History Main / SideKickGraduationsStick

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, '''is''' the greatest example of this trope, even after the attempts at a subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. Later on, they introduced him as a [[AgeLift 12 year old]] [[RaceLift troubled biracial child]] to get back him down to his Kid Flash role again. This faced a [[InternetBacklash massive backlash from the fans]] and the overall decline in interest resulted in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', where the original version of the character returned in a grand fashion and was given his title and legacy back (with the other younger Wally West revealed to be the original's cousin, both named after their great grandfather, allowing both characters to remain and the younger Wally to have a chance to carve his own path). After the one-shot, Flash:Rebirth tie in had Barry re-crowning him to mantle again, essentially making them equals. Out of all {{Legacy Character}}s who held their mantles for short periods of time only to [[StatusQuoIsGod revert back to their previous positions]], Wally West '''earned''' to become The Flash.

* Inverted in ''Comicnook/{{Hawkeye}}''. Kate Bishop started out as the new Hawkeye before eventually partnering up with the original Hawkeye, Clint Barton. She still retains the Hawkeye moniker though (shared with Clint) and they tend to act more as partners than the traditional sidekick/mentor dichotomy. It helps that Clint has admitted that Kate is a better archer than him.

While Barbara Gordon showed no signs of abandoning her role as Oracle to become ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} again, there was substantial -- though far from universal -- desire to see that happen. This is likely due to the changeover being connected with her being [[StuffedIntoTheFridge paralyzed]]. However, there was just as substantial support for Babs to stay as Oracle, as she was a rare example of a handicapped hero whose concept doesn't rely on a DisabilitySuperpower or on being InspirationallyDisadvantaged.\\

* Donna Troy stopped being ComicBook/WonderGirl, and started being... [[ContinuitySnarl well, we won't get into that]]. Almost nothing's stuck without having [[ContinuitySnarl new layers of convoluted continuity]] added on, but she's still not Wonder Girl again. She's a really unique case. Both the confusion and Donna's subsequent promotion stem partially from the fact that Wonder Girl was originally supposed to be WonderWoman as a young girl who occasionally interacted with her adult self via TimeTravel. A writer saw the cover for one of these stories and got confused when he was writing the Teen Titans.
* Stephanie Brown, the Spoiler, "graduated" to replace Tim Drake as Robin. It lasted only a few issues, and she then returned to being the Spoiler... but only for the BatFamilyCrossover that [[StuffedIntoTheFridge ended with her death]]. Later played straight when Stephanie reappeared (she had been [[HesJustHiding Just Hiding]]) and graduated again, this time to [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}} Batgirl]]... At least until the ComicBook/{{New 52}} relaunch, where Barbara took the mantle of [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}} Batgirl]] back. It wasn't until Rebirth that she turned up again as The Spoiler.\\

There is, however, one category of change that's an interesting exception: the "graduation" of {{Sidekick}}s to become independent heroes in their own right, or [[LegacyCharacter assume their mentor's mantle]]. Perhaps it is only because this tends to be accompanied by [[ComicBookTime finally aging the character from a teen to an adult]], and even in the RetCon-happy world of comics, reversing that without breaking the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief is hard (with the possible exception being large-scale Reboots, since everything for the most part is turned back to square 1).

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, '''is''' the greatest example of this trope, even after the attempts at a subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Over the course of a quarter-century, he appeared in more issues of ''Flash'' than Barry, in ''far'' more spin-off comics and team-up books, was a founding member of four different incarnations of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}, appeared in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' animated series, and acquired his own stable of supporting cast. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. His graduation stuck so hard, GeoffJohns had to ''wipe him out of existence'' in order to un-stick it. (Bonus points for Barry being [[ContinuityRebooter personally responsible for the wiping]].) Later on, they introduced him as a [[AgeLift 12 year old]] [[RaceLift troubled biracial child]] to get back him down to his Kid Flash role again. This faced a [[InternetBacklash massive backlash from the fans]] and the overall decline in interest resulted in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', where the original version of the character returned in a grand fashion and was given his title and legacy back (with the other younger Wally West revealed to be the original's cousin, both named after their great grandfather, allowing both characters to remain and the younger Wally to have a chance to carve his own path). After the one-shot, Flash:Rebirth tie in had Barry re-crowning him to mantle again, essentially making them equals. Out of all {{Legacy Character}}s who held their mantles for short periods of time only to [[StatusQuoIsGod revert back to their previous positions]], Wally West '''earned''' to become The Flash.

