History Main / OnlySaneByComparison

*** [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Ren Serizawa]] is part of Apex Cybernetics' MugglePower EvilPlan, is obsessed with killing Godzilla [[UngratefulBastard despite everything the Titan has done for the world that saved humanity from destruction]] all because of how Ren's father's HeroicSacrifice affected him, and the {{novelization}} reveals he has some GodhoodSeeker delusions about himself and his psionic uplink to Mechagodzilla. Oh, and as Apex's chief technology officer and the Mechagodzilla pilot, he's directly part of Apex's TooDumbToLive plan to [[spoiler:use Ghidorah's [[NotQuiteDead still-telepathic]] [[BizarreAlienBiology extraterrestrial]] remains as the '''brain''' for their Mecha]]. That being said, Ren is the only one in the control room who speaks up when his [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil boss]] Walter Simmons wants to rush straight through uploading the Hollow Earth energy formula into Mechagodzilla because they don't know how the Mecha's technology or [[spoiler:Ghidorah's telepathy]] will react without proper testing.
*** PlayedWith among the three-man Team Godzilla in the film. On one hand, Madison Russell is intelligent but not a CloudCuckoolander like Bernie and has none of Josh's CowardlyLion as well as none of the other two's PluckyComicRelief. On the other hand, Josh Valentine because of his Cowardly Lion tendency is the only one who hesitates and speaks up against heading straight towards possible unknown danger, not that the other two listen to him.

* ''Literature/NumeroZero'': Maia Fresia is an eccentric young journalist with somewhat childlike mannerisms and a penchant for randomly blurting out her thoughts, to the point where it's speculated by her co-workers she might have an [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed development disorder]]. However, compared to her colleagues, who are a bunch of unscrupulous swindlers (plus one crazy ConspiracyTheorist), she appears very rational and level-headed, not to mention [[CuckooSnarker quick-witted]] and sharp.

** Joseph can be level-headed whenever Cody is taking his perversity too far, but he's rather rude and [[DirtyCoward has no problem making a run for it whenever they all get into any kind of trouble]]. He [[AmbiguousDisorder also might have schizophrenia]] if "Joseph Moves In!" is any indication.

* ''Series/GhostsUS'': Sasappis is a lonely, RealityTV-watching troll obsessed with pepperoni pizza, but when the rest of the ghosts spend their time using the washing machine for a vibrator and catfishing the living, he seems like the normal one.

** The [[TheEmpire Imperium of Man]] is a totalitarian, xenophobic, theocratic, dystopia that [[AbsoluteXenophobe wages wars of extermination against all alien races]] and believes any questioning them is an unforgivable sin against the GodEmperor. They're also one of the more level-headed factions, as their primary enemies include the forces of [[ChaosIsEvil Chaos]] who revel in bloodshed, hedonist excess, scheming, and pestilence, the Orks who [[BloodKnight love fighting for its own sake]], the Necrons who [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out life to the molecular level]], the Dark Eldar who horribly torture people [[PoweredByAForsakenChild for sustinance]], and much more.

*** The Tyranids, who are just a HordeOfAlienLocusts that can't be described as sane ''or'' insane.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Batman's RoguesGallery is notorious for the majority of its members suffering from some variation of insanity or other, to the point that even amongst other DC villains they're generally regarded as the crazies. However, some of them are so far over the line that they have this effect on the other members, as demonstrated during their frequent team-ups and interactions. The most notable example is the ComicBook/TheJoker with his sheer homicidal mania and sadism [[EvenEvilHasStandards being too much even for their standards]], but others who provoke this effect include [[{{Pyromaniac}} Firefly]] (in one memorable incident his partnership with Killer Moth ended with Moth seriously fearing for his life after getting a good look at just how insane Firefly really was), The Mad Hatter and [[TheMentallyDisturbed Professor Pyg]].

* ''{{Series/Maniac|2018}}'': The scientists in charge of the Neberdine drug trial seem to be almost as neurotic as the test subjects they're studying: Dr Justin Mantleray is an obsessive, pompous egotist plagued with MommyIssues and a [[KissMeImVirtual technology-related]] [[ADateWithRosiePalms paraphilia]]; Dr Robert Muramoto is a barely-FunctionalAddict [[spoiler: and has [[{{Robosexual}} been having an affair with the GRTA]] behind closed doors]]. Next to them, Dr Azumi Fujita seems to be the one consummate professional... except she's almost as obsessed with the project as Justin, compulsively bottles up her emotions, and suffers from such an extreme case of agoraphobia that she rarely leaves the project base.

