Ensemble Dark Horse Cleanup

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has a particularly long list of Ensemble Dark Horse characters to the point that it may as well be half of the game's entire cast.

From YMMV.The Seven Deadly Sins:

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Helbram is quite favored, having placed in ninth place of a popularity poll.
  • Oslo is surprisingly popular for a bit character, having even made it into sixth place of the poll himself.
  • Estarossa, Galan, Zeldris, Dolor.... Basically all of the Ten Commandments except Grayroad are a Ensemble Dark Horse. Without a doubt helped by their awesome powers and the shear Difficulty Spike they presented to the Sins.

Aside from Oslo, the rest are major characters important to the plot.

From YMMV.Re Zero:

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • The sloth soldier who appeared after the White Whale's defeat gained a lot of popularity after his Death by Irony at the hands of Sloth. People were ecstatic to see him return in episode 24.
  • Subaru's parents turned out to be very popular during the episode where they appeared, both for being incredibly nice and supporting parents to Subaru and for giving to the viewers one of the most emotive episodes of the whole series.

The sloth soldier is a minor character and qualifies. Subaru's parents do also qualify, since they're filler characters not important to the plot.

"I SHALL UNIFY THE WORLD! FROM ALPHA TO OMEGA... BOW DOWN TO ME!!!"

If anyone who’s seen the Slasher Movie ‘’Valentine’’, could they confirm whether or not Paige (Denise Richards) counts? I added why I think she could possibly count, but I don’t think I’m the best judge of that.

From YMMV Valentine:

• Ensemble Dark Horse: Paige. Probably helped by being played by the biggest name in the cast at that point (Denise Richards) and being the most distinctive of the gals on a visual level (Paige is dark-haired while most of the others minus Katherine Heigl are blonde).

Edited by k410ren on Nov 28th 2020 at 9:04:25 AM

"I'll show you the Dark Side." CM actors and kills

Bringing up the following examples from Dinner at Eight, which mention the characters' popularity, but don't mention whether or not they're minor characters:

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Per the course with any part Jean Harlow played, Kitty is one of the most remembered characters in the film.
  • Carlotta Vance comes close to equalling her in popularity, due to Marie Dressler's dry wit making her a Cool Old Lady.
  • Millicent has a lot of fans too, due to Billie Burke's Adorkable hysterics while planning the dinner.

As I mentioned above, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has an Ensemble Dark Horse list that's longer than it needs to be. I understand that in a game as nonlinear as BOTW it's hard to establish who truly makes up a "major" character but plot-critical and prominent ones probably shouldn't go here:

