Designated Monkey: Difference between revisions

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The [[Designated Monkey]] is an unintentional [[Butt Monkey]]. They [[Loser Archetype|constantly find themselves in horrible situations]]; the author appears to [[Call It Karma|intend this to be karmic punishment]], but the audience (or a significant subgroup of it) thinks that it's out of proportion and will treat them as [[The Woobie]]. This can create [[Moral Dissonance]] or [[Values Dissonance]] in the work, or it could mean that the fandom is [[Misaimed Fandom|misaimed]]. The audience may even begin to wonder [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|whether the author is]] [[Better Than Canon|deliberately misrepresenting this character]] to prevent us from sympathizing with them. Or write [[Revenge Fic~~|Revenge Fics~~]] on their behalf.

The '''Designated Monkey''' is an unintentional [[Butt Monkey]]. They [[Loser Archetype|constantly find themselves in horrible situations]]; the author appears to [[Call It Karma|intend this to be karmic punishment]], but the audience (or a significant subgroup of it) thinks that it's out of proportion and will treat them as [[The Woobie]]. This can create [[Moral Dissonance]] or [[Values Dissonance]] in the work, or it could mean that the fandom is [[Misaimed Fandom|misaimed]]. The audience may even begin to wonder [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|whether the author is]] [[Better Than Canon|deliberately misrepresenting this character]] to prevent us from sympathizing with them. Or write [[Revenge Fic]]s on their behalf.

A variant of this can happen to an intentional [[Butt Monkey]] or [[Cosmic Plaything]] if the rules of the universe are rewritten to punish them.

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** Or they may feel they deserve the treatment even if they resent it - but canon makes it clear (possibly by accident) that they feel they'd deserve anything that happens.

** If they are repentant, they'll seek to rectify the situation and regain their "rightful place" in society. They will fail.

* They may become [[The Unfavourite]] not only of a parental figure, but also of over half of the main cast. Either [[Values Dissonance]] or [[Misaimed Fandom]] will be involved when this happens to a [[Designated Monkey]]. Expect comments like [[You Should Have Died Instead]] aimed at this character.

* They may become [[The Unfavourite]] not only of a parental figure, but also of over half of the main cast. Either [[Values Dissonance]] or [[Misaimed Fandom]] will be involved when this happens to a '''Designated Monkey'''. Expect comments like [[You Should Have Died Instead]] aimed at this character.

** They may have a killer [[Freudian Excuse]] that the author didn't realize counted.

** They might be a [[Jerkass Woobie]] in disguise.

* Rarely, they may not have done anything at all. [[The Chew Toy|They just get randomly punished for no apparent reason]] while [[Never My Fault|the story behaves as if they've brought it on themselves]].

Legitimate characters being turned into Designated Monkeys may be a sign that the [[~~Fan|fans~~]] are [[Running the Asylum]].

Legitimate characters being turned into Designated Monkeys may be a sign that the [[fan]]s are [[Running the Asylum]].

Compare [[Unpopular Popular Character]]. Contrast [[Creator's Pet]].

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* Dave Sim did this a lot as ''[[Cerebus]]'' went on. It tied in with his [[Creator Breakdown]]. Due to his rising misogyny, he hated pretty much all his female characters and generally wrote them out to replace them with [[Straw Feminist]] shrews. This, however, is nothing compared to the titlular character. A good part of one trade paperback is devoted to Dave directly addressing said character and explaining to him what an asshole he is and how totally unfit he is for human company. Pretty much the entire comic from that point on (about 100 issues or so, depending on where you think this begins) details Cerebus' slow and gradual self-destruction.

* The [[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]] at [[Marvel Universe|Marvel]] was this to the anti-registration side, at least for the main focus issues. The writers wrote that side as having faults that a lot of readers didn't see.

* With the exception of Superman, [[Garth Ennis]] has a ''serious'' mad-on for superheroes. Whenever they appear in his comic, they are depicted as either [[Jerk Jock~~|Jerk Jocks~~]] or complete imbeciles, and their usual role is to [[The Worf Effect|get knocked around]] and make the [[Badass Normal~~|Badass Normals~~]] look good. It's frustrating for readers who've seen his work on ''[[The Punisher|Punisher MAX]]'' and ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]],'' and know that he's a genuinely good writer when he's not writing what amounts to glorified [[Revenge Fic]].

* With the exception of Superman, [[Garth Ennis]] has a ''serious'' mad-on for superheroes. Whenever they appear in his comic, they are depicted as either [[Jerk Jock]]s or complete imbeciles, and their usual role is to [[The Worf Effect|get knocked around]] and make the [[Badass Normal]]s look good. It's frustrating for readers who've seen his work on ''[[The Punisher|Punisher MAX]]'' and ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]],'' and know that he's a genuinely good writer when he's not writing what amounts to glorified [[Revenge Fic]].