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, '''is''' the greatest example of this trope, even after the attempts at a subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Over the course of a quarter-century, he appeared in more issues of ''Flash'' than Barry, in ''far'' more spin-off comics and team-up books, was a founding member of four different incarnations of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}, appeared in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' animated series, and acquired his own stable of supporting cast. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. His graduation stuck so hard, GeoffJohns had to ''wipe him out of existence'' in order to un-stick it. (Bonus points for Barry being [[ContinuityRebooter personally responsible for the wiping]].) Later on, they introduced him as a [[AgeLift 12 year old]] [[RaceLift troubled biracial child]] to get back him down to his Kid Flash role again. This faced a [[InternetBacklash massive backlash from the fans]] and the overall decline in interest resulted in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', where the original version of the character returned in a grand fashion and was given his title and legacy back (with the other younger Wally West revealed to be the original's cousin, both named after their great grandfather, allowing both characters to remain and the younger Wally to have a chance to carve his own path). After the one-shot, Flash:Rebirth tie in had Barry re-crowning him to mantle again, essentially making them equals. Out of all LegacyCharacter s who held their mantles for short periods of time only to [[StatusQuoIsGod revert back to their previous positions]], Wally West '''earned''' to become The Flash.

* Subverted and lampshaded in ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk''. With Bruce Banner safely locked away in a military base and unable to turn into the Hulk, a new, ComicBook/RedHulk (called "Rulk" by fans) shows up from out of nowhere. Who is he? All signs pointed to Rick Jones, the original Hulk's old sidekick, having graduated into the role...which just made it all the more shocking when we learn that Rick has graduated, but NOT into the Red Hulk...instead, he's become a creature called A-Bomb, strong enough to fight Rulk on his own level. [[spoiler:Rulk was eventually revealed to be General "Thunderbolt" Ross, having teamed up with the Leader to take down the Hulk, making this an example of HeWhoFightsMonsters.]]
** Granted, Rick was [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]] on at least two previous occasions.

* Borderline exception: Stephanie Brown, the Spoiler, "graduated" to replace Tim Drake as Robin. It lasted only a few issues, and she then returned to being the Spoiler... but only for the BatFamilyCrossover that [[StuffedIntoTheFridge ended with her death]].
** Later played straight when Stephanie reappeared (she had been [[HesJustHiding Just Hiding]]) and graduated again, this time to [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}} Batgirl]]... At least until the ComicBook/{{New 52}} relaunch, where Barbara took the mantle of [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}} Batgirl]] back. Stephanie Brown: ButtMonkey of the Bat-Family.
** Zig-Zagged: while Barbara Gordon showed no signs of abandoning her role as Oracle to become ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} again, there was substantial -- though far from universal -- desire to see that happen. This is likely due to the changeover being connected with her being [[StuffedIntoTheFridge paralyzed]]. However, there was just as substantial support for Babs to stay as Oracle, as she was a rare example of a handicapped hero whose concept doesn't rely on a DisabilitySuperpower or on being InspirationallyDisadvantaged.
** As for the other major [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2000}} Batgirl]], Cassandra Cain, she stepped away and gave the role to Stephanie. She was eventually appointed as the "Batman" of Hong Kong, using the code name "Blackbat".

* Donna Troy stopped being ComicBook/WonderGirl, and started being... [[CanonDisContinuity well, we won't get into that]]. Almost nothing's stuck without having [[ContinuitySnarl new layers of convoluted continuity]] added on, but she's still not Wonder Girl again. She's a really unique case. Both the confusion and Donna's subsequent promotion stem partially from the fact that Wonder Girl was originally supposed to be WonderWoman as a young girl who occasionally interacted with her adult self via TimeTravel. A writer saw the cover for one of these stories and got confused when he was writing the Teen Titans.

*** And then he became Batman an a more permanent basis with Bruce Wayne's 'inconveniencing' in the event ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. Fans guessed this would be reverted as soon as Bruce got back, but it actually stuck around for a little while with ''both'' men operating as Batman - in fact, Bruce is ''franchising'' and appointing even more Batmen worldwide. Dick's promotion was eventually reversed by the ComicBook/{{New 52}} relaunch, where he went back to being Nightwing.

There is, however, one category of change that's an interesting exception: the "graduation" of {{Sidekick}}s to become independent heroes in their own right, or [[LegacyCharacter assume their mentor's mantle]]. Perhaps it is only because this tends to be accompanied by [[ComicBookTime finally aging the character from a teen to an adult]], and even in the RetCon-happy world of comics, reversing that without breaking the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief is hard.

