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, memorable 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, 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, Mahito, Chairman Drek, 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). 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. Green Goblin, Loki, Doma, Lalo Salamanca, Big Jack Horner, Trevor Philips, Hans Landa, Jabba the Hutt, Professor Ratigan, Adam, 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, Moloch, 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, Devin Weston, Kikimora, Dan Tae Joo, Homelander, Stormfront, Eddy's Brother, and Chris Hargensen).
• Villains who may come off as incredibly funny or humorous to the audience but weren't created to be seen as such by their creator(e.g. Richard).

This is for villains who appear in a serious setting and are treated comically/lighthearted in-universe.