Punching Bag Characters

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northwest_usa

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Is it funny to be mean? Why do so many animated programs have characters that are essentially punching bags for the primary characters? They are often the subject of cruel jokes regardless of whether or not they deserve to be treated in such a manner. In fact, some of these punching bag characters are decent individuals who are only trying to do the right thing, yet for one reason or another, the writers feel the need to keep beating them down.

There are numerous examples that I could go with, most of which would be a better choice, but I?m bringing up Dave from ?Yin Yang Yo!? because I am most familiar with him and can provide some imagery to drive home the point. That tree stump has been nice to just about every character in the entire series and has even saved the day numerous times, yet he has been bullied, eaten by termites, hit with a giant hammer, stabbed with a sword, used as firewood as well as a raft. I could seriously go on if I felt that it was necessary, but I don?t believe that it is.

Personally, I believe that such things are only funny if the character deserved it, as karma is a wonderful thing. However, when the writers continually demean a decent character for no reason, it just bothers me. What are your thoughts on this? Keep in mind that this can apply to emotional harm as well as physical harm.
 
Before even opening this thread, the first word that crossed my mind was 'Butters'.

There's no bigger punching bag on television than South Park's innocent li'l Butters, who's literally been put through the wringer by virtually every character on canvas, but none more so than Cartman.

I mean, he's been violated, mutilated, beaten, humiliated, and countless other things throughout his run, and yet he still remains sweet and innocent for the most part.

More often than not, I don't agree with a lot of things that they do to Butters, although sometimes it is kind of funny, like 'The List'. (Good, you're not last, we don't have to ground you), or the ending of 'Imaginationland'.
 
Another such character is Pugsy from Fangface. EVERY single time Fangs becomes Fangface, he tries to do something to Pugsy before he stops him. Every time Fangface sees food, hears a food-related word, or hears anything that SOUNDS like a food word, he EATS Pugsy, until he spits him out. So, yeah. I'd say Pugsy qualifies as a "punching bag character".

There's also Wilshire from Beverly Hills Teens. He constantly endures Bianca's bad attitude, and her constant mistreatment of him, etc, all because he's "in love" with her.

Anyone (usually the bad guys) from the anime series Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo could be a punching bag character, but as far as the title character's "team" goes, basically you have...anyone who isn't Beauty (though ususally it's Don Patch and/or Tokoro Tennosuke/Jelly Jiggler). :)

There's also Dr. Robotnik (and his three cronies) in Adventures in Sonic the Hedgehog, which for anyone who's seen the show is pretty much self-explanatory (incidentally, these days Dr. Robotnik is now called Dr. Eggman).

Oh, and there's also the most famous "punching bag character" of all time: Wile E. Coyote.

Furthermore who can forget Johnny Bravo?...
 
I guess I'm the only one who actively finds this sort of thing extremely entertaining. The audience feels bad for the character, but the rest of the cast rarely does...and that's fun.

A punching bag is best when they catch at least some sort of break now and then, which is always made sweeter given their usual treatment, but it's not a necessity, and I don't think it's at all "mean" to abuse a fictional character.

Butters and Zoidberg are my favorites of this trope. They don't fully understand the world around them and keep getting crapped on, but never lose their optimism.
 
We could also add Pip who was the punching bag before Butters was part of the main cast.

In the Simpsons, Mulhouse and Martin Prince seems to fit the category as well.
 
Team Rocket from Pokemon are pretty much magnets for attacks. Even when they go after wild Pokemon, they still get blasted off.
 
I think this all depends on how it is handled. The Kim Possible crews treatment of Ron, for example, was abominable, but Wile E. Coyote was hilarious. Like most Looney Tunes, you actually ended up feeling bad for the villain, a lot more so than the protaganist.
 
Wile E. Coyote? Wouldn't a punching bag character be a character who doesn't deserve all the abuse he gets? Wile E. Coyote is always trying to kill an innocent roadrunner. I'd say his pain is karma at work.

