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Bumbling Sidekick
- 354 statements
- 68 feature instances
- 136 referencing feature instances
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The seemingly annoying and incompetent sidekick for another character — usually an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist — who barely tolerates him. The only talent a Bumbling Sidekick has is the ability to tolerate any amount of abuse — and he needs it, given how often his "friends" are yelling at him and throwing him face-first into walls. Some Bumbling Sidekicks are delusional and think they are appreciated, which is why they put up with the abuse they get. Others are just too desperate for friendship and/or money to leave. They tend to have extreme luck — either they're the resident Butt-Monkey, or they reap all the benefits of other characters' hard work, which makes everyone resent them even more. This trope is Older Than Steam, possibly originating in Italian Commedia dell'Arte plays. Often overlaps with Minion with an F in Evil, Cowardly Sidekick, or The Friend Nobody Likes. They are almost always the Nice Moron in a Smart Jerk and Nice Moron pair. If their stupidity includes rushing into danger unprepared, they're also a Reckless Sidekick. If a villain has two of these, they're a Bumbling Henchmen Duo. This is why villains yell that they're Surrounded by Idiots. Compare and Contrast with the Hypercompetent Sidekick. |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_16b68b54 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_16b68b54 | comment |
Mocked in Jingle All the Way. The in-universe Turbo Man show features a furry animal sidekick named Booster who is implied to be this, and everyone hates him. Stores are choked with Booster dolls and parents react angrily when they're offered as an alternative to the sought-after Turbo Man dolls. An actor wearing his costume is beaten up by a bunch of kids at the end as they exclaim how much they hate Booster. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_16b68b54 | featureApplicability |
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Jingle All the Way | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_1b386512 | type |
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Ranma ½: Sasuke Sarugakure, Ninja servant to the Kun�s in the anime, alternates between being incompetent and the Straight Man for the Kun�s, depending on just how insane his masters are this week. | |
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Ranma ½ (Manga) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_1bdeba5a | type |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_1bdeba5a | comment |
X-Men villain Toad has played this role for Magneto for a very long time. He didn't start to grow balls until the '90s, and even then, he was still the Butt-Monkey until The Movie came out where — thanks to additional ranine abilities like a "nasty tongue" and spitting goo — he became quite an effective villain, which carried over into the comics. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_1bdeba5a | featureApplicability |
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X-Men (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_20028d77 | type |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_20028d77 | comment |
Even The Spectre had "Percival Popp, the Super Cop," a dorky amateur detective (but not an actual police officer) who followed him around. | |
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The Spectre (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_20336460 | type |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_20336460 | comment |
Elliot from Jagged Alliance 2 fits this like a glove. His boss, the very bitchy and hot-tempered Queen Deidranna enjoys killing the messenger. In this case, it's always Elliot, and it always involves her slapping the shit out of him, and in one instance, shooting him with a pistol at point-blank range... only to have him get up and insist that he clean the mess himself. He is incredibly devoted to her, regardless of the abuse he takes, and actually would survive until the end of the game if your mercs don't find him and put him out of his misery. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_20336460 | featureApplicability |
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Jagged Alliance (Video Game) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_260d57b3 | type |
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Excel♡Saga: All the girls Il Palazzo employs are flawed to some extent, but Excel is the one that is most likely going to mess up whatever new plan he has for taking over Fukuoka City. She is also completely delusional with regards to how much Il Palazzo cares about her. | |
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Excel♡Saga (Manga) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_29e77392 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_29e77392 | comment |
Horrible Histories has several, notably over-sharing Pedro in 'Francisco Pizarro's Very Rough Guide to Mexico': "...and then we steal all their gold!". | |
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Horrible Histories | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_2bb4ae0f | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_2bb4ae0f | comment |
Heroes: Sylar gains one in the form of the teenager Luke in Volume 4. Luke forces Sylar to not kill him by saying that he knows where Sylar's father is. However, Luke himself is a bit of an ass and really gets on Sylar's nerves. Once Sylar finally figures out where his father is, he ditches Luke and never looks back. | |
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Heroes | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_2f3aa7ef | comment |
My Little Pony: My Little Pony 'n Friends: Bray, the primary servant of the villain Grogar, is a bumbling and cowardly fool in contrast to his much more competent master. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: In Spike's comic book, Humdrum is this to the Power Ponies in the episode of the same name. Of course things change when Spike takes on the role. |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_2f3aa7ef | featureApplicability |
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My Little Pony (Franchise) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_32a5e4c8 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_32a5e4c8 | comment |
Shirobako: Tarou Takanashi is not actually that incompetent per se, but he's an airheaded braggart who's just about as sensitive as a brick, and has a responsibility of the latter as well. Unfortunately, he's not the worst example of what the protagonist has to deal with on a regular basis. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_32a5e4c8 | featureApplicability |
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Shirobako | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_334120fc | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_334120fc | comment |
