History Main / KarmicTrickster

TheTrickster who specializes in unstuffing stuffed shirts, deflating puffed-up egos, trivializing the self-important, and confusing know-it-alls. The Karmic Trickster is normally harmless, even friendly, if left alone. Once his dignity is dented or his person threatened, however, it's no holds barred -- the target is in for humiliation, embarrassment and bewilderment. Any tactic is fair game as long as it does not cause actual physical harm to the target. Only when the target has surrendered does the Karmic Trickster conclude his vengeance.

Being completely self-centered, the Karmic Trickster normally acts only on his own behalf, but can be convinced to help others -- he has a soft spot for babies, innocents, and those who are truly good, and when his sympathy is evoked will go to the ends of the earth for them. Sometimes he sows chaos for the sake of chaos, but only when he gets carried away in the midst of one of his campaigns. Most of the time he simply wants to be [[HeroicNeutral left alone]], and [[KarmicProtection heaven help whoever messes with him!]] Given all of their righteous retribution, sometimes these characters can exist somewhere between [[ChaoticGood this]], ThePrankster and borderline NeutralEvil if their self-righteous attitudes end up attacking characters for little more than existing nearby them and can often just seem like ComedicSociopathy if our trickster operates as a DesignatedHero regardless of where they sit on TheTrickster scale and the only [=Karmic=] anything involved about them is being a KarmaHoudini.

Being completely self-centered, the Karmic Trickster normally acts only on his own behalf, but can be convinced to help others -- he has a soft spot for babies, innocents, and those who are truly good, and when his sympathy is evoked will go to the ends of the earth for them. Sometimes he sows chaos for the sake of chaos, but only when he gets carried away in the midst of one of his campaigns. Most of the time he simply wants to be [[HeroicNeutral left alone]], and [[KarmicProtection heaven help whoever messes with him!]] Given all of their righteous retribution, sometimes these characters can exist somewhere between [[ChaoticGood this]], ScrewySquirrel and borderline NeutralEvil if their self-righteous attitudes end up attacking characters for little more than existing nearby them and can often just seem like ComedicSociopathy if our trickster operates as a DesignatedHero regardless of where they sit on TheTrickster scale and the only [=Karmic=] anything involved about them is being a KarmaHoudini.

Between them, Karmic Trickster and ScrewySquirrel comprise two-thirds of TheTrickster classic. His actions are as much to teach as to gain revenge, where ScrewySquirrel is the embodiment of mischief for mischief's sake.

[[ObfuscatingStupidity May masquerade]] as TheFool, or vice versa; whether silly or wise, he will always display HiddenDepths (if only a knack for {{comedy}} and SimplemindedWisdom) whom the audience may laugh at. This is not always true of other [[TheTrickster Tricksters]] in general, who are sometimes cast as {{cloud cuckoolander}}s, irrepressible [[ScrewySquirrel agents of chaos]], lesser [[LoveableRogue chaos-bringers]] who are constantly being [[AnAesop taught a lesson]] themselves, or cosmic {{butt monkey}}s. Such traits rarely apply here. Indeed, the Karmic Trickster is the least vulnerable to HoistByHisOwnPetard or to CounterZany (which he can often turn to ZanySchemeChicken).

* The [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse]] god Loki, although sometimes a ScrewySquirrel, brought Karmic Trickery to bear against the villains for the greater good on several occasions. Loki would often [[VoluntaryShapeshifting tart himself up]] in drag to trick his enemies -- a classic Karmic Trickery ploy -- and often teamed up with Thor for a mix of BrainsAndBrawn.

** WesternAnimation/BugsBunny is a famous Karmic Trickster and former trope namer. This characterization was a considered decision on the part of Bugs' creators: it was required that the antagonist strike first. Note that it was not from the start: in his early days, Bugs was more of a ScrewySquirrel; in fact, [[https://youtu.be/-Dl47PIP6h4?t=311 the gag that the page image is based on]] is from the 1942 short "The Wacky Wabbit", in which Bugs is actually the one that antagonizes Elmer, and not the other way around.

