen. I also went through a phase of demanding people call me Marty. And after seeing “Back to the Future Part III,” I wore a black, plastic cowboy hat and forced people to call me Clint. The town dance scene is just fantastic. “The Doc can dance?”

ST: What can you say about these movies that hasn’t already been said? Not much, but I’ll give it a shot here. I made my parents spend hours on the “Back to the Future ride” in Florida. I had the toys, I watched the TV shows, and I even wore some clothes with the logo. But what I always took away from the movies was the relationship between Doc and Marty. Those two faced life and death, one case of incest, and countless bad guys, but always believed in one another.

8. “Homeward Bound 2”

DF: I told myself I wouldn’t cry…dammit. “It’s a thing of beauty when Chance is on duty!” I tear up every time I hear that. Fun fact: Pa Walton (aka Ralph White) voiced Shadow in this one because Don Ameche died in 1993. Also, did Sally Field method act while voicing the cat?

ST: Wait a second. Pa Walton is dead? When did this happen?!?! This is heartbreaking, but I will try and hold back tears on this one. WHY?!?!? Why did you take Pa away?!?!

He had so much to give!!!

DF: Sean, Pa Walton is still alive...the other guy is dead.

ST: Oh, well then. Um, this is a good movie.

DF: Another fun fact about Ralph White. He ran for Congress three times and lost. He lost twice to Sonny Bono's widow.

ST: Wow. How is that not a movie? Pa Walton versus Sonny Bono's widow for Congress. I would watch that!

9. “An American Tail: Fievel Goes West”

DF: Pretty sure my younger brother and I wore out this VHS. Tiger training to become a dog is outstanding, especially the part where he’s strutting around and squeaking at the same time.

ST: I caught this flick at a friend’s house one night. It stands out because it was my first taste of the big ol’ West. Also, right after this, I watched my first “Naked Gun” film.

10. “Ghostbusters 2”

DF: One of the best logos for a sequel ever.

And this movie was so…weird. I remember being way more creeped out by this movie than the original. But how can you not love the scene where they get the slime to dance? And, “You’re not sleeping it with, are you Ray?”

ST: The Ecto-1. Do I have to say more? Yes? Good, because I want to. It was an awesome car filled with an awesome group of guys who put ghosts in their places. I have to say the best scene is watching the Titanic arrive in to port and the passenger debark through the gash.

For posts from The Boneyard, check out our full archive.