Fighter from 8-Bit Theater is, at times, Black Mage's Bumbling Sidekick. When the action heats up, this often gets inverted. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_334120fc | featureApplicability |
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8-Bit Theater (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_34fd3cf6 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_34fd3cf6 | comment |
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Meatwad acts like a small child, complete with imaginary friends. This lets him be the perfect Bumbling Sidekick — he's clingy, gullible, stubborn, useless in an emergency, and has no attention span. He also has the wild sidekick luck — his fortunes vary from being sold for cash to becoming the god of Christmas. The golf videogame lampshades this with comments like "What a rotten friend you are!" when describing the pickups allowing you to use him as a golf ball or as a distraction for the enemy to target. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_34fd3cf6 | featureApplicability |
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Aqua Teen Hunger Force | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_360140c7 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_360140c7 | comment |
Fireman Sam: Elvis Cridlington is a downplayed example, in that while his clumsy Cloudcuckoolander personality means he fills a lot of the credentials of this trope during interactions and team busy work (especially around Officer Steele), he usually ups his game considerably during actual emergencies, and has even saved the other firefighters more than once. Ellie and Arnold almost botch their first rescue by refusing to listen to Elvis' directions, convinced he is this trope as much as he is off-duty. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_360140c7 | featureApplicability |
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Fireman Sam | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_3a322a82 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_3a322a82 | comment |
Jeremy Hillary Boob, PH.D. from Yellow Submarine would certainly qualify as he sends the sub off without him or the Beatles aboard, gets lodged in a hole and captured by the Blue Meanies, then attempts (and in spite of his bumbling succeeds) to fight off a Meanie guard. | |
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Yellow Submarine | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_3e6efd69 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_3e6efd69 | comment |
Elan is often portrayed as Roy's Bumbling Sidekick. In the Origin of the PCs prequel, he definitely is toward his Paladin partner. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_3e6efd69 | featureApplicability |
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Prequel | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_3f31fd13 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_3f31fd13 | comment |
Vampire Girl: Goofy Idiot Sidekick personifies this for Vampire Hunter, as he is pretty much a useless slacker who does nothing but eat snacks and play video games all day, while Vampire Hunter is actively making attempts to rid society of vampires. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_3f31fd13 | featureApplicability |
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Vampire Girl (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_42d070ed | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_42d070ed | comment |
The World God Only Knows: By the third or fourth capture, Keima has acknowledged that his partner Elsie is basically completely useless for helping in his conquests unless he requires the magical assistance of the Plot Device she wears as part of her clothes. He points out that partners are supposed to be intelligent and capable, so she's all happy that she has Keima in that case... which gets her yelled at for thinking she's the main character. Ryou, Nora's partner is on the same level, if not worse than Elsie. He's an incredibly dumb Casanova Wannabe who needs to read lines to pick up girls, but he only makes them want to ignore him. Totally opposite to Keima, Ryou is useless for driving out Runaway Spirits through romancing girls, so Nora has to take it into her own hands to handle Runaway Spirits, which wouldn't be too bad if she didn't try to solve all problems with violence by default. |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_42d070ed | featureApplicability |
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The World God Only Knows (Manga) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_44e08ee8 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_44e08ee8 | comment |
Played somewhat seriously on Homicide: Life on the Street with John Munch. Munch starts out as a lazy, somewhat inept detective who coasts by while letting his more experienced partner Stanley Bolander do most of the legwork, and occasionally fails at basic tenets of police work. Bolander's influence results in him gradually growing out of this, and by Season 3 he's a competent detective in his own right. | |
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Homicide: Life on the Street | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_4522fd1 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
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Greasy of the Whateley Universe, the deviser who's the sidekick of annoying horndog Peeper around the Whateley campus. Despite this, he's still more competent than Peeper himself (being a modestly skilled Devisor), but that's not saying much. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_4522fd1 | featureApplicability |
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Whateley Universe | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_524e2e3b | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_524e2e3b | comment |
Donald Duck frequently falls into this role when Uncle Scrooge is around, Depending on the Writer. Donald is not stupid, just blinded by his own ego at times. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_524e2e3b | featureApplicability |
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Donald Duck | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_573cc59a | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_573cc59a | comment |
A Cruel God Reigns: Savage tends to fall into this category for Ian. He isn't dumb, per se, but he doesn't often think before acting, and he seems to often be swaying for his Even the Guys Want Him type love for Ian. He is very much a secondary, side-kick k character, and the two's interactions are usually played for laughs. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_573cc59a | featureApplicability |
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A Cruel God Reigns (Manga) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_5755b96a | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_5755b96a | comment |