One that always comes to my mind is Cat from Catdog. I can't even watch the show because it makes me so angry at how they treat him. No matter what bad thing happens due to some other character, he's always the one who suffers for it.

And it works in reverse, too. On the rare occasion that he DESERVES to get pounded or humiliated, he gets away scot free. I mean, c'mon.
 
If there is one thing that I can never stomach in animation is The Punching Bag Character or better known as "The Gimp".

Characters like Data, Inuyasha, Naruto, Fred Flintstone, Homer Simpson truly don't deserve the treatment they get in every episode. I wish that creators, animators, and writes get with the freakin' program and stop doing this.
 
I know a bunch of punching bag characters that crossed my mind:

Lurky(Rainbow Brite) - The dumb hairball henchman is mostly Murky's abuse object,hahahahaha:p.
Daffy Duck/Porky Pig/Elmer Fudd/Yosemate Sam/Taz Tasmanian Devil/Rocky & Muggsy/Papa Bear & Baby Bear/Big Bad Wolf/Sylvester/Wile E. Coyote/Claude Cat/Dodsworth(Looney Tunes) - Those poor guys are major abuse objects & that Tweety is the biggest jerk ever:mad:.
Tom(Tom & Jerry) - The poor cat always gets abused by the little rat Jerry & the mangy mutt Spike.
Brainy Smurf/Clumsy Smurf(The Smurfs) - He may be an annoying know-it-all,but he's always the punching bag as much as I feel sorry for him since he's my favorite character along with poor Clumsy Smurf.
Homer Simpson/Lisa Simpson/Marge Simpson/Scratchy/Mo/Lenny & Carl/Barney/Milhouse Van Houten/Principal Skinner/Sideshow Bob/Hans Moleman/Lance Murdock/Prof.Frink/Kirk Van Houten(The Simpsons) - It's hilarious when they get bashed so much,hahahahaha:D.
Baby Gonzo/Baby Animal/Baby Fozzy/Baby Beaker(Muppet Babies) - He's so funny/weird but the poor guy is always that jerk Piggy's punching bag which is hilarious & the rest of the other Muppet Babies I feel sorry for too(except for Baby Fozzy):p.
Jabberjaw(Jabberjaw) - The funny dumb shark hero who's always treated badly by that loudmouth witch Shell,which I want him to devour her someday:p.
The 3 pigs(The Raccoons) - Those poor 3 pigs are Cyril's abuse objects,hahahaha:p.
Bobby(Bobby's World) - I feel sorry for his bashings by his evil rotten jerkoff siblings that are scum in that stupid show!!!!!
Iago(Aladdin) - The poor greedy parrot has the "Meg Griffin" syndrome when Aladdin & the gang are jerkwads treating him like dirt:mad:.
Ren Hoek/Stimpy/Indifferent Ren Hoek(his indifferent half)(Ren & Stimpy) - Their bashings are so hilarious,gosh,I love that show:p.
Taz Tasmanian Devil/Bullgator & Axle/Francis(Taz-Mania) - Poor Taz gets abused/beaten up in every episode,along with his arch enemies,Bullgator & Axle and Francis,so hilarious.
Eek! the Cat(Eek! the Cat)- The poor cat mostly gets abused when trouble comes at him especially Sharky the Sharkdog which it's funny.
Fluffy & Uranus(Duckman) - Those cute stuffed teddybears always get tortured/killed by Duckman which it's so hilarious.
Waspinator(Beast Wars) - My favorite villain who's always the punching bag especially when he's brocken in pieces:p,poor guy.
Ace Ventura(Animated Ace Ventura:Pet Detective) - The wacky pet detective gets abused by animals like boxing kangeroos & Big Daddy the big alligator,hahahahahaha:p.
Raticus(Flying Rhino Junior High) - The dumb rat is Earl/The Phantom's punching bag,hahahahaha.
Daggett(The Angry Beavers) - So hilarious when poor Daggett gets bashed alot & I love his screams as well:p.
Oggy(Oggy & The Cockroaches) - The poor blue cat gets abused alot by the three jerk cockroaches,but he does get his victories a few times.
Johnny Bravo(Johnny Bravo) - The poor goofy girl-lover is always the girls' punching bag which those girls are such total jerks.
