-->''My brothers have my measure when it comes to fighting and dancing and thinking and reading books, but none of them is half my equal at lying insensible in mud.''
-->-- Prince Daeron, ''[[ASongOfIceAndFire The Hedge Knight]]''

-->''Timmy, you can't have both brains and brawn. You have to pick just one.''
-->''Or do what I did. Pick neither!''
-->-- Wanda and Cosmo, respectively, ''FairlyOddParents''

Also known as the comic relief or the Funny Guy. A character whose primary role in the show is to relieve tension with oddball and/or hysterical antics. He has a job to do, but doesn't get into the thick of things and can stay somewhat detached. Due to the fact their purpose is to relieve tension, they almost always have immunity to dying when compared to the other characters. A guaranteed sign that the series is suffering from CerebusSyndrome or that things are just [[ItGotWorse going to go to Hell from here]] is to see whether this character [[ShooOutTheClowns either dies or has a complete and utter meltdown.]]

The term comes from Sam Rockwell's "Guy Fleegman" character in the movie ''GalaxyQuest'' (who, in a non-[[GenreBlindness genreblind]] example of LampshadeHanging, is afraid that he is only a RedShirt, until another character ("Fred Kwan") suggests that maybe he is instead the PluckyComicRelief), which of course was spoofing the television show ''StarTrek''.

In some cases, similar to StupidBoss. Has a ''very'' good chance of being TheScrappy.

Many {{sidekick}}s fit this description as well.

