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The Character Sheet for the Nelvana cartoon Sidekick.


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Main Characters

    Eric Needles 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5e1f6222a0bf3c78ba704ba7cf307889.jpg
Funpak design 

Voiced by: Peter Oldring (Funpak shorts), Miklos Perlus (TV series)
The protagonist. A perennial loser and former orphan who was adopted by Maxum Man and has to constantly cover for his superhero's mysterious disappearance while trying to become a better sidekick. Unfortunately, his terrible luck, short-sightedness, and lack of popularity tend to cause trouble for him.
Tropes associated with Eric:

  • Abusive Parents: According to one of the Funpak shorts, his late father repeatedly spat on him.
  • Acquired Situational Narcissism: After getting an action figure made of him in "Hello Dolly", Eric ends up letting his newfound popularity go to his head. It starts with him merely posing for photo shoots, and before the toys start attacking, Eric's soon wearing a crown, championship belt and has a polar bear holding him by the shoulders.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy: In the Funpak shorts, he was more snarky and cynical (usually in response to Trevor's antics). In the main series, he is more friendly and well-meaning (if not a bit selfish and reckless).
  • All of the Other Reindeer: He's highly unpopular around Splitsboro, bullied and considered a nerd by his classmates at school, and is generally a punching bag to everyone he meets, and even the friends he does have tend to turn on him.
  • Art Evolution: When the original Funpak shorts were picked up for a full series, Eric's design was modified slightly, making him less beady-eyed and cleaning up his hair a little.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: He may be an doormat who's ultimately helpless to stop himself from suffering life's cruelties, but the rare times he's been evil portray him as a diabolical mastermind who happens to be capable of easily defeating anyone who gets in his way, only being prevented from doing so by his sheer bad luck.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: He can be very whiny at times, usually when it involves him doing his superhero duties.
  • Bully Magnet: He's a favored punching bag for a lot of the other characters.
  • Butt-Monkey: Some sort of terrible fate seems to befall him in every episode.
  • Catchphrase: Whenever Kitty does something creepy that happens to be related to him, he says "What?", and she responds with the same.
  • The Chew Toy: The universe seems to have it out for him, as he suffers some sort of horrible abuse or injury in almost every episode. He doesn't even get away on "Graduation Daze", as his accidentally destroying the diplomas leads to the school year resetting, and thus, the abuse starting again.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may be a Chew Toy of the highest order, but he's shown to be surprisingly resourceful and smart when the situation calls for it, like in "The Henchman Challenge" where he manages to get Master XOX's minions to destroy each other with their own tanks, and in "Halloweenie" where he uses his new clown powers to defeat the costume shop wizard.
  • Conveniently an Orphan: His parents were killed in an amusement park accident.
  • Dating Catwoman: With Mandy Struction, Member of the Splitsboro Crime Syndicate, The Mass Destructions.
  • Depending on the Writer:
    • His relationship with Vana. Though he's usually a Dogged Nice Guy who chooses to ignore her her faults, some episodes like "The Bogey Man" and "The Short List" depict the two as bitter rivals, with Eric doing all he can to get one up on her.
    • How he responds to Kitty's advances tends to vary on whether he's oblivious or knows but doesn't return the sentiment.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: To Vana, at least when they aren't competing against each other.
