Butt Monkey/Western Animation

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Donald Duck, from the classic Disney cartoons, frequently finds himself in this position, open to torment by various supporting characters or simply cruel fate. ("Who gets stuck with all the bad luck? No one but Donald Duck.") Other times, he brings on his own misery by virtue of being hot-headed and kind of a Jerkass.
    • There has been a vocal outcry in Italy over Donald's Butt Monkey status in the late 1960's, so comic book writer Guido Martina and fellow artist Giovan Battista Carpi made it up for them by creating a Superhero alterego for him called "Paperinik", a Portmanteau of Paperino (Donald's name in Italy) and Diabolik. The Paperinik stories eventually spun off into their own canon.
    • House of Mouse frequently showed short cartoons under the title of "Donald's Dynamite", in which Donald would find himself lumbered with a Cartoon Bomb that no matter how he tried, he couldn't get rid of. Inevitably, these would be about five minutes of watching Donald become increasingly desperate to escape the explosive before being blown up.
    • Goofy has also developed a slight Butt Monkey status in a lot of his "How To" shorts. Whether it's Goofy himself or the many lookalikes that appear during these videos, most of them either end with or feature him getting hurt or beaten up. For example, the "How To Dance" video ends with him getting knocked over during an energetic dance on a crowded floor, causing him to get punched, kicked, and squished by the other people on the floor.
    • Arguably Pluto, since he's the only animal character to not speak or walk on two legs, even though Goofy is also a dog and does both these things.
  • The Looney Tunes team, particularly Chuck Jones, liked to pit "winners" against "losers", which meant that many of the villains or antagonists (Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, and sometimes Daffy Duck) routinely got the stuffing kicked out of them on both a physical and personal level. However, the defining character of this trope is undeniably Wile E. Coyote, who has never once had a chance to be anything BUT a Butt Monkey.
    • Even Bugs Bunny was subjected to being one of these on a few occasions. (See the Cecil Turtle shorts, Bob Clampett's Falling Hare, Jones' Rabbit Rampage, etc.)
    • Porky Pig himself can be this at times, usually when teamed up with Daffy.
    • Both Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg are this at times due to their rivalry, usually Foghorn Leghorn.
    • Tiny Toon Adventures had Plucky and Hamton.
      • Calamity and Furrball too.
      • Fifi La Fume as well, especially on Out of Odor.
    • Pretty much every character who isn’t the Warner Trio or Slappy and Skippy in Animaniacs. The most consistent examples are Dr. Scratchnsniff, the Mime, Buttons, The Goodfeathers (Especially Squit) and Chicken Boo.
      • Although most of Rita the Cat's misfortunes are taken in a more sympathetic light.
      • Don't forget poor Mr. Skullhead from the "Good Idea, Bad Idea" sketches.
    • Histeria! has Pule Houser for this.
    • Loonatics Unleashed has Tech E. Coyote and Danger Duck.
    • Taz-Mania has Francis X. Bushlad.
      • Bull Gator and Axl, because as the theme song states; “Bull Gator and Axl are always left sore”.
      • Wendell T. Wolf too, since he’s a neurotic Thylacine who thinks that he’s the last of his species and fails miserably at fitting in with other animals.
  • Tom, in the Tom and Jerry shorts. Sometimes this will catch up to Jerry, too (Most notably when Tom gets his revenge on him).
  • Wally Walrus would more often than not wind up as this, with him being at the mercy of Woody Woodpecker's antics.
  • Like Luigi, Meg Griffin on Family Guy goes through all kinds of crap, primarily being ignored, neglected, and ridiculed by her own family.
    • In "Stew-Roids", Meg is sobbing in her room, upset that she is not invited to a party in her own house. Lois, meanwhile, is comforting her, but eventually gets bored and suggests she commits suicide by giving her some Ambien and a Sylvia Plath book and "whatever happens, happens."
      • Word of God seems to indicate that it's played straight, and the only thing the writers can think of to do with the character. Meanwhile, you have fans who hate the way the writers treat her (although plenty of fans prefer Butt Monkey!Meg).
      • Meg is now in Designated Monkey territory, in large part because of her parents' Face Heel Turn. Before cancellation, Lois and Peter weren't especially fond of their daughter, but at least show enough love that Lois conspired to get revenge at high school kids who pranked her, and Peter tries to share some of his popularity when he goes undercover at high school (despite some jailbait temptation from Connie D'Amico). After the show's return, though, they become the main source of Meg's suffering. It's easier to imagine Peter and Lois beating their daughter between shows than lifting a finger to help her now.
      • One episode had Meg snap at her whole family and gives the biggest "The Reason You Suck" Speech to them, blasting them for their flaws and how badly they had treated her over the years. One would think Meg finally catches a break as her family breaks down in tears from the revelation, but Meg later realizes that the reason her family treats her like shit is because they need someone to expel all their negative energy into and without Meg for that, they would turn on each other. Meg decides to apologize for what she said and lets her family abuse her again for the sake of keeping everyone slightly sane. Some fans may see this as a cheap in-universe reason for why Meg is abused in nearly every episode.
      • In the "The Road to the Multiverse" episode, Meg is shown what she would be like in alternate universes. In one universe where technology is super advanced, Meg is shown to be extremely sexy with a revealing outfit, large breasts, long hair, and no hat, but Stewie says that the universe she is in still considers her ugly. In another alternate universe where everything is in the world of Disney, Meg is portrayed as being extremely fat and has tentacles instead of legs (parodying Ursula from The Little Mermaid). Meg is a complete Butt Monkey no matter what universe she is in.
      • To sum up Meg, she will always be a victim to Status Quo Is God. Meg has a boyfriend? He'll break up with her or someone else will cause him to leave her. Does Meg get her attitude toughened up? She'll be soft again next episode. Does someone care about her for who she is? It won't last. Does her family actually feel remorse for abusing her and promise to love her? Peter will resume farting in Meg's face later on. Meg is basically never allowed to have any ounce of happiness and whatever she gets is taken from her.
        • In the South Park parody episode "Cartoon Wars," she is the only character with no dialogue.
      • Brian has recently fallen into this as well despite being the Straight Man. Every woman he date winds up dumping him either due to his own insecurities, bad advice and/or meddling from Stewie (who mind you is a baby and has only one dating experience which he asked for Brian's advice on) or just cause the plot say so. Always winds up falling to whatever Stewie is doing at the moment. Fails at pretty much any endeavor he tries. Mocked constantly even getting berated by Quagmire of all people for his failings. And keep in mind Brian is supposed to be the intelligent one. Talk about a turn around of character.
      • Brian's case started out as a Take That, Scrappy!, since up until then he was portrayed as a smug, self-righteous douchebag whom the show treated as always being in the right. The smug, self-righteous douchebaggery eventually went away but his Butt Monkey status remained.
  • The Toiletnator from Codename: Kids Next Door, sure the guy has the power to control all toilets and has the coolest name but none of the other villains give him any respect and they all think of him as being annoying.
    • It is made apparent at one point that he CAN be incredibly dangerous in his own right. After a team of villains rejects him, he decides to go commando on the KND himself (armed with plungers, urinal cakes, etc.). It turns out that the villains had already invaded their treehouse, Toiletnator mistaking them for the KND in disguise and soundly beating them all, apparently his only victory done against his teammates.
      • That's nothing. What about the episode where he actually flushes an entire Grand Canyon full of milk and cereal? Right as the KND were about to take the first spoonful. Now that's awesome.
    • It's somewhat poetic that, in the Grand Finale, Toilenator is the only villain to not go on the big scavenger hunt that has been set up and stays behind at the starting place to goof around. As a result, he's the only nemesis that winds up completely unscathed in the end.
    • Numbuh 4 also gets this treatment periodically, sometimes being self-inflicted, but often not. A notable example being when Sector V was all temporarily decommissioned.

