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{{trope}}
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For every [[Defective Detective|bumbling investigator]], [[Idiot Hero|overly idealistic hero]], or [[Big Bad|short-sighted mastermind]], there's an assistant, that one guy who has to do all (or most) of the work, deal with the consequences of his boss' antics, and generally play clean up. As a result of having to deal with his boss' foolishness, this character is continually exasperated, and would probably rather be doing something else. On the bright side they singlehandedly [[Conservation of Competence|keep their side relevant.]]
Expect this kind of character to be a [[Deadpan Snarker]] and/or a master of the [[Face Palm]]. Related to the [[Sassy Secretary]]. Not the same as a [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]], who, despite the fact that they work their butt off for little pay and no credit, is generally pretty happy with the way things are. The '''Beleaguered Assistant''' is not, and would probably have called it quits a long time ago, but stays around either out of a sense of duty, having been assigned to his post by the military or another authority, or because they owe their boss, or someone else, a fairly big favor, or simply out of fear for the repercussions (being labeled a deserter or being jobless).
Some Beleaguered Assistants treat their boss with contempt and rudeness, yet the boss simply ignores them because they are either too stupid to notice or don't care. Alternately, they act as if they are delighted to help, and hate themselves for it.
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Kyon from ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]''. One of the few cases where the Beleaguered Assistant is the main character.
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* Elise of ''[[Nodame Cantabile]]'' has to rein in her [[Loveable Sex Maniac]] boss Stresemann, even flying around the world to drag him back to Germany for work.
== [[
* [[Dilbert]] to the [[Pointy-Haired Boss]].
** Dilbert has learned to [[Genre Savvy|game the system to a degree]], and [[The Intern|Asok]] has become [[Dismotivation|Wally]]'s apprentice. Alice, who [[Honor Before Reason|stubbornly refuses to put her sanity before her work ethic]] is the one who fits this best.
* In ''[[Peanuts]]'', Woodstock is occasionally one of these to Snoopy.
* Henchmen in ''[[Nodwick]]'' have this as their stock in life: They're stuck hauling implausibly large amounts of loot and being used as monster bait for various adventurers, but are contractually obliged to stick to their employers to the degree that they're not allowed to pass on to the afterlife as long as there's any chance of them being brought back to life.
** Nodwick himself skirts between this trope and [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]] because he does care for his
* Major Domo from the [[X-Men|various x-books]], beleaguered by his psycho-megalomaniac boss Mojo and his junior, Minor Domo.
== [[Fan
* ''They Just Don't Care Anymore'': Jazz for the Autobots, Cyclonus for the Decepticons.
* One strange d20 crossover game included the [[Stargate SG-1|Goa'uld]] [[Greek Mythology|Hermes]], whose First Prime Autolycus was a Beleaguered Assistant charged with ensuring that his boss' insane antics didn't get either of them killed.
== [[Film]] ==
* [[Austin Powers|Number 2]]. To wit, in the intervening years between when Dr. Evil was frozen and thawed, Number 2 had managed to turn his company into a legitimate business easily worth many times more than what Dr. Evil could manage.
* To a lesser extent, Semmi in ''[[Coming to America]]''. He likes Prince Akeem, but wishes he wasn't his servant.
* Andy Sachs to Miranda Priestly in ''[[The Devil Wears Prada]]''.
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* Ryan sometimes played this role to Michael in the early seasons of ''[[The Office]]''. {{spoiler|He would eventually become Michael's boss.}}
** Ryan? Who never made a sale? He might've had more knowledge of the business world than Michael, but he certainly never did Michael's job (or much of anything else that we could see).
** And because [[Characterization Marches On]], he's now a [[The Dandy|Dandy]] [[Jerkass]] with an [[
* The lead character in ''[[Blackadder]] The Third'' is a perfect example of this trope.
** Also Captain Darling to General Melchett in ''Blackadder Goes Forth''.
* The title character in ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' embodies this trope. He runs around doing Arthur's chores, including extremely demeaning ones, while Arthur insults him and throws things at him. When Arthur wants to shirk his royal duties, it's Merlin's job to cover for
* Leo from ''[[Fairly Legal]]''. Not that Kate is incompetent, she just does not stick to schedules very well (she is always late, or haring off to do some other task), leaving him to juggle the various conflicts till some resolution can be reached.