** In the ''Old World Blues'' DLC, every single member of the Big Mountain [[BrainsInJars Think Tank team]] seems to be wildly eccentric verging on insane: Dr Klein is a bullying narcissist, Dr 0 is a BunglingInventor with an irrational hate-on for Mr House, Dr Borous is a RedScare promoting PsychopathicManchild with NoIndoorVoice, and Dr Dala is a creepy SoftSpokenSadist obsessed with organic bodies to the point of FantasticArousal. Next to them, the unassuming [[TokenGoodTeammate Dr 8]] seems quite reasonable, even helpful; at his only problem seems to be his inability to speak in anything other than static. But then, he wouldn't be a member of the Think Tank if he wasn't a MadScientist willing to stuff his brain into a jar: translation reveals that he's a bit of a MoodSwinger... and he's really, ''really'' [[ADateWithRosiePalms into pleasuring himself]], to the point that [[spoiler: he prepares your sonic blaster for combat by sonically ejaculating into it.]]

The simple fact of the matter is they aren't simply cynical or [[BunnyEarsLawyer eccentric]], they are seriously flawed to point of impairment. Maybe they're [[TheDitz incredibly stupid]], maybe they're emotionally unstable, maybe they're flat out sadistic and malicious, or maybe they're quite simply nuts in their own right. The issue being that despite all the odds they still also happen to be the only rational, sensible, intelligent and/or reasonable person in cast (if only, as is most often the case, by comparison).

Compare with NotSoAboveItAll, where characters will spend most of the narrative presented as sensible and rational whilst having quirks and flaws of their own, and only have occasional moments showing themselves to not be above the insanity after all. To qualify for this trope, the character's flaws and issues have to be at the forefront and extreme enough that in any other circumstance you could never believe they would qualify for the voice of reason. {{Flanderization}} and CharacterDevelopment can respectively turn one into the other.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': The homunculi are AxeCrazy psychos with a myriad of individual issues. Gluttony is stupid and eats people, Sloth is similarly dim witted, Envy is an AttentionWhore, Pride is immensely cruel and Lust likes killing people. Greed however, cares for his property (friends) and [[spoiler:is the only homunculus not a part of a giant conspiracy to destroy Amestris]]. Wrath [[spoiler:is evil, unlike Greed, but also highly intelligent and able to keep his cool, never hinting at his true allegiance or indulging his rage during his entire career as the Führer]]

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Batman's RoguesGallery is notorious for the majority of its members suffering from some variation of insanity or other, to the point that even amongst other DC villains they're generally regarded as the crazies. However, some of them are so far over the line that they have this effect on the other members, as demonstrated during their frequent team ups and interactions. The most notable example is the ComicBook/TheJoker with his sheer homicidal mania and sadism [[EvenEvilHasStandards being too much even for their standards]], but others who provoke this effect include [[{{Pyromaniac}} Firefly]] (in one memorable incident his partnership with Killer Moth ended with Moth seriously fearing for his life after getting a good look at just how insane Firefly really was), The Mad Hatter and [[TheMentallyDisturbed Professor Pyg]].
** Batman himself is this for his rogue gallery. He dress up as a bat to fight crime as a response to the trauma of losing his parents, is not really a good father ut he's stil fighting for good and justice

* ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'': A psychiatrist once noted that Captain Boomerang is technically the most well-adjusted member of the Squad, since he's the only one who is fully comfortable with who he is. [[CardCarryingVillain Unfortunately]], he's a thrill-seeking sociopath who absolutely no one likes because he's a massive asshole and proud of it.

*** PlayedWith among the three-man Team Godzilla in the film. One one hand, Madison Russell is intelligent but not a CloudCuckoolander like Bernie and has none of Josh's CowardlyLion as well as having none of the other two's PluckyComicRelief. On the other hand, Josh Valentine because of his Cowardly Lion tendency is the only one who hesitates and speaks up against heading straight towards possible unknown danger, not that the other two listen to him.
* ''Film/ReservoirDogs'': Mr. Pink, despite being a neurotic robber, a jerkish coward and [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist towards black people]], fulfills this in comparison to his colleagues and supervisors. Throughout the movie he is the only one who tries to calm down the estranged group as they argue who the traitor is, reminding them that they are supposed to be professionals and to focus on the situation at hand. While he fails to stop the situation from escalating this is why [[spoiler: only he survives the end of the story, whereas everyone else (including the traitor) dies]]. [[AllForNothing He still gets caught by the Police though.]]

* ''Literature/NumeroZero'': Maia Fresia is an eccentric young journalist with somewhat childlike mannerisms and a penchant for randomly blurting out her thoughts, to the point where it's speculated by her co-workers she might have an [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed development disorder]]. However, compared to her colleagues, who are a bunch of unscrupulous swindlers (plus one crazy ConspiracyTheorist), she appears very rational and level-headed, not to mention [[CuckooSnarker quick witted]] and sharp.