Numbuh 1: (speaking to Numbuh 2) Sure, you're smart, that's why you're not the one on the pole.
Numbuh 4: (On the pole) Hey!

    • Numbuh 1 himself isn’t safe from being a butt monkey every now and then as well.
  • Butters of South Park is a naive, wide-eyed, sweet-hearted little boy who Matt and Trey exhaust their imaginations thinking of new torments to inflict upon, including beatings, attempted murder by his mother, a ninja star in the eye (which was ignored in favor of everyone being outraged over Cartman being naked in public), etc. The character he has effectively replaced, Kenny, was also a prime example of a Butt Monkey.
    • Pip, the little British kid from the earlier seasons was a definite Butt Monkey before he was phased out of the show. He was so unpopular with the other school kids that in one episode they tried to see who could spit on him the most. In another episode, Cartman makes fun of him because his parents are dead. Like Butters, he had a polite and pleasant disposition and generally took all the abuse with good nature. Word of God says that Pip stopped appearing because Butters worked better as an example of this trope.
    • Then there's a literal Butt Monkey on the show, the multi-buttocked Five-Assed Monkey.
      • Wouldn't that be a Butts Monkey?
    • Cartman was also a Butt Monkey, as he's the character that the other boys make fun of the most. ("Wow, this place is huge!" "Yeah, it's almost as big as Cartman's ass!") The pilot episode is literally about things going into and coming out of Cartman's ass. Of course, he stopped being a Butt Monkey when he started to actually deserve all the bad stuff that happened to him. And there comes a point at which it could be argued that the four boys are all Butt Monkeys, in that they always find themselves inextricably involved in absolutely ludicrous situations that they have no interest in ("we don't care, we just want our Okama Gamesphere back"). And, of course, there's Scott Tenorman, who was tricked into eating his parents, and was then mocked by his favorite band of all time. While not a recurring character, he had the show's Ultimate Butt Monkey Moment.
    • In the episode with Damien (who himself is something of a Butt Monkey for being the son of Satan), Pip affirms this by saying the other kids do pick on Cartman a lot, but like him because he picks on Pip. This gives Damien the idea to turn Pip into a fireworks display for Cartman's birthday party, causing all the kids to like him.
      • Although Cartman rarely played along with the fat jokes involving comparisons to the size of his ass.
      • Cartman still gets jerked around quite a bit these days. There was pretty much all of "Cartman Sucks" (especially the last scene), he was treated like a dog by Caesar Milan in "Tsst", humiliated by Butters of all people (and in the same episode molested by a movie executive while in disguise as a robot), had the crap beaten out of him by Wendy, literally shat upon by his idol Mel Gibson...just goes to show you that even the most clever Magnificent Bastard isn't immune to pain and humiliation.
    • Kenny used to be the show's resident Chew Toy/Butt Monkey. In much earlier seasons he dies at the end of nearly every episode. It's Lampshaded in the Thanksgiving short with Jay Leno making a guest appearance.
      • Not only was Kenny dying every episode, but he and his family were constantly mocked by the other characters because they were so poor. It was mostly Cartman who joked about it, but the others would always laugh along.
    • In recent seasons, Kyle has often been the Butt Monkey, more often than in the earlier ones, but usually by Cartman. He was accused of causing 9/11 (thanks a lot, Cartman, not taken seriously over what he wants to do with the homeless, and reprimanded by Stan TWICE over said homeless problem (some friend you are, Stanley Marsh!), accused of being a bully when he claims that Cartman doesn't have Tourette's (which he doesn't), forced to suck Cartman's balls due to losing a bet, and coerced into drinking urine after chaos ensues at a water park. All of the other bad things are found in the Woobie section of South Park.
  • Sokka on Avatar: The Last Airbender, as a frequent source of comic relief throughout the series, is a victim of increasingly violent slapstick. Aside from humor, he once fell for a princess, only to learn that she was engaged, which was a moot point once she got killed off. It culminated in the second season in which, for the entire length of an episode, he was stuck in a hole.
    • Sokka's bad luck was Lampshaded in the Season 1 episode "The Fortuneteller," where the titular fortune-teller Aunt Wu tells Sokka "Your future is full of struggle and anguish ... most of it self-inflicted." Aunt Wu's point is soon demonstrated when Sokka, complaining about her prediction for him, vigorously kicks a small stone, which ricochets violently off a sign and strikes him.
    • Even though Zuko's suffering usually falls under Cosmic Plaything, just look at how many times he gets hurt in funny/sad/pathetic ways. In the second episode, he got nailed by Sokka's boomerang and ended up butt-up in the snow thanks to Aang. He's also splashed hot tea on his face, smashed his thumb with a hammer, fallen off a house, fallen off a lot of other things (repeatedly), gotten whacked in the head once every couple of episodes, and been tricked into knocking Mai into a fountain by Azula. Also, watch how many times he gets pummeled/slammed against the wall/slammed against the floor in "The Boiling Rock."
    • When the Cabbage Merchant appears, you know his cabbages are going to get destroyed.
  • Dib, from Invader Zim, is the butt of everyone's jokes, due to his perceived insanity regarding the paranormal (as well as the size of his head). An interesting example as he is the show's designated protagonist. His father is generally absent, using the little time he has with Dib to bemoan his "insanity" and pressure him to study "real science"; his younger sister, Gaz, is eternally unsympathetic to him and often turns horribly violent if Dib, for example, takes her last piece of pizza or talks too much. One could say the Halloween episode "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom" quite literally "put him through Hell." (In a twist, by the end of the episode he was the only character who wasn't injured).
    • Almost subverted in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom", when Dib actually gained superpowers, thwarted the Irken invasion, and became hero of the world. Unfortunately, it was all a simulation so Zim could get him to confess that he threw the muffin.
    • Pushed even further, and here not because of people seeing Dib as a lunatic, in the video game Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, where Dib is stuck with the Card Carrying Villains because Zim managed to lie his way to the heroic side (The entire game is a Strange Bedfellows situation). No one (except Plankton, whom Dib complained to) raised an eyebrow. Not even Jimmy Neutron, who should know better than this. And when the villains Snap Back (and take them Dib with them, booting Zim out with the heroes for whatever reason), only to be defeated and left stranded in space? He complains that he's still not a bad guy. No one still cares.
    • Zim, the titular character, is that too. Like for Dib, he's regarded as being a freak by his classroom. Being a "Failure Is the Only Option" show, you can imagine what happens to him a lot of times and... well, his leaders sent him to Earth (not even knowing its existence) just to not see him anymore. And they gave him GIR. And now is regarded by them both like a pain and a joke. However, they do have their reasons---with the odd exception of Earth, which Zim cannot destroy, Zim's presence on a planet tends to cause lots of destruction and death.
