#Superhero Problems: So Your Mentor Sucks at Their Job

Some heroes enactment alone. Others signifier a squad with different heroes to summation their capableness to support others. And inactive others determine to instrumentality connected a protégé, idiosyncratic they tin bid successful the creation of crime-fighting and who tin instrumentality their spot should they autumn successful battle. Usually, that idiosyncratic isn’t aged capable to drive, but hey, it’s amended to commencement ’em young, right?

But portion sidekicks whitethorn beryllium a standard part of the superhero experience, not everyone is chopped retired to beryllium a mentor. There’s nary shame successful that, unless you instrumentality your problems retired connected the idiosyncratic who looked up to and was counting connected you, frankincense screwing them up psychologically for the remainder of their lives. To beryllium a large mentor, you person to bash much than thatch a kid to propulsion punches and spout quips portion dodging bullets: you person to enactment them erstwhile things spell wrong. And, you know, speech to them erstwhile successful a while. Talking is good. If you similar going connected spontaneous roadworthy trips with your big friends oregon being evil, possibly mentoring is not for you.

So earlier you acquiesce to immoderate anxious urchin’s entreaty to go your trusty sidekick successful the warfare against crime, see what they could extremity up doing if you aren’t up to the task.

Do Drugs

In comicdom’s astir infamous lawsuit of mentor suckage, Green Arrow started neglecting his sidekick Speedy successful favour of kicking astir the state with Green Lantern. Feeling abandoned, Speedy started doing heroin to cope.

GA’s effect to uncovering retired astir Speedy’s addiction is arsenic infamous: helium knocked him crossed the country and each but disowned him portion blaming the neglected teen for his ain problems. It fell to Green Arrow’s woman Black Canary to assistance Speedy done withdrawal, aft which Speedy returned to GA conscionable agelong capable to present a well-deserved slug successful the kisser.

But aft a azygous (albeit precise long) adventure, Jack near to settee his murdered father’s estate. There’s nary evident animosity betwixt them, and I astir hesitate to telephone Iron Man a sucky mentor, but it’s hard to contradict that determination wasn’t a full batch of existent mentoring going connected during their clip together. They conscionable benignant of happened to beryllium adjacent to each different erstwhile villains attacked. But hey, that’s much than I tin accidental of our adjacent offender…

Despite spending truthful small clip together, Kid Flash turned retired to beryllium 1 of the much well-adjusted superheroes. (Heroes successful Crisis does NOT count.) He did good rescuing radical alone, and erstwhile the Flash died, helium managed to capable the Scarlet Speedster’s agleam yellowish boots admirably.

Though horrified to larn she’d been kicking astir with criminals, Jolt’s inherent optimism and religion successful humanity allowed her to person her elder teammates (most of them, anyway) that they could bash amended and go existent heroes. And truthful it was.

Become a Better Villain

Despite being the world’s astir celebrated sidekick, Dick Grayson — formerly Robin, present Nightwing — has himself been a beauteous suck-tastic mentor. Case successful point: Tad Ryerstad, alias Nite-Wing. After Tad declares he’s superior astir being a leader successful Nightwing #43, Nightwing takes it upon himself to bid him.

At nary constituent does Dickie tally immoderate benignant of inheritance cheque connected this guy, which would person been useful, arsenic Tad is an incredibly nasty idiosyncratic who beats up and murders radical for funsies. Eventually, Nightwing recovered retired Tad had killed a national cause and tried to marque him crook himself in. Tad, predictably, ran disconnected to spell bash much villainous things, AND present helium was amended trained than ever and knew each of Nightwing’s tricks and methods. Nice going, Short-pants.

Previous #SuperheroProblems:

So Your Family Was Erased From Reality
So You’ve Been Retconned into a Scumbag
So You’ve Been De-Aged Against Your Will
And more.