History Main / TheGrotesque

* Gonzales from ''FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Binding Blade'' is a recruitable axe fighter who has great deal of uglyness and a twisted, childlike mind even for a [[ObviouslyEvil bandit's standard]]. Like a classic Grotesque character, Gonzales is a GentleGiant who is bullied by people who judge him from his look and is sent into battle even though he doesn't want to hurt a fly. His traits are acknowledged by [[AllLovingHero Lilina]] as she befriends him.

* Gonzales from ''FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Binding Blade'' is a recruitable axe fighter who has great deal of uglyness and a twisted, childlike mind even for a [[ObviouslyEvil bandit's standard]]. like a classic Grotesque character, Gonzales is a GentleGiant who is bullied by people who judge him from his look and is sent into battle even though he doesn't want to hurt a fly. His traits are acknowledged by [[AllLovingHero Lilina]] as she befriends him.

* Gonzales from ''FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Binding Blade'' is a recruitable axe fighter who has great deal of uglyness and a twisted, childlike mind even for a bandit's standard. like a classic Grotesque character, Gonzales is a GentleGiant who is bullied by people who judge him from his look and is sent into battle even though he doesn't want to hurt a fly. His traits are acknowledged by [[AllLovingHero Lilina]] as she befriends him.

* Jaws, from the ''Film/JamesBond movies'', becomes this after his HeelFaceTurn in ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. The actor who played him, Richard Kiel, has acromegaly like Creator/RondoHatton, below. In a twist, not only does Redemption NOT Equal Death, but he manages to get himself a girlfriend out of the deal (and a {{Meganekko}} who's [[PintsizedPowerhouse almost as strong as he is]], to boot. Lucky bastard.).

* The titled character of ''Film/InspectorGadget'' and at a lesser exent, [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist Maxwell Smart]] from ''Film/GetSmart''. There film version are both really disturbing to look at.
* ''Film/PaulBlartMallCop''.
* Tim Avery from ''Film/SonOfTheMask, especially when he screams.
* The main trio of ''Film/TheBenchwarmers''. The Jon Heder character really stand out here.
* Steve Finch from ''Film/DeckTheHalls''.
* Big-chin guy on tv, Gorilla on tv, wrestlers on tv and news people on tv from ''WesternAnimation/FreeBirds''.

** Later, it gets worse; he takes a sword slash across his face in the battle of King's Landing, losing a large chunk of his nose, twisting his lips, and very nearly costing him an eye. The combination of the trauma of his further disfiguration and the fact that he can't take anything to help with the pain because Cersei's trying to keep him out of commission leaves him severely depressed, to the point where [[spoiler: he barely even tries to defend himself when charged with Joffrey's murder.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', which took many cues from the Creator/TimBurton ''Batman'' films, the Penguin is ''almost'' this trope played straight. He's nowhere near as evil as, say, TheJoker, but then again he's not even all that ugly (HollywoodHomely might be the best way to describe him). It's implied that deep down he really wants to go straight, [[ChronicVillainy but he just enjoys stealing priceless artifacts too much]] -- and he just can't keep from lashing out at people who make fun of him when he ''does'' try to reform.
** Not just implied. In ''Birds of a Feather'', he goes straight and actually means it. Then he meets a beautiful woman who, unbeknownst to him, is only dating him for the thrill and attention she'll get from dating a former super criminal (She secretly finds him ''repulsive''). He is head-over-heels for her, buys expensive gifts for her, and even saves her life from muggers, all the while so happy to be an accepted member of society that crime is the last thing on his mind. Like this he is surprisingly good-natured, brave, and kind. [[spoiler:Too bad the truth comes out and he is so hurt and shocked by it that he dives head first back into supervillainy.]]

** Terra, a massive blob monster made of mud, essentially has the mind of a child thanks to [[TheDragon Jose]] messing up it's creation. Even after being hit with a dose of PsychoSerum it ultimately [[HeelFaceTurn saves Cyber Six's life]] with a [[TearJerker heartbreaking]] HeroicSacrifice.