    • Keef could also be called a Butt Monkey; he is an overly-friendly child who wants nothing more than to be friends with Zim and Dib, yet his attempts usually end with him being horribly hurt. However he is only significant in two episodes, one of which was unfinished and unaired. Iggins, who only appears in one episode, could also be called a Butt Monkey, though there is a reason for his admittedly over-the-top suffering (taking a video game that rightfully should have been Gaz's).
  • Bill Dauterive from King of the Hill. He's a divorcee, a loser, and a source of many, many jokes. Illustrated most poignantly in "Soldier of Misfortune," where the villain smacks him when Boomhauer mouths off. Made almost worse when he doesn't get a real happy ending in the Grand Finale.
  • Many characters from Drawn Together end up being Butt Monkeys in one way or another, given the deranged nature of the show. In particular, Ling Ling, Woldoor, and Toot suffer the worst effects.
  • Tom Dubois of The Boondocks. He's an upstanding citizen who tries to distance himself from the negative stereotypes associated with African-American males in his neighborhood (his wife is Caucasian and is heavily involved in many Black causes), but still gets the majority of mistreatment from Riley and the self-loathing Uncle Ruckus. In a recent episode, he became the unwilling host of the ghost of Colonel Stinkmeaner, and nearly wrecked his own reputation by acting completely out of character at the most inappropriate times. Soon, Tom finally tried to get over his fear of prison rape by taking the Woodcrest elementary students (inculding Huey and Riley) to a real prison and, during a riot, had to face a rapist called the "Booty Warrior"....and Tom kicked his ass! (well, with a a little help from a soap on the floor, but still.)
  • Jon Arbuckle, in Garfield and Friends, frequently finds himself in this role.
    • And it's wonderfully Lampshaded by the webcomic Garfield Minus Garfield, in which the artist removes Garfield (and other minor characters) from the strips -- and leaves the apparently-schizoid Jon talking to himself. Trust me, it's very amusing.
    • Jon's counterpart on U.S. Acres would be Wade. If anyone is bored on the farm (Roy more than anyone else), the solution is to make Wade run screaming in a fear-induced panic. And more often than not, Orson would then chew out Wade for falling for the prank rather that the perpetrator.
  • I. R. Baboon of I Am Weasel. He fits the trope perfectly, but with a bonus. As a baboon with no pants, he's about as close to a literal Butt Monkey as you can get.
  • Tom Peters of Tom Goes to the Mayor. His wife is hateful and grotesque, he can't connect to his step-sons on any level, he's an utter failure as an entrepreneur, and his every plan is doomed to failure merely by his association. When other characters are in a position to help him they never do. While it seems that Tom meets the mayor for the first time in every episode due to Negative Continuity, it's also hinted that Tom is so tragically insignificant that the mayor simply forgets who Tom is. The sole instance Tom was actually successful he turned into a complete Jerkass.
  • For Totally Spies!!, let's put it this way: a good idea for a drinking game. If you happen to be watching a Totally Spies! marathon or are watching the show on DVD, take a drink every time something bad happens to Clover. You won't be sober for long.
    • There are some occasions where Clover or Alex gets this end of the stick, though.
  • Timon in Timon and Pumbaa.
    • To be fair, a lot of what Timon goes through is karmic retribution for some recent act of Jerkassery, usually by being overly rude, selfish, or proud. When using his powers for good such as dressing in drag and doing the hula to distract hungry, bi-curious hyenas, he's untouchable.
      • Zazu was the original Buttmonkey for The Lion King such as almost being eaten by Scar, being pounced on and having his tail bitten by Simba, being swatted away by an elephant after he blew his nose on the elephant's ear, being stepped on by ostriches, being shoved up a rhino's ass, being pooped on by zebras, having a crowd of animals trample him, having monkeys touch him, being forced to go into his childhood horror, the Birdie Boiler, being swatted by Scar into passing out and being locked up in a cage! See when Disney means when he adds the comic relief!?!?!?!
      • Pumbaa has his fair share of being the butt monkey as well. Don’t believe us? Then check out the music video; "Stand By Me".
      • The Lion Guard introduces Ushari, all he just wants to do is to have peace to himself and some respect, but he keeps having his peace disturbed thanks to the Lion Guard, especially Bunga, it could be a reason why he descended into villainy and wanted to destroy the Lion Guard.
        • Fuli and Ono sometimes fall under this at times as well.
  • Greasepit from Biker Mice From Mars.
  • Mr. Luntz in Veggie Tales. He is often cast as the villain's sidekick, and occasionally as an incompetent villain himself. When cast in a positive role, Mr. Luntz is infallibly the Butt Monkey. On at least two occasions he cross-dresses, once portrayed Gollum (Middle-Earth's butt monkey), and once lamented the fact that his entire life only included one half hour of happiness. The only story in which Mr. Luntz has not been the Butt Monkey was in the Don Quixote story.
    • Bob the Tomato, and sometimes Larry the Cucumber fall victim to this as well.
  • Adam Lyon in My Gym Partner's a Monkey. Everytime Jake Spidermonkey does one of his shennigans Adam is usually the poor sap who has to go along with it.
  • Candace from Phineas and Ferb. She gets trampled, attacked, lost, falls down, and just generally suffers way too much. Her universe hates her.
    • Besides, she usually gets the boy (Jeremy) in the end, so it's hard to feel too sorry for her.
    • You think Candace has it bad? Doofenshmirtz has it worse. His parents weren't there when he was born, he was forced to be a lawn gnome, and his brother is the favourite of his mother. However, this is all played for laughs since Doofenshmirtz is the bad guy (even though he's more pathetic than evil).
    • Adyson in The Great Indoors. Oh so much.
    • Stacy received this treatment in Spa Day.
    • How can we forget Baljeet? Just as an example, he apparently has to spend all of his allowance replacing wedgied underwear every single week.
  • The script writers for The Simpsons never seem to run out of new afflictions to plague Milhouse with. Perhaps the greatest insult to Milhouse comes from behind the scenes. In the movie's DVD commentary, the writers stated that originally Milhouse was going to be portrayed as "finally getting a break" with Lisa, even getting to the point where he would help save Lisa and the rest from the angry mob and generally being all around useful in the second half. However, due to fear that Milhouse' long, long-time infatuation with Lisa would go over viewers' heads... this story was toned down and Milhouse was replaced with Colin... now making the subplot seem tacked on. It just really isn't ever coming up for poor Milhouse, is it?
    • No, the worst insult to Milhouse is in a Twenty Minutes Into the Future episode where Lisa is getting married, and discusses her wedding plans with Marge:

