History Main / TheRat

* [[PunnyName Nervous Rex]] fills this role in ''SinisterDexter'', right down to the massive coward bit. He is also, however, a good friend of the protagonists, to the extent of getting free (or heavily discounted) protection from them.

* The ''HarryPotter'' series of books has Mundungus Fletcher, a selfish thief and con artist who is sometimes antagonistic towards Harry and his friends. Despite being a total crook he remains loyal to Dumbledore and is thus useful to the protagonists due to his knowledge of the criminal world.

* In some variations of the ''{{Batman}}'' franchise, The Penguin has come to fill this role after going semi-legitimate with his owning a nightclub.

* The dwarf from ''SpecialUnitTwo''.

* Ugarte from ''QuestForGlory 2'' and ''5''.

* Dare we forget Piggy from ''PowerRangersSPD''?

* [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Willy The Snitch]].
** ''{{Angel}}'' also had a sewer-dwelling demon on whom Angel frequently used to pound in order to get information.

* The ''Harry Potter'' series of books has Mundungus Fletcher, a selfish thief and con artist who is sometimes antagonistic towards Harry and his friends. Despite being a total crook he remains loyal to Dumbledore and is thus useful to the protagonists due to his knowledge of the criminal world.

* Nobby Nobbs in the ''{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/NightWatch''.
* A rare Sci Fi version in ''Film/MenInBlack'' I and II. Jack Jeebs is an alien who sells stolen fake rolexes and some powerful alien tech who Jay and Kay harass and threaten to get info and tech.

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* Parodied in ''PoliceSquad''--Johnny the shoeshine guy acts in this role to Frank Drebin. However, as soon as Drebin's gone, someone from another profession entirely - a surgeon, a priest, Dick Clark - will show up, asking for information - and Johnny will go through the same act again, eventually giving them what they want as well.

* A rare Sci Fi version in ''Film/{{Men in Black}}'' I and II. Jack Jeebs is an alien who sells stolen fake rolexes and some powerful alien tech who Jay and Kay harass and threaten to get info and tech.

** Hiro Protagonist and Y. T. in Neal Stephenson's ''SnowCrash'', who make their living trading "intel" (usually stolen computer code).

* The dwarf from ''SpecialUnitTwo''.

* Nick the Nose, an informant in the ''TwoMinuteMysteries'' stories starring Dr. Haledjian. In the stories, he always lies about knowing things in order to get a reward.

* In RobertEHoward's ConanTheBarbarian story "Literature/RoguesInTheHouse", the priest of Anu who betrayed Conan at the beginning of the story.

<<|CrimeAndPunishmentTropes|>>

* The Rat in ''TheCore'' is actually called 'Rat' and is an "information wants to be free" type. Which he uses as a TakeThat against the government in the final shots of the movie.

* Leo Getz in the ''LethalWeapon'' series of movies is an unusually sympathetic version of this character; described by Riggs and Murtaugh as "an annoying asshole with a lot of connections," he's a bit annoying but essentially a decent guy who actually seems to look up to Riggs and Murtaugh a bit, however badly they treat him. In the later movies, the three become friends, something of a PowerTrio, and Leo ends up acting as Murtaugh's estate agent at one point.

* In RobertEHoward's ConanTheBarbarian story "Rogues in the House", the priest of Anu who betrayed Conan at the beginning of the story.

** Similarly, in ''TheNakedGun'', Johnny answers some questions after Frank Drebin greases his palm... then Johnny asks why the information is so important, and Drebin doesn't answer until Johnny pays ''him''. Drebin ends up leaving with the information he needed and an extra twenty bucks.

* Rattletrap from ''TransformersAnimated'', despite being an Autobot, is a little shady (even willing to sell an ID pass to a Decepticon). He's based on Rattrap from BeastWars, making him a literal rat as well. As Captain Fanzone put it: ''"There's one in every town."''

* Hammer the Supplier from ''{{Xenogears}}'' is literally a rat and fits this trope to a T. [[spoiler:Complete with a FaceHeelTurn because he's tired of being cowardly and powerless and jealous of the main characters' strength.]]

* Argit from the various ''BenTen'' series.

Compare with the MysteriousInformant (an anonymous Deep Throat-like source who appears to give the protagonists some cryptic, fragmentary information before disappearing) and the KnowledgeBroker (a source with a network of further information sources supplying all the information needed).

* A rare Sci Fi version in ''{{Men in Black}}'' I and II. Jack Jeebs is an alien who sells stolen fake rolexes and some powerful alien tech who Jay and Kay harass and threaten to get info and tech.

* Mr. Universe from ''{{Serenity}}''.

* Leo Getz in the ''Lethal Weapon'' series of movies is an unusually sympathetic version of this character; described by Riggs and Murtaugh as "an annoying asshole with a lot of connections," he's a bit annoying but essentially a decent guy who actually seems to look up to Riggs and Murtaugh a bit, however badly they treat him. In the later movies, the three become friends, something of a PowerTrio, and Leo ends up acting as Murtaugh's estate agent at one point.

* Nobby Nobbs in the ''{{Discworld}}'' novel, ''Night Watch''.
* A rare Sci Fi version in Men in Black I and II. Jack Jeebs is alien who sells stolen fake rolexes and some powerful alien tech who Jay and Kay harass and threaten to get info and tech.
* ''SinCity'' Has Weevil, mine of information and perennial ButtMonkey.

** One of Robert Aspirin's novels (possibly ''ColdCashWars'') featured a character like this.

* The actor Dick Miller made a career of playing characters like this. (One example being Fosnight from the ''TheFlash'' TV series.)

The Rat is an informant who always has the information, and he's willing to give it to the heroes, for a price - whether it's money, the expectation of future favours, or even just the heroes' blind eye to his shady dealings. In the criminal underbelly, he's usually a low-level bottom-feeder at best, and is often a bit of a slimy, whiny creep, but he has his finger on the pulse and every scrap of information about what's going down comes through him, and he saves it for exactly when it'll come in useful for him. He's often a pawnbroker (read: [[BlackMarket fence for stolen goods]]) or a bartender, or some other such profession which often features some kind of contact with criminals. In older works, he may be a StreetUrchin of some kind.

As such, he can be a bit of a punching bag for the heroes, but beware - he can only be pushed so far. Whilst he's usually a coward who wouldn't dare try anything with the heroes when they're on top, his loyalties are slippery, and if the villain gives him enough motivation he'll just as easily switch allegiance and sell out the heroes, thus prompting a possible TheDogBitesBack moment if the heroes push him too far. However, if and when the heroes get themselves back on top of the situation, The Rat will find himself with a lot of explaining - not to mention desperate pleading - to do.

* The ''Harry Potter'' series of books has Mundungus Fletcher, a well-known thief and con artist who is sometimes antagonistic towards Harry and his friends. Despite being a total crook he remains loyal to Dumbledore and is thus useful to the protagonists due to his knowledge of the criminal world.

* The ''Harry Potter'' series of books has Mundungus Fletcher, a well-known thief and con artist who is sometimes antagonistic towards Harry and his friends. Despite being a total crook he remains loyal to Dumbledore after he saved his life, and is thus useful to the protagonists due to his knowledge of the criminal world.