Batman and Robin Aren’t the Only Dynamic Duo

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Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. (Reuters photo.)

With the August 19-22 Democratic National Convention starting tomorrow, there’s a memorable duo atop the party’s 2024 ticket: presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her vice presidential running mate Tim Walz. Harris is of course the current veep who’d be the first female commander-in-chief in U.S. history (as well as the second person of color ever to lead the country) and Walz is a populist with “everyman” charisma and a record of getting people-friendly policies passed as governor of Minnesota.

There have also been many memorable duos in literature — whether they’re friends, work partners, or in other human configurations. (I’m mostly omitting lovers, spouses, siblings, and the like from this post because I’ve focused on those kinds of characters before.) It can be fascinating to see how each member of a fictional duo interacts with the other, whether the two people are somewhat alike or “odd couple” different, whether the whole of the pairing is greater than the sum of its parts, etc.

Duos that immediately came to my mind include teen Huck Finn and runaway slave Jim in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, trying-to-save-their-world hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, spacey Don Quixote and his more practical sidekick Sancho Panza in Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, 19th-century friends Eliza Sommers (a traveler to the U.S. from Chile) and Tao Chi’en (a cook and physician) in Isabel Allende’s Daughter of Fortune, farm woman Dellarobia Turnbow and professor/scientist Ovid Byron in Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior, pals-from-childhood Tully Hart (a TV journalist) and Kate Mularkey (a stay-at-home mom) in Kristin Hannah’s Firefly Lane, and the two Superman-creator-like cartoonists in Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, to name a few.

Of course, there are also plenty of dynamic duos in mystery/detective/thriller fiction. Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott of J.K. Rowling’s crime novels (written under the alias Robert Galbraith), Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey of various Dorothy L. Sayers mysteries, Joe King Oliver and Melquarth Frost of two Walter Mosley mysteries, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy (first book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings, and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Frances Neagley, among others.

In addition, I’ve enjoyed human/animal duos such as Ayla and the horse Whinney in Jean M. Auel’s prehistoric book series that begins with The Clan of the Cave Bear, and Link Ferris and the collie Chum in Albert Payson Terhune’s His Dog, to cite just two pairings.

There’s also Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But they’re actually one person, so that doesn’t quite count. 🙂

I’ll conclude by mentioning one quite nasty real-life duo: Kamala Harris’ and Tim Walz’s Republican presidential and vice presidential opponents Mr. Hyde and Mr. Hyde. Oops…Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

Your thoughts about, and examples of, this topic?

My comedic 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional/not-a-children’s-work Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Misty says Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 )

This 90-second promo video for my book features a talking cat: 🙂

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about yet another lawsuit in my town and more — is here.

167 thoughts on “Batman and Robin Aren’t the Only Dynamic Duo”

  4. I don’t like or trust Harris but I fear Trump who I feel will win. I haven’t felt this negative about a presidential election in my life and I vaguely remember every one since Kennedy vs. Nixon in 1960. I feel that our nation is even more divided now than during the Vietnam War.

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    • Thank you, Harper Ross! She’s certainly a better alternative than Donald Trump being back in the White House. And I wouldn’t mind if Joe Biden resigned and Kamala Harris became president sooner.

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  11. Hi Dave, it was fun reading the comments. So many dynamic duos! And what a dynamic duo at the DNC! All 4 nights were electrifying with speeches that could only inspire one to vote for Kamala, and my husband and I are ready for Harris/Walz in the White House. We have never been so invested in an election before, but times are more frightening than ever. Let’s keep hope alive. Great post!

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    • Thank you, Lauren! Yes, the Democratic National Convention was quite an extravaganza with many memorable moments. While I’ve voted third party in some past presidential elections (something I can do in a deep-blue state without risking a Republican winning), at this point I plan — like you and your husband — to vote for the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz ticket. I agree that the Trump-Vance alternative is VERY frightening.

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  13. First duo that springs to mind, after Adam and Eve, Scylla and Charybdis: Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles, the drinking detectives.  Then there’s Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones, who figure in Chester Himes’ crime novels.  Easy Ed Rollins and Raymond “Mouse” Alexander are featured in a few Walter Mosley titles, a perfect pairing of super-ego and id, the small man being a most deadly and decisive adversary.

    But then there’s another sort of pairing:  that of two writers who publish under one name, such as Manning Coles, a pseudonym for Adelaide Frances Oke Manning and Cyril Henry Coles, who wrote engaging spy thrillers such as They Tell No Tales for nearly 40 years in postwar Britain.

    My own father, a history professor, and Manly Wade Wellman, a professional writer, once composed a short story, a one-off, in which a Mexican police detective was their main character, and published it in a crime magazine in the late 50’s or early ’60’s.  Maybe in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine— at least that’s how I remembered the family legend.  But the story was published under the pseudonym of a single name, now lost to me.  I hunted through titles of that magazine for better than an hour one day, but couldn’t come up with it.

