List of modern day tricksters
Encyclopedia
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
figure of the trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
and its continued popularity in a variety of media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
The trickster, in later folklore or modern popular culture, is a clever, mischievous person or creature, who achieves his or her ends through the use of trickery. A trickster may trick others simply for their amusement, they could be a physically weak character trying to survive in a dangerous world, or they could even be a personification of the chaos that the world needs to function.
An archetypical example is of a fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
of the King who puts suitors
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
for his daughter to the test. No brave and valiant prince or knight succeeds, until a simple peasant arrives. Aided only by his natural wit, he evades danger and triumphs over monsters and villains without fighting. Thus the most unlikely candidate passes the trials and receives the prize. Such characters are a staple of animated cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s, in particular those used and developed by Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
et al. during the Golden Age of American animation.
Characteristics
Hynes and Doty, in Mythical Trickster Figures (1997) state that every trickster has several of the following six traits:- fundamentally ambiguous and anomalous
- deceiver and trick-player
- shape-shifterShapeshiftingShapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
- situation-inverter
- messenger and imitator of the gods
- sacred and lewd bricoleur
Tricksters in folklore and fiction
- AnansiAnansiAnansi the trickster is a spider, and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man...
the spider trickster of African origin - Brer Rabbit - a slave trickster of African American origin.
- Eris (mythology)Eris (mythology)Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona...
- Greek Goddess of chaos. - Henish - a modern hero of sorts, aiming to create a reputable image of himself in society to master the art of 'getting away with it', bending the rules to propagate personal agendas, often advantageous, always humorous
- HermesHermesHermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythologyGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, inventor of fire, and patron of travellers, boundaries and thieves. - Jack - best known from the story Jack and the BeanstalkJack and the BeanstalkJack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
is a young boy who uses his wit to outsmart characters in many stories. - Jack Mary AnnJack Mary AnnJack Mary Ann is a folk hero whose legendary exploits in the Wrexham area of Wales in the 1920s and 1930s are celebrated in a series of jokes and tales transmitted in local oral tradition. Jack was a coal miner. Jack's nickname comes from the common practice of distinguishing local men by the use...
- a folk hero from the WrexhamWrexhamWrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
area of north Wales whose fictionalised exploits continue to circulate in local folklore. - John the ConquerorJohn the ConquerorJohn the Conqueror, also known as High John the Conqueror, John de Conquer, and many other folk variants, is a folk hero from African-American folklore. He is associated with a certain root, the John the Conquer root, or John the Conqueroo, to which magical powers are ascribed in American folklore,...
- is a character who appears in many stories from the African American tradition. He is a slave that is so much smarter than any slave-master, he simply cannot be controlled. - Kuma LisaKuma LisaKuma Lisa is a character, a fox from Bulgarian and Russian folklore, who usually plays the role of the trickster, as an archetype. Many Bulgarian folk tales as well as authored works use the character of Kuma Lisa...
is a fox and trickster figure in Bulgarian folkloreFolkloreFolklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. - LokiLokiIn Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
is a shape-shifting, troublesome god in Norse mythologyNorse mythologyNorse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. - Pan - is a is the god of shepherds and flocks. He is a satyr: a creature that has the upper body of a man, and the legs of a goat. In many stories, they talk of Pan, or just satyrs in general are known to play tricks on people, especially children, for their amusement.
- Robin Goodfellow - from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
plays tricks on a group of humans who stumble into a forest. His final monologue explains the nature of tricksters. - Puss in BootsPuss in Boots'Puss' is a character in the fairy tale "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault. The tale was published in 1697 in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passé...
is a magical cat who tricks a king into raising a low born miller to the station of a great noble. - ReynardReynardReynard is the subject of a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox and trickster figure.-Etymology of the name:Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:...
is a red fox and trickster figure who plays a central role in the moralistic fables of the Reynard cycle. - SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
- In some interpretations of Christianity, Satan could be seen as the ultimate trickster whose job is to test humanity, or if YahwehYahwehYahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
is seen as an evil deity, even as a heroic revolutionaryRevolutionaryA revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
. - Kyprioth the Trickster is a character first mentioned in the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce and is a main character in the Daughter of the Lioness duo by the same author. He is head god of the Raka of the Copper Isles and has a direct tie to George Cooper and Aly. He is the God of thieves and tricksters.
In movies, television, animation, novels, short stories, comics, and video games
- AangAangAang is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character is created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang is depicted as the show's main protagonist, and as such has appeared in all but one...
- The hero of Avatar: The Last AirbenderAvatar: The Last AirbenderAvatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
enjoys tricking and playing jokes on his foes. Most of the Fire Nation thinks this of him as a child. - Bart SimpsonBart SimpsonBartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
- from the animated TV series The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. - Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
- a rabbit trickster, in some respects similar to Brer Rabbit. - Discord - an antagonist of Season Two of My Little Pony: Friendship Is MagicMy Little Pony: Friendship is MagicMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an animated television series that premiered on October 10, 2010 on the United States cable network The Hub, and is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works. The series is produced by Hasbro Studios and DHX Media Vancouver...
. He is a chimera-like creature known as a "Draconequus" and the spirit of disharmony in the world of Equestria. - El-ahrairah - the Prince of Rabbits, or "the Prince with the Thousand Enemies"; the trickster folk heroFolk heroA folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
of the rabbits in Watership DownWatership DownWatership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
. - Felix the CatFelix the CatFelix the Cat is a cartoon character created in the silent film era. His black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history...
