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{{trope}}
[[File:DoronboTeam.jpg|link=Yatterman
A [[Power Trio]] made up of a domineering character and two henchmen. The two henchmen usually look physically different (one [[Fat and Skinny|short and fat, the other tall and skinny/buff]]) in addition to having different skills, often [[Brains and Brawn]] or an unreasonable facsimile; the position of boss may be gained simply by assertiveness. Their boss is usually convinced they're master criminals, even though the two subordinate characters usually fit the bill for [[Stupid Crooks]].
Sometimes, there's a [[The Man Behind the Man|higher-up that the team's boss is accountable to]]. That higher-up is usually [[Knight of Cerebus|closer to True Evil]], and considers the team, boss and all, to be ineffective at best. In a more serious story (or if [[Cerebus Syndrome]] is about to kick in,) [[Shoo Out the Clowns|expect the]] [[Goldfish Poop Gang|goldfish poop]] [[Killed Off for Real|to get flushed]] in most occasions.
In many recent anime, the boss is usually more attractive and the opposite gender of the lackeys. The Terrible Trio are often [[The Family for
See also [[Evil Duo]], [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]], [[Freudian Trio]], [[Comic Trio]], [[Goldfish Poop Gang]], [[Those Two Bad Guys]], [[Three Amigos]], and, when two or more [[Big Bad
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* ''[[Pokémon (
** In the first few episodes, Meowth was the leader type while Jessie and James were the henchmen.
** As of ''Best Wishes'', the trio has gone into [[Let's Get Dangerous|serious mode]] for an undercover mission. So far, they've stayed away from this trope.
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', only Tobi, Kisame and Zetsu are left after Pain is defeated and Konan defects from Akatsuki. Kisame and Zetsu, having known Tobi longer and better than any other Akatsuki member ever did, begin to work as henchmen directly under his command. {{spoiler|After Kisame's death, Kabuto takes his place. He's not as obedient as Kisame was though and in all likelihood is more of a [[Dragon
** A better example of this trope in [[Naruto]] would be Jugo, Karin, and Suigetsu, with Sasuke Uchiha as their boss.
* The Skull Trio from ''[[Time Bokan]]'', along with their [[Expy|Expies]] in the other ''Time Bokan'' series, most notably ''[[
** Sometimes they're also implied to be [[Animated Actors]], that is, the same characters playig different parts. It helps that they were voiced by the same seiyuu for more than 20 years!
** By far the most popular of these groups was the Doronojo Gang from [[
** ''[[Kiramekiman]]'' inverts this - while the trio is still comedic, as detectives they technically qualify as the good guys, while the heroes of the show are thieves (they have a good reason for their thefts, but they're still breaking the law).
* In ''[[Bobobo-Bo
* Usarapa (Ursula), Noratty (Zander), and Edo (Ed) in ''[[Dinosaur King]]''. Even funnier in the dub, as Ursula is voiced by Rachel Lillis, the voice of Jessie of Pokémon's Team Rocket in the 4Kids dub.
* Buaku and the Puma Sisters in ''[[Dominion Tank Police]]''.
* Emperor Pilaf, Shu and Mai in ''[[
** Though still comedic, Emperor Pilaf was ''Dragon Ball'''s first [[Big Bad]].
*** The ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' [[Non-Serial Movie|movies]] have plenty of these: [[Our Demons Are Different|Ginger, Nikki and Sansho]] from "Dead Zone", [[Super Soldier|Kishime, Ebifurya and Misokatsun]] from "The World's Strongest", [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Thousar, Naise and Doure]] from "Cooler's Revenge" and [[Artificial Human|Androids 13, 14 and 15]] from "Super Android 13!".
* Excel, Hyatt, and Elgala from ''[[Excel Saga (
** In [[Excel Saga (
* Petra Fina, Dino, and Mite from ''[[Flint the Time Detective]]''.
* Though they are part of a [[Seven Deadly Sins|larger group]], Lust, Envy and Gluttony from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' often function as a Terrible Trio group when it's just the three of them, especially in earlier episodes. The big difference is that they are actually effective in their work.
* Miki Saotome, Ukon Tanaka and Sakon Suzuki from ''[[Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken]]''.
* Patrick Calasour of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' manages to be a ''one-man Team Rocket''... well, the "incompetent" part of it anyway. He has acquired the [[Fan Nickname]] "Team Patrick".
