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Six Student Clique
Your
Trope Codifier . On top: The quirk, the muscle, the wild one, the pretty one. On bottom: the smart one, the head.
A standard of teen
sitcoms and
dramas , the
Six Student Clique is an ensemble that has members
fall into standard teen archetypes. This was particularly common in
The Nineties , so it sometimes overlaps with
Five-Token Band .
Six is a good number because it gives plenty of choices for
Shipping without going into
Loads and Loads of Characters . And with a
Gender Equal Ensemble , you have the option of
Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends . Or not.
Using the
Trope Codifier ,
Saved by the Bell , the characters are:
Guys:
Girls:
The Pretty one — Kelly (though it is difficult to make hard distinctions ). She is the beauty of the group. She's the one Zack and Slater usually fight over. Sometimes surprises people by having a lot of brains . Sometimes, she's a ditzy chick . The key is that she's considered attractive by the rest of the cast . Using hair color metaphors, she's most likely to be the Dumb Blonde , though actual blonde hair is not a requirement, and neither is stupidity.
The Smart one — Jessie. As smart as Screech, but without the quirks. Most likely to freak out at the prospect of getting The B Grade . Often a Soap Box Sadie and/or a Straw Feminist . If the school has a student council , she's the Class Representative or the Student Council President . In hair color metaphors, she's most likely to be the Brainy Brunette .
The Wild one — Lisa. Okay, Lisa usually isn't very wild, but there is that fashion obsession... And she always got the best one-liners . Usually, this slot will be reserved for a girl who is either as quirky as Screech (comedies) or a really wild child (dramas). The key is that she's independent and makes her own rules , whether that be as The Lad-ette , the Granola Girl , The Fashionista , or the Biker Babe . In hair color metaphors, she's most likely to be the Fiery Redhead . In the musical chair world of cast pairings, she usually lines up with the Quirk, but rarely dates him. Or even likes him.
This is the standard version, although variations do occur. Each individual role is usually the same gender as above, but none of them are
Always Male or
Always Female . Anywhere from one to six members can be
Gender Flipped . The main thing is to fill all six roles, and for the members to either be shown attending school or at least be the proper age for it. Trying to fit any group of six into this trope runs the risk of
Square Peg Round Trope .
Sometimes a
seventh character can be added — usually an upperclassman — to bring either a
foil to the main clique (comedy) or a teenaged
Obi Wan (drama). Stories attempting realism may avoid exaggerating these personality traits too much, under the assumption that kids that different generally don't hang around each other in real life.
Examples:
open/close all folders
Standard Versions
Anime/Manga
Comics
She's Josie :
The Head — Alex
The Muscle — Sock
The Quirk — Albert
The Pretty One — Josie (she could be The Head)
The Smart One — Pepper
The Wild One — Melody
Young Justice - original six:
The Head — Robin
The Muscle — Superboy
The Quirk — Impulse
The Pretty One — Arrowette
The Smart One — Wonder Girl
The Wild One — Secret
After Cissie quits, the gender mostly flips:
The Head — Wonder Girl
The Muscle — Empress
The Quirk — Impulse
The Pretty One — Superboy
The Smart One — Robin
The Wild One — Secret
Films
The Breakfast Club (without the sixth student):
The Head — Bender
The Muscle — Andy
The Quirk/The Smart One — Brian
The Pretty One — Claire
The Wild One — Allison
The Faculty :
The Head — Zeke
The Muscle — Stan
The Quirk — Casey
The Pretty One — Delilah
The Smart One — Marybeth (for being the mastermind of the Alien Invasion )
The Wild One — Stokely
Saved! :
The Head — Patrick
The Muscle — Dean
The Quirk — Roland
The Pretty One — Dean's prom date
The Smart One — Mary
The Wild One — Cassandra
Literature
Aimee by Mary Beth Miller:
The Head — Chard (though he's not the main character in the book)
The Muscle — Kyle or Jason
The Quirk — Nobody really fully fits the bill, though Kates is almost like Screech.
