By Chelsea Hindle
Comic Relief Characters, we love them. At least, sometimes we love them. They make us laugh, they break the tension, they make the fight scene more fun. But other times, we find them cringe-worthy and annoying, with the special ability to set our teeth on edge.
This raises a question: What makes a good Comic Relief Character? And what causes good Comic Relief Characters to become cringe-inducing and frustrating?
To answer this question, we'll be exploring some popular mistakes authors make with their Comic Relief Characters. We'll also be uncovering examples (both good and bad), and brainstorming some ways to improve our comedy.
1. “Comic Relief” is Their Entire Personality
The Mistake: The top mistake with Comic Relief Characters (henceforth CRCs) is a lack of, well, character. They have no personality beyond being "funny" and they suffer for it. While the protagonists have hopes, dreams, and personalities, CRCs skate by on snappy one-liners.
I saw a recent example of this in the new Men In Black movie, MIB: International. Chris Hemsworth's character, Agent H, has no real goals or plans. He has a touch of ambition and interesting backstory, but his personality is completely forgettable.
Good Examples: The Harry Potter Series
by J.K. Rowling
Neville and Luna from the Harry Potter series are two great examples of CRCs. Both have fleshed out backstories and personalities that are separate from their humor.
Neville's clumsiness and shyness make him the butt of jokes. Because of this, Harry and his friends often underestimate him and his abilities. But beyond his Comic Relief characteristics, Neville is brave. He has a complex past involving being the "other half" of Harry's prophecy. And his parents' torture and insanity give him maturity and courage beyond his years.
Wild conspiracy theories and oddball habits characterize Luna, making her likable and funny. Even though bullies target her strange behavior, she reveals herself to be kind and clever. More than once her wild ideas allow her to create plans no one else would have thought of. She also has a tendency to be blunt and straightforward and has an intense passion for animals. Finally, she also has experience with and knowledge of death. These facts add depth to both her and Neville, giving personalities to characters we could have seen simply as "funny" and "stupid."
What Now? Remember that even funny characters are still characters! When creating comic relief characters, remember that they should still have personalities outside of being funny and make sure that you flesh out their hopes and dreams.
2. Having One “Designated” Comic Relief Character
The Mistake: We're all familiar with the quintessential adventure quest team. There's the strong, wise leader. There's the hot-headed rebellious one. The smart, bookwise one...and there's the funny one.
Many novels, especially fantasy novels, fall into the trap of having one, designated CRC. This character (as detailed above) has no personality outside of being funny. And worse yet, they're the only ones in the whole story allowed to be funny.
Obviously, in friend or sibling groups, there does tend to be the funny one, the class clown. I can easily identify which of my siblings is "the funny one", the one who does things specifically to make us laugh. But in truth, this tactic defies the diversity of human personalities. Most people are capable of humor, and while, as we've mentioned, some are natural class clowns, almost everyone enjoys humor.
It also denies the broad spectrum of things people find funny. Some readers like slapstick, some prefer satire and sarcasm. A lot of people adore practical jokes and puns. Diversify! Give different characters different types of humor and don't rely on one character to carry all the funny stuff. Don't rely on cliches and acknowledge that people, and thus characters, are different.
Good Examples: Howl’s Moving Castle
by Diana Wynne Jones
In Howl’s Moving Castle, all the characters are an absolute riot and all in different ways. Jones doesn't rely on a single character to provide the humor.
Howl, the titular character, is a great example. He makes the audience laugh (and groan) with his flamboyant mannerisms and his overreaction to everything in the narrative. Sophie, the main character, has a very dry, old granny type of humor. Calcifer, another main character, adds a healthy dose of sarcasm and mockery to the mix. And, of course, the side characters all have their specific brands of humor to add to this already wild book.
What Now? Consider what types of humor you find amusing. Do a mini-survey of your friends and family and find what types of humor appeal to them. Now arm your characters with as many varieties of humor as you can manage and celebrate the diversity of human taste!
3. Comic Relief Characters Can Never Have an Emotional or Serious Moment
The Mistake: This mistake crops up time and time again in fiction. For some reason, the CRC never has an opportunity to be serious or have a display of emotion. The CRC is expected to crack a joke and lighten the mood, without ever confronting their own feelings.
