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alt title(s): Trickster; The Trickster The Trickster openly questions and mocks authority, encourages impulse and enthusiasm, seeks out new ideas and experiences, destroys convention and complacency, promoting chaos and unrest. At the same time, the trickster brings new knowledge, wisdom and many An Aesop. Even when punished horribly for his effrontery, his indomitable spirit keeps him coming back for more.
The trickster is often a Master Of Disguise and may have magical or super-powers. May play Xanatos Speed Chess.
A list of subtypes can be found on the Tricksters page.
Examples:
Tricksters in folklore and legend
- Loki
- Coyote
- Raven
- Weesagechak
- Nanabush / Nanabozho
- Spider Woman
- Anansi / Anancy / Aunt Nancy
- Hermes
- Prometheus
- Eshu
- Legbara
- Afrekete
- Sun Wukong (Son Goku) in Journey To The West
- Br'er Rabbit / Compe' Lapin
- Puck / Robin Goodfellow
- Robin Hood.
- Reynard le Goupil (Reynard the Fox)
- Tyl Eulenspiegel / Uylenspiegel
- Hershel of Ostropol
- Kitsune (Fox)
- Tanuki (Raccoondog)
- Badger
- Satan (and Lucifer)
- Dracula
- Maui
- Harlequin
- Mr. Punch
- Jacob
- Rare female version: Eris
- Hanuman
Tricksters in pop culture
- John Constantine in the Hellblazer graphic novels is a true Wild Card and nearly a force of nature, often surprising friends, enemies and readers alike.
- Some Cirque du Soleil shows have Trickster characters; they usually sweep the everyperson protagonist into the world of the story. KOOZA outright calls its character Trickster. Probably the best example of the archetype in Cirque is Brian Le Petit, the principal clown in Mystere, who is conceived as existing between the audience's world and the world onstage - and freely disrupts both worlds throughout. Cirque's limited-run TV series Solstrom had a whole troupe of characters from various shows arriving on Earth from the sun to enact this archetype in various locales.
- Many vampire and clown characters.
- Dominoes pizza mascot The Noid.
- The Trix Rabbit
- The Hamburglar
Comic Books
- Impossible Man.
- The Joker and the Riddler.
- Mr. Mxyzptlk from Superman.
- The original Trickster, it's in his name!
- John Constantine
- Nightcrawler, Gambit, and Iceman of the X-Men.
- Jaeger of the aboriginal sci-fi comic Finder. Although he seems random and impetuous, his behavior is bound by the code of the titular super-scouts, but also his designation as a ritual scapegoat in his mother's native culture.
- V
- The Cheshire Cat
- Merry and Pippin from Lord of the Rings.
- Miles Vorkosigan.
- The Grinch and Cat In The Hat both fit this archetype to a t. And they do look almost quite similar in their live action incarnations.
- Granny Weatherwax. You don't have to have a sense of humour to be a Trickster!
- Randal Patrick McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
- The novel's author, Ken Kesey, was something of a real-life example as well: he helped kick-start the hippie movement and drove around America in a painted bus handing out hallucinogens like candy. Then when he was on the run from the police he fled to Mexico and later went back over the border on horseback dressed as a cowboy.
- The Meddler of the Firekeeper novels, who is known for having seemingly good intentions but never stopping to consider the consequences.
- The Marquis of Carabas in Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. He is named after the young man who is helped by Puss In Boots. In the original story, though, it is the cat, not the man, who is the Trickster.
- Neil also wrote his own story about Anansi, going by the name of Charlie Nancy. He has... well, two sons who inherit his powers.
- Neal Stephenson very evidently likes to both use and reference this archetype; Hiro Protagonist is a Trickster/Technologist in Snow Crash, as are many of the key figures of both Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age. In The Diamond Age, The Hacker is explicitly namechecked as a modern trickster archetype, and in Cryptonomicon Enoch Root discusses with Randy the way various cultures have interpreted the archetype - from worship (Athena) to deep distrust (Loki).
- The Count of Monte Cristo.
- Colin in John C Wright's Chronicles of Chaos. Always ready to pull a stunt whenever they need a distraction.
- Harlequin, as seen in the story "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison.
- See also Neil Gaiman's "Harlequin Valentine".
- In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Tabaqui the Jackal.
"All thanks for this good meal," he said, licking his lips. "How beautiful are the noble children! How large are their eyes! And so young too! Indeed, indeed, I might have remembered that the children of kings are men from the beginning."
Now, Tabaqui knew as well as anyone else that there is nothing so unlucky as to compliment children to their faces. It pleased him to see Mother and Father Wolf look uncomfortable.
- Kyprioth is the trickster god of Tamora Pierce's Tortall but the human Aly gives him a run for his money.
- Paladine in the Dragonlance novels. His greatest trick was doubtless passing himself off as the god of law, majesty, and nobility.
- Robin Goodfellow in the Cal Leandros series. His species is a puck.
- Aiken Drum in Julian May's Pliocene series, exiled for such pranks as altering a dam's configuration so that a giant penis sticks out of it, peeing water. and that's before he gets super powers
- Willy Wonka of Roald Dahl's children's book (as well as his two movie incarnations) is a trickster of the Mentor variety.
- John Taylor from the Nightside novels, sometimes.
- In Harry Potter, Fred and George Weasley. And Dumbledore has shades of the Trickster Mentor.
- Amateurs! Peeves was a professional.
- Warrior Cats has Sol. In addition to his life of travelling the earth to screw things up in as many places as possible, he has actually once been called a trickster in the books.
- Pocket in Christopher Moore's Fool.
- El-ahrairah, the rabbit folk hero in Watership Down.
- Simkin in the Darksword novels.
Live Action TV
Tabletop RPG
Video Games
Web Comics
- Coyote and Reynardine (based somewhat on the above-mentioned Reynard the Fox) from Gunnerkrigg Court.
Western Animation
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