* In the original ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' comic books, Michelangelo may be an unintentional example as he was not given an especially large role in Volumes 1 and 2, did little to advance the plot, and was often not portrayed as an especially skilled fighter. This was most likely due to the need to establish Leonardo's role as a "leader" along with the fact that Donatello and Raphael were Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman's favorite turtles respectively.

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== Live Action TV ==

* Ross Geller from ''[[Friends]]''.

* The titular character of [[Everybody Loves Raymond]] became this trope more and more as the show went on. His wife, Debra, sometimes got this treatment at the hands of Marie, but at least in those cases, the show made it clear that the audience was supposed to side with Debra over Marie. When Ray became the [[Designated Monkey]] at ''Debra's'' hands, it was often for very shoddy reasons, yet it seemed like the show wanted the audience to root for Debra (at the very least, the studio audience seemed to be rooting for her, even when she made Ray a [[Butt Monkey]]).

* The titular character of [[Everybody Loves Raymond]] became this trope more and more as the show went on. His wife, Debra, sometimes got this treatment at the hands of Marie, but at least in those cases, the show made it clear that the audience was supposed to side with Debra over Marie. When Ray became the Designated Monkey at ''Debra's'' hands, it was often for very shoddy reasons, yet it seemed like the show wanted the audience to root for Debra (at the very least, the studio audience seemed to be rooting for her, even when she made Ray a [[Butt Monkey]]).

* Colin Mochrie from ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway?|Whose Line Is It Anyway]]'' is an unusual example due to the fact he is absolutely capable of defending himself against both the writers, the comedians [[And Zoidburg|and Drew Carey]]. Several times when he's the butt of a joke, a percentage of the audience will cry out in favour of him and he'll often act innocent to get more sympathy.

* J.D. from ''[[Scrubs]]'' became this in season six. The writers put him through an incredible amount of torment (losing his girlfriend, losing his unborn baby, becoming homeless, getting a DUI on a technicality, and getting a disease that causes him to pass out frequently, which is to say nothing of the innumerable times he's been tormented and abused by people around him) and made it very clear that they had no sympathy for his plight (the storyline ends with him learning to not complain so much to his jerkass friends). This reached breaking point when the season ended with the girlfriend who left him revealing she lied about the miscarriage to escape their relationship and the show playing it entirely on HER side, admonishing J.D. for being rightfully spiteful. Needless to say, this was when a lot of fans, including this troper, abandoned the series.

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** Boxbot, is that you? Are you trying to exact pity from these good tropers? You're an embarrassment. I'm so disappointed in you.

*** Robox is totally awesome though. Everyone loves having him around.

* [http://www.drowtales.com/~wiki/index.php/Yafein_Val%27Sullisin%27rune Yafien] from ''[[Drowtales]]'', who is a [[Nerd]] in a world where everyone else is a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]], does what any sane, unarmed person would do when three knife-wielding, demon-possessed people go after the girl you met three seconds ago: run away. He is also one of the ''few'' characters in his [[~~Dystopia|dystopian~~]] world who has never killed, raped, robbed, etc., and is viewed in-story as a treacherous coward due to [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]].

* [http://www.drowtales.com/~wiki/index.php/Yafein_Val%27Sullisin%27rune Yafien] from ''[[Drowtales]]'', who is a [[Nerd]] in a world where everyone else is a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]], does what any sane, unarmed person would do when three knife-wielding, demon-possessed people go after the girl you met three seconds ago: run away. He is also one of the ''few'' characters in his [[dystopia]]n world who has never killed, raped, robbed, etc., and is viewed in-story as a treacherous coward due to [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]].

** [http://www.drowtales.com/~wiki/index.php/Syphile Syphile] had a terrible childhood where she was put down, abused, and beaten pretty much constantly, and is guilty of abusing [http://www.drowtales.com/~wiki/index.php/Ariel_Val%27Sarghress Ariel] and killing her kitten in a fit of rage. She was forcing Ariel to memorize a dictionary, and basically had no idea how to teach, and took out the problems on the child, who unsurprisingly grew to hate her. She does get a pretty killer [[Hannibal Lecture]], pointing this out, and Ariel simply refuses to listen. Also, she gets to give one to her own mother. {{spoiler|And promptly die, but it may have influenced said mother...}}

* There's plenty of them in ''[[Something Positive]]'', but Kharisma, in particular, represents this. A horribly shallow, self absorbed character who has received so damn much punishment (her face being set on fire, being sent to prison for a crime she [technically] didn't commit), it is getting harder and harder to feel schadenfreude at her.