  • The Eeyore: He can get pretty depressed whenever he talks about his life in the orphanage.
  • Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Realist.
  • Gasshole: While definitely not as bad as Trevor, he has been shown burping and farting on occasions.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Trevor.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While prone to selfish and reckless actions (often as a result of Trevor's urgings), Eric is still generally a kind and friendly guy who really does want to do good, at least when compared to most of Splitsboro.
  • The Leader: He's often the only one who can get Trevor, Vana and Kitty to work together on a common goal, and he generally takes the lead in their adventures as a result.
  • Loser Protagonist: He's constantly subjected to abuse from the world around him, and he constantly loses even when he wins.
  • Morality Chain: Played With in the case of Trevor. Eric's the only character who can rein Trevor in from his more impulsive decisions, and often prevents him from Jumping Off the Slippery Slope with their friendship on the line. However, Trevor's equally likely to just ignore Eric's objections and help Master XOX or do whatever else drifts into his mind, so it's not entirely foolproof.
  • Naked People Are Funny: One common Running Gag is to have Eric get stripped down to his underwear, which inevitably turns out to be horribly embarrassing for him.
  • Nerd Glasses: He wears glasses to showcase that he's geeky.
  • No Guy Wants to Be Chased: It's implied the main reason he doesn't return Kitty's affections is because of her constantly stalking him and saying/doing things he finds uncomfortable.
  • No-Respect Guy: Almost nobody in Splitsboro aside from Kitty, Mandy and occasionally Trevor likes him.
  • Oblivious to Love: Eric is completely oblivious to the fact that Kitty has a crush on him, although this is depending on the episode. In some episodes he IS aware of this but he's not interested in her.
  • Raised by Robots: Maxum Brain is the closest thing to a parent he has.
  • Secret Relationship: He's in a relationship with Mandy Struction, but since their families are on opposite ends of the morality spectrum, they're forced to keep it a secret.
  • Ship Tease:
    • Sometimes with Kitty, despite him showing more interest in Vana and Mandy.
      • Towards the end of "The Henchman Challenge", Kitty held Eric's arm up in the air to make him look like a winner to her after losing the competition to Master XOX and his henchman. Both were then seen smiling at each other.
      • In "Eric Squared", after Eric explained the whole situation involving his Evil Counterpart to Vana and Kitty, Kitty gave him a hug and told him in a affectionate tone that she believed him. This made Eric smiled back at her once again.
      • In "Stupor-ize Me", Eric agreed with Kitty on how cute he looked in his work uniform. This marked the first time in the show that he responded positively to Kitty's flirtations without pretending to ignore or mishear her.
      • In "The Bogey Man", after Kitty got hit by The Log of Peril and started clinging on for her life, a concerned Eric offered to catch her if she jumps off the log (which backfired, as before he could do so, Vana pulled him away to finish off their golf game).
    • He also has had some tease with Vana, when she isn't being a jerk to him.
  • Something Else Also Rises: Both his and the giant robot Eric's noses rise up when they see a giant Vana robot in "Hello Dolly".
  • Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: He's the 13 year-old Tiny Guy to the 12 year-old Mandy's Huge Girl.
  • Undying Loyalty: To his adoptive parent/superhero, Maxum Man. He constantly cites Maxum Man's advice in dangerous situations, and often refuses to acknowledge anything wrong about him.
  • Vocal Evolution: In the shorts, his voice goes from teenish to full on adult sounding by the 5th short.

