History Main / TheScrappy

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The opposite of the FanFavorite, a popular main character, EnsembleDarkHorse, an unexpectedly popular character, and UnpopularPopularCharacter, a character hated or disliked InUniverse but loved by the fandom. If the scrappy dies or suffers in some painful way where the audience actually starts to sympathize with the character, then it becomes AlasPoorScrappy.

Scrappies come in many different forms. Some of the most commonly hated characters are those that are viewed as very flat, are {{Karma Houdini}}s, [[TheLoad are unhelpful to the protagonists]], {{Invincible Hero}}es, or are seen as overly annoying, arrogant, or abrasive. Characters who change a liked status quo will also often fall under this, as can characters who are seen as getting too much screen time, even if they were previously liked.

The opposite of the EnsembleDarkHorse, an unexpectedly popular character, and UnpopularPopularCharacter, a character hated or disliked InUniverse but loved by the fandom. If the scrappy dies or suffers in some painful way where the audience actually starts to sympathize with the character, then it becomes AlasPoorScrappy.

The opposite of the EnsembleDarkHorse, an unexpectedly popular character. If the scrappy dies or suffers in some painful way where the audience actually starts to sympathize with the character, then it becomes AlasPoorScrappy.

The opposite of the EnsembleDarkhorse, an unexpectedly popular character. If the scrappy dies or suffers in some painful way where the audience actually starts to sympathize with the character, then it becomes AlasPoorScrappy.

[[EnsembleDarkhorse Popular characters]] have {{fandom}}s. But sometimes, there is a character who has a ''{{hatedom}}''. We'll call this guy [[TitleDrop The Scrappy]].

->''"The more astute readers among you may have noticed that I haven't yet gone so far as to give anything an actual "F." That's not out of any kind-heartedness on my part, it's just that every time I got ready to give one out, I would ask myself, 'Is it really that bad, compared to the verminous, soul-tainting badness of [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Scrappy-Doo]]?'"''
-->--'''Lore Fitzgerald Sjoberg''', ''[[http://web.archive.org/web/20100822101040/http://www.bookofratings.com/scooby.html The Book of Ratings]]''

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[[quoteright:201:[[Franchise/ScoobyDoo http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scrappy-doo_124281a_2237.gif]]]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Kill it! KillItWithFire!\\

Scrappies come in many different forms. Some of the most commonly hated characters are those that are viewed as very flat, are {{Karma Houdini}}s, {{Invincible Hero}}es, or are seen as overly annoying, arrogant, or abrasive. Characters who change a liked status quo will also often fall under this, as can characters who are seen as getting too much screen time, even if they were previously liked.

->''"The more astute readers among you may have noticed that I haven't yet gone so far as to give anything an actual "F." That's not out of any kind-heartedness on my part, it's just that every time I got ready to give one out, I would ask myself, 'Is it really that bad, compared to the [[TakeThat verminous, soul-tainting badness]] of [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Scrappy-Doo]]?'"''

!!General
* Villains are generally not supposed to be liked to begin with, however, [[LoveToHate some]] [[EvilIsCool villains]] [[DracoInLeatherPants remain]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse unhateable]]. Then there are those who recieve more than the standard "wow, he/she's evil" hate. Most of the time, these villains are more on the disturbingly realistic side of humanity.

!!Other examples:

* Villains are generally not supposed to be liked to begin with, however, [[LoveToHate some]] [[EvilIsCool villains]] [[LoveToHate remain]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse unhateable]]. Then there are those who relieve more than the standard "wow, he/she's evil" hate. Most of the time, these villains are more on the disturbingly realistic side of humanity.

This trope is named after Scrappy-Doo from the ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' cartoon. While popular in the 1970s, the character came to become the face of this trope as the Scooby Doo franchise fell into decline in the 1980s, with fans pointing to the decline occurring as the franchise began to focus more and more upon Scrappy Doo. When the franchise was later retooled in the 1990s and the character had become particularly notorious, he was entirely dropped from every iteration of the franchise in animated form and the character had become so toxic that even attempts to market older material with Scrappy in it tried to reduce mention of his role. The 2002 ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' movie (which is not considered {{canon}} with respect to any other ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' series) was the last time the character appeared in the franchise, and this appearance was entirely intended to disparage the character and his perceived role in ruining the show.

The opposite of the EnsembleDarkhorse, an unexpectedly popular character.

Of course, writers may also [[IntendedAudienceReaction make a Scrappy character intentionally]] in order to spoof the concept. A TemporaryScrappy exists to get on the viewers' nerves and then get thrown out at the end of the episode.

