History Main / ComicTrio

* The last three males of ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama Island]]'' and ''Total Drama Action''.
** Island: Duncan (the insane), Owen (the stupid), and Geoff (the powerless)
** Action: Duncan (the leader), Owen (the follower), and Harold (the complainer)

* Creator/YamatoDamashi's series of ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fan comics has Reimu portrayed as an over-the-top [[HairTriggerTemper hot headed]] schemer, Marisa as her blind and equally wacky follower, and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent resident vampire]] Flandre portrayed as a [[TheSilentBob completely silent]] girl with a permanent CatSmile who happens to be the ''[[OnlySaneMan least]]'' [[OnlySaneMan ridiculous of the three]], and is [[https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1183910 obviously]] [[https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1756096 fed]] [[https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1969800 up]] with the antics.

** Played with in the case of puppy mill females Corabell, Dorabell, and Mae in "The Seven" and pigeons Vinny, Joey, and Bobby in "The Protection Payment." While being trios of comic characters, they do not fulfill the trope’s most common stock roles.

* The ''WebVideo/CreamHeroes'' show ''Kittisaurus Villains'' has this shared by multiple cats. Lulu is the one who comes up with the snack heists that inevitably go wrong. Dodo, DD and Lala all share the fool role, going along with whatever Lulu says either out of loyalty or because they don't know any better. Coco, Momo, TT and, on occasion, Chuchu will be the complainer- warning the others that their heists are about to fail or delivering some brutal snark when they do.

** During the ''[[WebVideo/YogscastMinecraftSeries Jaffa]] [[LetsPlay/JaffaFactory Factory]]'' videos, Honeydew Inc. was run this way, with the dynamic firmly set for later series such as "Hole Diggers". The basic format was LetsPlay/LewisBrindley coming up with the plans, LetsPlay/DuncanJones being smart enough to make them work but never questioning orders, and LetsPlay/SimonLane doing all the heavy lifting and just sort of fooling around in the meantime. Or, as one commenter put it:

** ''The Blackrock Chronicle'' team has a similar dynamic: LetsPlay/{{Rythian}} comes up with the plans, Teep is blindly obedient, and LetsPlay/ZoeyProasheck is too busy goofing around to help.

Meanwhile, trapped in the back seat is the OnlySaneMan. He doesn't necessarily have to be smart, but he to be the one with the most common sense compared to the other two. And that common sense allows him to be the only one who is fully aware that they're about to fly off a cliff, and he's completely unable to stop it. He tries to alert the navigator, but [[SteamrolledSmartGuy he can't outshout that bullying idiot]]. He tries to reason with the driver, but the driver happily ignores him, maybe cheerfully explaining: "Thanks, but I already have a navigator!" He then looks to the wheel to grab it from the driver, but he doesn't have the guts to try, and risk crashing the car himself. He often resigns himself to his powerless position, offering a [[DeadpanSnarker witty comment]], [[BreakingTheFourthWall shrugging at the audience]] or just remaining [[DissonantSerenity strangely calm]] as the car goes sailing off the cliff and falls to its doom.

Meanwhile, trapped in the back seat is the OnlySaneMan. He doesn't have to be smart, but he still has enough common sense to be the only one who is fully aware that they're about to fly off a cliff, and he's completely unable to stop it. He tries to alert the navigator, but [[SteamrolledSmartGuy he can't outshout that bullying idiot]]. He tries to reason with the driver, but the driver happily ignores him, maybe cheerfully explaining: "Thanks, but I already have a navigator!" He then looks to the wheel to grab it from the driver, but he doesn't have the guts to try, and risk crashing the car himself. He often resigns himself to his powerless position, offering a [[DeadpanSnarker witty comment]], [[BreakingTheFourthWall shrugging at the audience]] or just remaining [[DissonantSerenity strangely calm]] as the car goes sailing off the cliff and falls to its doom.