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, '''is''' the greatest example of this trope, even after the attempts at a subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Over the course of a quarter-century, he appeared in more issues of ''Flash'' than Barry, in ''far'' more spin-off comics and team-up books, was a founding member of four different incarnations of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}, appeared in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' animated series, and acquired his own stable of supporting cast. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. His graduation stuck so hard, GeoffJohns had to ''wipe him out of existence'' in order to un-stick it. (Bonus points for Barry being [[ContinuityRebooter personally responsible for the wiping]].) Later on, they introduced him as a [[AgeLift 12 year old]] [[RaceLift troubled biracial child]] to get back him down to his Kid Flash role again. This faced a [[InternetBacklash massive backlash from the fans]] and the overall decline in interest resulted in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', where the original version of the character returned in a grand fashion and was given his title and legacy back. After the one-shot, Flash:Rebirth tie in had Barry re-crowning him to mantle again, essentially making them equals. Out of all LegacyCharacter s who held their mantles for short periods of time only to [[StatusQuoIsGod revert back to their previous positions]], Wally West '''earned''' to become The Flash.

** Bart Allen is a subversion. Originally Impulse, then Kid Flash, then the Flash, then dead, then back to Kid Flash. After the ComicBook/{{New 52}} kicked in, his time as Impulse & the Flash was erased and now he's a ''different'' & the first Kid Flash.

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, '''is''' the greatest example of this trope, even after the attempts at a subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Over the course of a quarter-century, he appeared in more issues of ''Flash'' than Barry, in ''far'' more spin-off comics and team-up books, was a founding member of four different incarnations of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}, appeared in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' animated series, and acquired his own stable of supporting cast. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. His graduation stuck so hard, GeoffJohns had to ''wipe him out of existence'' in order to un-stick it. (Bonus points for Barry being [[ContinuityRebooter personally responsible for the wiping]].) Later on, they introduced him as a [[AgeLift 12 year old]][[RaceLift troubled biracial child]] to get back him down to his Kid Flash role again. This faced a [[InternetBacklash massive backlash from the fans]] and the overall decline in interest resulted in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', where the original version of the character returned in a grand way and was given his title and legacy back. After the one-shot, Flash:Rebirth tie in had Barry re-crowning him to mantle again, essentially making them equals. Out of all LegacyCharacters who held their mantles for short periods of time only to [[StatusQuoIsGod revert back to their previous positions]], Wally West ''earned'' to become The Flash.

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, '''is''' the greatest example of this trope, even after the attempts at a subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Over the course of a quarter-century, he appeared in more issues of ''Flash'' than Barry, in ''far'' more spin-off comics and team-up books, was a founding member of four different incarnations of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}, appeared in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' animated series, and acquired his own stable of supporting cast. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. His graduation stuck so hard, GeoffJohns had to ''wipe him out of existence'' in order to un-stick it. (Bonus points for Barry being [[ContinuityRebooter personally responsible for the wiping]].) Later on, they introduced him as a [[AgeLift 12 year old]][[RaceLift troubled biracial child]] to get back him down to his Kid Flash role again. This faced a [[InternetBacklash massive backlash from the fans]] and the overall decline in interest resulted in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', where the original version of the character returned in a grand way and was given his title and legacy back. After the one-shot, Flash:Rebirth tie in had Barry re-crowning him to mantle again, essentially making them equals.

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, previously the greatest example of this trope, is now the greatest subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Over the course of a quarter-century, he appeared in more issues of ''Flash'' than Barry, in ''far'' more spin-off comics and team-up books, was a founding member of four different incarnations of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}, appeared in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' animated series, and acquired his own stable of supporting cast. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. His graduation stuck so hard, GeoffJohns had to ''wipe him out of existence'' in order to un-stick it. (Bonus points for Barry being [[ContinuityRebooter personally responsible for the wiping]].)
** Bart Allen is another subversion. Originally Impulse, then Kid Flash, then the Flash, then dead, then back to Kid Flash. After the ComicBook/{{New 52}} kicked in, his time as Impulse & the Flash was erased and now he's a ''different'' & the first Kid Flash.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Donna Troy stopped being ComicBook/WonderGirl, and started being... [[CanonDisContinuity well, we won't get into that]]. Almost nothing's stuck without having [[ContinuitySnarl new layers of convoluted continuity]] added on, but she's still not Wonder Girl again.
** She's a really unique case. Both the confusion and Donna's subsequent promotion stem partially from the fact that Wonder Girl was originally supposed to be WonderWoman as a young girl who occasionally interacted with her adult self via TimeTravel. A writer saw the cover for one of these stories and got confused when he was writing the Teen Titans.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* In SonicTheComicOnline Sonic's former KidSidekick and TheChick of the Freedom Fighters Tails has now taken Sonic's role as [[TheHero The Hero of Mobius]].

