“ | 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, 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.
All items (1875)
- Death (Manual Samuel)
- Dee Dee (Oggy and the Cockroaches)
- Dee Jay (1994)
- Deep Cut
- Deidara
- Deliria (Zula Patrol)
- DemiDevimon
- Demon Teacher
- Demyx
- Den Watts
- Dennis Nedry (film series)
- Dennis Nedry (novel)
- Dennis Tanner
- Derek Branning
- Destroyman III
- Detheroc
- Devilotte
- Diamond Dogs
- Diamond Tiara
- Dick Pickens
- Dictatious Maximus Galadrigal
- Digit (An American Tail)
- Dijon
- Dimitri Lousteau
- Dinosaur Ryuzaki
- Dishonest John
- Divatox's Crew
- Dixon Bainbridge
- DJ (RWBY)
- DJ Octavio
- Doc, Blade and Thirty-Two
- Doctor Chaotica
- Doctor Tyme
- Doctor Zachary Smith
- Doggo Sock
- Dollar Bill (The Players Club)
- Dolls Henchmen
- Dolltaki
- Dolph (Wulifworgenthaler)
- Domino (Pokémon)
- Domino Walker
- Don Bianco
- Don Blaco
- Don Corneo (Final Fantasy)
- Don Mole
- Don Paolo
- Donald Groves
- Dongoros
- Doomstone
- Doopliss
- Dopinder
- Dora the Explorer (Robot Chicken)
- Dord
- Dorkifier
- Dorodoros
- Double Trouble (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)
- Douglas Reynholm
- Dr. Buttocks
- Dr. Clayton Forrester
- Dr. Eggman (manga)
- Dr. Fukurokov
- Dr. Igor Smogg
- Dr. K
- Dr. Laurence Erhardt
- Dr. Light (Teen Titans)
- Dr. Linksano
- Dr. Loboto
- Dr. Mundo
- Dr. Quack
- Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog OVA)
- Dr. Spam
- Dr. T
- Dr. Ver
- Dr. Warpnik
- Dr. Warumon
- Dr. Weird
- Dr. Wily (Mega Man 1994 cartoon)
- Dr. Z (Dinosaur King)
- Dragon (The Secret of NIMH)
- Dragstrip
- Draven
- Dreadnoks
- Dreadwind
- Drizella Tremaine (Disney)
- Duke of Weselton (Frozen)
- Duplikate
- Duval
- Eagles (Little Brother, Big Trouble)
- Earl (Rambo)
- Earl Johnson
- Earl Unger
- Earthquake
- Eazy-E
- Echidna (Devil May Cry)
- Eddie Mack
- Eden Hawkins
- Edgar Crook
- Edward Elliot
- Egg (Among Us)
- Egg Witch
- Egghead (DC)
- Ego the Living Planet
- Egon Olsen
- Eiji Kisaragi
- Electrocutioner (Arkhamverse)
- Elgar
- Elite Trio
- Elpeo Ple
- Emalf
- Emerald (Steven Universe)
- Emizel XENO
- Emperor Bog
- Emperor Hirohito (Popeye the Sailor Man)
- Emperor Pilaf
- Emperor Zurg (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command)
- Enraenra
- Entrapta (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)
- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (Hitmen For Hire)
- Eric Pollard
- Ernest Smalley
- Ernesto Boxman
- Etemon
- Ethel Janowski
- Evil Dick (3rd Rock From the Sun)
- Evil Harry Dread
- Evil Marie
- Evil Mayor Adam West
- Evil the Cat
- Eyeball Ruby
- Eyezor
- Ezor
- Fabian Fuchs
- Fake Heroes
- Fandaho of Nonsense
-
- Farley Claymore
- Fart (The Cleveland Show)
- Fat Buu
- Fat Consul
- Fat Little Asian Boy
- Father Julius
- Fawful
- Federation General
- Fergus (101 Dalmatian Street)
- Finito Brothers
- Finster
- Fire Cage (Mortal Kombat)
- Firecons
- Firecracker Jim
- Five Dastardly Bombers
- Flip
- Florent L'Belle
- Flying Frog
- Flying Monkeys
- Flynn
- Forty Quinn
- Foxy Loxy (1943)
- Foxy Pirates
- Foxy the Silver Fox
- Francis (Paper Mario)
- Frank and Lyman
- Frank Sahwit
- Fred (Them's Fightin' Herds)
- Fred Fuchs
- Fred Gee
- French Taunter
- Frenda Seivelun
- Frill-neck Monster
- Frix & Frax
- Frizz
- Fruit Winders Gang
- Fryborg
- Fräulein Rahm
- Fudêncio
- Fujin (Final Fantasy)
- Fung
- Furabiijo
- Furio Tigre