Meanwhile, trapped in the back seat is the OnlySaneMan. He doesn't have to be smart, but he is the only one who is fully aware that they're about to fly off a cliff, and he's completely unable to stop it. He tries to alert the navigator, but [[SteamrolledSmartGuy he can't outshout that bullying idiot]]. He tries to reason with the driver, but the driver happily ignores him, maybe cheerfully explaining: "Thanks, but I already have a navigator!" He then looks to the wheel to grab it from the driver, but he doesn't have the guts to try, and risk crashing the car himself. He often resigns himself to his powerless position, offering a [[DeadpanSnarker witty comment]], [[BreakingTheFourthWall shrugging at the audience]] or just remaining [[DissonantSerenity strangely calm]] as the car goes sailing off the cliff and falls to its doom.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

The most common set-up is for the navigator to be a PointyHairedBoss and incompetent {{Schemer}} whose schemes always backfire, but there are other ways to do it. It's also fairly common for the Straight Man of the trio [[WomenAreWiser to be female]] if it's a ThreeAmigos setup.

* Tommy, Dinko and Gumpers of ''WesternAnimation/PetAlien''. Dinko is the leader, constantly conducting half-thought-out schemes to help Tommy out. Gumpers is the follower who helps Dinko in his schemes, being too dumb to know any better. Tommy is the StraightMan who constantly gets dragged into Dinko's schemes against his will.

The most common set-up is for the navigator to be a PointyHairedBoss and incompetent {{Schemer}} whose schemes always backfire, but there are other ways to do it. It's also fairly common for the Straight Man of the trio [[WomenAreWiser to be female]] if its a ThreeAmigos setup.

* ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'': Shin-chan thinks Ryuko, Ogin and Mary (the Crimson Scorpions of Saitama) are this. HilarityEnsues!

* Comic subversion: Jeff Smith's ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}''. While it may seem that the Bone cousins each fill the workings of the ComicTrio early on (Phoney is a schemer, Smiley is stupid, Fone is powerless), it becomes more obvious as the series progresses that this is not the case: Fone can exert some power and ''definitely'' has a backbone, Phoney might only be greedy because [[spoiler:all three of them were orphaned at an early age and, being the oldest of the three, he had the reponsibility of looking after the cousins himself.]] He also becomes slightly more sympathetic as the comic goes on. Smiley is more obvious, as he is ''not'' stupid, just very optimistic, and later agrees with Fone that Phoney might not always be right.

* Film/TheThreeStooges may have been the original ComicTrio -- certainly they're the guys we're most likely to think of. Moe comes up with dumb schemes, Curly and his replacements carry them out (while making them even dumber), and Larry is just too spineless to avoid being dragged along. (Sometimes, but only sometimes, Larry's aware of the stupidity of a plan; he's got a less crippling case of CloudCuckoolander than Curly or his replacements do.)
* The Creator/MarxBrothers (Groucho, Chico and Harpo) became this as well a bit later in the 1930s when Zeppo left the group.
* ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'':
** ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'' has a whole society based on this. The orangutans run things, the gorillas carry their plans out, and the chimpanzees have all the brains and none of the power.
** ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001'' exchanges the orangutans and chimpanzees' roles, possibly as a response to ScienceMarchesOn.

* A number of Soviet comedies (including ''Film/OperationYAndShuriksOtherAdventures'' and ''Film/KidnappingCaucasianStyle'') feature the actors Vitsin, Nikulin, and Morgunov playing the roles of Coward, Fool and Experienced respectively. Morgunov plays the leader, Nikulin the dingbat and Vitsin the complainer. The 2014 remake of ''Kidnapping, Caucasian Style'' also uses the characters' dynamic (though they are played by new actors due to all three of the original actors having passed away).
* ''Film/ShaolinPrince'' has the three bumbling monks who raised the titular hero, appropriately called the "3 Holy Fools". They fit the BigThinShortTrio trope as well.
* The ''Film/ThreeAmigos'': Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms and Ned Nederlander.
* ''Film/HorribleBosses'': Kurt, Dale, and Nick.
* The pre-Winston ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'': Peter (the navigator); Ray (the driver); and Egon (the OnlySaneMan). Uniquely, they balance the ComicTrio qualities with those of a more traditional PowerTrio: Ray combines massive amounts of paranormal knowledge with very practical real-world skills (he rebuilds that old ambulance into the team's CoolCar); Egon comes up with the calculations and science that allow for Ghostbusting; and Peter, the schmoozer, facilitates the actual business side of the Ghostbusters operation. Most importantly, their ZanyScheme ''succeeds''.