The Pretty One — Aimee
The Smart One — Kates
The Wild One — Alternates between the protagonist (unnamed until the end of the book) and Aimee.
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix - Dumbledore's Army in the Department of Mysteries:
The Head — Harry
The Muscle — Ron
The Quirk — Neville
The Pretty One — Ginny
The Smart One — Hermione
The Wild One — Luna (Ginny also could fit into this category as well since she does have a bit of a temper)
Roswell High :
The Head — Max
The Muscle — Michael
The Quirk — Alex
The Pretty One — Isabel (is more of a wild child)
The Smart One — Liz
The Wild One — Maria
If you go with the quirky definition.
The Spy High series:
The Head — Ben
The Muscle — Jake
The Quirk — Eddie
The Pretty One — Lori
The Smart One — Cally (who has notable similarities to Lisa , who is Trope Codifier for the Wild One.)
The Wild One — Jennifer (and later Bex, after Jennifer dies )
Live Action TV
As The Bell Rings (US version):
The Head — Danny
The Muscle — Toejam
The Quirk — Skipper
The Pretty One — Charlotte, replaced by Lexi
The Smart One — Brooke
The Wild One — Tiffany (though she is considered to be The Pretty One, her personality is more Wild)
Ghostwriter :
The Head — Jamal
The Muscle — Alex
The Quirk — Rob
The Pretty One — Lenni
The Smart One — Tina
The Wild One — Gaby
Gossip Girl :
The Head — Chuck
The Muscle — Nate
The Quirk — Dan and/or Vanessa
The Pretty One — Serena
The Smart One — Blair
The Wild One — Jenny
Higher Ground :
The Head — Scott
The Muscle — Auggie
The Quirk — Ezra
The Pretty One — Juliette
The Smart One — Shelby
The Wild One — Daisy
The Obi-Wan — Kat
The O.C. :
The Head — Ryan
The Muscle — Various recurring characters
The Quirk — Seth
The Pretty One — Summer, who has elements of the Smart One
The Smart One — Taylor (seasons 3-4), who has elements of the Wild One
The Wild One — Marissa (seasons 1-3), who has elements of the Pretty One
The show used a parade of recurring characters to fill the two missing roles, allowing the show to immediately set up a new Love Triangle following each Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends
Your Milage May Vary on this one, since Marissa is explicitly the Pretty One in series, Summer is arguably the Smart One, and Taylor is probably the closest to the Wild One you'll find. Also, Seth's the Head and Ryan's the Muscle, and they don't really have a third guy most of the time.
One Tree Hill :
The Head — Lucas
The Muscle — Nathan
The Quirk — Mouth
The Pretty One — Peyton
The Smart One — Haley
The Wild One — Brooke
The Puzzle Place :
The Head — Skye/Ben
The Muscle — Leon
The Quirk — Skye/Ben
The Pretty One — Jody
The Smart One — Julie
The Wild One — Kiki
Salute Your Shorts :
The Head — Budnick
The Muscle — Donkeylips
The Quirk — Sponge
The Pretty One — Dina
The Smart One — Telly
The Wild One — Z.Z.
The Naive Newcomer — Michael, and Ronnie
The Secret Life of the American Teenager :
The Head — Ricky
The Muscle — Jack
The Quirk — Ben
The Pretty One — Grace
The Smart One — Amy (we're supposed to think she's smart but she comes off as Too Dumb to Live . Ashley's the actual smart one.)
