History Main / TheWonka

* Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) of ''Series/FantasyIsland''. The charming host of Fantasy Island and his staff invite you to spend a weekend on his exotic island where you can live your wildest fantasy. Roarke can accomplish this by working in mysterious ways or very mundane means (such as talented actors playing whatever roles the charade fantasy requires), all aided by Roarke having intelligence on his clients that rivals the NSA. He is accompanied by his companion, a cherubic assistant named "Tattoo." While the island's staff does their utmost to fulfill each guest's fantasy, Mr. Roarke does insist on one thing: he alone makes every decision on his island and those decisions are final. 'The customer is always right?' Not here. Roarke will give you what you want, but be careful what you wish for. He gives his guests their ultimate fantasy in the form of a moral lesson, and he offers it in the hopes that his guests leave better persons. He is always on hand to offer daunted guests encouraging advice as he simultaneously manipulates them to seek out their greatest fantasies. Just who is he? Tattoo: "Some people call him...''points folded prayer hands heavenward''...some people calls him...''points prayer hands downward''...I just call him Mr. Roarke."[[labelnote:However...]]at one point Roarke did confront the Devil...and told him never to set foot on Fantasy Island again. [[/labelnote]]

Also different from BunnyEarsLawyer in that the lawyer is a brilliant ''employee'' who isn't fired because they are so good at their job. Tolerating their weird mannerisms and unusual quirks is worth it for the work they do. They win a cost/benefit analysis. The Wonka is a brilliant ''employer'' (or otherwise an authority figure) and can't be fired because they own the company. Also the Wonka's unusual brand of sanity is likely the reason for their success while success and quirks are unrelated in the BunnyEarsLawyer.

* Kousei Kougami [[FanNickname the Cakeboss]] from ''Series/KamenRiderOOO''. He runs a company invested in the phlebotinum that constitutes/powers the series' monsters, and sits around baking cakes. And did we mention, "'''HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!'''"

* ''Film/TheLastJedi'' has the Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo. While highly intelligent and competent, she is known for [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} her eccentricity]] and [[FreakyFashionMildMind peculiar fashion taste]] (such as [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair dyeing her hair wild colors]] and wearing a dress that looks like a ballroom gown onboard a military ship). Her unconventional leadership style and [[LockedOutOfTheLoop her tendency to be secretive about her plans]] results in confrontation between her and her subordinate Captain Poe Dameron, who accuses her of incompetence and even of treason,[[spoiler: and eventually starts a mutiny against her. Eventually it's revealed that Holdo knew all along what she was doing, and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Poe's mutiny foiled her plans]].]]

* ''Film/TheLastJedi'' has the Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo. While highly intelligent and competent, she is known for [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} her eccentricity]] and [[FreakyFashionMildMind peculiar fashion taste]] (such as [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair dyeing her hair wild colors]] and wearing a dress that looks like a ballroom gown onboard a military ship). Her unconventional leadership style and [[LockedOutOfTheLoop her tendency to be secretive about her plans]] results in confrontation between her and her subordinate Captain Poe Dameron, who accuses her of incompetence and even of treason[[spoiler: and eventually starts a mutiny against her. Eventually it's revealed that Holdo knew all along what she was doing, and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Poe's mutiny foiled her plans]].]]

* In ''Film/TheLastJedi'' has the Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo. While highly intelligent and competent, she is known for [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} her eccentricity]] and [[FreakyFashionMildMind peculiar fashion taste]] (such as [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair dyeing her hair wild colors]] and wearing a dress that looks like a ballroom gown onboard a military ship). Her unconventional leadership style and [[LockedOutOfTheLoop her tendency to be secretive about her plans]] results in confrontation between her and her subordinate Captain Poe Dameron, who accuses her of incompetence and even of treason[[spoiler: and eventually starts a mutiny against her. Eventually it's revealed that Holdo knew all along what she was doing, and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Poe's mutiny foiled her plans]].]]

