“ | I no longer go by the name of Kuroto Dan. I'm now... NEW Kuroto Dan! | „ |
~ Kuroto Dan |
“ | Have you recently lost a loved one in an aviation disaster? Have you suffered injury, shock to the senses, or property damage as the result of airplane debris or— God forbid— falling body parts? Then call me, Saul Goodman! | „ |
~ One of Saul Goodman's many tasteless commercials. |
“ | Get the stick Max! Get the stick! (Max barks and runs after the stick that was thrown) *chuckling to himself* There's no, stick! I'm smarter... | „ |
~ The Grinch tricking Max with throwing a stick. |
Comic Relief villains are more light-hearted and less dark or evil than what is considered normal for the works in which they appear, having a comedic presence within an otherwise serious story. They are mutually exclusive from and the exact opposites of Game Changers. These villains are usually seen in TV shows as they sometimes become more nasty, depending on the episode. In particular, if a villain falls under Mischievous, Incompetents, Dimwits or Ensembles, they are likely to be part of this (e.g. Condiment King, many versions of Harley Quinn, and Tabitha).
It is almost impossible for Big Bads or Bigger Bads to be Comic Reliefs because if a main antagonist is comical, then by default most of the other story elements will be as well and this trope cannot apply. The only exception would be if a story driven primarily by realism or dramas and inexplicably had a comical or cartoonish villain who was the only recurring antagonist but irrelevant to the rest of the plot (e.g. Aku).
Comic Reliefs can and tend to have their more threatening moments (e.g. Wheatley, Cave Johnson, King Dedede, Fawful, Ryuk, Double Trouble, Twice, Runa Yomozuki, and Monokuma) but their comedy must be more prominent and/or remembered.
IMPORTANT: Villains who are Pure Evil can NEVER qualify because their acts are always taken seriously and/or fearsome in comparison to others. This is applicable even if they appear to be funny because their humor is usually sadistic or twisted and makes them even more threatening (e.g. Emperor Palpatine, Bryan Fury, Ares, Cioccolata, Junko Enoshima, AM, Zhan Tiri, Lord Commander, Yuuki Terumi, Mahito, It, Ramsay Bolton, Percival C. McLeach, and Micah Bell). Even if a Pure Evil villain does have some genuinely funny moments, their acts are still played seriously in-universe (e.g. Bill Cipher, Frieza, Scar, Dio Brando, Patrick Bateman, Stu Macher, Syndrome, Katz, Randall Boggs, Agatha Trunchbull, Kefka Palazzo, most versions of the Joker, Dimentio, Mysterio, Freddy Krueger, Chucky, Hades, Ivan Ooze, and Rasputin) UNLESS they are using a comedic persona as a tool to show off and manipulate the in-universe audience into some evil belief, then LATER they will be taken seriously again after it's revealed that they used the comedy for a serious, evil purpose (e.g. Gaston LeGume (although not approved Pure Evil)). Pure Evil villains like the ones listed should go under Faux Affably Evil, Trickster, Charismatic and/or Comedy villains instead.
Also, DO NOT add characters like these even if they are not Pure Evil and/or Game Changers:
- Comedy villains from comedic media, even if they are comedic and amusing themselves (e.g. Eric Cartman, Peter Griffin, Balthazar Bratt, Dr. Neo Cortex, Discord, Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Aloysius O'Hare, Captain Hook, Ken, Dr. Nefarious, and Hades).
- Villains who the audience may find funny, but are not treated as such in-universe (e.g. Norman Osborn, Doma, Lalo Salamanca, Trevor Philips, Hans Landa, Jabba the Hutt, Professor Ratigan, and Vaas Montenegro).
- Villains who start off comedic, but grow out of it as the story goes on (e.g. Ernesto de la Cruz, DOR-15, Turbo, Doctor Sivana, Tighten, Earl of Lemongrab, Gaston LeGume, Spot, Dawn Bellwether, and Jesse Pinkman).
- Villains who present themselves in a comedic way, but it only increases how loathsome and sadistic they are rather than downplaying it (e.g. Frau Engel, Byron Hadley, Professor Marmalade, Adam, Devin Weston, Kikimora, Dan Tae Joo, Homelander, Stormfront, Eddy's Brother, and Chris Hargensen).
This is for villains who appear in a serious setting and are treated comically/lighthearted in-universe.
