Comic Books
"As for Deadpool, when he first showed up, comic fans correctly noticed that he was just a rip-off of DC's Deathstroke the Terminator. And while Deadpool eventually gained a cult following, his lack of mainstream success was ultimately what allowed the series to be so irreverent. According to writer Joe Kelly, they "could do anything" because "everybody just expected the book to be cancelled every five seconds." So had Deadpool actually been popular, he never would have become popular, if that makes any sense."
Newspaper Comics
Dogbert: A disturbing number of you have requested the return of Loud Howard. Loud Howard is one-dimensional. There is nothing clever or insightful about him. He is simply loud. It is a mystery why anyone would want more of this guy.
Loud Howard: THEY LOVE ME!
Loud Howard: THEY LOVE ME!
"When a group of fans spontaneously and unanimously name a character for you, it's a good idea to keep him."
—Scott Adams, on why he made "Catbert" a recurring character in Dilbert
Video Games
"For one who seems to always be in the background, he has many fans who eagerly await his appearance."
—Luigi's bio in Super Smash Bros. 64
"You're the protagonist. I'm just a cool, handsome foil..."
—Henry, No More Heroes
"Hey, it's everyone's idol!"
—Pause screen description of Bandanna Waddle Dee in Kirby's Return to Dream Land
"Tao would never say that, 'cause she's adorable and friendly and a fan favorite. Don't break character, hipster-person!"
—Relius' gag reel, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
"You kidding? Do you know how popular I am? I got loads of people rootin' for me. Sorry, boss. No one axes Axel. Got it memorized?"
—Axel/Lea, Kingdom Hearts III
"Who gives a shit about some boring self-insert protagonist!? Side characters are where the real money's at! Now, me? I'm a great side character. Best in the biz. I do it all. So recruit me already and let's fuck this quest up!"
—Random demon (usually Slime), Shin Megami Tensei I
Wappa: After the war I went on home and told all my little minions about our adventures, yeah?
Boron: Mhmm...
Wappa: For whatever reason, you seemed to be the most popular... Some even started worshipping you! So I thought I'd come check on you to see why.
Boron: Mhmm...
Wappa: For whatever reason, you seemed to be the most popular... Some even started worshipping you! So I thought I'd come check on you to see why.
"I'm a super popular Shadow, you hee-know. My fans won't just sit around and take this, ho."
— King Frost, Persona 5
Webcomics
"Um... I thank you for the fan mail, but I haven't really done anything yet... I do like the attention, though..."
—Rhoda, El Goonish Shive Sketchbook
"...I live in a world where a one-off picture of a cat and a devil resulted in their having lunch months later in a restaurant where frogs serve you from hot air balloons. I can’t graph this shit, son."
—Tycho, Penny Arcade
YouTube: I thought I killed you with fire on day 9! How are you still alive???
"Evil YouTube": My death was greatly exaggerated. And my return was thanks to the support of my community!
! How are you still alive??? "Evil YouTube": My death was greatly exaggerated. And my return was thanks to the support of my community!
Web Animation
"Put this little bro on a T-Shirt!"
—Young!Wallow on Catbug, Bravest Warriors
Strong Bad: No, seriously. I'm Strong Bad, and you don't know it yet, but I'm the reason you're here.
Homestar Runner: It's true.
Homestar Runner: It's true.
"Back by popular demand... Iiiit's ME! Hawt Saus! HAHAHA!"
—Hawt Saus, Chikn Nuggit
Web Original
"Scorponok, Terrorsaur, we're condemning you to a fiery death 'cause Waspinator has a bigger fan club."
David: Bob the Goon is really in more of this movie than I remember, although he barely had any lines. However, he did get his own action figure.
Chris: Don't you wish this movie was about Alex Knox bringing down Jack Palance and Bob the Goon's criminal empire? That would be so much better.
Chris: Don't you wish this movie was about Alex Knox bringing down Jack Palance and Bob the Goon's criminal empire? That would be so much better.
