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Beleaguered Assistant: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:ZapandKif_8284.jpg|link=Futurama
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.]]
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Note that the more [[Pointy-Haired Boss|incompetent the boss is]], the more likely this type of character will show up, though less incompetent (and more hyperactive) characters can have these as well.
Often the [[Only Sane Man]] and [[The Reliable One]]. [[Only Sane Employee]] is when this character has far more to deal with than just his incompetent boss. A good character to use when determining whether other characters are [[Nice to
{{examples}}
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** Itsuki may count as well, despite his apparent eagerness and his...asskissing (as Kyon sees it), in the inside, he finds her actions to be quite exhausting.
* Ijyuuin from ''[[Team Medical Dragon]]'' is this minus the [[Deadpan Snarker|snark]].
* Reever Wenham in ''[[D
* Rumiya to his sister Ramia in ''[[Magical Project S]]''.
* ''[[
* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', [[Cloudcuckoolander's Minder|Cecile Croomy]] is this to [[Mad Scientist|Lloyd Asplund]]. Often turned [[Up to Eleven|up to memetic levels]] in the [[Fanon]].
* 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.
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* 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 employers -- at least somewhat.
* Major Domo from the [[X
== [[Fan Fiction]] ==
* ''They Just Don't Care Anymore'': Jazz for the Autobots, Cyclonus for the Decepticons.
* One strange d20 crossover game included the [[Stargate SG
== [[Film]] ==
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* 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]]''.
* Sir Hiss in Disney's ''[[Robin Hood (Disney film)|Robin Hood]]''.
* Hercule Lajoy is one of these to [[Inspector Oblivious|Clouseau]] in the second ''[[The Pink Panther|Pink Panther]]'' film, ''A Shot in the Dark''.
* ''[[Igor]]'' (2008) is about an [[The Igor|Igor]] who hopes to rise about his station as Beleaguered Assistant and become a [[Mad Scientist]] himself. Has his own beleaguered assistants in the form of dim-witted Brain and [[Deadpan Snarker]] Scamper.
* Lawrence to Prince Naveen in ''[[The Princess and
* The Secretary Bird in ''[[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]]''.
* Planchet, as portrayed by Roy Kinnear, in ''The Three Musketeers'' and its two sequels. Became a bit [[Harsher in Hindsight]] when he died after being thrown from a horse during the filming of the third one.
== [[Literature]] ==
* Sancho Panza to [[
* Ponder Stibbons among the faculty of Unseen University in the ''[[
* Abner Dowling, General Custer's adjutant in the first few novels of Harry Turtledove's [[Timeline-191]] series. His relationship with Custer is almost identical to that of Kif and Zapp, to the point where he's frequently having to explain to an oblivious Custer that sending wave after wave of your own men charging across an open field at machine gun nests is probably not a good idea. Also, like Zapp, Custer's career survives by being politically savvy, plus {{spoiler|one enormously lucky victory that finally breaks the stalemate and wins the Great War.}}
* ''[[Vorkosigan Saga]]:''
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** 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 [[Ted Baxter|inflated ego]].
* The lead character in ''[[
** 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 him-- which has more than once landed him in the stocks. And of course he spends most of the series repeatedly saving Arthur's life. Using his very illegal magic that he could be killed for having. Possibly on the orders of Arthur himself. And he gets no credit for any of this. [[It Makes Sense in Context]] why Merlin puts up with all this. Mostly.
* Leo from ''[[
* 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.
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* Several ''[[Touhou]]'' [[Ninja Maid]] or [[Battle Butler]] characters are like this. Youmu has to put up with the relentless teasing of Yuyuko whenever she isn't keeping her [[Big Eater]] boss fed. Reisen's boss is an absolute sadist. Perhaps worst of all is [[Meido|Sakuya Izayoi]], who has to constantly use her superpower to keep the mansion in its [[Bigger
** Good thing she can stop time.
** There is also an [[Inverted Trope|inversion]] of this trope, somewhat: In ''Subterranean Animism'', [[Telepathy|Satori]] is troubled by her underlings' hijinks. Well, when you have a [[I Love Nuclear Power|nuclear-powered]] [[Ravens and Crows|hell raven]] [[Omnicidal Maniac|obsessed with destroying the world]] as a ''pet''...
* Kamek serves this role to the impulsive, immature Baby Bowser in [[Mario and Luigi Partners In Time
* Tachibana Muneshige to Otomo Sorin in ''[[Sengoku Basara]]: Samurai Heroes'', having to constantly suffer through his lord's [[Jerkass]] tendencies and fascination with Xavism.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Kif Kroker in ''[[
** 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|Arthur]]. Honestly, he fits this like a guy in a moth suit wearing a glove.
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* Shego to Dr Drakken in ''[[Kim Possible]]''.
* Luxor the cat to ''[[Tutenstein]]''
* Steve to Dr. Weird in ''[[
** It's also sort of implied that Emory is this to Oglethorpe. Emory is usually the one who comes up with plausible ideas or points out Oglethorpe's lack of logic, but is often overruled.
* 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.
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* Samy Garvin on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]''.
* Slinkman in [[Camp Lazlo]].
* The pageant in the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
** More generally, Angel Bunny sometimes feels like this when taking care of Fluttershy.
* Robotnik's assistant Snively in [[Sonic Sat AM]]. Robotnik isn't exactly incompetant, but he is prone to great outbursts of rage with Snively as the only target. Snively hates his job and ''dispises'' Robotnik.
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== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Redcloak from ''[[
* 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 ''[[
* Left-Hand Man Gary to [[Cloudcuckoolander|King]] [[The Caligula|Steve]] in ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]''. He has to keep tabs on King Steve while he drills for mana, orders assassins to [[Kill the Messenger]], wages war on a whim in the name of pacifism, builds robot duplicates of himself that explode at random, and loses the kingdom in a poker game. ''To a length of string.'' Also, Gary is the "left-hand man" because the king's right-hand man is Rodney. Rodney is ''a coffee stain''.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* [[Phelous]] was this to [[
* Nail to [[Insistent Terminology|Super Kami Guru]] in [[Dragon Ball Abridged]].
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