    Ironically, or coincidentally, Ellery Queen is the nom de plume of two American writers, Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee.

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    • Thank you, jhNY, for naming a number of memorable character duos and author duos!

      “Nick and Nora Charles, the drinking detectives” — too funny. 😂 And Walter Mosley definitely had quite a few great pairings in his various series and stand-alone novels.

      I hope you find your father’s co-written story one day!

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  15. HI Dave, a thought-provoking post. I have enjoyed the discussion here. My additions are as follows: Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, Jane Eyre and Helen Burns, Nadine and Harold in The Stand, Silky and Moon Face from The Enchanted Wood series (Enid Blyton), Mr Pink-Whistle and his black cat (Enid Blyton), The Overlook Hotel and Jack Torrence (The Shining), Katy and Aunt Helen from What Katy Did? I’ll stop here.

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  16. Oooh good topic. I enjoyed you bringing up Firefly Lane, because I just recently read the follow-up novel to it – Fly Away. It wasn’t as good as the first but I’m still glad I read it, as it was interesting to follow up with that duo and all the other interesting characters. A duo that came to mind for me was Jane and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. It was the only one I could really think of since you already mentioned my absolute favorite – Frodo and Samwise 🙂

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    • Thank you, M.B.! I totally agree: “Firefly Lane” — fantastic; the “Fly Away” sequel — meh. The latter is the only Kristin Hannah novel (I’ve now read about a dozen) that I didn’t either love or like a LOT. But, yes, interesting to see what happened with the characters.

      And an excellent “Pride and Prejudice” mention!

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  17. What about Diana Barry, Anne’s bestie and sidekick in Anne of Green Gables?

    Hyde and Hyde, you are too kind, Dave!

    😈 & 👿 – in either order!

    So, I’m all ready for the DNC.

    I’ve got hours and hours of hand sewing for my new Art Gown ready to go.

    This way I can chip ahead at the gown while watching. If someone comes on I want to give full attention to, I just stop and look up!

    Very exciting!

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  18. As you mentioned famous Americans from politics, Dave, the second world war came to my mind.In that tragic story we have on the one side the jewish girl Anne Frank, who had been hidden in Holland and then brought to the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, where she died, and on the other side the Nazis! Thank you very much, Dave, for your very interesting post!

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  19. Perhaps not classic literature, but Scofield and Taleniekov in Robert Ludlum’s The Matarese Circle jumped to my mind. I read that book as quickly as I could. I read it so long ago, I had to look up their names, but I liked that they were enemies that worked together to save themselves.

    As always, Dave, great topic and wonderful comments.

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    • Thank you, Dan! References to both classic literature and not-classic literature are always welcome. 🙂 I appreciate the mention of a Robert Ludlum work, and, yes, things can get VERY interesting when a duo is comprised of enemies working together.

      I agree about the comments! 🙂

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  21. Hey, how about an author dynamic duo?
    Here’s mine:
    Apollo 15 Commander David Scott, seventh man to walk on the Moon, and Gen. Alexei Leonov, first spacewalker and commander of the Soviet half of the Apollo Soyuz Test Project (and who probably would have been the first Russian to walk on the moon if the Soviets had been able to get their N-1 booster off the pad as anything other than debris)
    They co-wrote “Two Sides of the Moon,” personal memoirs of the 1960s Space Race, combined in one book. Foreword by Neil Armstrong (of course) and Introduction by Tom Hanks (standing in for Jim Lovell, I suppose).
    Their stories play off in alternating chapters and what struck me is that Leonov, product of a totalitarian and repressive system, told a much more forthright and at times irreverent story than did Scott, product of a free society.
    I recommend the book, in case you’re wondering.

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    • Thank you, Don! Very interesting — including Leonov being more forthright than Scott. I appreciate your description of their book.

      There are definitely a number of dynamic author pairings. Some that come to mind in fiction include Stephen King and Peter Straub, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner (“The Gilded Age”), and Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”).

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    • Thank you for the comment, modgar007. I feel differently, but I appreciate hearing your opinion. A Harris/Walz ticket is certainly an improvement over a Biden/Harris ticket given Biden’s age and some other factors.

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  23. A wonderful post and an excellent follow-up discussion Dave. You prompted me to go back into ancient times. My recent reading of Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles and Circe and my reading of Beowulf as translated by Maria Dahvana Headley, also brought the ancient past to mind. Here are some of my favourite “ancient duos”:

    1) Achilles and Patroclus: The inseparable warriors from Homer’s “Iliad,” whose bond transcends friendship and hints at deeper emotional connections.
    2) Gilgamesh and Enkidu: From the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” this duo represents the clash between civilization and nature, as well as the journey of friendship and mortality.
    4) Theseus and Pirithous: Known for their adventurous exploits in Greek mythology, their friendship symbolizes loyalty and the pursuit of heroic deeds.
    5) Beowulf and Wiglaf: In the Old English epic “Beowulf,” Wiglaf stands by Beowulf in his final battle, highlighting themes of loyalty and bravery.