* The Collector Count (a.k.a. Prince Eccentro) and his two female minions (Batch and Gluko) in ''[[Mon Colle Knights]]''.
* The Grandis Gang in ''[[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water]]''; subverted in that they undergo a [[Heel Face Turn]] relatively early in the series, and continue acting as a collective [[Sixth Ranger]] until the end. They also subvert the mold set by Doronjo and her cronies just a little - the tall, lanky guy is strong and the short, squat guy is smart.
* The Jiggle Butt Gang ([[Exactly What It Says
** In the American dub they're given the even funnier name the Big Butt Bandits.
* Tsujido, Makabe and Niihari from ''[[Speed Grapher]]'' fit the personality and physical requirements for a Team Rocket. However, they're competent, and a genuine threat to Saiga and Kagura for most of the series.
* [[The Stoic|Pai]], [[Stalker
* Gargantua's henchmen in ''[[Yami to Boushi
* Dr Eggman and his two meek droids, Decoe and Bocoe from ''[[Sonic X]]'', with "Messenger Robo" Bokkun occasionally getting in on the action.
* Foxy the Silver Fox and his mates Porsche and Hamburg, from ''[[One Piece]]'', especially in the anime.
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* ''[[GEAR Fighter Dendoh]]'' has three Gulfer "chips" in human disguise that are always causing minor trouble. They usually get their robots destroyed embarrassingly quickly before Dendoh moves on to a bigger threat.
* The most common villain in ''[[Overman King Gainer]]'' are the idiot trio of Kajenin, Enge, and Japoli. They are far more obsessed with promotions and salaries than actually stopping the Yapan Exodus, and are generally always yelling at each other.
* Captain Gordon, '''Defender of Earth!''' and his sidekicks are stuck in this role for the first eight episodes of the ''[[Makai Senki Disgaea]]'' anime (because they appear much earlier than in [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness|the game]]).
* Gecko Moria's [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|underlings]] [[Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate|Dr. Hogback]], [[Handsome Lech|Absalom]], and [[Dark Action Girl|Perona]], although they call themselves The Mysterious Four, adding Gecko himself; The Kuja pirates (pirettes?) [[Defrosting Ice Queen|Hancock Boa]] and her sisters Sandersonia and Marigold, from ''[[One Piece]]''
** Subsequently Captain Foxy and his two main sidekicks Hamburger and Porche in the One Piece anime keep reappearing from time to time to stir up trouble and get rather easily beaten. And for Porche to chase after her "Choppy".
* Although they aren't total losers and are the main villians of the Kokoyochu story arc, Mukuro, Chikusa and Ken from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' definitely count.
* ''[[Ranma
** The three warriors of the Musk Dynasty, Herb, Lime and Mint. Herb is the leader and initially of the opposite sex of ''her'' cronies, [[Gender Bender|though through no choice of]] ''his''. Lime and Mint are the dim-witted minions, one big and [[Super Strength|strong]], the other short and [[Super Speed|fast]]. For all their comedic moments, they are all extremely dangerous in a fight.
** In the last story arc of the manga you also have Kiima, Koruma and Masara of the Phoenix People (with Prince Saffron as their higher-up). Kiima is the leader of the opposite sex, and a running gag is for her two minions to call her a "old" or "mature" woman, to which Kiima responds by [[Dope Slap|bopping them]]. They are more competent than your average Terrible Trio though, and, like the Musk Warriors, very dangerous.
* ''[[Zoids]]: Chaotic Century'' had Stinger and his two henchmen, recurring minor antagonists who try to make up for underwhelming Mecha skills with cunning and trickery. Their plans tend to fall through because the heroes are better at [[Xanatos Speed Chess]].
* In ''[[Aqua Knight]]'', mad scientist Alcantara and his servants Zykey and Zycrow are introduced like this. However, it is later inverted {{spoiler|when Alcantara turns to be actually a good guy, and his whole purpose all the time was to save Zykey who suffers from a disease that consumes her body gradually.}}
* ''[[
* Akumanto, Dokudandy and Gestra in ''[[Bomberman B
* From ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'', the "Spice Girls"
* [[Eyeshield 21]]: Although not bad guys from the audience's perspective, most of Deimon High School see Hiruma, Musashi, and Kurita as a terrible trio (with Hiruma as the leader obviously).
* ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]'' in the second arc, Lilithmon, Blastmon, and the Vilemons were demoted to this, by the Death Generals.
** [[Digimon Xros Wars:
* The Westside Gang from the anime version of ''[[Little Lulu (
* The Three Nobles of Yliaster in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]'', Placido, Lucciano, and Jose, their names obviously a [[Shout Out]] to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Tenors the Three Tenors].
* Marvel has the [[Spider-Man]]/Daredevil villains The Enforcers— [[Cowboy| Montana]], [[Dumb Muscle| Ox]], and [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy| Fancy Dan]]. Later joined by Hammer Harrison and Snake Marston.
▲== Comics -- Books ==
* Marvel
* A recent backup on the [[Incredible Hulk]] book gave us Gamma Corps Black. A team made of 3 [[Distaff Counterpart
* There's a group of fairly obscure ''[[
▲* A recent backup on the [[Incredible Hulk]] book gave us Gamma Corps Black. A team made of 3 [[Distaff Counterpart|Distaff Counterparts]], of Hulk villains Abomination, Zzazz and Glob. Aberration, Axon and Morras respectively.
▲* There's a group of fairly obscure ''[[Batman (Comic Book)|Batman]]'' villains ''called'' the Terrible Trio (who, as far as can be told, weren't in mind when naming this trope). The Shark, the Fox, and the Vulture are of extremely variable threat; they don't show up very often because they're pretty mundane as Batman rogues go.
* ''[[British Comics|The Beezer]]'' used to have a set of crooks called The Bad Lads, Boss (short, bossy), Knuck (big, dozy) and Fingers (tall, gangly).
== Films -- Animation ==
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* In ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', we have Lock, Shock and Barrel, the three [[Enfante Terrible]] [[Evil Minions]] to the [[Big Bad]], {{spoiler|Oogie Boogie.}}
* In ''[[The Lion King]]'', we have Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, minions to Scar. Shenzi, the female, is the leader and the smart one (although that's not saying much), Banzai appears to think entirely with his muscles, and Ed is either insane, retarded or faking it.
* The dog-henchmen in Pixar's ''[[Up]]'', Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, are a
* Cruella De Vil and her henchman Jasper and Horace in the movie ''[[101 Dalmatians
* The [[Gonk
* King Malbert and his royal guards from [[Igor]].
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* ''Batman & Robin'' has Mr. Freeze (brains), Poison Ivy (beauty), and Bane (muscle).
* ''101 Dalmatians'' has Cruella, followed around by Horace and Jasper.
* [[The Three Stooges]], in all their incarnations. Though most notably in "[[Wartime Cartoon|You Natzy spy]]" in which they played antagonists.
* Chief Of Secret Police [[Smug Snake|Citizen Camembert]] (Kenneth Williams), [[Bumbling Sidekick|Citizen Bidet]] (Peter Butterworth) and [[Thinks Like a Romance Novel|Desiree]] (Joan Sims) in the ''[[Carry On]]'' film ''[[Don't Lose Your Head]]'', at least until Desiree's [[High Heel Face Turn]] at the end.
* One Eye, Saw Tooth, and Three Finger in ''[[
* Peter, Crusty, and Maggot in ''[[
* Rich, Gene, and Joe from ''Cannibal Campout''. They come off as an evil version of [[The Three Stooges]].
* In ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2]]'', there's Leatherface, Chop Top, and Drayton ([[My Friends and Zoidberg|and]] Grandpa, but he doesn't do much). Like the boys from ''Cannibal Campout'', they give off a definite Three Stooges vibe.
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== Literature ==
* ''Street Magic'', the second in the ''[[Circle of Magic|Circle Opens]]'' quartet by [[Tamora Pierce]]:{{spoiler|Lady Zenadia}} the sponsor of the gang, is always accompanied by an obese eunuch and whip-thin swordsman.
* Draco Malfoy and his henchthugs Crabbe and Goyle in the ''[[Harry Potter (
* Film/literary example: Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo Montoya from ''[[The Princess Bride (
* The [https://web.archive.org/web/20090316014417/http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=152549 Vendilion Clique] faeries in the ''[[
* Casper Gutman, Joel Cairo, and Wilmer Cook from ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'' seem to be a more-competent-than-usual version of this team.
