Line #9 HypercompetentSidekick/WesternAnimation


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6	[[HyperCompetentSidekick Hyper-Competent Sidekicks]] in WesternAnimation.
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9	* Many cartoons of the late 70's and early 80's seemed to have their protagonists be best friends with a FairyCompanion who could pretty much [[ComboPlatterPowers do anything the plot required]]. The most bizarre/notorious example would be ''WesternAnimation/RubikTheAmazingCube'', which is the adventures of some kids and their magical talking Rubik's Cube. The only reason Rubik was a sidekick at all is that he could only walk/talk/save the day after he had been "solved", and the young boy he hung around with had the amazing ability to solve him quickly. So every episode Rubik had to be dropped or something, which was apparently enough to mix him up so that he couldn't fix everything in the first two minutes.
10	* Genie in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''.
11	** Haroud serves this function (and combines it with DeadpanSnarker as usual) for Abis Mal in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries.'' A classic example of this is Abis Mal explaining (for exposition) his plan to attack the heroes. Haroud politely replies "I know what the plan is, master. Why are you telling me this?"
12	* Itchy Itchiford, (Itchy for short) from ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'' has this in spades, especially in the first movie and more so in the TV series. Charlie usually doesn't follow the phrase "think before you do" very well. Itchy prevents Charlie from going too far with his intentions for the most part, but even if he is unsuccessful in doing so, he always knows what is going to happen. Also, in the first movie, Itchy built Charlie's new casino.
13	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Ironically, while The Core frequently degrades and mocks him for being weak and useless, the vast majority of the villains' successes are a result of King Andrias actions and not the Core's:
14	** Andrias spends the entire course of the show up until "True Colors" playing Marcy and Anne like a fiddle, easily making them believe in his facade of TheGoodKing and nearly destroying any chance they had of resisting him without even lifting a finger himself. The only reason Anne retains her powers and thus ability to resist him is because of a coincidence completely beyond his control. Even after he reveals his true nature, he still sows discord between the girls by revealing the AwfulTruth. By contrast, when the Core tries to manipulate the girls, it falls flat each time due to their CharacterDevelopment.
15	** While the Core is a good fighter, it has to rely on dirty tricks, lets itself get distracted by sadism, and is ultimately beaten by a teenage girl with no powers to speak of. Andrias is a far greater warrior who prefers to go directly for the kill with no dilly-dallying and wins without using dirty tricks. The only time Andrias can be considered to have lost a fight, it's against a Calamity-enhanced Anne whom he was completely unprepared for, and he proceeds to beat her during their rematch a season later.
16	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AngelaAnaconda'', Johnny gets a magic kit and starts doing shows with Gina as his assistant. Angela convinces Johnny to make her his assistant instead and quickly finds out that Gina was doing all the tricks herself, Johnny was just too stupid to realize.
17	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
18	** Downplayed with [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderPrincessAzula Princess Azula]] to [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderFireLordOzai Fire Lord Ozai]]. Azula does most of the actual legwork and is the most immediate threat to the heroes throughout the second season, showing a level of [[MagnificentBastard clever planning]] Ozai himself never approaches, but that's only because her father is OrcusOnHisThrone for most of the show. The GrandFinale shows that Azula isn't nearly as qualified to actually be an EvilOverlord compared to her father, as she's too quickly overcome by stress and paranoia as opposed to her father's composed, rigid and truly heartless disposition. Ultimately, for all her superior cunning, guile and manipulation, Azula is just as much of a WellDoneDaughterGirl as her brother Zuko, but with a ''far'' more fragile ego; as soon as she loses her friends (who only stayed by her due to fear) and her father abandons her with little more than a "good job" consolation prize for her loyalty, [[VillainousBreakdown she spirals very quickly]], spending the remaining episodes and the follow-up comics a mentally disturbed wreck.
19	** Iroh serves as this for Zuko in Book 1. He's arguably one of the most formidable characters in the series, but is content to sit back and sip tea. Granted, he does see his real duty as ridding his nephew of Ozai's toxic teachings.
