History Main / StepfordSnarker

* Mercury Black in ''Fanfic/TheBlackHearts'' displays that his DeadpanSnarker status on ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' started as a way to comment on his abusive household. His father and mother both abused him and his father constantly abused his mother. He was trained to be an assassin against his will and had to do some terrible things. The way he narrates the story contains his sarcastic comments about his rough life. By the time his story begins, it's clear that he's been dealing with it for so long that he's gotten tired of angsting about it. In ''Fanfic/{{CRME}}'' after Cinder finds him, he talks about his parents in a sarcastic manner while clearly showing the mental scars he endured. He even admits that this is his coping mechanism when speaking with Dr. Watts.

* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': in her sophomore year she is ridiculed, outcasted and raped after the death of her best friend. Junior year, she makes quips. She falls deeper and deeper into this as the series progresses (this is a CrapsackWorld, after all), but has grown out of much of the underlying hurt beneath her shell in the nine-year time skip to the movie. At that point, she is less a SnarkKnight, and more a regular DeadpanSnarker.

* Clementine in ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead''can be viewed this way in terms of how she uses sarcasm and BrutalHonesty as a coping mechanism for her past traumas.

%%* Ai Haibara from ''Manga/DetectiveConan''.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Ryuuken Ishida comes across as grim, bitter, sarcastic and hypercritical although there are hints that he's actually a gentle, protective person underneath it all. Then, the final arc visits the past in flashback and it reveals that he really ''was'' a very open, gentle, protective person until a series of circumstances ruined his Quincy future, doomed his adopted cousin and, worst of all, culminated in the loss of his wife. The people responsible are still at large (and pose a serious threat to his son Uryuu, the only surviving member of his family) and the story all but confirms he's a HeartbrokenBadass. The man's still incredibly protective, but he's learned the hard way to hide it.

* ComicBook/SpiderMan, DependingOnTheWriter. He uses his quippy brand of sarcasm to hide the fact he's usually pretty scared, self-doubting and carries around a massive GuiltComplex.

** Thomas Raith, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent White Court Vampire]], best friend [[spoiler: and half-brother]] of Dresden, and despite being a very literal ChickMagnet, has it even worse than Dresden in many ways (something Dresden explicitly remarks upon), and is every bit as [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]]. This tendency is revealed to its fullest extent when he narrates ''Backup'', one of the longer short stories.

* Udinaas from the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen''. He starts out as a mild version as he's considerably happy with his life as a slave, but when things go really bad he tries to hide his hurt, desperation and loneliness behind increasing bouts of [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech 'The Reasons All Of You Suck, Myself Included'-speeches]] and snide remarks.

** Xander is the living embodiment of this trope. He grew up in a family of alcoholics, was bullied in high school, and is forced to always deal with the burden with being the only one out of his friends without powers, in a [[DeathWorld town full of monsters of all kinds]]. Naturally, he responds to all this with sarcasm and self-deprecating jokes to cover up his bitterness and deep insecurity. Xander's defensive mechanism is made incredibly obvious in stressful situations such as the time leading up to his untimely canceled wedding with Anya and when he had to make a living in his parents' basement paying rent while his friends went off to college. It's lampshaded in this argument:

* ''Series/DawsonsCreek'': The self-proclaimed 'Black Sheep' of his family riddled with insecurities and DaddyIssues, Pacey most qualifies as this. He has as a very sardonic, self-aware view of the world and himself. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Joey.

** Chandler could be a poster child for this trope. He openly admits to using sarcasm to hide deep insecurity that developed due to his rather unusual and traumatic childhood. His snarking also grows noticeably worse during painful situations such as Ross and Rachel's break up, his parents visiting or friends leaving. When he falls in love with Monica, the fact he isn't as sarcastic with her is a telling indicator of how secure he feels and how she builds his confidence.

* JustForFun/JohnMunch, DeadpanSnarker extraordinaire. In one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', he is directly asked, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion "Do you always deflect personal questions with jokes?"]] His immediate response is "Do you always deflect jokes with personal questions?", which, [[LameComeback being somewhat less impressive than his usual quips]], suggests that did actually get to him. Given the fact that he's spent most of his career dealing with brutal murders and horrible sex-crimes, it's not all that surprising that he needs some sort of defence mechanism.
* Malcolm from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' does this to hide his insecurity and loneliness over his DysfunctionalFamily, the fact that his only peers are sheltered rich nerds who don't understand how poor peoples' lives work, and the fact that almost everyone else ostracizes him for being smart. In his words, "I pretend it doesn't bother me and then lash out at people who don't deserve it."

