Really, sidekicks get the
short end of the stick. Especially when you're the sidekick of a hero who is, by a total
rip-off coincidence, a carbon copy of another, earlier hero. It's like you're a fourth generation photocopy.
Let's start with the
Black Terror, who debuted in
Nedor's Exciting Comics #9 (1941). Meek pharmacist
Bob Benton invents a secret formula which makes him ultra strong. His adolescent pal,
Tim Roland, bogarts some of the formula for himself, and becomes the Terror's sidekick.
But poor Tim get short shrift, as his costume is an
exact duplicate of Benton's:
At least there's a good excuse why they have the exact same costume:
Man, it's too bad
Hair hadn't been playing at that theater...
Meanwhile, a mere 3 months later, in
Fox's Fantastic Comics #17 (1941), another hero debuts:
The Black Fury! (There were
several Black Furies in the Golden Age...this is #3)
Created by
Dennis Menville and
Mark Howell, dandy big-city gossip columnist
John Perry was the Black Fury, who used his newspaper sources to track down and fight crime with his fists...he had no powers.
He even had a sidekick--
Chuck Marley was the son of a slain cop.
And by pure sartorial coincidence, they
also had identical costumes...
That's so sad. Most sidekicks, at least, had costumes that made them distinct from their mentors.
Bucky, Robin, Speedy, Aqualad...they all got to dress differently than the boss. Even
Toro's swimming trunks made him distinct from the
Human Torch. No such luck for Tim and Chuck, who had to dress up like
Mini-Me versions of the grown-up heroes.
No respect, I tell ya.
Should we take note that their costumes are pretty damned close to his predecessor, the Black Terror? Except distinctly worse, obviously. At least Tim got the hand-me-down of a
good costume. Chuck got the copy of a swipe.
Hmm, Black Terror, Black Fury, both had black costumes with skull motifs...
probably just a coincidence, right?
But the coincidences keep on coming. Because poor Tim
never got a sidekick name. Not
Kid Terror or
Terror Jr. or
Little Terror, or even
Timmy Terror. Nope, he was just "
Black Terror's sidekick." That's how the crooks referred to him...that's how the press referred to him. Hell, that's how he referred to
himself!!
Poor kid...but at least he was luckier than Chuck. Because Chuck
did get a real super-hero name, sort of, in a watered down, fourth generation sort of way:
Again?
Yup. His super-hero name was
Chuck. Junior partner in "Black Fury and Chuck." Even Black Fury called him Chuck
in public:
Pity the poor plight of
Golden Age sidekicks who happened to be created by writers and artists with limited imaginations. Apparently
spent by the creative effort needed to invent the hero, they said "Oh, my brain is tired. Let's just give them the exact same origins, exact same powers, and exact same costumes as the grown-up. Easier to draw that way, too! And oh, I'm too tired to think up another hero name..." Come on, guys, even a lameoid like
Stampy got his own name, at least!
Timmy (a.k.a. The Black Terror's Sidekick) did win in
one other fashion: he got his
own catch phrase:
Oh, Golden Age,
how I love you...so let's give the sidekicks some love, too.
Golden Age Idol is now accepting nominations for
real super-hero names for Tim and Chuck. Leave 'em in the comments section...
Black Terror and Tim shots are from Exciting Comics #9 and #10 (1941). Black Fury and Chuck panels are from V-Comics #1 (1942).