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alt title(s): Mook; Zako
It's a nasty, thankless job, but somebody's gotta do it.
They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they wanted to. This book is dedicated to those fine men.

A slang term for the hordes of standard-issue, disposable bad guys whom the hero mows down with impunity. Also called "goons," "scrubs," "drones," "flunkies," "pawns," "crunchies," "popcorn," "grunts," "minions," "lackeys," "underlings," "henchpersons," and "Cannon Fodder;" in Japanese, the word is "zako." Nameless, faceless, horribly awful shots, incompetent, unwilling to retreat, and completely disposable: they provide a chance for the characters to show off their flashy fighting skills and can be shot without guilt. The hero might find it in his heart to Save The Villain, forgive him, even accept him into his inner circle, but the guys whose only crime is not finding a better employer will be shown no mercy. Next to Punch Clock Villain, but usually more faceless, this is one of the tropes most liable to Just Following Orders, a fact that may be pointed up in order to reduce Moral Dissonance about their disposability.

It's rarely explained just why they're willing to fight and die for villains who want to destroy the world, or what they get in return. Their life expectancy stinks, and you have to wonder how they found the job in the first place.

Sometimes, Mooks will act more as comic relief than an actual menace, having their jeeps flipped in the air, tripping back into their own traps, etc. (The Trade Federation droids in the Star Wars prequels are a good example here.)

Specific variations include:

Compare Redshirt Army, which are Mooks on the good side. Similar to but not to be confused with their non-combat brother Evil Minions (likewise the Redshirt Army with the Red Shirt). Occasionally, it turns out they were Good All Along. If a "character" who would otherwise qualify as a Mook is disqualified because he's apparently acting on his own, you have a Bit Part Bad Guy.

In Video Games, mooks tend to be slightly more powerful, and able to at least hurt the hero, if not kill him a few times. However, 9 times out of 10 the hero has a Healing Factor (more often objects used to heal than spontaneous healing) while the mooks stay hurt forever. Also, while the hero can restart if he/she dies, the mooks (usually) only die once per level, and when the level is restarted, they usually do the exact same thing they did before.

If they're lucky, mooks may very occasionally get promoted to the status of a more major villain. The heroes may also be able to persuade them over to the good side, in which case they have performed a Mook Face Turn. Humanizing mooks is a basic technique of Deconstruction.

Note: With respect to media (particularly anime) a "mook" can also refer to a Japanese publication which is a hybrid of a magazine and a book.

Note #2: It's also a mostly obsolete racial slur against Italians, so use with caution.

Examples:

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