The Order of the Stick: Elan is often portrayed as Roy's Bumbling Sidekick. In the Origin of the PCs prequel, he definitely is toward his Paladin partner. On the villains' side, Thog is this for Nale in the Linear Guild. |
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The Order of the Stick (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_58532c2b | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_58532c2b | comment |
Atomic Puppet: Mookie was one to Captain Atomic. However, the humiliation he faced from everybody because of this made him bitter and envious, leading him to replace and control Captain Atomic by turning him into a sock puppet. | |
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Atomic Puppet | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_63230cb | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
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Dragon Ball Z Abridged turns Nappa into this sort of character, and he quickly became an Ensemble Dark Horse. | |
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Dragon Ball Z Abridged (Web Video) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_67ce5a04 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_67ce5a04 | comment |
In Fire Emblem Fates, each of the Hoshidan and Nohrian princes and princesses has two retainers assigned to them as bodyguards and servants. In Hinoka's case, her retainers Setsuna and Azama are a lazy klutz who easily falls into traps and a snarky jerk who has no problem whatsoever mouthing off to his mistress. They're competent in battle, but Hinoka notes with some dismay that they're not very helpful, and she ends up having to look out for them. Amusingly, Setsuna's supports with Saizo reveal that Hinoka ends up doing many things for Setsuna (e.g. waking her up in the morning, helping her get dressed, watching out for traps) that Setsuna should be doing for Hinoka. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_67ce5a04 | featureApplicability |
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Fire Emblem Fates (Video Game) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_6f08fbe2 | type |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_6f08fbe2 | comment |
The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad show at Universal's Islands of Adventure has Kabob, Sindbad's incredibly incompetent sidekick that is often the source of many screw-ups and is the show's primary source of comedy. | |
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The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad (Theatre) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_6fb218d7 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_6fb218d7 | comment |
Parodied in the Doctor Who Missing Adventures novel Managra, where the Bumbling Sidekick to the resident dashing hero is in fact a lot smarter than he lets on — and, indeed, a lot smarter than his boss in many ways — but pretends to be a dimwit because it pays better. | |
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Doctor Who Missing Adventures | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_701bf5d6 | type |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_701bf5d6 | comment |
The burglar Marv in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. In the first film, he and his partner Harry appear to have a more equal relationship but in the second film he is clearly Harry's dragon and a lot dumber than he was in the first film. Also, Cedric the bellboy is the Bumbling Sidekick to Mr. Hector, the hotel concierge at the Plaza Hotel Kevin stays at. | |
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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_72f19882 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_72f19882 | comment |
The Flash had Winky, Blinky, and Noddy, aka "The Three Dimwits" (a more precise term would be "The Three Ripoffs of Larry, Moe, and Curly.)" | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_72f19882 | featureApplicability |
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The Flash (Franchise) | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_77e22425 | type |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_77e22425 | comment |
Pinky and the Brain: Pinky is not desperate, nor does he ever quite demonstrate the delusion that he is appreciated. Rather, he is simply too scatterbrained and cheerfully oblivious to notice that such a thing as contempt exists, much less that the Brain harbors so endless a supply of it for him. Deep down, the Brain really does care for Pinky as much as Pinky, who considers the Brain his best friend in all the world, cares for the Brain. | |
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Pinky and the Brain | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_77e30f15 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
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Secret Squirrel: Morocco Mole. Not very bright, regularly makes mistakes and misses things, etc. | |
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Secret Squirrel | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_84823809 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_84823809 | comment |
Kaeloo: Stumpy is one to Mr. Cat whenever they team up. His stupidity and ineptitude at everything, combined with his bad luck, make him one of the worst sidekicks in history. | |
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Kaeloo | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_87a34962 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_87a34962 | comment |
In the UK comedy series The New Statesman, Piers Fletcher-Dervish is Alan B'Stard's long-and-brutally-suffering sidekick. Not really under any illusion that Alan likes him, but too terrified to end the relationship. | |
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The New Statesman | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_880cfa15 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_880cfa15 | comment |
Schultz from Hogan's Heroes, though he's probably actually not as bumbling as Col. Klink—Klink is at least trying to be competent, whereas Schultz often is deliberately oblivious to what Hogan's crew is up to (expecting that getting involved will only turn out worse for him). | |
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Hogan's Heroes | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_8eb5bce9 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_8eb5bce9 | comment |
Touché Turtle and Dum Dum: Dum Dum has his heart in the right place, but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. | |
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Touché Turtle and Dum Dum | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_903d6567 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_903d6567 | comment |
Goof Troop: Pete regularly brings Goofy along on his Zany Schemes despite the fact that he despises him. Goofy is always happy to help Pete out and is blissfully unaware of Pete's Jerkass personality (or he just doesn't care)... but he is also Lethally Stupid and The Klutz, so generally speaking Pete's schemes end in disaster. | |
