History Main / GreatGazoo

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

%%[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* Nyarlathotep of the ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' can be interpreted as a DarkerAndEdgier variation of the archetype — the "pranks" he plays on mortals usually induce madness and hysteria at the absolute least, but he does appear to simply be flexing his powers in minor ways for his own amusement, never seeming to do anything large-scale that would disrupt the ''status quo'', nor to be working towards any great EvilPlan.
* Madame Tarsa, the Interdimensional Toymaker of ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'', is a variation on the trope — she's an arbitrarily powerful interdimensional being who dresses like a jester and frequently engages in eccentric and [[TricksterGod tricksterish]] behaviour, but she has never dropped down on the protagonists, only considering them "fair game" if ''they'' barge into ''her'' home. She also [[BewareTheSillyOnes knows perfectly well what she's doing at all times]]; her eccentricities are a mark of hedonism, not cluelessness.

[[folder:Web Original]]

%%* Sun Wu Kong appears him/herself in Literature/WhateleyUniverse.

* Manga/AssassinationClassroom has, Koro-sensei a super speedy octopus creature that can move at mach-20 with great ease. His playful personality and super speed makes him do things like go around the world during brake time and change his clothing without anyone noticing. Throughout the anime, we learn that the best way to kill him is to trick him so he would lower his guard enough to get a proper kill.

* ''WebAnimation/TheAmazingDigitalCircus'' has Caine, the titular circus's eccentric AI ringmaster. Described as a "fun-loving wacky little guy", he's a RealityWarper who controls everything within the confines of the circus except for the human performers' minds. Unfortunately, he's [[ObliviouslyEvil oblivious]] to the psychological torment he's inflicting upon those trapped in the circus and he's trying to make an effort to better understand humans. He also sets up random adventures for the performers [[spoiler:as a distraction to keep them from going insane about not being able to get out and "[[FaceMonsterTurn Abstracting]]", not that it's enough as Kaufmo can attest to]].

** Majin Buu was originally a chaotic life form that was nigh indestructible and could turn victims into confectionery. Once he absorbed a kaioshin, he became more impish and eventually benign. He also became much less dependable as he has a habit of falling alseep during moments where his omnipotent powers would be of most help.

** Mr. Mxyzptlk, an imp from the fifth dimension. In ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries,'' Mxy claims to be the inspiration for the stories of genies and leprechauns -- after a while he got bored of messing with ordinary people, but then Superman showed up. It's unclear just how far up the ladder he is on his home turf (sometimes he's unknowable, sometimes he's a 5th-dimensional kook with a weird hobby), but in the third dimension he's a RealityWarper. Supes can only get rid of him by tricking him into saying his name backwards -- a weakness that, in ComicBook/PostCrisis continuity, Mxy made up himself because a game has to have rules; pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}}, it was a naturally ingrained weakness. In ''The World's Greatest WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'', he even tricked Franchise/WonderWoman, ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} and Supes into making the ingredients needed for a potion that'd enable him to overcome his weakness, but Supes wised up and not only foiled the plan but also allowed Mxy to think the plan worked to trick him into saying his name backwards. When he's sent back, a ResetButton is hit, and everything returns to normal.

** Superman can be thankful he is '''merely''' a pest most of the time. ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' offers a rather disturbing look at what would happen were Mr. Mxy to [[NotSoHarmless stop]] [[EldritchAbomination playing]] [[RealityWarper around]], and ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' reveals what might happen if ComicBook/TheJoker were to gain his power.

* ComicBook/BatMite is to Franchise/{{Batman}} as Mxy is to Superman... except he's a gigantic [[HeroWorshipper fanboy]] who honestly wants to help instead of cause trouble. Naturally, Batman finds this even more annoying than if Bat-Mite were just out to get him. (Also, Bat-Mite does sometimes knowingly make things harder for Batman, just to see how his hero is going to get out of the situation.) Bat-Mite also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' animated series.
** For bonus points, the latter appearance had him as the cause for the ComicBook/EmperorJoker storyline instead of Mr. Mxyzptlk.