Steve(Larry & Steve) - The poor dog is always the punching bag while hanging around with a dumb idiot which is so funny.
Spongebob/Patrick/Squidward/Eugene Krabs/Sandy/Mrs.Puff/Plankton/Barnacle Boy(Spongebob Squarepants) - Their bashings are mega hilarious!!!!!!!
Peter Griffin/Brian Griffin/Lois Griffin/Chris Griffin/Cleveland/Quagmire/Joe/Kevin/Vaudeville Guys/Cleveland Jr./Mort Goldman/Peter's parrot/dumb beaver/James the cat(Family Guy) - Peter's bashings are always hilarious & poor Brian & Lois are mostly the punching bags at times by Stewie & the rest of the family which his bashings are hilarious,& the rest of the characters' bashings are hilarious:D.
Ed/Edd/Eddy/Jimmy(Ed,Edd,& Eddy) - The dumb idiot character is usually abused by the brat Sarah besides the other kids & the poor smart character who's always the punching bag hanging out with those 2 losers & I wanna punch Kevin for bashing him:mad:in any episode,& Eddy/Jimmy's well-deserved bashings are hilarious.
The Grim Reaper/Billy(Billy & Mandy) - The poor Grim Reaper does get abused by Billy & Mandy,but mostly Mandy who's the biggest jerk by always beating him down & Billy's abuse is hilarious.
Kyle/Kenny/Butters/Pip/Ned/Randy Marsh(South Park) - Kenny's many deaths are hilarious.Totally agree with Tobias,the poor cute innocent kid always bees treated badly,beaten, & humiliated as much I hated his crappy parents sometimes:mad:& the ninjastar in the eye part made me stopped watching that ninjas episode as well,those stupid writers:mad:,but Kyle's,Pip's,Ned's,& Randy's are so hilarious.
Timmy/Timmy's father/Vicky/Cosmo & Wanda/Jorgan/Denzel Crocker(Fairly Oddparents) - Their bashings are hilarious.
Invader ZIM/GIR/Dib(Invader ZIM) - Their bashings are funny.
Fry/Bender/Leela/Dr.Zoidberg/Amy/Capt.Zapp Brannigan/Kiff/Tiny Tim robot(Futurama) - Their many bashings are hilarious.
Snow Pea(Mucha Lucha!) - The cute little guy is mostly the punching bag by those three Hairy Knuckles bullies,so hilarious:D.
Digit/Buzz & Delete(Cyberchase) - The poor cyberbird does get bashed mostly,the poor guy along with the Hacker's idiot henchmen,hehehe.
Thurgood/Sanchas(The PJ's) - Both of their abuse is always hilarious when karma comes a knocking:p.
Dante Hicks(Clerks) - The poor guy is always abused,it's so hilarious:D.
Master Shake/Frylock/Meatwad/Carl/Ol' Drippy/Ezekial(Aqua Teen Hunger Force) - They're mostly punching bags which it's hilarious.
Lucien Cramp(The Cramp Twins) - His many bashings from his evil jerkoff brother Wayne are hilarious while feeling sorry for him too.
Tommy(Robot Boy) - The poor boy is always abused by jerk brothers like Donny,selfish brats like Gus, & those three dumb bullies.
Capt.Gantu(Lilo & Stitch) - The poor alien is always the punching bag by his boss Dr.Hamsterval,Stitch,& other experiments which he's awesome,but never gets respect.
Stan Smith/Francine Smith/Steve Smith/Haley Smith/Klaus/Roger/Jackson/Barry(American Dad!) - All of their bashings are so hilarious,but poor Klaus/Barry.
Early/Rusty/Granny/Sheriff(Squidbillies) - Their bashings are always hilarious:D.
Ben(Ben 10) - The poor boy is always treated like dirt by his annoying crappy cousin Gwen who's a giant jerkhole in the whole series.
Jude/Wyatt/Jen/The Clone Girls/Darth/Talon(6teen) - These characters are always abused alot,the poor guys,but it's hilarious:p.
Hank & Dean Venture(Venture Bros.) - Their many deaths are always hilarious.
Doughy(Moral Orel) - Orel's poor innocent friend is usually the punching bag besides having crappy teenage parents like Butters,hahahahaha:D.
Tom Dubois(The Boondocks) - That poor black guy who's a successful lawyer with a sexy wife gets abused alot,but it's hilarious:p.
Otis/Peck/Mrs.Beady(Back at the Barnyard) - Their bashings are always hilarious.