    And my quote for today …

    “We’re all going to die, but most of us won’t go out in glory. Here’s what matters, though, for men: not living, but living on in legend.” Maria Dahvana Headley’s translation of Beowulf:

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  24. I’m very happy with the Harris-Walz combo! Things have become so heated, though, that I do try to stay away from politics online … BUT … being a cat person, the temptation is powerful. I have caved briefly at times. The memes are just too good!

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  25. Christie’s counterparts to Holmes and Watson, Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings. Of course, Poirot was even more insufferable than Holmes (Christie referred to him as “that little creep” so Poirot would probably say it was him and his little gray cells. Perhaps Poirot-Hastings is more on the level of hero-sidekick.

    —

    Young-people adventure series:
    Frank and Joe Hardy were a dynamic duo with supporting cast of buddies; hero-sidekick examples from the same genre would be Nancy Drew and her friend George, or Tom Swift Jr. and Bud Barclay. On the fence between dynamic duo and hero-sidekick: David “Lucky” Starr and his friend John “Bigman” Jones (Hmm. Did John Jones later change the spelling of his name, turn green and become a Manhunter?) from Asimov’s “Lucky Starr, Space Ranger” series of juvenile sci-fi stories.

    —

    How about Aubrey and Maturin from “Master and Commander”?

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    • Thank you, Don, for the great mentions — including the duo in “Master and Commander”! (I read that excellent Patrick O’Brian novel a few years ago.)

      Poirot was definitely annoying (albeit brilliant) while Hastings was on the slow side.

      As you note, some interesting duos in fiction aimed at younger readers!

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      • “Hastings was definitely on the slow side.” — Probably more so than Watson, as Doyle wrote him. I never really liked the Nigel Bruce-driven public portrayal of Watson as a dolt, when Doyle wrote him as a man of above average intelligence, as active as his war injury (wherever it was) would let him be. His intelligence paled only next to the informed-ability genius that was Holmes.
        I guess that was a good bit of why I liked the Grenada TV adaptions of the Holmes and Watson stories; both David Burke and Edward Hardwicke portrayed Watson as capable men. Watson was a doctor and combat veteran, for Pete’s sake.
        I don’t have as clear a mental picture of Hastings as I do of Watson, but I get the idea that Hastings was more willing to say Poirot made him feel like an idiot, which was something Poirot liked to do anyway.
        And now, having written this and looking it over, I have the idea that Christie created Poirot and Hastings, less-likable versions of Holmes and Watson, because she didn’t like Sherlock Holmes.

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        • Very true about Watson, Don. A smart man associated with an absolutely brilliant man. Glad some screen adaptations gave Watson his due. And fascinating to wonder how much Holmes and Watson might have influenced the creation of Poirot and Hastings, whatever Christie’s motive(s) might have been.

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  26. I am probably more conservative and pessimistic than the great majority of posters on this blog, I’m afraid that this election will be so close that both parties will question the results of all of the swing states that they are behind in, this could tear this nation apart. Our society is so polarized that neither side will accept defeat. I believe we may be in the most dangerous era in American history since the Civil War. This surreal election is turning into a nightmare.

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      • Thank you for the comments, Tony. I agree that the election will probably be close — perhaps with Harris/Walz winning the popular vote by a good margin but the Electoral College count being a nail-biter.

        Both parties might question swing-state totals, but only one candidate — Trump — will refuse to accept the results of the election if he loses. Easy to predict, of course, because that’s exactly what Trump did in 2020 despite losing by a no-doubt margin. No Democratic presidential candidate did anything similar in the history of the U.S.; they might have questioned the results briefly (such as with Gore in 2000 and Clinton in 2016) but then conceded. Trump has yet to concede his 2020 defeat.

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    • One reason I’m not at all sure which party will win this presidential election is that Harris, despite the enthusiasm of the Democratic base, is not polling as well as Biden was in 2020 and he only won by a narrow margin in the swing states. Another reason is that more voters seem to trust the Republicans on handling the economy, foreign policy, and illegal immigration. Trump also seems to be more popular with Republican and conservative leaning voters than with Republican leaders. The fundamentals of this election hasn’t changed much since before the assassination attempt on Trump.

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      • Kamala Harris might not be polling as well as Biden did in 2020 (yet), but her poll numbers have risen a lot in a month, and have passed Trump’s in several swing states. Yes, Republicans have more voter trust in certain areas, but Democrats have more voter trust in other areas — including abortion rights, protecting the social safety net, etc.