20	** Zhu Li from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' towards her boss [[BunnyEarsLawyer Varrick]]. While he's a genius inventor and a master manipulator, he's physically weak and constantly needs her assistance and services as lab assistant, bodyguard, personal cleaner and other degrading jobs. And she's being doing the job long enough that she automatically knows what Varrick means by "[[CatchPhrase Do the thing!]]" and always reacts accordingly. Despite occasionally showing frustration over his lack of respect towards her, [[spoiler:which allows her to convincingly pretend to quit and abandon him in Book 4]], she remains consistently by his side for much of the series and [[spoiler:for the rest of her life, as they sort out their issues, admit their feelings for each other, and get married in TheFinale. Post-series, she ''does'' quit for real, but at Varrick's insistence, because he believed she'd thrive as a politician after she expresses a desire to become mayor of Republic City (which she does).]]
21	* [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Harley Quinn]], the Joker's sidekick, is usually able to pull off more competent comedy-themed crimes without him -- and once beat Batman so bad the only way Batman could escape was getting her to invite the Joker over, knowing that [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou the Joker's ego wouldn't let anyone else kill him]].
22	-->'''Batman''' (to Joker): "...though I have to admit, she came a lot closer than ''you'' ever did, ''puddin'!''
23	** Played with Harley: She is more a case of SanityHasAdvantages ([[MadLove not to say that she's sane]], just more so than Joker). Joker suffers from some degree of ContractualGenreBlindness, but is frequently shown to be just as intelligent as Batman. Also, the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse [[PeripheryDemographic is still aimed mostly for children]]. Harley being competent is slapstick and AmusingInjuries. ComicBook/TheJoker being competent is... a lot less suitable for children's television. [[BlackComedy but still hilarious]].
24	* ''ComicBook/BuckyOHareAndTheToadWars'': It was never really explored, due to the show being cancelled after half a season, but it was very clear that Commander Dogstar's NumberOne, Wolf, was both more competent and on-the-ball than his rather spacey CO. Wolf was also quite aware of this, his dialogue dripping with only barely concealed sarcasm.
25	* Slinkman of ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'' is this to Scoutmaster Lumpus. When Lumpus isn't being a mad dictator, he's lying in a lawn chair making Slinkman do all the work. As Lumpus [[{{Flanderization}} deteriorated]], Slinkman gained more control over camp. Slinkman secretly dreams of being scoutmaster, but by the time the show ends, he pretty much is already.
26	* In ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPugwash'', Tom the Cabin Boy is the most intelligent and resourceful member of the crew, the only one who can cook and the only one who can actually sail a ship. Tom's ability to think up schemes is the only reason Pugwash has any success as a pirate at all.
27	* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E35HeavyMental Heavy Mental]]". Darkwing is thrilled when he realizes that the Norma Ray did in fact give Launchpad [[PsychicPowers superpowers]], planning to use them to {{curb stomp\|battle}} his opponents. He becomes irritated and wants to get rid of them again after Launchpad's [[HowDoIShotWeb awkward early uses]] of them. By the end, he's interested in keeping them again, but Launchpad now wants them gone, and he gets his wish when they apparently wear off after the final battle.
28	* Cornfed from ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}''. It becomes a plot point in the AdventureGame where while Cornfed does make a plan for Duckman to save the day, he decides that this time he needs to learn how to do things himself and doesn't help him directly outside of that.
29	* Peter Puppy from the ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' cartoon was like this at times. In fact, because of this one episode featured a council of superheroes that ordered Jim to hand over his super suit to Peter, who at the end gave it back.
30	* Edd is this to Eddy on ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', much to Eddy's chargin. [[TheDitz Ed]] will randomly be this for both of them at random moments thanks to RuleOfFunny.
31	* Stan is Xander Crews' hyper-competent sidekick in ''WesternAnimation/FriskyDingo''. Likewise, Sin is Killface's.
32	* Kif Kroker from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is often shown to be far more intelligent and quick-witted than his boss, Zapp Brannigan, but on the rare occasions that Kif overcomes his shyness to speak up, Brannigan invariably ignores him, and often later blames Kif for his own mistakes.
33	** "Be prepared to take the blame in three, two, one...Now!"
34	* Owen Burnett [[spoiler: alias Puck]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' shows how dangerous one of these is when paired with a boss who's ''already'' a MagnificentBastard in his own right (enough of one to get [[TropeNamers a couple of tropes]] named for him!). It's not that Owen is the smarter of the two, but that they're smart in different ways -- Xanatos is a truly brilliant schemer, but it's Owen's cool efficiency and eye for details that make sure all the bases are covered, while occasionally acting as Xanatos's conscience. Both parties have genuine liking and respect for each other, and it's heavily implied that neither would be quite sure what they'd do without the other.
