History Main / SidekickGlassCeiling

-->'''Raven:''' We're [[GoldenMoment having a moment]] here, don't ruin it.

* Shortly after being ousted from DC Comics, former co-publisher Creator/DanDiDio cited this trope, more or less, [[CreatorsPest why he hated]] [[Characters/TheFlashWallyWest Wally West]] and [[Characters/NightwingDickGrayson Dick Grayson]], albeit in different ways. With Grayson, he believed that him and [[ComicBook/TeenTitans his generation of heroes]] were constantly pushing up [[Characters/BatmanTheCharacter to their mentors]] and balancing both the need for developing their characters without letting them surpass their mentors created ContinuitySnarl. With Wally West, he just didn't believe that a LegacyCharacter and former sidekick could stand on their own as a character without being subservient to their predecessor, and thus he was an inferior character to his mentor and previous [[ComicBook/TheFlash Flash]], [[CreatorsPet Barry Allen]]. Ironically, Wally West was for a long time considered not just one of the best subversions of this trope, but probably ''the'' defining example of SidekickGraduationsStick, as he not only enjoyed character arcs that focused on him ''earning'' the mantle and surpassing his predecessors in power and speed, but hefty CharacterDevelopment completely unrelated to that, proving that he was not simply defined as 'Barry Allen's sidekick who grew up'.

* {{Enforced|Trope}} in ''Film/SkyHigh2005''. A coach ''decides'' whether you are a hero or a sidekick based on a single demonstration. One character ends up a sidekick when she points out the injustice of this and refuses to participate. [[AlmightyJanitor She's more powerful than several in the "hero" category]].

All the reasons why StatusQuoIsGod exists apply here, good and bad: to maintain the premise, a [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking hero and leader]] needs to be better than the {{Sidekick}}, [[MugglePower civilian]] LoveInterests, and pretty much [[SuperPowerLottery all the other good guys]]. The characters may complement each other with different specializations, but the hero, ultimately, has to be tops, or his title is void. Otherwise it'll have to be played for laughs, because the ensemble would be completely unbalanced; you'd end up with an [[HypercompetentSidekick incompetent hero and a bad ass sidekick]] (see WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}} and hyper-competent Cornfed, or WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget and his niece Penny). Or worse, a [[DeusExMachina Sidekick Ex Machina]].

* Women's liberation and feminist movements keep struggling with this concept. Despite huge advances for women's rights in TheTwentiethCentury, women still face social and professional stigma at work and home, still struggle with gender issues and norms, and likewise are subject to other gendered forms of violence. Economies, governments and societies still assume male interests and male consumers represent the normal despite the fact that in developed nations, the sex ratio is greater women than men.

* Franchise/{{Superman}}. Comicbook/JimmyOlsen + UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks = [[http://www.superdickery.com/the-jimmy-olsen-drinking-game Superdickery]] [[http://superdickery.com/supermans-kid-brother says]] [[http://www.superdickery.com/jimmy-the-wolf-man/ it]] [[http://www.superdickery.com/the-world-of-1000-olsens better.]]
** [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Comicbook/LoisLane got the occasional [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SupermansGirlFriendLoisLane1.jpg#file temporary powers]] as well. Even [[http://www.superdickery.com/lois-and-lana-get-super-powers/ Lana Lang]] did!