* Kel'thuzad from ''Franchise/Warcraft''. Among his eccentricities are his completely unique spells, NightmareFuel creations, sadism, staggering arrogance and penchant for creative insults. By far his weirdest trait however, is his servile attitude towards the Lich King. He lords it over the Death Knights and the Four Horsemen, but despite the Lich King not being a MagnificentBastard (rather, he bizarrely retains Arthas' down-to-earth RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething persona) Kel'thuzad treats him as if he was a god. This is despite Kel'thuzad being a brilliant general in his own right. [[spoiler: the Shadowlands expansion reveals why. Kel'thuzad has always been working for [[BigBad The Jailor]]: who was the creator of the Helm of Domination, worn by the Lich King. The Jailor actually IS a PhysicalGod]].

* [[WebAnimation/DrCrafty Dr. Crafty's]] weirdness is a perennial talking point, especially for Nurse Worse. He pathologically adheres to a villainous aesthetic, complete with a hammy, egotistical, assertive persona, to fulfill an unending power fantasy -- and this is even after he became outwardly nicer in Season 3. He knows almost anything and everything about popular culture and whatever he finds cool, but he sometimes skimps out on common sense and practical knowledge. To wit, he can be reckless with money, prioritize materialistic things, and put himself in unnecessary danger. These traits combined give him fairly questionable chemistry with just about anyone. And yet, as "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped" highlights, his show seems reasonably successful in-universe. Crafty has amassed a team of skilled co-hosts and an even bigger behind-the-scenes staff -- thanks to all their efforts, the show has four seasons to its name. It helps that, though he doesn't see himself this way, Crafty truly is a decent person. At the end of the day, it's his heart that keeps the show growing and staying together.

* The eponymous ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'' is this through and through. His idiosyncrasies annoy his commanders so much that when they gave him a medal, they put a bomb in it.

* Pegasus, the brilliant but loopy creator of ''Anime/YuGiOh'''s Duel Monsters. His employees take his eccentrics in stride. (Note that he was indeed a villain originally, and did use some rather immoral methods; he [[HeelFaceTurn got better]] ([[SparedByTheAdaptation in the anime, at least]]).)
* Niizuma Eiji from ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'' knows as much about creating brilliant manga as he doesn't about normal behavior.

* ''Franchise/OnePiece'':
** Monkey D. Luffy may not be [[TrueCompanions a loner]], but he's TheCaptain and definitely operates on an entirely different wavelength compared to normal people.
* Minaka Hiroto from ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'' is a brilliant scientist and the CEO of a powerful MegaCorp. He also runs around in a cape because he can, and organized the entire [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne Sekirei Plan]] because ItAmusedMe. His second-in-command [[spoiler: and secretly his former(?) lover]], Takami, spends a lot of time hitting him with things.
* In ''Manga/Brave10'', the Braves regularly comment on how they don't know what Yukimura is thinking, but they also know he's brilliant even if he comes off like a good-for-nothing lord and [[TheChessmaster operates in hard-to-follow]] and often irritating ways.

* John Porter of ''ComicBook/DamageControl''. Given the nature of the cases they have to deal with, it's understandable.
* Rotor Walrus from ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', especially during the early comics. To put it in perspective, in the future he will create the living computer NICOLE; as a kid, he grossed his friends out trying to make ''carbonated milk shakes''.

** Dumbledore is more or less as canon, in that he's a complete oddball who ''gleefully'' takes the opportunity given by a massive food fight to stealthily drown a visiting Cornelius Fudge in a tidal wave of jam. He is nevertheless a very important figure in wanded magical society, and a widely respected figure in the supernatural world as a whole - partly because some of the silliness is put on or exaggerated for effect, partly because holy hell, you do ''not'' want to cross him.
** Tony Stark, again, as per canon, qualifies both as this and as the BunnyEarsLawyer (in terms of his membership of the Avengers) - he's definitely a bit weird (frankly, more than a bit) but he's utterly brilliant, and a scarily adept pilot of his suits who can fly rings about any would-be rivals.