All items (1861)
- Above Average (RDCWorld1)
- Acapulco (Hotel Artemis)
- Adam Monroe
- Adam Warlock (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Adda
- Adenoid Hynkel
- Adolf Hitler (Doctor Who)
- Adolf Hitler (Dragon Ball)
- Adolf Hitler (Literally Hitler)
- Adolf Hitler (Preacher)
- Adolf Hitler (South Park)
- Adolf Hitler (Studio C)
- Adon Coborlwitz
- Adu Du
- Agent Lovecraft
- Aggie (Craig of the Creek)
- Agâh Beyoğlu
- Ahmed & Salim
- Ahri
- Ai (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
- Akane Hiyama
- Akane's Suitors
- Akaspetchi & Pipospetchi
- Aku
- Alamein
- Alan Wolf
- Albus and Horace
- Alder and Dash
- Aleister Chamber
- Aleksis Dorsey
- Alessi
- Alexander Graham Wolf
- Alexander Romanov
- Alfrid Lickspittle
- Algolian Baurbon
- Alien Zarab
- Amaso
- Amazing Rope Guy
- Amazoness Quartet
- Amemura Short
- Amin Damoola
- Amoeba Boys
- Amy Squirrel
- Anastasia Tremaine
- Andrew Kersee Dunstan Francis Barbirolli
- Andrew Morris
- Andrew Oikonny
- Andrew Wells
- Anirbas
- Anne Droid
- Anti Guy
- Anti Spirit Team (Date A Live)
- Antonio Cesaro
- Anubis (Record of Ragnarok)
- Aphrodite (Record of Ragnarok)
- Aqual
- Aquamarine
- Arch Priest Gajah
- Argus Filch
- Aria Blaze
- Arktos (Tabaluga)
- Arm Head
- Arry and Bert
- Asagi Asagiri
- Askin Nakk le Vaar
- Aspheera
- Attila, Evita and Todd
- Avarith
- Awful Alvin
- Axel (Disgaea)
- Axel (Tangled)
- Aziz Rahim
- B'Etor
- Ba Nan Ji
- Baachiyo
- Baby Dan & Phil
- Bachyura
- Bacterian
- Bad Mitten
- Badger (Breaking Bad)
- Balloon Man
- Balthazar (Supernatural)
- Bandora Gang
- Bang Bang Johnson
- Bangladesh DuPree
- Bank Robbing Gang
- Barbaric Brothers
- Baron & Junk
- Baron Alberto
- Baron Vain
- Barrels
- Barry the Chopper (Fullmetal Alchemist)
- Bart and Eddie
- Bartholomew Argus
- Bartley, Branson, and Blair
- Bartok
- Barton (Date A Live)
- Basil (Courage the Cowardly Dog)
- Basil Karlo (Gotham)
- Batroc the Leaper
- Battle Droids (Star Wars)
- Batzarro
- Baxter Stockboy
- Baxter Stockman (Archie Comics)
- Baxter Stockman (Batman vs. TMNT)
- Baxter Stockman (TMNT 1987)
- Baxter Stockman (TMNT 2012)
- Bayoking
- Baz and Bernie
- BB (Fate/stay night)
- Beach and Zack
- Beach and Zack (Arashi no Yoru Ni: Himitsu no Tomodachi)
- Beagle Boys
- Bear (Wacky World of Tex Avery)
- Beard Deer
- Beard Hunter
- Bearicorn
- Beauty & Dandy
- Bebop (TMNT 2012)
- Bebop and Rocksteady (Out of the Shadows)
- Bebop and Rocksteady (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
- Beerus
- Belkar Bitterleaf
- Beni Gabor
- Benjamin Ragguch
- Benny Chan
- Beowulf (Disaster Movie)
- Berdly
- Betsy and Craig Kettleman
- Betty (Kung Pow! Enter the Fist)
- Beyonder (Marvel)
- Bi-Plane
- Bibi Love
- Big Al
- Big Chicken
- Big Fee
- Big Show
- Bill Clinton (Family Guy)
- Bill the Butcher (There's a Butcher Around)
- Billy Bickle
- Billy Numerous
- Billy the Kid (Popeye the Sailor Man)
- Birthday Boy Blam
- Bitch Spasms
- Bitil
- Bixby the Bean Seller
- Bizarro (DC)
- Bjorn Bjornson
- Black Baron
- Black Hanekawa
- Black Knight (Monty Python)
- Bladebeak
- Blag
- Blaird
- Blastmon
- Bling-Bling Boy
- Blitzen (Robbie the Reindeer)
- Blob (Marvel)
- Blue Meanies
- Blue Pearl
- Bluebird Azurite
- Blutarch Mann
- Bobby Hackett
- Boingo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Bonmucho
- Bonne Family
- Bonnie and Clyde
- Bonnie the Bunny (Films)
- Boo Fly
- Booga
- Boogeyman (Wrestler)
- Boomblaster
- Boomer (Left 4 Dead)
- Boomerang
- Bopp-A-Roo
- Boris Grishenko
- Bossman Hero
- Bowser (White Knuckle Scorin')
- Boxertron
- Boyacky
- Br'er Bear
- Br'er Fox (Song of the South)
- Brafilius
- Brain Roidmude
- Brak
- Brat-A-Rat
- Breakdown (Generation One)
- Breakdown (Transformers: Prime)
- Breather (Student Bodies)
- Brett Wyden
- Brickleberry Ghost
- Bridge Keeper
- Brinker Martin
- Bronn
- Bronze Boogie Boarder
- Bronzlow
- Brooks & Elwyn
- Brother Love
- Bryce Tankthrust (Brandon Rogers)