* The Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister) in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' (although Wakko is closer to being a ScrewySquirrel) are somewhat offset by the fact that they can be cheerful and annoying to ''anybody'', but are generally harmless until someone starts being a {{Jerkass}}. Then he gets labeled their "Special Friend", and all bets are off. In one episode, they're being driven crazy by a parody of the nanny from ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic''... but can't bring themselves to clobber her, because she's not doing anything ''wrong''. [[spoiler:They hire [[ScrewySquirrel Slappy]], although by the end the nanny ends up in a home more likely to appreciate her (that is, with a parody of the Von Trapps).]]

->''“First, [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush Bush]] invades my home turf. Then he takes my pals. Then he makes fun of the way I talk (probably). Now, he steals my right to raise a disobedient, smart-alecky son! Well that’s it!”''

* The Norse god Loki, although sometimes a ScrewySquirrel, brought Karmic Trickery to bear against the villains for the greater good on several occasions. Loki would often [[VoluntaryShapeshifting tart himself up]] in drag to trick his enemies -- a classic Karmic Trickery ploy -- and often teamed up with Thor for a mix of BrainsAndBrawn.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Hurt Tyrion Lannister, and you can face the whole gamut of getting [[DeadpanSnarker deconstructed hilariously]] in public to being outright shown up by what he does to undermine your position in inventive ways. Hurt somebody else, however... and, he goes to town to make you look just as idiotic to others as he finds you to be. Just ask Joffrey. Push him even further, and, well... [[spoiler:it gets deadly -- out-of-prison-with-a-crossbow deadly.]]

A {{Trickster}} who specializes in unstuffing stuffed shirts, deflating puffed-up egos, trivializing the self-important, and confusing know-it-alls. The Karmic Trickster is normally harmless, even friendly, if left alone. Once his dignity is dented or his person threatened, however, it's no holds barred -- the target is in for humiliation, embarrassment and bewilderment. Any tactic is fair game as long as it does not cause actual physical harm to the target. Only when the target has surrendered does the Karmic Trickster conclude his vengeance.

Being completely self-centered, the Karmic Trickster normally acts only on his own behalf, but can be convinced to help others -- he has a soft spot for babies, innocents, and those who are truly good, and when his sympathy is evoked will go to the ends of the earth for them. Sometimes he sows chaos for the sake of chaos, but only when he gets carried away in the midst of one of his campaigns. Most of the time he simply wants to be [[HeroicNeutral left alone]], and [[KarmicProtection heaven help whoever messes with him!]] Given all of their righteous retribution, sometimes these characters can exist somewhere between [[ChaoticGood this]], ScrewySquirrel and borderline NeutralEvil if their self-righteous attitudes end up attacking characters for little more than existing nearby them and can often just seem like ComedicSociopathy if our trickster operates as a DesignatedHero regardless of where they sit on the TricksterArchetype scale and the only [=Karmic=] anything involved about them is being a KarmaHoudini.

Between them, Karmic Trickster and ScrewySquirrel comprise two-thirds of the classic TricksterArchetype. His actions are as much to teach as to gain revenge, where ScrewySquirrel is the embodiment of mischief for mischief's sake.

[[ObfuscatingStupidity May masquerade]] as TheFool, or vice versa; whether silly or wise, he will always display HiddenDepths (if only a knack for {{comedy}} and SimplemindedWisdom) whom the audience may laugh at. This is not always true of other [[TricksterArchetype Tricksters]] in general, who are sometimes cast as {{cloud cuckoolander}}s, irrepressible [[ScrewySquirrel agents of chaos]], lesser [[LoveableRogue chaos-bringers]] who are constantly being [[AnAesop taught a lesson]] themselves, or cosmic {{butt monkey}}s. Such traits rarely apply here. Indeed, the Karmic Trickster is the least vulnerable to HoistByHisOwnPetard or to CounterZany (which he can often turn to ZanySchemeChicken).

