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Ax Crazy
aka: Batshit Crazy

HEEEEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!!!

Lizzie Borden took an axe,
and gave her mother forty whacks.
And when she saw what she had done,
she gave her father forty-one.

— American Nursery Rhyme ^note

An "ax crazy" character is someone who is psychologically unstable and presents a clear and present danger to others. They are capable of extreme violence, whether carried out with a Slasher Smile, insane laughter, a Creepy Monotone, or out and out murderous rage, and with no way of knowing just what will set them off, which makes them extremely frightening to deal with. This mainly differentiates them from other eccentric characters who may themselves be obsessive, weird or seemingly crazy, but use this condition hand in hand with doing good, or at least not being in the way. However, some formerly established heroes can go through an episode of ax-craziness and still retain their heroic mantle.

Despite the title, ax crazies aren't limited to wielding axes...any instrument of death will do, from knives or straight razors to swords to chainsaws and beyond. A good number of other ax crazies are also Trigger Happy, preferring either Hand Cannons that blow really big holes in people, or weapons that allow them to kill lots of people with reckless abandon, such as any automatic weapon. And for the truly psychopathic among psychopaths for whom the above just won't do, a heaping helping of high explosives or a good-sized flamethrower will do quite nicely. Sometimes, they don't even need weapons and just use magic spells or other powers if they have them.

It is rare for a truly Ax Crazy character to be a protagonist. They're common as the antagonists in Super Hero and Crime and Punishment Series, often serving as a Psycho for Hire. If they are a protagonist, they will most certainly be an Anti-Hero or Villain Protagonist. The difference between them and Blood Knight is this trope is all about killing while the Blood Knight is only interested in fighting. There is, of course, plenty of room for overlap.

See also Insane Equals Violent, The Butcher, The Dreaded, Mad Bomber, Cute and Psycho, Hair-Trigger Temper, Blood Knight and Psycho for Hire. Many characters with a Hair-Trigger Temper are also Ax Crazy, as is the Yandere and Cute and Psycho when he/she goes off the deep end. Also see Mama Bear, Papa Wolf, and Violently Protective Girlfriend, who are capable of temporary Axe Crazy grade fury when their kids or mate are under threat, though those characters are almost ALWAYS played sympathetically. The canonical Character Alignment for many Ax Crazy characters is Chaotic Evil. Neutral Evil and Chaotic Neutral examples exist. Sometimes The Unfettered, depending on whether they feel freed or enslaved by their bloodlust.

It's very common to be Played for Drama, while uncommon to be Played for Laughs.

A very large number of pages link to this when they should link to An Axe to Grind. This page is about violent crazy people, not people whose Weapon of Choice is an axe.