* God from ''Film/{{Dogma}}''. He/She/It comes to Earth occasionally to partake in such wondrous acts as smelling flowers, playing Skee-Ball and doing handstands.
* Dr. Emmett Brown from ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy. He constantly comes up with weirder-by-the-minute inventions, steals plutonium from terrorists, and sets all of his clocks to run exactly 25 minutes slow. The first time Marty meets him in the past, he's wearing a metal cage mind-reading contraption on his head that puts jungle gyms to shame. Oh, and he invented TimeTravel. It's a deconstruction: he has no employees and this could be why.
** Played straight in ''Ride/BackToTheFutureTheRide'' where he's head of The Institute of Future Technology. And is still eccentric.
* Edward Magorium from ''Film/MrMagoriumsWonderEmporium''. He operates by his own brand of logic, which is to be expected from a 200-year-old owner of a sentient toy store.
* In ''Frozen Assets'' Newton is introduced as an escaped mental patient on the run from authorities. Sure, he's a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, but he proves [[BunnyEarsLawyer surprisingly useful]] to the protagonist. In the end [[spoiler:he turns out to be a billionaire, who decided to have a vacation. He's hiding from his employees, who want him back]].

%%%%%%% Does "the fans" refer to out-of-universe fans? Because that doesn't count for the authority figure thing.
%%%%%* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' [[BunnyEarsLawyer solves a lot of cases]] and solves them in weird, kooky ways, but is respected-pretty much by Watson and the fans.
* [[EccentricMentor Albus Dumbledore]] from the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series seems to have a mild case of this. The Hogwarts Headmaster and highly respected and able wizard seems to use a different strand of thought to the rest of the world -- his unorthodox problem-solving methods and airy manner have often caused people to wonder if he's winding them up. The answer is (usually) no, as is shown when he gets the last laugh. He even is aware of schemes and games other people play around him, yet plays it off as if it were nothing.
-->'''Cornelius Fudge''': ''[having tried to keep Dumbledore from attending a hearing over Harry's future at Hogwarts by re-scheduling the meeting]'' You... err... got the letter that the time and place of the meeting had changed?
-->'''Dumbledore''': ''[cheerfully]'' I'm afraid I must have missed it, but by a happy mistake, I arrived at the ministry three hours early.

* Literature/{{Psmith}} from Creator/PGWodehouse's series. Other characters are constantly confounded by his refusal to follow a normal conversation, although he's completely reasonable in his own way.

%%%%* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': Angela is definitely one of these. She is known for random quips (modeled after the author's own sister of the same name), general looniness, and concern with unusual names for already-awesome objects (e.g. a sword potentially made of diamond that can slice through anything like a hot knife through butter gets named... Tinkledeath).

* Kousei Kougami [[FanNickname the Cakeboss]] from ''Series/KamenRiderOOO''. He runs a company invested in the phlebotinum that constitutes/powers the series' monsters, and sits around baking cakes. And did we mention, "'''HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!'''"
* Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) of ''Series/FantasyIsland''. The charming host of Fantasy Island and his staff invite you to spend a weekend on his exotic island where you can live your wildest fantasy. Roarke can accomplish this by working in mysterious ways or very mundane means (such as talented actors playing whatever roles the charade fantasy requires), all aided by Roarke having intelligence on his clients that rivals the NSA. He is accompanied by his companion, a cherubic assistant named "Tattoo." While the island's staff does their utmost to fulfill each guest's fantasy, Mr. Roarke does insist on one thing: he alone makes every decision on his island and those decisions are final. 'The customer is always right?' Not here. Roarke will give you what you want, but be careful what you wish for. He gives his guests their ultimate fantasy in the form of a moral lesson, and he offers it in the hopes that his guests leave better persons. He is always on hand to offer daunted guests encouraging advice as he simultaneously manipulates them to seek out their greatest fantasies. Just who is he? Tattoo: "Some people call him...''points folded prayer hands heavenward''...some people calls him...''points prayer hands downward''...I just call him Mr. Roarke."[[labelnote:However...]]at one point Roarke did confront the Devil...and told him never to set foot on Fantasy Island again. [[/labelnote]]

* Charlie Crews, the DefectiveDetective and ZenSurvivor in ''Series/{{Life}}''. In the first season, his more level-headed partner is guaranteed to question his sanity and/or stare at him in total incomprehension at least once per episode. This lessens during the second season, but it's outright stated that this is because she's getting more like him, not the other way around.
* On an episode of ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', both Crane brothers were hired to testify on opposing sides of a hearing in which a rich eccentric old man was accused of being incompetent. Frasier believed that the man was The Wonka, whereas Niles thought he was suffering from dementia. [[spoiler: Niles was right]].
* Ted Allen's persona on ''Food Detectives'' on the Creator/FoodNetwork is casually sadistic towards the cast of test subjects with a whimsical, oblivious smile; the overall effect is two parts [[Series/{{Mythbusters}} Adam Savage]] and five parts highly concentrated Wonka.

