History Main / LethalJokeCharacter

* In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' multiplayer, the volus characters are this to a T. When you look at their statuses, you see nothing but pitiful health and shields and awful weapon weight and when you play them, they can't cover through walls or perform a melee attack. However, once you get used to the volus, you realize that it is not meant to attack the enemies as hard as possible but to keep their fellow players alive as much as possible thanks to Shield Boost and the melee is replaced by an invisibility cloak and a shield that absorbs damage if you use heavy melee as well as being small enough to avoid some fire. A well played volus character can be the difference between surviving a multiplayer Platinum match and dying on the first wave.

* Most of the games in the ''[[Manga/DragonBall DBZ Budokai]]'' series have at least one of these. Ginyu could qualify in the first four games - simply let the opponent beat him up, use Body Change (which switches the characters' respective health bars), and finish what your opponent started. This was heavily nerfed in ''Tenkaichi 2'', however, to the point where the move is practically useless. That game's example of this trope is Videl, whom most players quickly dismiss due to the fact that she has no long-range offense whatsoever, has a very small health bar, and has a weak short-range offense. However, she's fast. '''''VERY''''' fast. I'm talking "can string together 30-hit combos with minimal effort and finish them with a 75-hit combo" fast. Those hits may be weak, but they add up. Against a competent Videl, most opponents aren't even given a chance to breathe during their DeathOfAThousandCuts, much less mount any form of offense themselves.

** ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV Super Street Fighter IV]]'' buffed Dan even more. His Koryuken and Gadouken moves now deal more damage than their counterparts, his command taunts can now stop attacks, and his Shisso Buraiken Ultra Combo deals the same amount of damage as in [=SF4=], while everyone else's deals significantly less. He feels less like a joke character and more of a regular low-to-mid tier.

** Tarmogoyf was originally printed as "pre-print" (a foreshadowing of cards to come, one of the gimmicks of the ''Future Sight'' set) solely so that it's reminder text could reference two card types that didn't yet exist in the game (Planeswalker and the rarely used Tribal). However, it wound up being such an efficient win condition that it is currently (as of May 2013) the single most expensive card printed in the last ten years.

** An even bigger ''Magic'' example is [[http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?id=2478 Necropotence]]. It famously got one star out of five from ''InQuest'' magazine. The very existence of this card taught players two very good lessons: one card is worth more than one life, and [[CriticalExistenceFailure the only life point that matters is the last]].

** [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=3255 Lion's Eye Diamond]] is the most infamous example of this in ''Magic''. It was meant to be a useless "balanced" version of the [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=600 Black Lotus]], giving you free mana at the price of discarding your entire hand, leaving you with no spells to spend your mana on. ''InQuest'' magazine called it the worst card in the Mirage expansion set, and it was often cited as the prime example of a JunkRare in its early years. Then people realized that once you could get around the lose your hand drawback, the LED was basically an unrestricted Black Lotus. It didn't take long for the Lion's Eye Diamond to land in the Banned and Restricted lists once people figured out how to do that, especially after various cards were made that allowed spells to be cast from the graveyard, played around with the Discard mechanic, and did other such shenanigans that turned the LED's drawback into a boon. Nowadays, the Lion's Eye Diamond is a permanent resident of the Vintage Restricted list, a common sight in the Legacy scene, and the most expensive card in the Mirage expansion set.

* Kurumi of ''VanguardPrincess''. Unlike the super-beings that are the rest of the cast, she is just a schoolgirl, and has only one move, but is the only character who can chain combo (deadly in this game as combos tend to be low in number and hit at near full power to compensate,) and as of the latest revision her supers are basically a OneHitKill.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'' has the ''Truelight Seeker'', a unique M6 corvette given as a reward during the Goner plot. On paper it's pretty mediocre, with only 400 MJ of shields, a top speed of 138 m/s, no turrets, average reactor power, and it's a larger target than the Argon Centaur it's based on. However, its [[FixedForwardFacingWeapon spinal slots]] can mount literally every gun in the game except the Impulse Ray Emitter, and some have turned it into a GlassCannon by fitting it with Gauss cannons. This is a weapon usually mounted on ''capital ships'', but the ''Truelight Seeker'' is ''just'' fast and agile enough to dogfight with it.

* The Novice class in ''RagnarokBattleOffline'' seems to be completely true to [[VideoGame/RagnarokOnline the source material]] at a glance, having terrible HP and MP, slow and weak attacks (Some of which result in them tripping or knocking themselves out), an extremely slow ground movement speed (Some characters can ''walk'' faster then either gender can dash), and only two skills, one of which is practically useless due to it only resorting a measly five HP per use (In a game where HP goes into the thousands range). However, once you place enough points in the right stats, they become capable of busting out highly destructive special attacks that can clear most of the screen in a single use, [[GuideDangIt assuming you know the button inputs]] (Though as they're CastFromHP, they can only be abused to the fullest with the aid of an Acolyte ally who can heal them). The male Novice also has a sweetspot on one of his basic air attacks that makes it deal a massive amount of damage (A fact the female Novice compensates for by being a more competent fighter overall).