35	** For the record, in "The Gathering: Part II", Puck mentions that he offered Xanatos the choice between a lifetime of loyal service form Owen or granting one no-fingers-crossed wish. Xanatos is smart enough to know the better choice.
36	*** And Puck respects him for that. Though one wonders if Xanatos decided to be cute about it and ''wish'' for Owen as his permanent sidekick.
37	** And of course Preston Vogel is exactly the same way for Fox's father -- [[spoiler: without the aid of also being a magical being]].
38	*** In fact, [[spoiler: Puck]] based his Owen Burnett persona off of Preston's.
39	* In ''WesternAnimation/GiseleAndTheGreenTeam'' Alex has by far the most useful power in telekinesis, and this is used many times to stop whatever Nick is doing. The fact that she has the only offensive power among the five makes her even more competent.
40	* In Creator/HannaBarbera's ''WesternAnimation/TheGodzillaPowerHour'', poor [[TheScrappy Godzooky]] gets a lot of grief from fans because he's cute and much tinier than Godzilla. But taken objectively, Zooky is ''still'' a twelve-foot tall flying monster who dwarfs the human castmembers, and can handily intimidate humans who aren't expecting him. Apart from being a standard cute cartoon sidekick, he's also there so that even the [[JustHereForGodzilla human-scale filler scenes]] all [[{{Kaiju}} Dai Kaiju]] stories have can ''still'' have a cool big monster in them.
41	* PJ from ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' is, depending on the episode, either this or a BeleagueredAssistant to Max. While Max isn't really incompetent, he's [[FearlessFool shortsighted]], [[HighSchoolHustler self-centered]], and [[DistressedDude danger-prone]]. On some occasions, PJ is the only reason Max is ''alive''. [[NoRespectGuy Despite his hard work and consistent helpfulness, even in the face of unreasonable hostility, PJ gets almost no credit]], yet he would gladly do anything to help Max out.
42	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' [[TheGrimReaper well...]]
43	** Mandy is the [[ApocalypseMaiden humorless girl]] who defeats Death himself with one word, then grows up to become [[OneWingedAngel far more formidable]].
44	* In ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'', TheDragon [[GeneralRipper Lute]] was this to ArcVillain [[OriginalMan Adam]]. Adam was a competent villain in his own right, but a LaughablyEvil goofball while Lute was a {{sadist}}ic StraightMan who frequently [[WomenAreWiser had to reign him in]] from breaking the CelestialBureaucracy's rules. [[spoiler:As a result, she ends up becoming a DragonAscendant in the season one finale after Adam's death and immediately gets to work AvengingTheVillain.]]
45	* ''WesternAnimation/HerselfTheElf'' has this for the villains and heroes.
46	** On the villains' side, Ivy and Vendetta successfully capture Herself and three of the elves rather quickly, while Thorn sits and waits in his lab and isn't as effective.
47	** On the heroes' side, Willow Song is constantly looking for easier ways to do things, is the only one who hears Herself's cries for help, is the one who distracts Thorn and Vendetta long enough for Herself to get her wand back, and incapacitates Ivy and Thorn with music so the others can escape.
48	* In a similar vein, Spot from ''WesternAnimation/HongKongPhooey''. There are two ways Hong Kong Phooey defeats a villain. Either by luck (when he's alone), or by his cat sidekick, who usually takes advantage of the villain being distracted by the hero screwing up.
49	* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'':
50	** Penny and Brain help out the titular inspector from behind the scenes.
51	** Penny's dog, Brain, is ''Penny's'' hyper-competent sidekick.
52	** Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'', where Dr. Claw uploads [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Skynet]] into Gadget to eliminate his true nemesis: That 12-year-old girl and her dog.
53	* GIR from ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' is far more competent than Zim himself... but only in duty mode. Which only lasts a few seconds.
54	** An example of how much more competent GIR is, is when Zim decides to lock GIR in duty mode. GIR captures humans, absorbs huge amounts of knowledge, and determines Zim to be the reason that they haven't taken over the planet yet.