Creators who cave to this mistake think their audience will lose interest if the wisecracks and one-liners drop off. However, watching light-hearted characters experiencing intense emotions can be very powerful.
Consider how many viewers found Tony Stark's scenes in Infinity War and Endgame impactful. Instead of the sarcastic Tony we'd come to know, we saw a father-figure sobbing over the death of his protege. And instead of a selfish hero saving his own skin with a snarky comment, we saw Tony sacrificing his life and dying for his friends.
These moments impacted people, and CRCs with well-written emotional scenes can also impact your readers.
Good Example: The Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Gif Credit: Tenor
Pippin in LOTR is another great example of this. For most of the first two movies, Pippin lightens the mood with silly comments. ("But what about second breakfast?" "It comes in pints!" and "Great! Where are we going?" to name a few). He and Merry make up a comedic duo that is a very much appreciated comfort during viewing or reading LOTR.
But Pippin still has moments of gravity and emotion. Pippin singing while Faramir's men are massacred is a chilling moment. And Pippin frantically searching for Merry among the dead never fails to bring me to tears.
What Now? Think back over a few of your favorite reads and consider whether the CRCs had moments of deep emotion and how that affected you. Now consider the CRCs in your own works. What do they fear? Who do they love? What would break them? Brainstorm some ways to bring moments of intense emotion into your CRC’s story.
4. Failing to Give Comic Relief Characters an Arc
The Mistake: Many CRCs also lack an arc. This is obvious in many movies and novels, but Marvel is notorious for it. While the main characters get a nice arc, almost all the major side characters lack one. Shuri, from Black Panther, is a great example.
While T'Challa experiences a compelling arc, Shuri never grows or changes in any way. She never gets the chance to express feelings on the issue of Wakanda's cowardice, whether she's for or against it. And she never gets the chance to change or cement those opinions either. Since her entire personality revolves around being good at tech and bantering, she has no room for an arc.
But imagine if the writers had taken the chance to give a CRC a complete arc. Black Panther was already a good movie and it could have become a great one. What if Shuri had, for some reason, a fear of the world outside of Wakanda? What if she'd done her best to dissuade T'Challa from the path he wanted to take? This would have added depth to her character, and a person to represent the main conflict of the movie. It also would have provided Shuri with an opportunity to grow alongside her brother, instead of remaining simply a medium for comedy.
Good Examples: The Hunger Games
Movie Quartet
While Effie Trinket plays an important part in the narrative of The Hunger Games, her main role is that of CRC. Particularly whenever she's in a room with Haymitch. Her bizarre costumes and mannerisms highlight the differences between the Capitol and Districts. These, combined with her dry sarcasm, give the audience a character to laugh at and an opportunity to break the tension.
But as the movies progress, Effie begins to change. During the first movie, we see her dressed in ridiculous, brightly colored clothes. Her main aim in this movie, as she begins to like Katniss and Peeta, is to keep them alive for as long as she can.
And then in the second movie we see her calling Katniss and Peeta's names out of the lottery for the second time. Her appearance is much more understated, her makeup and clothes darker and grimmer. These appearance changes reflect her becoming more bitter and disillusioned with the Capitol.
In the final movie, we see her dressed completely in grey, with very little in the way of makeup. She's become a revolutionary herself. This is a complete 180 from the original Effie we met, and yet she hasn't stopped being funny.
What Now? Take a look back over the popular books of both the modern age and previous eras and think about CRCs depicted in the books. Many of them have deep and complex arcs, as demonstrated by characters like Effie, Pippin, and Tony Stark, and these characters are dearly beloved by their respected fandoms. As you develop your characters, spend time getting to know the CRC and what makes them tick, look for opportunities to let them grow, and give their arcs the same respect you give your other major characters.
5. Comic Relief Characters are Actually Bullies
This one is an extremely annoying pet peeve for me. The line between teasing banter and bullying can be quite fine, and some CRC fall more into the camp of Bully.
An example of this that bugs me is BBC’s Sherlock. Sherlock is a humorous character, with lines that make the audience crack up. Unfortunately, many of his lines stray from funny into "complete bully". And even worse, the show's writers justify his words again and again.