- a "transgressor of boundaries" (in the most literal sense). - The Great GazooThe Great GazooThe Great Gazoo is a character from The Flintstones animated series. He first appeared on the show on October 29, 1965. The Great Gazoo was voiced by the late Harvey Korman.-Biography:...
- A resident of the planet Zetox, Gazoo arrived in BedrockBedrock (The Flintstones)Bedrock is the fictional prehistoric city, which is home to the characters of the animated television series, The Flintstones .- Size :...
to annoy FredFred FlintstoneFrederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
and BarneyBarney RubbleBernard "Barney" Rubble is the deuteragonist of the television animated series The Flintstones. He is the diminutive blonde-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble...
in The FlintstonesThe FlintstonesThe Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
. - HarveyHarvey (film)Harvey is a 1950 film based on Mary Chase's play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story is about a man whose best friend is a pooka named Harvey—in the form of a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall invisible rabbit.-Plot:Elwood P...
the pookaPookaPooka may refer to*Pooka , British pop duo*Púca, faery creature of Celtic folklore*A race of rabbit-like beings in the video game Odin Sphere*An enemy in the Dig Dug series of games*Pooka, Anya's dog in Anastasia...
, a large anthropomorphic rabbit who can be seen only by the protagonist, from the play and film bearing his name. - Impossible ManImpossible ManThe Impossible Man is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #11 The Impossible Man is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four...
- an amoral, childlike, shapeshifting extraterrestrial from the Fantastic FourFantastic FourThe Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
comics. - JarethJarethJareth, the Goblin King is a fictional character in the 1986 fantasy movie Labyrinth. Jareth is a powerful, mysterious creature who has an antagonistic yet strangely flirtatious relationship with Sarah , the film's teenage heroine...
- King of the Goblins from Jim HensonJim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
's LabyrinthLabyrinth (film)Labyrinth is a 1986 British/American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Elaine May .The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin...
, who changes forms and uses magic to cajole the story's heroine through a series of puzzles. - Jack Sparrow - The swashbuckling pirate from Pirates of the CaribbeanPirates of the CaribbeanPirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
. - Pippi LongstockingPippi LongstockingPippi Longstocking is a fictional character in a series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, and adapted into multiple films and television series...
- Unconventional, assertive, light-hearted and incredibly strong girl, in the franchise with the same name. - The Joker - The arch-nemesis of BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
is a trickster character in some interpretations. - The MaskThe MaskThe Mask is a Dark Horse comic book series created by writer John Arcudi and artist Doug Mahnke, and based on a concept by publisher Mike Richardson. The series follows a magical mask which imbues the wearer with reality-bending powers and physical imperviousness, as well as bypassing the wearer's...
- wears a mask imbued with LokiLokiIn Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
's powers and lack of inhibition. - Mister MxyzptlkMister MxyzptlkMr. Mxyzptlk , sometimes called Mxy, is a fictional impish supervillain who appears in DC Comics' Superman comic books.He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and first appeared in Superman #30 . He is usually presented as a trickster, in the classical mythological sense, in that he enjoys...
- an imp from the fifth dimension featured in the SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
comics. - The Pink PantherThe Pink Panther (character)The Pink Panther is the main and title character in the opening and closing credit sequences of every film in The Pink Panther series except for A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau. His popularity spawned a series of theatrical shorts, merchandise, a comic book, and television cartoons...
- a character featured at the start of the filmThe Pink PantherThe Pink Panther is a series of comedy films featuring the bungling French police detective Jacques Clouseau that began in 1963 with the release of the film of the same name. The role was originated by, and is most closely associated with, Peter Sellers...
and the animated series of the same name. - QQ (Star Trek)Q is a fictional character who appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, as well as in related products. In all of these programs, he is played by John de Lancie....
and fellow members of the Q ContinuumQ ContinuumIn the fictional televised Star Trek universe, the Q Continuum is an extradimensional plane of existence inhabited by a race of extremely powerful, hyper-intelligent beings known as the Q...
- from the TV series Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. - Tom SawyerTom SawyerThomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Tom Sawyer Abroad , and Tom Sawyer, Detective .Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom...
- is the title character of the Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
novel The Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the Town of "St...
. He is a lazy person, and on many occasions tricks others into doing work for him. - The DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
- the title character of Doctor Who. Certain (if not all) incarnations of the Doctor can be seen as tricksters, particularly the Second, Fourth and Seventh Doctors. - The Trickster - the main antagonist of Thief: The Dark ProjectThief: The Dark ProjectThief: The Dark Project is a 1998 first-person stealth game developed for Windows by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive...
, he masquerades as an eccentric noble named Constantine, and apparently has the ability to shapeshift. His disguise serves to trick Garrett into giving him a powerful artifact that will return the world to a wild state. - The Trickster is an antagonist of Season two and three of SupernaturalSupernatural (TV series)Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
, who often plays tricks on Sam and Dean. In Season Five, it is revealed he is the Archangel Gabriel who came to Earth to find Michael and Lucifer's vessels. - Wile E. CoyoteWile E. Coyote and Road RunnerWile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
- featured in the Road Runner cartoons and based on a traditional Native American trickster figure, Old Man Coyote. An argument might also be made that Wile E. Coyote's arch nemesis, the Road RunnerWile E. Coyote and Road RunnerWile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
itself, is also at least as great a trickster as Wile E. himself. - Woody WoodpeckerWoody WoodpeckerWoody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
- "A less complex version of the Trickster"