* Jimmy James from ''Series/NewsRadio'', although considering how crazy the rest of the cast can be, he can sometimes be seen as just the leader of a pack of lunatics to Dave Nelson's OnlySaneMan.

* Deconstructed in an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', which featured a wealthy Wonka-like toymaker who is secretly a serial pedophile, using his charming eccentricity and natural rapport with children to lure in his victims. He [[KarmaHoudini unfortunately goes completely unpunished]] due to bribing family members of his victims into creating reasonable doubt for him, though they at least are arrested for obstructing justice.

* Wade, the AmbiguouslyGay UltimateBlacksmith from the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series.

* Agent Francis York Morgan from ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition'' as well as Agent Dale Cooper, [[Series/TwinPeaks the character he's based off of.]]
* Cave Johnson from ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' is a {{Deconstruction}} of this trope. He's crazy and ran Aperture Science into the ground because of it. (Advisors telling you to stop making prerecorded messages to save on budget? Make more prerecorded messages - you're the boss! Can't afford to buy moon rocks? Hell, buy 'em anyway!) While Johnson's company ''did'' see massive leaps in various fields, they were consistently passed over in favor of Black Mesa due to the competitor company being (outwardly) more sane and due to Johnson having burned many bridges due to his eccentricities (the Government offering research contracts probably didn't appreciate what he did to those astronauts...). In a nutshell, he's what happens when someone disregards all safety precautions, warnings, and advice; He died broke, miserable, bogged down by lawsuits, and only his precious Caroline left.
* In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', there's Professor E. Gadd, a nutty and eccentric scientist who helps Luigi. Apart from inventing the Poltergust 3000, Ghost Portrificationizer, and [[VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine F.L.U.D.D.]], he thinks barnacles in a diesel marinade is a nice old family recipe.
* Robert and Rosalind Lutece from ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' escort Booker Dewitt to the lighthouse where his mission to Columbia begins, treating the player to a CrypticConversation on the way and as they depart the island. [[spoiler:They somehow end up on Columbia, and keep running into Booker to offer supplies and cryptic advice.]]
* Even by the generous standards of [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Sith Lords]], the Sith Inquisitor PlayerCharacter from ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' is certifiably insane (though s/he prefers the term "differently rational"), but you don't end up being on the [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Dark Council]], and therefore one of the twelve most powerful Sith in the Empire, by collecting bottlecaps. Admittedly, when it's your job to find and make sense of the [[ArtifactOfDoom relics]] and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation ancient knowledge]] left behind by centuries of scheming madmen, an unconventional view of the universe is probably an asset.
* Roger Bacon of ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' has [[TouchedByVorlons comprehended the will of]] [[EldritchAbomination God]], he has handled that [[GoMadFromTheRevelation about as well as you might think]]. He is now an eccentric hermit living alone in an observatory that would be sci-fi by today's standards, and this takes place in 1912. His mind has been so warped that he can [[BreakingTheFourthWall talk directly to the player]].
* [[TestosteronePoisoning Mister Torgue Flexington]], shown to be the head of the Torgue corporation in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}''. Very geeky despite growing up almost alone, obsessed with StuffBlowingUp after his parents died in a mine explosion, sold his first designs for twelve dollars and a hi-five, and [[SirSwearsALot swears more than all voiced characters in the series]] ''[[SirSwearsALot put together]]'' [[note]]to the point where his voicebox is altered to bleep every time he swears, resulting in a large number of {{Cluster Bleep Bomb}}s[[/note]] and has absolutely NoIndoorVoice. He's also rich enough to fund the hiring of several bandit biker clans and build a gigantic arena for a gladiatorial campaign from his own pocket, and makes very powerful but also efficient and just plain useful items from gyrojet guns (easily the highest damage per shot, surpassing even Jakobs) to MIRV grenades and explosive spike and nova shields. He's definitely doing ''something'' right.
* ''Videogame/FallenLondon'': The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel, a jolly, energetic man with a very shiny uniform who, despite his odd interest in the mad that leads him to give every madman he finds a free stay at his hotel until they get better, manages to keep it afloat and ''extremely'' luxurious, to the point only the richest in London can even afford a room and yet there's always another willing to pay the price for it. Really, his eccentricities let him know exactly what his guests, insane or not, could want or need, so stays at the hotel are always magnificent.
* Yu Narukami, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/Persona4'', is generally regarded to be the quirkiest protagonist in the series. He delights in trolling the people around him, can spend entire days at a time petting stray cats, will attempt to ''eat grass'' if given a chance, spends huge amounts of money on strange costumes to wear into dungeons, and more. Other characters frequently state that they don't understand how his thought processes work, and even the fans can't work out if he's being a weirdo on purpose or just so [[TheComicallySerious comically serious]] that he doesn't realise that what he's doing is odd. Nevertheless, Yu is an extremely powerful Persona-user and a naturally charismatic leader. He's persuasive and his weirdness gets good results, so he remains in charge of the Investigation Team.
* Deconstructed in ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'' with Joey Drew, head of the animation studio and old friend of the protagonist. His eccentricities (such as insisting on using the titular Ink Machine) grated on his employee's nerves and interfered with the production of new cartoons, eventually causing the studio to tank. Plus, it's revealed over the course of the game that, beneath his sunny public face, Joey was really a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] [[{{Jerkass}} jerk]] who ruthlessly exploited his employees and didn't even buy into the "Believe in your dreams" rhetoric he spouted.
* In ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'', whatever you may say about her odder traits, Kotomi is still the most successful student in the school. Why carry scissors around everywhere? To cut paper, of course!