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    • I think that Trump holds a slight edge over Harris because RFK Jr. seems to be dropping out of the presidential race, most of his supporters would be voting for Trump, in a race this close even a shift of one or two percent of the vote in the swing states would be significant. I also think that Harris’ economic policies (which are left of Obama’s and Biden’s) are not that popular with most Americans. She has only about a 3% lead over Trump in polling averages. At this point in 2020 Biden had about a 6% lead and he barely won.

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      • I agree that the weird RFK Jr. dropping out would help Trump a bit. As for economic policies, the centrist/liberal Harris might be laughably smeared as a “communist” by right-wing Republicans, but a number of “liberal” economic policies (such as raising the minimum wage, bringing back the child tax credit, reducing corporate price-gouging, etc.) poll quite well — way over 50% in some cases.

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    • I tend to agree with the pollster Nate Silver who is a Democrat that Harris will win the popular vote but Trump will win the Electoral College and the presidency. I don’t know if two elections like this in eight years would damage American democracy beyond repair. Neither candidate inspires much confidence in me. Trump is a loose cannon and his extreme protectionism would be highly inflationary. Harris seems to flip-flop, tries to avoid the press and does not seem to be a strong leader. Even Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton looked good compared to these two.

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      • Thank you for the follow-up comment, Tony. The Electoral College is profoundly undemocratic, and if Trump — for the second time — wins the EC while losing the popular vote it will be a real shame. Yes, Kamala Harris is a flip-flopper, as is Trump — with one example being the way he’s all over the place on abortion. I would take Harris, with her flaws, over the corrupt Richard Nixon and the conservative-leaning, low-character Bill Clinton.

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  28. What about Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY? Or Jane and Elizabeth Bennet? There must be other famous sister pairs in well-known books that I’m not thinking of. As for brothers, what about Fred and George Weasley? A favorite book of mine as a teenager was THE CHOSEN, by Chaim Potok, with the friends Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders.

    If we’re talking about pairs in mysteries, I hope no one minds if I mention my Swiss detective duo, Giuliana Linder and Renzo Donatelli of the Bern cantonal police. They’re introduced in the first book in the series, PESTICIDE.

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    • Thank you, Kim! Some great sibling and friend mentions from the novels of first-rate authors! And I appreciate the mention of your own Switzerland-based detective duo. 🙂 Which, country-wise, reminded me of the duo of Heidi and her grandfather in Johanna Spyri’s famous novel.

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  29. Lennie and George “Of Mice And Men” and on a very different note C3PO and R2-D2 of “Star Wars”. Then there’s Marshal Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross in “True Grit”. And yes, I agree re Mr. Hyde and Mr. Hyde, although it should be a 4thsome with Mr. Hyde and Mr. Hyde and Peter Thiel and Josh Hawley. Why are these creepy billionaires (Thiel and Musk) so miserable? Great theme Dave. Thanks Susi.

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    • Thank you, Susi! “Of Mice and Men” — of course. 🙂 “True Grit” — another great mention! Those “Star Wars” characters — love it! Reminds me that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock were also quite a duo in “Star Trek.”

      Yes, some billionaires are extremely creepy. 😦 At least once a week I contemplate deleting my account from the Musk-owned X (Twitter).

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      • By the way, Susi, I’m currently reading John Nichols’ “The Milagro Beanfield War” on your recommendation. Quite a quirky/enjoyable/seriocomic/socially conscious read! I’ll discuss it in a future blog post.

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        • It was a great movie also. Robert Redford directed it in 1988 I think the movie got the oscar for the best music score. Glad you like it. I’ll have to read it again as it’s been a long time since I read it. I’ve always loved that area and even thought at some point many years ago about moving to Las Cruces. The best sunsets in the world. *sigh* Look forward to your discussion. Susi

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          • I’ve heard about that movie, Susi, and Robert Redford is certainly a talented director in addition to being a talented actor.

            Unfortunately, I’ve never been to New Mexico (though I’ve been in other parts of the Southwest several times). I’ve heard NM has some beautiful areas, as you note.

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  31. An excellent topic as usual, Dave, and with so many great examples that it’s a brain teaser to find more. My thoughts turned to Shakespeare though, with Portia and Nerissa disguising themselves as men to outwit Shylock and give their husbands Bassanio and Gratiano some grief into the bargain. Or how about Ariel, doing the business of Prospero, and Puck, doing the bidding of Oberon? Elsewhere there’s Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’, with Ralph having the charisma and natural authority, while Piggy is the brains of the outfit. And what about Katniss and Peeta teaming up, rather than trying to kill each other, in ‘The Hunger Games’? That’s all I’ve got for now, but if I think of more I’ll be back. 🙂

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