Lisa: I don't know, Mom. I feel kind of uncomfortable wearing white. You know, Milhouse...
Marge: Oh, Milhouse doesn't count. (they both laugh)

    • Lisa might enter this trope soon. Her family is a bunch of idiots, she gets insulted for her gifted status, she is a loner and an outcast, and in an episode where Lisa finds out one of her ancestors helped a black slave become free, she tries to use that. However, Milhouse, who had loved Lisa, and married her in the future(if the latest episode on the future counted) said that her ancestor didn't do that, called the story a fairy tale and a fake, and basically betrayed her. The only redeeming part is that it wasn't her ancestor Eliza, but Mabel who freed the slave and coincidentally helped make the Simpson family 1/64th black.
    • Speaking of The Simpsons, need we mention Hans Moleman?
    • From about seasons 9/10, Moe and Kirk van Houten become two of the major Butt Monkeys of the show.
    • Homer himself has his moments of Butt Monkeying. From his frequent injuries (which reached the point that the Behind the Music parody stated that Homer became addicted to painkillers due to said injuries), humiliating situations (such as losing his clothing, getting covered in mud, running into other campers which led to him being chased and captured, and being examined by scientists because they thought he was Big Foot) and general bad luck and mistreatment. Granted he usually really deserves it (and most of the time causes it).
      • Many of the couch gags end with him killed, maimed, or humiliated.

