r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Vast-Tangerine-6771 • 2h ago
Personality (Loved Trope) The comic relief isn't dumb and is actually competent
Sokka (Avatar the Last Airbender) - Plenty of cool moments in battle where he has to use his intelligence and wit as he is the only one is the group who can't bend. Honestly a hilarious character who can show that he can serious when he needs to be.
Alebrije (Legend Quest) - One of the MVP’s of the show. Not only has he put his life on the line for his team on multiple occasions, but he can read people's personalities/emotions surprisingly well and give advice to them in serious moments.
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u/Mindless-Cat1453 2h ago
Gimli in lotr movies.
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u/RP_Throwaway3 1h ago
Fun Fact: When the scheduled shooting for the day involved fights with Gimli, the stunt performers would request thicker padding because John Rhys-Davis just went all out with his swings every single time. All of their worst bruises were from filming Gimli fights.
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u/Anonymous-Comments 2h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/J1GTGYdVEztbNd2ocE
Donatello in Rise of the TMNT is imo the funniest character in the show partly because he’s the smartest. Gives him a lot of wit in comparison to the others.
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u/Mysterious_Man_65 2h ago edited 2h ago
The talking donkey may be dimwitted but he convinces Shrek to chase after Fiona, summons the dragon so they can ride it to Duloc and brings the giant dragon just in time to devour Lord Farquaad and scatter the knights (Shrek)
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u/Nerdorama10 2h ago
Donkey is the perfect example of an RPG character who put all his points into charisma and social skills and ABSOLUTELY nothing else.
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u/Dragonfang65 1h ago
Also he achieved countless Bards’s dream successfully seducing the Dragon.
(Granted he does have a good attack. His Burrow Blast!!)
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u/goteachyourself 2h ago
Timon and Pumbaa (The Lion King) - Timon is a bit of a coward, but is pretty shrewd when it comes to tactics. And Pumbaa is the simpler of the two, but can still be a very useful bruiser when needed. And of course, they worked together well enough to raise Simba.
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u/phantom_avenger 1h ago
In The Lion King 1 1/2, it showed that when push comes to shove, Timon will actually make the courageous and brave move to sacrifice himself in order to save his loved ones.
When he makes a risk to collapse on the rest of the tunnel trap he had his mom and uncle set up, in order to wipe out the hyenas
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u/sisdom-weeker 2h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/pmflrLVYBKC9ctZNNk
Not sure "comic relief" is the right word for him given that he's a character in a comedy but Mr Boss's main purpose is to be goofy and weird but he's also repeatedly shown to be a genuinely effective boss
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u/Siksinaaq 2h ago
Tuco or 'The Ugly' in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966).
Most of the comedic moments of the film come from him, but he's also an incredibly skilled and deadly gunslinger.
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u/Delillian 2h ago
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u/RoderickThe13 1h ago
For me every Straw Hat is the comic relief depending on the scene. It's something that makes them stand out as an ensemble cast. It's also something that the live action didn't do as well as the original.
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u/MangoMaraudr_ 1h ago
Ryuji Sakamoto (AKA Skull) from Persona 5
Competent fighter and has a heart of gold, consistently the comedic relief, not the smartest but certainly not dumb.
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u/hallucination9000 1h ago
One of his main flaws is that he doesn’t always think about whether something would work, just jumps in with absolute faith that it will. Then again he’s a protagonist so it usually does.
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u/That-Rhino-Guy 1h ago
He’s a little naive but Bolin is anything but incompetent when it comes to actually fighting
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u/MrCookieHUN 2h ago
I think they said it best on Cinema Therapy about Sokka:
He changes, he grows, he becomes better, but he's still himself. He's written so he doesn't fall for the same stuff twice, and writing someone who finds newer and newer ways of screwing things up.
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u/toolaroola12 1h ago
Pinkie pie (she may act like a bit of an airhead/ hyperactive child but she's incredibly talented and intelligent when it comes to certain things)
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u/Kevandre 1h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/8ju8TNTNzZ3Dq
Saul Goodman (specifically in Breaking Bad)
not that he's not often comedic relief in BCS too but he has a lot more dramatic scenes with no comedic relief present in that show
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u/Kevandre 1h ago
For a more obscure choice, Nick Campbell in Super Powereds (book series)
One of the smartest people in the series, save for those with brain-enhancing powers like Will or Mr. Numbers. And even then, he occasionally outsmarts them. Just generally in a lower key and playing off his contribution with a joke or making it unknown to most people that he was the one who did it
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u/JoeMorgue 2h ago
NJPW Wrestler' Toru Yano. A comedy act most famous for trying to sell other wrestlers copies of his DVD while in the ring with them, unlike WWE/AEW comedy wrestlers in the West he's also scripted as a completely competent opponent, and has both sneaky cheating wins and perfectly clean wins over top wrestlers.
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u/A_Complete_Nerd 1h ago
Everyone in I.M.P. has been a comic relief to some extent (especially Moxxie), but aside from their newest member Stolas, they've all proven themselves to be really capable in fights. Moxxie in particular has really improved his marksmanship since season 1.
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u/That-Rhino-Guy 1h ago
Went from dying repeatedly to kicking Satan’s ass and being chosen by Gods to protect Earth
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u/Effective_Sun_5289 2h ago
Ice king- adventure time. Even though he's crazy he frequently has moments of genius and valuable information