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Kass, the tall accordion-playing Rito earned a pretty sizeable fan-base as soon as he appeared in the demo at The Game Awards 2016. Being one of the friendliest characters in the game and a great dad to boot cemented him as one of the most beloved characters in the game. If not the most beloved. Keep. He's not super plot important but he is very beloved and this entry makes it clear how and why.
  • Riju, the Gerudo chieftain, also earned fans as soon as she was shown in the January 12 trailer. The fact that she signaled the return of the Gerudo certainly helped. She's one of the new champions. I consider those major characters. For that reason I think she should be removed. Also the reasons this entry gives are largely speculative in nature.
  • Urbosa, the Gerudo champion, was heaped on with love immediately after screenshots of her started appearing. Before the audience learned of her protective and cool personality, they were also very attracted to her muscular physique. See above for why I think she should be deleted.
  • While Revali is contentious among the fanbase, the two other prominent Rito warriors, Harth and Teba, are characters who everyone agrees is cool, thanks to both of them being doubtful-yet-noble family men who won't hesitate to help Link in his quest in any way they can. And because Harth has a great haircut and Teba said a swear. Teba is a champion, albeit less characterized than the other three. Harth is not so maybe he can stay.
  • Purah is well liked for her neat design and perky attitude, as well as having some very funny dialogue and a hilarious backstory detailed in her journal. As a member of Impa's family she gets more prominence than other Sheikah. Probably should delete.
  • Doesn't matter how many times you see it, it's impossible not to feel a sense of awe and wonder whenever you hear that beautiful ancient music and one of the three Great Dragons of Hyrule passes overhead, thanks to their stately benevolence and sheer elegant beauty. This is just gushing that says nothing about character popularity. Delete.
  • Prince Sidon is well-liked for his personality, being a generally Nice Guy, and his design. Sounding like Joseph Joestar doesn't hurt either. If you go into the Breath of the Wild tag on Tumblr, you can find a lot of posts about Prince Sidon. Then there's his child form that appears in the DLC. Conflicted. He's one of the champions so definitely too plot-important for this, but he is unusually popular to the point that even non-fans recognize him. Perhaps he could be a Breakout Character but I'm not sure of the developers giving him an official upgrade in status because of it.
  • Paya is appreciated due to being gentle, beautiful, having a charmingly Adorkable personality, and having a not-well-hidden massive crush on Link. Delete. All this says is that she's liked, which doesn't mean much. And again she's part of Impa's family. Delete.
  • Dorian is probably the most popular of the Sheikah after Paya thanks to having an incredibly tragic, dramatic, and fascinating backstory as a reformed Yiga Clan ninja that's easily worthy of another game all on its own. Keep. Definitely a minor character.
  • Hestu, for lessening one of the game's Scrappy Mechanics, and for the sheer absurdity of how he does it. Not sure. He's the most prominent Korok character but not especially plot-important. Possible keep.
  • Horse God Malanya is beloved for being a benevolent Creepy Good shaman spirit who can resurrect your loyal steed if one of your horses gets killed. Optional but also all this entry says is that he's liked, not necessarily unusually popular. Considering deleting.
  • The moment people realized that Link could (a) ride a bear, (b) set a bear on fire, and (c) ride a bear that was on fire, the bears in game instantly became popular. Keep, I guess? Although I haven't really seen much about them being unusually popular either nor does this entry make that evident, generic field animals becoming well-liked because of such strange traits would fit the bill.
  • Master Kohga has become quite popular for his Laughably Evil and hammy personality and for his easy, but hilarious boss battle. Delete. He's the most prominent Yiga member.
  • Guardian Stalkers appear to have become this after an exploit was discovered that allows the player to steer them while on top of their heads. Delete. They're the most prominent guardians and the "appear to have become" doesn't really help its case.
  • Satori, the Lord of the Mountain. His incredibly unique and strange-yet-wondrous design makes him a joy just to see, and having the best stats of any steed in the whole game doesn't hurt either. The first time you see him, it's hard to resist the urge to say "My God, he's beautiful." Keep as he's optional.
  • Lynels went from somewhat obscure Demonic Spiders in the 2D Zelda games to being one of the most popular enemies in the franchise thanks to their upgrade to Boss in Mook Clothing in this game. Keep. This is self-evident.
  • Brigo, despite his predictions of doom, has an undeniable appeal for his involvement in the simultaneous Tear Jerker and Heartwarming Moment that is the I'm Young But You're Even Younger event. He fits the bill in the sense of minor but with some popularity but the entry is not written to be clear or highlight why/how he is especially popular. So delete.

From SCP Foundation:

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Able, Iris, the Old Man, but most of all is 682. freaking ZCE.
  • "Bees", thanks to its uniquely bizarre premise and pitch-perfect combination of fear and humor, which makes it widely regarded as one of the funniest and scariest stories on the site. Why a tale?
  • Despite not being as famous as Able, Iris, or the Old Man, SCP-811 ("Swamp Woman") is one of the highest-rated humanoid SCPs on the site. She's also quite popular in fan art.
  • 999, the cute gelatin cube with the power to spread happiness that loves candy, comforts the depressed staff, jumps in front of bullets to protect its friends, and fearlessly faces down 682. Admit it: you want one.
  • SCP-____-J. It's a very short article (which is the point), yet it's the third highest rated page on the entire wiki, right after SCP-2521 and SCP-173.
  • SCP-040 ("Evolution's Child"), SCP-049 ("Plague Doctor"), SCP-131 ("Eye Pods"), and SCP-134 ("Star-Eyed Child") are quite popular amongst fanart creators. 049, in particular, got a huge boost in popularity due to TheVolgun's delightfully creepy voice work from SCP – Containment Breach, and his article eventually even got a rewrite to flesh him out as a character, complete with audio logs.
  • SCP-1471 is getting a growing fanbase for some reasons. It helps that the profile picture used for 1471 is an actual fursuit and that 1471 itself is completely harmless, with most of its creepiness coming from its intimidating appearance.
  • SCP-2521, the enigmatic info-stealing monster, is one of the most iconic SCPs outside the initial 1000 due to its article's unique gimmick and execution. On the site itself, it's the second-highest rated article next to SCP-173, beating out even SCP-087 and SCP-____-J.
  • SCP-3008, the Infinite IKEA, is one of the highest-rated SCP's from Series 4^note which starts off with SCP-3000 and onward. This is helped from the fact that it's one of the few SCP's to have a standalone videogame adaptation. I added this myself because the alot of the previous entries had high (>1000) ratings, and SCP-3008 is highest-rated if Series 4 and onward are the only ones counted (Last time I saw the rating it was at 2308).

