So, who was the first kid sidekick?
As one could expect, considering he was the first to do the whole thing. The Crimson Avenger also got a leg up on the idea of the kid sidekick.
(Crimson Avenger and his sidekick Wing in a photograph taken by the Seven Soldiers of Victory, circa 1944)
Born in Hankou, in modern day Wuhan sometime in the mid 1920s, Wing How fled to America just before the outbreak of hostilities between China and Japan. Having no means of supporting himself despite his young age he took any work he could find, eventually ending up the valet of newspaper magnate Lee Travis.
Travis, a failed veteran of the early stages of the Spanish Civil War by the time he and How met was disconnected from politics despite his resources as the young owner of the Globe Leader newspaper. Travis, for lack of anyone else to talk to, began to confide in How who in turn pushed Travis to use his resources for the sake of the war in Asia.
In fact, it was a charity benefit masquerade partially sponsored by Travis whose robbery during the often mythologized War of the Worlds incident (though whether the incident itself or Travis' part within it is the more overblown in popular consciousness is hard to say) inspired Travis to fully commit himself to the garb of the Crimson Avenger.
Serving as a confidante from day one, How was never fully on board with the more harsh and violent style of intervention that Travis originally preferred, attempting to once again steer his friend and boss onto a more socially conscious course. It wasn't until Travis was moments away from executing an innocent Chinese immigrant that How fully stepped between his mentor and the problem.
Deciding to fully join his mentor on the streets, Wing's public introduction was most likely the inspiration for the Avenger's rather drastic costume change around the time of the Seven Soldiers' foundation.
The role of How is often overlooked for two equally tragic reasons.
The first being that in contemporary sources he is often heavily caricatured in line with Western depictions of Chinese people. With huge buck teeth, squinty eyes and his natural accent corrupted into something from a minstrel show.
The second being that he predeceased his mentor by some considerable margin, giving his life in battle against the Nebula Man for the sake of his teammates and the Justice League.
His personal effects are, to this day, held in trust by the Justice League alongside the effects of his mentor both in recognition of their status as the spiritual seed the League is grown from and How's personal sacrifice for the League.