** In Season 6, Frankie Dart is introduced as Greendale's voice of reason. She immediately pins down each of the Study Group's idiosyncracies, even Abed, and get the campus to run like an actual community college--something that makes the Study Group want to get rid of her. When she quits, she realizes that she is this trope when reciting a speech that got her into Greendale only gets her labeled a crazy person herself. After this and an apology from Jeff and Abed, she returns to Greendale and basically takes the role as the one who gets Greendale through whatever wacky, zany scheme they're in with as little damage as possible.
* ''Series/EverythingsGonnaBeOkay'': [[TroubledTeen Genevieve Moss's]] struggles to deal with her father's recent death, coupled with severe teen angst, causes her to act out in bizarre and often incredibly stupid ways-- such as pretending to get high on her dad's heart medication because she let friends Tellulah and Barb talk her into taking it, or allowing Tellulah to enlist her in a scheme to solicit dick pics from a boy in exchange for a supposed picture of Tellulah's vulva (that was actually just a random picture they got off of the Internet). Nevertheless she still comes across as the most level-headed and normal of the Moss siblings, compared to the immature, self-absorbed [[ChildishOlderSibling Nicholas]] (who once almost got dumped after thinking it would be a great idea to pour ceviche on his boyfriend's head) and autistic Matilda (who tried to arrange a threesome with two of her fellow autistic students, despite none of them knowing how to actually conduct a threesome).
* ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'': Downplayed, as the overall cast is relatively sane, or have reasonable excuses for their actions, but nevertheless Sam's most reliable ally (in the loosest sense of the word "allies") is Baron Helmut Zemo, the villain from ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' who is obsessed with vengeance and wants to ensure there are no more super soldiers (be they superheroes or villains)... mainly since his other allies consist of Bucky, a traumatized hundred-year old cyborg who has a ton of issues that he projects onto Sam, [[AmbiguouslyEvil Sharon Carter]], an [[{{Jerkass}} unpleasant]] and cynical criminal [[spoiler:who turns out to have been EvilAllAlong]], [[ShellShockedVeteran John Walker]], Steve Rogers' mentally unstable {{Sucksessor}}, and Lemar Hoskins, who's far more loyal to Walker and the government than Sam. Unlike the others, Zemo never comes to blows with Sam outside of a minor argument, doesn't cause that many problems, and does everything he can to help them before turning himself in after doing everything that was asked of him.

** Compared to the explosively foul-tempered D'Argo, greedy ex-dominar Rygel, mercurial Chiana and the increasingly eccentric Crichton, [[AllLovingHero Pa'u Zhaan]] is easily the calmest and most reasonable member of Moya's crew; as such, she can often be relied on to mediate when on-board sanity drops to lower levels than usual. Unfortunately, Zhaan has a dark side that can drive her to extremes of hatred, rage, paranoia and ''extreme'' selfishness, and though she does her best to keep it in check, her control occasionally slips.

* ''Series/FatherTed'': Father [[{{Schemer}} Ted Crilly]] is a somewhat smug, legitimately corrupt, selfish man who spends the series constantly trying to cheat and scheme his way out of work or into fame and fortune and who is only really smart in comparison to the incredibly low standards of [[EldritchLocation Craggy Island]]; he is also heavily implied to be a gambling addict and is overall a disinterested, unsuitable priest. However, compared to the [[ManChild childish]], incredibly [[TheDitz stupid]] and outright strange Father [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Dougal McGuire]]; the foul mouthed, [[HairTriggerTemper hot tempered]], [[DirtyOldMonk lecherous]], borderline subhuman and utterly insane Father [[TheAlcoholic Jack Hackett]] (who even in flashbacks to when he was sober and lucid was [[SinisterMinister terrifying, abusive and sadistic]]); and the neurotic, tea- and housework-obsessed (to the point of staying up every night for two years straight in case anyone wanted a cup of tea despite none of them ever doing so), passive-aggressive Mrs Doyle, as well as all the other nutty inhabitants of the island, Ted usually comes across as the only (slightly) competent and rational person, and is generally the closest thing the series has to a normal person.

* ''Series/TheHauntingOfHillHouse'': Played with in the case of Steve Crain. Steve likes to style himself as the one sane, rational member of the family, and for the most part, he's often the first to take a practical approach to things. By contrast, his father is constantly speaking to an illusory version of his dead wife, Shirley is a ControlFreak obsessed with "fixing" the dead through embalming, Theo is "[[{{Tsundere}} a clenched fist with hair]]", Luke is an AddledAddict plagued with nightmarish visions, and [[TheWoobie Nellie]] experienced visions of her own, spiralled into depression and ended up apparently killing herself. However, Steve ultimately admits to seeing the same visions as the others, believing them to be symptoms of hereditary mental illness - and takes his fear of madness all the way into insanity: [[AloofBigBrother he obsessively distances himself from his family's "madness"]], instinctively denies the supernatural to the point of interrupting any attempts to explain things to him, refuses to acknowledge his habit of hurting people in pursuit of his ambitions, and [[NeverMyFault transfers his guilt over Nellie's death to his father]]. [[spoiler: Finally, he was so desperate to avoid spreading his "condition" that he got a vasectomy right out of college, and ''never told his wife,'' not even when she divorced him out of frustration.]] Of course, the supernatural is real in this setting, meaning that Steve is not only completely wrong about the hereditary mental illness deal, but is actually ''less'' in touch with reality than Luke and Nellie.
* ''Series/TheInbetweeners'': Simon and Will tend to trade the OnlySaneMan role depending on the situation, with Simon being more socially adept and Will more logical and intellectual. Both are certainly much more sane than Jay, a lecherous CasanovaWannabe who tells some of the most outrageous BlatantLies imaginable, and Neil, who takes being TheDitz to absurd heights. However, they are still a pair of awkward, whiny and spectacularly uncool teenagers frequently prone to holding the JerkassBall or gaining AcquiredSituationalNarcissism, with Will being an InsufferableGenius at best and a KnowNothingKnowItAll at worst, while Simon rapidly transitions from the most rational to least rational member of the group whenever his hopeless infatuation with Carli comes into play.