->''"The more astute readers among you may have noticed that I haven't yet gone so far as to give anything an actual "F." That's not out of any kind-heartedness on my part, it's just that every time I got ready to give one out, I would ask myself, 'Is it really that bad, compared to the verminous, soul-tainting badness of [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Scrappy-Doo]]?'"''

Popular characters have {{fandom}}s. But sometimes, there is a character who has a ''{{hatedom}}''. We'll call this guy [[TitleDrop The Scrappy]].

On the other hand, if the writers take a shine to The Scrappy and add some elements of MarySue, or otherwise put more focus on them over more popular/liked characters, this will add gasoline to the flames--they've just turned The Scrappy into the dreaded CreatorsPet.

* TheScrappy/VisualNovel

Scrappies come in many different forms. Some of the most commonly hated characters are those that are viewed as very flat, are {{Karma Houdini}}s, or are seen as overly annoying, arrogant, or abrasive. Characters who change a liked status quo will also often fall under this, as can characters who are seen as getting too much screen time, even if they were previously liked.

[[caption-width-right:200:Kill it! Kill it with fire!\\

This trope is named after Scrappy-Doo from the ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' cartoon. While popular in the 1970s, the character came to become the face of this trope as the Scooby Doo franchise fell into decline in the 1980s, with fans pointing to the decline occurring as the franchise began to focus more and more upon Scrappy Doo. When the franchise was later retooled in the 1990s and the character had become particularly notorious, he was entirely dropped from every iteration of the franchise in animated form and the character had become so toxic that even attempts to market older material with Scrappy in it tried to reduce mention of his role. The 2002 ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' movie (which is not considered {{canon}} with respect to any other ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' series) was the last time the character appeared in the franchise, and it was entirely intended to disparage the character and his perceived role in ruining the show.

This trope is named after Scrappy-Doo from the ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' cartoon. The hatred of Scrappy was so prevalent that the 2002 ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' movie (which is not considered {{canon}} with respect to any other ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' series) had Scrappy unceremoniously thrown out of the Mystery Inc. van along with Scrappy [[spoiler: being revealed to be the villain of the film]]. While popular in the 1970s, the character came to become the face of this trope as the Scooby Doo franchise fell into decline in the 1980s, with fans pointing to the decline occurring as the franchise began to focus more and more upon Scrappy Doo.

* [[TheScrappy/{{Anime and Manga}} Anime And Manga]]

* [[TheScrappy/{{Anime and Manga}}]]

* [[TheScrappy/{{Anime}} Anime and Manga]]

This trope is named after Scrappy-Doo from the ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' cartoon. The hatred of Scrappy was so prevalent that the 2002 ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' movie (which is not considered {{canon}} with respect to any other ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' series) had Scrappy unceremoniously thrown out of the Mystery Inc. van. Interestingly, Scrappy-Doo was actually quite popular at the time of his introduction with his intended TargetAudience, and the hatred towards him is a more recent phenomenon.