Chowder/Mung/Truffles/Schnitzel/Gazpacho/Ceviche(Chowder) - Their bashings are hilarious,but the poor rock monster always gets abused while hanging around with Chowder which it's hilarious,the poor guy:radda:,hehehe.
Heather/Harold/Trent/Owen/Izzy(Total Drama Island/Action) - The poor cool campers' bashings are hilarious,but Heather's bashings are well-satisfying.
Ferb/Candace/Dr.Doofenshmirtz/Baljeet/Stacy(Phineas & Ferb) - Poor Ferb's abuse is funny.Candace's just desserts are always hilarious:p.Funny mad scientist who always gets beaten up by a platypus which it's so funny,but I feel sorry for the poor guy which he has an interesting life/background unlike other mad scientists & has some funny moments,& Baljeet/Stacy's abuse is hilarious.
Jared(Superjail!) - The Warden's little big-headed assistant is always abused,so hilarious,the poor little guy:p.
Coop(Kid vs. Kat) - The poor kid gets abused by a bad alien cat named Kat,but he gets a few wins which it's funny:D.
Voltar/Doktor Frogg/The Henchbots:17 & 32(The League of Super Evil) - The 2 poor supervillains & 2 poor Henchbots of L.O.S.E. are always abused alot,but poor Doktor Frogg though which is so hilarious:p.
Skipper/Private/Kowalski/Rico/Maurice/Mort/Marlene(The Penguins of Madagascar) - Their bashings are hilarious,but those poor guys,hehehe:p.
Reef/Wipeout/Lo/Emma/Johnny(Stoked) - Their bashings are hilarious/sad.
Connor(Glenn Martin, DDS) - His bashings were so hilarious:D:p.
Leonard(Lenny)(Fanboy & Chum-Chum) - That poor black junior manager is such a punching bag for Fanboy & Chum-Chum & it's hilarious,hehehe.
Yamcha/Master Roshi/Chi-Chi/Krillin/Tien & Chaotzu/Yajirobe/Piccolo/Gohan/Vegeta/The Namekians/Dende/Nail/Hercule/Videl/Supreme Kai & Kibito/Bee/The Supreme Kais/Good Fat Majin Buu(Db/Dbz) - The old hermit's bashing=hilarious.The poor guy has died many times which the writers can't give him a break:shrug:,& the rest of the characters' bashings was sad:crying:.
Ataru/Shinobu/Ataru's mother & father/Megane & the Stormtroopers/Jariten/Cherry/Rei/Shutaro Mendou/Kid Ataru/Ran/Onsenmark/Ryuunosuke & Mr.Fujinami/Kid Shutaro Mendou/Tobimaru Mizunokoji/Soban/The Spice Girls:Ginger,Pepper,& Sugar/alien centaur captain(Urusei Yatsura) - Hilarious for their many abuses.
Ash/Prof.Oak/Brock/Jesse,James,& Meowth/Butch & Kassidy/Rhonda/Chimchar(Pokemon/Chronicles) - Their many bashings are always hilarious,but poor Chimchar's is so sad from the jerkoff Paul:crying:.
Soun/Ranma/Genma/Tatewaki Kuno/Ryoga/Kodachi/Mousse/Happosai(Ranma 1/2) - The poor guy is always the punching bag by crazy violent witches,jerkrivals,& even Akane's dad which it's hilarious,but I feel sorry for him,but the the other characters' abuses are funny,hehehe.
Shinji/Rei(Neon Genesis Evangelion) - Their mostly punching bags from jerks like Toji/Asuka/Gendo.
Tenchi/Ayeka/Ryoko/Mihoshi/Kiyone(Tenchi Muyo!) - They're mostly punching bags on love triangles & partnerships,hahahahahaha:D!!!!!!!
Karigari(My Dear Marie) - Poor scientist's beatings are funny though.
Yusaku Godai/Shun Mitaka(Maison Ikkoku) - The poor ronin loser mostly has bad luck when it comes to him especially annoying tenants,loser friends like Sakamoto,drinking problems,& handsome creep rivals like Shun Mitaka to get in the way:p,& Shun's abuses from dogs/Kyoko are awesome.
Gourry/Xellos/Martina/Naga(Slayers) - They're mostly punching bags from Lina which it's hilarious.
Sky-Byte & the Predacons(Transformers:Robots In Disguise) - Their many bashings are mostly hilarious.
The Rubberobo Gang(Medabots) - Their bashings are mostly hilarious.
Mondo/Prince Eccentro/Batch(Mon Colle Knights) - Their bashings are always hilarious.
Seina(Tenchi Muyo! GXP) - The poor guy's bad luck always comes to him,except for fighting General DaRuma's space pirate forces,hehehe:p.