* Eddie the squirrel from WesternAnimation/CatDog'' looks more like a cross of a hunchback and an otter than a squirrel.
* Kyle and Ranger Stu from ''WesternAnimation/SquirrelBoy'' barely look human.
* Baby Taz from ''WesternAnimation/BabyLooneyTunes''.

* Kyle and Ranger Stu from ''WesternAnimation/SquirrelBoy'' barley look human.
* Baby Taz from WesternAnimation/BabyLooneyTunes''.

* In ComicBook/{{X-Men}}, any mutant whose mutation effects their outer appearance. And, as part of the FridgeLogic inherent in X-Men, The Thing mentioned above is a celebrity while Nightcrawler is forced to use a holographic disguise to avoid attention.

* Kyle and Ranger Stu from ''WesternAnimation/SquirrleBoy'' barley look human.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', which took many cues from the TimBurton ''Batman'' films, the Penguin is ''almost'' this trope played straight. He's nowhere near as evil as, say, TheJoker, but then again he's not even all that ugly (HollywoodHomely might be the best way to describe him). It's implied that deep down he really wants to go straight, [[ChronicVillainy but he just enjoys stealing priceless artifacts too much]] -- and he just can't keep from lashing out at people who make fun of him when he ''does'' try to reform.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Black Mage, apparently. But since he's TheFaceless, the only person to see his true face has been The Onion Kid [[spoiler:a.k.a. Sarda]]. It also drives you temporarily [[spoiler: (or not so temporary, whatever is wrong with Sarda, he needs some meds.)]] batshit insane.

* Jaws, from the ''Film/JamesBond movies'', becomes this after his HeelFaceTurn in ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. The actor who played him, Richard Kiel, has acromegaly like Rondo Hatton, below. In a twist, not only does Redemption NOT Equal Death, but he manages to get himself a girlfriend out of the deal (and a {{Meganekko}} who's [[PintsizedPowerhouse almost as strong as he is]], to boot. Lucky bastard.).

* Rondo Hatton (April 22, 1894 – February 2, 1946) was an American actor who had a brief, but prolific career playing thuggish bit parts in many Hollywood B-movies (i.e. ''Film/TheBruteMan''). He was known for his brutish facial features which were the result of acromegaly, a disorder of the pituitary gland. His primary role was 'The Creeper', a killer who crushed his victim's spines in a bearhug. However, the Creeper was played as a deformed, dim-witted character that acted as a foil to some other villain's ambitions. Some person would befriend this pathetic, angry hulk of a man, and then use him as a weapon. So partial subversion here.

* ''{{Freaks}}'' mostly subverts this. We do not pity them, because they're all so damned cheerful, except for those tied up in the romantic plot (because LoveHurts ''everyone''), but even they get a happy ending.
* The title character in ''EdwardScissorhands''. A bit of a twist, though, in that -- being played by JohnnyDepp -- he's quite handsome. He simply has NoSocialSkills, and has the unfortunate tendency to cut things up by accident, due to being a golem with scissors instead of fingers.

* The original Mankind character in the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] was a villainous version of The Grotesque, being what happens when the disfigured, tragic soul decides to take out his anguish and pain on his "normal" tormentors.
* Various "missing link" characters have fit this trope through the years, most notably George "The Animal" Steele. His grotesque, neanterthal-type appearance led to the "Beauty and the Beast" storyline with the beautiful Miss Elizabeth and his most famous feud against RandySavage.

* UrsulaVernon's [[http://ursulav.deviantart.com/art/Bog-Unicorn-14403629 Bog Unicorn]].

* Subverted hard with ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'''s Necro. He's a young russian man turned into a freakish mutant by unethical experiments out for revenge against those who did it... But is mostly an easygoing, unangsty fellow who kinda likes the powers that came with the looks, and he even has a loving girlfriend.

