A
Power Trio made up of a domineering character and two henchmen or
Co-Dragons. The two henchmen usually look physically different (one
short and fat, the other tall and skinny/buff) in addition to having different skills, often
Brains and Brawn or an unreasonable facsimile; the position of boss may be gained simply by assertiveness. Their boss is usually convinced they're master criminals, even though the two subordinate characters usually fit the bill for
Stupid Crooks. Terrible Trios are never real
Big Bads, and the whole group tends to be played for comedy in the long run. They may have no dark motivations other than fortune or fame, and it's easy to
sympathize with them through their repeated defeats. They usually have a certain degree of
Karmic Protection.
Sometimes, there's a
higher-up that the team's boss is accountable to. That higher-up is usually
closer to True Evil, and considers the team, boss and all, to be ineffective at best. In a more serious story (or if
Cerebus Syndrome is about to kick in,)
expect the goldfish poop to get flushed in most occasions.
In many recent anime, the boss is usually more attractive and the opposite gender of the lackeys. The Terrible Trio are often
gangsters, who are strangely less competent than the psycho villain.
See also
Evil Duo,
Quirky Miniboss Squad,
Freudian Trio,
Comic Trio,
Goldfish Poop Gang,
Those Two Bad Guys,
Three Amigos, and, when two or more
Big Bads work together,
Big Bad Duumvirate.
Example subpages
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Fan Works
- Dungeon Keeper Ami sports Mercury and her "henchmen" youma, Tiger and Jadeite as the three most powerful players in Mercury's empire. Jadeite himself is the boss of a subset, With Umbra and Mareki often filling a role similar to henchmen. These groups, however, are not only quite successful in battle, but heroic in nature — making this an inversion.
- Titan's three henchponies Mysterious, Dementia, and Rep-Stallion from My Little Unicorn.
Music
Professional Wrestling
- 3MB: Jinder Mahal, Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre.
Web Animation
