History Main / BumblingSidekick

* Arthur seems to subvert this, as hes clearly wiser and more intelligent than WesternAnimation/TheTick, until they actually do battle where he plays the bumbling part straight.

Often overlaps with MinionWithAnFInEvil, CowardlySidekick or TheFriendNobodyLikes. Almost always the nice Moron in a SmartJerkAndNiceMoron pair. If a villain has two of these, they're a BumblingHenchmenDuo. Contrast HypercompetentSidekick.

An annoying, incompetent sidekick for another character -- usually an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist -- who barely tolerates him. The only talent a Bumbling Sidekick has is the ability to tolerate any amount of abuse -- and he needs it, given how often his "[[WithFriendsLikeThese friends]]" are yelling at him and throwing him face-first into walls.

%%* Ukko in ''ComicBook/{{Slaine}}''.

Often overlaps with MinionWithAnFInEvil, CowardlySidekick or TheFriendNobodyLikes. Almost always the nice Moron in a SmartJerkAndNiceMoron pair. Contrast HypercompetentSidekick.

* ''Stolen from Gypsies'' has two, both probably inspired by Baldrick from ''Series/BlackAdder''. The protagonist/narrator has his servant Antonio, and in the story-within-a-story he's writing, there's the character Short Clog. Since the characters in the story-within-a-story reflect the narrator's life, it's likely Short Clog reflects Antonio, although the two are somewhat different- Antonio is a bit of a HypercompetentSidekick, whereas Short Clog is a straight up BumblingSidekick, being a dullard with bad hygiene.
* Parodied in the ''Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures'' novel ''Managra'', where the BumblingSidekick to the resident dashing hero is in fact a lot smarter than he lets on -- and, indeed, a lot smarter than his boss in many ways -- but pretends to be a dimwit because it pays better.

** Later, Light gets another one in the form of [[spoiler: Teru Mikami]], who initially appears to be far more cunning and competent than Misa ever was but ultimately ends up being even ''less'' competent.

* In ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'', Savage tends to fall into this category for Ian. He isn't dumb, persay, but he doesn't often think before acting, and he seems to often be swaying for his {{Even the Guys Want Him}} type love for Ian. He is very much a secondary, side-kick k character, and the two's interactions are usually played for laughs.

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* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''

* ''WebVideo/TheMostEpicStoryEverToldInAllOfHumanHistory'': Epic Fail and Ridiculously Epic Fail aren’t treated with derision, but otherwise fit this trope to a T with their incompetence and constant {{Epic Fail}}ures.

%%* Mr. Smee, from ''Disney/PeterPan''.
%%* Horace and Jasper Badun, from ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''.
%%* Mr. Snoops, from ''Disney/TheRescuers''.
%%* Lefou, from ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''.
* Kronk, from ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' is dimmer and less effective, but also kinder, than his scheming boss. If not for him bumbling an assassination the film would have been about ten minutes long, but thankfully for nearly everyone involved he turns his target into a ''llama''. Unusually for this trope he gets a happy ending, mostly due to his HiddenDepths and AchievementsInIgnorance.

* Otis, Lex Luthor's henchman in the 1978 ''Film/{{Superman}}'' film and its [[Film/SupermanII first sequel]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': Invoked in "Carl Wheezer, Boy Genius", when Carl pretends to be a genius to impress his visiting PenPal. He makes Jimmy, the real genius, his "dimwitted assistant" to boss around and scapegoat whenever anything goes wrong.

* Jeremy Hillary Boob, PH.D. from WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'' would certainly qualify as he sends the sub off without him or the Beatles aboard, gets lodged in a hole and captured by the Blue Meanies, then attempts (and in spite of his bumbling succeeds) to fight off a Meanie guard.

** Series 1 and 2 had Lord Percy Percy, and Series 3 had Prince George (who Edmund is technically HypercompetentSidekick to).

* Merlin's interaction with Arthur often comes off as this in ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' , even though sometimes he's pretending.

Often overlaps with MinionWithAnFInEvil, CowardlySidekick or TheFriendNobodyLikes. Contrast HypercompetentSidekick.

* Annoying comic relief Bumbling Sidekicks were a staple of MaskedLuchador films starring ElSanto and other wrestlers. Just taking a look at one of them, Perico (from ''Film/SantoEnElTesoroDeDracula''), on this page's Image Links, should give you the general idea.

!!Examples

** The [[Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace fourth film]] replaces Otis with Lenny Luthor. Lex regards his teenage nephew as "the Dutch Elm disease in my family tree".

* Manuel, of ''Series/FawltyTowers'', is this. A Spaniard from Barcelona, Manuel's ineptitude for the English language combined with the neurotic Basil Fawlty's knack for causing chaos made him often cause things to go even worse. Basil firmly believes Manuel to be of subnormal intelligence.

* Schultz from ''Series/HogansHeroes'', though he's probably actually not as bumbling as Col. Klink--Klink is at least trying to be competent, whereas Schultz often is deliberately oblivious to what Hogan's crew is up to.

* Mr. Smee, from ''Disney/PeterPan''.
* Horace and Jasper Badun, from ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''.
* Mr. Snoops, from ''Disney/TheRescuers''.
* Lefou, from ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''.
* Kronk, from ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove''.

** TheFlash had Winky, Blinky, and Noddy, aka "The Three Dimwits" (a more precise term would be "The Three [[CaptainErsatz Ripoffs]] of [[Film/TheThreeStooges Larry, Moe, and Curly]].)"

* Sergeant Murtaugh from "Series/Family Matters"