—Chris Sims and David Uzumeri on Batman (1989)
Batman (1989)"Underrated actors Lance Henriksen and Paul Winfield turn in fun performances as the two policemen who are trying to crack the case of the recent spate of murders going on. While they don't have that much to do in the movie, their performances are very memorable, from the funny conversations they have to their constant bickering, one just gets the general idea that these guys have been friends for a long time. Like Biehn and Hamilton however, it's just too bad these guys haven't had the best careers."
—David Hollands on The Terminator
"Peter Sarsgaard says he has a surprise for Zach Braff, but first they have to go watch porno in a closet with Method Man (<———MAKE THIS YOUR ENTIRE MOVIE NEXT TIME)."
"All this attention paid to the Fonzie character necessarily leaves the rest of the cast scrambling for the crumbs. Howard's Richie character, once the lead of the series, now largely revolves around Fonzie...Winkler, absolutely flying in this season, is lean, mean, and constantly trying not to crack up at his own lines, as well as at the effect his character has on the screaming live audience. He's really a wonder to watch here. Supremely confident in his craft, he's got the Fonzie character nailed, and you can tell he's just as astounded as everybody else in the cast that this role was rapidly becoming a national, cultural phenomenon. And that's not overstating the popularity of the Fonzie character; if you weren't born back then, just ask somebody who grew during the 1970s about the reach of this character into the pop culture fabric."
—Paul Mavis on Happy Days
on Happy Days"I can't help but feel like the Klingon restaurant on the promenade serves as a more effective demonstration of Deep Space Nine's tolerant and optimistic outlook on life than anything else in the episode. The Klingon restaurant is just there...It's not a big deal that your former enemies are opening a restaurant here. It doesn't matter that the food isn't what most humans would consider normal. It just is what it is, and is appreciated for it. Plus, it has a Klingon restauranteur who serenades his guests on what looks like a Klingon fiddle. If ever a character needed more screen time and deserved to get bumped up to the recurring cast, Klingon Chef is that character."
"Why is it that that the only fake person on this ship is the one who behaves like a real one? ..."Computer...delete Paris!" – imagine if we could do this with the whole crew! "Computer delete Kim!" – how long have I waited to hear those words?"
Chris: Lois has Jimmy Olsen's disguise Trunk. That's why we like Smallville Lois so much. Smallville Lois...is actually Smallville Jimmy Olsen.
David: That makes an absolutely astonishing amount of sense. She's really an amalgam of the two characters, and I like that a lot. I think she’s the only character on the show who’s having fun.
Chris: Yeah, everyone else is either mired in indecision (Clark), exceptionally grim (Green Arrow) or Totally Not Appearing In This Season (Chloe). Lois, meanwhile, is straight up putting on disguises and doing some amazingly spurious journalism and seems like she’s having a blast.
David: That makes an absolutely astonishing amount of sense. She's really an amalgam of the two characters, and I like that a lot. I think she’s the only character on the show who’s having fun.
Chris: Yeah, everyone else is either mired in indecision (Clark), exceptionally grim (Green Arrow) or Totally Not Appearing In This Season (Chloe). Lois, meanwhile, is straight up putting on disguises and doing some amazingly spurious journalism and seems like she’s having a blast.
"If you have ever watched Keeping Up With The Koven of Klassless Tramps (not that you’d ever admit to that out loud if you have) and thought of how much better it would be if they got rid of Pimp Mama Kris, The Narcoleptic Hooker Queen, Khloezilla, the one that humps on Scott Disick, The Sock One, The Dumb Model One, Marla Hooch, and Satan (you can’t see him, but he’s always there) and made the show entirely about the only one of those whores that matters, then you’re in luck. Some wonderful soul has cut together an episode of KUWTK starring former Olympian and current effervescent pink champagne bubble Bruce Jenner and NO ONE ELSE. Just Bruce muttering to himself about golfing and shuffling around the house looking for his good jar of cuticle cream. It’s perfect!"
Just Bruce muttering to himself about golfing and shuffling around the house looking for his good jar of cuticle cream. It’s perfect!""If I had my way, I'd combine all the versions into one super duper deluxe mega version. Obviously, you take the Sim version as the base and add in the kid from Scott. Get Topper from the Captain Picard version. You may not remember Topper, but he's one of Scrooge's nephew's buddies, and in the book, he's a bit of a ladies man. Most versions just kinda dismiss him, but not the case here. It's like they told the actor 'go watch Billy Dee Williams from the late 70′s and be be more seductive and alluring and over the top sextastic than he is.'"