55	** Even outside of duty mode, [[DumbassHasAPoint there are times GIR is more rational than ZIM.]]
56	** And according to the unused scripts, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen had the show continued]], Skoodge would have become this as well.
57	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'':
58	** Shego plays with this trope. She fights all the battles for [[HarmlessVillain Dr. Drakken]], she ''tries'' to keep his {{evil plan}}s in line, she even provides Drakken with the {{Unobtainium}} / AppliedPhlebotinum needed for his capers (either by stealing them, or actually buying them). However, it's also painfully clear that Shego has [[BrilliantButLazy no real ambition or drive of her own]], and is more than content to act as follower to a more driven and motivated partner, much like fellow sidekick Ron Stoppable. And even if that wasn't the case, it's implied that she suffers from CreativeSterility anyway; when tasked with teaching Senor Senior Junior how to be a proper villain in one episode, ''he's'' the one who came up with the plans because she couldn't think of anything herself. And while ''[[TheMovie A Sitch in Time]]'' shows that she could succeed in taking over the world as a solo villain, she had to be talked into it and given the plan of how to do so by her '''future self.'''
59	** TeamPet Rufus is often this to Ron, sometimes appearing to be smarter than his owner and much more mechanically adept. Many times has the day been saved by Rufus running off and interfering on his own while Kim and Ron keep the villains busy. Lampshaded in "The Ron Factor", where scientists conclude that the naked mole rat is ultimately the biggest variable in the team's success.
60	* ''WesternAnimation/LadyLovelyLocks'' had this for the heroines and the villains.
61	** The Pixietails have very strong magic and end up doing most of the work themselves, while Lady's only contribution is to summon them by shaking her hair.
62	** Shining Glory's magic ends up resolving the plot a lot. In instances where he's out of the picture the solution is usually to save him so he can save the day.
63	** Hairball has a wide knowledge of magic and is usually out in the field, while Duchess Ravenwaves is content to sit and watch from afar.
64	* Charles Foster Ofdensen in ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}''. Clever, take-charge, and literally DEADLY CFO, manager, and laywer who has more brainpower in one pinky than his metalhead employers have between them.
65	** Proven [[spoiler: after he died, when their wild, compulsive spending sprees and horrible business practices pretty much drive them to bankruptcy.]]
66	* ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'':
67	** Norman, but it's justified in that his job is to be Max's bodyguard until he can fend for himself.
68	** Max's other guardian, Virgil was really, really smart and really really old. But Max's [[IndyPloy on-the-spot ideas]] are what made him TheChosenOne.
69	* ''WesternAnimation/TheModifyers'': If it weren't for Lacey Shadows, [[BigBadWannabe the Baron]] would be harmless, since he's too much of a goofball to actually get anything done. Which is where Lacey comes in. She's [[RightHandHottie his right-hand]] because she's quick-witted and resourceful. So much so, that she's really [[spoiler: [[DoubleAgent Agent Xero]], [[TheMole in disguise]]]].
70	* [[TheDragon Smytus]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' becomes this to [[BigBad Queen Vexus]] as the series goes on. While Vexus [[MotiveDecay becomes unhealthily obsessed with Jenny]], Smytus never loses sight of the Cluster's actual goals (i.e. expanding and providing for its citizens). This culminates in the BigDamnMovie when [[spoiler:he takes control of the Cluster military when it becomes obvious Vexus is wasting time and resources on Jenny. He nearly conquers Earth easily, whereas Vexus had spent the last two seasons utterly failing to do so. He's also [[PragmaticVillainy smart enough to consider the possibility that the planet may be more trouble than it's worth]], rather than obsessing over it like Vexus.]]
71	* Spike is this for Twilight Sparkle in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. While Twilight herself is generally pretty damn competent the number of skills Spike possesses is simply staggering and there are a few episodes where Twilight would have been completely screwed without him.
72	* In ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'', [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Darrell]] turns out to be this to Lord Boxman. While lacking as {{Mook}}, [[HiddenDepths he’s a pretty competent businessman]] and is far better at management than Boxman, [[CutLexLuthorACheck who cares about nothing but destroying the Plaza over a petty vendetta]]. [[spoiler:Eventually, Darrell gets fed up with this and takes over Boxmore by selling out Boxman to the board. Afterwards, the company soars to incredible success because Darrell stops wasting time attacking the Plaza and focuses on ''actually doing his job''.]]
