The Scrappy and his ilk are characters who are despised by most (if not all) of the fandom against the intent of their work's author. However, occasionally there may be one moment where the despised character is the butt of a humiliating joke, or another character says what the audience is thinking to/about the despised character.
If this results in the character's death, this can result in mass rejoicing. If the Scrappy in question has been around long enough and especially if they happen to be the Creator's Pet character, this is probably an Author's Saving Throw. Can be the character's (on the firing end) Moment of Awesome, or a Funny Moment. In some scenarios, however, this can come off as unnecessarily mean-spirited to some fans, especially if the cast breaks character to express their hatred.
An interesting philosophical question arises from these moments, with no easy answer: should fans compliment a writer for killing off a character...that this same writer ruined in the first place? Or is it a final admission of failure by that writer, that there was no way to fix the character?
Compare Creator's Pest and Discontinuity Nod. Contrast Creator's Pet, Alas, Poor Scrappy, and Rescued from the Scrappy Heap.
Examples
- Anime & Manga
- Comic Books
- Fan Works
- Film
- Live-Action TV
- Professional Wrestling
- Video Games
- Western Animation
- Other Media