** And Perry White had ''super-cigars'' that [[http://www.comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/148/74147_20061206013356_large.jpg gave him super-powers]] when smoked. And before that, he became "Masterman" from eating a superpower-giving secretly-sinister-MindControl fruit.
* The ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' arc "ComicBook/SpiderIsland" had the concept of the ENTIRE city of New York hitting the glass ceiling, with ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson in particular getting to play a large part in saving the day.
* Shortly after being ousted from DC Comics, former co-publisher Creator/DanDiDio cited this trope, more or less, [[CreatorsPest why he hated]] ComicBook/WallyWest and [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]], albeit in different ways. With Grayson, he believed that him and [[ComicBook/TeenTitans his generation of heroes]] were constantly pushing up [[Franchise/{{Batman}} to their mentors]] and balancing both the need for developing their characters without letting them surpass their mentors created ContinuitySnarl. With Wally West, he just didn't believe that a LegacyCharacter and former sidekick could stand on their own as a character without being subservient to their predecessor, and thus he was an inferior character to his mentor and previous [[ComicBook/TheFlash Flash]], [[CreatorsPet Barry Allen]]. Ironically, Wally West was for a long time considered not just one of the best subversions of this trope, but probably ''the'' defining example of SidekickGraduationsStick, as he not only enjoyed character arcs that focused on him ''earning'' the mantle and surpassing his predecessors in power and speed, but hefty CharacterDevelopment completely unrelated to that, proving that he was not simply defined as 'Barry Allen's sidekick who grew up'.

* Robin and Ming from ''Webcomic/TheWotch''. Robin most shows this in [[http://www.thewotch.com/index.php?epDate=2003-08-16 a dream.]] Ming has power jealousy in season 3, because lots of her friends have powers and she's ordinary. She doesn't get powers, but she does get [[spoiler: a magical slime woman friend/familiar]]. Robin attempts to counter this by learning Martial Arts. It's helped a little.
* The whole point of ''Webcomic/SidekickGirl'', who's stuck with a superheroine who is TheDitz. As the story went on (And Illumina (the former Ditz) having TookALevelInBadass), the story became Val being stuck thanks to the Hero Agency's archaiac standards on how full hero should look and well as perform.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' episode "The Beast Within" lets PluckyComicRelief {{Animorphism}}-powered Beast Boy get more Beast and less Boy. Even while it lasts, his suggestions that his name be changed to Beast Man fall on deaf ears.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' episode "Full Tilt Tails", Robotnik decides to make his [[GoldfishPoopGang Super Special Sonic Search & Smash Squad]] faster via a new super weapon that took years to make- Speedamint gum. It works wonders and during a test drive, Grounder does a full lap of Mobius in record time, but crashes and loses the gum. Tails comes along and steps in it, making him faster than Sonic. He gets so excited about it that he almost gets run over by a train, ruins a parachute free fall event and almost gets beaten up by a biker. At the end of the episode, he loses the gum and learns a lesson about not being ready for what he wants the most.
* Defied in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' where the entire plot is sparked when a bunch of side-kicks decide they're tired of hitting the ceiling and want to become ''real'' heroes.

* There are people who claim that the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-Proliferation_Treaty Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]] is an example of this.

->''It has always been the province of children and fools to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the emperor remains an emperor, and the fool remains a fool.''
-->-- '''Morpheus''', ''ComicBook/TheSandman''

But wait. [[HeroForADay You've seen this plot before.]] Any setting with [[StockSuperpowers superpowers]] not only ''loves'' to bandy them out randomly like it's going out of style, but also loves to ''[[BroughtDownToNormal take them away]]''. Maybe WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity, her powers come from either ToxicPhlebotinum or TheDarkSide, or a power-draining HeroicSacrifice is in the very near future; regardless of the explanation, [[StatusQuoIsGod Status Quo Is Effing God, Dammit]], so the powers have to go by the end of the episode. They all have to hit it eventually: The Sidekick Glass Ceiling. [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Search your feelings: you know it to be true]].

* The whole point of ''Webcomic/SidekickGirl'', who's stuck with a superheroine who is TheDitz.

Especially JustForFun/{{egregious}} is when the sidekick [[PowersAsPrograms gets some or all of the hero's powers.]] In these cases, there is absolutely ''no way'' that the sidekick will keep the powers; even if the hero has flat out said "IJustWantToBeNormal", and the powers are BlessedWithSuck, the hero will nonetheless move heaven and Earth to get them back by episode's end. Expect a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop about how seeking power or not wanting to give it back to its owner is bad, and you should NeverBeAHero. (Also a BrokenAesop when the hero ''does'' seek to get his powers back.)