The Wild One — Adrian
Shining Time Station (They almost never appeared all in the same episode, but were once revealed to be an off-screen Clique):
The Head — Matt/Schemee
The Muscle — Dan
The Quirk — Matt/Schemee
The Pretty One — Becky
The Smart One — Kara
The Wild One — Tanya
Skins :
The Head — Tony
The Muscle — Chris
The Quirk — Sid
The Pretty One — Michelle
The Smart One — Jal
The Wild One — Cassie
Second generation:
The Head — Freddie
The Muscle — Cook
The Quirk — JJ
The Pretty One — Effy
The Smart One — Naomily together: Naomi is "you know, clever"; Emily is implied to be smart
The Wild One — Pandora
Or alternately, a Gender Flip:
The Head — Effy
The Muscle — Katie
The Quirk — Naomi
The Pretty One — Freddie
The Smart One — JJ
The Wild One — Cook
Either way, someone gets shafted, and it's usually Thomas.
Third generation:
The Head — Nick
The Muscle — Matty
The Quirk — Alo
The Pretty One — Mini
The Smart One — Franky
The Wild One — Liv
And with Gender Flip:
The Head — Mini
The Muscle — Liv
The Quirk — Grace
The Pretty One — Nick
The Smart One — Rich
The Wild One — Alo
Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad :
The Head — Sam
The Muscle — Tanker
The Quirk — Amp
The Pretty One — Jennifer
The Smart One — Sydney
The Wild One — Yolie
10 Things I Hate About You :
The Head — Patrick Verona
The Muscle — Joey Donner
The Quirk — Cameron James
The Pretty One — Bianca Stratford
The Smart One – Mandella
The Wild One — Kat Stratford
Twin Peaks has its own Six Student Clique , though not all of them are friends:
The Head — Bobby
The Muscle — Mike
The Quirk — James, though he's more of a loner type.
The Pretty One — Shelly, Laura Palmer was too before her death.
The Smart One — Donna
The Wild One — Audrey
USA High :
The Head — Jackson Green
The Muscle — Christian Mueller
The Quirk — Bobby "Lazz" Lazzarini, Duane "Excess" Wilson
The Pretty One — Lauren Fontaine
The Smart One — Winnie Barnes
The Wild One — Ashley Elliott
Running The Halls , which USA High was a Spiritual Successor to:
The Head — Andy McBain, with elements of The Muscle.
The Muscle — David Reese and/or Miles Taylor, both with elements of The Head.
The Quirk — Mark "Shark" Stark
The Pretty One — Holiday Friedman
The Smart One — Molloy Simpson
The Wild One — Nikki Watson
The Wannabes :
The Head — Alan Taskin
The Muscle — Drew Robinson
The Quirk — Andrew Stark
The Pretty One — Sarah Moody
The Smart One — Mariah Pettigrew
The Wild One — Shaylyn Carson
Zoey 101 :
The Head — Chase Matthews (season 1-4)
The Quirk — Michael Barret (season 1-4)
The Muscle — Logan Reese (season 1-4)
The Pretty One — Zoey Brooks (season 1-4)
The Smart One — Quinn Pensky (season 1-4)
The Wild One — Dana Cruz (season one), Nicole Bristow (season 1-2) and later Lola Martinez (season 2-4)
The Other One — James Garret (season four)
Degrassi: The Next Generation has had a couple of these, but the original was:
The Head — JT Yorke
The Quirk — Toby Isaacs
The Muscle — Sean Cameron
The Pretty One — Emma Nelson
The Smart One — Liberty Van Zandt
The Wild One — Manny Santos
One Tree Hill
The Head: Lucas Scott
The Muscle: Nathan Scott
The Quirk: Mouth Mac Fadden
The Pretty One: Peyton Sawyer
The Smart One: Haley James Scott
The Wild One: Brooke Davis
[[Clue]]
The Head: Dmitiri
The Muscle: Seamus
The Quirk: Lucas
The Pretty One: Liz
The Smart One: Whitney
The Wild One: Agnes
Fresh Meat
The Head: Probably Kingsley, although Josie also qualifies.
The Muscle: JP (overlapping with the upperclassman)
The Quirk: Howard
The Pretty One: Josie; would be The Head if she didn't qualify for this more than Kingsley does.
