History Main / StrawFan

Compare with TakeThatAudience and StrawCritic.

* ''[[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders The Outsiders]]'': Dan [=DiDio=] [[http://web.archive.org/web/20100706192704/http://www.schwapponline.com/2010/05/new-low.html created one named "Harold Winer" for a specific fan.]][[note]]link via archive.org.[[/note]] And set him up as a supervillain, so he could get beaten up. Oh, and made sure to make him CampGay.

* Vivian Wong from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' is an exaggeration of many cliches in OriginalCharacter fanfiction and shows how the cast would really react to such a character. She's a skilled duelist renowned for her beauty and a fan of Yugi and Kaiba. While she wishes to form a BattleCouple with Yugi, she goes so far as to kidnap Yugi's grandpa to duel him, under the condition that if he loses, he'll become her boyfriend and ''slave''. Yugi doesn't fall in love with Vivian like what one would expect in fanfiction, but is instead bothered by her behavior. As for the women, she's incredibly hostile towards Anzu and Rebecca just for being near Yugi, similar to how fangirls tend to apply DieForOurShip to the female characters. The girls have no problem showing they don't really care for Vivian, and could care less what happens to her.

* The main character of ''VideoGame/ArthursNightmare'' is an angry adult fan of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' [[spoiler:and other Creator/PBSKids shows, if the ending to be believed]], who begins the game with a [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks rant on the show's switch to Flash animation]]. He is then subject to a game-length NightmareSequence where Arthur [[spoiler:and the rest of the Read family]] is out to kill him.

* The ''WesternAnimation/NewKidsOnTheBlock'' cartoon, of all shows, had a character named Fanny. She and her friends were the very personification of NKOTB FanDumb of the time. Mind you, the ''only'' audience for this program were those very same obsessed New Kids fangirls, so we challenge our readers to find a more oddly-placed TakeThat.

* ''ComicBook/DarkCrisis'': In ''Dark Crisis: Young Justice'', the BigBad is Mickey Mxyzptlk, the son of Mr. Mxyzptlk, who hates the fact that the sidekicks from his era, such as the Tim Drake Robin, the clone Superboy and Impulse, were all unceremoniously dumped by the wayside by their mentors and replaced by other people that he felt earned their spots unfairly due to {{retcon}}s, deaths and other things. He portrays the fan who seemingly hates the rise of minority-based heroes in recent years shoving aside other tried-and-true heroes.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'''s Comic Book Guy: [[CatchPhrase Worst. Example. Ever.]] Though he was originally just the standard nerd, when the show crossed into LongRunner territory, he would often mock [[UnpleasableFanbase the large section of the fanbase that think the show isn't good anymore]], but still watch it religiously anyway. CBG's catch phrase actually originated from a usenet post which complained about an episode from Season Four. To put things in perspective, Season 4 of ''The Simpsons'' is now widely thought to be part of the show's "golden age".

* Although there is more to the character, ComicBook/SuperboyPrime has attempted to destroy ''Franchise/TheDCU'' because it does not live up to his expectations. Certain fans tend to focus on nothing but this one aspect of his character, largely because it sometimes reaches a very mean-spirited pitch.
* ComicBook/WonderMan has turned into Marvel's most explicit version of Superboy Prime.
* It seemed to be popular to RetCon big supervillains as having been fanboys of the hero before their FaceHeelTurn. [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica William Burnside]], ComicBook/EobardThawne (retconned from being a Straw Hater) and ComicBook/LexLuthor all had this happen to them.
** Thawne is the most Straw-y of them all, being simultaneously a takedown of the idea that anyone could replace Barry Allen as Franchise/TheFlash, as well as a takedown of fans who refuse to accept Wally West as the new Flash and wanted Barry to come back. This version of the character can be seen in ''ComicBook/TheReturnOfBarryAllen''.
** In ''ComicBook/GreenLanternRebirth'', Sinestro treats Kyle Rayner like a trashy InadequateInheritor whose mere existence cheapens the Corps. In an interview, Creator/GeoffJohns admitted that he intended for Sinestro to be a stand-in for Kyle-hating Hal Jordan fanboys, and that Hal's defense of Kyle modeled the attitude that he wanted Hal fans to have moving forward.
* When Peter Milligan relaunched ''ComicBook/XForce'' as ''ComicBook/XStatix'' following the death of fan favorite Edie Sawyer, the new book opened with an arc about a RealityWarper fan boy who couldn't get over the fact that they'd "gotten rid of" Edie and was holding his town hostage. However, not only does he ultimately become a sympathetic character, he joins the team and in their desire to not let him down the group actually gels somewhat for the first time. Although he's still an unstable, horribly dangerous psychotic who the team end up murdering.
* Dan [=DiDio=] [[http://web.archive.org/web/20100706192704/http://www.schwapponline.com/2010/05/new-low.html created one named "Harold Winer" for a specific fan.]][[note]]link via archive.org.[[/note]] And set him up as a supervillain, so he could get beaten up. Oh, and made sure to make him CampGay.
* Peter David created a Straw Fan in ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' #13 to retaliate against a complaint he'd received about issue 7, only the fan was made into a cowardly bystander who made stupid speeches rather than a supervillain. Parts of the bystander's dialogue were taken from an online argument with the fan in question virtually word for word.