* [[WebAnimation/DrCrafty Dr. Crafty's]] weirdness is a perennial talking point, especially for Nurse Worse. He pathologically adheres to a villainous aesthetic, complete with a hammy, egotistical, assertive persona, to fulfill an unending power fantasy — and this is even after he became outwardly nicer in Season 3. He knows almost anything and everything about popular culture and whatever he finds cool, but he sometimes skimps out on common sense and practical knowledge. To wit, he can be reckless with money, prioritize materialistic things, and put himself in unnecessary danger. These traits combined give him fairly questionable chemistry with just about anyone. And yet, as "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped" highlights, his show seems reasonably successful in-universe. Crafty has amassed a team of skilled co-hosts and an even bigger behind-the-scenes staff — thanks to all their efforts, the show has four seasons to its name. It helps that, though he doesn't see himself this way, Crafty truly is a decent person. At the end of the day, it's his heart that keeps the show growing and staying together.

* Llewellyn from ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie''. In the creator's own words, opinion is divided between those who think he's incredibly wise, and those who think he's got a screw loose. The reality, of course, is that both are true. It's just sort of a dragon thing, in general, to judge by his relatives. Their occasionally-successful dabblings in the surreal also make them a mild case of InexplicablyAwesome.

%%%%* [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation One interpretation]] of God in ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}''.

* MadScientist Casey from ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy'' is an interesting example, in that he's a Wonka whose best friend and roommate (Andy) is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. The comic switches between having the two clash over the most ridiculous things, driving the rest of the world nuts with their weird experiments and off-beat antics, and annoying one another when their similar-but-different worldviews come into play.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'':
** Cheese. One of the very few people on earth so smart that ''Jobe'' respects his intelligence. In fact, Jobe ''fears'' his intelligence, and with good reason, as seen in the short story ''Bad Seeds''. No one even understands why he specialises so much in new kinds of lactose based technology.
** Thorn. A fifteen year old mutant with the power to create literally anything from ectoplasm, who dresses and carries himself-- by choice-- as a Victorian era gentleman, and has an express taste for surrealistic humor.... and surrealistic behavior in general. He even looks like The Wonka, specifically the Johnny Depp version, and dresses in Victorian garb, from top hat to spats.