Cassie | he/they | But will it stop the pain forever? / I just can't be sure

From EnsembleDarkhorse.Sword Art Online:

• Kayaba himself. He's deemed the most iconic villain who was responsible for the entirety of the series being possible to begin with. Many feel he was greatly underused, especially compared to his despised successor Sugou. It helps that he's one of the most sympathetic antagonists, being an Affably Evil Fair-Play Villain with he and Kirito holding mutual respect and considering each other to be Worthy Opponents. He's the Big Bad of Aincrad Arc.
• Yuuki, the Deuteragonist of Mother's Rosario, has proven to be insanely popular within the fanbase, mainly due to her deep friendship with Asuna and being one of the few characters who can beat Kirito in a fair fight. This is further reinforced and lampshaded by Kirito himself, who noted that she would've been an Invincible Hero if she had learned Dual Wielding in SAO. Merchandising and the games pretty much has granted her a permanent spot alongside the rest of the main cast. Sadly, she's Too Cool to Live and many fans are mourning over her passing. Though she did end up being Spared by the Adaptation in the video game continuity thanks to her Popularity Power. Deuteragonists are important characters.
• Death Gun is often considered to be one of the best villains of the series. Unlike his predecessors he isn't a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing or an Orcus on His Throne and actively serves as a constant threat throughout the arc, with the mystery of who he is and how he does what he does. There's also the sheer Creepy Awesome theatrics that's put into his character which makes him visually intimidating. Further delving into his character actually reveals a very deep and fleshed out motivation behind why he kills^note see Fridge/SwordArtOnline for more details, unlike Kayaba who's motivation was never explained or Sugou who was just one-note and generic. He's the Big Bad of Phantom Bullet Arc.
• Eugeo, despite being the deuteragonist of the first half of Alicization, was seen by many as underused. He's quite possibly the most loved male character, being Kirito's answer to Asuna's Yuuki, but with a fleshed out and sympathetic backstory along with a fair amount of Character Development. Polls show Eugeo might be the most loved Alicization character and in the running for most popular character period. His brutal death at Quinella's hand caused the whole fandom to mourn for him, but he was Spared by the Adaptation in the game and fully joins the main cast, to the point he's the main lead for his own chapter in the game under the title Blooming of Forget-me-not (also known as Myosotis in Japan). Same as Yuuki.
• Quinella is quite possibly the most loved SAO villain of all time. Adored for her complexity, the gracefulness of her villainy, her immense godlike power, and of course her attractiveness which she boasts by the fact that she has no qualms showing off her body to seduce opponents and go Full-Frontal Assault. She's the Arc Villain of Alicization's first half.
• Strea and Philia have huge fanbases for their colorful personalities and interesting backstories. Strea is beloved for being Fun Personified and her assets, while Philia is deemed to have some of the greatest amount of character growth out of the cast with her Dark and Troubled Past. Many fans wish these two will one day get introduced into canon. They're main characters, not to mention being major and important.
• Rain and Seven endeared everyone with their sisterly love and made for a far more interesting plot in ALO than Sugou did. Proof of Seven's popularity can be seen with fans constantly requesting Seven be added to a future game whenever she isn't in the original line-up. In addition, Rain's popularity was further bolstered thanks to Memory Defrag where she's one of the biggest Crutch Characters available. Same as Strea and Philia.
• Kureha the main heroine for Fatal Bullet is immensely popular due to her sassy tsundere traits along with her I Just Want to Be Special story arc. Main heroine of the game.

Those characters especially deuteragonists and antagonists cannot qualify because they're major and important characters. However, I deleted some from this list that Snowy 66 re-added.

Edited by MalleoWeegee on Jan 19th 2021 at 12:37:53 PM

"I SHALL UNIFY THE WORLD! FROM ALPHA TO OMEGA... BOW DOWN TO ME!!!"

From The Devil Wears Prada:

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Despite Anne Hathaway being the lead, most of the praise for the film went to Emily Blunt for her funny portrayal of Emily.
  • Serena is quite popular in the fandom despite not having much plot relevance beyond being Emily's friend. This is especially true in the shipping community. Where she and Emily make up the second most popular ship after Miranda x Andy.
  • Nigel is popular for Stanley Tucci's delectably flamboyant and funny performance, as well as helping Andy.

