History Main / ComicTrio

* Many a story-driven WebAnimation/YouTubePoop featuring Zelda CD-i will have this with King Harkinian (crazy), Link (doofus), and Zelda (serious).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Catscratch}}'': Greedy and arrogant Mr. Blik is the schemer, Waffle is the stupid one, and Gordon is powerless to stop Blik, making him the sanest of the
three.

* 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.
** It's also been well established that Brock can't follow a map to save his life and Ash (at least before Misty left) is more enthusiastic than smart. He actually even marched right off a cliff once, though, too his credit, he was in a dense fog.
* [[Manga/CrayonShinChan Shin-chan]] thinks Ryuko, Ogin and Mary (the Crimson Scorpions of Saitama) are this. HilarityEnsues!

* Also Ino-Shika-Cho in ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'' during the Chunin Exams specifically. Their first team battle when saving Sakura is amusing to say the least (the anime even gives it some quirky, fun background music) and in the Viz translation of the manga, Naruto even refers to them as 'The Three Stooges'.
** They even seem to fit the roles of the Comic Trio too: back then, Ino was definitely the hot-headed, driving force of the team, often shooting down the lazy but intelligent Shikamaru's ideas, while bossing Choji around
* The main trio in ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' have shades of this. Hidenori is [[LargeHam the loudest]] and usually comes up with zany schemes, making him TheLeader; Yoshitake is somewhat dense and goes along with whatever Hidenori suggests, making him TheFool; and Tadakuni is the OnlySaneMan who get's dragged into everything whether he likes it or not.

* The four senior ''Manga/KOn'' girls come very close to this. Yui and Ritsu are dual leaders, bouncing their energy off each other and running wild. Mio is the ever-suffering sane girl, and Mugi will happily go along with pretty much anything. Alternately, Yui is TheFool.

* The Conquest Club in ''Anime/CuteHighEarthDefenseClubLove'' Kinshiro is TheLeader whose out-of-touch schemes never work out, Akoya is the complainer who sees through most of what is going on and is powerless to stop it (emphasised in the manga), and Arima alternates between TheFool and the OnlySaneMan.
* Luffy, Zoro and Nami had this dynamic in early ''Manga/OnePiece''. Luffy was the idiot Captain, Zoro followed and Nami just questioned what the hell the other two were thinking.

* 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 even later agrees with Fone that Phoney might not always be right.

** Noel, Tsubaki and Makoto fit. [[TheDitz Makoto]] is the assertive one who comes up with all the zany and often stupid plans, [[TheChick Noel]] [[ExtremeDoormat just goes along with what Makoto says]], and [[OnlySaneMan poor]] [[TheSmartGuy Tsubaki]] sits there [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]], knowing full well that she can't stop them. This is most apparent in the ''Teach Me, Miss Litchi'' segments.

* The pirate crew in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' -- Redbeard is the leader, Baba (the crow's nest pirate) is the follower, and Pegleg is the OnlySaneMan. Lampshaded in ''Obelix All at Sea'', when a centurion describes them as "those stupid [Redbeard], impudent [Baba] and pretentious [Pegleg] pirates".

* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', the three androids take this role. In the original series, all three got along fairly well without real roles. Here, they all fit in fairly easily. Android 17 is the de facto leader and schemer. Android 18 goes along with things and usually complains. Android 16, who doesn't have any programmed personality, simply does anything he is told would help him to kill Son Goku (when he isn't bird-watching).
* Many a story-driven WebAnimation/YouTubePoop featuring Zelda CD-i will have this with King Harkinian (crazy), Link (doofus), and Zelda (serious).

* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'':
** Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino exemplify the trope in "The Ski Trip," "The Cakes," and "The Supermarket," with Rhino being the instigator, Bolt as the muscle, and Mittens as the OnlySaneMan. The last eventually loses patience and morphs into a NotSoAboveItAll active participant in retaliation during the first two stories.
** 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.
* ''Fanfic/MiraculousThePhoenixRises'' gives us Max as the schemer, Leon as the dumb follower, and Kiku as the straight woman.