(family sits on the couch)

Lisa: (looks at the camera) What? Can't we just sit on the couch with anything weird happening? Homer: (hit by a spear) Do'h!

    • Frank Grimes. Right to the grave.
    • Perhaps the most notable recurring example is that of Gil, a character whose only reason to exist is to fail at everything he does.
    • From the Show Within a Show we have Scratchy of Itchy And Scratchy, the perfectly amiable and good-natured cat whose sole reason for existing is to be the perpetual victim of the psychopathic, needlessly malevolent whims of the brutal mouse Itchy.
    • Sideshow Bob becomes the family's Butt Monkey in "Great Louse Detective".

Bart: I don't know how we ever had fun without him.

    • Bart has his moments as the Butt Monkey too.
  • Pud'n from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, who seems to be a dumping ground for the weirdest, most horrible incidents that Maxwell Atoms can think of.
    • Irwin is twice the Butt Monkey Pud'n is. Let's see: he's in love with Mandy, who hates him and hurts him commonly; he goes through torture like being eaten, made fun of, physically attacked in every way, ended up in a few downer endings, and more; he got caught in the tub twice both in court and a warp hole. He's like the black equivalent to Milhouse.
      • Granted, at least he Took a Level in Badass in Underfist.
      • His genetics are quite interesting: his mom is a mummy and his grandfather is Dracula.
    • Grim himself. Just think, he's The Grim Reaper, subjected to a life as eternal Chew Toy friend to a complete meathead with uncontrollable destructive tendencies and a Machiavellian sociopath of a girl. The Grim Reaper as Straight Man? How ironic.
    • Billy has been abused in various ways as well.
  • Prince Nestor from World of Quest always seems to have something slimy and gross cover him multiple times in an episode.
    • Not to mention the rivalry he and Quest have is pretty one-sided, as Quest is big and muscular and, well, an adult, therefore usually always prevailing over poor Nestor.
  • Iago of Aladdin: "When in doubt, hurt the bird," was the actual mantra of the writing and animation teams.
  • The entire purpose of Eek! The Cat was about placing an incredibly sympathetic, sincere, likable character in a series of gags designed to bring harm to him.
  • In Teen Titans, Beast Boy. Poor guy even suffers in the Downer Ending. No wonder he's embarrassed that his first name is the same as that of a certain well-known cat.
  • Dexter's Laboratory: Dexter himself suffers this greatly in alot of crazy forms. For example, his entire lab is completely destroyed, the earth is destroyed, Dexter is turned into a sandwich, etc. He also gets into big trouble from his mom and dad as well.
  • Jimmy Neutron. He always gets the heat on him when it comes to anything that's not involving an invention. And when it DOES come to inventions...things always go wrong in some way. It's pretty rare for the main character to get this trope.
  • Kif Kroker of Futurama is a bit of a cross between a Butt Monkey and the Eeyore. He is put upon a lot because Zapp blames him for his own failings, and he's gotten a bit depressive as a result.
  • Fry also gets treated as a butt monkey. In the episode, "The Cryogenic Woman", he is fired from his job, abandoned by his friends, gets dumped horrible girlfriend and sent falling to his death by Professor Farnsworth.
    • Oh, And Zoidberg, the most common recipient of the trope. In one episode Leela crashes the Planet Express ship through the roof. Hermes turns to Zoidberg and promptly docks his pay.
      • Inverted once (and only once) in the Xmas episode, where Robot Santa tries to kill everyone for being naughty, except Zoidberg, who has been very good, and gets a pogo stick.
      • Actually, it's inverted again much, much later on, when it's revealed that MOM, of all people, treats him with genuine respect. Seems that Zoidberg's lot in life is to be treated as a Butt Monkey by everyone except those who already treat everyone else as a Butt Monkey.
  • Kevin of Ben 10 Alien Force can't catch a break with his Troubled but Cute persona. On top of being too afraid macho to ask Gwen out, even after she kissed him, he gets his butt handed to him at least once an episode. In the premier, Ben thoroughly trounces him as Swampfire, and the Highbreed brushes off his attacks. Next episode, he winds up frozen and needs defrosting (Although to be fair, he was frozen along with Ben, Gwen and a police squad). Then he's chained down and turned into a giant chandelier and mined for crystal by Oompa Loompas little robot henchmen. Then his instant self-made armor gets blasted off of him by a sparkly blond prettyboy. Episode six gives him a break (though he does complain it's "the worst road trip ever"), but in seven it's back to being pounded, this time right into the ground by Gwen's grandmother. And in eight, he ends up being ripped into by an old school bully of Ben's who's possessed by a vicious metal armor. He was threatening in the original Ben10. One wonders why he's respected by the rest of the cast...
  • If you get annoyed at Jerkass Sentinel Prime in Transformers Animated, just wait five minutes and something nasty will happen to him. Usually it's related to Earth's weather/inhabitants/road structure, but he's also had his body stolen by a human, been humiliated in front of his comrades, screamed like a little girl when encountering organics, failed at driving in the rain, and been wrong in pretty much every arrogant assertion he's made.
    • From season 2 onward, Starscream also becomes a Butt Monkey in this series. It starts with the infamous "Starscream Death Montage" with Megatron killing him over and over again (with the allspark fragment on his head being the only thing keeping him alive). All of his plans always fail and in the finale in which may be his Crowning Moment of Butt Monkery, his clones (with one heavily implied to represent his self-loathing) betray him for Megatron. He spends the majority of season three as a disembodied head trapped with Megatron aboard Omega Supreme, and just when he fnally gets a new body, Megatron blasts him (He recovers). And in the finale, The allspark fragment that was keeping him alive is pulled out, thus killing him. And if you count the comic adaptation, he gets humiliated and blackmailed by Professor Princess. One can't help but feel a bit sorry for him.
    • Then there's Skyfire from the original series, an 'old friend' of Starscream's who is revived and used by the Decepticons, and then seems to heroically sacrifice himself to save the Autobots. Only a sequel episode shows that he didn't actually die, but was buried in some ice to the extent where it took the Autobots seconds to dig him back up, they just didn't bother until they needed him to fly somewhere. In that episode, he befriends Thundercracker for all of about thirty seconds, until the Decepticons shoot him. He's then routinely ignored by the other Autobots unless they need carting around the world, and forgotten about entirely when the Aerialbots arrive towards the end of the second series.
    • Beast Wars Waspinator's many deaths can be watched here. From the man himself:

Waspinator: "Why universe hate Waspinator?"

      • Terrorsaur and Scorponok were also co-Butt Monkeys before they met their fate at the start of season 2, then Waspinator became arguably the sole Butt Monkey (Inferno has been picked on a bit as well).
      • It's only fitting that at the end of Beast Wars, Waspinator is the only Predacon to get a happy ending, becoming ruler of the early humans. Though, I guess it doesn't last long before he's booted from Earth by the humans. Though, by the end, Waspinator is the only Predacon who doesn't meet his/her fate (minus Blackarachnia, who's a Maximal by the end)
      • His Animated incarnation is basically the natural extent as a result.
    • Rattrap becomes kind of a Butt Monkey in Transformers: Beast Machines, at the beginning. In Beast Wars he was considered slightly obnoxious but otherwise a valuable robot to have on your side. Then along comes Beast Machines and the only thing standing between Rattrap and getting thrown off a cliff is Optimus. When Optimus gets put out of commission temporarily, everyone gets downright hostile, even after he learns to transform again, because he doesn't offer anything in the way of firepower (Cheetor even says they're only keeping him around because he sits on the outside fringes of being "one of us", and therefore they're not ditching him). Then they're surprised when he turns to Megatron for a little sympathy and weaponry.
      • Rattrap is the weapons expert. Guess who is the only Beast Machines Maximal who doesn't have weapons?
      • Because of his quasi-New York accent, one TV Guide writer goes as far as describing Rattrap as "George Costanza as a rat".
    • Also from the Transformers verse are Ransack and Crumplezone, a Team Rocket-like duo. Quoth Crumplezone:

"When he [Optimus] sees our real strength and feels our vengeance, he'll regret beating us over and over and over and..."

      • From the same series as these two, Thundercracker. Dear Primus, Thundercracker. Having the worst boss ever doesn't help. He gets lit on fire by Scourge twice. ("Would somebody please put me out?") At the end, after Ransack, Crumplezone, and Thunderblast go back on their Heel Face Turns and sneak off in homemade rocket, poor Thundercracker gets shanghaied aboard when goes to investigate. The Hasbro version of his toy's mold was a major-league example of quality-control failure. (PRIMUS DAMNIT HASBRO!)
    • Starscream can fall into this, though he usually brought it on himself with his various attempts to overthrow Megs.
      • Three Words: Starscream Death Montage.
      • In Prime he's an interesting case. He vacillates between being a legitimate villain with a nasty streak and being on the receiving end of all sorts of abuse, both from the Autobots and his supposed subordinates.
  • Sissi from Code Lyoko. She's supposed to be the Alpha Bitch, but you would be hard pressed to find a character outside her cronies and father that doesn't enjoy constantly insulting her to her face. This gets awkward when the prequel comes around and it's revealed that she's basically involved in a kind of Vicious Cycle, acting like the Alpha Bitch in response to the bad treatment she gets from everyone else, which is essentially a response to her Alpha Bitch behavior. The Lyoko kids do manage to break this cycle in the finale, and Sissi does prove that she's been a Jerk with a Heart of Gold all along.
    • Odd from the same show also gets little respect and is constantly failing at various goals he pursues, such as holding on to a girlfriend (though, to be fair, it doesn't help that he dates multiple girls at the same time). He also is notoriously bad at school that even the teachers mock him for it publically. Let's not forget the constant dissing he gets from his friends, most infamously them stealing his own virtual pet toy and giving it to Yumi's little brother, who soon afterwards breaks it. And also, as he himself lampshades, he's the sole character whose Lyoko form "looks like a dork".
    • Of course, neither of the two above examples combined could make the Butt Monkey magnitude of the show's resident gym teacher, Jim Moralés (but he'd rather not talk about it).
  • In the Animated Adaptation of the Bubsy video games, Arnold the Armadillo is dragged along on an adventure he wanted no part of and is put through seemingly endless physical abuse by the title character, as well as Bubsy's hyperactive, destructive niece and nephew.
  • Virtually everyone living in the Valley in The Oblongs. Helga and James get the absolute worse treatment though.
    • Don't forget Bob, especially. He also doubles as a Chew Toy. Remember when that gargoyle the Oblongs bought on Dump Day crushed him repeatedly every time he tries to put it on the roof of the house?
  • Mr. Persnickety and Mr. Bump on The Mr. Men Show often falls victim to this.
  • Principal Haney from PBS' Arthur. In one episode, two characters even related flashbacks which ended in him suffering some form of abuse, and when a third character related a flashback that did not, Arthur asks "Aren't you forgetting something?" Cue the continuation of that flashback in which, yes, Principal Haney suffers abuse.
  • Coconuts on The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (who actually was a monkey). He appeared the least out of the Badnik Trio, and when he did appear, he would always get defeated by Sonic and Robotnik would demote him to janitor duty. His catchphrase is even, "I hate (insert noun here)! Hate it, hate it, hate it, HATE IT!!!"
    • Scratch and Grounder's luck are no better than Coconut's either.
    • Similarly, Antoine in Sonic Sat AM was the usual butt of Sonic's jokes, constantly reprimanded, and only Tails ever listened to his stories.
  • Tucker of Danny Phantom. He's dumped on quite a lot and has saved Danny more than once and yet, he only gets thanked once and it's a "thanks for being my friend" that Danny throws out to Sam as well. Although it's heartfelt, the execution of how that came about feels rather tacked on and awkward. Later seasons have him either virtually ignored or usually getting victimized.
  • Eugene from Hey Arnold! And probably Brainy too (the one that is always behind Helga "breathing" and gets punched in the face as a result).
  • Ron from Kim Possible has elements of this: gets no respect, villains never remember his name, gets ignored by everyone in favor of Kim. Of course he ends up dating Kim, so it's hard to feel bad for him.
    • Ron gets a bone thrown to him whenever Monkey Fist appears. Since he's a gentleman of class (who just happens to have a bizarre, all-consuming obsession), he makes a point to remember Ron's name as well. After Ron gets mystic monkey juju, Monkey Fist even becomes something of a nemesis to him, and he's better suited to dealing with Fist than Kim is (because, you know, monkeys).
    • Another example is Dr. Drakken. He is driven out of university after being incessantly laughed at by his friends, constantly and vigorously mocked by his sidekick who is undeniably superior to him in just about every way, constantly and repeatedly beaten by Kim (who often takes little or no effort to do it), and occasionally reminded that Professor Dementor has a bigger reputation than him as a dangerous Mad Scientist. Like Ron, he ends up with his female partner, so it does even out in a way.
  • The Fairly OddParents has two. First is Binky, a fairy whose every apperance has something bad happening to him. The fact that he seems to be Jorgen's assistant probably makes it worse. Then there's Veronica, a member of the popular kids. Despite her status, most jokes involving her involve something painful happening to her. Or the fact that she's insanely in love with Timmy.
    • Timmy himself qualifies, too. Parents who would rather go out for a night on the town and tend to discipline you with a cage, a bitchy and manipulitave babysitter, a gray-skinned bully, and a spastic teacher who gives you "F"s for the hell of it? Good thing he has fairies.
    • Cosmo is also somewhat of a Butt Monkey at times. Two words: Super Toilet.

