History Main / PsychoSidekick

* In the ''GoodOmens'' fanfic FanFic/TheSacredAndTheProfane, 'Zirah' (Aziriphale) is a chillingly ruthless PsychoSidekick to 'Caphriel' (Crowley), [[spoiler:who ends up having to kill him to protect Adam]].

Note that if they're [[AxeCrazy actually psycho]], the arrangement really won't work.

* Bruce Wayne's son Damian tries to become the psycho equivalent of Robin to Batman, to the point of trying to dispose of Tim Drake in his first appearance. [[spoiler: Now that Bruce is dead, Damian really ''is'' serving as Robin to Dick Grayson's Batman, and Dick has his hands full trying to teach Damian proper restraint.]]

* Walter Sobchak form ''TheBigLebowski'' is The Dude's best friend and a walking BerserkButton.

* ''DoctorWho'': Leela (and K-9, a bit). While the Doctor sometimes criticises her violence ineffectually, he doesn't often intervene to stop it when its useful. Subverted with Ace, in that a vague description of the dynamic between them would make Ace seem like a PsychoSidekick, but the Seventh Doctor is [[ManipulativeBastard much more ruthless than she is in a less personally violent way]].

* Avon in ''BlakesSeven'', with interesting consequences when he ended up as the central character. Unusually, Avon continues to act like a Psycho Sidekick -- but having authority this is a disaster for himself and everyone around him. It's aspects like this which make it feel like a show shot on the deck of a burning ship.

* Joe in Robert Crais' ''The Monkey's Raincoat''.

* The latter half of everybody's favorite crime-solving dog and rabbit duo SamAndMax.

Can also be defined cynically as TheDragon, but working for a DesignatedHero. Compare BigBadFriend for when the friend keeps their dark tendencies and evil plot under wraps. One of these in an ensemble is the TokenEvilTeammate.

* Clete Purcel in James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels, although Dave can get a bit more morally ambiguous than is usual in such cases.

** Likely also a retired PsychoForHire and a PintsizedPowerhouse. Played by Jackie Earle Haley, better known as Rorschach from the ''[[{{Film/Watchmen}} Watchmen]]'' film.

* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Wrex]] in Mass Effect.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Steve Ballmer for Bill Gates.

[[/folder]]

A trope common in private eye novels since the 1980s, and occasionally found in other genres. Sometimes, your [[TheCape morally]] [[KnightInShiningArmour spotless]] [[MartialPacifist hero]] has a buddy who's a lot less morally spotless. Often, they've been friends for so long that a bit of moral divergence hasn't spoiled it. On the more moral end of the spectrum, the friend's a HitmanWithAHeart or LoveableRogue. In DarkerAndEdgier cases, the friend is actually a PunchClockVillain, NobleDemon or even a PsychoForHire, but they deliberately avoid any situation that might actually pit them against one another because it would be [[RivalTurnedEvil just too painful]]. Of course, the friend could be just a little bit more violent or ruthless than the hero.

Can be seen as something of an inversion of TheWatson, as in the original case of the SherlockHolmes stories, and in many others, part of the Watson's role is to smooth things over socially and upbraid the main character mildly when he becomes too much of a {{Jerkass}}, HeroicSociopath or InsufferableGenius.

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]
* At least in the beginning while Yukki still has his moral compass in the fully upright and locked position, Yuno Gasai of ''MiraiNikki'' is what happens when you mix this trope with Yandere, and shake rapidly.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* The ''LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' Victorian-era team actually consists of 60% [[PsychoSidekick Psycho Sidekicks]] and 40% relatively moral people.
** When a vampire attack-survivor music teacher and an opium-addicted hunter are the normal guys; have fear.
*** And now Orlando is tending that way in ''Century''.

* The recent ''{{JLA}}/{{Hitman}}'' miniseries depicted Tommy Monaghan as a PsychoSidekick for {{Superman}}, and explicitly stated the moral justification of the trope described above.

* [[CaptainAmerica Bucky Barnes]] is portrayed this way in current books, as a creative RetCon explaining his 'harmless' sidekick persona was actually a front for shady activities a public figure like CaptainAmerica couldn't be caught doing. He makes quite a darkly hilarious contrast to the older and unfailingly idealistic [[TheCape Cap]].

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Fanfiction}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Hawk in Robert B Parker's Spenser novels: the type specimen for the trope and one of the first to appear.
* Mouse in Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels. A particularly extreme example in that he's ''genuinely'' AxCrazy.
** And brilliantly played by Don Cheadle in the 1995 film adaptation of ''Devil in a Blue Dress''.

