Ensemble Darkhorse / Web Animation

• Homestar Runner:
  • Strong Bad started out as a villain who was always doomed to lose to Homestar. Now he's debatably the most popular character, and definitely one of the most recognisable.
  • To a lesser extent, there's Homsar. He first appeared as a one-shot gag to make fun of a typo, and over time, has been promoted up the ranks to become part of the main cast. HR's creators have joked about avoiding giving Homsar his own cartoon since they would never need to use him again.

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  • Same goes for Senor Cardgage.
  • Trogdor and Stinkoman (Strong Bad's blue-haired anime counterpart) are also very popular with the fans. They even appear together in the fifth episode of SBCG4AP!
  • Also Eh! Steve from the Show Within a Show Sweet Cuppin' Cakes. Strong Bad insists that the main character is Sherlock, some kind of "mix between a cow and a helicopter" who is constantly trying (and failing) to get a worm out of the ground, and that Eh! Steve is a background character who delivers his Catchphrase once an episode. Nevertheless, Eh! Steve is vastly more popular and a much more recognizable symbol of the show.
  • Teen Girl Squad is another good example.
  • Strong Bad Lampshades this, along with The Other Darrin in the email original. After the departure of "Original Bubs," his temporary replacement "Onion Bubs" became a fan favorite.
    • Onion Bubs! ONION BUUUUUBS!!!

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  • Played with in-universe in Strong Bad's commentary for an old King of Town toon. He hates every single thing about it except for the Blacksmith.
    Strong Bad: Oh, now this guy had some class. The Blacksmith, that guy was a good guy. I hung out with him after the cartoon; yeah, we had some good times...
• As should be expected from a series with an Ensemble Cast that's been running since 2003, Red vs. Blue has quite a few examples.
  • Caboose was initially created as nothing more than a catalyst for annoying Church, but as time went on and Caboose slowly evolved from a naive but otherwise normal character into the series' biggest cloudcuckoolander, he's managed to become perhaps the series' most popular and beloved character, mainly due to providing some of the funniest moments in the series. For this reason, he's continuously received bigger roles in the plot since.
  • Among the original Blood Gulch Crew, there's Lopez, the Spanish-speaking robotic marine/mechanic that serves as both the Beleaguered Assistant and Only Sane Man on the Red Team. Aside from just how strange he is as a concept, fans love him for his hilariously sarcastic and fatalistic mindset - Amidst all the strangeness of the series (intergalactic intrigue, war and drama, family tragedy, and more), Lopez couldn't care less and despises everyone while trying to avoid becoming just a head again.

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  • Captain Butch Flowers was originally just a one shot character who dies after getting an aspirin shot, before appearing again as a minor (mind controlled) villain, and then again in a flashback sequence, where it's revealed he was Freelancer Agent Florida, who was specifically sent to guard Alpha and keep him a secret. Fans liked him even more after Season 14 showed him to be a hilariously dark sociopath who remains unfailingly polite and cheerful even when orchestrating the events of The Blood Gulch Chronicles and having his subordinates callously murdered when they're of no more use to him.
  • Agent York and has A.I. partner Delta originally only appeared in the Out of Mind miniseries, with both getting killed off by the end. In spite of that, York's grumpy yet charming attitude and Delta's general intelligence combined with some Not So Above It All moments resulted in the two becoming extremely popular with fans. For this reason, Delta would be brought back as a recurring character in the series, while York would gain a prominent role as a character in The Project Freelancer Saga's flashback storyline.
  • There's also Kaikaina Grif/"Sister" and Junior, Grif's younger sister and Tucker's son, respectively. They were both introduced in the midst of Season 5, and sadly didn't get to do a hell of a lot and have largely been Put on a Bus ever since aside from a few cameos. Fans love them both, but for rather (obviously) different reasons: Sister's beloved for not just being surprisingly friendly deep-down, but for being Grif's Morality Pet, endearingly ditzy, and having dialogue that constantly Crosses the Line Twice. Meanwhile, Junior's well liked for being surprisingly cute, helping show Tucker's softer side, and for introducing numerous storylines related to the Covenant (who don't really appear that much in Red vs. Blue). Because of this, fans were especially happy when Sister finally returned as a major character for The Shisno Trilogy.
  • Both incarnations of C.T., despite both having rather major impacts on the events of the series, don't actually get all that much screen time. In spite of this, the pair's tragic yet beautiful love story has resulted in the two becoming rather well loved by fans.
  • The generic mook seen surfing the web in the opening scene of Season 10 is surprisingly popular with fans in-spite of how minor of a role he has.
  • Freckles, Caboose's pet Mantis, instantly became beloved by fans for being The Comically Serious, as well as for being The Chorus Trilogy's equivalent to Shiela.
  • With the exception of Kimball and Doyle, the people of Chorus don't particularly get that much screen time. Despite this, just about all of them have some form of following, the standouts being Katie Jensen (for being adorkable, as well as her hilariously incompetent driving skills) and Dr. Emily Grey (for being a hilarious Mad Doctor with a Genki Girl personality).
  • Frank, Dylan Andrews' original cameraman, only appears in a single scene in the first episode of Season 15, but is still rather popular with fans for his being a Deadpan Snarker and Sour Supporter towards Andrews.
  • None of the Blues and Reds get particular focus outside of Temple, but a few of them still manage to be rather popular with fans. Specifically, there's Loco, for being the Blues and Reds' counterpart to Caboose, as well as for turning out to be the Token Good Teammate of the group, and Biff, for his Nice Guy personality, his friendship with Temple, his surprisingly badass moment where he attempts to take on Agent Carolina, and for his tragic Cruel and Unusual Death.
  • Huggins is well-loved by fans, even by many who weren't particularly favorable of The Shisno Paradox, for her adorkable personality and surprising darker side. Fans were particularly saddened by her death near the end of the Season... then rejoiced when Singularity revealed she survived.
• From what you can tell by the amount of views for 6 of the Speed Paints for Fairy Foxes done by creator StickFreeks herself, Kai, Kiki, and Louie might be in that territory.
• Cuddles may be the Series Mascot of Happy Tree Friends but Flippy and Flaky are undeniably the most popular characters. Unsurprisingly they're the Fan-Preferred Couple of the franchise.
• Greg the Spider from Arby 'n' the Chief.
• RWBY:
  • Velvet Scarlatina showed up in a single scene designed to show the audience the prejudice Faunus face on Remnant. She was such a huge hit with the fandom that she was fleshed out into a proper character, put on a team and given a recurring role in the show. Her combat outfit was even given an artists competition where fans could present their ideas, the winner being the design that was eventually used (albeit with a few modifications).
  • The chainsaw-wielding White Fang heavy who kicked Weiss' ass in "No Brakes" has been getting a surprisingly large amount of mileage.
• If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device: Rogal Dorn, Fountain of Memes extraordinaire. His portrayal as The Comically Serious, entirely oblivious of the universe's insanity and utterly immune to others' snark (of which there is plenty) has made him beloved by the fanbase, to the point every single thing he says gets memetic status.
• Missi from The Vampair is likable for her charming looks, her vindictive personality, and her singing voice.
• Grass Man from Bo-Starr and the Champions of Galastrom appears to be a massive fan-favorite.
• Looney Tunes Intro Bloopers:
  • L&H Michael has quite the fanbase.
  • Jimmy and Hank are also quite popular among the fandom.
• Mr. Cheese from Among Us Logic quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his stupidity, humorous Catchphrase, and status as the resident Butt-Monkey, in spite of only appearing in the first two episodes. He proved popular enough to return in episode 5, killing his replacement Mr. Egg in the process.

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