Originally Posted by
Tzigone
Duke and Damian, maybe. Don't know his other later ones. I would say that Dick, Barbara, and Jason were definitely not designed for stories, but the other way around. I think the same is true for Tim.
Also, the very fact that they are sidekick kinda isn't what I'm talking about - they exist in a very "already developed" space (usually). I was more thinking about a brand new character on issue #1 of their own series with their own supporting characters (or a new team of mostly new characters) and the writer has 12-24 issue arc planned out to introduce them. First seasons of tv shows with new arcs each season (or half-season) have this happen, too, IMO.
I guess it really comes down to whether a character was created with an eye for long-term use. Some created during events were created with a plan for long-term use. Others were intended to be gone after (which is fine if they stay gone). But some I feel like a writer says "I have a great story for a hero" and creates the hero and tells the story and then doesn't really have anything left to do or the characters are too purpose-made to be versatile. But it's not a movie or self-contained novel, but an ongoing, so it goes on, just not as well.