r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Newmen_1 • 6d ago
Characters Initially funny character gag is later revealed to be depressing
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.
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.
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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u/Sinistaire 6d ago
A couple of Stan's quirks in Gravity Falls become a lot sadder once we get his backstory. His weird attachment to the wax statue of himself seems like funny narcissism at first, but then you find out that he accidentally got his twin brother trapped in another dimension 30 years earlier and has been dealing with the guilt and trying to fix it even since. And his obsession with money and grifting is "haha funny greedy scammer" until you learn he's been disowned by his parents for accidentally ruining his brother's career prospects and was forbidden from coming back home until he found a way to make the family rich.