History Main / PsychoSidekick

* Lee in Creator/GordonRDickson's ''[[Literature/ChildeCycle Dorsai!]]''. Due to an uncorrectable medical condition, he's unable to tell right from wrong and is socially dysfunctional. He knows this, and seeks a ''cause'' to keep him functioning. He'll do ''anything'' for that cause. Luckily, he found Donal, who keeps Lee from doing anything nasty. Also notable that Lee likely inspired Joachim Steuben, as David Drake is a fan of the novel.

* Lee in Creator/GordonRDickson's ''[[ChildeCycle Dorsai!]]''. Due to an uncorrectable medical condition, he's unable to tell right from wrong and is socially dysfunctional. He knows this, and seeks a ''cause'' to keep him functioning. He'll do ''anything'' for that cause. Luckily, he found Donal, who keeps Lee from doing anything nasty. Also notable that Lee likely inspired Joachim Steuben, as David Drake is a fan of the novel.
* Edward in the ''AnitaBlake'' series (although it's not like Anita's such a saint).

* The ''[[{{Dragaera}} Taltos]]'' books have been acknowledged as inspired by the Spenser 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.
* In LoisMcMasterBujold's Literature/VorkosiganSaga, Sergeant Bothari has elements of this, though Aral Vorkosigan is more active than most in acting as his MoralityChain and eventually gets him some much-needed medical intervention.

* Orlando to Mina and Allan in ''LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen: Century''
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} sometimes plays this role in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'', in issues where the other characters are being depicted as relatively pacifistic.

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

* Gene Hunt (and sometimes Ray) in ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'' and ''AshesToAshes''.
* Both Derek and Cameron in ''TheSarahConnorChronicles'' move around on the spectrum between this and PoisonousFriend in relation to the more moral Sarah and John. This occurs as early as the second episode, when Sarah holds [[spoiler: Enrique at gunpoint because she thinks he might be a snitch, but doesn't shoot. Cameron arrives on the scene by shooting him twice in the chest before anyone has a chance to stop her. Of course, she's vindicated at the end of the episode when it turns out Enrique really ''was'' an FBI informant.]]

* Guerrero in ''HumanTarget''. A short middle-aged man wearing round Harry Potter glasses, in the show's premiere he says the following (in a completely low-key tone of voice) to a couple of {{Mooks}} who are trying to intimidate him:

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'': ComicBook/BuckyBarnes 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]].

* In ''Literature/WolfHall'', Thomas Cromwell likes to mentor young men as apprentices/clerks and one person he takes on is Christopher, a young ruffian who he meets in Calais, who reminds Cromwell of a young (French) version of himself. Like Cromwell as a boy, Christophe is eager to leave his birthplace because he was in a fight and left his opponent dead. In Cromwell's household, Christophe teaches the other young men how to fight (both conventional swordplay and the kind of skills one would need to walk away from a fight in an alley and make sure one's enemy doesn't). He also plays the [[GoodCopBadCop worse cop]] in Cromwell's interrogation of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Smeaton Mark Smeaton]], as Cromwell threatens to leave Mark alone with Christophe if he doesn't confess. In a couple of scenes, when the two are alone, Christophe likes to make conspiratorial comments to Cromwell to the effect that while both pretend to be civilized, they are really cutthroats.

* Hawk in Robert B Parker's ''{{Spenser}}'' novels: the type specimen for the trope and one of the first to appear, resulting in a FountainOfExpies.

* Cassidy in ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', until we find out some of the things he did in his past...

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

* Xander, in ''Literature/TheOtherKindofRoommate'', acts as Alex's personal [[MenInBlack Agent]] executioner. He doesn't seem to mind.

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* CIA Mercenary Eddie Fyers in the '80s GreenArrow series.

* {{Wolverine}} sometimes plays this role in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'', in issues where the other characters are being depicted as relatively pacifistic.
* Cassidy in ''{{Preacher}}'', until we find out some of the things he did in his past...
* A ''{{JLA}}/Comicbook/{{Hitman}}'' miniseries depicted Tommy Monaghan as a PsychoSidekick for {{Superman}}, and explicitly stated the moral justification of the trope described above.

* ''CaptainAmerica'': BuckyBarnes 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]].

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* TokenEvilTeammate Belkar Bitterleaf in ''WebComic/OrderOfTheStick'' was the psycho sidekick to Haley during their time in the Sapphire City rebellion.

* Mick Ballou in Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder novels.

--> "I'll take the beating, because that's all you two amateurs are cleared to do. Then one night soon, I'm gonna break into your houses and kill each of you in your sleep. I'll probably start with you, Alfredo. That way Stephen here can have a few extra days with Marla and the girls. It's only fair."

* Jailbait and Headcase to Max Damage in ''[[{{Irredeemable}} Incorruptible]]''. Jailbait was Max's sidekick/underage lover when he was a supervillain, and hasn't taken his HeelFaceTurn and JailBaitWait well at all. The last straw was when he left her behind in an attempt to ''keep her safe''. Since she's a bloodthirsty adrenaline junkie, that was the worst thing Max could do to her. Her successor Headcase is even worse -- the murder of her whole family unhinged her so badly that she's now a DeathSeeker with Max as the only anchor she has in life.

* ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': [[KillAllHumans HK47]] and [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Canderous Ordo]], plus HK again, Mandalore and to [[TheAtoner some extent]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast Atton Rand]] in the sequel.
* [[BoisterousBruiser Black Whirlwind]] in ''JadeEmpire'' doesn't know of a problem that [[AxCrazy his axes]] [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer won't solve]].
* Several classes in ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' get one, most notably [[ImAHumanitarian Khem]] [[ComedicSociopath Val]] in the Sith Inquisitor storyline.

* Let's see now. Is this a film about [[TheMafia wiseguys]]? Is Creator/JoePesci doing his HairTriggerTemper routine? Yup? Well, there you go. To list a few examples; ''{{Casino}}'', ''{{Goodfellas}}''.
* Walter Sobchak from ''TheBigLebowski'' is The Dude's best friend and a walking BerserkButton.

* Let's see now. Is this a film about [[TheMafia wiseguys]]? Is JoePesci doing his HairTriggerTemper routine? Yup? Well, there you go. To list a few examples; ''{{Casino}}'', ''{{Goodfellas}}''.

* Lee in GordonRDickson's ''[[ChildeCycle Dorsai!]]''. Due to an uncorrectable medical condition, he's unable to tell right from wrong and is socially dysfunctional. He knows this, and seeks a ''cause'' to keep him functioning. He'll do ''anything'' for that cause. Luckily, he found Donal, who keeps Lee from doing anything nasty. Also notable that Lee likely inspired Joachim Steuben, as David Drake is a fan of the novel.

* Bubba Rugowski in DennisLehane's ''Literature/KenzieAndGennaroSeries''.

* ''Myron Bolitar'' series by Harlan Coben: Windsor Horne Lockwood III, or, Win.

** In Creator/StephenMoffat's seasons, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Strax]] the Sontaran fits this role after becoming BattleButler[=/=]PluckyComicRelief to Madame Vastra and Jenny.