In most comic book worlds, it seems the heroes never age. Batman has been around for 80 years and is still around the same age he was when he made his DC Comics debut. However, there is one exception, and that is children and sidekicks of major heroes. While Batman never ages, his sidekicks who portrayed Robin, the Boy Wonder, all became men.
This allows specific characters to move from the role of sidekick and become a major hero in their own right. Of course, once they hit that level, they pretty much stay the same age from then on as well, but on an equal level to the men and women they backed up before. Here is a look at 10 former sidekicks who became heroes in their own right.
10 NIGHTWING
The most famous sidekick in comic book history is arguably Robin. He is so famous that there have been several versions of the Boy Wonder, but the original is still the most iconic. Dick Greyson joined Batman after his parents died and became the sidekick and ward to the Caped Crusader.
Robin left Batman when he was ready to strike out on his own and created the Teen Titans. After rebooting with the New Teen Titans, Dick soon took on a new persona as Nightwing and became a great hero in his own right. Dick became so great in his role that he took on the part of Batman when it looked like Bruce Wayne died.
9 A-BOMB
Rick Jones was one of the earliest sidekicks in Marvel Comics history. He was the kid that Bruce Banner saved when he was caught in the gamma explosion and became Hulk. Rick then became a sidekick to Captain Marvel for many years and also worked alongside Captain America. He even authored a novel called Sidekick.
However, the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. turned an injured Rick Jones into a Hulk-like creature called A-Bomb. He grew into a massive creature that resembled Abomination and became a hero in his own right, helping the Fantastic Four and Avengers on occasion. Hulk forced a cure onto Rick Jones and reverted him into an average human again.
8 WALLY WEST
Wally West was Kid Flash, a founding member of the Teen Titans. He worked with fellow sidekicks like Robin, Aqualad and Wonder Girl and became a strong hero in his own right away from the primary Flash, Barry Allen. However, Wally got a huge opportunity when tragedy struck, and Barry died saving the universe during Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Wally West became the new Flash and replaced Barry Allen. He became a full member of the Justice League. In many fans eyes, he surpassed Barry Allen in the DC Comics universe and was a beloved fan favorite through most of his run until Barry Allen two decades later.
7 WINTER SOLDIER
During World War II, Captain America was part of a superhero group known as The Invaders. The other members of the team were Namor, the android Human Torch, and Bucky Barnes. Unlike his teammates, Bucky was a sidekick for Cap and was the closest thing Marvel had to its own Robin.
However, Bucky did not make it out of WWII alive. He died in the accident that caused Captain America to end up frozen in ice. Unbeknownst to everyone, Bucky lived, and the Soviets took him in and made him the Winter Soldier. After he regained his memories years later, Winter Soldier became one of Marvel's greatest heroes.
6 HARLEY QUINN
It's not only superheroes who have sidekicks. Supervillains can have sidekicks as well. The most famous of these came in Batman: The Animated Series when it introduced an original villain that did not exist in the comic books — Harley Quinn. She was a former psychologist who Joker manipulated and turned into his lackey.
Harley Quinn spent much of her existence subservient to Joker, who she believed she loved. DC Comics brought her in, and after years of working with Mr. J, Harley Quinn finally broke away from him. Thanks to her time in the Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn was able to make it on her own.
5 RED HOOD
The second Robin was Jason Todd. After Dick Greyson left Batman and moved on to the Teen Titans, Batman met a kid on the streets who had nothing and no one to turn to. He took in Jason and helped him turn his life around, making him the new Robin.
However, thanks to a rigged fan poll, DC Comics had Joker kill Jason Todd. The second Robin was gone for years before his resurrection, where he put on a new mask and became Red Hood. After a short time as a Batman villain, Red Hood became an antihero and surpassed anything he ever did as Robin.
4 DRAKE
Possibly the best Robin of them all, Tim Drake was a master detective on the level of Batman himself. Tim figured out who Batman was through his detective work and then made his case to become the third Robin. He ended up as an equal to Dick Greyson and followed in that former sidekick's shoes.
He even went on to become a leader of the Teen Titans, years after Dick Greyson did the same thing. Much like Dick, Drake also changed his name. He became Red Robin and kept that name for many years, becoming a major hero outside the Batman family. Most recently, he changed his name again, this time to Drake, and is ready for the next chapter in his life.
3 AMADEUS CHO
Much like Rick Jones, Amadeus Cho was a former sidekick who also had a connection to Bruce Banner. Cho was actually smarter than Banner, who was one of the most intelligent Marvel characters himself. Amadeus Cho ended up moving outside of Hulk and became a loyal sidekick to Hercules for many years.
However, his time finally came when Bruce Banner died, and Amadeus Cho absorbed much of the gamma radiation into himself. Unlike Bruce, Cho was able to control his emotions as Hulk and took on the role as the new Totally Awesome Hulk. Now known as Brawn, Cho is the smartest Hulk in existence.
2 FALCON
Marvel created Falcon in the '70s as a sidekick superhero to Captain America. Sam grew up in Harlem, and his father and mother both died when he was a child. While he wanted to be a good person like his parents, his anger caused him to make bad decisions, and he started working for the mob.
After a plane he was riding crashed in Rio de Janeiro, he gained powers to communicate with birds. Sam also ended up gaining access to some mechanical wings that allowed him to fly. He helped Cap and became his sidekick, so far as to have a Captain America and The Falcon comic book created after that. Falcon moved past that over the years and became the new Captain America for a time.
1 WAR MACHINE
Jim Rhodes started his life in Marvel Comics as Tony Stark's confidant and friend. A member of the Marines, he met Iron Man while Stark was on a mission and the two worked together. After this mission, Stark offered Rhodes a job as a pilot. He eventually took the position as well as that of the chief aviation engineer.
When Tony Stark fell to alcoholism, Rhodes stepped out of his boss' shadow and took over the role of Iron Man for himself. Rhodes joined the West Coast Avengers and was Iron Man for a long time before Stark recovered and returned. Rhodes has since become War Machine and is a hero on the same level as Iron Man in Marvel Comics now.