%%* ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'': Ferris Bueller and [[Series/ParkerLewisCantLose Parker Lewis]] sometimes perform Karmic Trickery as part of their escapades.

** WesternAnimation/BugsBunny is a famous Karmic Trickster and former trope namer. This characterization was a considered decision on the part of Bugs' creators: it was required that the antagonist strike first. Note that it was not from the start: in his early days, Bugs was more of a ScrewySquirrel; in fact,[[https://youtu.be/-Dl47PIP6h4?t=311 the gag that the page image is based on]] is from the 1942 short "The Wacky Wabbit", in which Bugs is actually the one that antagonizes Elmer, and not the other way around.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

%%ZeroContextExample. Add context to this entry before adding it back.

* Randall Patrick [=McMurphy=] of ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'' is a somewhat more realistic version of this, with a touch of MessianicArchetype thrown in. [[SubvertedTrope In the end, though, Nurse Ratchet always wins]], and [=McMurphy=] is in fact a certifiable sociopath, so it could be said he gets his own [[LaserGuidedKarma comeuppance]].

Being completely self-centered, the Karmic Trickster normally acts only on his own behalf, but can be convinced to help others -- he has a soft spot for babies, innocents, and those who are truly good, and when his sympathy is evoked will go to the ends of the earth for them. Sometimes he sows chaos for the sake of chaos, but only when he gets carried away in the midst of one of his campaigns. Most of the time he simply wants to be [[HeroicNeutral left alone]], and [[KarmicProtection heaven help whoever messes with him!]] Given all of their righteous retribution, sometimes these characters can exist somewhere between this, ScrewySquirrel and borderline NeutralEvil if their self-righteous attitudes end up attacking characters for little more than existing nearby them and can often just seem like ComedicSociopathy if our trickster operates as a DesignatedHero regardless of where they sit on the TricksterArchetype scale and the only [=Karmic=] anything involved about them is being a KarmaHoudini.

* The title character in ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' tends to be a nice furry orange creature, and generally doesn't set out for taking antagonists down in return for a perceived slight -- but a lot of his antics come out this way anyway.

[[caption-width-right:350:Perhaps the most obvious example]]

* Oddly enough (or maybe not, considering the duality obsession), Tezcatlipoca of AztecMythology. While masquerading as a merchant he was sent to war commanding a legion of dwarves in a UriahGambit by a local king. The king figured the dwarves would see the enemy soldiers and flee, leaving their leader to die. Tezcatlipoca instead gave them a RousingSpeech that resulted in them fighting at his side and returning home victorious. The King had to name him as a war hero.

** WesternAnimation/BugsBunny is a famous Karmic Trickster and former trope namer. This characterization was a considered decision on the part of Bugs' creators: it was required that the antagonist strike first. Note that it was not from the start: in his early days, Bugs was more of a ScrewySquirrel.

* Mickey again takes on this role in a ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' cartoon where he's held hostage by Pete, and his even dumber backwoods cousin, Zeke, who had just robbed a bank. Mickey convinces both parties that one of them is trying to do the other one in and take the money for themselves, and then proceeds to add fuel to the fire as their paranoia (and stupidity) sets in.

* The Creator/TheMarxBrothers, making it OlderThanTheyThink. Groucho's line "Then it's war!" from ''Film/DuckSoup'' is the inspiration for Bugs Bunny's BattleCry. The film includes a literal war, splicing in footage from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.

* The Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister) in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' (although Wakko is closer to being a ScrewySquirrel) are somewhat offset by the fact that they can be cheerful and annoying to ''anybody'', but are generally harmless until someone starts being a {{Jerkass}}. Then he gets labeled their "Special Friend", and all bets are off. In one episode, they're being driven crazy by a parody of the nanny from ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic''... but can't bring themselves to clobber her, because she's not doing anything ''wrong''. [[spoiler:They hire [[ScrewySquirrel Slappy]].]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]
* The very aptly-named Karma of ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'' is this trope as well as being a BullyHunter. Hunting a Bully who was academically gifted in defense of a student from the lowest class got him kicked down to Class-E as well...where he is now thriving in learning assassination techniques to add to his arsenal.

