Before Dick Grayson witnessed the murder of his parents and chose to become the first of Batman's many sidekicks in his war on crime as Robin the Boy Wonder, sidekicks had been well established in the literature, even if the derogatory term didn't usually call them. From Robin Hood's best friend Little John to Sancho Panza helping Don Quixote fight windmills, the second banana is a tried and true position in the stories of great heroes.

RELATED: Superman: All Of His Sidekicks In The Comics, Ranked

But not every sidekick gets to be one of the greatest sidekicks ever. Some become lost to the sands of time because of sheer lack of interest from readers and writers in character. In contrast, others vanish from the stories because of the ever-evolving culture that makes it clear that certain characters should never have appeared in the first place. And while these heroes continue to fight evil in comics, for the most part, their once trusted confidants have gone away with little fanfare.

10 Fatman

Fatman, former sidekick of Mr America in DC Comics

While Robin gets all the credit for being the first sidekick in comics, that isn't actually true. Two years before Dick Grayson started fighting crime, Fatman, the sidekick of Tex Thompson, aka Mr. America. Robert "Bob" Daley was Tex Thompson's best pal, and in Action Comics #2, he decided to join his friend in fighting evil. Donning a costume that looks a lot like the one Ma Hunkelーthe first Red Tornadoーwould later take on herself, Bob called himself Fatman and got into the action. Fatman would fall away along with Tex Thompson, though he did make Secret Origins and The Golden Age appearances.

9 Thomas Kalmaku

pieface

First introduced in 1960's Green Lantern #2, Thomas Kalmaku was a young Inuk mechanic at Ferris Aircraft who became close friends with Hal Jordan, often helping the hero in his adventures. However, he never had a costume or superhero name. Kalmaku did have a nickname, though, "Pieface," which is a rather insulting term that was dropped over the decades.

RELATED: Robin (& 9 Other Of DC's Best Sidekicks)

The erasure of Kalmaku from the comics is more recent than many other forgotten sidekicks. While he started to fade away in the 1970s, he was briefly turned into a hero by the Guardians and joined the New Guardians. In the 2011 Green Lantern movie, Kalmaku was played by Taika Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok and the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder.

8 The Three Dimwits

Always one to do things his own way, Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, didn't have one sidekick. He had three of them' Winky Moylan, Blinky Boylan, and Noddy Toyland, better known as the Three Dimwits. Making their first appearance in 1942's All-Flash #5, the Three Dimwits were criminals until they met Flash and decided to change their ways.

The Three Dimwits became so popular that they started to appear in solo stories but vanished with the other Golden Age heroes in the late 1940s. It was later revealed that the three pals found a sack of cash and retired to the Caribbean but returned to Central City when they spent their savings. The Three Dimwits were given jobs as security guards at the Flash Museum. It was there that they were killed in 2009's Justice League: Cry for Justice.

7 Hiram "Stretch" Skinner

Hiram "Stretch" Skinner DC Comics

An amateur private eye with odd physical proportions, Hiram "Stretch" Skinner, got his detective badge and a diploma from a scam school, but that didn't stop him from helping Wildcat fight crime. Stretch was such a bad detective that he couldn't even figure out that his best friend Ted Grant and his boss Wildcat are the same person. Stretch disappeared at the end of the 1940s when superhero comics all but ceased being published but managed to make a few appearances since, most recently in 2008's JSA Classified #36 by B. Clay Moore and Ramon Perez.

6 Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson Incredible Hulk Marvel Comics

Introduced to readers by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe in The Incredible Hulk #131, Jim Wilson was an angry young teen who found a kinship with the Hulk. Replacing Rick Jones, Jim became Bruce Banner's closest confidant for a time. After being a semi-regular appearance in Hulk stories, Jim disappeared from the book in 1980. Later, writer Peter David brought Jim Wilson back over a decade later in The Incredible Hulk #388 and revealed that Jim was HIV positive. Jim would later die of complications from AIDS in The Incredible Hulk #420.

