Token Evil Teammate/Playing With: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 12:26, 9 January 2014

Basic Trope: A group of heroes has one member who is not very heroic at all- they can range from being a jerkass to actually being as evil as some of the villains the heroes fight.

Straight: Inexplicably, Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl tolerate Dark Blood who is treacherous and a casual murderer.
Exaggerated: Captain Awesome, Amazing Girl and their good friend Dark Blood, who's even worse than the villains.
Downplayed: Amazing Girl and Captain Awesome are not that Good. Dark Blood is just somewhat worse then them.
- Amazing Girl and Captain Awesome are both good examples of a Knight in Sour Armour. Dark Blood is a Type IV Anti-Hero.
Justified: By having them on the team, the heroes are able to keep the character from doing more evil than they would otherwise, hereafter known as the Bitterleaf Argument.
- Alternately: the token evil teammate's only virtue is loyalty, and that loyalty happens to be to a good character.
- Dark Blood who is Chaotic Evil would rather join the Chaotic Good heroes then the Lawful Evil Big Bad.
Inverted: Token Good Teammate
Subverted: Dark Blood isn't really that bad and in some ways might actually be more moral than the Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl.
Double Subverted: Dark Blood doesn't seem really that bad and in some ways might actually be more moral than the Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl...Then, he shows his true colors later on.
Parodied: Dark Blood is a comical Dastardly Whiplash.
Deconstructed: Other good characters are disgusted by Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl putting up with such a horrible person and/or the heroes tarnish their reputation by allowing the teammate to do nasty things in pursuit of their goals.
Reconstructed: Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl can be really soft and don't deal out the tough love/justice that they should- so this guy does it for them.
Zig Zagged: Dark Blood just kicked a dog! Wait, he only did it to save the old woman. So... why is he throwing her into traffic??
Averted: All of the heroes are solidly good and it's clear that even the least heroic is no worse than a Lovable Rogue.
Enforced: "Audiences like a Heroic Comedic Sociopath character so we'll have an evil member of the Five-Man Band."
Lampshaded: A hero remarks on how the teammate is more evil than many villains they fight.
Invoked: A villainous character knows he'll have more opportunity for mayhem if he fights with the heroes, so he asks to join them.
Defied: Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl don't let Dark Blood join them because that character is evil.
Discussed: "Why is it every team I've been in has a villain or a jerk (or Crystal Dragon Jesus Save Us, both)?"
Conversed: "Everyone on this team is so nice! ... wait, does that mean I'm the Token Evil Teammate? Crap! I suck at being Jerkass!"
Played For Laughs: Being a Heroic Comedic Sociopath, the appalling behaviour of the character is so over-the-top that it gets funny.
- Alternatively, Dark Blood is a Harmless Villain-type and his 'evil deeds' are all Poke the Poodle.
Played For Drama: Dark Blood may step over the Moral Event Horizon, and may also be The Starscream.

Back to Token Evil Teammate

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 * '''Exaggerated''': Captain Awesome, Amazing Girl and their good friend Dark Blood, who's even worse than the villains.
 * '''Downplayed''': Amazing Girl and Captain Awesome are not [[Gray and Black Morality|that Good]]. Dark Blood is just somewhat worse then them.
-** Amazing Girl and Captain Awesome are both good examples of a [[Knight in Sour Armour]]. Dark Blood is a Type IV [[Anti Hero]].
+** Amazing Girl and Captain Awesome are both good examples of a [[Knight in Sour Armour]]. Dark Blood is a Type IV [[Anti-Hero]].
 * '''Justified''': By having them on the team, the heroes are able to keep the character from doing more evil than they would otherwise, hereafter known as the [[Order of the Stick|Bitterleaf Argument.]]
 ** Alternately: the token evil teammate's only virtue is loyalty, and that loyalty happens to be to a good character.
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 * '''Zig Zagged''': Dark Blood just kicked a dog! Wait, he only did it to save the old woman. So... why is he throwing her into traffic??
 * '''Averted''': All of the heroes are solidly good and it's clear that even the least heroic is no worse than a [[Lovable Rogue]].
-* '''Enforced''': "Audiences like a [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath]] character so we'll have an evil member of the [[Five Man Band]]."
+* '''Enforced''': "Audiences like a [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath]] character so we'll have an evil member of the [[Five-Man Band]]."
 * '''Lampshaded''': A hero remarks on how the teammate is more evil than many villains they fight.
 * '''Invoked''': A villainous character knows he'll have more opportunity for mayhem if he fights with the heroes, so he asks to join them.