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The Scrappy: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:scrappy-doo_124281a_2237.gif|link=Scooby Doo (Animation)|right]]▼
{{quote|''The more astute readers among you may have noticed that I haven't yet gone so far as to give anything an actual "F." That's not out of any kind-heartedness on my part, it's just that every time I got ready to give one out, I would ask myself, "is it really that bad, compared to the verminous, soul-tainting badness of Scrappy-Doo?"''|'''Lore Fitzgerald Sjoberg''', ''[http://www.bookofratings.com/scooby.html The Book of Ratings]''}}
Popular characters have [[fandom]]s. But sometimes, there is a character who has a ''[[hatedom]]''. We'll call this guy
<tabber>
Likely scrappies=
While much usually depends on execution, certain kinds of characters have a much higher probability of being hated:
* [[The Ace]], when used for the wrong situation.
* An [[Annoying Younger Sibling]], a [[Bratty Half-Pint]], a [[Bratty Teenage Daughter]], an [[Alpha Bitch]], a [[Spoiled Brat]] or a [[Royal Brat]], ''especially'' if they don't grow out of it.
* A [[Cousin Oliver]] is very likely to irritate the fans by upsetting the [[Status Quo Is God|standard character dynamic]]. Even worse if it is also a [[Kid Appeal Character]] inserted in a work not initially directed towards younger viewers.
* A [[Complete Monster]], though that character may be designed to be hated.
* A [[Dirty Coward]] and ''especially'' if it makes them an [[Action Survivor]].
* An [[Entitled Bastard]] that causes harm to the heroes but expects to be rescued by them.
* An [[Exposition Fairy]] that tries to be helpful [[Stop Helping Me!|but winds up being annoying]].
* Someone who performed a [[Face Heel Turn]] may earn ire to the fans who really dislikes the term 'traitor', unless they are forced into it or are not very happy about it.
* A [[Deadpan Snarker]] that's too abrasive and insufficiently charismatic.
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* A [[Karma Houdini]], depending on how horrible they were.
* [[The Load]], who needs the heroes to take care of them without contributing anything useful in return. Including a personality.
** A [[Spoony Bard]], a gaming equivalent of [[The Load]].
** [[The Millstone]], one step worse than the [[The Load]], who is an active ''liability'' to the heroes and ''still'' doesn't contribute anything useful.
* A [[Mary Sue]] or [[Marty Stu]], including common official varieties such as [[Invincible Hero]] and [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad]]. Note that
* A [[Pointy-Haired Boss]] who isn't sufficiently funny.
* A [[Smug Snake]], especially if he/she [[Moral Event Horizon|does something so heinous they stop being "cool"]], though most are [[Complete Monster|made this way]] on purpose.
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* An [[Ungrateful Bastard]].
* A [[Nice Guy]] / [[Nice Guy|Nice Girl]] when not given any interesting personality traits other than being nice to everyone.
* In video games, [[That One Boss]] when it's especially frustrating.
* A character with too much [[Angst Dissonance]].
* A [[Soapbox Sadie]].
* An [[Insufferable Genius]].
* Someone who torments [[The Woobie]] willingly.
* A [[Villain Protagonist]], especially if [[Complete Monster|heinous]], as well as that most are [[Karma Houdini
* A poorly-written [[Only Sane Man]] or [[Straight Man]], ''especially'' in situations that don't call for one.
* A [[Straw Loser]], especially if the person they're the straw loser to isn't much better.
* Any character that reeks of [[Positive Discrimination]].
* [[The Generic Guy]] in a cast of unique characters.
* A [[Generic Doomsday Villain]], especially if used in a serious genre.
* Someone who likes another character who is either
:Note that in order for a character to qualify, the audience have to feel that the character detracts from the work. If they simply hate the character, then chances are this character is a [[Hate Sink]], though there's nothing stopping a [[Hate Sink]] from becoming a Scrappy if they're written badly.
In addition, if the writers begin relying too heavily on an already-present character with some potentially annoying quirks (like [[The Unintelligible]] or the [[Non-Human Sidekick]]), the viewers may begin to find him/her very annoying indeed. Sometimes even a very popular character is at risk of becoming a Scrappy when he or she wears out his or her welcome [[Wolverine Publicity|by being overexposed]].▼
▲:In addition, if the writers begin relying too heavily on an already-present character with some potentially annoying quirks (like [[The Unintelligible]] or the [[Non-Human Sidekick]]), the viewers may begin to find him/her very annoying indeed. Sometimes even a very popular character is at risk of becoming a Scrappy when he or she wears out his or her welcome [[Wolverine Publicity|by being overexposed]].