Now here's the thing. Emily and Nigel are both major characters. Both are also quite important to both the story, get third and fourth billing, and have heaps of screen time that is only topped by Andy and Miranda who are the leads. Are major characters allowed to be this? Serena has at most a handful of scenes where she doesn't do much.

Thoughts?

Edited by Bullman on Dec 30th 2020 at 11:29:36 AM

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

Emily Blunt got nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance and also got nominated for the Movie Awards of Breakthrough Performance and Comedic Performance.

So yeah, her portrayal of Emily Charlton definitely stands out as memorable.

Yeah, but she is also a main character with very big plot relevance, along with heaps of screen time and development. I am reasonably sure a main character can't be this.

Edited by Bullman on Dec 30th 2020 at 11:39:18 AM

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

So none of these would fit then I take it?

I feel like a scene stealer is not necessarily the same as an EDH. That said, an EDH is usually a scene stealer though.

I think Serena might still fit. She is quite popular, and definitely is not a main character.

Edited by Bullman on Dec 30th 2020 at 12:30:08 PM

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

I would be inclined to agree. I wanted to see more of Serena than what was shown.

Given both how Nigel’s written and that he’s played by Stanley Tucci, it’s very clear that we’re supposed to pay attention to him.

I wanted to ask about certain characters. I will later though.

Edited by futuremoviewriter on Dec 30th 2020 at 1:17:43 AM

Anymore opinions?

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

EnsembleDarkhorse.The Mandalorian

• The show's portrayal of Boba Fett is especially notable for managing to overcome the sizable Hype Backlash he'd built up after four decades of being heralded by fans as the franchise's ultimate Memetic Badass with precious little actual onscreen evidence of it. Everyone who were already fans were overjoyed to see him finally kicking ass in canon like they'd always imagined, and quite a few others said that they never thought they'd be interested in Boba getting his own show, but his brief role in Season 2 singlehandedly got them legitimately excited for The Book of Boba Fett.

This sounds closer to Rescued from the Scrappy Heap. As he already was a Breakout Character by this point. Thoughts?

He's too much of a main character for it IMO. I'd also consider removing Mayfield since he has a whole episode centered around him.

I need opinions for this one!

Cassie | he/they | But will it stop the pain forever? / I just can't be sure

Can I get more opinions on these?

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

YMMV.Sonic Mania

• Ensemble Dark Horse: The Hard-Boiled Heavies are collectively loved for being unique, entertaining Eggman minions, but Heavy Magician is the most popular because of her trickster shenanigans and her boss fight in Mirage Saloon, where she transforms into Fang, Bean, and Bark. She even gets a role in reviving the other Heavies in the opening to Encore Mode.

The Heavies are one of the primary villains in this game. Delete?

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!

They appear once in a cutscene, once each as bosses, and have cameos in the final boss fight. Not major at all.

Hard disagree. Literally half of the boss fights are with them. It also pertains a group, so that disqualifies them anyway.

Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!

The entry mentions the group but focuses on Magician. Maybe rewrite it to be entirely about her?

From YMMV.Mega Man X:

• Iris only appeared in one game in the main series, but fans tend to be happy whenever she reappears, such as in Mega Man X-Treme 2 and as a NPC in Project X-Zone. She even got Promoted to Playable for Mega Man X DiVE.
• Marino is only present in the Command Mission spinoff, but is well-liked for being a playable female reploid. Cinnamon from the same game applies to, to the point where she was one of the first revealed playable characters for the cancelled Mega Man Online. Both made it into X DiVE early on.
• Of the Maverick bosses, Magma Dragoon and Storm Eagle are probably the most popular.
• Dynamo, Sigma's mercenary from X5, is also a little popular due to his cool, slick, and calm attitude, as well as being a bit of a friendly enemy. His leitmotif helps.
• Bit, one-half of the Nightmare Police from X3, is well-liked for his cool design and is especially popular with Japanese fans thanks to the "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" meme that originated from the Rockman X3 manga series (which became an Ascended Meme when he was Promoted to Playable in X DiVE around the holidays and given a matching skin). By contrast, his partner Byte is mostly forgotten about.

Aside from Storm Eagle and Dynamo, several of them became playable in DiVE.

"I SHALL UNIFY THE WORLD! FROM ALPHA TO OMEGA... BOW DOWN TO ME!!!"

Playable characters are too major to fit this trope, right? If so, Mortal Kombat might need a major cleanup.