* ''ComicBook/ScoobyDooTeamUp'' introduced Scooby-Mite, a being from the same dimension as Bat-Mite who wears a Scooby costume and fights with Bat-Mite over who deserves the credit for a recent adventure. After the heroes outsmart them and convince them to leave, [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans Larry the Titan]] [[HereWeGoAgain shows up...]]

* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': Really the only way to describe Alyss, a mischievious demigoddess first introduced in the novelization before becoming a CanonImmigrant in the gamebooks. She's firmly on the side of Good, but is rather playful about it compared to any other of Lone Wolf's allies. And although her RealityWarper powers could be game-breaking, she only uses them to even the odds in Lone Wolf's favor rather than letting him win without efforts. Alyss is unusual for this trope in that she both has definite goals and fully understands what she's doing: she isn't just messing with people or producing loads of unintentional consequences. To some extent she's deliberately playing this role to hide just where her limitations and weaknesses are.

* Tom Bombadil, in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Tom is so powerful that he is able to wear the One Ring as if it was just a regular piece of jewellery and give it up freely without a thought, but spends most of his time wandering in the Old Forest and whimsically singing about himself, and is said by Gandalf to be capable of withstanding an assault by any force of the world, unless they were [[GonnaNeedMoreTrope all allied against him]]. He provides a convenient plot device to allow the hobbits to escape the Barrow Wights and take their swords (which later prove [[ChekhovsGun essential to the story]], since the swords are the only thing deadly to Nazgûl). Let's just say that Bombadil ''really'' doesn't fit neatly into Tolkien's larger backstory and there's a ''lot'' of fannish speculation about who or what he really is. Gandalf implies that Bombadil being unaffected by the Ring is just that Tom doesn't ''care'' about the Ring (beyond a brief passing interest in it as a pretty shiny thing), so it has no power over him one way or the other.

* The Man From Another Place in ''Series/TwinPeaks'' is a diminuitive figure with an otherworldly voice who resides in an alternate dimension known as the Black Lodge, giving Dale Cooper cryptic messages while also trying to get a rise out of him. His allegiances are all over the place when he's in human form, but in ''The Return'' he's changed into some bizarre tree-thing and is more benevolent.
* ''Series/{{Stargirl}}'' has Thunderbolt, the pink genie who was the partner of the original JSA member Johnny Thunder and later became this first to Courtney's younger brother Mike, then to Mike's friend Jahkeem. Being a LiteralGenie, anyone asking him for a wish has to be all levels of specific but sometimes, something as simple as wishing the BigBad were toast actually works out for the better.

* At Epcot in [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney World]], the Imagination Pavilion has the excitable purple dragon Figment. In the original incarnation of the Journey Into Imagination ride, he used his reality warping powers to come up with new ideas. In the current incarnation, he mainly uses them to annoy [[ButtMonkey Dr. Nigel Channing]] (played by Eric Idle) in an effort to get him to lighten up and let his imagination run free.

** Sheogorath, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[MadGod Madness]]. He's a CloudCuckoolander prone to [[MoodSwinger Mood Swings]] where he can range from AxeCrazy to AffablyEvil at the drop of a hat. Though he can seem charming and harmless one second, he is still a ''god'' and very capable of [[ColonyDrop hurling planets]] or raining down ''flaming dogs'' if the mood strikes him.

* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', the Dalish remember one of their gods, Fen'Harel, as being very much this in the vein of Coyote or Loki, fond of CruelMercy and BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and responsible for sealing away the Elven Gods ForTheLulz. [[spoiler: And then it turns out to be averted outside of in-universe legend. Turns out he's a decent and well-intentioned non-trickster guy who simply had a NiceJobBreakingItHero moment, and a mix of WrittenByTheWinners and OnceDoneNeverForgotten took care of the rest. Or that's how he tells the story, anyway. The fact that he murders Flemeth to absorb her power and his overall plans are "tear down the Veil that separates the material world from the spirit world" despite knowing that doing so will kill every living thing in existence because he doesn't consider them truly alive points to him being considerably darker than he claims.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' has [[TropeNamer Gazoo himself, of course]], a scientist sent into exile on prehistoric Earth for inventing a DoomsdayDevice. He quickly became TheScrappy as he was mostly responsible for the end of the show, indicating the writers had run out of ideas by introducing a reality-warping alien.

** The incarnation of Shakespeare's [[PublicDomainCharacter Puck]]. In his first appearance he winds up switching the species of all of the humans and gargoyles in Manhattan, just [[JerkassGenie to annoy]] [[KillAllHumans Demona]]. Even in episodes like "Possession," where he's being helpful, he goes out of his way to do so [[ForTheLulz in the most annoying way possible]].

** The Great Gazoo is given a ShoutOut in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E24TheSimpsonsSpinOffShowcase The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase]]", showing "Ozmodiar" as a little green alien that only Homer can see. The joke many fans missed was that in an interview, Creator/MattGroening said that the introduction of a Great Gazoo would officially mark [[JumpTheShark the death of the series]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS4E11WhereNoFanHasGoneBefore Where No Fan Has Gone Before]]" had the EnergyBeing Melllvar, who kidnaps the Planet Express and forces them, and the re-corporated heads of the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' cast to re-enact old episodes.

* Glomer on the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/PunkyBrewster''. He's more naive and clumsy than he is mischievous.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Discord, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony and the opening baddie of the second season, zigzags this trope like no tomorrow. A [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] TricksterGod, he uses his powers to screw with the mane cast. He seems at first like he'll be a classic example, dancing inside stained glass windows and summoning chocolate rain, but when he starts using MindRape and MoreThanMindControl to turn Twilight's friends against her, [[SubvertedTrope he turns out to be a fair bit nastier than is the norm for this type]]. By Season 3, he has reformed, [[ReformedButNotTamed but his mischievous nature goes untamed]], making him a straight example -- he's still a {{Jerkass}} but in a far more lighthearted way, and his antics -- [[TricksterMentor intentionally or not]] -- end up teaching the main characters valuable lessons. [[FaceHeelTurn Then he temporarily goes back to being evil]] when he's manipulated by [[BigBad Tirek]], who betrays him once he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlives his usefulness]], so he redeems himself '''[[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor again]]''' and starts playing the trope straight once more. Bonus points for being voiced by Creator/JohnDeLancie, who [[ActorAllusion also played Q]].

* Bill Cipher from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is another much darker take on this trope, to the point of subversion. "A trickster [[{{Jerkass}} jerk]]" according to WordOfGod, Bill has the voice, the look and the mannerisms of a Gazoo, but even at his best he is creepier than Discord (above) '''at his worst'''. Right off the bat, [[EstablishingCharacterMoment one of the first things we see him do]] is rip all the teeth out of a deer's mouth, and he gets '''worse''' as the series progresses. By the finale, [[spoiler:where he flat-out invades our dimension,]] he's more ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' than Great Gazoo.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[spoiler: The Collector]] is a powerful reality warper with the mind of a playful child, though they are actually far older than they appear. Subverted in that the rest of their species are far less playful, interested only in cataloguing and preserving planets and their inhabitants and exterminating any that resist.

* Music/{{Bjork}}, as depicted in "The Bjork Show" at Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.

* ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'': Of all the Celestial characters (PhysicalGod denizens of Heaven and other realms above Earth), the majority are mature and refined about their positions. The two major exceptions are Kitsune and Pete, both of whom delight in using their powers to toy with Earthlings as part of their CosmicGame taking place on the planet. The difference is that Kitsune is mostly annoying; Pete's are ''life-ruining'', such as his ForcedTransformation inflicted on King to unwillingly make him Pete's avatar.