Occasionally, a character intended as a [[Butt Monkey]] will backfire and become a Scrappy, too. This usually happens when a writer attempts to make his mishaps even funnier by making him an unlikeable person to whom it's very satisfying to see horrible things befall. A great idea, but sometimes it backfires when the [[Butt Monkey]] becomes so annoying that whatever happens to him in the story, audiences are haunted by the feeling that it will never be enough. An especial risk when the [[Butt Monkey]] gags are prolonged, after which even a character who's not inherently unlikeable can stop being funny and become a [[Damsel Scrappy]]. It also comes full-circle in a way; note also that many Scrappies can easily become [[Butt Monkey|Butt Monkeys]] when touched upon in fan discussions and literary parodies. In any given [[Hate Fic]], and even in the occasional straight-up [[Fanfic]], the author may very likely go a step further than making [[The Scrappy]] into the [[Butt Monkey]], killing him or her off (often brutally), or giving a "hero" Scrappy a [[Face Heel Turn]] so he becomes the villain; after which he again will likely be killed off.▼
▲:Occasionally, a character intended as a [[Butt Monkey]] will backfire and become a Scrappy, too. This usually happens when a writer attempts to make his mishaps even funnier by making him an unlikeable person to whom it's very satisfying to see horrible things befall. A great idea, but sometimes it backfires when the [[Butt Monkey]] becomes so annoying that whatever happens to him in the story, audiences are haunted by the feeling that it will never be enough. An especial risk when the [[Butt Monkey]] gags are prolonged, after which even a character who's not inherently unlikeable can stop being funny and become a [[Damsel Scrappy]]. It also comes full-circle in a way; note also that many Scrappies can easily become [[Butt Monkey
Strangely, at the other end of the spectrum lies another common scrappy, the [[Author Avatar]]. Unlike a [[Butt Monkey]], they lack any sort of shame on principle; instead serving as the voice of reason, or whatever contrived argument the writer ''thinks'' is reason. If bad things happen to this character, it will be to prove that everyone else is allegedly stupider.▼
▲:Strangely, at the other end of the spectrum lies another common scrappy, the [[Author Avatar]]. Unlike a [[Butt Monkey]], they lack any sort of shame on principle; instead serving as the voice of reason, or whatever contrived argument the writer ''thinks'' is reason. If bad things happen to this character, it will be to prove that everyone else is allegedly stupider.
Just as there's several types of characters that can become Scrappies, the resulting Scrappies can take many forms:▼
* The [[Damsel Scrappy]], where fans tire of the [[Distressed Damsel]] becoming, ah, distressed.▼
:Some people conflate [[Hate Sink]] characters with '''The Scrappy''', on the fact that both types are hated by fans; but the difference is that in a high percentage of cases the Hate Sink is ''[[Intended Audience Reaction|intentionally]]'' written that way -- usually to give fans a character on whom project their irritation if the nominal villain is [[Orcus on His Throne|inactive]] or [[Rooting for the Empire|relateable]]. As the trope namer proves, a Scrappy could have been written with the initial intention of being relatable and sympathetic (and maybe was, at the beginning), but their gimmick overstayed its welcome and the fans become increasingly irritated by its existence instead.
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Scrappy Variants=
▲Just as there
▲* The [[Damsel Scrappy]], where fans tire of the [[
* The [[Ethnic Scrappy]], a particularly awful manifestation when the racial caricature of the [[Funny Foreigner]] becomes offensive. Ironically, this frequently results from well-intentioned attempts to make the cast of characters more diverse.
** The [[Alien Scrappy]] is an [[Ethnic Scrappy]] who is a non-human sentient being. His species doesn't exist in the real world and he may be the only example of them we ever see, but he somehow still manages to come across as a distressing caricature that is insulting to them.
* A [[Periphery Hatedom]] can spring up if the character is liked by the target audience but considered the Scrappy by people outside that target.
** [[Americans Hate Tingle]] is related, where they're liked in their home country but shunned elsewhere.
* The [[Replacement Scrappy]], hated simply because he took the place of a guy that was liked.
* The [[Tier
* [[X
:Not all Scrappies are doomed to their status. If the writers notice what's happening, they may [[Rescued
:On the other hand, if the writers take a shine to The Scrappy and add some elements of [[Mary Sue]], or otherwise put more focus on them over more popular/liked characters, this will add gasoline to the flames - they've just turned The Scrappy into the dreaded [[Creator's Pet]]. Expect anti-websites (and,
:Of course, writers may also [[
▲Not all Scrappies are doomed to their status. If the writers notice what's happening, they may [[Rescued From the Scrappy Heap|change the character in order to make sure they are no longer hated]], give them a [[Alas, Poor Scrappy|tragic death scene]], simply [[Shoo Out the New Guy|send them away]], or at the very least [[Take That Scrappy|show that the other characters are as annoyed by them as the fans are]]. If the character is a [[Jerkass]] [[Straight Man]], [[Butt Monkey]], or [[The Chew Toy|Chew Toy]], though, don't expect anything to change; these characters are meant to be dislikable on purpose, as it's part of their charm.