* In ''Film/{{Superbad}}'', Seth is the leader, Evan is the complainer and Fogell is the idiot.
* ''Film/PanicRoom'' has a villainous version amongst the three robbers: Junior is the leader, Raoul is the follower, and Burnham is the OnlySaneMan. [[spoiler:At first, then it turns out that Raoul is even crazier than Junior]].

* In ''Series/TheGoodies'', the three characters alternated these roles regularly. Most commonly, it seemed to be Graeme being the leader, Bill carrying through his schemes, and Tim disagreeing, but requiring the money for the job enough to go along. Then again, as Graeme was at times too [[AbsentMindedProfessor distracted]] to carry through all the way, Tim was at times [[MyCountryRightOrWrong dedicated enough to serving England]] to take over leadership, and [[GeniusDitz Bill had his moments of inspiration too]], the roles did switch around a ''lot''. Occasionally it would even avoid separating the roles - in one episode, Graeme is a power mad pirate radio station owner, and ''both'' Bill and Tim are the powerless snarkers.
* In the classic ''Series/LastOfTheSummerWine'' trio Foggy comes up with the schemes, Compo is the one who knows it'll lead to disaster, but can't do anything to stop it, and Clegg is not so much clueless as content to offer wry observations from the sidelines, since he's never the one it's happening to. Lampshaded in "A Merry Heatwave":
-->'''Foggy''': Wait a minute!
-->'''Compo''': Ey-up, he's getting another idea.
-->'''Clegg''': Oh dear, do you think so?
-->'''Compo''': You can always tell. Three stages. One: he goes like that. Two: he gets an idea. Three: he looks around for a couple of idiots like us to carry it out.

* Later seasons of ''Series/{{MASH}}'' have one in the form of Hawkeye (bizarre one), B.J. (the one who goes along), and Winchester (the smart one). Earlier seasons had the first two roles covered, but no one else at the 4077th was smart/sane enough to see what was coming (except for Radar on occasion).
* ''Series/TopGear'' has a lot of shuffling with this, although Jeremy's usually the schemer, with Richard and James trading off on the stupid/going along with it and the helpless.
* In a few episodes of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' such as "Tall Tales" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me," Sam, Dean, and Bobby transition from a PowerTrio to a ComicTrio. Sam comes up with an idea, Dean helps him carry it out, and then Bobby shows up when it goes wrong and tells them that they're idiots.

* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'': Shane is the leader, Dustin is more laid back than dumb, and Tori is "the responsible one".