The Smart One: Oregon
The Wild One: Vod
The Sixth Ranger: The never-seen Paul Lamb the Invisible Man.
Theater
13 (Not an actual clique, just the main characters):
The Head — Evan
The Muscle — Brett
The Quirk — Archie
The Pretty One — Kendra
The Smart One — Patrice
The Wild One — Lucy
Video Games
Final Fantasy VIII (in which the player characters actually are students at a military academy):
Western Animation
6teen :
The Head — Wyatt
The Muscle — Jonesy
The Quirk — Jude
The Pretty One — Caitlin
The Smart One — Jen
The Wild One — Nikki
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron (without the sixth student):
The Head — Jimmy
The Muscle — Sheen
The Quirk — Carl
The Pretty One/The Smart One — Cindy
The Wild One — Libby
Clone High :
The Head — Abe
The Muscle — JFK
The Quirk — Gandhi
The Pretty One — Cleo
The Smart One — Joan
The Wild One — Both Joan and Cleo have elements of this
The Magic School Bus :
The Spectacular Spider Man :
The Head — Peter Parker
The Muscle — Flash Thompson
The Quirk — Harry Osborn
The Pretty One — Mary Jane Watson
The Smart One — Gwen Stacy
The Wild One — Liz Allen
Although Peter Parker does have Quirk elements, and Harry Osborn does prove to be less intelligent than his friends . So in other words, both have elements of the Quirk and the Head.
Time Warp Trio (with their great-granddaughters)
The Head — Joe
The Muscle — Fred
The Quirk — Sam
The Pretty One — Freddi
The Smart One — Samantha
The Wild One — Jodie
Tiny Toon Adventures :
The Head — Plucky Duck
The Muscle — Buster Bunny (a rare case where this role is the main character)
The Quirk — Hamton J. Pig
The Pretty One — Fifi La Fume
The Smart One — Shirley the Loon (subversion; she's a Valley Girl with mind powers)
The Wild One — Babs Bunny
Gender Variations
Advertising
The Burger King Kids Club:
The Head — Kid Vid
The Muscle — Boomer
The Quirk – Lingo or Wheels
The Pretty One — Snaps
The Smart One — I.Q.
The Wild One — Jaws
Anime and Manga
Azumanga Daioh - Maybe it's the Japanese culture or maybe it's a subversion, but more than one character fits all the slots:
The Head — Yomi & Tomo, if anyone.
The Muscle — Sakaki & Kagura.
The Quirk — Tomo is runner-up, but Osaka has more crazy than the other five combined.
The Pretty One — All of them, according to the fandom. Pick one and start your own Flame War !
Canonically, only Chiyo (cute) and Sakaki (cool) are treated as having notable appearance.
The Smart One — Chiyo & Yomi have a friendly competition going for this position.
The Wild One — Tomo & Kagura.
Sailor Moon :
The Head — Usagi
The Muscle — Makoto
The Quirk — Minako
The Pretty One — Mamoru
The Smart One — Ami
The Wild One — Rei
Lucky Star :
The Head — Konata
The Muscle — Kagami
The Quirk — Tsukasa
The Pretty One — Yutaka
The Smart One — Miyuki
The Wild One — Patricia
KON :
The Head — Mio
The Muscle — Tsumugi
The Quirk — Yui
The Pretty One — Azusa
The Smart One — Nodoka
The Wild One — Ritsu
Comics
Archie Comics (although who fills what role depends on whether Moose or Dilton is considered the sixth student):
The Head — Archie
The Muscle — Moose or Reggie
The Quirk — Jughead
The Pretty One — Veronica or Betty
The Smart One — Betty or Dilton
The Wild One — Reggie or Veronica (or Cheryl if she shows up)
Archie's less successful series, Wilbur Comics , is more definite:
The Head — Wilbur
The Muscle — Tiny
The Quirk — Red
The Pretty One — Laurie
The Smart One — Linda
The Wild One — Slats
Films
The Goonies :
The Head — Mikey
The Muscle — Brand
The Quirk — Chunk or Mouth
The Pretty One — Andy
The Smart One — I.Q.