* The Hyenas from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994''. Shenzi has the power as Navigator, Banzai does what she tells him, and although an idiot, Ed is the guy in the back seat, along for the ride. Alternatively, Ed goes with everything while Banzai may complain to Shenzi.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheThreeCaballeros'': Donald, Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The Soldier, Scout and Heavy seem to form this in several 'Meet the Team' videos as schemer, complainer, and follower respectively.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** The Chaotix from ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' onward form this trope perfectly. The loud, bossy and money-driven [[LargeAndInCharge Vector]] is the leader of the group, the immature, scatterbrained [[BrattyHalfPint Charmy]] follows Vector's quirks, and while resident stoic ninja [[TheComicallySerious Espio]] is clearly the most mature of the three, his concerns are often ignored by Vector and Charmy.
** The Babylon Rogues in ''VideoGame/SonicRiders''. Jet is the impulsive schemer, Storm is the blind idiot, and Wave is the powerless one who usually complains about Jet's reckless behavior.
** In ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' and subsequent games, Eggman, as the series BigBad, is the schemer who comes up with evil plans, while of his two robot advisors, Cubot is the dim follower who does whatever his boss wants and often annoys him with his antics, and Orbot is the rational one who shrugs at the stupidity of both his boss and his fellow advisor.
%% ** Team Rose in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'': Amy is the schemer, Big is the follower, and Cream is powerless.
* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi]], under [[DependingOnTheWriter certain interpretations]]. Mario is the schemer, Yoshi the follower, and Luigi is powerless.
* ''{{VideoGame/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.
* Being one of the more light-hearted and comical iterations of the franchise, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has Yuna, who is meant to be the leader but typically ends up the follower to her cousin (or anyone else for that matter), while Paine is [[OnlySaneMan powerless]].

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', the trope falls to [[TheDitz L'Arachel]], [[DumbMuscle Dozla]], and [[OnlySaneMan Rennac]].

* The main three campers in ''WebAnimation/CampCamp'' form one, with [[MouthyKid Max]] being the leader/schemer, [[JewishAndNerdy Neil]] being the nerdy one/OnlySaneMan, and [[{{Tomboy}} Nikki]] being the air headed/silly one. This is lampshaded in the fifth episode, "Journey to Spooky Island", where Max outright refers to them as a comic trio.

* ''Webcomic/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.
* ''Webcomic/RomanticallyApocalyptic'' has The Captain as TheLeader, The Pilot...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 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.
* From ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'', Chimera manages the exploit of being this [[MultipleHeadCase all by himself]]. The lion head is the leader, the dragon head is the idiot, and the goat head is the complainer.

* The side characters "The Unstoppable Three!" at SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''. Captain Bravo (flying brick with energy beams from his eyes) is the schemer (well, the leader), Hyper (speedster) is the follower, and Long John (stretchy "Mister Fantastic" type) is powerless. Even the people they attack mock them.
-->'''Phase:''' Long John? You named yourself after ''underwear''? What, "Fruit of the Loom" was taken?

* WebVideo/MonteFjanton's series ''Mystikhörnan'' parodies conspiracy theorists, with the protagonists following this dynamic. Morgan Månstråle is the schemer who sets out to prove his theories are correct using... unconventional means, Kenneth Hyvel is the follower who helps Morgan with his experiments, and Leffe is the complainer who's stuck with them (mostly because they're hiring his studio) and constantly criticises the others' plans.
* 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.

* Whenever ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' needs trio gags (which is a lot, particularly in season 2-3 episodes), the Crystal Gems very readily provide. Garnet is the leader (usually ComicallySerious), Pearl is the neurotic nutcase who makes some spectacularly stupid decisions despite being normally intelligent, and Amethyst just sits back and watches.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** The mildly ditzy Sweetie Belle, the gung-ho Scootaloo, and the practical, sane Apple Bloom. Generally, Scootaloo will suggest something crazy, Apple Bloom (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 common sense of the three) won't complain loud enough to avoid getting dragged along.
** In the episode "Green Isn't Your Color", Rarity forces Fluttershy to live out her dream, Fluttershy is too nice to say no, and Twilight is powerless to solve the problem due to her Pinkie promises.

** Mom's sons, Walt, Larry and Igner. It's subverted in that the leader, Walt, is actually the most intelligent of the three. However, he still comes up with some pretty awful plans, usually revolving around ridiculous disguises, while Igner is retarded and Larry even more spineless than most comic trios to compensate. The main reason they succeed at all is because [[IdiotHero Fry]] is the frequent target of their plans.

