Punching Bag Characters

[chdiaer]

He's trying to eat. Nothing immoral about natural predatory behavior.

Personally, I'm not a fan of this kind of humor unless the characters get some kind of relief every once in a while.

[not.your.average.girl.]

Every show in the 80s/90s had that punching bag character....Iago from Aladdin, Bingo from Get-Along Gang, Gonzo from Muppet Babies, etc. The one that was always somewhat of a slight jerk, yet never always warranted it.

[a???*rockkita???]

I think there's a fine line between punching bag and comic relief, and that line was broken long, long ago. Some punching bag characters that come to mind are that Redhead from Bill and Mandy, Sokka from Avatar (40 percent of the time), Candace from Phineas and Ferb, as well as the professor, who's name I can't spell (Candace's Mom thinks Candace is insane, while the professor's flashbacks are good enough proof), and yeah that's about it.
That Redhead, because he usually gets victimized out of nowhere.
Sokka, because he can't bend anything, as well as lack of respect in earlier episodes.

But yeah, it's seems to be funny, but I can't help but pity these punching bags.

[youareahoohaa]

It's all about execution. If they pull it off well, we can feel sorry for the character without feeling annoyance from the character who does the punching.

As you said, giving the punching bag a break is helpful in the execution. Or in the case of Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hungerforce, sure he's a jerk, but he gets a good deal of comeupance.

Another method is making the antagonist likable (fun personality trait). The bully from "My Dad's A Rock Star" has a more sophisticated well read personality. Flash Thompson from The Spectacular Spider-Man has a plausible reason for bullying Peter (thinks he's egotistical and arrogant).

Granted the last two examples are bully victims and not so much punching bags, I hope I made a valid point.

[Danby K]

TV Tropes have 2 names for this: Butt Monkey and Chew Toy. Mikuru Ashimina and Eustace Bagge fits in the Chew Toy Trope.

If Video Games are allowed, my vote goes to Luigi Jumpmen, Hong "Chuugoku" Meling, and King DeDeDe. Toon Link is another.

[The_Switch]

Jake Long from American Dragon constantly suffers abuse by the show itself. He is egoistic to the point of causing most of his dilemas but he almost always sets things straight.However, he is the main character and he is the constant source for abuse.

I've also got to list Johnny Bravo; who is even more egoistic than Jake Long if you can believe it. He's likable in his naivety but I'd just like him to find that one girl. :sweat:

[just a little question...]

The Happiness Bunny from Shin-Chan is literaly a punching bag character.

[Mrs. Meier]

I third Cat. It's even worse that it often had a clear psychological affect on him. I'm surprised he didn't get to the point in which he commited suicide or tried to kill Dog in his sleep.