The first kid sidekick in comics was Robin, who made his debut in 1940, only about a year after Batman was introduced. Bob Kane saw Batman as a caped Sherlock Holmes, so he gave him a Watson – an eight-year-old acrobatic Watson with bare legs. Bob Kane must have had a wicked sense of humour. Nonetheless, Robin was an instant hit: Sales nearly doubled and kid sidekicks proliferated. It was great for business and nerd fantasy. At least for a little while.

Enter Fredric Wertham

Superheroes’ true arch-enemy was Fredric Wertham, whose “Seduction of the Innocent” was like kryptonite to the comic-book industry – weakening and nearly destroying the four-colour tales. Through his book, published in 1954, Wertham argued that comics were turning kids into perverted juvenile delinquents. He attacked EC Comics for its ghoulish horror magazines and Wonder Woman for her bondage scenarios. But he was particularly damning when it came to sidekicks. Wertham claimed that Batman and Robin stories had a strong homosexual subtext (and he had an abundance of convincing evidence). He warned that the Caped Crusader adventures “may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies” and described the Dynamic Duo’s home life as a “wish dream of two homosexuals living together.” He also pointed out that Robin is a “handsome [young] boy, usually shown in his uniform with bare legs. He is buoyant with energy and devoted to nothing on Earth or in interplanetary space as much as to Bruce Wayne. He often stands with his legs spread, the genital region discreetly evident.” Sounds like Wertham was a fan.

Interestingly, Wertham was only concerned with the homoerotic implications between Batman and Robin and not the fact that Robin was a minor and any sexual relationship between the two would constitute child molestation. Regardless, most likely in reaction to Wertham and the Comics Code Authority, the popularity of the kid sidekick plummeted.

But probably more devastating to the sidekick than Wertham was Stan Lee. During Marvel’s creative explosion of the early ’60s, Lee rendered them obsolete. Never a fan of the young sidekick, he got around the relatability problem by creating kid superheroes, like Spider-Man, the second Human Torch and the X-Men. Things weren’t looking good for the kid companion – and Chris O’Donnell wasn’t even born yet.

Rubber Nipples, Codpieces & Clooney. Oh, my!