* Tough to say whether this belongs under LiveActionTV or WesternAnimation, but part of the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode ''Revenging Angel'' depicts Crichton in a coma using a series of Creator/ChuckJones-inspired animated sequences in a ShoutOut to the classic WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes shorts. Crichton's role is variously the Road Runner or Bugs Bunny, depending on whether he's just trying to run away from D'Argo, or actively taking revenge for having put him in the coma in the first place (the latter placing him squarely in this trope).

* Br'er Rabbit, moreso in the original stories than in the [[{{Disneyfication}} Disneyfied]] ''Disney/SongOfTheSouth''. Bugs Bunny was partially based on this character.

* Most of the Tiny Toons from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' fit into this category. Especially Babs and Buster. Makes sense, considering the entire show is an ''AffectionateParody'' of old WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons, featuring [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of old WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes characters being ''taught'' by said characters.

* WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons: In the short ''WesternAnimation/BadLuckBlackie'', a black cat helps a kitten get even with a BullyBulldog by causing the dog bad luck, which takes the form of [[AnvilOnHead various heavy things falling on the dog out of nowhere]].

* In the Creator/TexAvery short ''WesternAnimation/BadLuckBlackie'', a black cat helps a kitten get even with a BullyBulldog by causing the dog bad luck, which takes the form of [[AnivlOnHead various heavy things falling on the dog out of nowhere]].

[[ObfuscatingStupidity May masquerade]] as TheFool, or vice versa; whether silly or wise, he will always display HiddenDepths (if only a knack for {{comedy}} and SimplemindedWisdom) whom the audience may laugh at. This is not always true of other [[TricksterArchetype Tricksters]] in general, who are sometimes cast as {{cloud cuckoolander}}s, irrepressible [[ScrewySquirrel agents of chaos]], lesser [[LoveableRogue chaos-bringers]] who are constantly being [[AnAesop taught a lesson]] themselves, or cosmic {{butt monkey}}s. Such traits rarely apply here.

* The Creator/TheMarxBrothers, making it OlderThanTheyThink. Groucho's line "Then it's war!" from ''Film/DuckSoup'' might be the inspiration for Bugs Bunny's similar line. In the film there was, in fact, a literal war. Complete with footage from UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.

* Eric Cartman in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants". The visual style imitates WesternAnimation/BugsBunny wartime short films. Cartman also qualifies as a (very dark) Karmic Trickster in "Scott Tenorman Must Die!" -- perhaps as a kind of one-upsmanship of Scott Tenorman, who himself is also a Trickster.

A {{Trickster}} who specializes in unstuffing stuffed shirts, deflating puffed-up egos, trivializing the self-important, and confusing know-it-alls. The Karmic Trickster is normally harmless, even friendly, if left unmolested. Once his dignity is dented or his person threatened, however, it's no holds barred -- the target is in for humiliation, embarrassment and bewilderment. Any tactic is fair game as long as it does not cause actual physical harm to the target. Only when the target has surrendered does the Karmic Trickster conclude his vengeance.

%%ZeroContextExample. Add context to this entry before adding it back

** Tweety is another example. He's content to sing and swing in his cage until Sylvester start trying to eat him, and then retaliation comes.

* In the BBC Sitcom ''Series/WaitingForGod'' this would be Diana Trent, most often deflating Harvey "The Idiot" Baynes in the midst of one of his schemes to defraud or otherwise suppress the tenets of Bayview.

* The Creator/TheMarxBrothers, making it OlderThanTheyThink. Groucho's line "Then it's war!" from ''Film/DuckSoup'' might be the inspiration for Bugs Bunny's similar line. In the film there was, in fact, a literal war. Complete with footage from WorldWarOne.

[[quoteright:335:[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bugsandelmer_5493.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:335:Perhaps the most obvious example]]