73	* A [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example in ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero''. Sashi is extremely overqualified at her job but she does have flaws and vices, some of which are worse than Penn's, and Penn is usually perfectly capable of keeping up with her during missions.
74	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'':
75	** While he's supposedly more of a partner instead of a sidekick, the latter titular character fits this trope pretty well. Phineas is the idea guy and the spokesman of the two, but Ferb tends to have more mechanical expertise. He does most of the work building all their crazy contraptions and does all the menial jobs. He doesn't seem to mind, though.\
76	In the episode where he's helping his crush Vanessa Doofenshmirtz get a component for her supervillain father, she shows herself to be somewhat resourceful and very agile, but Ferb shows that his capability dwarfs that of everyone except Perry.
77	** Isabella, who's a hybrid of TheHeart and TheSmartGuy. Shows strongest if Phineas is [[LetsGetDangerous in danger]].
78	** Agent P. Major Monogram and Carl tend to spend much of their screentime goofing off and generally just being ThoseTwoGuys, leaving Perry to stop Doofenshmirtz's plans with pretty much no help. Half the time, they don't even give him the slightest bit of information to go on, simply telling him to "Go find Doofenshmirtz and stop him"; this tendency is lampshaded when Perry has to work with [[TuxedoAndMartini a (human) British spy]].
79	--->'''Agent Double 0-0''': What, that's it? No files, no location, no contact; what kind of a mission is this?\
80	'''Major Monogram''': It was enough for the ''mammal''.
81	* WesternAnimation/PorkyPig when he's depicted as WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck's sidekick (in numerous Creator/ChuckJones movie parody shorts, perhaps mostly famously ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgersInTheTwentyFourthAndAHalfCentury'') -- in most of these cases, Daffy breaks the fourth wall to insist that Porky's character is ''supposed'' to be the PluckyComicRelief, so this character type may be a subversion.
82	** This holds especially true in the ''series'' ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'', where Dodgers doesn't so much hold the IdiotBall as have it surgically implanted in place of his actual brain. Apparently, the Cadet is so competent that he singlehandedly ''cured world hunger'' in his younger days.
83	** It should be noted however this interpretation is mostly exclusive to the Chuck Jones shorts (or later ones based on his work specifically), with alternate interpretations often portraying Porky as somewhat a bumbling ButtMonkey to a more [[LoveableRogue apt trickster]] Daffy. It was also subtly implied that Porky's enormous deviation from his usual character was due to Jones' Daffy playing the StrawLoser of the series (similarly Bugs's RoguesGallery were often {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s [[TookALevelInBadass until they played against Daffy]]), perhaps why Jones played Porky as TheFool in non-Daffy shorts, with Sylvester playing his hyper-competent sidekick.
84	** True to their SpinOffBabies nature, in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' Hampton J. Pig has more than once been hyper-competent sidekick to Plucky Duck, most notably in [[AffectionateParody Batduck]] where Hampton was "Decoy, the Pig Hostage."
85	*** Humorously, Plucky himself has once has served this role to Daffy in a Duck Dodgers short where he was "the eager young space cadet." Somewhat odd, since Plucky is a [[SpinoffBabies child version]] of Daffy and normally suffers the same defeat-by-hubris role that Daffy does.
86	*** This situation was reversed for Hampton and Plucky all of once. In the movie special, ''How I Spent My Summer Vacation'', the Pig family picks up a hitchhiker -- who turns out to be a (and this is quoted directly from the radio report that only Plucky seemed to note the importance of) "mass-murderer with a psychotic aversion to pork." Said "hitchhiker" then expanded his range of targets later as he pulled out a hockey mask and chainsaw and proclaimed, "I hate duck, too!" [[HilarityEnsues Insanity then Ensued.]]
87	* Ms. Sara Bellum, assistant to the Mayor of Townsville, from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. She's the one who truly keeps things running around in Townsville and is okay with her position.
88	* Ray the Firefly in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog,'' who keeps the show going until [[spoiler:his HeroicSacrifice.]]
89	* Baba Looey to WesternAnimation/QuickDrawMcGraw I teenk. [[LampshadeHanging Pointed out]] by a third party (possibly a criminal they had just busted?) at least once.