* ''Series/NewGirl'': Jess, the title character, eventually becomes this. She's a spacey and awkward CuteClumsyGirl, and in fact she was originally supposed to be the main {{Cloudcuckoolander}} of the show. But due to CharacterizationMarchesOn, her roommates become increasingly weird and over-the-top as the show goes on, leaving Jess to be often put in a WomenAreWiser role, and the voice of reason to the crazy antics of the three guys.

* ''Franchise/TheMuppets'': DependingOnTheWriter Kermit the Frog falls into this. Sure, he's pretty grounded and sensible compared to the diva pig, the bear comedian, and whatever Gonzo is... but he's still a Muppet. In Jim Henson's early career and ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', whilst usually the voice of reason compared with the other abrasive Muppets and their bizarre acts, he has a clear penchant for mischief, neurosis and sometimes poor decisions to keep the show barely held together which made up just as much of the humour as any of the other Muppets antics, with Henson even stating that Kermit was designed to say things he'd hold back. After Jim died and Steve Whitmire took over, this side of him was dialled down with Kermit becoming a more conventional StraightMan. Recent works such as ''Film/TheMuppets2011'' and ''Series/MuppetsLive'' however, call back to the earlier more flawed and eccentric Kermit. Lampshaded in one episode of the series:

** The [[TheEmpire Imperium of Man]] is a totalitarian, xenophobic, theocratic, dystopia that [[AbsoluteXenophobe wages wars of extermination against all alien races]] and believes any questioning them is an unforgivable sin against the GodEmperor. They're also one of the more level-headed factions, as their primary enemies include the forces of [[ChaosIsEvil Chaos]] who revel in bloodshed, hedonist excess, scheming, and pestilence, the Orks who [[BloodKnight love fighting for it's own sake]], the Necrons who [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out life to the molecular level]], the Dark Eldar who horribly torture people [[PoweredByAForsakenChild for sustinance]], and much more.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'': DependingOnTheWriter at least, Coco Bandicoot is a hot headed GenkiGirl BunglingInventor who has a tendency to [[DidntThinkThisThrough not think her steps fully through]]. However being the little sister of Crash Bandicoot, an animalistic and extremely clumsy CloudCuckooLander, as well as often paired up with Crunch, a hyper enthusiastic [[DumbMuscle macho lunkhead]], she tends to still often take the role of the StraightMan, at least when [[BigGood Aku Aku]] is not around. Combined with all the zany and bizarre foes they regularly face, Coco still often manages to come off as the most normal character of the series.

** In the ''Dead Money'' DLC, Christine Royce seems to be the sanest possible member of your hopelessly ragtag heist team... at least compared to Father Elijah's [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal obsession]] with pre-War technologies, Dog's [[HorrorHunger endless hunger]], God's [[ControlFreak need for control]], and Dean Domino's IrrationalHatred for anyone who seems even ''slightly'' better than him. However, Christine is almost as obsessed as everyone else on the team - in this case, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge she's out for revenge against Elijah]] and has continued hunting him down even after suffering crippling losses in the process: so far, she's lost the ability to read and write due to being [[spoiler: lobotomized by the Big Mountain Think Tank]], been locked in an auto-doc for god only knows how long, and had her vocal cords ripped out. But even mute, brain damaged and traumatized, she's still saner than any of the others.

*** There's also Dr Mobius, former member of the Think Tank turned BigBad. [[spoiler: He's got the personality of a rambling, senile old man and has an addiction to the mind altering drugs mentats and psycho but he's also got the strongest moral compass of the Think Tank and had long come to realize just how insane and dangerous they all are so he created an elaborate setup that keeps the Think Tank ignorant and trapped in Big Mountain so they don't reek havoc on the rest of the world]].
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': Both recruitable dark mages, Tharja and Henry, have strong sadistic tendencies and worrying hobbies, as Tharja is a stalker willing to perform [[AbusiveParents experiments her own daughter]], and Henry loves [[AxCrazy senseless violence and gore]]. However, while Tharja has a grasp of morality and knows the difference between right and wrong, Henry has problems understanding what counts as ethical, frequently offers to massacre people and routinely admits to being a lunatic.

* ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'': Issue 9 introduces Harumi and Yuichi, siblings trapped on the outskirts of Kaidan by the Tokyo Incident. Of the two, Harumi is the most rational and a CloudcuckoolandersMinder to her older brother - who spends most of the day too paranoid to even function [[spoiler: thanks to nearly being used as a suicide bomber by the Fear Nothing Foundation.]] However, "[[AffectionateNickname Rum]]" is ridiculously exuberant, ever-so-slightly grandiose and obsessed with achieving digital omniscience by hacking anything with an internet connection.

* ''WebAnimation/PonyDotMov'': Spike is an amoral stoner, but is by far one of the sanest characters in the series, often calling attention to how bizarre or stupid their plans are.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Of the Light Warriors, Thief is the smartest and most level-headed of them. He's also a compulsive thief [[CantArgueWithElves and over the top haughty elf]] who's overly [[MiserAdvisor miserly]] and greedy ways would prevent him from being the OnlySaneMan under most situations. However his team-mates are [[AxCrazy a violently insane]] CardCarryingVillain wizard, a fighter [[TheDitz who's so dumb]] [[AchievementsInIgnorance it lets him ignore reality]], and another wizard [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} completely detached from reality]], so he comes off as normal by comparison.

-->'''[[TheRant Lewis Powell:]]''' I'd like to prepare any readers of the comic for the fact that Liln might be about as close to "voice of reason" as you're going to get. And since she recommends petty larceny as a problem solving technique, that should give you some sense of what 'reasonable' amounts to in a world created by Ben and myself.

* ''WebVideo/MonsterIslandBuddies'': Orga is a wisecracking [[BigEater glutton]] who [[CardCarryingVillain self-identifies as evil]] and repeatedly [[BreakingTheFourthWall Breaks the Fourth Wall]], [[WhoWritesThisCrap questions the show's plot]], [[TakeThatAudience and directly insults the audience.]] In any other show, he's be the PluckyComicRelief, but since the rest of the cast is varying flavors of [[TheDitz stupid]], perverted, and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} insane]], he's the one who usually has to play the voice of reason.
* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'': The titual critic often finds himself playing the snarky straight guy to more off-the-wall characters, such as Chester A. Bum, Hyper Fangirl, [[AdamWesting the insane personas of his coworkers]], or the parody characters who often appear into his house. Of course, Critic himself has always had a HairTriggerTemper and serious mental instability, so he's nowhere near sane himself. On the flip side, some episodes have Malcolm and Rachel or Tamara play the straight man to Critic's childish insanity, while still throwing hints that, despite reacting more calmly to movies, they're also quite emotionally disturbed and can get violent at times. A few episodes give up on the charade and present them as equally accepting of each other's insanity.

* In Creator/TomSka's video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLE-K1CJ-Ts The Blame Game]]", Tom plays a masked madman who plans to kidnap and murder the people responsible for him being bullied as a child. None of the people he kidnaps seem to care about being kidnapped and threatened - they just cheerfully blame their actions on someone else, and then join in on threatening the next person to be kidnapped. Tom ends up being the only one who notices how bizarre the situation is getting, and the only one who's confused as to how all these people are [[OffscreenTeleportation popping out of nowhere]].

* ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'': [[ServileSnarker Igor]] is a ruthless yet very polite CardCarryingVillain who spends most of the series trying to turn the Count back into a vicious bloodsucking vampire, regularly suggesting murder and other villainous tactics as the first solution to any problems the find themselves in. Yet as the rest of the cast consist of the naïve, easily excitable, spotlight obsessed [[VegetarianVampire Count Duckula]] and the immature and incredibly stupid [[CloudCuckoolander Nanny]], Igor is left as the only one capable of rational thinking, providing sensible suggestions to their many calamities and can be trusted to have a solid grasp of their situation.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': [[ThePowerOfRock Valhallen]], despite being an idiotic rock star, posses far more self control, self-awareness and common sense than the other members of the [[SuperZeroes Justice Friends]].

** Foxxy Love is as wacky as the other main characters, given that she is an exaggerated version of the SassyBlackWoman trope and indulges herself with bizarre sexual activities. However, given that the rest of the cast consists of a moronic JerkJock, a hyperactive idiot, a bigoted princess, a self-harming alcoholic, a sociopathic Asian monster, a raunchy internet cartoon and an overly sensitive ManChild, she often has to fill the role of OnlySaneWoman. This is lampshaded when Wooldoor says that Foxxy is the only person in the house who is "not completely retarded".