* Bob the Skull in Jim Butcher's TheDresdenFiles series. He's a spirit of intellect, and thus doesn't wholly understand the "morality" thing. Kincaid stands well within PsychoForHire in most cases, but acts as the Psycho Sidekick to the Archive.

* Possibly Ranger in Janet Evanovitch's StephaniePlum novels, although Ranger's a bit more cerebral than most examples.

* The ''[[{{Dragaera}} Taltos]]'' books have been acknowledged as inspired by the Spencer series, but seem to turn this on its head. Vlad Taltos, the protagonist is the PsychoSidekick in relation to his friends who are [[OurElvesAreBetter fantasy elf nobility]], but it's less that he is more bloodthirsty than that he is less bound by social conventions. This is played rather straight in ''Orca'' though as a LawfulGood police officer, who normally disdains assassins, has Vlad kill her partner who was a CorruptCop and a murderer.

* Edward in the AnitaBlake series (although it's not like Anita's such a saint).
* Bubba Rugowski in Dennis Lehane's 'Kenzie and Gennaro' private eye novels.
* Windsor Horne Lockwood III, or, Win, from Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar novels.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Arguably Leela (and K-9, a bit) in ''DoctorWho''. While the Doctor sometimes criticises her violence ineffectually, he doesn't often intervene to stop it when its useful. Subverted with Ace, in that a vague description of the dynamic between them would make Ace seem like a PsychoSidekick, but the Seventh Doctor is [[ManipulativeBastard much more ruthless than she is in a less personally violent way]].
* Avon in BlakesSeven, with interesting consequences when he ended up as the central character.
* Gene Hunt (and sometimes Ray) in LifeOnMars and AshesToAshes.

* While Giles is sometimes the PoisonousFriend on ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', the "Scoobies" are well aware of his Ripper persona. Spike is this for Dawn; at certain points in the series, she adores him despite knowing that he would be back out slaughtering innocents if not for his chip.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Many RPGs that give your party members individual personalities allow [[PlayerCharacter you]] to have one of these, for instance (on the HeroicSociopath end of the scale) [[LargeHam Minsc]] in BaldursGate.
* [[KillAllHumans HK47]] and [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Canderous Ordo]] in KnightsOfTheOldRepublic, plus HK again, Mandalore and to [[TheAtoner some extent]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast Atton Rand]] in the sequel.

[[AC:RealLife]]

<<|CharactersAsDevice|>>
<<|{{Foil}}|>>

->-- '''Walter Mosley''', ''A Red Death"

* Let's see now. Is this a film about [[TheMafia wiseguys]]? Is [[ThePesci Joe Pesci]] in it? Yup? Well, there you go.
** To list a few examples; {{Casino}}, {{Goodfellas}}.

-->''"Mouse was the truest friend I ever had. And if there is such a thing as true evil he was that too."''
-->-- '''Walter Mosley''', ''A Red Death"

* Bob the Skull in Jim Butcher's TheDresdenFiles series. Kincaid stands well within PsychoForHire in most cases, but acts as the Psycho Sidekick to the Archive.

* In the ''GoodOmens'' fanfic TheSacredAndTheProfane, 'Zirah' (Aziriphale) is a chillingly ruthless PsychoSidekick, and 'Caphriel' (Crowley) [[spoiler:ends up having to kill him to protect Adam]].

* There's a ''GoodOmens'' fanfic out there somewhere which is basically a short version of the book if Crowley was the angel and Aziraphale was the demon. 'Zirah' is a chilling ''complete'' PsychoSidekick, and 'Caphriel' ends up having to kill him to protect Adam.

** To list a few examples; {{Casino}}, {{Goodfellas}}, and OnceUponATimeInAmerica.

* In the [[LoisMcMasterBujold Vorkosigan series]], Sergeant Bothari has elements of this, though he generally waits for orders.

** Likely also a retired PsychoForHire and a PintsizedPowerhouse. Played by Jackie Earle Haley, better known as Rorschach from the ''[[{{Film/Watchmen}} Watchmen]]'' film, SoYeah.

* Both Derek and Cameron in ''TheSarahConnorChronicles'' move around on the spectrum between this and PoisonousFriend in relation to the more moral Sarah and John. [[spoiler: "John Connor let her go" is a pretty definitive example of the trope.]]