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', just like in the comics, Dick Grayson leaves the mantle of Robin to become Nightwing.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' has one of these pretty early on with Green Arrow's sidekick Speedy [[RageQuit Rage Quitting]] and later coming back as the new hero, Red Arrow.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' had Robin, fed up with being the sidekick, finally graduate into his own hero, Nightwing (again). Unlike other versions, this one was quite amicable, with Batman giving him the codename (apparently, Dick had another in mind, but preferred his mentor's parting gift instead)
** Another episode shows an imaginary tale where Dick ends up becoming Batman and Bruce and Selena's son, Damian, becomes Robin. At the end, we see that Damian's taken up the Mantle in the future with ''his'' son becoming Robin.

* Though more of a DistaffCounterpart than a proper sidekick, Carol Danvers finally left behind the MsMarvel identity and became [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]] proper in the wake of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen''. The Ms. Marvel identity has since passed to a [[AffirmativeActionLegacy Muslim teenager named Kamala Khan]].

* After ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' Steve Rogers was killed, and was replaced as ComicBook/CaptainAmerica by ComicBook/BuckyBarnes, his WWII sidekick. You thought Bucky was a DeadSidekick? It's a long story... Anyway, when Steve came back, they decided that Bucky should be the one to continue on as Cap, as it's helped his CharacterDevelopment. Steve instead operated sans codename as a super-agent not unlike ComicBook/NickFury. Like other examples here, his was eventually reversed: after [[NotQuiteDead supposedly dying]] during ''ComicBook/FearItself'', Bucky decided to go back to his prior identity of the Winter Solder to pursue black-ops missions, [[FakingTheDead using his "death" as a cover]].
** Jack Monroe, the [[LegacyCharacter third]] Bucky, eventually became the solo hero Nomad.

** And after Monroe's death, Rikki Barnes, the sixth Bucky, took up the Nomad identity and became a solo act.
** Prior to ''ComicBook/{{AXIS}}'', Steve Rogers had his Super Soldier Serum deactivated, reverting him to an 80-year-old man. Due to this, he hand-picked his new successor, Sam Wilson, the Falcon. Steve's adopted son, Ian Zola (whose real father is Arnim Zola), took up the role of Nomad prior to all of this.

* Subverted and lampshaded in recent issues of {{The Incredible Hulk}}. With Bruce Banner safely locked away in a military base and unable to turn into the Hulk, a new, ComicBook/{{red Hulk}} (called "Rulk" by fans) shows up from out of nowhere. Who is he? All signs pointed to Rick Jones, the original Hulk's old sidekick, having graduated into the role...which just made it all the more shocking when we learn that Rick has graduated, but NOT into the Red Hulk...instead, he's become a creature called A-Bomb, strong enough to fight Rulk on his own level. [[spoiler:Rulk was eventually revealed to be General "Thunderbolt" Ross, having teamed up with the Leader to take down the Hulk, making this an example of HeWhoFightsMonsters.]]

* Donna Troy stopped being WonderGirl, and started being... [[CanonDisContinuity well, we won't get into that]]. Almost nothing's stuck without having [[ContinuitySnarl new layers of convoluted continuity]] added on, but she's still not Wonder Girl again.

* Subverted and lampshaded in recent issues of {{The Incredible Hulk}}. With Bruce Banner safely locked away in a military base and unable to turn into the Hulk, a new, {{red Hulk}} (called "Rulk" by fans) shows up from out of nowhere. Who is he? All signs pointed to Rick Jones, the original Hulk's old sidekick, having graduated into the role...which just made it all the more shocking when we learn that Rick has graduated, but NOT into the Red Hulk...instead, he's become a creature called A-Bomb, strong enough to fight Rulk on his own level. [[spoiler:Rulk was eventually revealed to be General "Thunderbolt" Ross, having teamed up with the Leader to take down the Hulk, making this an example of HeWhoFightsMonsters.]]

-->-- '''[[{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]''', ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries The New Batman Adventures]]''

In [[Main/{{SuperHero}} Super Hero]] [[Main/{{ComicBooks}} Comic Books]], the [[Main/{{StatusQuoIsGod}} Status Quo Is God]]. It might not seem like that at first, what with all the [[Main/{{KilledOffForReal}} deaths]], [[Main/{{BackFromTheDead}} resurrections]], [[Main/{{FaceHeelTurn}} Face Heel Turns]], [[Main/{{HeelFaceTurn}} Heel Face Turns]], and whatnot. It's a rare year -- honestly, a rare month -- where comic book readers aren't gravely informed that NothingIsTheSameAnymore.