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Tess Mercer is a BrokenBird with history of AbusiveParents, ParentalAbandonment, and OrphanageOfFear, and it only gets worse during her tenure on the show. By later seasons it's obvious that, while DeadpanSnarker is her default setting, she tends to fall into irony defensively whenever someone gets too close to figuring out [[BrokenAce how badly she's broken]].

** Garak is both a Stepford Smiler and a Stepford Snarker. He's always amiable, cheerful, engaging and polite... and also very sarcastic. Strip away the StepfordSmiler routine and what's left is the Stepford Snarker routine. Then he suffers a life-threatening breakdown that reveals the truth: his exile is absolute agony for him. He's lonely, desolate, full of self-loathing from the contempt he receives off the station's Bajorans and even the station itself is torture for him to live on (human norms are too bright and cold for Cardassian physiology). After he recovers from his breakdown, he returns to his amiable, cheerful, sarcastic disposition but every so often episodes will revisit just how much pain and loneliness he continues to hide as a result of his exile.

* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': in her sophomore year she is ridiculed, outcast and raped after the death of her best friend. Junior year, she makes quips. She falls deeper and deeper into this as the series progresses (this is a CrapsackWorld, after all), but has grown out of much of the underlying hurt beneath her shell in the nine-year time skip to the movie. At that point, she is less a SnarkKnight, and more a regular DeadpanSnarker.

* Douglas Richardson of ''Radio/CabinPressure'' uses blistering sarcasm to distract people from the loss of his position at Air England, his three failed marriages and his alcoholism. It works.

* Michael in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' is a full-blown Stepford Snarker. He resorts to sarcasm towards everyone when they piss him off or if he is not in a good mood. The reason behind his snarky attitude is due to his complete disillusion with his life from having a wife that cheats on him, a SpoiledBrat of a daughter, and a lazy, dimwitted, pot smoking BasementDweller of a son. At one point, Trevor gives Michael grief for the constant snarking, causing Michael to snap and scream about how much crap he has gone through and that sarcasm is the only thing he can rely on.

** Shinji who talks to everyone in a very snarky manner. While he's always getting yelled at or even beaten by constantly saying what he thinks, he manages to tell Atsuki why he prefers to be a {{Jerkass}} than be a kind person that he is capable of. [[spoiler: Wanting to be a surgeon was his dream but the idea of getting someone killed and being held responsible has made him put a wall between people to avoid someone from asking about his issues. He was also neglected by his parents.]]

* Given what [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent kind of parents]] she has, Sam Manson of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' can easily be considered this. Her open contempt to anything popular and mainstream and her constant putting down of popular girls like Paulina are easily intepretable as misdirected anger at her hyper-conformist parents, especially given her somewhat frequent slips into complaining about her parents when she goes on a rant.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': It's heavily implied that this is the case for Mr. Cat, who is rude, cynical and sarcastic. It's been shown that his behavior might actually be because of deeply rooted psychological issues and an inferiority complex, as well as several traumatic past experiences and living with an abusive family prior to the show's events.
* Bugs Bunny turned into this for ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' as he has been SurroundedByIdiots (and has to live with the ''biggest'' one of them, also known as Daffy). A (Latin American) promo referred him as having more insulting jokes than common sense.

'''Ms. Scarlet:''' It's my defense mechanism.

->''"Blake understood. Humans are savage in nature. No matter how much you try to dress it up, to disguise it. Blake saw society's true face. Chose to be a parody of it, a joke."''
-->-- '''Rorschach''', ''{{Film/Watchmen}}''

In addition, they may be an example of TheSnarkKnight, but don't always have to be. While the Snark Knight is antisocial and sarcastic because of discontent with their surroundings, the Stepford Snarker doesn't have to be anti-social. They could have many friends and even an optimistic view of the world itself, so long as they still hide their bad moods with snark. A staple of the JerkassWoobie and frequently seen in {{Goth}}s. Closely related to SugarAndIcePersonality, {{Tsundere}}, BrokenBird, and DefrostingIceQueen, all of whom might use this sort of snark as a way of masking their inner sweetness. Compare/contrast SadClown, who is less rude and more ridiculous. Compare HiddenHeartOfGold and SourOutsideSadInside. If the negative emotion is embarrassment and they're under 18, they're also an EasilyEmbarrassedYoungster, while a Stepford Snarker mentor figure might be a MentorInSourArmor.