* Coyote in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' is based on New World trickster god Coyote and embraces the trope fully.

%%* minus from ''Webcomic/{{Minus}}''

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': [[spoiler: The beta kids]] when they enter trickster mode.

* Thanks to the great powers and incomprehensible natures, certain Transapients and Archailects have been considered to be these in ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm,'' in the eyes of ordinary modosophonts.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Azazel'' stories. Azazel is either a demon or a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien, depending on the venue in which any given story was published.

* Manga/AssassinationClassroom Has Koro-sensei a super speedy octopus creature that can move at mack 20 with great ease. His playful personality and super speed makes him do things like go around the world during brake time and change his clothing without anyone noticing. Threw out the anime we learn that the best way to kill him is to trick him so he would lower his guard enough to get a proper kill.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[spoiler: The Collector]], like Bill Cipher, is a malicious version. They act the part of a childlike trickster, but are very much fully on board with Emperor Belos's goal of [[spoiler: exterminating all life on the Boiling Isles]]; their true agenda, If any, is unknown.

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' features Zoe, the [[PhysicalGod Aspect of Twilight]], a [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] cosmic messenger to Mount Targon in the form of an [[GenkiGirl energetic preteen girl]]. [[OlderThanTheyLook Many ages ago]], she was actually a normal Targonian girl who one day merged with the Aspect, and [[ImmortalImmaturity she's in absolutely no rush to grow up]], preferring to use her power mischievously on unsuspecting mortals. In-game, this translates as throwing paddle balls ([[LethalJokeWeapon which can be]] [[PinballProjectile redirected mid-flight]] [[GlassCannon to do some of the highest burst damage in the game]]), blowing bubbles (which [[ForcedSleep puts enemies to sleep]] to make the damage more painful), and hopping through portals (both to make hitting abilities easier [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and to]] [[BlowingARaspberry blow raspberries at opponents]]).

** The Doctor themself — a rare example where the Great Gazoo is the main character. Their personal abilities aren't at the normal level of this trope, but they can turn up anywhere in time and space and they seriously enjoy messing with people.

* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', the Dalish remember one of their gods, Fen'Harel, as being very much this in the vein of Coyote or Loki, fond of CruelMercy and BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor and responsible for sealing away the Elven Gods ForTheLulz. [[spoiler: And then it turns out to be averted outside of in-universe legend. Turns out he's a decent and well-intentioned non-trickster guy who simply had a NiceJobBreakingItHero moment, and a mix of WrittenByTheWinners and OnceDoneNeverForgotten took care of the rest.]]

** One [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] story had Superman turn the tables by traveling to the Fifth Dimension and using his superpowers to prank Mxy exactly the same way he normally does on Earth. Mxy attempts to get rid of Supes by getting him to say "Namrepus", but it doesn't work; after he decides he's had enough fun, he goes home by saying "Le-Lak".

* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': Really the only way to describe Alyss, a mischevious demigoddess first introduced in the novelization before becoming a CanonImmigrant in the gamebooks. She's firmly on the side of good, but is rather playful about it compared to any other of Lone Wolf's allies. And although her RealityWarper powers could be game-breaking, she only uses them to even the odds in Lone Wolf's favor rather than letting him win without efforts.
** Alyss is unusual for this trope in that she both has definite goals and fully understands what she's doing: she isn't just messing with people or producing loads of unintentional consequences. To some extent she's deliberately playing this role to hide just where her limitations and weaknesses are.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[spoiler: The Collector]], like Bill Cipher, is a malicious version. They act the part of a childlike trickster, but are very much fully on board with Emperor Belos's goal of [[spoiler: exterminating all life on the Boiling Isles]]; their true agenda, f any, is unknown.

