Meaningless things in comics that kind of bug you.

[Zelena]

Yoko Tsuno has two male sidekicks. They are hardly on the comic covers.

[Adam Allen]

Code names deliberately misspelled as a "kewl indicator." I give Dr. Midnite a pass on this as he was the first, but the 1990s seemed just full of Stryfes and Blackwulfs, etc.

Now, I get it. It's meant to convey tone through written text, but if you imagine it in conversation, it just doesn't work.

Fantomex. Of course, I dislike everything about the character, so would not be a fan of "Phantom X", either. But Fantomex is a dumb name.

[emac1790]

I mean I didnt think I would find the place in real life. So that doesnt bother me. Just like I will not find the Baxter Building and Avengers Mansion.

Avengers Mansion is based on The Cooper Hewitt on 5th ave.

20181120_173253.jpg

[Jim Kelly]

Adding some more on male sidekicks. The woman being the lead character and the male being the sidekick happens more often in other genres.

• Sugar & Spike--while they were equals, Sugar was the dominant personality and Spike was happy to win any attention from her (even when it was violent).
• Angel & the Ape--one might argue which was the more important character, but National Periodicals believed Angel was because they changed the title to put the focus on her, in the original run when they were trying to get more Archie readers to pick up their teen titles. The final issue was called MEET ANGEL and the Ape is nowhere on the cover.
• Blondie & Dagwood--while they might seem equal partners, the strip began with Blondie Boopadoop as a flapper and Dagwood her admirer--she was the star thus the strip being called BLONDIE.
• Diana Prince & I Ching--you can argue whether Steve Trevor is Wonder Woman's sidekick, but when Diana had no powers, the blind master of the martial arts, Ching, functioned as her sidekick.
• Black Canary & ?--when Dinah first showed up, she was a guest in Johnny Thunder's feature--and you could argue who was the lead and who was secondary during that transition--but then she took over the feature and now Larry Lance was her sidekick (one could argue). Then when Black Canary returned, she was paired with Green Arrow--depending on the writer, they were either equal partners or one was more important than the other.
• Modesty Blaise & Willie Garvin--"Willie and Modesty never had a romantic connection, something dictated by the respect the two have for each other."--Jerry Stanford, "Top 10 Forgotten Sidekicks In Comics."
• Tippy Teen & Tommy--from Tower Comics, Tippy was the star and Tommy her boyfriend.
• Go-Go & Animal--Tippy's gal pal Go-Go also got her own feature and her guy was Animal.
• Nancy & Sluggo--this strip was originally about Fritzi Ritz, then the focus changed to her niece Nancy and Nancy's male friend, Sluggo. While Nancy lives with Aunt Fritzi, Sluggo seems to live on the streets, a tough guy from the wrong side of town.

[Zelena]

But Fantomex is a dumb name.

That, I agree. It sounds like a household product.

[numberthirty]

Fantomex. Of course, I dislike everything about the character, so would not be a fan of "Phantom X", either. But Fantomex is a dumb name.

That, I agree. It sounds like a household product.

Huh...

I always felt like it was a pretty direct reference.

[K7P5V]

Adding some more on male sidekicks. The woman being the lead character and the male being the sidekick happens more often in other genres.

• Sugar & Spike--while they were equals, Sugar was the dominant personality and Spike was happy to win any attention from her (even when it was violent).
• Angel & the Ape--one might argue which was the more important character, but National Periodicals believed Angel was because they changed the title to put the focus on her, in the original run when they were trying to get more Archie readers to pick up their teen titles. The final issue was called MEET ANGEL and the Ape is nowhere on the cover.
• Blondie & Dagwood--while they might seem equal partners, the strip began with Blondie Boopadoop as a flapper and Dagwood her admirer--she was the star thus the strip being called BLONDIE.
• Diana Prince & I Ching--you can argue whether Steve Trevor is Wonder Woman's sidekick, but when Diana had no powers, the blind master of the martial arts, Ching, functioned as her sidekick.
• Black Canary & ?--when Dinah first showed up, she was a guest in Johnny Thunder's feature--and you could argue who was the lead and who was secondary during that transition--but then she took over the feature and now Larry Lance was her sidekick (one could argue). Then when Black Canary returned, she was paired with Green Arrow--depending on the writer, they were either equal partners or one was more important than the other.
• Modesty Blaise & Willie Garvin--"Willie and Modesty never had a romantic connection, something dictated by the respect the two have for each other."--Jerry Stanford, "Top 10 Forgotten Sidekicks In Comics."
• Tippy Teen & Tommy--from Tower Comics, Tippy was the star and Tommy her boyfriend.
• Go-Go & Animal--Tippy's gal pal Go-Go also got her own feature and her guy was Animal.
• Nancy & Sluggo--this strip was originally about Fritzi Ritz, then the focus changed to her niece Nancy and Nancy's male friend, Sluggo. While Nancy lives with Aunt Fritzi, Sluggo seems to live on the streets, a tough guy from the wrong side of town.

I know it's a bit recent, but my all-time favorite would be Kim & Ron (Kim Possible):

[DrNewGod]

Fantomex. Of course, I dislike everything about the character, so would not be a fan of "Phantom X", either. But Fantomex is a dumb name.

If I'm not mistaken, Fantomex was intended to be a X-Menized riff on the classic pre-pulp character Fantômas.

[Odd Rödney]

If I'm not mistaken, Fantomex was intended to be a X-Menized riff on the classic pre-pulp character Fantômas.

That's what I always thought too. Especially considering Fantomex's faux French accent.

[DrNewGod]

That's what I always thought too. Especially considering Fantomex's faux French accent.

Still an annoying name and character. (The X-one).

[Adam Allen]

If I'm not mistaken, Fantomex was intended to be a X-Menized riff on the classic pre-pulp character Fantômas.

Could be, I'm not familiar with the Fantomas character, at all. But yeah, the new information would not redeem anything about the X-Men character for me, anyway!

[Riv86672]

I can’t find any evidence that Captain Atom and Bombshell have ever met.
And yeah, that bugs me, as I’m looking for a pic of them together.

[TheRay]

When they use cliche, time honored dialogue and nobody gives it a snappy come-back or second thought.
I mean come on "I've been expecting you" is like such easy bait, how do people just let that go?