* Måns, Bill and Bull from the Swedish ''Pelle Svanslös'' children's/satirical novels by Gösta Knutsson. They're cats, as are most of the characters. Måns is the leader, who dedicates his energy to trying to bully and humiliate his one-sided arch-rival Pelle (the protagonist), [[Fantastic Racism|whom he hates for being different from other cats]] -- "svanslös" means "tailless". Bill and Bull are his humorously dim-witted, identical henchmen. They don't have a higher-up, as Måns is sometimes the [[Big Bad]] himself.
* The Big Coffin Hunters, (Eldred Jonas, Roy Depape, and Clay Reynolds), from ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series.
* [[Gang of Bullies|Patrick, Eddie, and Brent]] from ''[[A Nightmare
* [[Fat Bastard|Boggis]], [[Depraved Dwarf|Bunce]], and [[Lean and Mean|Bean]] [[Memetic Mutation|(One fat, one short, one lean!)]] from [[Fantastic Mr. Fox]] are a trio of repulsive farmers with bizarre eating habits who spend the entirety of the book and its film adaptation trying to kill Mr. Fox through [[Serial Escalation|increasingly drastic and over-the-top ways.]]
== Live-Action TV ==
* Warren, Andrew, and Jonathan were amusing, ineffectual, wannabe-bad-guys from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''... for a time. Andrew and Jonathan were in it more out of a craving for acceptance and the desire to fulfill their comic-book fantasies, and each of them eventually did a [[Heel Face Turn]] (Andrew under duress, Jonathan of his own accord). Warren, however, was genuinely evil and had the makings of a real supervillain... but his budding career was cut short when {{spoiler|Willow flayed him alive for killing Tara}}.
** "Lessons", the premier of Season Seven, had a trio of malevolent ghosts (simply credited as Dead Girl, Dead Nerd, and Dead Janitor) haunting the rebuilt Sunndale High.
* ''[[
* The Stillman Sisters from the ''[[
* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''. Did you expect to see The Spanish Inquisition here? Well, you shouldn't have. ''Nobody'' expects the Spanish Inquisition.
* Bulk and Skull from the ''[[Power Rangers]]'' [[Verse]] are Team Rocket minus
* The three Trolls Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell from ''[[The Tenth Kingdom]]''.
* Pearl, Brain Guy, and Bobo from the later ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' seasons.
* Morgana, [[Brains and Brawn|Helios and Agravaine]] from ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]''.
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* Avril Lavigne (as an [[Alpha Bitch]]) and her two-girl [[Girl Posse|Posse]] qualify as this in the music video for "Girlfriend". [[Poe's Law|Meant to a parody on the alpha bitch trope, apparently.]]
== Tabletop Games ==
* The [https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Harpie_Lady_Sisters Harpie Lady Sisters] in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' appear as a single monster, with the card image usually being a "group shot" of [https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Harpie_Lady_1 three] [https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Harpie_Lady_2 individual] [https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Harpie_Lady_3 monsters] who each have their own card and names; Mai even calls them "the Trio of Terror" in the anime and at least one video game.
== Video Games ==
* Team "Meanies" in ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]: Red/Blue Rescue Team'', formed by Gengar, Ekans and Medicham. And Team "Skull" formed by Skuntank, Zubat and Koffing in ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]: Explorers of Darkness/Time''.
* The Pokémon Pinchers admins (Blue Eyes, Red Eyes and Purple Eyes)too. Although, {{spoiler|it turns out Blue Eyes and Red Eyes are not so evil. ''Purple Eyes'', [[Complete Monster|on the other hand...]] }}
* LeBlanc (the leader), Logos (the brains), and Ormi (the muscle) from ''[[Final Fantasy X
* The Scorpion Army from ''[[Secret of Mana]]''.
* The Wildcat Gang from ''[[Wonder Project J]]''.
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* Pink, Kain, and Kotaro in ''Gunstar Heroes'' and the remake/sequel ''Gunstar Super Heroes''.
* The Heavenly Kings of [[Orochi]] in the ''[[King of Fighters]] '' games. Consists of Chris, Yashiro, and Shermie, with their "boss" being Orochi himself (and to a lesser extent, Goenitz).
* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Lord Palethorn]], [[The Dragon|Mander]] and [[Blood Knight|Dogman]] in ''[[
* Seifer, Raijin, and Fuujin in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]''.
* Pink, Kain, and Kotaro in ''[[Gunstar Heroes]]'' and its [[Remakquel]] ''Gunstar Super Heroes''.
* ''[[
* Ozzie, Slash and Flea in ''[[
* Conchita, Felix, and Bruce from ''[[God Hand]]''. Naturally, they're [[Expy|Expies]] of the Skull Trio. Eventually, they're taken out not by Gene, but by [[The Rival]] Azel.
* The ''heroes'' of ''[[Sly Cooper]]'' are like
* The Striped Brigands in ''[[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles]]''. Their leader, Bal Dat, is pretty cruel to his counterparts Artemecion (a moogle) and Meh Gat (an old man {{spoiler|who eventually dies}}), but they're completely harmless.
* The Trump from ''[[Gunbird]]'' and the Queen Pirates from ''[[Gunbird]]'' 2. The latter are Skull Trio [[Expy|Expies]].
* ''[[Super Mario]]''
** The [[Living Shadow|Shadow Sirens]] in ''[[Paper Mario:
** Talking about Mario, in ''Six Golden Coins'', the boss of Mario Zone is actually 3 bosses: three pigs. Subverted slightly, in that they are actually kinda dangerous...
** Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergeant Guy appear in [[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]] as a group of laughably incompetent henchmen [[The Starscream|of questionable loyalty]] under Bowser's orders, and in [[Mario & Luigi: Dream Team]] as significantly more competent and recently promoted elite guards, getting the collective nickname "Elite Trio".
* Odie and his henchmen in ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'' borders this and the [[Goldfish Poop Gang]]. Storywise they are an incompetent gang of bandits (Odie the leader, with the farmer and the two beasts as the henchies), {{spoiler|but they do show they're not so bad, Odie can join the party and show he's not such an incompetent magician after all...}}
* Bordeoux, Negimaru and Grein from the [[.hack|.Hack//GU trilogy]] were a trio of fairly skilled and ruthless PKs under the command of Master Gabi, until Bordeoux's [[Stalker
* ''[[Tales
** The Dark Wings. They were self-proclaimed heroes in ''[[
** ''[[
* The slightly obscure beat'em-up ''Monster Maulers'' by Konami has the "Happy Droppers", a trio of bad guys who summon various monsters all around the world. They are obvious [[Expy|Expies]] of the Skull Trio from ''Yatterman". [http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp32/Lord_Feder/retrogames/mmau0002.png Here] [http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp32/Lord_Feder/retrogames/mmau0001.png they are].
* The Bonne family from ''[[
* ''[[The Legendary Starfy]]'''s group of Ronk, Papes and Snips is called "The Terrible Trio". The characters are quite visibly done by an artist other than the series's main one, given how much their character designs clash with the other characters, most obviously Snips, the leader.
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
* Violen (short and fat), Agile (tall and skinny) and Serges (leader) from ''[[Mega Man X|Mega Man X2]]''
* Marjoly, Gao, Crowdia and Myao from ''[[Rhapsody:
* From ''[[
* Konami's ''[[
* Marluxia, Larxene and Axel from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' could count, although they are actually extremely competant and dangerous, and one of them [[Magnificent Bastard|isn't quite what]] [[Manipulative Bastard|he appears...]]
** They are also directly rivaled by another such trio: Zexion, Lexaeus and Vexen.
* The Terrible Trio of the Archadian Empire in ''[[
* ''[[
** Granted Team Chaotix are more self serving protagonists than villains.
*** Dr "Eggman" Robotnik and his two henchbots, Orbot and Cubot play this more straight in ''[[
* The Chebukki siblings in ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'': ''Chains of Promathia''. However, the sole female, Cherukiki, is notably ''not'' the leader. Rather, the elder brother, Makki-Chebukki, acts as one.