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Goof Troop | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_90a3a7f4 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_90a3a7f4 | comment |
Kim Possible: Ron is the goofy sidekick and clumsy Non-Action Guy to Kim's Action Girl. He does become more competent in later seasons and saves the day in the Series Finale. | |
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Kim Possible | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_90b916ba | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_90b916ba | comment |
Batman: The Animated Series: Harley Quinn is The Joker's Perky Female Minion who helps screw up his plans and annoy him more often than not. Admittedly, the Joker generally seemed to view her as his favorite henchman. Given that the Joker's favorite person is Batman, however, she still gets treated pretty badly. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_90b916ba | featureApplicability |
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Batman: The Animated Series | hasFeature |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_94bfa327 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_94bfa327 | comment |
The Dreamstone: Frizz and Nug are often this to Sgt Blob, if not all that willingly. While Blob himself is delusional enough for even them to have the occasional intellectual superiority to, they lack any sense of tactfulness, bravado, or even much evil ambition whatsoever, so much that if Blob didn't drag them into each mission they'd probably stay at home. Blob himself (along with Urpgor) are bumbling Mooks to Zordrak. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_94bfa327 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_94bfa327 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Dreamstone | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_94bfa327 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_97abe183 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_97abe183 | comment |
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: Invoked in "Carl Wheezer, Boy Genius", when Carl pretends to be a genius to impress his visiting Pen Pals. He makes Jimmy, the real genius, his "dimwitted assistant" to boss around and scapegoat whenever anything goes wrong. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_97abe183 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_97abe183 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_97abe183 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_984452d4 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_984452d4 | comment |
Ukko in Sláine, in addition to being a Servile Snarker. Then again, due to him being a lecherous, greedy, cowardly, obnoxious dwarf, it makes sense. No wonder he's such a Butt-Monkey. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_984452d4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_984452d4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Sláine (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_984452d4 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a43c65b6 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a43c65b6 | comment |
Plastic Man was already pretty funny in his own right, but he still got Woozy Winks, a fat, bumbling sidekick with a personality based on Lou Costello. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a43c65b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a43c65b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Plastic Man (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a43c65b6 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a535581a | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a535581a | comment |
Kronk, from The Emperor's New Groove is dimmer and less effective, but also kinder, than his scheming boss. If not for him bumbling an assassination the film would have been about ten minutes long, but thankfully for nearly everyone involved he turns his target into a llama. Unusually for this trope he gets a happy ending, mostly due to his Hidden Depths and Achievements in Ignorance. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a535581a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a535581a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Emperor's New Groove | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_a535581a | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_abc2e3ec | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_abc2e3ec | comment |
Agent Sydney Bristow to Agent Jack Baxter in The Ultra Violets. While one is a perfect fit for the job, the other couldn't be more out of place. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_abc2e3ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_abc2e3ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Ultra Violets | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_abc2e3ec | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b373a206 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b373a206 | comment |
The Green Lantern had Doiby Dickles, who could be succinctly described as "Insane Simpleton With a Wrench". | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b373a206 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b373a206 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Green Lantern (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b373a206 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b6c9037f | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b6c9037f | comment |
The Magnus Archives: This is how Jonathan regards Martin, one of his three assistants, though he becomes slightly more sympathetic after Martin’s encounter with Jane Prentiss, and continues to warm up to him over the course of the series, culminating in a Relationship Upgrade at the end of Season 4. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b6c9037f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b6c9037f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Magnus Archives (Podcast) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b6c9037f | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b7e8e4b6 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b7e8e4b6 | comment |
My Little Pony 'n Friends: Bray, the primary servant of the villain Grogar, is a bumbling and cowardly fool in contrast to his much more competent master. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b7e8e4b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b7e8e4b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
My Little Pony 'n Friends | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b7e8e4b6 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b96564e6 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b96564e6 | comment |
