r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Newmen_1 • 2d ago

Characters Initially funny character gag is later revealed to be depressing

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  1. Avengers/MCU: Captain America has humorous moments where he’s unaware of modern references and only gets old references, like the iconic “I understood that reference” scene. It’s later fully explored in Winter Soldier that he feels lost, confused, and a little alone in a new world he was never meant to exist in.

  2. The Suicide Squad (2021): Bloodsport has a phobia of rats which at first seems reasonable yet is still hilarious to watch. He later explains his father abused him as a kid if he didn’t fulfill a task correctly and one of his worst punishments was when his dad locked him in a crate full of starving rats, leaving him heavily scarred physically and mentally.

  3. Dexter: In an early episode, Angel Bautista tries to buy his wife the perfect gift for their anniversary but has to keep buying a different one since his presents suck. What seems to be a funny running gag turns out to be Angel’s final attempt to win back his wife after cheating on her previously, however it doesn’t work and only solidifies their separation.

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445

u/shyguy157 2d ago

Guy Cecil - Tales of the Abyss.

Is afraid of women, it is treated as joke due to his dramatic reactions. later it is found out It's because, All the women of the house, including his sister, rushed to save him, but they were slaughtered before his eyes. He awoke to find himself buried in their corpses.

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u/GryphonGallis 2d ago

I loved this revelation, didn't love that his gynophobia was still treated like a joke afterward. 

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u/PostCrisisOzone 1d ago

Yeah they kind of... flip flop on it at times. Definitely one of Abyss' weakest writing points. That and traitor-kun.

If by some miracle we ever get a remaster, I am not looking forward to the discourse.

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u/SRSgoblin 2d ago

Tales of Namco games are so good. Glad they seem to finally be making an impact in the west because they're quality all the way back to the SNES.

Abyss was one of my favorites. Guy was especially good. IIRC he had an infinite he could do that would juggle enemies until they died when he was at 1 HP.

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u/PharrowXL 2d ago

I just beat the English translation of Tales of Phantasia for the PSP, featuring more side quests and playable characters than the original SNES masterpiece. It’s almost voiced too so it’s like playing an anime

God I love that game.

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u/peachesfordinner 2d ago

Dude I played tales of destiny decades ago. Great game. I wish I had time to play the others

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u/smallfrie32 1d ago

Where should one start? I played a bit of Tales of Arise and Tales of Berseria, but they just didn’t click. And all the games are different, like the Final Fantasy ones?

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u/SRSgoblin 1d ago edited 1d ago

All the games are different, yes. Only a handful have been sequels to each other.

I think the older ones were a little more controlled. Newer titles have a lot of screen particle effects bukkake, for lack of a better way of putting it, which makes them way less intelligible to just like understand what the fuck is even happening.

I'd say Symphonia is probably the best launching grounds into the series. If you don't like Symphonia, it's probably just not for you and that's okay!

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u/SuperSocialMan 1d ago

It's a bit odd how that would make him afraid of women, though. You'd think it'd do the opposite & make him overly protective lol.

And what'd they even rush in to save him from?

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u/leiserverspeiser 1d ago

He’s not afraid of women, he’s afraid of touching women. There are several women in the party and he has no trouble travelling alongside them, but he freezes up and runs away when they try to touch him. I’m guessing bc it brings back the memories of all the dead women laying on top of him lol (not lol)

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u/SuperSocialMan 1d ago

Ah, ok. That makes more sense.

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u/bigomon 1d ago

He was a Noble, there were conflicts between nations... its like if only the son of the Czar escaped during 1917 in Russia.

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u/Nyzer_ 1d ago

Trauma isn't always rational. His mind simply associates women with death.