Robin

Image credit: Batman: Everett Collection

Robin

The Boy Wonder is the most iconic comic-book No. 2 of all time — and the source of all cape-and-tights homoeroticism. (Imagine the ad: Older male crime fighter, lacking female companionship, seeks pubescent male acrobat for nocturnal patrols.) Armchair analysis aside, he's a perfect No. 2 template: helping No. 1 thwack! pow! the bad guys, getting captured (or killed) when it suits No. 1's story line, and, most importantly, letting No. 1 get all the glory.