Manuel of Fawlty Towers. A Spaniard from Barcelona, Manuel's ineptitude for the English language - combined with the neurotic Basil Fawlty's knack for causing chaos - often made him cause things to go even worse. Basil firmly believes Manuel to be of subnormal intelligence. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b96564e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b96564e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Fawlty Towers | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_b96564e6 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_bc848d30 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_bc848d30 | comment |
SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob's best friend Patrick Star qualifies as this. Even though they have their moments together on their adventures, Patrick is prone to ignite the start of whatever hijinks they get into, with SpongeBob being somewhat the Only Sane Man. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_bc848d30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_bc848d30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
SpongeBob SquarePants | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_bc848d30 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c35714d6 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c35714d6 | comment |
Blackadder "Sod-off" Baldrick is a classic example. In the first season, he was a Hypercompetent Sidekick, but a Retool between seasons transformed him into the clumsy, clingy idiot who put up with a beating an episode. By the time of the fourth TV series, Blackadder Goes Forth, Private S. Baldrick's stupidity borders on insanity. Series 1 and 2 had Lord Percy Percy, Series 3 had Prince George (who Edmund is technically Hypercompetent Sidekick to), and Series 4 had Lieutenant George. |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_c35714d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c35714d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Blackadder | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c35714d6 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c41875bc | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c41875bc | comment |
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace replaces Otis with Lenny Luthor. Lex regards his teenage nephew as "the Dutch Elm disease in my family tree". | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c41875bc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c41875bc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c41875bc | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c4282b71 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c4282b71 | comment |
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: In Spike's comic book, Humdrum is this to the Power Ponies in the episode of the same name. Of course things change when Spike takes on the role. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c4282b71 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c4282b71 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c4282b71 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c47a07c7 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c47a07c7 | comment |
Sealab 2021: Hesh is considerably ruder and more self-assertive, but he still fits the pattern. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c47a07c7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c47a07c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Sealab 2021 | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c47a07c7 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c7f59f7d | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c7f59f7d | comment |
Teen Titans: Bette Kane, a former member of the Teen Titans, and prior to some retconning the original Batgirl, has been portrayed as this for many years. Recently, she decided to come out of retirement while in college, only to end up being kidnapped and held hostage by a serial killer a mere issue after her initial decision. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c7f59f7d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c7f59f7d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Teen Titans (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c7f59f7d | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c911df7d | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c911df7d | comment |
Strange Magic: The Bog King has two unnamed goblins. They're probably his most incompetent minions but are also willing to deal with his violent outbursts. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c911df7d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c911df7d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Strange Magic | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_c911df7d | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cacc7427 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cacc7427 | comment |
Galavant: At the end of the first season Richard becomes this to Galavant. Chester Wormwood the evil sorcerer/wedding planner has one of these. He has trouble separating which bits are secret and which aren't, leading to Wormwood exasperatedly explaining that yes, there is the wedding plan, the evil plot and the color scheme, and culminating in him sending out "Save the Dates" for their army's sneak attack. |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_cacc7427 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cacc7427 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Galavant | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cacc7427 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cf69b21e | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cf69b21e | comment |
In Beast Wars, despite his bumbling incompetence Scorponok serves as Megatron's second-in-command. Though he has some limited success at combat and as a science officer, it's implied he only holds this position due to his blind and unswerving loyalty to Megatron whereas every other Predacon would gleefully betray and overthrow Megatron if given the chance: after all, his last second-in-command was Dinobot who tried exactly that in the first episode, Terrorsaur has made several attempts at overthrowing Megatron, Tarantulus has been The Mole from the very start, and Waspinator is generally too busy swirling around empty soda cans to do any level of commanding. After Scorponok's death, he more or less treats Inferno as his second-in-command due to the bot being so batshit insane he actually thinks he is an ant and Megatron his queen and is thus insanely loyal, but he's also too insane to do any level of commanding and more treated as an enforcer than anything else. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cf69b21e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cf69b21e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Beast Wars | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_cf69b21e | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d46cc708 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d46cc708 | comment |
