History Main / TheImp

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[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Comicbook/AdamWarlock's sidekick Pip the Troll is a living ball of petty vices that somehow still manages to come across as a good guy.

* Salacious Crumb, the cackling monkey-lizard perched on Jabba the Hutt's tail, in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

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[[caption-width-right:181:[-"So, you're not absolutely\\
stupid after all!"-] ]]

* Imp from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'', despite having both the power and (multiple) opportunity(ies) to simply sneak in and assassinate the heroes, seems more content to simply eavesdrop and cause mischief, causing everyone but his "boss" nothing but grief. Despite this, he has proven to be a credible threat by framing Kowl for being a Horde spy. The fact that he has an overly inflated, yet still somewhat justifiable, ego when it comes to his accomplishments tends to add to the humor of his character.
** Interestingly enough, in most Fanfiction wherein Hordak performs a ''HeelFaceTurn'', Imp follows closely behind but, whereas Hordak is suddenly portrayed as an ''AntiHero'', Imp tends to retain all of his evil (or at the very least undesirable) characteristics.

* Imps have a major role in ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'''s episode "Janine's Day Off", especially when merged together creating a full size demon.
* The Great Gazoo from ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' is a non-villainous example.

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* Baby Tasmanian devils are sometimes called "imps", though most people refer to them as joeys.
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* Guni from Anime/{{Nightealker}} hangs with VampireDetective Shido and cops quite the attitude.

* Iago from Disney's ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' is a villainous example in the initial movie, and a heroic example after his HeelFaceTurn in the sequel and subsequent TV series. (For his appearances in ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' he tended to switch between being a good guy and a bad guy, depending on the episode, but he remained this trope throughout.)

* Reuben (Experiment 625) from the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise (primarily ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' and the ''Anime/{{Stitch}}'' anime), who was supposedly as powerful as Stitch, but was so lazy he instead spent all of his time as sidekick to one of the villains, doing little more than making wisecracks (and sandwiches) and eating.

* Puck, in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', serves as this to no less than three villains (Demona, Oberon, and [[spoiler:Xanatos in guise of Owen Burnette.]]. All three are credible threats and Puck chose to ally himself with the third villain only because the other two were too serious and all he really wanted was to have fun. And he's an imp to boot.
** However, when he does cut loose on [[spoiler:Oberon]] he actually manages to kick his ass for a short time, so he's a NotSoHarmlessVillain.

* [[NobleDemon Crowley]] from ''Series/GoodOmens2019'' is fairly tall, being played by Creator/DavidTennant, and a main character rather than a sidekick, but he has this kind of personality. He is, in theory, a skilled demonic tempter of mortals - he was the original Serpent in the Garden of Eden - but several factors ensure that he's not nearly the threatening force of evil he could be. He understands modern human society much better than his demonic peers, but uses this knowledge to troll people on a mass scale by messing with infrastructure rather than corrupting individual souls one at a time - and his schemes of this nature, while successful at their original aim, often [[HoistByHisOwnPetard backfire and inconvenience him as much as the humans]]. Despite being a demon, he's more mischievous than sadistic and is depressed by actual atrocities. And he's more interested in enjoying life on Earth than in promoting the cosmic triumph of Hell, which eventually leads him to try to [[Film/PacificRim cancel the apocalypse]]. And he can be ''very'' snarky.

* Onsokumaru from ''Manga/NininGaShinobuden'' is a mild form of this, as there is nothing in that series remotely serious enough to be evil.

* [[=DemiDevimon=]] from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''. He also proves to be quite the ManipulativeBastard. There are also bunch of Vilemon (Evilmon in the original) who work as Piedmon's {{Mooks}} in the final arc.

* Demidevimon from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''. He also proves to be quite the ManipulativeBastard.

** Midna from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is a heroic example; a snarky little imp [[spoiler:(but only cursed into that form, she's a StatuesqueStunner when returned to normal)]] with knowledge of the Twilight that is threatening to blanket Hyrule. She forces Link to accomplish her goals (despite the fact that she clearly has some powerful magic of her own), takes every opportunity to tease him and keeps saying that she's only helping him because she needs him. [[spoiler:She later drops this characterization once Zelda gives her life force to save Midna from death.]]

** Mephits are elemental creatures, not outsiders, but still maintain the "leering gargoyle" aesthetic. Not only is a mephit MrViceGuy (with the specific vice varying by elemental type), they're also none too bright and suffer massive delusions of grandeur. In ''TabletopGame/Planescape'', mephits are most often summoned to be sent as gifts to people that the sender really doesn't like, with each type conveying a subtly different kind of insult.

** It's clear from the beginning that he's the only Lannister with any real moral decency, [[spoiler:though Jamie seems to be slowly coming around after getting his hand chopped off.]] That's why he rather indulges in his vices than being evil...although it's also clear his intelligence and the façade he exposes to the world makes him someone unexpectedly efficient.

* Midna from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is a heroic example; a snarky little imp [[spoiler:cursed into that form, she's a StatuesqueStunner when returned to normal]] with knowledge of the Twilight that is threatening to blanket Hyrule. She forces Link to accomplish her goals (despite the fact that she clearly has some powerful magic of her own), takes every opportunity to tease him and keeps saying that she's only helping him because she needs him. [[spoiler:She later drops this characterization once Zelda gives her life force to save Midna from death.]]

* The first [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon-type]] that warlocks can summon in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are Imps. They small, fragile, and whiney little things that can only cast fire balls and make snarky jokes. They are replaced with other more powerful demons as the Warlock levels up. They are are however fairly effective for certain purposes (they are the only demon with a ranged attack) and continue to be used right up to the Endgame.

* Despite being technically a squirrel (of DOOM!), Ratatosk from HeroinesQuest acts very much like TheImp.

* Fuzzy from ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy''.

* While a full blooded human, Johnny Cage from ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' can come off as this. Incredible martial arts skill, his own magical aura, and, yes, he's even been able to be the hero on more than one occasion, but he's far more preoccupied with fame and making movies than actually saving Earthrealm. Of course he seems to mature with age.

[[caption-width-right:181:[-"So, you're not absolutely stupid after all!"-] ]]

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[[caption-width-right:180:[-"So, you're not absolutely stupid after all!"-] ]]