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Nazz is this of the main six Cul-de-Sac kids, and this is a very rare case where the DumbBlonde is the sanest one. Her ditziness aside, she's a calm, friendly, and mature girl, especially compared to crazy weirdos like Rolf and Jonny, aggressive jerks like Kevin and Sarah, or childish nervous wrecks like Jimmy. As a result, she usually stays out of the regular conflicts of most episodes, and often serves as the voice of reason.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': [[EvilTeacher Denzel Crocker]] is sadistic, petty man prone to shouting spasms, who even ignoring his obsession with fairies is clearly insane. And yet he is the only member of the cast to actually notice and react to the clearly impossible events that occur. Likewise, just about everything he says about fairies proves to be true.

** Lois Griffin is a obnoxiously shrewish and abusive nymphomaniac, though due to her family consisting of her PsychopathicManchild husband Peter, unhinged ButtMonkey Meg, neurotic KiddieKid Chris, precocious and incredibly sociopathic baby Stewie, and pretentious IntellectualAnimal Brian, she still tends to be designated to the WomenAreWiser role in many plots. Deconstructed in "The Most Interesting Man In The World", where Peter undergoes an intelligence boost, and Lois soon wants the old dysfunctionally stupid Peter back. Not because the new Peter is worse, but simply because Peter being well behaved and clever means she is no longer the smart adjusted one by relation.
** Brian can fill this role with his usually down-to-earth attitude whenever Lois is being just as insane as the rest of the [[DysfunctionalFamily dysfunctional Griffins]]. He's still a smug, pretenious KnowNothingKnowItAll who thinks he is a brilliant writer (when he's anything but) and he has a habit of getting caught up in his own hype, can be extremely selfish and consistently refuses to [[NeverMyFault face up to]] or learn from any of his flaws.

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': Dib and Gaz are the only humans who recognizes Zim is an alien because everybody else in town is too idiotic to see through his PaperThinDisguise. Dib already has a reputation as an obsessive ConspiracyTheorist willing to hurt himself and others just to prove the supernatural exists, so everybody assumes he's just crazy when he insists Zim is an alien. Gaz, on the other hand, doesn't obsess over Zim like her brother, but she's an EnfantTerrible with serious anger issues who stalks and threatens the life of a boy over a video game console.

* ''WesternAnimation/LeagueOfSuperEvil'': [[MadScientist Doktor Frogg]] is not just the group's mad scientist, but also the closet thing to actually evil amongst them being a chaos loving megalomaniac. However, considering the rest of the group consists of the childish [[BigBadWannabe Voltar]] who considers [[PokeThePoodle minor annoyances]] feats of great villainy and the utterly incapable of being evil in any sense of the word [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Red Menace]] (who even aside from that isn't especially bright or mature), he is left being their only voice of reason and logic.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'': Bugs Bunny is this in comparison to most of the cast. While definitely much more level headed than his roommate Daffy, several episodes, particularly in later seasons, show he's still a Looney Tune and just as prone to losing his head as the others. Examples include buying a restaurant he didn't know how to run just so he could have a Friday night hangout, destroying his house in an attempt to install a shelf to display his Nobel Peace Prize rather than hire someone to do it, ending up in an Albanian prison following a convoluted plot to avoid going to a prune festival with Porky, getting addicted to an expy of Red Bull called Spargle and going on a rampage to get more, and attempting to serve carrot PIE rather than cake at a dinner party. Also several episodes revolve around him getting addicted to things such as coffee, a video game or Porky's catering. Likewise whilst downplayed in this adaptation, if pushed too far, Bugs has no issues bringing his TheTrickster skills back out to dispense reptribution.

* ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'': Brain is a self-admitted megalomaniac MadScientist who wants to take over the world and has a massive ego. He's still relatively sane compared to Pinky, who's completely insane, [[TheDitz stupid]], and keeps shouting random nonsense words such as "narf" and "zort". Likewise he is this compared to most of the regular citizens who exist in his world, with most of them being too stupid to even comprehend that he's a talking mouse. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Then again, the theme song only says "One is a genius, the other's insane", but not who in the titular duo is which]].

** Sandy Cheeks is a downplayed case of this, since she is legitimately talented, virtuous and intelligent, often making her the undisputed voice of reason among the main group as a result of their aforementioned vices and stupid qualities. However Sandy also has her own eccentricities such as a violent SeriousBusiness temperament and a ''very'' competitive streak. "Sandy, Spongebob and the Worm" lampshaded that her being the most competent civilian of the hapless Bikini Bottom doesn't necessarily make her infallible.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Villainous|CartoonNetwork}}'': Dr. Flug is the meek scientist behind many of the schemes and weapons sold by [[EvilInc Black Hat Organisation]] to take down heroes. He's considerably reasonable and easy-going compared to the other members, such as his vaguely demonic BadBoss Black Hat and crazed cannibal [[CoDragons CoDragon]] Demencia. However, he is still a villain, an EvilGenius MadScientist to be exact. His sadism surfaces when he does torturous experiments on others, and in his hobbies such as collecting shrunken planes, supposedly [[AndIMustScream with passengers still inside]].