Scrappies can take many forms:
* The AbusiveParents.
* TheAce, when used for the wrong situation.
* A character with too much AngstDissonance.
* An AnnoyingYoungerSibling, a BrattyHalfPint, a BrattyTeenageDaughter[=/=]Son, a SpoiledBrat, a RichBitch, or a RoyalBrat, ''especially'' if they don't grow out of it.
* Any character who is the primary lead in displaying an unhealthy case of BelligerentSexualTension. Especially when they have lashed out at that person one time too many for there to be a peaceful and stable romance.
* A BigBrotherBully and[=/=]or BigSisterBully, [[KarmaHoudini especially if he/she doesnt get punished.]]
* [[TheBully A bullying]] AlphaBitch[=/=]JerkJock whose only purpose on the show is to pick on the protagonist, [[KarmaHoudini especially if he/she gets no comeuppance for it.]]
* A BumblingDad who is too much of an idiot and a {{jerkass}}, especially when he treats his family like crap.
* A CompleteMonster, a character that is generally meant to be hated, especially when committed heinous acts and downright unpleasant, mainly involving characters loved by the audience. Particularly if they are not [[EvilIsSexy sexy]] or [[EvilIsCool cool]].
* A CousinOliver is very likely to irritate the fans by upsetting the [[StatusQuoIsGod standard character dynamic]].
* A DeadpanSnarker that's too abrasive and insufficiently charismatic.
* A character who only shows up [[DiabolusExMachina to ruin everything that goes right for the main character.]]
* A DirtyCoward and ''especially'' if it makes them an ActionSurvivor.
* An EntitledBastard that causes harm to the heroes but expects to be rescued by them.
* An ExpositionFairy that tries to be helpful [[StopHelpingMe but winds up being annoying]].
* The EliminationHoudini in {{Reality Show}}s, especially those who stayed over [[ShockingElimination strong, superior and deserving contestants]].
* Someone who performed a FaceHeelTurn may earn ire to the fans who really dislike the term 'traitor', unless they are forced into it or are not very happy about it.
* A FauxActionGirl, especially if there are genuine [[ActionGirl Action Girls]] in the cast and the story focuses mostly on her.
* A particularly blatant FlatCharacter / StaticCharacter, even more so if s/he is part of a cast that has many fully [[RoundedCharacter fleshed-out characters]].
* TheGenericGuy[=/=]Girl in a cast of unique characters.
* An IdiotHero who is too much of an idiot.
* An InsufferableGenius.
* Someone who abuses another character through KafkaKomedy or NoSympathy, particularly if the audience sympathizes with what the often good-natured character has suffered, which is frequently no fault of their own.
* A KarmaHoudini or IdiotHoudini, depending on how horrible they were.
* TheLoad, who needs the heroes to take care of them without contributing anything useful in return. Including a personality.
** A SpoonyBard, a gaming equivalent of TheLoad.
** TheMillstone, one step worse than the TheLoad, who is an active ''liability'' to the heroes and ''still'' doesn't contribute anything useful.
* A LethallyStupid character who is so dangerously stupid it eventually becomes annoying. Especially when they feel no remorse for what they do.
* A LonelyRichKid who complains much more than the audience feels they have a right to.
* A LoveInterest or potential love interest who has [[SatelliteLoveInterest no other defined personality traits outside of being a someone's love interest]].
* A ManipulativeBastard but not a MagnificentBastard.
* A MarySue, including common official varieties such as InvincibleHero and SpotlightStealingSquad. Note that a MartyStu [[DoubleStandard has a tendency to get away scot-free.]]
* An overly recurring villain.
* A NiceGuy[=/=]NiceGirl when not given any interesting personality traits other than being nice to everyone.
* A poorly-written OnlySaneMan or StraightMan, ''especially'' in situations that don't call for them.
* The [[OverprotectiveDad Overprotective Parents]] who try to keep the protagonists from doing their thing.
* A PointyHairedBoss who isn't sufficiently funny.
* Any character that reeks of PositiveDiscrimination.
* A PsychoLesbian or DepravedHomosexual, especially if they're the only LGBT characters.
* A RecklessSidekick risks becoming this if he or she contributes nothing to the action except acting stupid and getting captured all the time, especially if he or she never learns from his or her mistakes.
* Someone who likes another character who is either [[TheScrappy a disliked character]] or just shows that he/she doesn't care for the former, will often be lauded with ridicules and dislikes, with some camp calling the first character stupid, or even consider them as another Scrappy.
* A SoapboxSadie.
* A SmallAnnoyingCreature who annoys and/or causes all the bad things to happen to the protagonists.
* A SmugSnake, especially if he/she [[MoralEventHorizon does something so heinous they stop being "cool"]], though most are made this way on purpose.
* A StrawLoser, especially if the person they're the straw loser to isn't much better.
* The SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute will undoubtedly be [[ReplacementScrappy hated by fans of the beloved character they replace]].
* The TeamMom[=/=]TeamDad who is too abrasive.
* In video games, ThatOneBoss when it's especially frustrating.
* ThisLoserIsYou. Sometimes an attempt to make an incompetent main character that the audience can relate to ends up in a character that the audience wishes was anyone but the main character.
* A poorly-written {{Tsundere}} or {{Yandere}}.
* An UngratefulBastard.
* Any character that is rife with UnfortunateImplications.
* The UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist who treats the TokenGirl[=/=]Guy like crap.
* An UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom. You can practically touch the markedly-better alternate universe that could have been, if they hadn't been doing ''that thing'' in ''that place'' at ''that exact moment''.
* A VillainProtagonist when is extremely heinous and doesn't has any positive and[=/=]or sympathetic trait, as well as that most are {{Karma Houdini}}s.
* A character with too much {{Wangst}} who whines over things that are not worth whining over, especially if he or she doesn't grow out of it.
* Someone who torments TheWoobie willingly.
* An authority/military figure who pulls rank over the protagonist or someone of pure intentions.