“ | What a maroon! | „ |
~ Bugs Bunny, upon outsmarting his opponents. |
“ | Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense? | „ |
~ Discord. |
“ | Francine, I know it appeared as though I had everyone’s skills. But I didn’t and neither do you. | „ |
~ Keith Watson after tricking Francine Carruthers to give his special skill back. |
Tricksters are heroes who use their skill in concocting ruses with their keen intellect, street-smarts and secret knowledge to their full advantage. They often show enjoyment in outsmarting their foes and remain astute to look after themselves or to simply disobey normal rules and defy conventional behavior seen within a story, often to show how they'd handle situations differently from other people.
These kinds of characters are cunning and wily enough to utilize their skills in trickery such as wits, deceit and misdirection to overcome their opponents by conning them, manipulating them, outwitting them and decieving them in the name of good. They also exhibit a form of unpredictability to their deviousness, often by showing a mastery in disguises, stealth, subtlety, surprises and ingenuity to come up with many schemes, strategies and hoaxes to play tricks on anyone (especially their enemies).
This is a hero archetype in folklore (and modern fiction) where this character embodies qualities of mischief, social change, cunning, and transformation, often playing an essential role in challenging norms, conventions, and boundaries (which often consists of gods, goddesses, spirits, humans and anthropomorphic characters). They also get unconventional to offer the audience (or other characters) a fresh perspective on the world and serve as a reminder that there is more than one way to view any situation.
Since Tricksters are often given challenges and conflicts to face within their ventures, many of them have to find ingenious, unusual and clever ways to combat their rivals or their more villainous counterparts, often with greater cleverness and/or getting imaginative enough to enhance their unpredictable talents in full force in order to outfox their most intelligent and formidable enemies.
A slight difference between trickster heroes and mischievous heroes (despite both categories often going hand in hand with each other) is that most trickster heroes will not go too far in their trickery since they tend to be presented in a more solemn and honorable way (even if some of them provide humor) and they often have truly noble goals that make them stand out in a moral standpoint, whereas mischievous heroes will most likely go out to cause trouble anywhere they go and typically go very far with their antics, thus making it harder for them to be taken seriously in vast comparison.
Pure Goods can be tricksters as long as they have no corrupting qualities to show they are not willing to go too far in their series of hoaxes and have enough remorse for people to show that they care about the lives of others too. They can also rely on deception on their foes whenever it's necessary, even if it means ensuring the safety of others.
Note: pragmatists, master orators or otherwise skilled tricksters (e.g. Joseph Joestar, Foghorn Leghorn and Sonic the Hedgehog) are not necessarily masterminds unless they meet the aforementioned criteria and are proven to be successful in most of their plans (e.g. Kevin McCallister and Bugs Bunny).
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- Buffy Shellhammer
- Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes)
- Bugs Bunny (Space Jam)
- Bulletproof Jackson
- Bulma
- Bumblebee (Transformers Film Series)
- Bumi (The Legend of Korra)
- Bunnidharma
- Bunnie Rabbot
- Bunny (Toy Story)
- Burmylo, Korotun and Sylach
- Buster Bunny
- Buzz Lightyear (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command)
- Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)
- Buzzie, Flaps, Ziggy and Dizzy
- Byakuren Hijiri
- C. Berman
- C.C.
- Cabba
- Cady Heron
- Cai Wenji
- Cait Sith
- Calcifer
- Caleb (Blood)
- Calista
- Callum
- Calvin Cambridge
- Calvin Fuller
- Calypso Crew
- Cam Watanabe
- Camicazi
- Camie Utsushimi
- Camilo Madrigal
- Cammy White
- Campion
- Candace (Inotia)
- Candace Flynn
- Candelilla
- Candi Stryper
- Candy (Fighting Vipers)
- Candy (Smile Pretty Cure!)
