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Plucky Comic Relief
"You know, whenever I'm with you I can't help but feel like a fool for taking things so seriously."

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 Cerebus Syndrome or that things are just going to go to Hell from here is to see whether this character either dies or has a complete and utter meltdown, no matter how deserved.

The term comes from Sam Rockwell's "Guy Fleegman" character in the movie Galaxy Quest (who, in a non-genreblind example of Lampshade Hanging, is afraid that he is only a Red Shirt, until another character ("Fred Kwan") suggests that maybe he is instead the "plucky comic relief"), which of course was spoofing the television show Star Trek.

In some cases, similar to Stupid Boss. Many sidekicks fit this description as well. Also see Amusing Alien, for otherworldly characters whose only purpose is comedy. Finally See The Face, where they have a purprose greater than comedy.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Comic Books 
  • Reggie Mantle, the most comedic and magnificent jock in Riverdale.

    Fan Fiction 
  • Mukrezar is a soulless, murderous bastard. He completely wiped out all life on a continent, is an unrepentant torturer who apparently finds screams of the tormented 'soothing', and is also a terrible cook. Despite this, he is an amazingly quirky and charismatic leader, and usually gets an 'episode' every other chapter or so. As the humorous element.

    Film—Animated 
  • Disney Animated Films usually have one. And so do all of the movies that copy their formulas.
    • The Lion King: Timon and Pumbaa the wisecracking meerkat-warthog duo.
    • Mulan: Eddie Murphy plays Mushu, the jivey Plucky Comic Relief. Yao, Ling, and Chien Po also count to an extent, though they (with the exception of Chien Po) do initially cause conflict for Mulan before becoming friends with her (or rather, "Ping"). However, all four of them end up performing several important heroic acts by the end of the movie.
  • Bobby in A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie. Notably the only one of the youths present in both movies with no visible conflict with a parent figure, almost everything he says and does is some sort of dumb joke. He takes very few things seriously, is an Attention Whore, a Cloudcuckoolander, and more-or-less a Perpetual Smiler, and is considered to be weird (among friends) or annoying (with Beret Girl and the Gammas). He's also the one to give Max an emotionally-charged Rousing Speech.
  • Shrek: Donkey is a parody of the Plucky Comic Relief — when he isn't being a straight example.
  • As serious as The Secret Of NIMH was in tone, there was a certain crow that happens to be the comic relief. And that crow in particular is Jeremy.
  • Humphrey from Alpha and Omega serves as the snappy one-liner of the movie. he is usually seen hanging out with his other omega buddies and is shown to try to cheer up an alpha named Kate, whom he likes to be with.
    • Justified in that this is stated to be the role of the Omegas in the pack; to break up fights and keep everyone's spirits up.
  • Mub and Grub from Epic.

    Film—Live Action 

    Literature 
  • Bluebell, the comedian rabbit of Watership Down, 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 The Brothers Karamazov 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.
  • Harry Potter
    • Fred and George. As the series gets Darker and Edgier, one loses an ear and the other dies.
    • Ron Weasley also fills this role within the main trio, and he's an even earlier gauge of the series' impending dark turn: as early as book four, his general status as Chew Toy produces some moments of unexpectedly bitter resentment. By book seven, he's primed for a complete meltdown.
  • Discworld
    • A casual reading of the Witches novels would suggest that Nanny Ogg's job is to keep bringing the funny, while Granny Weatherwax and Magrat get all the 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 the Watch's most senior and least effective coppers, dim-witted Sergeant Colon and kleptomaniac Gonk Corporal Nobbs.
  • Jacob from Twilight. He is the funniest character in the book. And probably the only one.
  • Basil Stag Hare in Redwall.
  • Faddey Bulgarin in The Death of the Vazir Mukhtar.
  • Graystripe from Warrior Cats is only in the first book to lighten the mood. However, his role greatly increases in later books.

    Tabletop Games 

    Theater 

    Toys 

    Video Games 
  • Although Teddie from Persona 4 is this, every other character in the Investigation Team fulfill this role at some point or another in the game.
    • Yosuke also relates to this trope, although really more towards the beginning.
  • Barry Wheeler from Alan Wake.
  • Portal 2 subverts this with Wheatley, a moronic personality core who escorts the player through the early areas of the game and, with your help, attempts to engineer a coup against GLaDOS. The subversion comes when Wheatley, upon successfully replacing GLaDOS in the Enrichment Center mainframe, goes into full A God Am I mode and becomes the Big Bad of the game. Portal 2 has fairly equal distribution of comedy, but Portal 1 arguably has GLaDOS carrying all the comic responsibility. However, this can probably be excused as she is the only speaking character.
  • Quina Quen in Final Fantasy IX.
  • Since Divergent Character Evolution turned him into a Lovable Coward, Luigi tends to fill this role in the Super Mario Bros. games, especially in the Mario & Luigi series.
  • Alistair from Dragon Age: Origins is an interesting case in that he does not immediately turn into The Scrappy by being well aware of how dreadful the situation is and what all is at stake. He is also very competent and does not constantly cause disaster by doing stupid things and his very Deadpan Snarking is Funny.
  • Tyrell in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Emphasis on the "plucky".
  • The janitor from the Carol Reed Mysteries. Most of the time he isn't connected to the cases, he's mainly there to make the player laugh every once in a while.

    Webcomics 

    Web Original 
  • Lee Phillips in season 2 of KateModern.
  • A lot of them in the Whateley Universe. 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 pacifists (who won't fight back if they're bullied so you're supposed to leave them alone) and the Ultraviolents (Exactly What It Says on the Tin). Only Generator wears both. Not at the same time; that would be silly. She flips a coin every morning.

    Western Animation 

Pint Sized PowerhouseStock CharactersPlucky Office Girl
Outlaw CoupleFoilPolar Opposite Twins
Plot Sensitive Snooping SkillsCharacters as DevicePlucky Office Girl

alternative title(s): The Funny Guy
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