The Wild One — Stef
Literature
Animorphs :
The Head — Jake
The Muscle — Rachel
The Quirk — Tobias
The Pretty One — Cassie
The Smart One — Ax
The Wild One — Marco
Your Milage May Vary : Rachel is explicitly told to be much prettier than Cassie.
Live Action TV
Buffy the Vampire Slayer has this in some form or another its whole life.
The Head — Buffy
The Muscle — Angel, replaced by Riley, then Spike .
The Quirk — Oz
The Pretty One — Cordelia (Also a bit of an Alpha Bitch , originally. Eventually, replaced by Anya.)
The Smart One — Willow
The Wild One — Xander
Community :
The Head — Jeff
The Muscle — Troy
The Quirk — Abed
The Pretty One — Britta
The Smart One — Annie
The Wild One — Pierce
Shirley is the only one who doesn't really fit as she's their Team Mom .
Britta and Annie can arguably be switched.
Glee :
The Head — Finn and Rachel
The Muscle — Puck and Santana
The Quirk — Kurt
The Pretty One — Quinn and Brittany
The Smart One — Artie
The Wild One — Mercedes and Tina
Those Two Guys — Mike and Matt
Glee, season 2
The Head — Finn and Rachel
The Muscle — Puck and Lauren
The Quirk — Sam and Brittany and Kurt before he leaves
The Pretty One — Quinn and Mike (Blaine also fits , though not an official member of the group)
The Smart One — Artie
The Wild One — Mercedes, Tina and Santana
My So-Called Life :
The Head — Angela
The Muscle — Jordan
The Quirk — Brian
The Pretty One — Rickie
The Smart One — Sharon
The Wild One — Rayanne
Parker Lewis Can't Lose :
The Head — Parker Lewis
The Muscle — Larry Kubiac
The Quirk — Jerry Steiner
The Pretty One — Annie Sloan
The Smart One — Shelly Lewis
The Wild One — Michael Randall
Power Rangers in its first few seasons:
The Head – Jason (seasons 1-2), Tommy (seasons 2-5), TJ (season 5)
The Muscle — Tommy (seasons 1-2), Rocky (seasons 2-4), Adam (season 5), Carlos (season 5)
The Quirk — Billy (seasons 1-4), Justin (season 5)
The Pretty One — Kimberly (seasons 1-3), Kat (seasons 3-5), Ashley (season 5)
The Smart One — Trini (seasons 1-2), Adam (seasons 2-5), TJ (season 5)
The Wild One — Zack (seasons 1-2), Aisha (seasons 2-3), Tanya (seasons 4-5), Cassie (season 5)
The Obi-Wan — Jason (season 4)
Sonny With A Chance :
The Head — Sonny
The Muscle — Chad
The Quirk — Grady
The Pretty One — Nico
The Smart One — Zora
The Wild One — Tawni
The Suite Life On Deck (Half-second season):
The Head — Cody
The Muscle — Zack
The Quirk — Marcus
The Pretty One — London
The Smart One — Bailey
The Wild One — Woody
That '70s Show :
The Head — Eric
The Muscle — Hyde
The Quirk — Fez
The Pretty One — Jackie
The Smart One — Donna
The Wild One — Kelso
Victorious :
The Head — Tori
The Muscle — Andre
The Quirk — Robbie
The Pretty One — Beck and Trina
The Smart One — Jade
The Wild One — Cat
Gossip Girl
The Head — Blair
The Muscle — Serena
The Quirk — Jenny and/or Vanessa
The Pretty One — Nate
The Smart One — Dan
The Wild One — Chuck
Video Games
Final Fantasy XII :
The Head — Ashe
The Muscle — Basch
The Quirk — Vaan
The Pretty One — Penelo
The Smart One — Balthier
The Wild One — Fran
Final Fantasy XIII :
The Head — Lightning
The Muscle — Snow
