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This is a list of stock characters that are most commonly used for comedic effect.
The Fool: a clown or joker who speaks in riddles and puns. Often, the fool is, despite his name, actually extremely intelligent, wise, and/or witty and reveals key truths about the characters with whom he speaks (Shakespeare's fools, such as the ones in Twelfth Night and King Lear, are well-known examples).
The False Hero: A usually arrogant and not very intelligent individual who is full of false confidence in their abilities. Often claims credit for things they have not accomplished, and is often well-respected and admired by those unable to see the truth about them. Examples include Zap Brannigan of Futurama, Hercule Satan of Dragon Ball Z, Gilderoy Lockhart of the Harry Potter series, and Susano from Okami.
The Fop: a person that tries to be highly fashionable and aristocratic. He is typically overdressed and his speech is characterized by overuse or misuse of popular phrases (often French phrases) or various forms of hypercorrection. The fop is never intelligent and always talkative. (The Hero sometimes poses as a fop to allay his enemies’ suspicions: The Scarlet Pimpernel hid behind the persona of Sir Percy Blakeney. Zorro hid behind the image of the Fop, Don Diego. Batman’s public persona of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne is a fop).
The Trickster: often supernatural or mysterious. No visible objectives or motivation but provides impetus to the plot and acts as a catalyst for events. May later become a clear cut good guy or villain. Plays tricks and spreads chaos, disorganizing society and creating something new. Represents both the JungianShadow and the basic fear and joyous love of chaos. Early examples include Loki, Amaguq, Reynard the fox, and Púca from various mythologies. Shakespearan tricksters include Ariel from The Tempest and Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Slade from Teen Titans and Xellos from Slayers are modern examples of this character type.
The Mother-in-law: A usually seasonal source of anguish for the son or daughter-in-law, typically ugly and overbearing. One of the familiar modern examples is Marie on Everybody Loves Raymond.
The Old Seaman usually a sailor, has knowledge of the sea, boats, folklore,etc, but may know little about anything else. They are often very mysterious, and sometimes even mystic or supernatural. They often speak with in sailor jargon. examples include Popeye, Captain Salty from "Family Guy", Captain Haddock from The Adventures of Tintin, Sheena's Uncle Earl from Hey Arnold!, and Captain McAllister from The Simpsons.
The Competent Sidekick: A highly intelligent and hard working sidekick whose talents might even surpass the hero and yet goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Most often paired with The False Hero. Examples include Kif Kroker of Futurama, Gus of Psych and Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder the Third.
The Pothead: A character whose use of marijuana (although the writer could use other substances) is the source of humor. This humor often relies stereotypical behavior of people who use marijuana. Examples include Cheech and Chong or Otto Mann from The Simpsons.
The Village Idiot:A character who is normally recognized as having the lowest IQ level of the whole community. They can usually be seen making a fool of themself in public. Examples of this character include Ed of Ed, Edd n Eddy and Doogle Pluck of Ned's Newt.
The Harem comedy guy: He is often a kind hearted lad, under 20, who somehow ends up living with a large group of women interested in him, even though he is nervous around women. He is normally a protagonist of the story, and has to deal with the girls being interested in him which can be a bit hard as there are many different problems. He is also drawn into the troubles surrounding them. Examples include Tenchi Muyo, Love Hina, Ah! My Goddess, to a limited extent, Three's Company, and some others.
The harem comedy women These women are interested in one guy mainly, and often there are at least two fighting for him. The others are mainly a bit interested in him, but are not violent. Groups of these women often include the following: an emotional girl/ woman, a fighter and a mad scientist.
The Inanimate Object: An object which functions as a character and is treated like a real person by at least some the cast. Most of the time, the object is a toy, but there are exceptions. Examples include Pooky, of Garfield, Bubble Buddy of Spongebob Squarepants, Mr. Hat or Clyde Frog of South Park, Mr. Bean's Teddy, Hobbes of Calvin and Hobbes, Plank of Ed, Edd, n Eddy, Ultralord doll of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, B.B. King's guitar Lucielle, and Stumpy in the Ren and Stimpy show.
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