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Eddy is the leader and the {{Schemer}}; Ed is TheFool, the team's DumbMuscle and a certified {{Cloudcuckoolander}}; and Edd is the powerless, OnlySaneMan[=/=]NoRespectGuy. Almost every episode is kickstarted by Eddy planning a ZanyScheme to make them "rich" and buy candies (specifically, jawbreakers). Ed is {{kindhearted|Simpleton}} despite his quirks, and follows (or at least tries to, emphasis on ''tries'') Eddy's instructions to the letter to get the group what they need, no matter how much destruction he leaves in his wake. Finally, because Edd usually follows the trio despite knowing their schemes will fail, [[GuiltByAssociationGag he gets yelled at just as much as them]].
** Notably, in the episode "[[Recap/EdEddNEddyS3E5ItCameFromOuterEd It Came From Outer Ed]]", after Ed wants to devise his own scam, the three temporarily swap roles: Ed becomes the "leader[=/=]schemer", Edd the "fool", and Eddy the "only sane" one who knows Ed's scam won't work. You wouldn't be wrong to agree with Eddy, given the scam fails.
** In an amusing example like the one in the trope's description, TheMovie actually has them in a car, with Ed moving it Flintstones style, Eddy uselessly trying to steer, and Edd trying not to throw up in the passenger seat.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Catscratch}}'': Greedy and arrogant Mr. Blik is the schemer, Waffle is the stupid one, and Gordon is powerless to stop Blik, making him the sanest of the three.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Clarence}}'': Clarence is mainly the ditzy leader, Jeff is the OnlySaneMan and poindexter while Sumo's the more street-smart member.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** Variant: [=SpongeBob=] is demented, Patrick is stupid, Squidward is powerless. The difference is that Squidward is the bossy, unsympathetic one. So the audience roots for [=SpongeBob=] instead, even as he leads the trio off the cliff.
** Alternately, the Krusty Krab trio can be considered this, with Mr. Krabs as the scheming leader, [=SpongeBob=] as the idiot that goes along with everything, and Squidward as the straight man who's largely ignored by the other two.
* ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' plays this interestingly. Rocko, the main character is usually the leader while Heffer is the fool and Filburt is the neurotic NervousWreck. Sometimes, the trio alternates their roles, with Heffer being the leader who mainly instigates the predicaments, Filburt following along, and Rocko complaining about his friend's antics.
* ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'': Alvin is the schemer, Theodore is more timid than dumb, and Simon is the smart one who's powerless.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
** The shorts would sometimes combine Bugs, Daffy and Elmer this way. Daffy is the pushy and loud one, Elmer is the stupid one who'll do anything, and Bugs is the smart one. In a bit of subversion, since he's the "hero" of the story, he doesn't end up going off the cliff as much as Daffy does in his place.
** Perhaps an even better example would be Creator/ChuckJones' Three Bears series, with Pa as the bossy one, Junyer as the idiot, and Ma as the sane one who's ignored.

* WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts: Mickey, Donald and Goofy arguably fit, but their roles don't play out the same. WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck could be the loudmouthed jerk and WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} could be the submissive idiot (WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse is more or less the sensible but ineffectual straight man, anyway), but a lot of the time Donald is actually right; Goofy is the one to cause the trouble while Donald [[ChewToy ends up suffering for it]].
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': The Justice Friends. Major Glory is the schemer, Krunk is stupid, and Valhallen is powerless.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Timmy tries to navigate them to the destination (he wishes for stuff), Cosmo is the driver (he grants the wishes without thinking about the results because he's TheDitz) and Wanda's the powerless smart person. She tries to stop Timmy from making the dumb wishes but he never listens.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmoggies'': Emma is a vain, greedy schemer, Polluto is a stupid strongman, and Captain Clarence is a spineless geek.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** ''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, Coconuts, the smartest of the three, is usually powerless, but is sometimes the fool who ends up letting Sonic get away at the last minute due to getting in over his head.
%% ** ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'':
%% *** Sonic, Sally, and Antoine in. Sally leads, Sonic cheerfully follows (but busts her chops a lot) and Antoine is powerless to go against their ideas.
%% *** Sometimes reversed due to Sonic's arrogance, making him the leader, Sally the ignored OnlySaneMan and Antoine the idiot (albeit not that willing). Arguably played more straight in this variant since, while Sally [[InsufferableGenius had the ego of the leader]] in the former setup, [[WomenAreWiser she was usually more genuinely competent as such than Sonic was]].
* Clifford, Cleo, and T-Bone in ''WesternAnimation/CliffordTheBigRedDog'' are an example. Cleo's the impulsive one. Clifford's the dog who goes along. T-Bone's the voice of reason who usually gets ignored.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' is a strange example as Jimmy is the schemer, Sheen goes along but the role of the voice of reason depends on the episode. If it's just Carl with them, then he's the powerless sense of reason.
** Their female counterparts also count. Cindy is the schemer, Brittany is the ditz and Libby is the voice of reason who is never listened to.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' is a good example. [[EnfanteTerrible Mandy]] is a scheming evil genius, Billy is stupid [[TheDitz (very stupid)]], and Grim is the OnlySaneMan who is powerless because [[ItMakesSenseinContext he lost a game of limbo.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': The Belcher kids. Louise, despite being the youngest, is the schemer and the only one confident enough to be TheLeader. Gene is TheDitz (and even when he realizes there's a problem, he's too much of a CloudCuckooLander to care). While Tina, [[OlderSidekick despite being the oldest]], is too insecure to refuse to play along, let alone try to stop her younger siblings.

* ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'' The Count and his two servants often fill these kind of roles. The Count himself is the leader, Nanny the unquestioning dumb muscle and Igor the ignored voice of reason.
* ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'': Rudy the leader who usually causes (and eventually solves) the troubles in [=ChalkZone=] through their adventures, Penny (being the smartest) is the brains, and plucky, little Snap is the tag-a-long, since he's Rudy's creation.

* ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' has Ickis (the leader), Oblina (the brains of the trio), and Krumm (the {{Cloudcuckoolander}}).
* The Greaser Dogs from ''WesternAnimation/CatDog''. Cliff is the leader as he's the strongest and meanest of the three, dumber-than-a-sack-of-hammers Lube is the follower, and pint-sized token female Shriek is the only one of them who seems to show some form of intelligence.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' has Zim as the schemer, GIR being too insane to not follow him, and the Computer [[WhatCouldHaveBeen (and later Skoodge)]] as the voice of reason powerless to stop him.
* The three main characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{Clarence}}''. Sumo is the schemer, Clarence himself is the stupid one, and Jeff is the ignored voice of reason.
* In ''WesternAnimation/LeagueOfSuperEvil'' we have Voltar as the one who comes up with the team's PokeThePoodle schemes while Doktor Frogg is always the one to object to these and Red Menace simply goes along with Voltar's plan of the episode.

* ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'' has Lazlo as the one who comes up with the various schemes leading to misadventure, Raj is the complainer due to his nervous nature, and Clam, who rarely says much, follows Lazlo's antics.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'' has the eponymous character as the follower while Captain K'nuckles comes up with the schemes and Bubbie objects to them.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' gives us two to serve as [[Main/{{Foil}} foils]].
** The triplets. Huey is always the complainer, but his brothers trade off -- either Louie's got a selfish scheme and Dewey follows, or Dewey's got a reckless adventure and Louie follows.
** The Beagle Boys. Big Time is the schemer, and like Ed he's ''not'' good at it. Burger is the follower. Bouncer, surprisingly, is both the complainer and the smartest of the three by far.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'':
** Skipper is the unquestionable leader, the follower depends on what's required at the moment: either [[ForScience SCIENCE!]] (Kowalsky) or [[StuffBlowingUp wanton destruction]] (Rico) and Private is the one that objects and tries that the current plan doesn't involve ''much'' SCIENCE! and/or wanton destruction.
** King Julien is the egomaniacal leader, Mort is the ditzy FearlessFool, and Maurice is the OnlySaneMan.
* Gumball (leader) and Darwin (follower) are usually the duo in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' but they qualify for this when they're joined by their little sister, Anais (complainer).
* 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)
* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'':
** Jet is the leader who comes up with crazy schemes. While Sydney isn't dumb, she's very eager to join Jet's plans. Sean is the OnlySaneMan and complainer.
** The trio of younger kids fit into this as well. Mindy is the leader, Lillian is the airheaded follower, and Mitchell is the complainer.
* 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.

*** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]" features Solon, an [[MadArtist obsessive]], grandiloquent idiot who thinks he is a genius despite his plan being a glaringly obvious IdiotPlot 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.

In the driver's seat is TheFool, a total moron who [[TheBlindLeadingTheBlind blindly does whatever he's told]]. So, with the navigator screaming directions at him, the car approaches the cliff. In theory, the driver could stop at any time, but due to either ignorance or stupidity, he's confident that heading towards a cliff is all part of the plan, so he soldiers on with his [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} oddball]] behavior and/or his [[IgnoranceIsBliss blissful ignorance]].

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

This is a type of PowerTrio. Contrast with FreudianTrio, a much less dysfunctional variation. Also compare with TerribleTrio. Add another complainer and you have a FourManBand.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.:

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Eddy is the leader and the {{Schemer}}; Ed is TheFool, the team's DumbMuscle and a certified {{Cloudcuckoolander}}; and Edd is the powerless, OnlySaneMan[=/=]NoRespectGuy. Nearly every episode is kickstarted by Eddy planning a ZanyScheme to make them "rich" and buy candies (specifically, jawbreakers). Ed is {{kindhearted|Simpleton}} despite his quirks, and follows (or at least tries to, emphasis on ''tries'') Eddy's instructions to the letter to get the group what they need, no matter how much destruction he leaves in his wake. Finally, because Edd usually follows the trio despite knowing their schemes will fail, [[GuiltByAssociationGag he gets yelled at just as much as them]].

