History Main / ComicTrio

* The Materials have this dynamic in ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny'' and all related {{Spin Off}}s, with Lord Dearche as [[RoyalBrat the leader]], Levi the Slasher as [[DumbMuscle the dumb and obedient one]], and Stern the Destructor as the [[TheSmartGuy smart and snarky, yet loyal one]]. They provide the majority of the game's comic relief, until the situation proves serious enough for Stern to take charge of the planning so that they could have a chance to defeat the ArcVillain.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has the mildly ditzy Sweetie Belle, the gung-ho Scootaloo, and the practical, sane Applebloom. Generally, Scootaloo will suggest something crazy, Applebloom (who isn't stupid by any means; she's just game for anything) will go along with it and Sweetie Belle (who despite being a bit ditzy actually has the most CommonSense of the three) won't complain loud enough to avoid getting dragged along.

** The "Shakespeare In Jurassic Park" team has a similar dynamic: Rythian comes up with the plans, Teep is blindly obedient, and Zoey is to busy goofing around to help.

* ''Webcomic/RomanticallyApocalyptic'' has The Captain as TheLeader, The Pilot...[[SelfDemonstratingArticle as the pilot]], and Mr. Snippy as the OnlySaneMan.

* The Red Team in ''RedVsBlue'' are often examples of this, with Sarge being the navigator, Simmons going along with it through thoughts of promotion and glory, and Grif being too lazy to stop them

* The pirate crew in ''{{Asterix}}'' - Redbeard is the leader, the crow's nest pirate is the follower, and Pegleg is the OnlySaneMan.

* In ''TheOffice'', Michael, Dwight and Jim often act as this with Michael being the leader, Dwight being the blindly obedient one and Jim being the only one with sense, particularly evident when they team up in the 'Branch Wars' episode. Ironically, in another episode of that season Dwight acts as the smart man while Michael blindly obeys (and misinterprets) the directions of his GPS, driving directly into a clearly visible lake.

[[folder: Web Comics]]
* Subverted in ''{{Achewood}}'' with the three cats who started out as a real Comic Trio, but after some character development: Ray is the navigator (a subversion since his plans, no matter how insane, ALWAYS work out), Beef follows Ray's lead (he's a manic depressive with passivity to a fault -- but still the only person capable of talking Ray out of anything), and Pat is the "smart one" (but so "smart" that he's unbearably obnoxious, and so unwilling to listen to other points of view that he ends up making the wrong calls in the end).

* TwoGuysAndGuy typically has Guy as the leader/navigator, Frank the idiot/driver (though he enables the situation through his apathy rather than his ignorance), and Wayne the complainer/backseat, though the roles can shift depending on the joke.
* {{Romantically Apocalyptic}} has The Captain as TheLeader, The Pilot...[[SelfDemonstratingArticle as the pilot]], and Mr. Snippy as the OnlySaneMan.
* The Light Warriors of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' are a rare attempt of translating this into a quartet - although many times one is left out to make sure it fits. Red Mage is the Schemer, Fighter is the Follower, Thief is the Sane Man (with Schemer moments too), and Black Mage is the [[OmnicidalManiac Some]][[StupidEvil what]] Sane Man.

[[folder: Web Original]]

* {{Pearlie}} and her three friends are this. Pearlie is the leader who gets herself in a bad situation, Jasper is the tag-a-long and Opel is the brains who is also the [[OnlySaneMan only sane member]] of the trio (as well as the only sane character in the show).

* As mentioned in the Trope Maker folder, ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' must have been the original inspiration for this trope: Moe was the leader, Curly was the idiot blindly doing whatever he's told (as was his replacement Shemp to a lesser extent), and Larry was the OnlySaneMan.

* [[Video Game:Bully]] introduces Jimmy, Gary, and Pete. In chapter one, Gary is clearly the leader, Jimmy is at times the idiot, and Pete is obviously the victim and the only sane man, being the one who clearly never wants to take part in Gary's schemes.

* The {{Stella}}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.

** The actors on the show. In this case, Tracy is the follower, while Jenna is the crazy leader and Danny is the smart one.

* The Light Warriors of ''EightBitTheater'' are a rare attempt of translating this into a quartet - although many times one is left out to make sure it fits. Red Mage is the Schemer, Fighter is the Follower, Thief is the Sane Man (with Schemer moments too), and Black Mage is the [[OmnicidalManiac Some]][[StupidEvil what]] Sane Man.

This is a type of PowerTrio. Contrast with FreudianTrio, a much less dysfunctional variation. Also compare with TerribleTrio.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' has Scratch, who originates most schemes independent of Robotnik, Grounder, who tries to carry them out, and Robotnik himself, who's left fuming at the mess they get into. When Robotnik dispatches all three of his robots to capture Sonic, Cocconuts, the smartest of the three, is usually powerless.

** Team Rose in ''SonicHeroes'': Amy is the schemer, Big is the follower, and Cream is powerless.

* The Red Team in Red Vs. Blue are often examples of this, with Sarge being the navigator, Simmons going along with it through thoughts of promotion and glory, and Grif being too lazy to stop them

* As mentioned in the Trope Maker folder, ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' must have been the original inspiration for this trope: Moe was the leader, Curly was the idiot blindly doing whatever he's told(as was his replacement Shemp to a lesser extent), and Larry was the OnlySaneMan.

* The [[{{Stella}} Stellas]] fit this trope to a T. Michael Black is the leader, Michael Showalter the smart one, and poor [[ButtMonkey David]] is the third guy.

** Team Rose in Sonic Heroes: Amy is the schemer, Big is the follower, and Cream is powerless.

Meanwhile, trapped in the back seat, is the OnlySaneMan. He doesn't have to be smart, but he is the only guy who is fully aware they're about to fly off a cliff, and he's completely unable to stop it. He tries to alert the navigator, but 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 strangely calm as the car goes sailing off the cliff and falls to it's doom.

* ShurikenSchool has Ezian, Okuni and Jimmy B.