* Shortly after being ousted from DC Comics, former co-publisher Creator/DanDiDio cited this trope, more or less, [[CreatorsPest why he hated]] ComicBook/WallyWest and [[ComicBook/Nightwing Dick Grayson]], albeit in different ways. With Grayson, he believed that him and [[ComicBook/TeenTitans his generation of heroes]] were constantly pushing up [[Franchise/{{Batman}} to their mentors]] and balancing both the need for developing their characters without letting them surpass their mentors created ContinuitySnarl. With Wally West, he just didn't believe that a LegacyCharacter and former sidekick could stand on their own as a character without being subservient to their predecessor, and thus he was an inferior character to his mentor and previous [[ComicBook/TheFlash Flash]], [[CreatorsPet Barry Allen]]. Ironically, Wally West was for a long time considered not just one of the best subversions of this trope, but probably ''the'' defining example of SidekickGraduationsStick, as he not only enjoyed character arcs that focused on him ''earning'' the mantle and surpassing his predecessors in power and speed, but hefty CharacterDevelopment completely unrelated to that, proving that he was not simply defined as 'Barry Allen's sidekick who grew up'.

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* While Tailgunner, sidekick to [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] superhero Barnstormer in the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' had the same powers ([[FlyingBrick flight, super-strength, and invulnerability]]) as his heroic mentor, they were for the most part lesser versions. The single exception was his flight speed and aerobatic agility (both greater than Barnstormer's).
[[/folder]]

The more general case, where it doesn't have to be a sidekick, is SuperpowersForADay. The specific case where a particular sidekick has this happen to them every other issue is SuperpowerSillyPutty. Compare FixedRelativeStrength.

* Could be part of a DayInTheLimelight episode where the best friend, [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] of the hero, makes a DealWithTheDevil for powers or gets PsychoSerum they must be weaned off of.

* Franchise/{{Superman}}. Comicbook/JimmyOlsen + UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks = [[http://www.superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=29%3Aconfounding-comic-covers-index&id=996%3Athe-jimmy-olsen-drinking-game&Itemid=24#content Superdickery]] [[http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=29%3Aconfounding-comic-covers-index&id=998%3Asupermans-kid-brother&Itemid=24#content says]] [[http://superdickery.com/index.php?view=article&catid=29%3Aconfounding-comic-covers-index&id=1009%3Ajimmy-the-wolfman&option=com_content&Itemid=24#content it]] [[http://superdickery.com/index.php?view=article&catid=29%3Aconfounding-comic-covers-index&id=1222%3Athe-world-of-1000-olsens&option=com_content&Itemid=24#content better.]]
** [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Comicbook/LoisLane got the occasional [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SupermansGirlFriendLoisLane1.jpg#file temporary powers]] as well. Even [[http://superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=29%3Aconfounding-comic-covers-index&id=950%3Alois-and-lana-get-super-powers&Itemid=24#content Lana Lang]] did!

* The ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' arc "ComicBook/SpiderIsland" had the concept of the ENTIRE city of New York hitting the glass ceiling, with Mary Jane in particular getting to play a large part in saving the day.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' has often given Lana, Lex, Lois and Pete (damn, ruin[[HeterosexualLifePartners ed the alliteration]]) super powers, but they're always gone by the end of the episode. Chloe is the only exception, and even then, [[HealingHands her costly power]] isn't going to get much use. Lex still ''technically'' has a meteor-freak super-strong immune system, which gave him decidedly temporary HealingFactor when combined with something else.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' season 4 finale "Journey's End," this happens to [[spoiler:Donna; she gets the Doctor's intelligence as part of a freak regeneration accident]], but of course, this is a life-threatening talent that must be cured, [[spoiler:in as tear-jerking a way as possible.]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''