* The Gang in ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' shuffle roles around many episodes, but Mac, Dennis and Charlie are the most common trio (usually with Dennis as the clueless leader, Mac as the ignored voice of reason and Charlie as the dumb follower, although this can switch an any given moment). Dee, Artemis and The Waitress are the DistaffCounterpart, though Dee also tends to fill the "ignored voice of reason" role (in which case Mac will usually be the dumb one). Frank, as the WildCard, can fill any role.
* The Series/{{Stella|US}}s fit this trope to a T. Michael Black is the leader, Michael Showalter the smart one, and poor [[ButtMonkey David]] is the third guy.
* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' has the title character, Baldrick, and Percy in the first two series, with George replacing Percy in series three and four.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** A truly bizarre example is the three Daleks in the serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase The Chase]]" -- there's a permanently frustrated PointyHairedBoss Dalek, a [[TheDitz stupid Dalek who gets confused easily, stumbles over his words and falls over]] and a Dalek who is better at exterminating but is powerless to resist orders from his superiors. "The Chase" is a [[OutOfGenreExperience pretty weird Dalek story]].
** Creator/RobertHolmes often derived his CreatorThumbprint LightmareFuel tone from setting his villains up like this, then using them to tell a genuinely frightening horror story. Even when he wasn't using the entire trio, the "character who thinks he's a genius, has some legitimate talent, but actually has no idea what he's doing" was one of his favourite archetypes, and formed the backbone of the Master, the Fourth Doctor (a rare heroic example from him), and virtually all other prominent characters he created.
*** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]" features Solon, an [[MadArtist obsessive]], grandiloquent idiot who thinks he is a genius despite his plan being one that a toddler could see the issues with; Condo, his even stupider thrall who does the grunt work; and Morbius, an actual genius, well aware that Solon's plan is terrible, and powerless to do anything about it between his [[BrainInAJar diminished physical status]] and suicidal depression.
*** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]" features Chang, whose intelligence rivals even the Doctor's, but derives his means to survive in Victorian society from Greel's approval; Greel, a domineering, vain moron with a nonsensical plan that will lead to his demise; and Mr. Sin, an OmnicidalManiac with the brain of a pig who cares about nothing except getting to kill as many people as possible.
** In Season 16: The Doctor thinks he's the most remarkable genius in the Universe, but is a failed student, egomaniac and the stupidest person aboard the TARDIS at that point, and mostly gets out of situations by [[{{MacGyvering}} schoolboy science]], [[BavarianFireDrill blagging]], and dumb luck. Romana's intelligence leaves him in the dust, but her catty personality, the whim of the Guardian, and her generally horrible luck leads to her having to be his second-in-command. K-9 is also much smarter than the Doctor in terms of raw computing power, but can't understand common figures of speech, is not capable of independent thought and has no common sense at all.
* ''Series/FurTV'' has Ed as TheLeader, Lapeño as OnlySaneMan and Mervis as TheFool (and TheWoobie too).
* Al, Jefferson and Griff in ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''. Al is always TheLeader, but the role of TheFool and OnlySaneMan may change between Jefferson and Griff depending of the episode, although most of the time Jefferson is the latter.
* The Chanels in ''Series/ScreamQueens2015'' fit this in different combinations:
** With Chanel, Chanel Number Three, and Chanel Number Five, Chanel is always TheLeader, with Three and Five altering between TheFool and OnlySaneMan depending on the situation. Most consistently, with Number Five as The OnlySaneMan and Number Three as TheFool.
** When Chanel Number Three, Chanel Number Five, and Hester team up, Hester takes on the role of TheLeader, with Chanel Number Three being TheFool and going along with whatever Hester plans (though slightly more so out of [[CloudCuckooLander amusement]] than stupidity) and Chanel Number Five as the OnlySaneMan.
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:'' The Mads fit this archetype during the Sci-Fi Channel years. Pearl Forrester is the leader, Bobo is her dumb-as-a-brick minion, and Observer is the (mostly) sane man who nobody listens to.
** Joel ([[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute and later Mike and Jonah]]), Crow, and Tom Servo in the theater certainly qualify.

* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'' has Gordon Brittas and his two Deputy Managers - Brittas is the leader, but is a PointyHairedBoss who has a tendency to make problems worse, Colin is TheFool and is blindly obedient to Brittas, and Laura is the OnlySaneWoman who usually tries but fails to fully nullify Brittas' incompetence.

* The Team Rocket trio in the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime: Jessie and Meowth alternate roles as scheming navigator and driver, though Jessie is often more loudmouthed, while James more often than not suffers in some way, frequently at the expense of his bottle cap collection. James also can act as the driver when Jessie is the navigator, with Meowth too nervous about getting yelled at by Jessie to do anything (often the scenario in earlier episodes). Whenever any one of them decides to enter a competition (other than Jessie's Pokémon Contests) and try to win fair and square for once, they can always count on the other two mess everything up by obliviously playing the villain right as the "good" third actually seems to have a chance at winning.