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->''"Mad! You're all mad. I'm a death-worshiping tumbleweed and I'm literally the sanest one here."''
-->-- '''Sister Six''', ''ComicBook/StarWarsDoctorAphra'', "Remastered"
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* Franchise/GreenLantern seems to be the only person written as remotely sane in ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder''.
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': The titular hero and Getafix the Druid are the only two in their town who usually show a hint of sanity and common sense.
* ''Comicbook/AvengersVsXMen'': In the main event, Reed Richards was the only member of the cast to suggest that, since the Phoenix Five have made paradise on earth, maybe the Avengers should just let them.
** In the ''Comicbook/AvengersAcademy'' tie-in, both the Academy kids and X-Teens in general display ''far'' more sense about the situation than the adults. However it's Comicbook/{{X 23}} who's the first to call out Wolverine on his actions and to make it clear that involving the kids in ''any'' way -- including by imprisoning the mutants just for being tied to the X-Men -- is outright ''wrong''. When Phoenix!Emma later returns to destroy Juston's Sentinel, Laura is also the first to tell her off.
* Some of the more important members of Franchise/{{Batman}}'s RoguesGallery are like this in different circumstances.
** ComicBook/TheJoker is a mass-murdering, antisocial lunatic. However, his deductive reasoning and scientific knowledge are dangerously functional, his ability to predict the outcome of situations is often only foiled by [[ThePowerOfLove abstract principles]], and he even drops hints of understanding that the [[FourthWallObserver universe he lives in is fictional]]. [[DependingOnTheWriter Writer pending, of course.]]
** The Penguin, as one of the few major Batman villains who is typically considered sane (as such his sentencing would be completed at Blackgate Penn rather than Arkham), serves as this by default. When working with other villains he tends to act as a [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder mediator]], defusing arguments and ensuring everyone remains on track; however, he can become exasperated by the "eccentricities" of the other members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, and should he feel that the potential profit of the business arrangement is simply not worth the costs and risks associated with the crime at hand, that his input is being ignored, or that his life and livelihood are being groundlessly threatened by their erratic behavior, there is a strong chance he will [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere wash his hands of the endeavor]] at his earliest convenience. This goes for the [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries animated series]], as well.
*** If they've ''really'' managed to piss him off in the process he'll sometimes spill his guts to Batman in exchange for immunity.
** Mr. Freeze is a literal case since he is imprisoned in Arkham Asylum in spite of being mentally healthy because it is the only local penal facility that can accommodate his bizarre medical condition of needing a strongly refrigerated environment to live.
* Franchise/{{Batman}}'s trusted BattleButler Alfred often has his moments. Either he'll just snark or suggest [[ForgetsToEat Bruce actually eat something.]]
* In ''ComicBook/ContestOfChampionsII'', when all of the abducted heroes were infected by mood-altering nanites to ensure they focus on the proposed contest, Iron Man is the only one immune as his armour sealed itself off completely when he was abducted to protect him from a potentially hostile environment, allowing him to analyse the aliens’ claims and notice the flaws in their story.
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} sometimes has a sidekick named Weasel, a gadgeteer that builds some of his equipment for him. During Deadpool's time with the Great Lakes Avengers this was especially prominent.
* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': Rockerduck tends to be the sensible one among Scrooge's main rivals and enemies: Glomgold wants to become the richest duck in the world and will even commit murder over it, Magica is obsessed with Scrooge's Number One Dime to use to obtain the MidasTouch when any other coin Scrooge owned for a long time would work almost as well, the Beagle Boys could easily become rich by targeting ''anything but the Money Bin'' but consider it a matter of principle, Jubal Pomp wants to become rich but is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, and Rockerduck wants to become the richest duck in the world and tends to get caught into Scrooge's crazy schemes, but is also known to have limits on what he's willing to do, just ''buy'' something he needs or wants at the asked price rather than come up with some weird plan to buy it at a reduced price or build it when not necessary, and even just ''step back and not get involved'' when he believes rivaling Scrooge in his latest scheme wouldn't be worth it (notably when Scrooge tried his hand at AsteroidMining: some "lesser" billionaires pooled their funds to try and rival him only to make a mess and get banned from outer space outright, while Rockerduck saw that he didn't have the technical means to make enough money from it and stayed out).
