“ | 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 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 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.
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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- A Ka Kin
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- Amicus
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- Amy Rose (Archie Comics)
- Anais Watterson
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- Android 21
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- Annoying Orange
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- Antonov
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- Anya Amasova
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- Aquaman (DC)
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- Ashley Hammond
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- Asriel Dreemurr
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- Asuna Yuuki
- Athena Asamiya