Marvel’s Stan Lee was notoriously anti-teen high school student, saying it was completely irresponsible for heroes to endanger everyday people, especially children. Most of DC’s kid sidekicks have outgrown their roles and become stand-alone heroes or villains, but Marvel tends to cut out the middleman, turning teens into full-fledged heroes from the get-go.
Sidekicks are a huge part of the comics, and Marvel writers and artists have tried to spice up much-loved heroes by giving them a sidekick with a fresh perspective. Bucky Barnes and Rick Jones are the Swiss army knives of superhero support, but they’re the heroes who aren’t known for teaming up with younger or less super individuals.
10 The X-Men Are Full Of Sidekicks
The multiple overlapping timelines, lineages, and storylines of Marvel’s X-Teams complicate most mutant relationships. It’s not uncommon for two or three adults to lead teams of mostly teenagers or children on official Xavier School business, giving them a structure of main heroes and their young sidekicks.
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Wolverine and Storm have become intimate with Yukio at different times. In fact, Wolverine has a bad habit of dragging down young girls while romantically pursuing them. Native is perhaps the most troubling example. However, the younger members of the team, such as Nightcrawler, Jubilee, and even Rogue, have always stepped in as helpers, giving their older teammates a fresh perspective.
9 Sentry Ruined His Partner’s Life 
The Sentry and fellow Scout are a great summary of Marvel’s overall stance on companions. Billy Turner was alongside Sentry in the hero’s first published adventures, but there are big chunks of Robert Reynolds’ history that don’t include Scout.
His greatest fame is losing an arm to the Void, a surprisingly common thing among sideshows. It serves to illustrate the absurdity of bringing someone less powerful and less experienced into the thick of battle, and as a sort of benchmark for Reynolds’ sanity and morality, but it’s hardly more memorable. .
8 Captain America Had More Sidekicks Than You Think 
Everyone who knows Captain America knows Bucky, but he’s just one of Cap’s many sidekicks. Even the Bucky coat has changed hands several times despite originating from the real name of James Buchanan Barnes. Jack Monroe, Dennis Dunphy and Cathy Webster were partners of Steve Rogers.
Monroe became a nomad after Rogers and Edward Ferbel, while Dunphy started out as a professional wrestler and later chose to betray his criminal overlords. Cap has a knack for finding lost people and giving them the chance to do good things, though his tendency to call them by the names of their dead friends is a bit morbid.
7 Spiderman Had A Temporary Partner Named Alpha 
Spider-Man is usually portrayed as quite young, so for him to take on a partner is a weird idea. However, at Spidey’s 50th anniversary in 2012, Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos introduced Alpha, a headstrong young man with unpredictable powers of terrifying magnitude.
According to Mister Fantastic, Alpha had the potential to become a threat like no other if Spidey hadn’t limited his powers. Named after two actors who played the film’s lead, Andy Maguire was meant to briefly explore Peter’s growth as a hero and was quickly forgotten once he filled that role.
6 Moon Knight Shouldn’t Be Running Rehab 
Marc Spector generally doesn’t have a good understanding of his own identity, so the idea of him forming a partner is worrisome. Jeff Wilde was the son of Midnight Man, whom Moon Knight has faced many times. He was initially approached as an enemy, but eventually agreed to train and rehabilitate under Spector.
Their partnership didn’t last long, and in keeping with Marvel’s take on the sidekicks, it ended in tragedy. Jeff’s lack of training in the heat of battle led to his apparent death. When he returned as an evil cyborg, it was Spector who finally buried him.
5 Howard the Duck and Beverly are an unofficial team 
Marvel’s most high-profile duck saved Beverly Switzler from the wizard Pro-Rat, and the rest is history. Beverly allows Howard to live with her, and when she is not forced to marry Dr. Bong, they are sometimes romantically involved.
During the Superhero Registration Act, Howard attempts to register as a superhero and lists Beverly as his partner. They were turned down due to Howard’s reputation, but the attempt confirms Howard’s opinion of their relationship. Like other Mighty Wonders, the line between romantic partner and companion is quite blurred for Howard.
4 The Original Human Torch Had Toro 
Casual fans may not be familiar with Jim Hammond, Marvel’s first clear hero. The original Human Torch was an android who killed Hitler, and over his long crime-fighting career he had time to get a partner. Thomas Raymond taught Jim about humanity while Jim tried to teach him the fundamentals of heroism.
Tom was a human with latent inhuman genes. His father built Hammond and blamed the android for his son’s abilities. Toro fought alongside the Torch until he took over himself, but various mind erasures, abductions, and resurrections have seriously clouded his timeline.
3 Microchip Is The Punisher’s “Chair Guy” 
The Punisher is a Marvel in constant need of gadgets and tools, and David Linus has long been the man to call upon. Microchip, as he is often called, is Frank Castle’s “man in the chair”, serving as technical support and oversight for the world’s deadliest assassin.
More than just a computer guy, Microchip also humanizes the Punisher by simply being his friend. Frank doesn’t particularly like personal relationships, as they make him vulnerable, but his working relationship with his colleague shows that he is a person who needs to socialize like anyone else.
2 Black Widow Saved Lucy’s Life 
Natasha Romanoff isn’t known for her motherly nature, but she’s certainly opened up a lot since her early appearances. She quit being a ruthless spy and caught Lucy Nguyen trying to rob her in Black Widow #6written by Kelly Thompson and drawn by Rafael De Latorre.
When they next experimented on Lucy, Natasha saved her, but not before Lucy became a metahuman. As Natasha and Yelena set out to take down bigger threats, Lucy refused to be left behind, using her newfound power to support the heroes like any good teammate would.
1 Man-Thing discovers a Boy-Thing 
Blade is no stranger to teamwork and the Man-Thing is generally happy to make friends, but the Boy-Thing was created without Ted’s knowledge for the express purpose of killing vampires. He first appeared in Avengers #14written by Jason Aaron and drawn by David Marquez.
Colonel Sombra used the Boy-Thing as a wooden stake vending machine, but after the Avengers freed him, he bonded with Blade for a time. The sentient sapling likely shares its creator’s empathetic abilities, making it a far better companion than the villain.