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troperville

"A good roadie knows that it's his job to make someone else look good, keep someone else safe, help someone else do what they were put here to do. A good roadie stays out of the spotlight; if he's doing his job right, you don't even know he was there. Once in a while, they might step on stage to fix a problem, to set something right, but then before you realize why he was there, or what he did, he's gone."

— Eddie Riggs, Brutal Legend

The underling who is much smarter, more efficient and more industrious than their (usually totally incompetent) boss, and is the one actually responsible for anything that gets done in the workplace. Despite the fact that they work their butt off for little pay and no credit, this person is generally pretty happy the way things are. If you're looking for a character that would rather not be in this position, that's the Beleaguered Assistant (though there's probably some overlap). If they or the incompetent boss aren't the lead character, they'll often use their skills and position in order to help the lead character out. If their incompetent boss is the Big Bad, they're his right hand and act in the opposite manner to The Starscream even though they may have plenty of motivation to be one. They are often known for appearing right before they are called, always with whatever they were going to be asked to bring.

The greatest danger to the Hypercompetent Sidekick is having a boss who is too stupid. Witness the relationship between Blackadder and Prince George in the third series of that show. The Prince is easily manipulated, but his sheer idiocy is forever landing himself and his butler into incredibly dangerous or difficult situations.

When the Hypercompetent Sidekick wields more actual power than his or her boss, it's an Almighty Janitor. If The Dragon is a Hypercompetent Sidekick who is more of a threat than the actual Big Bad and has little to no respect for the boss, then he's the Dragon-in-Chief.

When the boss is competent in his own right and/or when the sidekick actually enjoys being the underling, it's a Chessmaster Sidekick.

Frequently the Only Sane Man. See also The Reliable One and The Jeeves. Contrast Bumbling Sidekick.

Example subpages:

Other examples

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Fan Fiction

Make A Wish gives us Henchgirl, who works 'for' the Professor.
Subverted in the Deliver Us From Evil Series. Davy Wiggins is the Hyper Competent Sidekick of an equally Hyper Competent Hero, Sherlock Holmes. Later on in the stories, Wiggins is the Hyper Competent Sidekick to Dr. Watson - the two men are shown to be equally clever (and neatly invert the Dumb Blond stereotype).
Played with in another Sherlockian example, A Study In Regret. Mary Watson plays the Hyper Competent Sidekick to Inspector Lestrade, proving herself to be very handy in languages and other areas. In this sense, she plays the trope straight, especially as Lestrade is The Hero. However, the men definitely defer to Mary "Pintsized Powerhouse" Watson as the real authority.

Folklore

Older Than Steam: Puss in Boots, who happens to be a trope on his own.
Monkey King Sun Wukong from Journey to the West is a nearly invincible god who swears loyalty to the very gullible human monk Xuanzang, and ends up kicking the asses of most of the monsters and demons Xuanzang encounters on his journey.

Newspaper Comics

Dilbert: Asok the intern is not only one of the best engineers in the office, he also possesses amazing mental powers, including pyrokinesis and shapeshifting. Despite his prowess, he is paid the least, works in an eighth-sized cubicle, and is rarely allowed to leave.

Theatre

Marriage of Figaro, anyone?
Older Than Feudalism: The whole wise servant/dumb master dynamic is probably one of the most popular staples of ancient Roman/Greek comedy theater. See A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for a modern take on the old Roman cliche.
The zanni or servants of Commedia dell'Arte took up the role with the same plot: a clever servant arranges that his foolish young master and the master's foolish love can marry.

Web Original

Greasy, sidekick to Peeper at Whateley Academy in the Whateley Universe.
"Commander" Jeremy Wickstrom in Chad Vader. Although he is a little off as well.
Phelous and The Cinema Snob gained this role in Kickassia.
In Red vs. Blue, while Church is the leader of the Blue Team, Tucker has far more plot influence and action the instant he picks up his sword. The only thing stopping him from stealing the spotlight is that Church keeps story focus. This eventually gets deconstructed. Tucker gets promoted to an alien ambassador while Church gets sent to a backwater canyon in the middle of nowhere.