* In the 2017 ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' series, Abby, with her obsession with keeping Molly young forever, is meant to be a stand-in for fans who supposedly refuse to let the Runaways grow up.
* In ''ComicBook/DarkCrisis: Young Justice'', the BigBad is Mickey Mxyzptlk, the son of Mr. Mxyzptlk, who hates the fact that the sidekicks from his era, such as the Tim Drake Robin, the clone Superboy and Impulse, were all unceremoniously dumped by the wayside by their mentors and replaced by other people that he felt earned their spots unfairly due to {{retcon}}s, deaths and other things. He portrays the fan who seemingly hates the rise of minority-based heroes in recent years shoving aside other tried-and-true heroes.

-->'''Bonus Stage Wiki Guy:''' "And here Phil is referring to the Bonus Stage wiki. Or he may be referring to the Korean MMORPG "Wiki", which was canned because its graphics were eerily similar to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]. Happy birthday, Phil!"

* Due to Matt Wilson's CreatorBacklash, ''WebAnimation/BonusStage'' had moments where he really hated his fans, especially [[TheWikiRule the wiki]]. The greatest example is probably in episode 80, "The Terror From Beyond Imageshack", in which a wide variety of actual art from fans were made into characters and mocked for their inability to make sense or original content. They were eventually all removed, except for "the Bonus Stage Wiki Guy" (who was admittedly a comedically accurate portrayal).

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has been doing this since the ''Gold/Silver'' days. The Pokemaniac and Pokefan trainer types (among others) are usually given dialogue that cements them as parodies of some of the franchise's more unhinged fans. Later games took this a step further by including the Poké Kids, a class of young trainers who all cosplay as Pokémon[[note]]The original iteration of the class, seen in ''Diamond and Pearl'', featured only girls dressed as Pikachu; in ''Sword and Shield'' the class was brought back and now features boys dressed as Pikachu and girls dressed as Eevee[[/note]], and claim that their lifelong dream is to [[LoonyFan grow up to become one]].

* ''WebVideo/RedLetterMedia'' has one for fans of the ''Mr. Plinkett Reviews'', [[Characters/StarWarsImperialCourt Palpy]] or [[CaptainErsatz Man-in-a-Black-Cloak-who-is-not-a-trademarked-character-of-Lucas-Limited]]. He calls Plinkett lazy for not putting out enough reviews and he hates Creator/ChristopherNolan and demands Plinkett review his movies, if not children's films or obscure movies. There also comments and tweets made by [[NoNameGiven unnamed]] characters. One time, Mr. Plinkett himself asks "Enough of this sellout crap! When's the next Plinkett review?! {{oh wait}}, [[ShapedLikeItself I'm me]]."

* ''Webcomic/PvP'' [[http://www.pvponline.com/comic/2008/03/21/yet-another-letdown/ shows how much it cares.]]

** The series has M'aiq[[note]](pronounced ''my-eek'')[[/note]] the Liar, a recurring EasterEgg LegacyCharacter. M'aiq is a known a FourthWallObserver (and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Leaner]] and ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall Breaker]]'') who [[AuthorAvatar voices the opinions]] of the series' creators and developers, largely in the form of {{Take That}}s, to both the [[TakeThatAudience audience]] (given the ''ES'' UnpleasableFanbase) and isn't above above [[SelfDeprecation taking some]] at [[TakeThatUs Bethesda itself]]. Most of his comments are jokes about, rebuts, and insults toward fan complaints about elements which were changed or not included in the current game, some of which are in past installments.