* The [[Taiwanese Series]] ''[[Fated to Love You]]''. Xi Yi never says no, so ends up handling all the menial tasks in her office, plus fetching coffee and lunch, and working into the late night hours doing the work of her other coworkers.
* Lee Yeon Jae from the [[Korean Series]] ''[[Scent of a Woman SK|Scent Of A Woman]]'' pretty much is dumped on by the entire staff of the travel agency she works at, as well as being sexually harassed by her boss.
* John from BBC ''Sherlock'' is definitely this.
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* Kif Kroker in ''[[Futurama]]'' is the poster boy for this trope, as pictured above. His job as Zap Brannigan's assistant is recognized as so terrible that Brannigan once punished (then-soldier) Fry by making him ''Kif's'' assistant. Needless to say, Kif proceeded to unload years of frustration on his new inferior.
** Kif has it so bad that an exasperated sigh is pretty much his [[Catch Phrase]].
* Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' television series had the the incredibly incompetent "bandit king" Abis Mal paired with his constantly annoyed advisor Haroud, who constantly made sure plans went the way they were supposed to and who, unfortunately for the heroes, happened to be [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]].
** In the [[Fisher King]] episode "Bad Mood Rising," the king is a moody brat and the Wazir is a Beleaguered Assistant. He doesn't seem to be any less beleaguered once the king cheers up, because the king has ''awful'' proposals for improving the kingdom, like "We'll make EVERYONE a Wazir!"
* [[The Tick (animation)|Arthur]]. Honestly, he fits this like a guy in a moth suit wearing a glove.
* Brain in ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'', who is constantly facing personal injury in order to keep Gadget safe, and to a much lesser extent Chief Quimby, who is actually Gadget's boss. His niece Penny, who is possibly in the biggest position to be an example, seems [[Hypercompetent Sidekick|not to mind]] solving the cases as much. Occasionally subverted when Gadget saves Brain from falling to his death, usually because he thinks Brain is a MAD agent who's trying to escape.
* Gromit in the ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'' series.
* Woodhouse in ''[[Archer]]'', who crosses into [[Woobie]] territory because of how much of a colossal [[Jerkass]] Archer is to him.
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* In ''[[Duck Dodgers]]'', Eager Young Space Cadet always has to tag along with whatever dangerous missions his narcissistic, selfish and [[Lord Error-Prone|considerably less competent]] higher-up, Duck Dodgers, gets himself into.
** Porky served as one of these to Daffy in several of the classic ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' shorts, as well.
* While [[The Simpsons (animation)|Montgomery Burns]] is a competent businessman, he also lacks the skills for dealing with people, is out of touch with any cultural development that has taken place since the end of World War II, and is extremely physically weak. Naturally it falls to Smithers to make up for these defects and make sure Burns remains as successful as he is. Subverted when it's made clear that Smithers actually ''enjoys'' this, and has an almost psychological need to serve Burns.
* Schnitzel in ''[[Chowder]]'', who gets more and more comically unappreciated as the series goes on.
* ''[[Sheep in The Big City]]'' has Private Public trying to keep up with General Specific's less-than-sound schemes.
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* Dr. Wily of ''[[Captain SNES]]'' was originally the [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]] of potential president Hagar, but between Hagar's incompetence and Blues blackmailing him, he quickly degenerated into this.
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'', Dan's uryuom minion, Minion is this for Dan.
* Left-Hand Man Gary to [[Cloudcuckoolander|King]] [[The Caligula|Steve]] in ''[[8-Bit Theater
== [[Web Original]] ==
* [[Phelous]] was this to [[The Nostalgia Critic]] all throughout ''[[Kickassia]]'', what with getting constantly smacked and having the Critic say all his ideas were stupid, only to claim they were his own ideas. {{spoiler|Phelous turned the latter on the Critic during his overthrowing by getting him to suggest that everyone kick his ass.}} This went a long way to [[Rescued
* Nail to [[Insistent Terminology|Super Kami Guru]] in [[Dragon Ball Abridged]].
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[[Category:Loser Archetype]]
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
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[[Category:Competence Tropes]]
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