King Muscle/Terryman/Ramenman/Robin Mask/Brocken Jr./Skullduggery & Slab/Sosumi/Prince Lou Ow/Warsman/Buffaloman(Kinnikuman) - Their bashings are hilarious,but sad on the death scenes.
Kid Muscle/Terry/Wally/Dik Dik/Kevin Mask/Jeager(Ultimate Muscle) - Their pummelings are funny/sad.
Inuyasha/Kagome/Shippo/Miroku/Sango(Inuyasha) - The jerk Inuyasha's well-deserved bashings are awesome,& Shippo/Miroku's bashings are hilarious.
Kenshin/Kaoru/Yahiko/Sanosuke/Megumi(Rurouni Kenshin) - Their abuses are hilarious.
Vash the Stampede/Rem/Meryl/Kaite/Nicholas D. Wolfwood(Trigun) - Their bashings are funny,but sad on Nicholas's death scene.
Yuji/Marlene/Joey/Robert/Keith/Rick/Alicia(Blue Gender) - Their bashings are totally sad/touching.
Keitaro/Naru/Motoko/Seta(Love Hina) - Their abuses are hilarious especially Naru/Motoko's well-needed bashings.
Jimmy/Conan(Detective Conan/Case Closed) - His bashings are hilarious.
Luffy/Usopp/Sanji/Brook(One Piece) - Their abuses by the other crewmembers are always so hilarious,but poor Usopp being a villains' punching bag.
Edward & Alphonse/Lust/Roy Mustang/Maes Hughes/Nina/Wrath(Fullmetal Alchemist) - Their bashings are sad/touching along with Edward/Wrath's well-needed bashings.
Chiyo/Sakaki/Tomo(Azumanga Daioh!) - The poor girls' bashings are LOL hilarious:p.
Jelly Jiggler/Don Patch(Bo^7) - Their abuses are so hilarious by Bobobo:pas much as I love/miss the show.
Naruto/Konohamaru/Rock Lee/Hinata(Naruto) - Their abuses are always hilarious by abusive jerks & rivals like Sakura,Sasuke,Ino,& Neji.
Utena/Wakaba/Anthy/Miki/Nanami/Keiko/Yatsuya/Ruka(Revolutionary Girl Utena) - Those girls/one handsome guy are mostly the punching bags by getting slapped alot,hahahaha:p.
Renton/Holland/Matthieu/Moondoggie/Dominic(Eureka 7) - Man, the poor kid had it rough by always being the punching bag by abusive jerks like Holland/Talho,& Dominic's abuse from Anemone is so hilarious along with the others,hehehe:p.
Ichigo/Orihime/Keigo/Rukia/Kon/Chad/Urahara/Ganju/Ririn,Kurodo,& Nova/Shinji/Hiyori/Nel,Pesche,& Dondochakka/Stark(Bleach) - Team Ichigo's abuse is funny/sad at times.Keigo's abuse is hilarious.Kon is mostly the punching bag for being the annoying pervert which it's hilarious,but I feel sorry for him when 2 jerks named Ririn & Jinta wanna abuse him:mad:.Urahara/Shinji's abuse from Hiyori is funny,Ganju's abuse from Kukaku,& Stark's abuse from Lilinette is hilarious:p.
Mesousa(Pani Poni Dash!) - The poor cute innocent white bunny is always the gag for abusement,it's so hilarious,the poor little guy:p.
Kyon/Mikuru(The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) - Those poor people are such abuse objects for Haruhi,hahahahahaaha:p!!!!!
The Alpha Gang:Ursula,Zander,& Ed(Dinosaur King) - Their bashings are always hilarious by their boss,Dr.Z:p.
Dan/Marucho/Preyas(Bakugan:Battle Brawlers/New Vestroia) - Their abuses are funny.
Shuu/Jiro/Zola/Kluke/Bouquet/Maromaru(Blue Dragon) - Their bashings are epic & funny.
Lelouch/Marianne/Kallen/Diethard/Shirley/Suzaku/Earl Lloyd/Tamaki/Bartley/C.C./Sayoko/Cornelia/Princess Euphemia/Urabe/Rolo/Li Xingke(Code Geass:Lelouch of the Rebellion/R2) - Their abuses are epic,funny,& sad on the death scenes of Shirley,Bartley,Princess Euphemia,Urabe,& Rolo as well:crying:.
Simon/Kamina/Rossiu/Kittan/The twins:Jorgun & Balinbow/Nia(Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann) - Their abuses are funny,but sad on the death scenes of Kamina,Kittan,the twins:Jorgun & Balinbow,& NIIIAAA:crying:,WAAAAAHHH:crying:!!!!!
Setsuna/Patrick/Lockon/Tiera/Saji/Louise/Wang/Kinue/Christina/Lichtendahl/Ian/Joyce/Louise's mother/Lyle(Mobile Suit Gundam 00) - Their abuses are funny,but sad on the death scenes as well:crying:.