* Although it's not a fighting game, the Skeleton form in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' is clumsy, can be destroyed in one hit (0 Defense, which in that game means any attack deals infinite damage), and throws not-very-effective little bones as its attack... except for the instances where the standard, not-very-effective little bone is replaced by a comically huge, 9999-damage one. It's tricky to use, but highly effective if done properly, most notably against bosses.

** Then there's Dunsparce, notable in that it has a special ability, Serene Grace, that was originally exclusive to the event-only pokemon Jirachi. In GSC it was completely useless, but with this ability Dunsparce has a high chance of causing status effects, meaning you could completely immobilize the enemy opponent if you taught it moves that caused confusion, paralysis, freezing, attraction, and others much more easily than any other "annoyer" pokemon.
** Smeargle has astoundingly horrible stats, but it's still popular due to the fact that it can use almost any move in the game. This leads to a very effective moveset where Smeargle can Baton Pass the Ingrain effect, making the next Pokemon immune to Whirlwind and Roar (switching out without Baton Pass forfeits all stat boosts and other similar temporary statuses) and being able to recover an additional 1/16th of max HP each turn. There's also the Endure/Spore/Endeavor/Dragon Rage w/Salac berry combo. Speed is the only decent stat Smeargle gets, and it's the only stat it needs. Even more terrifyingly, it gets the ability Moody from the Dream World, an ability that has proved itself broken on things like ''[[ComMons Bidoof]]''.

** Smeargle has astoundingly horrible stats, but it's still popular due to the fact that it can use almost any move in the game. This leads to a very effective moveset where Smeargle can Baton Pass the Ingrain effect, making the next Pokemon immune to Whirlwind and Roar (switching out without Baton Pass forfeits all stat boosts and other similar temporary statuses) and being able to recover an additional 1/16th of max HP each turn. There's also the Endure/Spore/Endeavor/Dragon Rage w/Salac berry combo. Speed is the only decent stat Smeargle gets, and it's the only stat it needs.

* Teemo in ''LeagueOfLegends'' is a cuddly bipedal hamster wearing a scout hat and wielding a blowpipe, fighting for the "scout's code" (this is a game featuring demons, insane mages, brutes with axes and lots of blood and destruction). His ability set includes a "Blinding Dart", passive poison blowdarts, a speed boost that does nothing else, the ability to go invisible when standing still, and exploding mushroom traps. None of this really helps him during teamfights, cementing his position as troll pick among the less savvy community. But then you realise that his entire kit is designed to make him [[FragileSpeedster maddeningly uncatchable]] and capable of running circles around any bulky melee champion, trolling them around until they die to poison. Sending him against the typical top lane bruiser will render that bruiser useless in short order while Teemo builds up a gold lead and invests this into items like Liandry's Torment which gives his otherwise laughable mushroom traps a burn DoT. And he will make sure to plant those mushrooms in your jungle so you can't even move around the map without taking damage in a [[RageQuit most irritating fashion]].

* Teemo in ''LeagueOfLegends'' is a cuddly bipedal hamster wearing a scout hat and wielding a blowpipe, fighting for the "scout's code" (this is a game featuring demons, insane mages, brutes with axes and lots of blood and destruction). His ability set includes a "Blinding Dart", passive poison blowdarts, a speed boost that does nothing else, the ability to go invisible when standing still, and exploding mushroom traps. None of this really helps him during teamfights, cementing his position as troll pick among the less savvy community. But then you realise that his entire kit is designed to make him [[FragileSpeedster maddeningly uncatchable]] and capable of running circles around any bulky melee champion, trolling them around until they die to poison. Sending him against the typical top lane bruiser will render that bruiser useless in short order while Teemo builds up a gold lead and invests this into items like Liandry's Torment which gives his otherwise laughable mushroom traps a burn DoT. And he will make sure to plant those mushrooms in your jungle so you can't even move around the map without taking damage in a most irritating fashion.
* Techies in ''DefenseOfTheAncients''. His kit consists of: mines, remote mines, stun mines, and the ability to [[ActionBomb blow himself up for damage]]. He has no offensive capabilities to speak of. However, if he manages to place and arm a stun mine in the middle of a teamfight, it inflicts an insane 6 second area effect stun that pretty much equals gg for the enemy. Also, he can use his mines to guard important areas like the secret shop so when the opponents '''BOOOM''' ''Techies pawned your head for 240 gold!''


his signature [[RageQuit mushroom traps]].

Compare EliteTweak. See also DifficultButAwesome, whose deadly potential is more obvious, but still requires effort to unleash. Unlike a MagikarpPower, the LethalJokeCharacter always had this ability to kick ass; it just requires a lot of skill to use him. Take a look at LethalJokeItem for useless inventory and skills that eventually become overpowered. HeartIsAnAwesomePower is the non-gameplay version. Not to be confused with FightingClown which is a silly character whose advantages are obvious while here they aren't.

Has absolutely nothing to do with [[TheKillingJoke Alan Moore]].