Also see AmusingAlien, for otherworldly characters whose ''only'' purpose is comedy.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* Shinagawa from ''AskDrRin''.
* In the last episode of ''{{Slayers}} NEXT'', Lina concludes that the only reason Martina survived the confrontation with the BigBad was because she is the PluckyComicRelief character.
* Uzura in ''PrincessTutu'' spends much of the second season filling this role, although she has a few plot-important moments towards the end and is never quite able to stay completely detached from the action.
* Shiho from ''{{Mai-Otome}}''. Though some of her antics are usually the cause of (or contribute to) the problem of the day in early episodes, she becomes surprisingly effective near the end, while retaining her goofy madness. This is considered a cross-continuity [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap Scrappy Heap rescue]] to those who were turned off by [[{{Mai-HiME}} HiME!Shiho's]] [[spoiler:[[MurderTheHypotenuse violent attempts at Love Triangle-breaking]]]].
* Matsuda in ''DeathNote''... [[BewareTheNiceOnes until the last episode]].
* Puck and Isidro apparently exist in part to keep ''{{Berserk}}'' from collapsing under its own cynicism during the darker stretches of the series.
* Bat in ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' was the plucky comic relief sidekick until the TimeSkip, where he TookALevelInBadass.
* Sena in ''CrossGame''
* Rock Lee and Maito Gai, without a doubt, in ''{{Naruto}}''.
* Smith from ''GingaNagareboshiGin'' who evolves into a CoolOldGuy in ''GingaDensetsuWeed''.
* Gomamon from ''{{Digimon}}''.
* Isaac and Miria, the [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} very]], ''[[TheDitz very]]'' out-of-it BonnieAndClyde duo of ''{{Baccano}}!''. [[TheFool They also miraculously avoid injury beyond paper-cut level on a regular basis]] in a show with [[{{Gorn}} a violence rating and body count of a typical Quentin Tarantino film]]. The lone exception to this is one heavily-bleeding cut Isaac acquires on his while saving Czeslaw, [[spoiler:which reveals their [[{{Immortality}} less-than-mortal]] nature to the boy when it immediately [[HealingFactor stitches itself up]]]].
* Sailor Mini Moon in the ''SailorMoon'' anime. Her Pink Sugar Heart Attack rarely worked, and even then it was pathetically weak. This is in contrast to the manga where it actually does work well on a regular basis.
*Yaya Yuiki from ''ShugoChara''
* The PrivateDefective duo in ''DarkerThanBlack''. They tend to only be involved with whatever SpyVersusSpy craziness is going on tangentially and accidentally, and their NonStandardCharacterDesign and use of anime effects like CrossPoppingVeins and BlueWithShock in a show that mostly uses a more realistic style makes it clear that they aren't to be taken seriously.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* As stated above, Guy in ''GalaxyQuest''. To some extent, Fred Kwan also qualifies for spending most of the film oblivious to, or at least unreasonably calm about, the ostensible dangers:
---> '''Fred Kwan''': Uh, guys? They're telling me, the, uh, engines can't take it... ship's, uh, breaking apart... just FYI.
** Arguably, Guy is a LampshadeHanging, while Fred is the PluckyComicRelief done straight--well, as straight as the movie's plot allows.
***Fred's constantly laid-back nature was originally written to be due to him being a stoner. Most of the overt references were excised when the film was marketed as a family film, although the circumstantial evidence is still there, as is this line following the above exchange:
---> '''Guy''': What're you, stoned?!
*** Given that the premise of the movie is that it's all been downhill for the whole cast since the show ended, removing any overt drug references results in Fred coming across more as having been through rehab so many times that he can't stop thinking like a group therapy leader. Is it possible to have AdaptationDistillation in post-production?
* The Largo brothers, Pavi and Luigi, fill this role in ''[[RepoTheGeneticOpera Repo! The Genetic Opera]]''. Of course, in a movie like Repo, the comic relief duo is made up of a murderer and a rapist...
* Jack, the main character of ''BigTroubleInLittleChina'', falls squarely into this category, although ''he'' [[GenreBlindness thinks he's the hero.]]
** He ''does'' go out of his way and [[PlayingTennisWithTheBoss kill]] [[BigBad the evil tyrannical overlord]] [[WhoWantsToLiveForever who, like the Queen song, wants to live forever.]]
* C-3PO and R2-D2 in ''StarWars''
* [[TheLordOfTheRings Pippin and Merry]] in the first film. Gimli, to some extent, in the other two.
* Cabbie in ''EscapeFromNewYork''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Bluebell, the comedian rabbit of ''WatershipDown'', serves as a comic relief not only to the readers, but also is an in-story tension breaker.
** Keehar the seagull serves the purpose in the film adaptation.
* Madame Khokhlakov's role in ''TheBrothersKaramazov'' is to provide lighthearted, trivial discussion versus everything else that goes on in the story. She is eternally cheerful and will talk you ''to death''. Dostoevsky used her to insult his critics at the time by having her agree with their works.
* In ''HarryPotter'', Fred and George. As the series gets DarkerAndEdgier, [[spoiler: one loses an ear and the other bites it. (Dies, that is, not bites the ear.)]]