* The BB (no, we don't know what it stands for either) Trio in ''[[Fossil Fighters]]''. They're the [[Goldfish Poop Gang]] / a collective [[The Dragon|Dragon]] for the first half of the game. {{spoiler|Then their boss betrays them, and they do a [[Heel Face Turn]].}}
* Kabal, Kobra and Kira in ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'', well Mortal Kombat Deception (onwards) anyway. Kabal the leader of the newely reformed Black Dragon clan, Kobra and Kira as the two henchmen (one male and one female, to keep up with the opposite henchmen ideal), terrible in the sense that they're [[Chaotic Evil]]. Kabal himself is nowhere 'near' being the [[Big Bad]]. In fact, the entire goal of the clan he now commands is to ''rebel'' against the ideals that the current [[Big Bad]] has.
* Princess Devilotte and her two servants, Dave and Xavier, from Capcom fighting game ''[[Cyberbots:
* The Three Mischievous Fairies in ''[[Touhou]]'', with Sunny Milk as the leader, Luna Child as the dutiful subordinate, and Star Sapphire as the only one intelligent enough to flee whenever they annoy one of the more powerful denizens of Gensoukyou (i.e. anyone).
* ''[[Mr. Driller]]'' Has the Ankoku drillers, Keel as the leader, Eguri is the [[Stalker
* ''Super Magnetic Neo'' has the Pinki Gang, which comprises of Pinki (the female leader), Yasu (the nerdy, smart guy) and Gasu (the big, dumb brute). Although, in this case, the said female leader is a ''[[Enfante Terrible|baby]]''.
* ''[[Castlevania III:
* ''[[Solatorobo]]'' seems to have one as an enemy team compete with a pushy female boss.
* Dr Neo Cortex is occasionally placed with henchmen N Gin and Tiny in some ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' titles (particularly evident in ''Crash Nitro Kart's'' story). In later titles Nina sometimes takes Tiny's place.
* The Soda Poppers from ''[[Sam and Max]]''.
* Since the campaign mode of ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron]]'' features a team of three playable characters for each mission, the three available characters for each mission in the Decepticon campaign could qualify as this. In the first mission, you have Megatron (the leader), Barricade (the brains), and Brawl (the muscle). In the second mission, you have the three Seekers, Starscream (the leader), Thundercracker (the brains), and Skywarp (the muscle). For the remaining missions, you have Megatron (the leader), Soundwave (the brains), and Breakdown (the muscle).
* Strega of ''[[Persona 3]]'' are a trio of antagonistic Persona users who the team fights on occasion consisting of [[Nietzsche Wannabe|Takaya]], [[Evil Genius|Jin]] and [[Dark Chick|Chidori]]. They're just an annoyance to the heroes in the grand scheme of things, (though {{spoiler|Takaya is responsible for killing Shinjiro}}) nor do they usually [[Anticlimax Boss|put up a particularly impressive fight]] (though in your case you always outnumber them in a fight especially since they never fight you together). Later on however, {{spoiler|Chidori performs a [[High Heel Face Turn]] for the sake of Junpei, though she's eventually killed by Takaya.}}
* The F-Con trio of [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|CorruptCorporateExecutives]] - [[Amoral Attorney|Crown]], [[Inhuman Resources|Popoff]], and [[Techno Wizard|Baza]] - in [[
== Web Animation ==
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== Web Comics ==
* Lord Skärva, Derk, and Lorelei are beginning to look like one of these in ''[[The Fourth]].''
* ''[[The Order of the Stick
* Umbria's little team in ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'' is shaping up this way. There's [[Dark Action Girl|Umbria]], [[Badass Normal|Jason]] and [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder|Trevoricus]] [[Squishy Wizard|the wizard.]] Eventually subverted when Umbria's nasty treatment of Trevoricus and Jane's return eventually causes the [[Cowardly Lion]] to [[Character Development|man-up]], confront her over it and kick Umbria out of the group.
* Detestai, Earl and Larry from ''[[RPG World]]''.
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== Western Animation ==
* Buzz, Delete and The Hacker from the childrens show ''Cyberchase''.
* The Greaser Dogs from ''[[
* The overly amorous Kanker Sisters from ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]''. And in the eyes of the cul-de-sac kids, the Eds are one of these too, up until [[The Movie]].
* The Gross Sisters from ''[[The Proud Family]]''.
* The (literal) Terrible Trio on ''[[Batman: The Animated Series
* The Hooded Claw and the Bully Brothers on ''[[The Perils of Penelope Pitstop]]''.
* Texas Pete's gang in ''[[Super Ted]]'' is perhaps the ultimate example of physically contrasting henchman: Bulk is a big fat guy, and Skeleton is... well, [[Dem Bones|have a guess]].
* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987
* ''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'' has Fearless Leader, Boris and Natasha (the higher-up was Mr. Big).
* ''[[Captain N]]'' has King Hippo, the Eggplant Wizard and Mother Brain.
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** Also the Ministry of Pain, consisting of Mastermind, Counterpart and Cohort.
* On ''[[Jem]]'', Eric Raymond was the higher-up to the Misfits and has various henchpeople as well.
* Scratch and Grounder in ''[[
* ''[[
* Disney's ''[[
* ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' has several examples:
** The Monarch, Henchman 21, and Henchman 24, all of whom are bumbling and ineffective. Higher Up is The Sovereign, {{spoiler|also known as David Bowie.}} Except for more recently, when the Monarch is showing increasing levels of competence and 21 and 24 have some lucky moments. Well, in the last minutes of the season three finale, {{spoiler|24}}'s luck ultimately runs out....
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** Donbot and his two goons, Clamps and Joey Mousepad, are the ''entire'' Robot Mafia.
** Mom's three sons, Walt, Larry and Igner, are another Terrible Trio. Though they're not completely incompetant, Mom treats them as if they are. Their original plan to get Fry's [[Department of Redundancy Department|PIN number]] wouldn't have worked if Fry hadn't been... [[Idiot Hero|well, Fry]].
* The "Circus Freaks" in ''[[
* Though not villains, [[Alpha Bitch|Sissi]], [[Those Two Guys|Hervé, and Nicolas]] from ''[[
* Bowser, Mouser, Tryclyde, and an unnamed Koopa Troopa in ''The [[Super Mario Bros Super Show]]''.
* Edgar Allan Poe, Sappho and Basho in the ''[[
* Icy, Darcy and Stormy from ''[[Winx Club]]'' become this after Season One.
* Megatron has Lugnut and Blitzwing for this in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' until he picked up the Constructicons later down the line.
* While hardly inneffectual until the main characters get the hang of them, [[Fan Nickname|Ozai's Angels]] (Azula, Mai and Ty-Lee), from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' count. Azula is almost the [[Big Bad]] herself, and then she's accompanied by a pair of [[Badass Normal
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' has Klump and Krusha, with King K. Rool as the higher-up. Also, Captain Skurvy, Kutlass and Green Kroc.
* ''[[Stripperella]]''. El Cheapo and his two hoods, who due to the stinginess of their boss have to share the same gun.
* ''[[The Spectacular Spider
** The Enforcerers: Fancy Dan, Montana and The Ox, with Tombstone as their superior. (They later get [[Powered Armor]], becoming Richochet, Shocker and... Still Ox.)
* The second season of ''[[Care Bears|Adventures in Care-a-Lot]]'' plays this up more by giving Grizzle two recurring hench-bots, [[Brains and Brawn|UR-2 and Sargent Rocketbottom]].
* The Urpneys (namely [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|Sgt Blob]], [[Lovable Coward|Frizz]] and [[The Ditz|Nug]]) in ''[[The Dreamstone]]''. Very Team Rocket-ish; being rather sympathetic, doomed to failure from the start, and tending to get an unnecessarily hard time from the good guys ''after'' they've been clearly beaten already ([[Not So Harmless|par a]] [[Beware the Silly Ones|few occasions]]). In later episodes Urpgor sometimes joins them, albeit in an often rivalistic manner.
* From ''[[Teen Titans (
* A classic example of this exists in ''[[Casper the Friendly Ghost]]'' with the Ghostly Trio, who consist of Stretch, the tall one and leader, Stinkie, the short one, and Fatso, the fat one.
* Joey, Marky and Dee-Dee in ''[[Oggy and
* The Meanos from ''[[Paw Paws]]''.
* The Diamond Dogs from the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
* Margret Rhino's group, the preitties from ''[[My Gym
* Lucius, Samy and Molotov from ''[[Jimmy Two
* Potisha, Gwen and Marry Gibbons (or sometimes Penny) from ''[[The Mighty B!]]''.
* Joy Peter's 3 sons from ''[[Tom Goes to
* ''Transformers'' has one with the initial three Decepticon Seekers, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp.
* The Toad and his henchrats Spike and Whitey from [[Flushed Away]].
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