** This character is in fact based on Chop-Top from ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' - who harassed a radio DJ with much of the same act.

** In ComicBook/GreenLanternRebirth, Sinestro treats Kyle Rayner like a trashy InadequateInheritor whose mere existence cheapens the Corps. In an interview, Creator/GeoffJohns admitted that he intended for Sinestro to be a stand-in for Kyle-hating Hal Jordan fanboys, and that Hal's defense of Kyle modeled the attitude that he wanted Hal fans to have moving forward.

* Dan [=DiDio=] [[http://web.archive.org/web/20100706192704/http://www.schwapponline.com/2010/05/new-low.html created one named "Harold Winer" for a specific fan]][[note]]link via archive.org.[[/note]]. And set him up as a supervillain, so he could get beaten up. Oh, and made sure to make him CampGay.

* ''Film/KamenRiderZiOOverQuartzer'': The BigBad of the film wants to [[spoiler: replace the Heisei Era of ''Kamen Rider'' with one that he feels is more canonically consistent by slamming the present day Earth into its past self; using his own Riders to control the "new" narrative]]. [[spoiler: TheHero's movie-specific form has the distinct ability [[LaserGuidedKarma to summon a horde of side-characters and non-canon forms to retaliate]]]].

** [[http://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/shows/supernatural/season-5/#ixzz1SrCH5jTR Read more]].

** "Bad Guy" features an obsessive fan [[spoiler: getting his revenge on Eminem for the death of his brother Stan]], who also represents former fans who have negatively reappraised Eminem for the homophobia of his early work.

* ''WebAnimation/LlamasWithHats'' eventually became centered around this. The creator, Jason Steele, was originally making the series to have five episodes, but [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150215090557/http://www.filmcow.com/2015/02/12/llamas-with-hats-an-explanation/ as he explains]], when people were expecting the series to end at episode 5 with Carl blowing up the Earth, this embarrassed him greatly because that is when he noticed that what he was planning had become predictable, so the series had ended at episode 4 for several years. But when the audience demanded a continuation, Jason decided to show that audience exactly what happens when you beat a dead horse to the ground. Paul, who now represents the audience, doesn't have the same kind of reaction that he initially used to have, and this starts to upset Carl, who wanted that kind of reaction. After Paul leaves him, Carl attempts to replace him by placing a mask of Paul's face on a sheep--by continuing the series, it loses its charm and doesn't take its role seriously. As this is happening, the credits jingle is becoming more and more distorted. By episode 9, Carl is talking to himself, trying to get some kind of reaction, pretending that he has an audience, the result of the creator doing the same thing over and over again. Suddenly, the mask of Paul comes to life and urges him to finish his work--the audience comes back, but it's meaningless, with no life or substance to it. After Carl destroys the entire world, he realises that through his efforts to impress Paul and get him to react the way that he used to he ended up killing him in the process, the true audience that liked the show for what it once was was dead. Carl tried so desperately to get the initial reaction he got from the audience, but he unintentionally kills that same audience. So he finishes his work by commiting suicide, thus killing the show.

* ''Webcomic/PvP'' [[http://www.pvponline.com/comic/2008/03/21/yet-another-letdown/ shows how much it cares]].

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's "most obnoxious fan", Douchey [=McNitpick=], in his "Top 11 [=F*ck=] Ups" video. The Critic has stated that he doesn't mind fans sending him criticism and complaints, [[CausticCritic just that they shouldn't be obnoxious about it]]. As such, Douchey is still a Straw Fan, but rather nicer than some examples. Douchey gets his revenge in [[spoiler: the "Willy Wonka vs. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" video.]] It's not many creators who'd give their Straw Fans that kind of satisfaction.

* Happens a ''lot'' in the ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' universe, to the point where one could say half of the recent content is thoroughly dedicated to this trope. [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail188.html They even made an entire skit discussing fandoms in general]], and, while their attacks weren't ''all'' directed at their own FanDumb, a good deal of it applies.

* [[spoiler: Bat-Mite]] turns into this at the end of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', sadly tossing aside his previous characterization (and development) in the process.

