The Trickster: Difference between revisions

'''Basso:''' I choose to take that as a compliment.|''The Folding Knife''}}

Tricksters can be anything from gods of chaos, bedeviling heroes for a few laughs, to master manipulators who use cruel ploys and [[Sadistic Choice|sadistic choices]]. They can also be heroes (or more likely [[Anti-Hero|Anti-Heroes]]es) who make up for a lack of strength or bravery with manipulation, [[Crazy Prepared|planning]], or just plain [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty|cheating]]. The trickster is often a [[Master of Disguise]] and may have magical or super-powers. They're often found [[Walking the Earth]].

The Trickster is NOT''not'' the same as the [[Jerkass]]. While the Trickster may be mischievous, impudent and uppity, he is not necessarily openly malevolent or sociopathic; in fact, in many cases (Prometheus, for example) Tricksters are ''more'' friendly to humanity than the gods are.

:* [[GentlemanThe SnarkerGambler]]

:* [[Gentleman ThiefSnarker]]

*:* [[Classy CatGentleman BurglarThief]]

:** [[GreatClassy Cat GazooBurglar]]

:* [[GuileGreat HeroGazoo]]

:* [[HeadsGuile or TailsHero]]

:* [[HighHeads Schoolor HustlerTails]]

:* [[KarmicHigh TricksterSchool Hustler]]

:* [[LovableKarmic TraitorTrickster]]

:* [[MagnificentLovable BastardTraitor]]

*:* [[Puss inMagnificent BootsBastard]]

:** [[ManipulativePuss in BastardBoots]]

:* [[MasterManipulative of IllusionBastard]]

:* [[Mooching Master of Illusion]]

:* [[PlayfulMooching HackerMaster]]

:* [[RascallyPlayful RabbitHacker]]

:* [[ScrewyRascally SquirrelRabbit]]

:* [[TheScrewy SpookSquirrel]]

:* [[The TrampSpook]]

:* [[ThoseStrange WilyPond CoyotesWoman]]

:* [[TrenchcoatThe BrigadeTramp]]

:* [[TricksterThose MentorWily Coyotes]]

:* [[TricksterTrenchcoat TwinsBrigade]]

:* [[TurncoatTrickster Mentor]]

:* [[Two-HeadedTrickster CoinTwins]]

:* [[The UnfetteredTurncoat]]

:* [[VillainousTwo-Headed HarlequinCoin]]

:* [[The WonkaUnfettered]]

* ''[[SeitokaiStudent noCouncil's IchizonDiscretion]]'' has Chizuru.

* Merry and Pippin from ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' are also [[Those Two Guys]].

** [[The Master (trope)|The Master]] certainly qualifies as well.

* Gaius Baltar from ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined(2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', although more out of desperation than anything.

* Rumplestiltskin in ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]''. Very, very much so -- andso—and he's pulled his tricks on ''everyone''.

* Two words: [[Dungeons and& Dragons|Chaotic Neutral]].

* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' has its typical [[Darker and Edgier|pitch black take on it]]. *The Deceiver is a weaker [[Eldritch Abomination]] who is one of the bigger players in the [[Gambit Pileup]] in the setting, and the Laughing God is one of the [[Have You Seen My God?|few surviving gods of the Eldar]], whose followers are the [[Monster Clown|Harlequins]] ([[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|space elf ninja clown acrobat librarians]]). On a smaller scale, there's a direct reference to this archetype in the latest Space Wolves codex, Lukas the Trickster, a [[Almighty Janitor|low-ranking]] [[Space Marine]] who replaced one of his hearts with a [[And I Must Scream|stasis bomb]] that [[Taking You with Me|goes off on his death]].

*** Let this troper emphasize. Ninja. Clown. The fact that it's their defining game mechanic and they get ''saves'' (effectively, armor) on that account only accentuates the hilarity. They're one of the few Eldar units that can charge in the open, comparable to units from other factions whose armor was designed for repairing ships' reactors ''while they're on'', all on account of the fact that anyone who is [[Refuge in Audacity|both a ninja and a clown]] is impossible to hit.

** The whole archetype is part of the Space Wolves' hat. The majority are [[Boisterous Bruiser|Boisterous Bruisers]]s to varying degrees, and many of the younger ones have a real fondness for harmless (or sometimes, not-so-harmless) [[Screwy Squirrel|practical jokes]]. Lukas is a prime example on how extreme the Space Wolves' rebellious nature can be, since he doesn't even respect superiors within his own chapter as much as any other character.

* Early plays frequently featured [[Stock Characters]] of this type, usually underlings or servants--aservants—a trope solidified by the plays of [[Plautus]]. This was carried on into the ''[[Commedia Dell'Arte]]'' and Elizabethan plays, such as the works of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]].

* Robin Goodfellow from ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''--otherwise—otherwise known as Puck.

* Tranio from ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]''--named—named for a similar character in Plautus' play ''Mostellaria''.

* In ''[[The Water Phoenix King]]'', the goddess Ailari, patron of travelers, messengers, merchants, inns, freedom, and fortune. Her various servants and champions all embody these aspects in different ways, starting with Anthem's protests that she's nobody's servant, thankyouverymuch, and Gilgam's shameless [[Rules Lawyer|Rules Lawyering]]ing and outright deceptions to see justice done without giving her away. (Vish even has Hermes' winged sandals, for all his Lawful inclinations.)

* In [[Strays]], the [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20110830153516/http://www.straysonline.com/comic/151.htm Holland].

* Hexadecimal of ''[[Re BootReBoot]]'': pretty much defines this trope. Offoff the wall, powerful and above all, an artiste.

* Loki, from Marvel's animated feature ''[[Thor: Tales of Asgard]]''.

* June from ''[[Ka BlamKaBlam!]]'' is basiclybasically a female, human, eleven-year-old version of [[Bugs Bunny]]