** Monkey is only a JokeCharacter at the select screen. As soon as you face him you realize he's a GameBreaker. There is even a stat that which keeps track of how many times you've played as him and he's overall seen as a cheat character. Modes like Monkey Assistant is a nightmare: The last player gets a team of monkies wielding rocket launchers after them. One should also not forget Robofish, who is probably an even more LethalJokeCharacter. First he is really hard to unlock in all the games. Secondly he is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a robot with a fish bowl for its head.]] After that he's equally fast and short as monkey, but since his body is as thin as it gets, he has a smaller hitbox. Even the head is hard to hit. The Shoal is also worth fitting up here. He's a floating whale with a top hat. The reason he's good is that when you realize he lacks legs he's harder to hit. He's got a fairly large torso, but the head is not part of the whale, but a fish on top. It's pretty small and unassuming and not very different from all the other fishes floating around him, thus it's very rarely anybody ever does a headshot on him.

*** Meet Pon-Pon the Kobold, who ascended to [[PhysicalGod Godhood]] on level '''[[http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19869366/The_most_powerful_character._EVER ONE]]'''.

** There's also Spinda, a Pokemon usually lambasted for its TERRIBLE stats. However, with the introduction of the Dream World, it gained access to the ability Contrary, which turns its stat drops into stat boosts. The Dream World also gave it the move Superpower, which would normally cut its Attack and Defense, but now RAISES them instead.

** The most famous of these is Wobbuffet. When it was first introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', its gimmick of only being able to counterattack and a tiny movepool of only 4 moves left it quite difficult to use without prediction. However, with the advent of its ability Shadow Tag, which prevents the opponent from switching out against it, and expanding its movepool ever so slightly (by 3, but only one of them is really needed), it made the jump from never-used tier to [[strike:actually being fairly powerful]] so unbelievably broken that no competitive player will agree to play against one, a designation it shares only with the most powerful OlympusMons.

* Might and Magic Kings Bounty. The Sorceress is often described as the worst character in the game, due to her low leadership, bad starting army and fugly appearance, and indeed her start can be a little more difficult. However Leadership only effects the amount of troops you can recruit and can be easily raised by giving money to your troops, and the Sorceress has the best gold income which only gets better as you go on, said income also letting you replace your army as time goes on. Morever she has the ability to cast spells, something that is costly and time consuming for others to obtain, and this allows her to win early fights with less troops and resources than other characters. Before your off the first island her advantages will easily eclipse her disadvantages, putting you in a stronger postion in less time than other characthers, while your gold income is higher than anyone elses, also allowing you to field the best army even though you wouldnt need an army as strong as the other characters to win battles! And in the Genesis verison once she reaches her level 2 form she can chain time stop into time stop giving you an infinite amount of time to complete the objective, even on hard, annihilating the game balance.

* Whether by design or accident, the characters that are treated as joke characters in Touhou Soccer tend to actually be really good. Meiling as a forward is excellent as a character (especially considering her price); Cirno has the best interception in the game that can stop just about anything; and Kaguya (in either position) are amazing for her cost.

** Due to the introduction of "Battle Experience", Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are especially guilty. The former has Makalov, who has pink clown hair, orange armor, and is best described as an all-around doofus. Oh, and he also enters the game badly under-leveled. With some TLC, though, Makalov's great growths can make him into one of your best Paladins.

*** In Gen V, a new move (Soak) changes the pokémon type to water. If you use it in a double battle, Shedinja will only be affected by Electric and Grass attacks.

** This Pokemon, while usually only used to learn lots of HM moves, becomes surprisingly beasty when its Hidden Ability Moody is in play. This ability makes it randomly gain a slight boost in one stat and a slight drop in another each turn. With enough stalling, it can become such a surprisingly deadly force that it was nearly banned. Who's that Pokemon? [[spoiler:Bibarel. A ''beaver''.]]

** Farfetch'd is still mostly useless in battle. On the other hand, it can win Pokémon Contests in ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' in any category with its level-up moves alone.

** In [[UpdatedRerelease HeartGold and SoulSilver]], contests are replaced by the Pokéthlon, a sport variety of Minigames. Each Pokémon has different stats in a category for how well they do in the competitions. The officially weakest Pokémon, Sunkern, has Pokéthlon stats comparable to OlympusMons; the likes of [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Mew]], [[EldritchAbomination Giratina's]] Origin Forme, and '''the''' Olympus Mon itself, [[{{God}} Arceus]]. And [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Ditto]]. On top of that, its slightly-better evolved form, Sunflora, doesn't have these stats. However, it's maximum stats are full, but its base stats are 1. And there is no way to get them all to full.

*** In Gen V, a new move (Soak) changes the pokémon type to water. If you use it in a double battle, Shedinja will only be affected by Electric and Grass attacks. On top of that, if you put a partner with Lighting Rod, Shedinja will only be affected by Grass attacks.

*** Also from [[UpdatedRerelease HeartGold and SoulSilver]], Togepi. And not just because of its more powerful evolutions--in Gen 4, one of the first moves it can learn is Extrasensory, a pretty powerful Psychic attack that can also make the foe flinch. Couple that with Yawn for sleep and Sweet Kiss for confusion, and you have a mon that's taken this troper on several runs through HG/SS, when in Gen 2 he never would have used it.