I mostly feel sorry for punching bag characters that get bullied by jerks,but their bashings can be hilarious.
 
Well, when it comes to anime, usually anime with a semi-romantic angle, it's pretty par for the course for the goofy yet cocky hero to always get bashed by the innocent yet short tempered female lead. That's just how they do it over there.
 
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Oscar Proud, pater familias of The Proud Family yet. That poor guy just couldn't catch a break; he was basically life's punching bag. Even his own mother used him as the butt of her every joke. The nonstop Oscar abuse was one of the things that caused me to stop watching the program.

And I second the vote for CatDog's Cat. He could be kind of an egotsitcial jerk at times, sure, but the humiliation, degradation and abuse that received in many episodes just crossed the line for me; at times it seemed like they hurled abuse at cat just because he was Cat.
 
The title trio of Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy seem to be universally hated by the other kids in the Cul de Sac. Ed himself is a frequent target of abuse by his younger sister Sarah. Often, Ed and Edd will suffer along with the obnoxious Eddy when all they're doing is going along with one of his schemes. E.g., the Xmas special in which all of the Eds are denied Christmas presents. I could understand why Eddy would get the short end of the stick, but Ed and Double D should have gotten something for their conflicted ordeal. In addition, the Eds are frequently targeted by the Kanker Sisters, who are constantly scheming to force their drooling affections on them.

And how could we forget poor Tom Dubois from The Boondocks, whose only crime is being hopelessly square, and for this reason alone, he is a frequent target of abuse, both verbal and physical, by the rest of Woodcrest. In the infamous episode "Tom, Sarah and Usher", even his own wife and young daughter were both uncharacteristically nasty to Tom.
 
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