    Trevor Troublemeyer 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/84260a2e483a0e7dcb320c7226179513.jpg
Funpak design 

Eric's best friend. While Trevor isn't the brightest at the Sidekick Academy, he is very easygoing thrill-seeker who loves making trouble and causing mischief (usually bringing Eric along for the ride). Unlike his friends, he aspires to become a villain's henchman rather than a superhero's sidekick.
Tropes associated with Trevor:

    Vana Glama 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3e59a1531b7c48bc9a1a2dabc40a448b.jpg
Funpak design 

Voiced by: Stephanie Beard (Funpak shorts), Stephanie Anne Mills (TV series)
Eric's (completely one-sided) initial love interest. Vana is a pretty, popular, and perfect primadonna, as well as the best student in the entire Sidekick Academy. But despite her usual distaste for Eric and Trevor, as well as their antics, she does hang out with them like they were her friends.
Tropes associated with Vana:

  • Action Girl: She's a superhero sidekick-in-training, as well as the toughest and most competent fighter of the main four.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job: She goes from a blonde in the Funpak shorts to a redhead in the TV series.
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: She falls head-over-heels for Eric's "Kid Ruthless" persona in "Identity Crisis".
  • Alpha Bitch: Vana Glama is a classic bossy, snobby, stylish queen bee, complete with Kitty as her nerdy henchwoman.
  • Art Evolution: Her design was changed slightly from the Funpak shorts as part of the new visual style, notably simplifying her dress and removing the light blush from her cheeks.
  • Attention Whore: As expected from her Alpha Bitch characterization, she loves having others pay attention to her.
  • Broken Ace: She's tough, beautiful, and capable of mastering anything with ease. She's also a selfish Alpha Bitch who only cares about herself.
  • Crossdresser: Not normally, but during Kitty's daydream in "Maxum Man Mark 2" of her and Eric getting married, Vana plays the best man with a fetching tuxedo.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: She actually does warm up to Eric (to an extent) as the show progresses, starting with the end of "The Bogey Man", where after the team manages to escape the titular villain's golf course, she actually hugs Eric, before she pushes him away a second later.
  • Disappeared Dad: While her mother has been revealed to be a hippie, her father has never been seen.
  • Fiery Redhead: She's got red hair and can lose her temper quite quickly, especially if it's anything related to Eric trying to impress her or Kitty speaking against her.
  • Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Cynic.
  • Good Is Not Nice: She may be an aspiring superhero sidekick ready to kick bad guy butt when it comes along to cause trouble, but she's still a snobby primadonna through and through.
  • Handy Feet: Useful for kicking butts and tickling abrasive friends.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kitty.
  • It's All About Me: She's a vain and self-centered girl.
  • Jerkass: She's generally a very unpleasant person most of the time.
  • Jerkass to One: While she's a cold-hearted Alpha Bitch to everyone around her, she's much more hostile and cruel to Eric when he's trying to make her love him. Heck, she even considers him to be her favorite punching bag in one episode.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may be a selfish prima donna, but on rare occasions she actually shows affection for Eric, Trevor and Kitty. Take the time she hugged Eric in "The Bogey Man", for example.
  • Kiai: Any time she unleashes her fighting moves, each attack is likely to be accompanied with a shrill scream.
  • The Lancer: While not considered the leader, she's by far the toughest of the group and she often butts heads with Eric as a result of her arrogance.
  • Meaningful Name: Vana is vain and glamourous.
  • Odd Friendship: When she's not being annoyed by his antics, she actually gets along quite well with Trevor, if their conversation while inside a giant monster in "A Monster Headache" is anything to go by.
  • Pink Means Feminine: She wears an entirely pink outfit, and is noted for her love of fashion and style, as well as her general obsession with looking pretty.
  • The Rival: Some episodes like "The Bogey Man" and "The Short List" depict her as one to Eric.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: Vana actually choked to death in one of the Funpak shorts, though she reappeared completely fine in a later episode. Since the 2010 cartoon series was aimed towards a younger audience, this plotline was cut, and Vana actually survives the entire series.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She's usually an utter jerk and a prima donna of epic proportions, but on rare occasions she'll show a kinder side to Kitty, Trevor and even Eric now and then.
  • Tsundere: She's usually a major Jerkass, though there's the very rare moment of Ship Tease between her and Eric, ranging from their awkward hug in "The Bogey Man" to Vana admitting she'd have went out with Eric to the school dance if he asked in "This Hour Has 20,000 Minutes".
  • Wacky Parent, Serious Child: There could not be a bigger difference between Vana and her mom.
  • With Friends Like These...:
    • While she considers Kitty to be her best friend, most of the time she takes advantage of the friendship by treating her like a servant. She has also mocked and belittled her on many occasions, like when she made fun of her two left feet in "Trip Van Twinkle Toes".
    • To a lesser extent, she also sees Eric and Trevor as her friends, but is willing to bully, abuse and torment them at any given opportunity, especially if she is annoyed by their shenanigans.

    Kitty Ko 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/17c8f4d2c0f4e3a1f30be3954aee4db0.jpg
Funpak design 

Voiced by: Stephanie Beard (Funpak shorts), Denise Oliver (TV series)
Vana's best friend and number two. Kitty is a sweet-natured and highly intelligent (if sometimes disturbingly obsessive) girl with a talent for computers and robotics. She has a gargantuan crush on Eric that she's terrible at hiding from him (and yet constantly succeeds at).
Tropes associated with Kitty:

  • Action Girl: While not as much of a fighter as Vana, she is nonetheless very much capable of taking on villains thanks to her sidekick training.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness: She lost her pig-like nose and freckles, became less spindly, had her skin lightened up and gained tidier hair when the Funpak shorts were picked up for a TV series, making her look much cuter.
  • Alliterative Name: Kitty Ko.
  • All Asians Know Martial Arts: She's of Chinese descent, and she's also well-versed in martial arts.
  • Art Evolution: As noted above, her Funpak design was much homelier compared to the final product.
  • Asian and Nerdy: She's Asian, and incredibly smart and good with technology.
  • Badass Bookworm: While usually more of the nerdy tech-type, Kitty can be a formidable fighter when provoked.
  • Berserk Button:
    • Do not flirt with Eric unless you want to see her angry.
    • Cats in danger are the only thing that can divert her attention away from Eric.
  • Catchphrase: Whenever she does something disturbing that happens to be related to her crush, Eric, he says "What?", and she responds "What?" back.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: If you're a girl, making any romantic advances towards Eric is likely to earn you her ire. Targets for her wrath include Vana (under the effects of the Ga-Ga goggles) and Mandy (who she would later warm up to).
  • Conveniently an Orphan: It is unknown what happened to Kitty's real family but according to some fans, her family may have abandoned her when she was a baby or died either by being killed or of natural causes.
  • The Cutie: She's the smallest of the main four, and also the youngest at 11.
  • Cute Bookworm: A bookworm who constantly fails to hide her glaringly obvious crush on Eric.
  • Dogged Nice Girl: To Eric.
  • Fictional Disability: She has two left feet.
  • Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Optimist.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: She sometimes develops gizmos and gadgets to help her with various things, such as using robotic parents to attend events.
  • Gamer Chick: She's shown to be a bit of an avid video game enthusiast on occasion.
  • Girl Posse: For Vana.
  • Goofy Print Underwear: In "What's He Hiding?", due to throwing away her new belt, Kitty's skirt falls revealing red boxers with Eric's face plastered all over them.
  • The Heart: Her kindness is generally the only thing that keeps Eric, Trevor and Vana from killing each other, though she also doubles as The Smart Girl as a result of her tech skills.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Vana.
  • Informed Flaw: According to the promotional materials, she apparently has a Friend Versus Lover rivalry with Trevor regarding Eric. Not only does this not come up in the show itself, the two actually get along perfectly well.
  • Jerkass Ball: Despite having a crush on Eric and being one of the nicest characters in the series, she's perfectly happy to gang up on him with Trevor and Vana and is willing to insult, mock or even beat him up during those moments.
  • Kindhearted Cat Lover: She loves cats and is one of the nicest characters in the show.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • She really, really likes cats.
    • Her last name is a Chinese and Korean term for "high" referring to her high personality.
  • Modesty Shorts: She wears red boxer shorts instead of panties underneath her plaid skirt. This come in handy when her skirt accidentally falls down after the belt was removed.
  • Morality Chain: She plays this role for Eric in certain episodes like "The Henchman Challenge", where she disapproves of the team's cheating (despite their lack of other options) and manages to guilt-trip Eric into using proper strategies instead.
  • Nice Girl: She's perhaps the nicest character in the show, Yandere-like obsession with Eric notwithstanding.
  • The Smart Girl: She's the smartest of the group, and often aids the team with her own inventions.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Her most defining trait is her obsession with Eric, though she's also chased after Joshua Sideburns and Alan Amazing whenever they show up.
  • Yandere: She repeatedly tried to kill Mandy after discovering that she was dating Eric, though Mandy wound up having to save her when each trap backfired. She later warms up to Mandy, though she's still quite jealous regardless.

Supporting Characters

    Maxum Brain 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxum_brain.jpg

Voiced by: Tony Daniels
Maxum Man's computer and Eric's current guardian. Created to be the world's most powerful supercomputer, he is very strict and frequently tires of the irresponsible and childish shenanigans Eric and his friends engage in, believing he has far better things to do than babysit a bunch of brats.
Tropes associated with Maxum Brain:

  • Abusive Parents: He's perfectly capable of being verbally abusive to Eric, such as telling him he was always meant to be a clown (Eric was dressed as one) in "Halloweenie" or revealing he had always wanted Vana to be Maxum Man's sidekick instead in "The Short List". He's also tried to kill Eric with his sawblade hands on more than one occasion.
  • Big Good: With Maxum Man's disappearance, he fulfills this role in his place.
  • Bollywood Nerd: Maxum Brain has an Indian accent, likely as a joke about the association between India and tech operators. One episode even revealed that his creator is Indian.
  • The Mentor: For Eric, looking after him in Maxum Man's place and trying his best to get him to do the responsible thing.
  • The Smart Guy: On occasions where he's joined up with the main team, he often provides rational guidance as a result of being both a robot and the only adult.
  • Surrounded by Idiots: He often feels this way about his job, being a bit disgruntled with the fact that he is now relegated to having to raise children after Maxum Man's disappearance.