90	** Confirmed. It was the very first El Kabong cartoon where the villain, Don Chilada, had El Kabong's guitar (which he uses to bash villains on the head) while the hero was incapacitated, but Baba Looey was inside the guitar and put a gun to Don Chilada's noggin.
91	* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': Sunspot, the pet, is this to Jet. He is clearly smarter and more competent than his owner, usually being way ahead of what he is thinking or realizing.
92	* It may be the case in the space-themed episode "Space Madness" of ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'', where the titular duo's space counterparts, Commander Hoek and Cadet Stimpy, are sent to a mission that is roughly said to [[AndIMustScream take around 36 years.]] They are exposed to the effects of the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin space madness]], but Ren is the only one to succumb to them, while Stimpy does his job as TheCaretaker for him in an unusually competent manner (in most episodes Stimpy's actions are well-intentioned yet careless). However, Stimpy might have been immune to the effects of the space madness due to being [[TooDumbToFool too stupid for them to have any effect on him]], while Ren is [[AxCrazy mentally unstable]] by nature.
93	* The Creator/CartoonNetwork series ''WesternAnimation/RobotBoy'' revolves around Tommy, a short wimp with a giant head, who has been given the good Professor Mushimo's titular robot, whom the evil Dr. Kamikaze is determined to steal and use for [[WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity evilness... Nessness]]. Tommy's task is to help Robot Boy BecomeARealBoy, while in the process Robot Boy continually saves Tommy and his friends from certain doom by means of unorthodox evil plan.
94	** Since the show is named after Robotboy, Tommy is probably meant to be Robotboy's sidekick, not vice versa.
95	* Lonnie in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' spends the episode "Roll With It" playing this role to Scorpia, who is actually very skilled... in the field of beating the crap out of stuff. Unfortunately, she had been tasked with maintaining the defences of a fortress, a task so far outside her field of expertise it may as well have been in space even ''without'' her [[IgnoredEnamoredUnderling out-of-control infatuation with Catra]] getting in the way. As a result, Lonnie, a cadet fresh out of basic training, has to take care of matters like ensuring Scorpia is facing in the correct direction or getting the spy robot to work properly.
96	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
97	** Although Mr. Burns is not incompetent so much as out of touch with the times, he'd be completely lost without his BeleagueredAssistant Waylon Smithers.
98	** Parodied in "Simpson and Delilah" when Homer is briefly made an executive at the nuclear power plant. His secretary Karl (as [[ThoseTwoGuys opposed]] [[HeterosexualLifePartners to]] Carl) immediately realises that Homer is just some lucky buffoon and isn't suited to his new job. He proceeds to help Homer act the part, resolving every problem in Homer's professional ''and'' personal life without so much as being asked. He later gets fired protecting Homer's job and still writes a presentation to aid him. Homer does brilliantly even without him, but because he's [[PrematurelyBald bald]] again no one takes him seriously.
99	** Played for laughs in "The Springfield Spin-Off Showcase" with the segment "Chief Wiggum, P.I.", which shows Chief Wiggum and Principal Skinner as private investigators in New Orleans, only to have Wiggum bungling his way through the action sequences and Skinner handling the heroics himself.
100	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has "Coon and Friends", the pairing of Eric Cartman as the [[SociopathicHero "hero"]] and ''[[Creator/HPLovecraft C'thulhu]]'' as his erstwhile companion.
101	** [[FanOfTheUnderdog Dougie/General Disarray]] seems to be this to [[HarmlessVillain Butters/Professor Chaos]] in more recent episodes.
102	* Similarly, Deputy Mayor Calico "Callie" Briggs from ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats: The Radical Squadron''. Besides motivating lazy Mayor Manx, she also has a good relationship with the WesternAnimation/SWATKats and ready to help them out.
103	* In ''WesternAnimation/SweetSea'', Squidney does the legwork both in stealing the necklace and impeding Sweet Sea, while his boss Sheeba waits in her lair and gloats.
104	* The Soviet cartoon "A Tale is Told" is about one of these helping a prince rescue a princess from [[OurLichesAreDifferent Koshchei the Deathless]]. The prince himself is an arrogant fool, and actually attempts to run away a couple of times... yet still expects to get the girl at the end. Thankfully, she is too reasonable for that.