* It might be a scary thought that the [[LargeHam Caged Demonwolf, Devourer of Worlds]] may be the OnlySaneMan of ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}''. Emp, Mindf**k or Maidman also play the sane man amongst the other capes, depending on the situation. So there we have bondage bait with a track record of always losing, a woman who survived torture from her crazy brother, lives alone on a space station and carried out a telepathic affair with another cape, and [[WholesomeCrossdresser Batman if he'd dressed as a maid.]] The Empverse is weird...
* ''ComicBook/ILuvHalloween'' -- Finch, a skull-mask wearing little kid who stuffs razor blades into apples as revenge for getting an apple for Halloween and sets a woman's head on fire, is actually the most level-headed and rational (next to Devil-lad) of the amoral cast of trick-or-treaters.
* In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague3000'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is the only Leaguer who is the real deal instead of a defective replica of the original member. She's a mature, sensible -- and snarky -- woman and her teammates are a Franchise/{{Superman}} who is an egotistical ass, a crazier-than-usual Franchise/{{Batman}}, a blood-thirsty, booze-guzzling straw feminist Franchise/WonderWoman, a deranged [[Franchise/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]], an annoyingly hyperactive Franchise/TheFlash...
* In the Giffen-[=DeMatteis=]-Helfer [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]], [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn J'onnz]] was this for the Justice League of America, while ComicBook/CaptainAtom was this for Justice League Europe.
* The Italian comic book ''ComicBook/LupoAlberto'', set in a WorldOfFunnyAnimals, has a few characters taking the role from time to time:
** The title character is consistently shown as the sanest character, often mocking the antics of the inhabitants of the [=McKenzie=] farm. It's implied that his refusal to marry Martha and move from the forest to the farm is motivated at least in part by the fact that would mean he'd have to ''live'' with the idiots, rather than just [[DeadpanSnarker snark at their stupider actions]] and save them from their own stupidity from time to time.
** Among the inhabitants of the [=McKenzie=] farm, Moses, the farm's dog and leader, usually takes the role, keeping the other animals concentrated on their jobs... And often having to resort to threats of beating everyone up, as the other animals are sufficiently lazy and stupid to run the risk of running the farm into the ground if left alone for too much time.
*** The election story, where the job of farm's leader was up for election, showed this clearly: Alberto was in the running alongside Moses and Enrico la Talpa, and won the votes of everyone smart enough to not believe Enrico's bullshit simply by ''presenting Moses' policies better''.
** Krug the bull isn't too bright... But takes the role by simply following Moses' instructions and taking Alberto's advice, as he's the only guy Moses cannot beat up. He's also known to actually ''ask'' for advice when he realizes he need it or it's pointed out he's done something stupid, instantly making him saner than most of the farm and possibly even Moses.
** Martha, Alberto's girlfriend, is about as sane as Moses. Indeed, most of the time her only act of insanity is that [[CrackPairing she's dating Alberto even when she's a hen]] and [[FurryReminder Alberto is known to eat chicken]] (Martha and her family are safe, but he tried to eat her best friend at least once).
** Enrico La Talpa tends to show more sanity than the farm's animals by virtue of being the oldest character (he was shown to be on his honeymoon when Alberto, Moses and Martha were kids), and having had enough time to outgrow many of his antics. Considering he once bought a ''plutonium-powered heather'' to save on the electricity and gas bills, this tells more about the farm animals than about him.
* Basically the entire point of ''ComicBook/{{normalman}}'', where norm is the only, um, normal man on a planet full of violent superhumans who quite literally get off on crazy "action scenes". The fact that he's a DeadpanSnarker indicates how well he takes his situation.
* In ''{{Magazine/Mad}}'', during the parody of ''Film/FatalAttraction'', the dog serves as this, objecting to his owner's immoral and poorly thought out actions.
* In ''ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon'', Filemon is the only main character who occasionally shows a hint of sanity and common sense.