"Sting got a huge pop when he came out and the "Goldberg" chants were deafening. I think that I was the only one cheering for the greatest heel in the sport today, The Cat."
—DDT on WCW Monday Nitro
on WCW Monday Nitro"This is the moment Homestuck became something too big to be controlled.... I love the Alternian trolls. They are twelve precious gems embedded in a beautifully wrought chalice. Sure the chalice functioned fine without them, but what sort of chalice doesn’t have gemstones?"
—Alyssa Goss, Let's Re-Read Homestuck
"Imagine being such an interesting and well written character that despite only being on screen at the very end of the story you’re as synonymous with the game as the Fucking protagonist."
—A YouTube comment in regards to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
in regards to Metal Gear Rising: RevengeanceWeb Video
"You know I'll be back, I'm a fan favorite."
—The Hummel Figurine, Ask That Guy with the Glasses
Naruto: Oh my god! You are the rower!
Rower: What?
Naruto: I'm such a huge fan!
Rower: Why?
Naruto: Everything you do is just amazing!
Rower: No, I... I just row, man.
Rower: What?
Naruto: I'm such a huge fan!
Rower: Why?
Naruto: Everything you do is just amazing!
Rower: No, I... I just row, man.
"I am hilarious and you will quote everything I say."
—Nappa (and later Super Kami Guru), Dragon Ball Z Abridged
"I was a popular character and villain. Seeing me again should drive up the viewers."
—Mechakara, Atop the Fourth Wall
"Adler is kind of the Boba Fett of the Sherlock Holmes stories in that fans are obsessed with her even though she only ever showed up once and was never really all that important."
Yahtzee: Why do people like Boba Fett? He's a twat with a bucket on his head.
Gabriel: He didn't say anything and he killed people, which automatically makes him the coolest thing in the world.
Gabriel: He didn't say anything and he killed people, which automatically makes him the coolest thing in the world.
"I saw Spider-Man, but now I want to see a movie starring Denis Leary called Cop Dad."
"So as with any franchise with hundreds and thousands of characters, the fans will ask you who is your favorite. And for My Hero Academia, well, screw all the official polls they ran in Japan. For some reason, this fandom picked a frog as their best girl."
—Ramzaes, My Hero Academia Fandom in a Nutshell
"And fan favorite Barb, the most talked about character with the least amount of screen time since Boba Fett. Look, I get it, she’s awkward and she didn’t deserve to die, but how about the guy at the beginning who got shot just for helping a lost child? Where’s the hashtag #JusticeForBenny, uh?"
Western Animation
"Nothing's as important on TV as your likability index."
—Blaineley Stacey Andrews O'Halloran, Total Drama World Tour, "Niagara Brawls"
"I am da Cheese! I am da best character on da show! I am better than both the Salami and the Bologna combined!"
—Filburt, Rocko's Modern Life ("Wacky Delly")
Lightning Society Member: Who's [Shadow]?
Dr. Eggman: He's only the second most popular character in the whole canon!
Dr. Eggman: He's only the second most popular character in the whole canon!
—Sonic Boom, "It Takes A Village To Defeat A Hedgehog"
Real Life
"It is sometimes the minor, not the major, characters in a novel who hold the author’s affection longest. It may be that one loses affection for the major characters because they suck off so much energy as one pushes them through their lives."
—Larry Mcmurtry
"Many times, I've wished I had that big machine from the [Oops! All Berries] ad that separates Crunchberries from normal cornmeal spheres. But not for its original purpose — I don't eat Cap'n Crunch. What I would really like to do is somehow throw NCIS in there and make the entire show about Abby Scuito... Isn't that always the way? Every time I watch a show, I get hooked on one particular character who isn't a main character."
"I just also think it's really funny how like... Streber has become this like, whole thing... even though he's been on screen for like two seconds, you know? [...] They didn't even mention his name in the short; the only way we know his name is through like the credits and subtitles."
—Gabe Velez, Streber's original voice actor