Mortal Kombat 9

• Johnny Cage became a darkhorse thanks in part to borrowing his movie incarnation's personality (Film!Johnny was already being a darkhorse in his own right) and having his status as a well-meaning douche amped up to the point of hilarity. MK9 has quite a few CMOFs, and Johnny is responsible for most of them. Owing to his popularity, MKX ascended him to yet another Breakout Character by making him a Cool Old Guy and the best dad in the franchise and giving him his best CMOA ever (defeating Shinnok), while still keeping him as a source of great laughs despite the heartwarming rapport with his daughter and his improved badassery. Playable; and has an important role in the sequel.
• Nightwolf is interesting as he started out as an Ethnic Scrappy due to his Game-Breaker and Magical Native American status in MK3 but was rescued come Deception and cemented himself with this position in MK9 due to having Took a Level in Badass and establishing him as a trustworthy ally of Earthrealm. This popularity even added him back in MK11 as a DLC character; most notably, this appearance of him has been acclaimed as it delved into his backstory, with his tribe, the Matokan, serving a Great Spirit and him earning the position as the tribe's "Nightwolf" (the leader and defender of the tribe) after he defended the tribe's pride from Kano. Playable; has an important role in the narrative (performing a Heroic Sacrifice to prevent a major villain from killing the remaining heroes).
• Another example of a character who was Rescued from the Scrappy Heap by the reboot is Kurtis Stryker. Before MK9, he was seen as a bland and boring character (if a Tier Induced Scrappy in gameplay, especially after his Ultimate MK3 incarnation added the gunshot move) with an incredibly goofy design that reached Narm levels. His reappearance in Armageddon didn't exactly turn heads, despite his altered appearance. Come MK9, the creators threw him a bone by not only giving him a backstory very similar to the biography of John McClane, but also a much improved appearance that made him look sharper and more similar to a New York policeman. It also allowed him to have his crowning moments of ass-kicking in the story mode where he is able to take down the likes of Reptile, Mileena, Kintaro and Ermac using only his training in the force. Playable.
• Cyber Sub-Zero, Kuai Liang's Cyber Lin Kuei counterpart. After it was revealed Smoke wasn't the one kidnapped by the Cyber-Lin Kuei and programmed to help Shao Kahn conquer Earthrealm, Sub-Zero's new appearance as a cyborg was initially met lukewarmly, but soon grew more positive after the events of MKX revealed Quan Chi "rebuilt" Kuai's human self. It helps that, like Cyrax and Smoke (who is still a human as noted in the MK3 section), he never wanted to be part of the Cyber Initiative, while having gameplay differences from the human Sub-Zero that helped him stand out. His popularity would later include him in the Kombat Pack 2 for Mortal Kombat X, as a (not-so) secret variation for Triborg, with even more gameplay differences from Sub-Zero! Playable; and is one of the franchise's flagship characters given a new form.

Mortal Kombat X

• Erron Black, The Gunslinger in MKX, was popular the second he was introduced in the prequel comics and fans immediately called for him to appear properly in game. His cowboy design, dry humor, neat gun tricks, and being revealed to be much older than he looks in his ending give him plenty of reasons to be a fan favorite. Playable.
• Of Cassie Cage's group, Takeda is the biggest example. His introduction in the prequel comics as Kenshi's son and one of Scorpion's students/his adopted son left fans impressed, especially after he broke out of his timid shell and found the will to kill (if necessary). His appearance in the game as a proud warrior, yet still a nice guy and arguably The Heart of Cassie's team, as well as the first fighter to extensively use whips for combat, has also helped his case significantly. In fact, he's one of the few "new generation" characters that didn't return for MK11 that have noticeably been missed. Playable.
• The Old Lady at the Marketplace stage—known as Blanche by the staff—is quite popular for a background character in a random stage because of the sheer amusement of watching the fight and being used as a weapon. She instantly became a Memetic Badass once it is revealed that she can beat people to death as a Stage Brutality. See for yourself! The old woman doesn't have a name or any narrative significance. She is literally just a living obstacle.

Mortal Kombat 11

• An example of an inanimate one, the Joker's Batman puppet/hidden gun was immediately latched onto by fans. In particular, during Joker's back throw with the line "I'll save the day!" followed by several gunshots. Inanimate object, not a character.

I think playable characters can be Ensemble Darkhorses? Depends on how big the roster is/how much significance they have. Either way, for sure cut Johnny, Nightwolf, and Cyber Sub Zero.

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