Amusing Alien: Difference between revisions

[[File:InvaderZim_1852InvaderZim 1852.gif|link=Invader Zim|frame|He's got the whole world in his hands...and no clue what to do with it. ]]

An [['''Amusing Alien]]''' is a sci-fi, fantasy, or otherworldly character<ref>'alien' is not meant to be literal</ref> whose main purpose is to [[Rule of Funny|amuse the audience]].

While the [['''Amusing Alien]]''' might have a serious (or mundane) task in the story, a character belongs in this trope only if comedy is his '''primary''' reason for existing in the work. An elf archer who [[Pungeon Master|tells puns incessantly]] is not an [['''Amusing Alien]]''', whereas an elf archer whose arrows [[Accidental Aiming Skills|always take an unexpected path to hit their targets]] would be. If the character becomes irrelevant, uninteresting, or [[The Load]] when played seriously, then he's an [['''Amusing Alien]]'''.

Most of the time, the [['''Amusing Alien]]''' will be a secondary or background character, to avoid excessively derailing the plot with their antics. The primary exception is in comedies, where casting an [['''Amusing Alien]]''' as the main character leads to lots of easy jokes.

May overlap with [[Funny Foreigner]], but the two tropes are not identical. An otherworldly [[Funny Foreigner]] elicits laughs from their ignorance and bizarre behavior; an [['''Amusing Alien]]''', on the other hand, can be anything from [[The Smart Guy]], a [[Deadpan Snarker]], or a [[Genre Savvy]] [[Fourth Wall Observer]]. As a general rule, if the [['''Amusing Alien]]''' is of a race or species that's common in the work, the trope is [[Funny Foreigner]] instead.

If there's a multi-character party, the [['''Amusing Alien]]''' will probably be the [[Team Pet]], the [[Non-Human Sidekick]], or the [[Token Non-Human]].

Given the subjective nature of comedy, the risk is high that an [['''Amusing Alien]]''' can end up becoming an [[Alien Scrappy]] if not handled carefully. This trope documents [['''Amusing Alien]]''' characters that were ''intended'' to be funny; whether or not they succeed is another matter...

* An hilariously out-of-the-ordinary example of this trope occurs in [[Diane Duane]]'s [[Young Wizards]] novel ''Wizard's Holiday'', when Dairine attempts to lead her three alien wizard guests on a trip to the mall. Considering that one of them is a tree, one a giant centipede, and the third a sun prince who looks like an anime character, you can guess what kinds of [[Amusing Alien]] antics will happen.

* Mr. Mxyzptlk from the [[DCAU]], appropriately [[Actor Allusion|voiced by ]] [[Gilbert Gottfried]].