Yet, take a look at the major characters of [[Main/{{TheDCU}} The DCU]] or the [[Main/{{MarvelUniverse}} Marvel Universe]] today and five or ten years ago. Things will be different, but not ''that'' different, and most of the major changes will seem to have happened recently. The companies that own these characters, like all large corporations, are conservative (in this case meaning wanting to maintain a status quo), and all these dramatic changes have a noticeable tendency to cancel out in the long run. Once a character establishes an iconic status quo, or becomes part of another character's iconic status quo, it can be extremely difficult to change anything major about that character.

There is, however, one category of change that's an interesting exception: the "graduation" of [[Main/{{Sidekick}} sidekicks]] to become independent heroes in their own right, or [[Main/{{LegacyCharacter}} assume their mentor's mantle]]. Perhaps it is only because this tends to be accompanied by [[Main/{{ComicBookTime}} finally aging the character from a teen to an adult]], and even in the [[Main/{{RetCon}} Ret Con]]-happy world of comics, reversing that without breaking the [[Main/{{WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief}} Willing Suspension Of Disbelief]] is hard.

* Wally West, aka ComicBook/TheFlash, previously the greatest example of this trope, is now the greatest subversion. After the second Flash, Barry Allen, died in the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, Wally stepped up from the role of Kid Flash to Flash. Over the course of a quarter-century, he appeared in more issues of ''Flash'' than Barry, in ''far'' more spin-off comics and team-up books, was a founding member of four different incarnations of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}}, appeared in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' animated series, and acquired his own stable of supporting cast. Then Barry came back, ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' happened, and in the ''{{New 52}},'' Wally has been {{retgone}}'d, along with most of his supporting cast. His graduation stuck so hard, GeoffJohns had to ''wipe him out of existence'' in order to un-stick it. (Bonus points for Barry being [[ContinuityRebooter personally responsible for the wiping]].)
** Bart Allen is another subversion. Originally Impulse, then Kid Flash, then the Flash, then dead, then back to Kid Flash. After the {{New 52}} kicked in, his time as Impulse & the Flash was erased and now he's a ''different'' & the first Kid Flash.
* Franchise/{{Batman}}'s sidekick Dick Grayson became {{Nightwing}}, and has never returned to being Comicbook/{{Robin}}; unlike many characters with successors, he's never referred to as the "real" Robin, just the first. (Although his counterpart in the original [[AlternateUniverse Earth-2]] never gave up the Robin identity.)

*** And then he became Batman an a more permanent basis with Bruce Wayne's 'inconveniencing' in the event ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. Fans guessed this would be reverted as soon as Bruce got back, but it actually stuck around for a little while with ''both'' men operating as Batman - in fact, Bruce is ''franchising'' and appointing even more Batmen worldwide. Dick's promotion was eventually reversed by the {{New 52}} relaunch, where he went back to being Nightwing.

** Later played straight when Stephanie reappeared (she had been [[HesJustHiding Just Hiding]]) and graduated again, this time to [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}} Batgirl]]... At least until the {{New 52}} relaunch, where Barbara took the mantle of [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}} Batgirl]] back. Stephanie Brown: ButtMonkey of the Bat-Family.

* An unusual example: MoonKnight reluctantly took on Midnight--the son of one of his enemies--as a sidekick. Eventually Midnight was [[FaceHeelTurn "promoted" to villain status]], after [[WeCanRebuildHim becoming an evil cyborg]]. This graduation stuck until Moon Knight recently [[KillHimAlready euthanized his old charge]].

* The original Speedy has long since moved on from being GreenArrow's sidekick, becoming first Arsenal, then Red Arrow, then Arsenal again.

** In SarahJaneAdventures it reveals that she hasn't slowed down, and is now a major environment defender, traveling from problem to problem so fast, even the Doctor can't keep up.

Yet, take a look at the major characters of [[Main/{{TheDCU}} The DCU]] or the [[Main/{{MarvelUniverse}} Marvel Universe]] today and five or ten years ago. Things will be different, but not ''that'' different, and most of the major changes will seem to have happened recently. The companies that own these characters, like all large corporations, are conservative, and all these dramatic changes have a noticeable tendency to cancel out in the long run. Once a character establishes an iconic status quo, or becomes part of another character's iconic status quo, it can be extremely difficult to change anything major about that character.

*** And then he became Batman an a more permanent basis with Bruce Wayne's 'inconveniencing' in the event ''FinalCrisis''. Fans guessed this would be reverted as soon as Bruce got back, but it actually stuck around for a little while with ''both'' men operating as Batman - in fact, Bruce is ''franchising'' and appointing even more Batmen worldwide. Dick's promotion was eventually reversed by the {{New 52}} relaunch, where he went back to being Nightwing.