History Main / NonActionSnarker

* Fitz, from the [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novels, is a Deadpan Snarker and [[TheKlutz has been known to trip over his own feet]]. Shortly after he's introduced, he convinces an old woman that R.J. Tolkien named Frodo after a beggar woman in France with whom he had a child, as it [[FandomBerserkButton bothered Fitz that she got Tolkien's name wrong]]. Fitz is not just a bit of a geek, but a [[GeekPhysiques skinny one, at that]].

* Darryl from ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' is this. While he is a cop, he doesn't really stand a chance against magical creatures like witches, demons, and warlocks.

* Rory Williams from ''Series/DoctorWho'' mainly existed as a character foil and HenpeckedHusband to the fiery Amy Pond [[spoiler:until becoming The Lone Centurion.]]

* Noah in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' might be the king of this trope, to the point where he was eliminated very early in season one just because [[SeriousBusiness he wouldn't play dodgeball]]. Fortunately, [[CharacterDevelopment he becomes far more active]] in ''World Tour'' but retains his signature snarker nature.

** There's also Ponder Stibbons, a snarky HypercompetentSidekick to the rest of the Unseen University faculty, who by ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' can say "I just pull my weight, like everyone else" in a way that "indicates he thought everyone else had [[BigEater too much weight]] and [[BrilliantButLazy not enough pull]]."

* Kazi from ''{{Bionicle}}''.

* Dr Harrison Wells, the NonActionGuy MissionControl in ''Series/TheFlash2014''. He has a very dry, snarky sense of humour, which is partially due to him being the smartest guy in any room and partially due to the cynicism he gained after his own recklessness [[DisableSnarker landed him in a wheelchair for life.]] [[spoiler: Subverted, in that he is very much an action guy in his role as the Reverse Flash and, if anything, his snarking gets more pronounced after his true identity is revealed and he ditches the ObfuscatingDisability.]]

* Dr Harrison Wells, the NonActionGuy MissionControl in ''Series/TheFlash2014''. He has a very dry, snarky sense of humour, which is partially due to him being the smartest guy in any room and partially due to the cynicism he gained after his own recklessness landed him in a wheelchair for life. [[spoiler: Subverted, in that he is very much an action guy in his role as the Reverse Flash and, if anything, his snarking gets more pronounced after his true identity is revealed and he ditches the ObfuscatingDisability.]]

* Kyon, from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''.

* Yukiteru in the English dub of ''Manga/FutureDiary''.

* Fitz, from the [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novels, is a Deadpan Snarker and [[TheKlutz has been known to trip over his own feet]]. Shortly after he's introduced, he convinces an old woman that [[strike:Creator/JRRTolkien]] R.J. Tolkien named Frodo after a beggar woman in France with whom he had a child, as it [[FandomBerserkButton bothered Fitz that she got Tolkien's name wrong]]. Fitz is not just a bit of a geek, but a [[GeekPhysiques skinny one, at that]].
* [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Rincewind]] technically qualifies; he's frequently snarky and definitely a NonActionGuy, unless you count running as an action.

* Hisao of ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' has a [[HeartTrauma heart]] [[DisabledSnarker disorder]] that can potentially kill him if he overexerts himself, and is in less than optimal shape at the start of the story. He also [[DeadpanSnarker has a habit of snarking]], [[FirstPersonSmartass especially in his narration]].

* Cup from TheBlackLegionOfTheDarkLordSketchMelkor appears to generally be this, fitting in as well with the geeky aspects associated. She tends to not participate in the more extreme or strange conquests of Sketch, and sometimes even calls her out on them. Many of her comments regarding, well, anything, tend to be sarcastic. Subverted, in that she punched a guy out for making fun of feminism, and will stand up for herself, even if that means standing against the majority.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Pretty much Jamie's character in ''MegasXLR''.

* Any JossWhedon work ever:

* Timothy [=McGee=] from ''{{NCIS}}''.

* Hisao of ''KatawaShoujo'' has a [[HeartTrauma heart]] [[DisabledSnarker disorder]] that can potentially kill him if he overexerts himself, and is in less than optimal shape at the start of the story. He also [[DeadpanSnarker has a habit of snarking]], [[FirstPersonSmartass especially in his narration]].

* Miles Upshur from ''{{Outlast}}''

* Dr. Shelton from ''DarwinsSoldiers''' is close to if not the purest example (There's a reason he used to be the TropeNamer). Almost every other character is firearm proficient, MadeOfIron and has NervesOfSteel. Shelton can't shoot a gun, does the [[TheSmartGuy tech stuff]], and snarkily [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] every [[ActionAdventureTropes action trope]] that comes his way. As the series progressed, a few more [[NonActionGuy non-action]] characters were introduced, but none were as bad as him.

* Dr. Shelton from ''DarwinsSoldiers''' is close to if not the purest example (There's a reason he used to be the TropeNamer). Almost every other character is firearm proficient, MadeOfIron and has NervesOfSteel. Shelton can't shoot a gun, does the [[TheSmartGuy tech stuff]], and [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] every [[ActionAdventureTropes action trope]] that comes his way. As the series progressed, a few more [[NonActionGuy non-action]] characters were introduced, but none were as bad as him.

* Fitz, from the [[DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novels, is a Deadpan Snarker and [[TheKlutz has been known to trip over his own feet]]. Shortly after he's introduced, he convinces an old woman that [[strike:Creator/JRRTolkien]] R.J. Tolkien named Frodo after a beggar woman in France with whom he had a child, as it [[FandomBerserkButton bothered Fitz that she got Tolkien's name wrong]]. Fitz is not just a bit of a geek, but a [[GeekPhysiques skinny one, at that]].

* Ai Haibara from DetectiveConan. In a series where most women are at least adept at some form of martial arts, she stands out as having very little means of self-defense.
* Kyon, from ''SuzumiyaHaruhi''.
* Chisame in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' is physically useless in combat; her abilities are completely tactical.
* The elves in ''{{Berserk}}'', being about the size of most people's palms, just stay back and make snarky comments when battle breaks out. Afterwards, though, [[HealingHands they have uses]].
* Asuma from ''{{Patlabor}}''.
* Nenene from ''{{ROD The TV}}'' is basically made of this trope. Sarcasm is basically her superpower.
* Yukiteru in the English dub of ''FutureDiary''.
-->'''Yukki'''(to Yuno, while trying to escape a SerialKiller): Oh great idea. Being on the roof makes getting away a total cinch.

* Riley in ''NationalTreasure''.

* Sergeant Wu from ''series/Grimm'' is basically a large pile of snark squeezed into human form. He's also definitely a NonActionGuy, despite being a cop.

This trope is more likely to be male than female. A non–action-oriented girl may get this treatment, but more likely she will be a more feminine character type, such as TheChick, TheFashionista, the DamselInDistress, the TeamMom, or {{Moe}}.

The tendency in fiction for a NonActionGuy to also be a DeadpanSnarker. Often, a character who displays this trait is one of the few non–action-oriented characters in a show full of {{Action Girl}}s and {{Big Guy}}s. One possible explanation for this trope is that sarcasm is one way to show that a character is dissatisfied with his life, and of course no guy could be happy if he isn't [[{{MANLINESS}} MANLY]] enough. Another explanation might be that Non Action Guys tend to be {{geek}}s, and geeks [[MostTropersAreYoungNerds tend to be snarky]].