Discussion Main / PsychoSidekick

Pulled this example for discussion:

• The Alloy of Law has Wax, an upstanding heroic member of society, working with Wayne, a partially-reformed thief whose definition of being 'reformed' tends to mean that instead of just stealing things he leaves something in their place.

Wayne doesn't seem like an appropriate example to me in that despite his itchy fingers and being a Chivalrous Pervert, he is overall a highly moral person- an important scene giving him Hidden Depths shows his guilt over having killed someone during this criminal past and his intense desire to atone. Also, not that killing enemies necessarily makes you bad, but with that in mind, Wayne tends more toward being a Technical Pacifist, whereas Wax is much more willing to kill opponents.

I've been meaning to create a trope called Ex Con Sidekick, for where characters (usually detectives) are aided by former thieves/criminals, who are generally very sympathetic. I think Wayne would be a better fit for this idea.

Psycho Sidekick might be Truth In Television when one considers that low-ranking police, soldiers, etc. sometimes exceed the legal limits of their powers in order to achieve some legal objective that has been specified by the higher ranks.

If anyone wants to (and knows how to) add a page image, can I recommend the Batman and Robin (Grant Morrison series) cover where Damian's about to decapitate Dick with a claymore?