** Ex. The Black Gang has escaped from their shared prison cell. Filemon: "''Ten'' holes in the wall. Only those idiots could have thought of that." Mortadelo and the Superintendent: "What do you mean?"
** It's more like a SanityBall between Mortadelo, Filemon and the Superintendent. The Superintendent usually holds it when he has to explain the mission, Mortadelo and Filemon take turns during it.
* Ironically the [[CharacterizationMarchesOn initial characterization]] of Franchise/TheDCU's ComicBook/PlasticMan, who was a straight man (with somewhat goofy powers) in a world full of total nutbars. Every incarnation of him since has made ''him'' a total nutbar instead, or at least ObfuscatingInsanity.
** In the JLA story arc 'Divided We Fall', several of the League members were [[LiteralSplitPersonality split between their civilian and superhero identities.]] Eel O'Brian, Plastic Man's civilian identity (and former thug), proved to be the driving force that led to the resolution of this situation, as the others either didn't want to return to their superhero identities or were going mad without them. Bruce Wayne, in particular, was growing increasingly psychotic without Batman as an outlet for his rage, forcing Eel to pistol-whip him into submission (which, after all was said and done, even Batman himself considered to be a wise move, given the circumstances).
* ComicBook/ThePunisher sees himself as this, in a world where criminals buy, lie, or threaten their way out of paying the price for their actions and superheroes see nothing wrong with battling the same opponents over and over again. Of course, this is also one way of avoiding looking at himself too closely.
-->'''Frank''': It's not crazy when the state of the world makes you want to kill everyone responsible. ''It's crazy when it doesn't.''
* Wallace Wells, Kim Pine and Stacey Pilgrim are by far the most consistently sane characters in the ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' series.
* This is how [[ComicBook/SonicTheComic Sonic]] feels whenever he's in the [[{{Cloudcuckooland}} Special Zone]] and how he feels while in Shanazar.
* Out of ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''[='=]s entire RoguesGallery, [[BlowYouAway the Shocker]], despite wearing a ridiculous (but important) quilt suit, is probably the sanest of the lot. He doesn't hold or act on [[ItsPersonal personal grudges]] since those tend to lead to self-defeat, he takes smaller jobs and keeps a low profile (staying off ComicBook/ThePunisher's radar), and he [[PunchClockVillain treats super-villainy as a job]], eschewing grand ambitions. It's telling he's been arrested very few times compared to other Spidey villains.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superlopez}}'': ''All members'' of the Supergroup see themselves as this. No wonder they almost wrecked their secret lair fighting over who would be leader.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Zibarro from ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'' is the only Bizarro on the [[BizarroUniverse planet]] who acts like a normal person, instead of a deranged backwards-speaking manchild. He was what happened when Bizarro Superman decided everyone on Earth should have a Bizarro-clone; Superman lives on Earth, so he has Bizarro Superman, but Bizarro lives on Earth, so he has Bizarro Bizarro: Zibarro.
*** Before Zibarro, there was Sapollo, a Bizarro-made clone of an alien caveman, deliberately picked by Bizarro no. 1 to produce the most horrifying monster imaginable, which naturally, in this case, means Sapollo looked like a movie star and talked like a victorian gentleman. He seemed to be mostly content to do Bizarro's bidding, but eventually grew restless and yearned for a world that would appreciate his "fascinating profile, bulging bicep and winning personality", and ran off to talk to Bizarro. Along the way, he chided the Bizarros for their reactions to him, but only succeeded in scaring them further.
** On a wider scale, the Bizarro Insane Asylum is populated with "imperfect Bizarros" whose brains were not affected by the duplication ray and thus have the faculties and preferences of a normal person, though since they are in an asylum, they're segregated from the rest of the Bizarro society. This trope becomes {{Inverted|Trope}} when Bizarro himself is thrown into the asylum and is horrified at having to be locked up with crazy people who do things like ''fixing'' stuff rather breaking them! [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Brrr!]]
** Bizarro Mxyzptlk (A.K.A. "Kltpzyxm"), is a {{Downplayed|Trope}} example as he seems to have the preferences of a normal person and genuinely thinks he's being helpful by "fixing" Bizarro World, but on the other hand, he still talks like a Bizarro and his lack of awareness that the Bizarros see his actions as a crime makes him seem not entirely put-together. (He does learn eventually.)
** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade'', [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Linda Lee]] is a kind-hearted, nice girl and the only person in her school who isn't a jerkass, a bully, a bitch or a xenophobic and deranged mad scientist.
** In ''ComicBook/TheHuntForReactron'', Chris "Nightwing" Kent remains focused on investigating who framed them and his companions for Mon-El's murder while Supergirl and Flamebird spend the whole time arguing or fighting. At least two times Nighting has to break up their fights and remind them they need to lie low.
** In ''ComicBook/SuperboyNew52'', Dr. Caitlin Fairchild, the only one who bothers trying to treat the ComicBook/{{Superboy}} like he's not a thing.
* In ''[[ComicBook/TheMultiversity Thunderworld #1]]'', one of the alternate Sivanas is much, ''much'' more restrained than the others, identifying himself as "a man with personal problems," and is greatly disturbed by his insane and violent (and violently insane) counterparts. There's also the fact that he believed the other Sivanas were going to save the world, not enslave it, so he's pretty much the good Sivana counterpart.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW'':
** Soundwave is the only major figure among the Decepticons who isn't a bloodthirsty warmonger (Megatron, Galvatron), a callously calculating monster whose own agenda threatens ''everyone'' (Shockwave), or violently crazed with ambition (Starscream). More than that, he's TheOnlyBeliever. Unfortunately, his idealism also makes him easy for people like Galvatron to manipulate.
** Disturbingly, ''Megatron'' fills this role to the ''Lost Light'' command crew in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', since he's neither terminally lazy or shiftless (Rodimus) and almost incapable of sensible prioritisation (Magnus).
** Magnus to Tyrest's organisation during the "Remain in Light" arc. Tyrest himself had gone screaming off the deep end and started plotting to kill half of Cybertron, Star Saber was a religious fanatic, and Pharma was a MadDoctor who would go to any lengths for payback on Ratchet.
** Krok and Fulcrum bat the Scavengers' SanityBall back and forth between them until Nickel turns up and starts, almost literally, wearing it around her neck. The rest of the Scavengers consist of a grouchy, lazy asshole (Crankcase), a brain-damaged war engine (Grimlock), a guy with robot ADHD and no ability to prioritise or aim (Misfire) and a brilliant surgeon who classifies random objects as "goodies" or "baddies" based on the noise they make when he hits them (Spinister), so the bar wasn't exactly high.
** Among [[spoiler: Getaway]] and his cronies, [[spoiler: Atomizer]] is this. Given that [[spoiler: Getaway]] himself is a vindictive and delusional bastard, and his other allies consist of a SerialKiller, a PsychoPsychologist, and a ChurchMilitant, it’s not like he has much competition.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Cornelius keeps a cool head and is aware of the risks, in contrast to all the trigger-happy soldiers in the Weapon-X base, especially Wraith.
* Subversion in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Rorschach considers himself the OnlySaneMan, but is batshit insane. In the end [[spoiler: it gets double subverted, and it turns out that he was probably right.]]
** Dr. Manhattan is an inversion -- he's all but omniscient, but his irregular perception of the timeline causes him to seem insane (sociopathic, at the very least) to people with a regular linear perception of time.
** Both Nite Owls are probably the legitimate examples, especially the first one; they realise how messed all superheroes are, including themselves, but can't do anything about it. They're still the most level-headed capes in the book.
* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1987}}'': Hestia plays the sane and rational counterpart to her backstabbing incestuous family. She even washed her hands of having to hang out near them very often by giving up her Olympian seat to Dionysus, which may have been a stealth insult given he's the god of wine and madness.
* A large part of the reason [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake]] is the leader of ComicBook/YoungJustice is because of his position as only sane teen on the team, especially in comparison to the impulsive speedster Impulse and over dramatic half-Kryptonian Superboy. Cassie also has some potential to act as this when she puts forth the effort, so it's no surprise that ComicBook/WonderGirl ends up the second team leader.

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