Sidekicks, do they ruin the shows?

Like I said in my earlier post, it's very possible that Supergirl may very well have her own kid sidekick in season four in the form of Ruby Arias.

I don't mind side kicks as long as they are just that a side kick....meaning the tone of the show is set by the superhero, and they are the central figure as other smaller side stories are told. I also like the side kick to have a solid heroes story bringing to where they are. We did not get that with Guardian, it seemed more of a pissed off guy that felt he was left on the fringe of everyone's life trying to get attention. No hero story really....and he hasn't really been side kick material.

I'm not sure I want an actual 13 year old kid as her side kick....but it would be fun to watch Kara mentor someone with powers while trying to get them through the perils of school without burning it down. A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of comic relief there.

Burt Ward is clearly the exception!

Holy classic TV!

The new Arrow title card has all the team members’ symbols now. Feels like LoT even though it’s not supposed to be called “Arrow & Friends”

I think that we are being setup for Alex taking on Ruby as a parent and mentor. Look at the connections made between Ruby and Alex thus far. Also consider, she mentioned to Sawyer that she loved and wanted children. I think that maybe the setup for the next season. In that case, I don’t see Ruby as a sidekick per se, rather a new member of the family.

Just a thought.

Argo

That would be interesting as well, also I want to see Kara taking on a role as an Aunt/side mentor as well. Its kind of obvious that the children parallel is happening at the same time she meets Ruby too. And again mentoring maybe auntie kara could help Ruby get closer to her rightful kryptonian heritage. (even if you dont do the sidekick thing)

Burt Ward is clearly the exception!

I think that we are being setup for Alex taking on Ruby as a parent and mentor. Look at the connections made between Ruby and Alex thus far. Also consider, she mentioned to Sawyer that she loved and wanted children. I think that maybe the setup for the next season. In that case, I don’t see Ruby as a sidekick per se, rather a new member of the family.

Just a thought.

Argo

In term of story mechanics, "sidekicks", depending on how you define the term, make a lot of sense.

The hero can explain things to them; or conversely a SK with expertise in an area the hero isn't that familiar with (Felicity, Cisco, Caitlin, the various Wells), can explain things to the hero and stick exposition into the script without having the hero constantly talk to themselves.

Similarly, it reinforces that the hero has to rely on others for some things they are not necessarily skilled at accomplishing or not available to carry out right then. This helps to reinforce the ideas that "anyone can be a hero sometimes ", and that teamwork can beat the typically selfish, "bad boss" type bad guys.

Lastly, a hero who is always eventually successful (and if they aren't, the Earth doesn't get saved and/or they die and the show's over), who only interacts with unimportant "extras" in their lives, quickly ends up in the Mary Sue/Gary Stu category: they always eventually succeed, they are apparently the best at everything that comes up in an episode, and they really don't need anybody else.

That gets boring really fast.

Like I said in my earlier post, it's very possible that Supergirl may very well have her own kid sidekick in season four in the form of Ruby Arias.

That would be too far I believe

I don't mind side kicks as long as they are just that a side kick....meaning the tone of the show is set by the superhero, and they are the central figure as other smaller side stories are told. I also like the side kick to have a solid heroes story bringing to where they are. We did not get that with Guardian, it seemed more of a pissed off guy that felt he was left on the fringe of everyone's life trying to get attention. No hero story really....and he hasn't really been side kick material.

I'm not sure I want an actual 13 year old kid as her side kick....but it would be fun to watch Kara mentor someone with powers while trying to get them through the perils of school without burning it down. A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of comic relief there.

Agreed, as Ruby is supposed to be a regular for Season 4... you could have a arc of maybe her worrying about ending up like her mother, etc. (because I imagine Ruby has latent world killer/kryptonian powers too)

I'm gonna be straight with you guys. I love this show, but if they try to give Ruby a "sidekick" roll in season 4...that could be what gets me to stop watching. If Alex adopts her, and that's how she stays on, then fine. But sidekick? No.

It's a different story with Roy, Ray, or Laurel, in Arrow, or Caitlyn, Cisco, Jesse, and Wally, in The Flash.

All of those characters were heroes (or in Caitlyn's case, at least a meta-human) in comics. Any comic fan could know what they'd eventually become due to knowing their civilian names from the source material.

But Ruby...I'm sorry, and I won't hate on anyone who chooses to watch it. But that would be the line for me. For one, she's considerably younger than any of the actors in the previously mentioned roles. Two, there is no source material to backup that character or direction for her. And finally...I know we're only two episodes in, but I have just found her character SUPER freaking annoying. I don't know if it's the actor or the writing. And I get her purpose as a plot device to further Samantha's seemingly tragic story, this season. But making Ruby a main character? No.

Again, I think people are speculating REALLY early in the season about season 4. And that's dangerous to do. Just because an actor has an option to come back in the following season as a regular, doesn't mean they will (something we're learning the hard way with the Sanvers storyline).

Going back to speculation, I'm gonna be honest with you guys. I don't know the source that says Ruby's actress has an option for next year. But it would not surprise me in the LEAST if that was put out there as a red herring. Because imagine if Ruby's death (as tragic as it would be) was what pushed Reign over the edge?

No sidkicks please. I've said in in other threads and I'll say it again please don't bring a kid into the show as a regular. The first two episodes have only strengthened this opinion. I can't think of one instance where bringing a kid in is a positive thing foe the long-term health of a show. Ruby's fine right now as she is part of her mom, the villain's story. After her mother is gone Ruby should go live with her Grandmother, who is being introduced. It's fine if she very occasionally joins Kara and Alex for movie night but that should be all we see of her after this season.

Teen/child sidekick is the cheesiest possible thing they can do, surely the notion does not exist further than a joke

I just want to raise a thought which may be right or wrong. Ruby does not need to be a sidekick. I could see her being Alex's foster daughter and play that type of role. It would further show another aspect of LGBTQ life: raising children, even as a single parent.

Argo

Teen/child sidekick is the cheesiest possible thing they can do, surely the notion does not exist further than a joke

Depends on how you write it....

I don't know that I necessarily would want Ruby as a side kick. But I certainly believe that there are some fantastic story lines that could be written in the realm of the challenges that teenagers face today in schools across America....and I would love to see Kara delve into those things.