* ''Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration4'': Season 8's ''The Maud Couple'' reveals Limestone Pie is one. Despite her salty and sour exterior, she confesses to being miserable all the time and she is very envious that Maud has a boyfriend. The implications seem to hint that her rough edges hide a desire to be in a relationship with someone who could understand her.

In addition, they may be an example of TheSnarkKnight, but don't always have to be. While the Snark Knight is antisocial and sarcastic because of discontent with their surroundings, the Stepford Snarker doesn't have to be anti-social. They could have many friends and even an optimistic view of the world itself, so long as they still hide their bad moods with snark. A staple of the JerkassWoobie and frequently seen in {{Goth}}s. Closely related to SugarAndIcePersonality, {{Tsundere}}, BrokenBird, and DefrostingIceQueen, all of whom might use this sort of snark as a way of masking their inner sweetness. Compare/contrast SadClown, who is less rude and more ridiculous. Compare HiddenHeartOfGold and SourOutsideSadInside. If the negative emotion is embarrassment and they're under 18, they're also an EasilyEmbarrassedYoungster.

** ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' has [[WorldOfSnark quite a lot of snarkers]], most of whom are garden variety {{Deadpan Snarker}}s, but [[IronMan Tony Stark]] and [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] specifically fit this trope because their sarcasm is respectively a defense mechanism and a way of maintaining self-control. This is particularly evident after [[spoiler: Agent Coulson]] gets killed, and Tony snarks about how stupid he was to face Loki alone but is clearly using it to cover up his own grief. Given that Tony's [[Film/IronMan own films]] show his life to be something of a mess, with quite a lot of moral emptiness (before he decides to become a superhero), alcoholism, and relationship issues (continuing after he becomes a superhero) he counts as this trope in all his films.

%%* Yozora Mikazuki in ''LightNovel/BokuWaTomodachiGaSukunai''.

* ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'':

* The ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Serenity Now" reveals that Jerry is this to the point of being completely out of touch with his own emotions. When the GirlOfTheWeek implies that he's emotionally blocked and tells him that she'd like to see him get angry once in a while, he successfully learns to feel and express anger only to have her break up with him for being too explosive. His [[MyEyesAreLeaking experience of genuine heartbreak over this]] prompts the realization that he unbottled all the other emotions along with the anger. [[spoiler:And the cork is [[StatusQuoIsGod put firmly back in the bottle]] when he gets George to unburden his own feelings to him, causing him to realize the true depths of George's twistedness: "I think you [[ScareEmStraight scared me straight]]."]] Before this point, he believes that he doesn't express his feelings because he simply doesn't have them.

* The ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Serenity Now" reveals that Jerry is this to the point of being completely out of touch with his own emotions. When the GirlOfTheWeek implies that he's emotionally blocked and tells him that she'd like to see him get angry once in a while, he successfully learns to feel and express anger only to have her break up with him for being too explosive. His [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness experience of genuine heartbreak over this]] prompts the realization that he unbottled all the other emotions along with the anger. [[spoiler:And the cork is [[StatusQuoIsGod put firmly back in the bottle]] when he finally lets George unburden his own feelings to him instead of warding him off with quips, causing him to realize the true depths of George's twistedness: "I think you [[ScareEmStraight scared me straight]]."]] Before this point, he believes that he doesn't express his feelings because he simply doesn't have them.

* The ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Serenity Now" reveals that Jerry is this to the point of being completely out of touch with his own emotions. When the GirlOfTheWeek implies that he's emotionally blocked and tells him that she'd like to see him get angry once in a while, he successfully gets the hang of experiencing anger only to have her break up with him for being too explosive. His [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness experience of genuine heartbreak over this]] prompts the realization that he unbottled all the other emotions along with the anger. [[spoiler:And the cork is [[StatusQuoIsGod put firmly back in the bottle]] when he finally lets George unburden his own feelings to him instead of warding him off with quips, causing him to realize the true depths of George's twistedness: "I think you [[ScareEmStraight scared me straight]]."]] Before this point, he believes that he doesn't express his feelings because he simply doesn't have them.