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic anchors the Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses organization with his insightful, poignant analysis of nostalgic popular culture. His personality, however, ranges from ManChild to violent, criminal insanity. More than once, mental health professionals--apparently always standing by off camera in case of complete psychotic break--have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqon0nVWA4A intervened]] during reviews. It gets deconstructed, as he's regularly depressed that his only talent seems to be riffing on cheesy nostalgia.

* Sir UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton. Genius? Check. Has confusing ideas that make sense the longer you think about them? He tried to reduce all of reality to basic mathematical equations, so check. Batshit insane? ''Check''. He experimented with alchemy at a time when people had already stopped taking it seriously, and suffered from dementia caused by mercury poisoning. He was the first person to find the reason why the orbits of the planets are ellipses, rather than circles-- a problem that was a really big deal at the time. He then completely forgot about it until he offhandedly mentioned it to a friend. When his friend asked to see his proofs, he realised he'd misplaced them. Solution: ''rewrite '''all''' the calculations purely from memory''. When the friend perused over the papers he did find, there were the whole ''Principia Mathematica'', putting everything then known about maths, physics, optics and the Universe on its head. Newton had not organized them; it's simply that, to be able to solve a problem, he'd ''invented infinitesimal calculus wholesale''.

** Doctor Strange is generally agreed to be at least half mad, and that's on a good day. He's perfectly aware of it and revels in his weirdness, if only because [[SadClown it's all that stops him from completely breaking down.]] He's also [[spoiler: until he abdicates the title in chapter 29 of the second book, faking his death in the process]] the Sorcerer Supreme, Earth's leading magical defender, and ''de facto'' leader of the heroes when he actually involves himself, because he's an extremely powerful {{seer}} and masterful manipulator who's got the road-map to victory in his head.

* [[WebVideo/DrCrafty Dr. Crafty's]] weirdness is a perennial talking point, especially for Nurse Worse. He pathologically adheres to a villainous aesthetic, complete with a hammy, egotistical, assertive persona, to fulfill an unending power fantasy — and this is even after he became outwardly nicer in Season 3. He knows almost anything and everything about popular culture and whatever he finds cool, but he sometimes skimps out on common sense and practical knowledge. To wit, he can be reckless with money, prioritize materialistic things, and put himself in unnecessary danger. These traits combined give him fairly questionable chemistry with just about anyone. And yet, as "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped" highlights, his show seems reasonably successful in-universe. Crafty has amassed a team of skilled co-hosts and an even bigger behind-the-scenes staff — thanks to all their efforts, the show has four seasons to its name. It helps that, though he doesn't see himself this way, Crafty truly is a decent person. At the end of the day, it's his heart that keeps the show growing and staying together.

* [[WebVideo/DrCrafty Dr. Crafty's]] weirdness is a perennial talking point, especially for Nurse Worse. He pathologically adheres to a villainous aesthetic, complete with a hammy, egotistical, assertive persona, to fulfill an unending power fantasy — and this is even after he became outwardly nicer in Season 3. He knows almost anything and everything about popular culture and whatever he finds cool, but he sometimes skimps out on common sense and practical knowledge. To wit, he can be reckless with money, prioritize materialistic things, and put himself in unnecessary danger. These traits combined give him fairly questionable chemistry with just about anyone. And yet, as "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped" highlights, his show seems reasonably successful in-universe. Crafty himself has amassed a team of skilled co-hosts and an even bigger behind-the-scenes staff — thanks to all their efforts, the show has four seasons to its name. It helps that, though he doesn't see himself this way, Crafty truly is a decent person. At the end of the day, it's his heart that keeps the show growing and staying together.

* [[WebVideo/DrCrafty Dr. Crafty's]] weirdness is a perennial talking point, especially for Nurse Worse. He pathologically adheres to a villainous aesthetic, complete with a hammy, egotistical, assertive persona, to fulfill an unending power fantasy — and this is even after he became outwardly nicer in Season 3. He knows almost anything and everything about popular culture and whatever he finds cool, but he sometimes skimps out on common sense and practical knowledge. To wit, he can be reckless with money, prioritize materialistic things, and put himself in unnecessary danger. These traits combined give him fairly questionable chemistry with just about anyone. And yet, as "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped" highlights, Dr. Crafty seems reasonably successful in-universe. Crafty himself has amassed a team of skilled co-hosts and an even bigger behind-the-scenes staff — thanks to all their efforts, the show has four seasons to its name. It helps that, though he doesn't see himself this way, Crafty truly is a decent person. At the end of the day, it's his heart that keeps the show growing and staying together.

