History Main / DemotedToComicRelief

** Knuckles the Echidna started off as a rival and later, a serious foil to Sonic, with some ficus on his role as guardian of the powerful Master Emerald. Later games however would downplay those aspects and characterize him as a ButtMonkey who desperately, and unsuccessfully, tries to one up Sonic. UpToEleven in the VideoGame/SonicBoom where Knuckles' primary character traits is being a Cloudcuckoolander who drops funny lines.

** Silver however is an example of [[TropesAreTools this trope working in their favor.]] He debuted in one of the worst reviewed games in the series, and was a rather potent BaseBreakingCharacter as a result due to many find him a little too [[KnightTemplar self-righteous]] in trying to kill Sonic, but alternative media like [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog the comics]] gave him more bumbling and comedic traits, as well as a much more [[TookALevelInKindness earnest personality]] and fans became much more accepting of him.

* Kawachi from ''Manga/YakitateJapan'' is introduced as a [[FriendlyRivalry friend and rival]] to Azuma, and serves as both the MrExposition and TheWatson to the latter's eccentric naivete. He does have some ButtMonkey tendencies due to his overreactions to Azuma's quirks, but he is still treated as a legitimate baker, and his motive of wanting to continue his late father's dream while making a living for his poor siblings gives him a more dramatic CharacterArc than Azuma's simple ToBeAMaster goal. Until the end of the Pantasia Rookie Tournament Arc, that is, after which he is completely {{flanderized}} into TheLoad whose only purpose is to make a fool of himself by his ignorance and incompetence, to the point that his family and teammates see him more as an embarrassment than anything else.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': When introduced in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Hux was an intimidating BadassNormal who was roughly equal to Kylo Ren in the First Order hierarchy -- his most notable scene has him give an angry speech before a Nuremberg-esque assembly as Starkiller Base's superlaser is activated. In ''Film/TheLastJedi'', however, he is largely reduced to being a ButtMonkey at the hands of Snoke and Ren, with his nervousness and submissiveness as he is hurt by their Force powers reinforcing the comedy of the situation. This ends up being deconstructed in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''; Hux is so tired to getting tossed about and mistreated that [[spoiler:he becomes TheMole for the Resistance just so he can get back at Ren]].

* Hol Horse from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' is introduced as an effective KnightOfCerebus who ramps up the stakes by [[spoiler:killing Avdol (though he's later revealed to be NotQuiteDead)]]. Following his introduction arc, however, he undergoes a massive case of VillainDecay, with him losing any dangerous traits he had and instead becoming a recurring IneffectualSympatheticVillain.

* This trope is averted a bit in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', Marcus Brody is depicted as a serious archeologist who may have once had his own Indy-esque adventures. In any case, his time onscreen is sufficiently short that he comes across normal enough. When the character returns in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', his role is greatly expanded, but he's now portrayed as a bumbling moron.

* Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch Pure pulls this on Karen, Coco and Noel. In season 1, Karen had a major arc trying to find her sister Noel while she and Coco were captured by Gaito. Pure doesn't really give them a major role and in the episodes where they appear (outside their [[ADayInTheLimelight focus episodes]], which Noel didn't get, by the way), they're usually just there for either comedy, [[TheMatchmaker matchmaking]], or both.

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* In the first year of ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' the [[AmoralAttorney Partnership]] [[HiveMind Collective]] presented a serious threat to [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Tagon's Toughs]], but after they blew up the Lunar SpaceElevator and the government placed a bounty on their Attorney Drones they were reduced to a source of evil lawyer jokes and fast cash for excess violence.
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* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': Drax the Destroyer. While he did have a few comedic moments in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', he was still played mostly seriously, and his goal of getting {{revenge}} for his family's death is a major plot line. By the time of ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', he's pretty much the go to comic relief character, with every scene having him doing something stupid or rattling off a funny line.

Because stories often only have a limited amount of time to develop their characters, as well as a need to introduce new characters to keep things fresh, certain major characters tend to get pushed to the back burner in favor of others. However, the writer isn't exactly keen on simply [[PutOnABus getting rid of these characters]], but they still would rather focus on others. So what do they do with them? How about turn them into ComicRelief instead?

Because stories often only have a limited amount of time to develop their characters, as well as a need to introduce new characters to keep things fresh, certain major characters tend to get pushed to the back burner in favor of others. However, the writer isn't exactly keen on simply [[PutOnABus getting rid of these characters]], but they still would rather focus on others. So what do they do with them? How about turn them into ComicRelief, instead.

This is a SubTrope of DemotedToExtra and ComedicReliefCharacters. May overlap with BadassDecay. Compare to DemotedToSatelliteLoveInterest and AdaptationalComicRelief.

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[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

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* This trope is averted a bit in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' Marcus Brody is depicted as a serious archeologist who may have once had his own Indy-esque adventures. In any case his time onscreen is sufficiently short that he comes across normal enough. When the character returns in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', his role is greatly expanded, but he's now portrayed as a bumbling moron.

* In ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' Marcus Brody is depicted as a serious archeologist who may have once had his own Indy-esque adventures. In any case his time onscreen is sufficiently short that he comes across normal enough. When the character returns in an expanded role in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', he's portrayed as a bumbling moron who does little more than provide the comic relief in the film.

This is a SubTrope of DemotedToExtra and ComedicReliefCharacters. May overlap with BadassDecay. Compare to DemotedToSatelliteLoveInterest.

* Pokémon had a very brief period at its start in which Team Rocket were actually respectable villains. Since then they've had a few moments, but for the most part they're comedic characters who pose as much of a threat to Ash as Elmer Fudd does to Bugs Bunny.

** Puck originally started out as [[AntiHero Guts]]' MoralityChain, while also providing some much needed levity for the story. However, as the story progresses and Guts gains more and more TrueCompanions, his status as the MoralityPet has been given to other characters while his comedic traits have taken the forefront.

** Puck originally started out as [[AntiHero Guts]]' MoralityPet, while also providing some much needed levity for the story. However, as the story progresses and Guts gains more and more TrueCompanions, his status as the MoralityPet has been given to other characters while his comedic traits have taken the forefront.

** During the Conviction arc, Azan acted as the somewhat [[LargeHam hammy]] but overall serious HeroAntagonist and the StraightMan of the Holy Iron Chain Knights. When he [[TheBusCameBack makes his return]] during the Fantasia arc and joins Guts' companions, the rest of the companions receive much more focus and CharacterDevelopment while Azan's more serious traits are put on the back-burner while he instead becomes the target of some {{slapstick}} comedy alongside Isidro.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Duke Devlin starts as an antagonist, but after his HeelFaceTurn, he becomes dead weight, tossed into the comic relief category along with Tristan. The fact that he's a rich business owner rarely comes up except when having a car turns out to be handy.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/download_564.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[-Season One: The galaxy's [[GalacticConqueror greatest supervillain]].\\
Season Two: Angrily playing a game of Capture the Flag [[VillainDecay and losing]].-]]]