Cosmo: So much clogging! * gets into fetal position and sucks his thumb*

    • Not even Mr. Crocker is safe from this trope. I mean, come on. He lives with his mother, has a hunch back, and his ears are on his neck.
  • Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants. The worst things tend to happen to him: his head exploded, shot out of a cannon, set on fire twice, been squished by a boulder, stampeded by a crowd, attacked multiple times by a seabear, zapped multiple times by the Flying Dutchman, exploded after eating too many Krabby Patties, a piebomb was accidentally thrown in his face, got his toenail ripped off,etc. At one point, he actually asks, "Will I ever win?" In fact, only two episodes ("Band Geeks" and "House Fancy") have ever played out in his favor.
    • In the early part of the first season Squidward would bring much of this on himself. For example, he turned Spongebob and Patrick into enemies as a practical joke, tricked them into being his slaves and pulled a really nasty and harmful April Fool's gag on Spongebob.
    • And also Plankton who's had just as bad luck as Squidward.
      • And Mrs Puff, Barnacle Boy, Patchy etc, all as a result of Spongebob and Patrick not understanding what leave me alone means.
      • Keep in mind Spongebob and Patrick also had their moments in being a Butt Monkey. Don't believe it watch the episode "Pre-Hibernation Week" and the end of "Suds".
  • Every character in The Venture Brothers is a loser, more or less. But Billy Quizboy is the true Butt Monkey. Everybody treats him like crap and mocks his pathetic attempts to exaggerate his own abilities.
  • Many characters in Beavis and Butthead including the title characters, their teacher Mr. Van Dreissen, Tom Anderson, Principal McVicker, and Stewart.
  • After his first run in with physical abuse, the writers of Total Drama Action seem to now make it a point to have Justin hit at least once per episode.
    • In the Total Drama series, everybody is a butt monkey at some point in time (even Chris). Some of the better examples would be Cody, Trent, Owen, Tyler, Ezekiel and especially Duncan! The man has been chucked off cliffs, hit in the groin hundreds of times, electrocuted by eels and crushed by Owen countless times along with many other painful injuries that would kill a normal person!
  • Rocko in Rocko's Modern Life.
  • Samy Garvin on Jimmy Two-Shoes. Though, what else do you expect of a Yes-Man to Lucius?
  • Jay Sherman and his son Marty in The Critic.
  • Archer seems to be one continuous Butt Monkey pecking order at times. Sterling is constantly abused for being a Jerkass, including getting shot multiple times and then flung through the front window of a car by Lana. Malory loves passing him up for assignments and once forced him to teach Cyril to be manly and cool enough for Lana. In any given assignment, it's all he can do to just barely do as he was told, and his constant semi-suicidal attempts to complete said missions are never actually acknowledged.
    • In turn, Archer abuses Woodhouse, seeing him as some kind of unbearable Bumbling Sidekick despite all evidence to the contrary. In one notable example, he is tied up in a hotel room by the villains. Archer is completing his mission, and suddenly realizes that Woodhouse is still tied up, alone, hungry, and probably dehydrated...and laughs his ass off.
    • Archer also mistreats Carol/Cheryl/what's-her-name before, after, and during their various trysts. Pam is universally hated around the office. Cyril gets no respect from Lana and Archer. Almost all the abuse at the trio has to do with the fact that they're sluts (yes, Cyril too), but then again every member of the main cast is pretty promiscuous, so by any fair measure they're actually being treated cruelly for no real reason at all.
  • James Bond Jr. has Trevor Noseworthy IV, who always tries to get the titular character into trouble, only to hilariously fail time and time again.
  • Pick a male character from King Arthur's Disasters. Anyone will do.
  • Has anyone noticed that The Penguin in The Batman almost always seems to be the Butt Monkey in nearly every episode he appears in? Marking a rare villainous version of this trope.
  • Both Twilight Sparkle and Spike sometimes fall into this role in My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, depending on the episode.
    • Scootaloo too.
  • Luxor from Tutenstein.
  • Gumball sometimes falls into this territory.
  • Tak from Tak and the Power of Juju, saving the fact that's he's troubled by Cheif and Lok.
  • Gerold Goode from The Goode Family is the show's cross between Dogged Nice Guy and The Ditz. he was this in the radio episode, "Trouble in Store" and "Gerold's Way or The High Way"
  • Rodney J. Squirrel from Squirrel Boy, sometimes
