"Cena sucks!"
—
Popular chant in the WWE
A character in a series who is
loved by one section of the fanbase, and
hated by the rest. The causes are varied: perhaps the character appeals to a certain demographic but is a turn-off to another. Maybe they're a
Plucky Comic Relief who appeals to the sense of humour of some people but falls flat with others. Sometimes they just highlight
existing divisions within the fanbase, or have differing appeal across
different cultures, due to
different cultural viewpoints or other quirks. Either way, some fans like em, some fans don't, little in the way of a middle ground,
flamewars ensue.
This can happen as a result of
Shipping-related savagery, the divisions often between those who
support a rival pairing or just couldn't care less.
To put in
trope-speak,
The Scrappy meets
Ensemble Darkhorse by way of
Broken Base.
See also
Contested Sequel which is sometimes a result of Base Breaker characters.
No examples, please. Every character in any work of media is one to some extent. This page simply defines the term.