-->'''Cornelius Fudge''': *having tried to keep Dumbledore from attending a hearing over Harry's future at Hogwarts by scheduling the meeting early* "You... err... got the letter that the time and place of the meeting had changed?
-->'''Dumbledore''': *cheerfully* "I'm afraid I must have missed it, but by a happy mistake, I arrived at the ministry three hours early.

* King Bumi of Omashu from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', a man who takes great pride in being called a 'mad genius'.

The Wonka is the genius nut who should, by all logic, be fired. That's never going to happen -- the Wonka ''runs'' the show.

This character makes perfect sense to himself (and is usually male), but utterly confuses those around him and leaves them wondering whether or not he really is all there. The NaiveNewcomer will think he's genuinely nuts until he does something amazing that proves he's merely using a different brand of logic. Long term employees will either [[BeleagueredAssistant groan at the craziness]], become like him, or be so desensitized they'll regard it as mundane and [[WeirdnessCensor pay no attention]].

* Rotor Walrus from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', especially during the early comics. To put it in perspective, in the future he will create the living computer NICOLE; as a kid, he grossed his friends out trying to make ''carbonated milk shakes''.

* [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/010218c According to]] [[WordOfGod the author]], the ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' version of [[VideoGame/MegaMan Dr. Light]] was supposed to have this characterization, but CharacterizationMarchesOn, and his eccentricity was instead attributed to his drinking habits.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk Elon Musk]]'s sense of whimsy is demonstrated by his companies. Tesla cars have a "Ludicrous Mode". He says that his frustration with Los Angeles traffic gave him the idea to dig tunnels beneath the city. His tunnel-digging venture is called "The Boring Company", and he raised money partly by selling "flamethrowers" (actually torches) branded with the company logo. When he needed a heavy payload to test a [=SpaceX=] rocket, so he volunteered his personal Tesla roadster. [=SpaceX=] has two remote-control barges that serve as landing pads, named after [[Main/SapientShip ships]] from [[Literature/TheCulture the Culture series]] (''Of Course I Still Love You'' and ''Just Read the Instructions''). More recently, he also lowered the price of the Tesla Model S...to $69,420.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk Elon Musk]]'s sense of whimsy is demonstrated by his companies. Tesla cars have a "Ludicrous Mode". He says that his frustration with Los Angeles traffic gave him the idea to dig tunnels beneath the city. His tunnel-digging venture is called "The Boring Company", and he raised money partly by selling "flamethrowers" (actually torches) branded with the company logo. When he needed a heavy payload to test a [=SpaceX=] rocket, so he volunteered his personal Tesla roadster. [=SpaceX=] has two remote-control barges that serve as landing pads, named after [[Main/SapientShip ships]] from [[Literature/TheCulture the Culture series]] (''Of Course I Still Love You'' and ''Just Read the Instructions'').

* [[InsistentTerminology Captain]] Jack Sparrow (another Johnny Depp role) from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', although he's not really ruler of much other than a few mangy pirates. Still, a good pirate? Yes. A quick thinker? Definitely. Completely unpredictable? Foppish or odd mannerisms? Crazy ideas? Absolutely. When asked if being stranded on a desert island for months and suffering heatstroke was the reason for his... eccentricity, Mr. Gibbs rather flatly (and honestly) replies "Reason's got nothin' to do with it, mate." Sparrow's always been the way he is; a genius mix of madness, ObfuscatingInsanity / ObfuscatingStupidity and ConfusionFu. Somehow, it works. Usually. [[CatchPhrase Savvy?]]
** In his own words from the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl third film]]:

--> ''The captain's acting a little bit strange......er.''

* ''Fanfic/{{DNMC}}'': Fulhaus "Clu" Cluspaheadia. He's flamboyant, he's bizarre, he's implied to be foppish... and he's the leader of an entire military regiment and the head of Atlas' legislative and historical branches. Also serves as a BunnyEarsLawyer, since he likely serves under General Ironwood.