    Maxum Man 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxum_man.png

Voiced by: Ron Pardo
The superhero who adopted Eric and made him his sidekick. Considered to be the greatest superhero in Splitsboro, if not the entire world, he has suddenly disappeared, leaving Eric and Maxum Brain to do his work. The flashbacks we get of him also show that he was REALLY egotistical about his reputation.
Tropes associated with Maxum Man:

  • Pet the Dog: Despite his usual personality... he does indeed have a few moments throughout the show run.
  • Purple Is Powerful: He wears a purple suit and is generally heavily associated with purple, and he was the most powerful person in Splitsboro before his disappearance.
  • Smug Super: He's the world's greatest superhero and takes A LOT of pride in that fact, often getting on others nerves with his sheer ego.
  • Sociopathic Hero: Despite his heroic status, he has very little regard for the safety of his allies and friends, even using his own sidekick as a meat shield or a human projectile with great regularity.
  • Steven Ulysses Perhero: Maxum Man's secret identity is Mr. Maxummin.
  • Superdickery: So much so that quite a few of the show's villains came about as a result of his jerkassery.

    Professor Pamplemoose 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/professor_pampelmoose.png
Funpak design 

Voiced by: Alex Nussbaum (Funpak shorts), Patrick McKenna (TV series)
The cruel headmaster of the Sidekick Academy and the teacher of Eric and his friends. Despite being tasked with teaching kids on being superhero sidekicks, he takes great pleasure in putting his students through extremely painful training methods and dishing out punishments on them.
Tropes associated with Professor Pamplemoose:

    Master XOX (Mr. Martin Troublemeyer) 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/master_xox.png
Click here  to see him as Martin Troublemeyer
Funpak designs 

Voiced by: Scott McCord (as Mr. Troublemeyer), Ron Rubin (as Master XOX)
The show's main villain. Formerly the archnemesis of Maxum Man, Master XOX is considered the greatest supervillain in Splitsboro and frequently antagonizes Eric and his friends as he carries out his evil schemes. He is secretly the alter ego of Trevor's well-meaning father Martin — something not even Trevor is aware of.
Tropes associated with Master XOX/Martin Troublemeyer:

  • Arch-Enemy: Was this to Maxum Man, and also this to Professor Pamplemoose as Mr. Troublemeyer, but is now the greatest enemy of Eric and his friends.
  • Archnemesis Dad: To Trevor, although Trevor is completely oblivious to the connection between Master XOX and his dad.
  • Ax-Crazy: He's a sadist who revels in causing as much destruction and chaos as possible. Once, he made clones and then ate them.
  • Big Bad: In the sense that he's the most persistent and regularly recurring villain.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Martin/Master XOX tries constantly to be a good father. But Trevor makes it very hard to do so.
  • Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Martin tries to keep Trevor from turning evil and even put him in the Sidekick Academy despite reacting in disgust when that school is even mentioned. Of course, Master XOX is always proud that Trevor inherited his evilness.
  • Hates My Secret Identity: Trevor idolizes XOX, but seems to hold nothing but contempt for XOX's civilian identity: his dad.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: He once created and then ate several clones.
  • Literal Split Personality: Master XOX and Martin are shown as separate individuals near the end of "Four's A Crowd", though there's no explanation given as to why.
  • Split Personality: The psychotic Master XOX and the milquetoast Martin Troublemeyer.

Other Characters

    Mandy Struction 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mandy_struction.png

Voiced by: Stacey DePass
A very tall student from the Henchman Academy and the youngest member of The Destructions, a prominent family of supervillains (later anti-heroes). She has feelings for Eric (that he shares later on in the series), but her parents forbid her from pursuing relationships with any good guys.

    Alan Amazing 

Voiced by: Scott McCord
The most popular and handsome student at the Sidekick Academy.

    Golly Gee Kid 

Voiced by: Ron Pederson
Maxum Man's former sidekick, who is now the school janitor.

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