* The ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' episode "Child's Play" introduced Zyx, a SpoiledBrat runaway from a magical ObstructiveBureaucrat planet (as well as a transparent stand-in for Mr. Mxyzptlk).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'': Ms. Frizzle qualifies as a human example, using the namesake bus to turn her class into bees, fly into outer space, travel through time, or shrink to the size of human cells. She's also a wholly benevolent version, since she does it all to [[MundaneUtility teach her science class]], and while there are a few close calls, the kids always get out of it perfectly safe.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Discord, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony and the opening baddie of the second season, zigzags this trope like no tomorrow. A [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] TricksterGod, he uses his powers to screw with the mane cast. He seems at first like he'll be a classic example, dancing inside stained glass windows and summoning chocolate rain, but when he starts using MindRape and MoreThanMindControl to turn Twilight's friends against her, [[SubvertedTrope he turns out to be a fair bit nastier than is the norm for this type]]. By Season 3, he has reformed, [[ReformedButNotTamed but his mischievous nature goes untamed]], making him a straight example -- he's still a {{Jerkass}} but in a far more lighthearted way, and his antics -- [[TricksterMentor intentionally or not]] -- end up teaching the main characters valuable lessons. [[FaceHeelTurn Then he temporarily goes back to being evil]] when he's manipulated by [[BigBad Tirek]], who betrays him once he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlives his usefulness]], so he redeems himself '''[[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor again]]''' and starts playing the trope straight once more.
** Bonus points for being voiced by Creator/JohnDeLancie, who [[ActorAllusion also played Q.]]
* Parodied twice on ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''.

* Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse:

* Discord, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, opening baddie of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'''s second season, zigzags this trope like no tomorrow. A [[RealityWarper reality warping]] TricksterGod, he uses his powers to screw with the mane cast. He seems at first like he'll be a classic example, dancing inside stained glass windows and summoning chocolate rain, but when he starts using MindRape and MoreThanMindControl to turn Twilight's friends against her, [[SubvertedTrope he turns out to be a fair bit nastier than is the norm for this type]]. By Season 3, he has reformed, [[ReformedButNotTamed but his mischievous nature goes untamed]], making him a straight example -- he's still a {{Jerkass}} but in a far more lighthearted way, and his antics -- [[TricksterMentor intentionally or not]] -- end up teaching the main characters valuable lessons. [[FaceHeelTurn Then he temporarily goes back to being evil]] when he's manipulated by [[BigBad Tirek]], who betrays him once he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlives his usefulness]], so he redeems himself '''[[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor again]]''' and starts playing the trope straight once more.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' episode "Fractured" guest-stars Larry the Titan (also known as [[SdrawkcabName Nosyarg Kcid]]), a Bat-Mite-inspired "SuperDeformed Robin" imp from dimension [[MindScrew four and nine eighths]].

* Discord, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, opening baddie of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''[='s=] second season, zigzags this trope like no tomorrow. A [[RealityWarper reality warping]] TricksterGod, he uses his powers to screw with the mane cast. He seems at first like he'll be a classic example, dancing inside stained glass windows and summoning chocolate rain, but when he starts using MindRape and MoreThanMindControl to turn Twilight's friends against her, [[SubvertedTrope he turns out to be a fair bit nastier than is the norm for this type]]. By Season 3, he has reformed, [[ReformedButNotTamed but his mischievous nature goes untamed]], making him a straight example -- he's still a {{Jerkass}} but in a far more lighthearted way, and his antics -- [[TricksterMentor intentionally or not]] -- end up teaching the main characters valuable lessons. [[FaceHeelTurn Then he temporarily goes back to being evil]] when he's manipulated by [[BigBad Tirek]], who betrays him once he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlives his usefulness]], so he redeems himself '''[[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor again]]''' and starts playing the trope straight once more.

[[caption-width-right:300:Making it rain [[HilariousInHindsight in a whole new way]].]]

%%[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
%%* This trope seems to have originated in [[OralTradition Mythology]], making this trope at least OlderThanFeudalism:
%%** [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]]
%%** [[Myth/NorseMythology Loki]]

%%[[/folder]]