A character that induces both [[UncannyValley fxcear]] and [[TheWoobie pity]] in viewers because his deformities belie a perfectly normal, if not noble, personality. The pathos associated with The Grotesque is the implication that he could easily have become a well-adjusted member of society if not for the hideousness that he is powerless to remedy.

A character that induces both [[UncannyValley fear]] and [[TheWoobie pity]] in viewers because his deformities belie a perfectly normal, if not noble, personality. The pathos associated with The Grotesque is the implication that he could easily have become a well-adjusted member of society if not for the hideousness that he is powerless to remedy.

* FrankensteinsMonster (''not'' Frankenstein the MadScientist!); however, it is worth noting that in the original novel, rejection by his creator and society truly turns him into the monster he outwardly resembles, as sorrow turns to hatred and lust for vengeance.

* Creator/UrsulaVernon's [[http://ursulav.deviantart.com/art/Bog-Unicorn-14403629 Bog Unicorn]].
---> Common unicorns are not what they're cracked up to be. Leaving aside that they're nasty, foul tempered scavengers, most commonly found lurking around dumps, even leaving aside the smell and the parasites (sure, they look all pretty and sleek, but so do pigeons) and the tendency of the horn to cause itchy rashes, they're nothing you want to pal around with. They're vermin. You can't even eat them. (Well, you can, but you won't do it twice.) But the bog unicorn is different. It really is pure of heart and noble of intent, altruistic, gentle, good-natured and kind to smaller animals, feeding only on the tenderest waterweeds and being careful not to step on anything. A bog unicorn that accidentally treads on an ant will be wracked with guilt, and if one should happen to munch a careless snail while dining, the poor creature will be disconsolate for days. They will trek miles through squelching and squolorching mud to finded fouled waters and cleanse them with their nifty horn. They will carry nestfuls of baby birds in their mouths during forest fires and reunite them with their parents afterwards, and never once mention any byproducts carelessly deposited on their tongues. They're nice. And yet, despite these sterling qualities, just try to find a virgin that wants a bog unicorn to lay its head in her in lap. People. I tell ya.

* http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=bog+unicorn#/d8kpwt " Common unicorns are not what they're cracked up to be. Leaving aside that they're nasty, foul tempered scavengers, most commonly found lurking around dumps, even leaving aside the smell and the parasites (sure, they look all pretty and sleek, but so do pigeons) and the tendency of the horn to cause itchy rashes, they're nothing you want to pal around with. They're vermin. You can't even eat them. (Well, you can, but you won't do it twice.) But the bog unicorn is different. It really is pure of heart and noble of intent, altruistic, gentle, good-natured and kind to smaller animals, feeding only on the tenderest waterweeds and being careful not to step on anything. A bog unicorn that accidentally treads on an ant will be wracked with guilt, and if one should happen to munch a careless snail while dining, the poor creature will be disconsolate for days. They will trek miles through squelching and squolorching mud to finded fouled waters and cleanse them with their nifty horn. They will carry nestfuls of baby birds in their mouths during forest fires and reunite them with their parents afterwards, and never once mention any byproducts carelessly deposited on their tongues. They're nice. And yet, despite these sterling qualities, just try to find a virgin that wants a bog unicorn to lay its head in her in lap. People. I tell ya."

* Rocky Dennis from ''Mask'', whose entire life is a ShaggyDogStory (with a few good [[YankTheDogsChain yanks]] for good measure).

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* Subverted hard with ''StreetFighterIII'''s Necro. He's a young russian man turned into a freakish mutant by unethical experiments out for revenge against those who did it... But is mostly an easygoing, unangsty fellow who kinda likes the powers that came with the looks, and he even has a loving girlfriend.

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* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Black Mage, apparently. But since he's TheFaceless, the only person to see his true face has been The Onion Kid [[spoiler:a.k.a. Sarda]]. It also drives you temporarily [[spoiler: or not so temporary, whatever is wrong with Sarda, he needs some meds.]] batshit insane.