Sherlock repeatedly bullies and humiliates others "for laughs", usually targeting their intelligence. Molly Hooper, one of his friends, is a particular target, despite being a friendly and kind woman. He rarely (if ever) apologizes to her, reinforcing the fact that the writers do not see his behavior as cruel. But this is not an isolated incident and creators often fail to distinguish between friendly sarcasm and humiliation.
Good Example: The Chronicles of Narnia
by C.S. Lewis
The good news is, it's possible to create characters who wield sarcasm without being jerks. Puddleglum from The Silver Chair manages this by making fun of himself, along with the rest of the world. He is a master of self-deprecating jokes (although, is he joking or serious? We'll never know) and includes himself whenever he pokes fun at others.
For example, consider the scene at the beginning of the book, where mentions none of the other Marshwiggles seeing him as responsible.
"I'm too flighty; don't take life seriously enough... 'Puddleglum,' they've said, 'you're altogether too full of bobance and bounce and high spirits. You've got to learn that life isn't all fricasseed frogs and eel pie. You want something to sober you down a bit. We're only saying it for your own good, Puddleglum.'"
In this hilarious quote, he makes fun of both himself and the other Marshwiggles, which keeps him from coming off as a jerk.
A second option would be to have other characters call the jerkish character on their behaviour and have them change their attitude. Examples of this are included in several Marvel movies, where sarcastic characters like Tony Stark and Rocket Raccoon are called out on several of their insensitive comments. The key to this is that the character must change their behaviour after being called out on it.
What Now? It can be very easy for sarcastic characters, or really any humorous character, to be found guilty of being a bully. Before writing your character, first decide one what approach you want to take: are they initially unlikeable jerks, like Tony Stark, who grow and change? Or are they loveable characters with the healthy ability to laugh at themselves?
And if in doubt, apply the Golden Rule. Would I be ok if my real life friend said this to me? Would my real life friend be ok if I said this to her? Even simple exercises like that can go a long way in keeping your CRCs from crossing into “jerk territory”.
So there you have it! Five popular mistakes I see with Comic Relief Characters in books and movies. Hopefully these have helped highlight to you some of the common pitfalls and some ways to avoid these pitfalls in your current project.
So tell me, do you have a favorite Comic Relief Character? What popular mistakes with Comic Relief Characters do you find annoying?
Chelsea Hindle
Chelsea Hindle is an almost-20-year-old writer who masquerades as a dog trainer by day and scribbles away in a notebook at night.
At the impressionable age of 15, she discovered Kingdom Pen, which changed her life in the best way possible and motivated her to pursue her dreams. Since then, she has written dozens of stories, made many mistakes, and enjoyed every second of the writing life.
When she isn’t writing fantastical tales, Chelsea can be found training her dogs to play the piano, cooking, knitting, and reading too many books.
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Great article! Yes, bad CRCs tend to be such because they are designed to ONLY be comic relief. Every character in the story should have their moment to shine as the CRC. It’s far more interesting to see how the characters’ humour differ and why.
Other mistakes I think are when the CRC cracks jokes at inappropriate moments that diffuse dramatic tension. Or when they never seem to suffer negative consequences for their jokes when they should.
Those other mistakes are incredibly annoying! I hate when stupid jokes break up otherwise emotional scenes and when they don’t suffer consequences or get called out is also incredibly annoying.
Lovely article, Chelsea!! I particularly found #5 thought-provoking; it certainly helped explain my dislike of BBC Sherlock’s character. (And I obviously loved your inclusion of Merry and Pippin, because, you know, /Tolkien/.) Very insightful, and excellent examples!
Thank you! Yes, Merry and Pippin are awesome.
This is super helpful in my stage of writing–thanks for taking the time to write this!! Annoying CRCs are the WORST!!! 😖
No worries! I’m glad you enjoyed it and found it so helpful! They are incredibly annoying!
This was such a good article, Chelsea!
I loved what you said about CRC having character arcs as well as emotional moments. And your last point about them being bullies and just generally rude was really good.
And everything you said about Tony Stark was spot on and I loved your Marvel examples. XD
Thank you Allison!
Tony Stark is such a good example to use!
Great article, Chelsea! Now I’m really curious to see how I can develop my CRC’s arc and personality.