:Whenever fanfiction (especially [[Shipping]]) is involved, The Scrappy will very likely [[Die for Our Ship|die for the writer's chosen pairing]]. Even if they aren't technically involved in the Ship. They'll also become the frequent subject of [[Ron the Death Eater]] treatment.▼
▲On the other hand, if the writers take a shine to The Scrappy and add some elements of [[Mary Sue]], or otherwise put more focus on them over more popular/liked characters, this will add gasoline to the flames - they've just turned The Scrappy into the dreaded [[Creator's Pet]]. Expect anti-websites (and, more recently, ''dozens'' of Orkut communities); message threads that [[Flame War|degenerate into flamefests]]; and [[Fan Dumb|a hard fast descent into loonydom]].
:In rare instances where the Scrappy has
▲Of course, writers may also [[Intended Audience Reaction|make a Scrappy character intentionally]] in order to spoof the concept. A [[Temporary Scrappy]] exists to get on the viewers' nerves and then get thrown out at the end of the episode.
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▲Whenever fanfiction (especially [[Shipping]]) is involved, The Scrappy will very likely [[Die for Our Ship|die for the writer's chosen pairing]]. Even if they aren't technically involved in the Ship. They'll also become the frequent subject of [[Ron the Death Eater]] treatment.
* Scrappy-Doo from ''[[Scooby Doo]]'' was hated by many of the show's longtime fans, with some of the [[Misblamed|hate coming from his introduction]] timed with major [[retool]]s to the show (specifically, [[Put on a Bus|dumping half the original cast]], switching to a [[Three Shorts|Two Shorts]] format, and the franchise's first clumsy attempts to lose the [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]]), but a great deal also being earned by his thoroughly obnoxious behavior of vainly boasting about picking a fight with villains he couldn't hope to harm.
:Ironically, despite how much Scrappy has been loathed and [[Creator Backlash|how hard the franchise has distanced themselves from the character]], at the time of his introduction, Scrappy was extremely popular. The show was already on the verge of cancellation due to low ratings, leading the writers to create the character in a last-ditch attempt to save it. [[Kid Appeal Character|Kids loved him]] and the ratings sky-rocketed, leading to the various format changes that happened later to give more prominence to Scrappy.
:[[Scooby-Doo (film)|The 2002 movie]], meanwhile, parodies this nicely: the gang are revealed to have kicked Scrappy out several years beforehand for attempting to take over Mystery Inc, going as far as leaving him in the middle of a deserted road (in the same box Scooby found him!) while they drive off. {{spoiler|He then turns out to be the movie's [[Big Bad]], becomes a hulking monstrosity bent on destroying Scooby and tries to kill the main characters, even going so far as to suck the souls out of Velma, Fred and Daphne. Following his defeat, Scooby PUNCHES HIM.}} Is anyone else seeing a massive subtext about Scrappy's negative influence on the show here?
:It's gotten so bad that Scrappy is [[Orwellian Editor|all but edited out of any series or movies he appeared in when they're released on DVD]]. Sure, the content itself is unchanged, but the trailers, cover art, and descriptions on DVD covers for ''Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo'', ''Scooby and the Ghoul School'', and ''13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' reduce Scrappy's presence to a bare minimum if it doesn't make it nonexistent. Cartoon Network's official website [[Lampshade Hanging|makes reference]] to the character's hatedom with the Shockwave game [https://web.archive.org/web/20131104120449/http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/games/scooby/scrappystinks/index.html Scrappy Stinks]. It's one of the oldest games on the site, having been up since at least 2000.
▲In rare instances where the Scrappy has a unexpected [[Dying Moment of Awesome]], it's [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]] (''very'' subjective).
* It should be noted that there are some fans who support Scrappy-Doo. For more info, please see ''[http://www.erictb.info/scrappy.html The Facts on Scrappy]''. Also read [[Mark Evanier]]'s [https://web.archive.org/web/20090924143700/http://www.povonline.com/scrappydays/scrappy01.htm "Scrappy Days" articles.]▼
</tabber>
This is a very [[Subjective Tropes|subjective trope]], more based on the fandom than the character itself. The visceral response to The Scrappy can baffle other fans who don't take the character as [[Serious Business|seriously]], or even sympathize with him or her. Often it's subjected to [[Double Standard
▲== The [[Trope Namer]] ==
▲* It should be noted that there are some fans who support Scrappy-Doo. For more info, please see ''[http://www.erictb.info/scrappy.html The Facts on Scrappy]''. Also read [[Mark Evanier]]'s [http://www.povonline.com/scrappydays/scrappy01.htm "Scrappy Days" articles.]
Should any Troper have more interest in researching Scrappies, there is in fact, an entire Wiki for Scrappies, the [https://loathsomecharacters.miraheze.org/wiki/Loathsome_Characters_Wiki Loathsome Characters Wiki], where each page gives an analysis of just why the character in question deserves this Trope as a label.
{{noreallife|this is an subjective audience reaction trope.}}
{{examples on subpages}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Tropes of Legend]]
[[Category:Scrappy Index]]
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[[Category:Truth in Television]]
[[Category:Unexpected Reactions to This Index]]
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