- Cao Rui
- Cao Zhang
- Cao Zhen
- Capper
- Captain (Tankmen)
- Captain America (1990 film)
- Captain America (2010 Marvel Animated Universe)
- Captain America (Marvel)
- Captain America (Ultimate Marvel)
- Captain Candy
- Captain Falcon
- Captain Jack Sparrow
- Captain Jack Swallows
- Captain K'nuckles
- Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
- Captain McCrea
- Captain Ron Simonsen
- Captain Underpants
- Cardin Winchester
- Carina (One Piece)
- Carl Carlson
- Carl Denham
- Carl Foster
- Carl Fredricksen
- Carl Johnson
- Carl Wheezer
- Carla (Rio)
- Carlino Casagrande
- Carlita
- Carlos Ramón
- Carlos Vallerte
- Carly Brooks-Spencer
- Carly Witwicky
- Carmen Cortez
- Carmen Sandiego (2019)
- Carrie Mathison
- Carrie O'Malley
- Casey Jones (TMNT 1987)
- Casper McFadden (1995 live-action film)
- Cassandra (Tangled)
- Cassandra Thomas
- Cassian Andor
- Cassie (Dragon Tales)
- Cassie Cage
- Cassim
- Cat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug)
- CatDog
- Cate Archer
- Catherine (Cats & Dogs)
- Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)
- Catrina
- Catwoman (DC Super Hero Girls)
- Catwoman (DC)
- Catwoman (Nolanverse)
- Catwoman (Telltale)
- Cedric the Great
- Celes Chere
- Celestia Ludenberg
- Celia Mae
- Celica Arfonia
- Cera
- Cerys an Craite
- Cha Hae-In
- Chacha Azai
- Chai Xianghua
- Cham Cham
- Champions of Hyrule
- Chancellor Esteban
- Chao Gai
- Chappie
- Char Aznable
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- Charles (The Walking Dead)
- Charles Robinson
- Charlie Ant
- Charlie Barkin
- Charlie Fineman
- Charlie Kelly
- Charlie Kenton
- Charlie Morningstar
- Charlotte (Making Fiends)
- Charlotte A. Cavatica
- Charlotte Dunois
- Charlotte Emily (Novels)
- Charlotte La Bouff
- Charmaine Diyoza
- Charmy Bee (Archie Comics)
- Charmy Bee (Sonic X)
- Chase McCain
- Cheese (Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comics)
- Cheese (Sonic the Hedgehog)
- Cheese (Sonic X)
- Cheetah (DC Super Hero Girls)
- Chef Pee Pee
- Chell
- Chelsea Daniels
- Chelsea Roberts
- Cheng Pu
- Cheryl Blossom (Riverdale)
- Cheshire (Bayonetta)
- Cheshire Cat
- Cheshire Cat (Ever After High)
- Chester (Bunnicula)
- Chewbacca (Angry Birds Star Wars)
- Chhota Bheem
- Chiaki Nanami
- Chicken (Robot Chicken)
- Chika Fujiwara
- Chikn Nuggit
- Chili Pepper Cookie
- Chilindrina
- Chilly Willy
- Chip and Dale
- Chips (Fish'n Chips)
- Chiyo Mihama
- Chiyoda
- Reika Aoki
- Chloe Decker
- Chloe Frazer
- Chloe Price
- Chlomaki
- Cho Sang-woo
- Chocola and Vanilla
- Choi Bounge
- Chou Tou
- Chouhi Yokutoku (Koihime†Musou)
- Chouun Shiryuu (Koihime†Musou)
- Chowder (Chowder)
- Chris (Mini Fighter)
- Chris (Until Dawn)
- Chris Jericho
- Chris Kirkman
- Chris Pearson
- Chris Washington
- Chris Westland
- Christine Palmer (Earth-838)
- Christmas Jones
- Christopher Pike (TOS)
- Christopher Robin (Disney)
- Christopher Thorndyke
- Chrysella
- Chuck (Angry Birds)
- Chuck (The Angry Birds Movie)
- Chuck Baker
- Chuck Bartowski
- Chuckie Finster
- Chudd Chudders
- Chumley
- Chump
- Church of the Second Hytoth
- Chōchō Akimichi
- Cia
- Cid Kagenou
- Ciel Phantomhive
- Cindy Lou Who (2018)
- Ciri
- Claire Redfield
- Claire Stanfield
- Clarabell the Clown