List of stock characters in comedy

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|This is a list of stock characters that are most commonly used for comedic effect. Because of this, they are (unsurprisingly) most frequently found in comedies.

• The English Butler: often present if the main character is upper-class or wealthy. Very proper, well-mannered, skillful, and loyal to his employers and always comes to their aid when needed. Usually speaks with a posh English accent and may have a dry sense of humor or may be prone to making cynical remarks about his employer’s behavior. Examples include Alfred Pennyworth from Batman, Jeeves (actually a valet), the title character on Mr. Belvedere, Niles from The Nanny, Duckworth from DuckTales, Nestor from Tintin, and Mr. French on Family Affair.
• The Fool: a clown or joker who speaks in riddles and puns. Often, the fool is, despite his name, actually extremely intelligent, wise, and/or witty and reveals key truths about the characters with whom he speaks (Shakespeare's fools, such as the ones in Twelfth Night and King Lear, are well-known examples).
• The Fop: a person that tries to be highly fashionable and aristocratic. He is typically overdressed and his speech is characterized by overuse or misuse of popular phrases (often French phrases) or various forms of hypercorrection. The fop is never intelligent and always talkative. (The Hero sometimes poses as a fop to allay his enemies’ suspicions: The Scarlet Pimpernel hid behind the persona of Sir Percy Blakeney. Zorro hid behind the image of the Fop, Don Diego. Batman’s public persona of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne is a fop).
  • The Jokester: often a part of a group of adventurers. Not to be confused with the wiser Fool or more dangerous Trickster, the Jokester copes with the seriousness of his or her situation (often war) with constant good humor. Sometimes he may be crying on the inside, or his laughter might mask insecurities. Occasionally, his perpetual good humor can be annoying, but he is always loved (or at least appreciated) by at least some of his teammates. Some heroic Jokesters (like Spider-Man) actually use their humor as a weapon, constantly insulting foes in order to infuriate them, so the foe to make mistakes(swing wildly, use up ammunition) or disrupt his timeing(such as a martial artist enemy). Nightcrawler or Iceman of the X-Men, Marvel Comics', Spider-Man or Deadpool, Chandler Bing of Friends, Joxer of Xena: Warrior Princess, Beast Boy of Teen Titans, and Xander Harris of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are examples.
  • The Trickster: often supernatural or mysterious. No visible objectives or motivation but provides impetus to the plot and acts as a catalyst for events. May later become a clear cut good guy or villain. Plays tricks and spreads chaos, disorganising society and creating something new. Examples include Loki, Amaguq, Reynard the fox, and Púca from various mythologies. Ariel from Shakespeare's The Tempest, Slade from Teen Titans and Xellos from Slayers are also good examples. Represents both the Jungian Shadow and the basic fear and joyous love of chaos.
• The Foreign Exchange Student: whose exotic appearance and/or mannerisms often serve as comic relief (especially due to culture shock). Examples: Fez from That '70s Show, Kaolla Su from Love Hina, Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles, Üter from The Simpsons, Rolf from Ed, Edd, and Eddy, and Shannon Elizabeth’s character, Nadia, in American Pie. Note that the Foreign Exchange Student is often either hypersexual (Long Duck Dong) or hypersexualized (Nadia)
• The Oddball: An eccentric character whose behavior and opinions are extremely bizarre, but harmless as they turn out to be very handy in the long run, proving that the oddball is much smarter than he looks. Jughead Jones of the Archie Comics series, Skeeter Valentine from Doug, Dil Pickles of All Grown Up, Gonzo, and Maynard G. Krebs from The Dobie Gillis Show are examples.
• Sidekick: Assistant to the hero. Sometimes acting like a comic relief but can be surprisingly brave and resourceful. Examples are Robin on Batman and Festus Haggen (played by Ken Curtis) on Gunsmoke or Streaky on Krypto the Superdog, Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings, and the Scoobie Gang on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  • The Competent Sidekick: A highly intelligent and hard working sidekick whose talents go unappreciated. Most often paired with The False Hero. Examples include Kif Kroker of Futurama and Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder the Third.
• Comic Relief: Cowards who bring some humor into the plot, though they can also prove to be heroic. Examples include Norville "Shaggy" Rogers and Scooby-Doo of Scooby-Doo, Alexander Cabot III of Josie and the Pussycats; Iago and Butterfingers of Disney's Aladdin, Usopp of One Piece, and "Angel" Martin of The Rockford Files. Almost always overlaps with the joker, but almost never with the trickster or fool.
• The Heroic Coward**: People who want to be heroic but are usually too cowardly to do so, they nevertheless manage to pull themselves together in situations that truly matter, or they do heroic deeds out of fear of something even worse if they don't. Can also be a Comic Relief character and overlap with the Joker. Examples include Usopp from One Piece, Chuckie Finster from Rugrats, The Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers and Scooby-Doo of Scooby-Doo.
• The Schmoe: A blue-collar working man who didn't get past high school. He is a lower middle class family man who is obnoxious and not very bright. He often makes foolish choices, and gets into serious trouble that he usually brings on himself. Such examples include Al Bundy of Married... with Children, Archie Bunker of All in the Family, Homer Simpson of The Simpsons, Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners, Fred Flintstone, and Peter Griffin of Family Guy.
• The Talking Pet: Serves to point out ludicrous behavior, ridiculous ideas and plot holes, often predicting disastrous turns of event before they happen only to be dismissed out of hand or ignored. Their human owners may or may not be aware of their pet's intelligence, wisdom, and/or maturity, which (ironically) is usually highly superior to their own. These include Salem Saberhagen from Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Luna from Sailor Moon, Dogbert from the Dilbert comics, Garfield, Iago from Aladdin, Brian Griffin from Family Guy, and the fish from The Cat in the Hat (both the book and the movie.)
• The Town Drunk: serves as a figure of fun, serves as a moral example, or is used as a plot device to disrupt public gatherings. Marmeladov from Crime and Punishment is one example; another one is Huckleberry Finn’s father “Pap” from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Barney Gumble of The Simpsons is another example. In the example of “Crazy Ralph” from Friday the 13th, the town drunk provided a warning.
  • The Pothead: A character whose use of marijuana (although the writer could use other substances) is the source of humor. This humor often relies stereotypical behavior of people who use marijuana. Examples include Cheech and Chong or Otto Mann from The Simpsons.
• The Wacky neighbor: lives close to the main character and has eccentric qualities which often serve as a convenient plot device. Examples: Cosmo Kramer of Seinfeld, Ned Flanders of The Simpsons, Wilson of Home Improvement, and Gladys Kravitz of Bewitched.
• The Mother-in-law: A usually seasonal source of anguish for the son or daughter-in-law, typically ugly and overbearing.
• The False Hero: A usually arrogant individual who is full of false confidence in their abilities. Often claims credit for things they have not accomplished. Examples include Zap Brannigan of Futurama and Hercule Satan of Dragon Ball Z
• The Old Seaman usally a sailor, has knowledge of the sea, boats, folklore,etc, but may know little about anything else. They are often very mysterious, and sometimes even mystic or supernatural. They often speak with in sailor jargon. examples include Popeye, Captain Haddock from Tintin, and Captain McAllister from The Simpsons.