The Quirk — Sazh
The Pretty One — Vanille
The Smart One — Hope
The Wild One — Fang
Web Original
Survival of the Fittest v4 - The 'Entourage':
The Head — Reiko Ishida
The Muscle — Jacob Charles
The Quirk — Carol Burke (former Sixth Ranger )
The Pretty One — Paige Single
The Smart One — Ben Powell
The Wild One — Amber Whimsy
Seventh Ranger — Hui "Sarah" Xu
The Guild :
The Head — Codex
The Muscle — Bladezz
The Quirk — Zaboo
The Pretty One — Tinkerballa
The Smart One — Vork
The Wild One — Clara
Western Animation
Alvin And The Chipmunks :
The Head — Alvin
The Muscle — Theodore (could be called The Big Guy , but doesn't quite fit this trope)
The Quirk — Jeanette
The Pretty One — Eleanor (not necessarily "pretty" but she's certainly the sweetest)
The Smart One — Simon
The Wild One — Brittany
Avatar The Last Airbender : (The second half of Season 3)
The Head — Aang
The Muscle — Toph (Gender inverted)
The Quirk — Zuko
The Pretty One — Suki
The Smart One — Sokka (Gender inverted)
The Wild One — Katara
Blinky Bill :
The Head — Blinky Bill
The Muscle — Splodge Kangaroo
The Quirk — Shifty Dingo (sometimes Flap)
The Pretty One — Nutsy
The Smart One — Flap Platypus (sometimes Shifty)
The Wild One — Marcia Marsupial Mouse
Ed, Edd n' Eddy :
The Head — Jimmy
The Muscle — Kevin
The Quirk — Jonny 2x4
The Pretty One — Nazz
The Smart One — Rolf
The Wild One — Sarah
Jimmy could be The Quirk, Jonny 2x4 could be The Wild One, Nazz could bit of The Smart One, and Rolf could be The Quirk, too.
Maya And Miguel :
The Head — Maya
The Muscle — Andy
The Quirk — Miguel
The Pretty One — Chrissy
The Smart One — Theo
The Wild One — Maggie
My Gym Partners A Monkey :
The Head — Adam Lyon
The Muscle — Jake Spidermonkey
The Quirk — Slips Python
The Pretty One — Ingrid Giraffe
The Smart One — Windsor Gorilla
The Wild One — Lupe Toucan
Recess almost fits this trope, with the odd exception:
The Head — TJ Detweiler (The Ace )
The Muscle — Ashley Spinelli
The Quirk — Gus Griswald (Nerd and the New Kid)
The Pretty One — Vince LaSalle (is probably the closest thing they have)
The Smart One — Gretchen Grundler
The Wild One — Mikey Blumberg
He's certainly the one most off the beaten track. He could be The Muscle on account of his size but he's mostly a Gentle Giant who enjoys writing poetry. Spinelli could be The Wild One.
My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic * Depending on how exactly you interpret the various vague clues about the age and maturity of the ponies, this may or may not be an example
The Head / The Smart One — Twilight Sparkle
The Muscle — Applejack
The Quirk — Pinkie Pie
The Pretty One — Rarity
The Shy One — Fluttershy: Twilight's double role puts Fluttershy in this slot where the Smart One would usually go.
The Wild One — Rainbow Dash
Young Justice :
The Head — Aqualad
The Muscle — Superboy
The Quirk — Robin
The Pretty One — Miss Martian
The Smart One — Artemis
The Wild One — Kid Flash
WITCH (Season 1, at least)
The Head - Will
The Muscle - Caleb
The Quirk - Hay Lin
The Pretty One - Cornelia
The Smart One - Taranee
The Wild One - Irma