** Ron Weasley also fills this role within the main trio, and he's an even earlier gauge of the series' impending [[CerebusSyndrome dark turn]]: as early as book four, his general status as ChewToy produces some moments of unexpectedly bitter resentment. By book seven, he's primed for a [[DarkestHour complete meltdown]].
* A casual reading of the Witches subseries of {{Discworld}} novels would suggest that Nanny Ogg's job is to keep bringing the funny, while Granny Weatherwax and Magrat get all the [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments Of Awesome]]. And this is the case, but what's not always apparent is that this is exactly how she likes things, and if she ''wanted'' to be Granny, she easily could be.
** In the Watch novels, the role is filled by [[ThoseTwoGuys the Watch's most senior and least effective coppers]], dim-witted Sargent Colon and kleptomaniac {{Gonk}} Corporal Nobbs.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Greg Sanders, the DNA specialist on ''{{CSI}}'', is an excellent example of this trope.
** Not so much anymore, now that he's had several serious character arcs (not to mention becoming one of the most experienced [=CSIs=] on the team). The role has been taken over by Hodges and the supporting [[LabRat Lab Rats]].
* So is Marshall on ''{{Alias}}''.
* Taylor Townsend of ''TheOC''. As the series [[WackyGuy Wacky Girl]] she was a welcome relief from the sometimes overpowering angst of the penultimate season.
* Hurley's role on ''{{Lost}}'' began this way, but has become less so as the character has become more important.
* Eric on BoyMeetsWorld started off as the ChickMagnet but when that role was taken over by Shawn he became this.
** And then things just got [[CloudCuckooLander weird...]]
* Xander and later Andrew in ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Though the writing is uniformly witty enough that all characters get their day in the PluckyComicRelief sun.
** This is true with ''all'' JossWhedon shows, but there is still one or two characters in each series who do virtually nothing ''but'' be funny, in addition to fulfilling their role in the cast. In chronological order: Lorne on ''{{Angel}}'', Wash on ''{{Firefly}}'', and Topher on ''{{Dollhouse}}''.
* [[BosomBuddies Klinger]] of ''[[{{MASH}} M*A*S*H]]''. He so seldom got into the dramatic plots of the episodes his SarcasmFailure was more effective than Hawkeye's ("Mail Call Three", "Period of Adjustment", "Death Takes a Holiday").
* Chloe O'Brian on ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'' is this, as far as a serious show like this allows anyone to be. She can be seen as a {{Sidekick}}, on top of that. And TheScrappy? {{YMMV}}
* Both Hiro and Ando on ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
* Joxer ([[MilesGloriosus the Mighty]]) on ''XenaWarriorPrincess''. No matter how hard or how often he tries to be TheLancer, the AntiHero, or the VillainProtagonist, poor man.
-->'''Joxer''': Now listen, I'm fierce, and I have a lust for blood. As a matter of fact, if a couple of days go by and I haven't shed some blood, I get ''very depressed.'' Blood and me go together like a horse and chariot! I once bathed in a tub of blood! My nickname is Bloody Joxer!
-->'''Xena''': If you like blood so much? Keep talking.
* The Lone Gunmen on the XFiles. [[spoiler: This did not save them from a random and contrived death in the last season, in an otherwise comedic episode.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* [[RobotBuddy Pintsize]] (alone or teamed up with Winslow) in ''QuestionableContent''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* Lee Phillips in season 2 of ''{{KateModern}}''.
* A lot of them in the WhateleyUniverse. The junior high mages known as 'the three little witches', Go-Go (a speedster who used to go by 'Quickie' until she found out why everyone was laughing), Generator, ...
** Oh God, Generator. Wacky comic relief in other people's stories, horrifyingly effective hero in her own stories. There are school armbands that identify the Underdogs (picked-on kids who you have to leave alone) and the Ultraviolents (ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin). Only Generator wears ''both''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Danny O'Farrell of ''{{Fillmore}}''.
* ''{{Teen Titans}}'' Beast Boy. Oh-so-very-much.
* Sokka in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is this, while also being TheSmartGuy and a BadassNormal.
** Also, Momo's role is usually to lighten things up.
* In the classic Warner Brothers cartoon ''Drip-Along Daffy'', Daffy Duck is the supposed western hero, while Porky Pig is explicitly called the "comedy relief", dressed in a Gabby-Hayes sidekick outfit. Of course, Porky is five hundred times more competent than Daffy, and ends up defeating the villain and being appointed sheriff.
* [[YouSuck Ron Stoppable]] from ''KimPossible'', yet somehow he is TheHero of the show[[{{Chickification}} ...]]
* The [[SuperSpeed Flash]] in JusticeLeagueUnlimited. Considering his death sparked a totalitarian dictatorship in [[MirrorUniverse another unvierse]] and nearly caused the [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt apocalypse]] in the regular one, his anti-angst plays a very important role in keeping the Justice League from going off the deep end.
* While it's hard to find a character that isn't comic relief in ''TheFairlyOddParents'', Cosmo is handsdown the plucky comic relief of the series.
* Parodied in TitanMaximum, where it's stated that each military squad are required to consist of one of these. The one shown is woefully aware that he's totally unfunny since he originally just wanted a desk job.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* The Orks serve this function in ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' as an entire race of [[PsychopathicManchild psychopathic manchildren]] with a healthy dose of CrossesTheLineTwice.
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