->'''Fiona:''' How do you know this guy who hired you?
->'''Michael:''' We worked together in the Balkans, '91-'92. It was a crazy time. He seemed ''somewhat'' sane in comparison.
->'''Fiona:''' And now he kills people for a living.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': [[{{Bookworm}} Twilight Sparkle]] started off as the FishOutOfWater in Ponyville dumbfounded by the group's eccentricities and even declaring the whole town to be "crazy". As episodes progressed however, she evolved into this trope and Twilight demonstrated just as many comedic flaws and neuroses, in particular her SuperOCD behaviour which, rather ironically, has led her have maybe the most exaggerated {{Freak Out}}s of the whole main group. To the point that her having a nervous breakdown due to her obsessions has become a RunningGag and the others regularly acknowledge her flaws inverse.

* ''Series/{{Community}}'': Jeff Winger is proud of being in his own mind, the OnlySaneMan of [[SuckySchool Greendale]] and the study group. Though his friends (particularly Britta) occasionally take the opportunity to remind him that he's in many ways more messed up than them, being a {{Narcissist}}ic washed-up AmoralAttorney with [[ParentalAbandonment daddy issues]] and a long list of insecurities.

* ''[[{{Series/Maniac2018}} Maniac]]'': The scientists in charge of the Neberdine drug trial seem to be almost as neurotic as the test subjects they're studying: Dr Justin Mantleray is an obsessive, pompous egotist plagued with MommyIssues and a [[KissMeImVirtual technology-related]] [[ADateWithRosiePalms paraphilia]]; Dr Robert Muramoto is a barely-FunctionalAddict [[spoiler: and has [[{{Robosexual}} been having an affair with the GRTA]] behind closed doors]]. Next to them, Dr Azumi Fujita seems to be the one consummate professional... except she's almost as obsessed with the project as Justin, compulsively bottles up her emotions, and suffers from such an extreme case of agoraphobia that she rarely leaves the project base.

* ''Franchise/TheMuppets'': DependingOnTheWriter Kermit the Frog falls into this. Sure, he's pretty grounded and sensible compared to the diva pig, the bear comedian, and whatever Gonzo is... but he's still a Muppet. In Jim Henson's early career and ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', whilst usually the voice of reason compared with the other abrasive Muppets and their bizarre acts, he has a clear penchant for mischief, neurosis and sometimes poor decisions to keep the show barely held together which made up just as much of the humour as any of the other Muppets antics, with Henson even stating that Kermit was designed to say things he'd hold back. After Jim died and Steve Whitmire took over, this side of him was dialled down with Kermit becoming a more conventional StraightMan. Recent works such as ''Film/TheMuppets'' and ''Series/MuppetsLive'' however, call back to the earlier more flawed and eccentric Kermit. Lampshaded in one episode of the series:

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebComic/RomanticallyApocalyptic'':

* ''[[WesternAnimation/VillainousCartoonNetwork Villainous]]'': Dr. Flug is the meek scientist behind many of the schemes and weapons sold by [[EvilInc Black Hat Organisation]] to take down heroes. He's considerably reasonable and easy-going compared to the other members, such as his vaguely demonic BadBoss Black Hat and crazed cannibal [[CoDragons CoDragon]] Demencia. However, he is still a villain, an EvilGenius MadScientist to be exact. His sadism surfaces when he does torturous experiments on others, and in his hobbies such as collecting shrunken planes, supposedly [[AndIMustScream with passengers still inside]].

* In Creator/TomSka's video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLE-K1CJ-Ts The Blame Game]]", Tom plays a masked madman who plans to kidnap and murder the people responsible for him being bullied as a child. None of the people he kidnaps seem to care about being kidnapped and threatened - they just calmly blame their actions on someone else, and then join in on the blaming. Tom ends up being the only one who cares about how confusing the situation is getting, and the only one who's confused as to how all these people are [[OffscreenTeleportation popping out of nowhere]].

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Overall downplayed, but for all his goofiness, childishness and immaturity, Jake Peralta takes the role of the voice of reason a lot more often than you'd think (which might give you some idea about the general level of sanity operating within the Nine-Nine). Sure, he has some slightly strange ideas about the world, some [[BookDumb gaps in his knowledge base]] and he's riddled with daddy issues, but he's in many ways a lot less eccentric and a lot more down-to-earth than several of his co-workers, lacking Holt's [[TheStoic robotic stoicism]], Amy's dorky neuroses, Charles's being {{CreepyGood}}, Rosa's aggressive lack of social skills, Gina's all-consuming narcissism, Terry's insecurity and Scully and Hitchcock's sheer dimwittedness.

* ''Series/GhostsUS'': Sasappis is a lonely, RealityTV-watching troll obsessed with pepperoni pizza, but when the rest of the ghosts spend their time using the washing machine for a vibrator, setting the gazebo on fire and catfishing the living, he seems like the normal one.

