Heroic Comedic Sociopath/Sandbox



"Belkar: So, I did what I always do--murder people horribly--but because I killed the people everyone else wanted me to kill, I get presents instead of prison time?

Roy: Uh, well, it's a lot more complicated than that, but--

Belkar: HA HA HA HA HA HA! It's working! It's WORKING, SUCKERS!"

- The Order of the Stick, demonstrating the extremely rare "fake character development"

The Heroic Comedic Sociopath is a very special sort of comic relief who works toward a positive, morally affirming goal whilst being as evil as possible along the way. He differs from most Anti-Hero archetypes in that he's never ineffectual or angsty - he loves what he does for a living. His punishment, at worst, is that he may be on the receiving end of some Comedic Sociopathy. Far more often he's dealing out Comedic Sociopathy and Crossing The Line Twice at such a rate that he quickly becomes a fan favorite. (Note that it is nearly always a he; female Heroic Sociopaths are rare.)

A Heroic Comedic Sociopath can and will eat the souls of jaywalkers, swindle old ladies, detonate buildings, punt puppies into traffic, and steal candy from babies all in broad daylight with a hundred witnesses present, in the funniest way possible. The Karma Houdini is a natural part of his being -- not because he's too badass to be captured, but because it's hilarious. Being cranked up to the top and played for laughs as he is, the Heroic Comedic Sociopath is so fun, evil and invincible that the audience naturally cheers for him and his wacky antics. At the same time, he serves as Wish Fulfillment: a fantasy for the audience. Anyone who has wanted to give the boss what they deserve can wish they were like the Heroic Comedic Sociopath, or had a Heroic Comedic Sociopath ally to sic on said boss.

At this point you may be wondering why actually good characters in the story put up with him. While he may be a monster in other circumstances, he's our monster. Sometimes the other heroes have protection from the Heroic Comedic Sociopath's hijinks -- it might be a Restraining Bolt, or the fact that the heroes combined can stand up to him. Failing that, they may be in some way endearing to him. Or possibly the Heroic Comedic Sociopath just finds the heroes amusing enough to see the advantage of not pestering them too much, or may just find it more fun to target the bad guys instead. Other times, they don't have that luxury and are stuck with an "ally" as disrupting to them as to their enemies.

Compare Sociopathic Hero, for when this kind of behavior is not Played for Laughs. See also Token Evil Teammate.