105	* Arthur of ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' is many times more intelligent than his partner, The Tick, but he's got nowhere near the combat prowess (or NighInvulnerability) of him, so he's content to play second fiddle to the big blue superhero as it allows him to help people superhero-style while avoiding the punishment.
106	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
107	** In ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' we have Cyclonus. He was sane, calculating, dangerous... everything Galvatron was not. Well, Galvatron was dangerous, but to his troops just as much as the Autobots.
108	** Jazz to Sentinel Prime in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''. While Sentinel Prime is technically second in command to Ultra Magnus, Jazz is usually the one who keeps a handle on Sentinel and tries to steer him towards good judgment. Jazz eventually realized this was a lost cause and left to join the Autobots on Earth.
109	** Soundwave and Shockwave, whom are effectively two-thirds of Megatron's [[CoDragons Dragons]], in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. Soundwave doesn't fight or talk much, but is feared by almost everyone. Megatron wouldn't be nearly as effective without Soundwave's eye for detail and Starscream knew he couldn't replace Megatron without gaining Soundwave's approval. [[CurbStompBattle Airachnid learned first hand not to cross him]]. It's very clear that as long as Soundwave is around, no one can come close to taking Megatron down. [[spoiler: Unless you count Predacons.]] Shockwave, meanwhile, has skills that Megatron values so much, that he orders him to remain in his lab to finish Project Predacon. Shockwave also notably manages to avoid making Megatron angry despite Predaking failing to kill the Autobots in his first two appearances.
110	** Soundwave of the Decepticons is probably the only reason the faction keeps running. He's the only one of Megatron's lieutenants who lacks ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, his skillset is extremely varied from being a capable spy and intelligence officer to a powerful warrior, and he has his own platoon of casseticons who alone can potentially be more useful than a lot of the full sized Decepticons. In the Marvel G1 run especially, he had a habit of stepping up whenever the leader of the month was indisposed, and usually proved alarmingly good at it. He also assumed this role for a while in IDW's comics, when the snarling, thickheaded berserker Galvatron needed someone to handle tasks besides murder.
111	* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Veggietales}}'' Silly Song "The Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps" has this between the titular veterinarian and his nurse. While the Veterinarian is a goofy and nonsensical guy who yodels at ailing animals to help them feel better, his nurse comes up with all of the sensible solutions to his customers' problems, and keeps the business afloat until he wanted a raise for all his work. Vet says "No way, Jose!", and come the next patient the nurse leaves the Vet to deal with a very angry bear stuck in a bear trap by himself.
112	* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'':
113	** [[HeroicComedicSociopath Swedish Murder Machine]] Brock Samson, the Venture family's bodyguard, who makes up for all the badassery they lack.
114	** Dr. Girlfriend (later Dr. Mrs. The Monarch) as well. It's explicitly stated at one point that she designed most of the Monarch's technology, and his entire operation goes to hell after she dumps him.
115	*** Post-Season 3, The Monarch has gotten a ''second'' hyper-competent sidekick in [[TookALevelInBadass Henchmen 21/Gary]]
116	** Dr. Henry Killinger. He makes wonders for those he helps, though his true calling is to make them realize just how far they can go without him.
117	* Interpoll the pet parrot from "Victor & Hugo -- Bunglers in Crime" seems to be a lot smarter than his owners. Mind you, that's not saying much.
118	* Gromit from ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit''. Wallace is prone to making poor decisions and often seeks the [[AwesomeButImpractical least practical]] solution to their problems, often leaving Gromit to clean up the mess.
119	* Commander Peepers to Lord Hater in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder''. The episode "The Axe" has Hater firing him in a fit of pique, [[spoiler: [[VetinariJobSecurity only to rehire him upon realizing that Peepers was singlehandedly keeping his entire evil empire together]].]]
120	* Mr. Big's secretary/assistant/minion, from ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl''. She wanders into BeleagueredAssistant territory, though, often asking for raises.
121	%%** What about [[NonHumanSidekick Captain Huggyface]]?
122	* Boo Boo exhibited this in the ''WesternAnimation/YogiBear'' cartoons, often knowing when to stay out of a situation, and warning Yogi, [[CatchPhrase "Mr. Ranger isn't gonna like this."]]
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Context HypercompetentSidekick / WesternAnimation