[[folder: Literature]]
* Featured in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' a few times:
** Ron Weasley faces angst for the fact that no matter what he does he's never going to be the special Weasley in his BadassFamily where his elder brothers and kid sister have something special and unique about them, while he's TheEveryman. Then he comes to Hogwarts and he's friends with the smartest witch in Hogwarts and TheChosenOne and it increases his insecurity even more. Even the few times he enjoys triumphs such as being on the winning team of the Quidditch cup twice, his best friends don't show up to see it the first time, and in the second time, it gets distracted by other events.
** Peter Pettigrew is a darker take on this. He was a tagalong of the Marauders, the group of friends that included Harry's dad, and he was TheDitz in a generation of geniuses and overachievers, which finally makes him so embittered [[spoiler:that he betrays them to Voldemort. The ironic part is that after helping Voldemort, once in the past and again in the present, like finding him and restoring him, he's once again downgraded to a menial servant, since his dark master has nothing but contempt for him]].
[[/folder]]

** There's something similar in ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'', where you can spend Points to receive either a Minion or a Sidekick. Minions receive 15 Power Points per point you spend on them and are limited to the same Power Level of their Hero, meaning that by spending 10 points a PL 10 character (which is an average starting character with 150 PP) a Hero can have a [[Mook Minion]] with the same 150 PP they started with. This is played straight with Sidekicks, who are a bit more flexible with what they can do than Minions and are a lot tougher, but only get 5 PP per point the Hero spends on them. Sidekicks are required to be less powerful than their Hero, which means that a PL 10 Hero can spend up to 29 PP on a Sidekick with a maximum of 145 PP. In both cases a maximum level Minion or Sidekick will be more powerful than their Hero because they didn't have to spend any PP on a Minion/Sidekick, giving them an edge.

* Robin and Ming from ''Webcomic/TheWotch''. Robin most shows this in [[http://www.thewotch.com/index.php?epDate=2003-08-16 a dream.]] Ming has power jealousy in season 3, because lots of her friends have powers and she's ordinary. She doesn't get powers, but she does get [[spoiler: a magical slime woman friend/familiar.]] Robin attempts to counter this by learning Martial Arts. It's helped a little.

** It's been noted in the movie industry, for a very long time, (not only in America but across the world) that actresses in general tend to have shorter careers as leads than male actors, have fewer options of roles (usually the LoveInterest, the FemmeFatale, TheVamp, or TheIngenue), and their availability and options for roles greatly depends on their looks and ability to maintain them.

But wait. [[HeroForADay You've seen this plot before.]] Any setting with [[StockSuperpowers superpowers]] not only ''loves'' to bandy them out randomly like it's going out of style, but also loves to ''[[BroughtDownToNormal take them away]]''. Maybe WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity, her powers come from either ToxicPhlebotinum or TheDarkSide, or a power-draining HeroicSacrifice is in the very near future; regardless of the explanation, [[StatusQuoIsGod Status Quo Is Effing God, Dammit]], so the powers have to go by the end of the episode. They all have to hit it eventually: The Sidekick Glass Ceiling. [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Search your feelings:]] [[TheHero you]] [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi know it to be true]].

All the reasons why StatusQuoIsGod exists apply here, good and bad: To maintain the premise, a [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking hero and leader]] needs to be better than the {{Sidekick}}, [[MugglePower civilian]] LoveInterests, and pretty much [[SuperPowerLottery all the other good guys]]. The characters may complement each other with different specializations, but the hero, ultimately, has to be tops, or his title is void. Otherwise it'll have to be played for laughs, because the ensemble would be completely unbalanced; you'd end up with an [[HypercompetentSidekick incompetent hero and a bad ass sidekick]] (see WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}} and hyper-competent Cornfed, or WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget and his niece Penny). Or worse, a [[DeusExMachina Sidekick Ex Machina]].