* Francis from ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario''. In one of his private rooms, you can find and read this "Geeklog" entry:

* The two-part episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' focusing on [[{{Expy}} expies]] of '60s superheroes is surprisingly respectful to both the characters and their fans, but it also argues that their time is gone. The villain turns out to be [[spoiler:a RealityWarper who couldn't accept that his heroes had died, and [[RunningTheAsylum reanimated them to fight endlessly in a perpetually static world]]. Ultimately, ''they themselves'' fight and kill him to end the cycle and allow change, even though it means ''they'' [[HeroicSacrifice will cease to exist]] as well.]]

* ''Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations'': [[AdaptationExpansion novelisation]] of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada Shada]]" turns both Skagra and (eventually) the Ship into this. Skagra is the classic ultra-negative, if-only-the-show-was-DarkerAndEdgier FanDumb type - he spends all his time watching video footage of the Doctor and rating the sets, effects, monsters and the Doctor's performance very low things out of ten, and particularly can't stand it when things are funny. The Ship is more of an AffectionateParody FanGirl who appreciates the good moral lessons of the Doctor's adventures and enjoys a good {{Squee}} over how much she fancies him, but forces other people to watch them with her.

* ''Literature/DoctorWhoNovelizations'': [[AdaptationExpansion novelisation]] of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada Shada]]" turns both Skagra and (eventually) the Ship into this. Skagra is the classic ultra-negative, if-only-the-show-was-DarkerAndEdgier FanDumb type - he spends all his time watching video footage of the Doctor and rating the sets, effects, monsters and the Doctor's performance very low things out of ten, and particularly can't stand it when things are funny. The Ship is more of an AffectionateParody FanGirl who appreciates the good moral lessons of the Doctor's adventures and enjoys a good {{Squee}} over how much she fancies him, but forces other people to watch them with her.

** The [[AdaptationExpansion novelisation]] of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada Shada]]" turns both Skagra and (eventually) the Ship into this. Skagra is the classic ultra-negative, if-only-the-show-was-DarkerAndEdgier FanDumb type - he spends all his time watching video footage of the Doctor and rating the sets, effects, monsters and the Doctor's performance very low things out of ten, and particularly can't stand it when things are funny. The Ship is more of an AffectionateParody FanGirl who appreciates the good moral lessons of the Doctor's adventures and enjoys a good {{Squee}} over how much she fancies him, but forces other people to watch them with her.

** Thawne is the most Straw-y of them all, being simultaneously a takedown of the idea that anyone could replace Barry Allen as Franchise/TheFlash, as well as a takedown of fans who refuse to accept Wally West as the new Flash and wanted Barry to come back. This version of the character can be seen in ComicBook/TheReturnOfBarryAllen.

* Similarly, there's the host of art critics in ''Theatre/SundayInTheParkWithGeorge'' who complain that artist George's work is growing stale and repetitive. Note that ''Sunday ...'' was the first show Sondheim wrote after the original production of ''Merrily We Roll Along'' was derided by critics who said that Sondheim's long-term partnership with Hal Prince had outstayed its welcome. Both the ''Sunday ...'' and ''Merrily ...'' examples are more [[StrawCritic Straw Critics]].

* Norimaro, a [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] GuestFighter in ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesVsStreetFighter'', is a stereotypical {{Otaku}} who got in the ring by mistake and is now aspiring to take [[StreetFighter Chun Li]]'s picture.

* Likewise, the ''Webcomic/{{Insecticomics}}'' often uses interactions between the Transformers and either a fanboy or a fangirl (or occasionally both) to deliver a TakeThat to the more irritating ideologies of the ''{{Transformers}}'' fandom.

* The ''WesternAnimation/NewKidsOnTheBlock'' cartoon, of all shows, had a character named Fanny. She and her friends were the very personification of NKOTB FanDumb of the time. Mind you, the ''only'' audience for this program were those very same obsessed New Kids fangirls, so we challenge our readers to find a more oddly-placed TakeThat. The various series and movies starring and NotQuiteStarring Music/TheBeatles also had mobs of [[GroupieBrigade screaming, insane fangirls]] - the thing is, none of them were established recurring characters. Most famously, ''A Hard Day's Night'' opens with the Beatles in full flight from a mob of their fans. The scene in ''A Hard Day's Night'' is actually a combination of TruthInTelevision and a subversion of this, as most of that scene was an actual stampede of fangirls which the quick-thinking Richard Lester told his crew to film.