* The ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Serenity Now" reveals that Jerry is this to the point of not even being aware of the emotions he's keeping back. When the GirlOfTheWeek implies that he's emotionally blocked and tells him that she'd like to see him get angry once in a while, he successfully gets in touch with his anger only to have her break up with him for being too explosive. His [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness experience of genuine heartbreak over this]] prompts the realization that he unbottled all the other emotions along with the anger. [[spoiler:And the cork is [[StatusQuoIsGod put firmly back in the bottle]] when he finally lets George unburden his own feelings to him instead of warding him off with quips, causing him to realize the true depths of George's twistedness: "I think you [[ScareEmStraight scared me straight]]."]] Before this point, he believes that he doesn't express his feelings because he simply doesn't have them.

* The ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Serenity Now" reveals that Jerry is this to the point of not even being aware of the emotions he's keeping back. When the GirlOfTheWeek implies that he's emotionally blocked and tells him that she'd like to see him get angry once in a while, he successfully gets in touch with his anger only to have her break up with him for being too explosive. His [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness experience of genuine heartbreak over this]] prompts the realization that he unbottled all the other emotions along with the anger. [[spoiler:And the cork is [[StatusQuoIsGod put firmly back in the bottle]] when he finally lets George unburden his own feelings to him instead of warding him off with quips, causing him to realize the true depths of George's twistedness: "I think you [[ScareEmStraight scared me straight]]."]]

* The ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Serenity Now" reveals that Jerry is this to the point of not even being aware of the emotions he's keeping back. When the GirlOfTheWeek implies that he's emotionally blocked and tells him that she'd like to see him get angry once in a while, he successfully gets in touch with his anger only to have her break up with him for being too explosive. He [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness experiences genuine heartbreak]], prompting the realization that he unbottled all the other emotions along with the anger. [[spoiler:And the cork is [[StatusQuoIsGod put firmly back in the bottle]] when he finally lets George unburden his own feelings to him instead of warding him off with quips, causing him to realize the true depths of George's twistedness: "I think you [[ScareEmStraight scared me straight]]."]]

* DependingOnTheWriter, SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}} comes across like this, using his sense of humor to cope with his past trauma at Weapon X, as well as his own failings as a person.

* Joanne from ''Theatre/{{Company}}'' could be an example, depending on the interpretation. She is a snarky, abrasive alcoholic who has been divorced twice. Her current husband, Larry, says that she is "wildly conceited" with "no self-esteem", and that she still is unable to believe that he loves her and continues to be fascinated by her. Her song, ''The Ladies Who Lunch'', starts as her critique of rich middle-aged women who wile away their lives with meaningless activities but turns into a scathing description of her own directionless life.

* From ''Disney/WreckItRalph'', Vanellope Von Schweetz fits this to a T. Years of being forbidden from racing in her game due to her [[spoiler:forced]] status as a glitch reduced her to a snarky shell. Her budding friendship with the title character eventually revealed her HiddenDepths.
* ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'': [[CunningLikeAFox Nick Wilde]] snarks constantly as a conman, but it slowly becomes clear that it's a defense mechanism to deal with discrimination against foxes.

** Soren in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance]]''. When his facade even slightly pulls back, Ike notices. [[DefrostingIceQueen Thanks to Ike's willingness to listen, he's mostly feeling better in the sequel]], although there are still some loose ends to tie up (namely, that Ike couldn't remember their first encounter).

%%* Shinji Ikari, of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'''s manga adaptation.

* Josh Lyman on ''Series/TheWestWing'' manages to be both this and a StepfordSmiler, going back and forth between the two and doing it well enough that it takes six months for anyone to realize [[spoiler:that he has PTSD after being nearly fatally shot.]]
%%** Toby Ziegler fits the trope as well, albeit in a more mild fashion.
%%* On ''Series/WillAndGrace'' Will's mother Marilyn (Blythe Danner) fits this trope to a T.

%%* Squall Leonhart in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''.

%%* Given what [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent kind of parents]] she has, Sam Manson of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' can easily be considered this.