5 Doiby Dickles

Green Lantern and Doiby Dickles from DC Comics

First showing up in 1941's All-American Comics #27, Doiby Dickles is one of the few sidekicks to have a happy ending. Doiby, a cab driver with a thick Brooklyn accent, became the sidekick of Alan Scott - the Golden Age Green Lantern - after helping the hero take on a group of thugs. Like Green Lantern, Doiby had his own mantraー"Soivice that don't make youse noivice"ーwhich he would say whenever he was called on to help.

RELATED: 10 Of The Best Marvel Sidekicks Ever

In his adventures with Green Lantern, Doiby met and fell in love with Princess Ramia from the planet Myrg. Doiby and Princess Ramia married, and Doiby became king of Myrg. Doiby made a few appearances at the turn of the century, even joining the short-lived "Old Justice" but has since returned to Myrg.

4 Lieutenant Marvels

The Lieutenant Marvels, Tall Marvel, Fat Marvel, and Hill Marvel in Fawcett Comics

Showing up in 1941's Whiz Comics #21, the Lieutenant Marvels were three boys who happened to share the name Billy Batson with the W.H.I.Z. Radio reporter who was secretly Captain Marvel, known today as Shazam. The three other Billy's calling themselves "Tall" Billy, "Hill" Billy, and "Fat" Billy, traveled to meet "Real" Billy and form the Billy Batson Club. To help in his battles against his foes, Captain Marvel shared the secret word "Shazam" with the other Billys, creating "Tall" Marvel, "Hill" Marvel, and "Fat" Marvel, better known as the Lieutenant Marvels. The Lieutenant Marvels made many appearances over the years, but have only shown up a few times since DC Comics started publishing Shazam stories. Now that there is a new Shazam Family, it seems like the Lieutenant Marvels' days are over.

3 Uncle Marvel

SHAZAMILY 13 UNCLE MARVEL 2

When conman Dudley H. Dudley found Mary Batson's diary, he learned that she was secretly Mary Marvel and tried to use the knowledge he gained from the diary to convince Mary that he was her uncle and work his way into the Marvel Family, going so far as to make his own costume and claim to have powersーalthough he could never use his powers because his "shazambago" was always acting up.

The Marvel Family let Dudley hang around with them as comic relief, but his conman ways helped on occasion. Dudley was once able to trick Black Adam into saying the magic word "Shazam," turning the villain back into a powerless mortal and saving the day. In later years, Dudley made a few brief appearances but he hasn't been seen since Flashpoint.

2 Alpha

Marvel Alpha Spider-Man

Marvel isn't as well known for sidekicks as DC is, but they have their fair share of them, including some that didn't catch on, like Alpha. Midtown High C+ student Andy Maguire found himself with superpowers when Peter Parker returned to his old school to show off some new technology from Horizon Labs. An accident during the presentation gave Andy the ability to create a hyper-kinetic form of energy tied to the universe's forces.

RELATED: Every Sidekick You Didn't Know Spider-Man Had (In The Comics)

Feeling responsible, Spider-Man took Andy, now going by Alpha, on as a sidekick but found that Andy was too irresponsible to be properly trained. Alpha moved to Philadelphia to continue his superhero career, but he hasn't been seen in any comics since 2013.

1 Mia Dearden

Mia Dearden as Speedy

A teenage runaway turned sex worker, Mia Dearden was rescued from one of her clients, a deranged politician, by Green Arrow. Green Arrow took Mia in and reluctantly trained her in archery, but refused to become his new sidekick. When Mia tested HIV positive, her desire to become a hero grew. Understanding that Mia wanted to make a real difference in the world with the time she had left, Green Arrow arraigned for her to join the Teen Titans as the new Speedy. After Flashpoint and the start of the New 52, Mia was mentioned in an Green Arrow issue, but has never actually appeared in any series.

NEXT: Teen Titans: 5 Former Sidekicks That Joined The Justice League (& 5 That Refused To Join)