  • Gus Griswald from Recess, to the point where he's The Woobie.
  • Gil in Bubble Guppies. It doesn't help that he's the Cowardly Lion (and his fears are often what grants him Butt Monkey status).
  • Tunnel Rat from G.I. Joe: Renegades. Not only is he wanted for a crime he didn't commit, but most of his team mates are always annoyed with him. They don't even treat him with respect.
  • The Flash from Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited.
  • Brainy Smurf of The Smurfs is the village's butt monkey.
  • The Ice King of Adventure Time.
    • Lemongrab has only appeared in one episode so far, yet he cranked this trope up to 11 in the span of 11 minutes. He gets pranked, insulted, assaulted, fed extremely spicy food, bullied by his own mother, falls out of a window, falls out of a tree... And at the end, he's fired, and his mom calls him a "butt."
  • Cat from CatDog.
    • Mr. Sunshine too.
  • Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi has Kaz and sometimes even Ami and Yumi.
  • Samson from Camp Lazlo, he keeps getting hit by volleyballs.
    • Edward and Lumpus too.
  • Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales;
    • Tennessee Tuxedo is usually this, most of his schemes end up in epic failures and he along with Chumley keep getting punished at the end by the zoo director; Stanley Livingston.
    • Klondike Kat from the Klondike Kat segments.
    • Tooter Turtle from the Tooter Turtle segments.
    • Colonel Kit Coyote from Go-Go Gophers.
  • Maggie Pesky from The Buzz on Maggie, nothing seems to go right for her and gets hated on by everyone in Sticky Feet.
    • Pupert Pesky, Maggie's little brother, as well.
  • The titular trio from Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
    • Jimmy as well, nothing seems to go right for him.
  • Bloo and Frankie from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
  • Everyone except Olivia from Oggy and the Cockroaches.
  • Rigby and Thomas from Regular Show.
  • Courage the Cowardly Dog:
    • The title character constantly suffers this a lot, as not only does he go through a lot of macabre misadventures, he also takes A LOT of crap, from getting injured in many different ways to getting beat down by many different characters, primarily the villains, not to mention the unwarranted abuse he suffers in the hands of Eustace. The poor dog just can't catch a break for once.
    • Eustace as well, usually due to his jerkass attitude.
  • Rugrats:
    • Angelica, despite being the antagonist, gets her comeuppance a lot (eg: sitting in time out and pizza falling on her hair, causing her to cry as she hates the stress of having her hair washed), but sometimes, she can be the show's butt monkey, even when she isn't the antagonist.
    • Chuckie is very often this, due to his lack of confidence, though not to Angelica's extent.
  • My Life as a Teenage Robot: Jenny X-J9 is prone to this, as she's basically considered a freak by everyone but her friends and "mother" and almost nobody seems to give her any of the respect she deserves, despite having saved the world multiple times.
  • Almost every character from Happy Tree Friends
    • Cuddles is basically the show's Kenny, since he has the most deaths out of all the cast.
    • Toothy, due to him suffering a lot of eye injuries and deaths.
    • Cub, thanks to Pop's obliviousness.
    • Sniffles suffers a lot of humiliating deaths, usually when against the Ants.
    • Handy, due to not having any hands and usually doing tasks that require using hands that end up killing him.
    • Flaky, due to the fact that she’s very cautious and scared of everything, even her own friends killed her after popping their raft when trying to escape an island.
    • Out of all the female characters, Giggles usually gets the worst of it.
      • Petunia as well.
    • Nutty is this at times, such as in Chew Said a Mouthful.
    • Lifty and Shifty, who have died on every episode they appeared in, except for three TV series episodes.
    • Russell suffers a lot of painful injuries and deaths like getting his eyelid stuck on Lumpy's fishing hook and having a bottle pierced through his chest.
    • Even Lumpy is this at times, especially in Letter Late Than Ever and Out on a Limb.
  • The title character of Johnny Bravo.
  • Bluto and Olive from Popeye.
    • Popeye himself can fall under this, such as in The Hungry Goat, Flies Ain’t Human, and any short involving Swee Pea and Shorty.
  • Fauntleroy Fox from The Fox and The Crow cartoons, though he does get the best of Crawford Crow at the end at times.
  • Dagget, and sometimes Norbert from The Angry Beavers.
  • Octo from Almost Naked Animals, he’s afraid of almost everything and keeps getting manipulated by Howie.
    • Poodle treats Batty like this as well.
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