Ed, Edd n Eddy: Both Ed and Edd take more than their fair share of abuse from Eddy (although in Edd's case its not stupidity that's the problem but instead being overly moral and verbose). Both however are likely to get Eddy into an unpleasant situation, usually by accident. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d46cc708 | featureApplicability |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_d46cc708 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Ed, Edd n Eddy | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d46cc708 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d4caf593 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d4caf593 | comment |
Poor little Pete from Bully kissed Gary's ass for God-knows-how-long until Jimmy saved him. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d4caf593 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d4caf593 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Bully (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d4caf593 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d5c22e8a | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d5c22e8a | comment |
LEGO Jurassic World: During the sequence at the end of Jurassic Park where the Velociraptors are hunting the humans through the Visitor Centre, the subordinate raptors are depicted like this, getting frequently distracted and having slapstick accidents (or getting a Dope Slap from the Big One). | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d5c22e8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d5c22e8a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
LEGO Jurassic World (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d5c22e8a | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d9c4a85e | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d9c4a85e | comment |
Marvel Adventures: The Avengers Issue #9 introduced Karl, incompetent A.I.M. scientist who causes M.O.D.O.K.'s conversion machine to go haywire, picks a new hideout right next to the Leader's, and finally is drafted by the mutated heroes to help rebuilt the conversion machine and make the changes permanent... which naturally sabotages their efforts and they return to normal. It's implied they would have succeeded without Karl's help. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d9c4a85e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d9c4a85e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Marvel Adventures (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_d9c4a85e | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e253aa98 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e253aa98 | comment |
In The Cocoanuts, Mr. Hammer tries to recruit Chico to shill for him in the real estate auction; he instructs Chico to make counter-offers against the other bidders to raise the prices for his lots. Chico, being Chico, follows the instructions too well... | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e253aa98 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e253aa98 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Cocoanuts | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e253aa98 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e5feb1e | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e5feb1e | comment |
In Ace Attorney, Detective Gumshoe is this for the various prosecutors he works for, as his mistakes often end up resulting in the prosecutors overlooking critical information. As a result, he's a common scapegoat when the prosecutors lose the case. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e5feb1e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e5feb1e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Ace Attorney (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e5feb1e | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e9a28f61 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e9a28f61 | comment |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Bebop and Rocksteady, Shredder's mutated right hand men. Goofy, dumb, and prone to screwing up a job whenever they were given it, though not entirely unsympathetic. Their 2012 counterparts are a little better with regards to their intelligence, however. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e9a28f61 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e9a28f61 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_e9a28f61 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ed422d3f | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ed422d3f | comment |
The Most Epic Story Ever Told in All of Human History: Epic Fail and Ridiculously Epic Fail aren’t treated with derision, but otherwise fit this trope to a T with their incompetence and constant Epic Failures. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ed422d3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ed422d3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Most Epic Story Ever Told in All of Human History (Web Animation) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ed422d3f | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ef076a36 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ef076a36 | comment |
Star Trek: Voyager: Lonzak, the incompetent henchman of Dr Chaotica in the Captain Proton holoprogram. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ef076a36 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ef076a36 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Star Trek: Voyager | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_ef076a36 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f10619d8 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f10619d8 | comment |
Tales of the Abyss Mieu a.k.a. "Thing". He's a typical cutesy animal like you'd find in many a fantasy anime, complete with an annoying squeaky voice and Spoon Speak. What makes him a Bumbling Sidekick is his undying faith in his master, who gives him the aforementioned nickname, bashes him into a soldier's helmet to knock the soldier out, and every other time he speaks, he either kicks it around or tells it to shut up, or (usually) both. One of the members of the Quirky Miniboss Squad is also this. Yes, it's Dist, who attempts to make it very clear that he really does hate that duplicitous snake whom he once counted among his friends Jade, but fails miserably because of his stalkeristic actions. The entire party pretty much just treats him like a joke. |
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Bumbling Sidekick / int_f10619d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f10619d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Tales of the Abyss (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f10619d8 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f3c3ca42 | type |
Bumbling Sidekick | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f3c3ca42 | comment |
The Tick: Arthur seems to subvert this, as he's clearly wiser and more intelligent than the titular hero, until they actually do battle where he plays the bumbling part straight. | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f3c3ca42 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f3c3ca42 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Tick | hasFeature |
Bumbling Sidekick / int_f3c3ca42 |
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