* ''Series/FatherTed'': Father [[{{Schemer}} Ted Crilly]] is a somewhat smug, legitimately corrupt, selfish man who spends the series constantly trying to cheat and scheme his way out of work or into fame and fortune and who is only really smart in comparison to the incredibly low standards of [[EldritchLocation Craggy Island]]; he is also heavily implied to be a gambling addict and is overall a disinterested, unsuitable priest. However, compared to the [[ManChild childish]], incredibly [[TheDitz stupid]] and outright strange Father [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Dougal McGuire]]; the foul mouthed, [[HairTriggerTemper hot tempered]], [[DirtyOldMonk lecherous]], borderline subhuman and utterly insane Father [[TheAlcoholic Jack Hackett]] (who even in flashbacks to when he was sober and lucid was [[SinisterMinister terrifying, abusive and sadistic]]); and the neurotic, tea- and housework-obsessed (to the point of staying up every night for two years straight in case anyone wanted a cup of tea despite none of them ever doing so), passive-aggressive Mrs Doyle, as well as all the other nutty inhabitants of the island, Ted usually comes across as the only (slightly) competent and rational person, and is generally the closet thing the series has to a normal person.

* ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'': Dina Saruyama is implied to have undiagnosted autism, has NoSocialSkills, and is more interested in dinosaurs than people. Also she once kidnnaped herself (long stoy) because she wanted to be able to follow social cues. However, she also had a comparatively angst-free childhood, is a rare character who's able to stay in a stable relationship, and ends up playing the OnlySaneMan to multiple more troubled characters, most notably Joyce, who is not really adapted to the real world because she came from a really fundamentalist and consevative communnity; Becky, Dina girlfriend's who had the same poblem as Joyce and also an AbusiveParent who believe CureYourGays is possible; and Amber (Dina's roomate) who has a lot of issues.

* ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'': Dina Saruyama is an implied undiagnosed autistic with NoSocialSkills who is more interested in dinosaurs than people. And she once kidnnaped herself (long stoy) because she wanted to follow social cues.But she also had a comparatively angst-free childhood, the only one able to stay in a stable relationship and ends up playing the OnlySaneMan to multiple more troubled characters, most notably joyce, who is not really adapted to the real world because she came from a really fundamentalist and consevative communnity; Becky, dina girlfriend's who had the same poblem as joyce and also an AbusiveParent who believe CureTheGay is possible; and Amber (Dina's roomate) who has a lot of issues.

[[folder:Multimedia]]
* ''Franchise/TheMuppets'': DependingOnTheWriter Kermit the Frog falls into this. Sure, he's pretty grounded and sensible compared to the diva pig, the bear comedian, and whatever Gonzo is... but he's still a Muppet. In Jim Henson's early career and ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', whilst usually the voice reason compared with the other abrasive Muppets and their bizarre acts, he has a clear penchant for mischief, neurosis and sometimes poor decisions to keep the show barely held together which made up just as much of the humour as any of the other Muppets antics, with Henson even stating that Kermit was designed to say things he'd hold back. After Jim died and Steve Whitmire took over, this side of him was dialled down with Kermit becoming a more conventional StraightMan. Recent works such as ''Film/TheMuppets'' and ''Series/MuppetsLive'' however, call back to the earlier more flawed and eccentric Kermit. Lampshaded in one episode of the series:
-->'''Lesley Ann Warren:''' You know, Kermit, I thought you were the one person on this show who wasn't crazy.
-->'''Kermit:''' Me not crazy? I hired the others.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergod}}'': Jerry Craven lives in a fantasy where he's in Heaven and goes back to Earth to help the government, when really they brought him back to life as a cyborg against his will after he died. Nonetheless, he's the only Supergod to treat humans with respect and compassion rather than apathetically killing them by the thousands. He's also the only one who recognizes that fighting Krishna will only cause massive civilian casualties and should be avoided at all costs.

[[folder:Films - Live Action]]

!!!Examples:

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': The Reds and Blues each have their own individual brand of crazy, and they always drive each other nuts with it. When Agent Washington joins the Blues, their various antics initially wind him up, and they're often only held back from complete self-destruction by his much more sensible, pragmatic attitude. However, he has his own brand of crazy that merely seems lowkey by comparison to the obvious madness of the Reds and Blues. Once Agent Carolina joins the team, Wash has gone through enough healing and character development to leave this trope behind and genuinely become the OnlySaneMan along with Carolina; together they end up falling into the roles of TeamMom and TeamDad.

* In ''LiughtNovel/{{Konosuba}}'', Kazuma is the most generally functional member of his party, but when the other members consist of a crusader who seems to only enter battle [[CombatSadomasochist for weird sex reasons]], a mage who [[CripplingOverspecialization refuses to cast any spell except one that knocks her out immediately afterward]], and a priestess who is [[TheDitz just profoundly stupid in general]], this is a low bar. Kazuma himself is ''also'' [[MrViceGuy stupid, lazy, perverted, egotistic, and prone to getting himself killed]]; he's just not as bad as his compatriots, which regularly shows whenever he has to interact with someone outside his circle.