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Eddy is the leader and the {{Schemer}}; Ed is TheFool, the team's DumbMuscle and a certified {{Cloudcuckoolander}}; and Edd is the powerless, OnlySaneMan[=/=]NoRespectGuy. The show's episodes are usually kickstarted by Eddy planning a ZanyScheme to make them "rich" and buy candies (specifically, jawbreakers). Ed is {{kindhearted|Simpleton}} despite his quirks, and follows (or at least tries to, emphasis on ''tries'') Eddy's instructions to the letter to get the group what they need, no matter how much destruction he leaves in his wake. Finally, because Edd usually follows the trio despite knowing their schemes will fail, [[GuiltByAssociationGag he gets yelled at just as much as them]].

* The Red Team in ''Machinima/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 LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} have had some examples over the years:
** During the ''[[Machinima/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:
-->DUNCAN: The smart one.\\
LEWIS: Has a plan!\\
SIMON: DIGGY DIGGY HOLE!
** ''Machinima/TheBlackrockChronicle'' 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.
** A similar thing happens during "Monster Hunters". LetsPlay/HannahRutherford leads, LetsPlay/KimRichards obeys, and LetsPlay/SimonLane screws up a lot.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'': The Sheriff, Nutsy and Trigger. [[TheDragon The Sheriff]] is the main antagonistic force terrorizing Nottingham and enforcing [[BigBad Prince John's]] will, Nutsy is the ditzy follower, and Trigger is the OnlySaneMan and competent sidekick.

** ''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, Coconuts, the smartest of the three, is usually powerless.

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Currently [[ImageSource providing the Trope Image]] is the eponymous trio. Eddy is the leader and the {{Schemer}}; Ed is TheFool, the team's DumbMuscle and a certified {{Cloudcuckoolander}}; and Edd is the powerless, OnlySaneMan[=/=]NoRespectGuy. The show's episodes are usually kickstarted by Eddy planning a ZanyScheme to make them "rich" and buy candies (specifically, jawbreakers). Ed is {{kindhearted|Simpleton}} despite his quirks, and follows (or at least tries to, emphasis on ''tries'') Eddy's instructions to the letter to get the group what they need, no matter how much destruction he leaves in his wake. Finally, because Edd usually follows the trio despite knowing their schemes will fail, [[GuiltByAssociationGag he gets yelled at just as much as them]].

* In the ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' storyline ''Chain Lightning'', Impulse (Bart Allen), XS (Jenni Ognats), and the future Kid Flash (Iris West II) team up and form this dynamic, with Bart as the leader, Jenni as the follower, and Iris as the incredulous straight woman to their {{Keet}}} antics.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' has the three lemurs: King Julien is the egomaniacal leader, Mort is the ditzy FearlessFool, and Maurice is the OnlySaneMan.

[[caption-width-right:340:The leader, the complainer, and the dingbat.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Eddy is the schemer, Ed is stupid, Edd is powerless. Currently provide the Trope Image. TheMovie actually has them in a car, with Ed moving it Flintstones style, Eddy uselessly trying to steer, and Edd trying not to throw up in the passenger seat.

** The [[FanNickname Academy Trio]] -- Noel, Tsubaki and Makoto -- fit. [[TheDitz Makoto]] is the assertive one who comes up with all the zany and often stupid plans, [[TheChick Noel]] [[ExtremeDoormat just goes along with what Makoto says]], and [[OnlySaneMan poor]] [[TheSmartGuy Tsubaki]] sits there [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]], knowing full well that she can't stop them. This is most apparent in the ''Teach Me, Miss Litchi'' segments.

* Creator/YamatoDamashi's series of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' 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.

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 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.

** Also the trio who start the Michael Scott Paper Company in Season Five. Michael is once again the leader. Ryan is usually the guy who follows him -- or at least doesn't question him much -- but arguably in the episode "Broke" he is analogous to a navigator as he formulates their unworkable company strategy. Pam is the closest thing this company has to an OnlySaneMan although she is NotSoAboveItAll by virtue of having joined in the first place. She even compares the company to a crashed car.

* Fanfic/MiraculousThePhoenixRises gives us Max as the schemer, Leon as the dumb follower, and Kiku as the straight woman.