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*** [[Too Dumb to Live|Elmer Fudd]] was actually an example self confessed by director Friz Freleng, who was convinced that Bugs looked too much of a 'bully' when pitted against him and thus made him into a more pro-active hero against the meaner-spirited outlaw, Yosemite Sam.

*** [[Cats Are Mean|Sylvester]] may be another key example, given that his intentions were usually never outside the natural instincts of a normal cat. The repeated physical and verbal assaults he received for trying to eat 'a sweet, innocent, little bird' [[Values Dissonance|and the equally brutal punishment he received for failing to do the same to a mouse]] (though granted, Sylvester was often placed in [[Butt Monkey]] roles, be it provoked or not) certainly didn't help.

* Due to the ([[Kafka Komedy|hilariously]]) warped moral perspective on ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', [[Jerkass|Master Shake]] is both a [[Designated Monkey]] ''and'' a [[Karma Houdini]]. When Shake is actively being a jerk and hurting people, he tends to get away with it. But his biggest [[Humiliation Conga~~|Humiliation Congas~~]] come from his well-intentioned ([[Cloudcuckoolander|for him, anyway]]) stupidity and/or him being an unrelated victim.

* Due to the ([[Kafka Komedy|hilariously]]) warped moral perspective on ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', [[Jerkass|Master Shake]] is both a Designated Monkey ''and'' a [[Karma Houdini]]. When Shake is actively being a jerk and hurting people, he tends to get away with it. But his biggest [[Humiliation Conga]]s come from his well-intentioned ([[Cloudcuckoolander|for him, anyway]]) stupidity and/or him being an unrelated victim.

* Meg Griffin of ''[[Family Guy]]'' seems to be a somewhat intentional example - often abused, ignored, or mocked by EVERYONE in the show's universe for little known reason, especially as the [[Comedic Sociopathy]] humor in the series increased, with [[Out-of-Character Moment|even straight men like Lois and Brian acting equally callous to Meg]], as well as [[Jerkass]] characters like Peter (though granted, this may not be as emphasised in later seasons, where [[Flanderization]] has led nearly every character to become [[Sadist Show|sociopathic and self centered]] with Meg's abuse actually seeming petty to that invoked and suffered by most of the cast). [[Broken Base|The fanbase seems divided]] as to whether Meg's treatment is hilarious or outright cruel.

** Something interesting about ''[[Family Guy]]'', though, is that the writers actually seem to care what the [[Vocal Minority]] thinks. At the peak of the fan base's frustration over Meg's [[Comedic Sociopathy]] treatment, they [[Throw the Dog a Bone|Threw The Dog A Bone]] with [[A Day in the Limelight|"Dial Meg for Murder"]], a definite [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]. When we were facepalming over Brian's [[Author Filibuster]] [[Only Sane Man]] treatment as seen in ''Not All Dogs Go To Heaven'' and ''I Dream of Jesus'', Quagmire (of all people) put Brian in his place in ''Jerome is the New Black'', delivering an epic [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] about how greedy, narcissistic, hypocritical, shallow, selfish, and boring Brian is/has become. Both episodes are [[Pandering to the Base]] done right.

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* [[Meaningful Name|Mr. Bump]] from ''The [[Mr. Men]] Show'' is pretty much this.

* Plankton from ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' is becoming one of these, largely due to his increasingly pitiful malice and his adversary Mr. Krabs [[Took a Level in Jerkass|becoming almost as callous]] and even reverting to [[Designated Hero|torturing Plankton unprovoked in a similar fashion]].

** He and Squidward both, ever since [[The Movie]]. At first they were [[Jerkass~~|Jerkasses~~]] that often [[Laser-Guided Karma|brought their bad luck on themselves]], now it seems that [[Comedic Sociopathy|the world is genuinely out to get them]].

** He and Squidward both, ever since [[The Movie]]. At first they were [[Jerkass]]es that often [[Laser-Guided Karma|brought their bad luck on themselves]], now it seems that [[Comedic Sociopathy|the world is genuinely out to get them]].

* Pete in ''[[Goof Troop]]''. His character has always been a villiain or an antagonist, but the more "mundane" setting of the show means that he's more of a petty [[Jerkass]] than truly evil, which makes the usually over-the-top abuse he receives seem a little out of proportion a lot of the time. And then there are the times when he ''[[Chew Toy|didn't do anything]]''.

* Ezekiel from ''[[Total Drama World Tour]].'' Apparently, [[Ambition Is Evil|being really determined to win]] qualifies him to devolve into [[Lord of the Rings|Gollum]].