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Deadpan Snarker
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"Wow, sarcasm. That's original."
A character prone to gnomic, sarcastic, sometimes bitter, occasionally whimsical asides.
The Deadpan Snarker exists to deflate pomposity, point out the unlikelihood of certain plans, and deliver funny lines. Typically the most cynical supporting character. In most cases, it is implied that the snarker would make a good leader, strategist, or consultant given their ability to instantly see the flaws in a constructed plan. More often than not, their innate snarkiness is the only thing preventing the other characters from comprehending this for themselves. In other cases, the Deadpan Snarker resorts to sarcasm because they're the Only Sane Man. Tends to be shot a Death Glare when they go too far (and probably isn't without one of their own, either). Note that due to the definition evolving, the "Deadpan" part of the title has gradually become The Artifact and a deadpan delivery is no longer a necessary part of the trope.
While the Snarker has existed (in both fiction and Real Life) since time immemorial, its most contemporary incarnation emerged in the early 1930s with the new popularity of sound cinema and the rise of "zinger" comedy. In fact, it was in 1933 that the word "wisecrack" (the Snarker's most trusted sidearm) entered English-language dictionaries. (And, in a stroke of genius, the word "wisecrack" is itself a wisecrack, carrying the sarcastic connotation of "Oh, yeah, you're a real Socrates, smart guy.")
Sometimes the Deadpan Snarker is shown to be incapable of avoiding sarcasm, due to their insecurity about expressing any genuine thought or feeling, and their fear of withdrawing from the cynical position and protection. This may turn them into a Stepford Snarker. Prone to Amusing Third-Party Interjection.
Compare The Snark Knight, Little Miss Snarker, Cuckoosnarker, Weasel Mascot, First-Person Smartass, Servile Snarker, Gentleman Snarker, Silent Snarker, Disabled Snarker, Mentor in Sour Armor. See also Non-Action Snarker, Snarky Non-Human Sidekick, Cats Are Snarkers, Tall, Dark, and Snarky, Surrounded by Idiots, Silicon Snarker, and Sarcastic Devotee. Sometimes overlaps with Genre Savvy and No Sense of Humor. A common role for a Straight Man. May wear Jade-Colored Glasses. Expect them to resort frequently to Brutal Honesty. If there are too many of these, you might be in a World of Snark. Overdoing it on one character may result in a Jerkass; even when done in sufficient moderation, however, the character still tends to rely on a certain amount of Jerkass Dissonance (since, well, the audience would probably be less amused by the Deadpan Snarker's biting wit if they were the ones on the receiving end of it). Expect plenty of Snark-to-Snark Combat if and when two of these meet. May result in Offing the Mouth. Try not to confuse the dialogue with Buffy Speak. It's common among narrators, making them into a Lemony Narrator.
The Troublemaker is often the recipient of their most biting snark.
Now, as for real life examples... Oh, yeah, right. Someone up there has no sense of humour. noreallife
Boy, I hope you don't mind actually reading a full sentence to know which example subpages you're in for.
- Cartoons and comics from Japan with way too much fanservice. People actually enjoy these, apparently.
- Comics. On paper. Not exactly rocket science.
- Mostly shipping and terrible writing, when they're not absolute Crack Fics. Oh, joy.
- Really long cartoons, objectively a waste of your time.
- Ah, movies. Money well spent, you had hoped.
- Books: Somehow as useless as movies.
- Television shows, like movies that take way too much of your time with half the budget. Except it's free. Occasionally.
- When people have great knowledge of computers and code, yet decide to waste their talents on making a funny looking man move when you press buttons while letting bugs pass.
- Comic books, minus the book part. Because I guess you people can't stand the thought of holding paper.
- Internet content, a handy demonstration of what rock bottom looks like.
- And hey, short cartoons are also a waste of your goddamn time. Fancy that.
Other Examples... or something.
open/close all folders
Wow. Advertising. Silly media that shoves itself in your face constantly until you waste your money on whatever pointless drivel it's trying to sell. And even then, you often still see them.
- Geralt in one of the trailers for Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is playing Gwent with Ciri as soldiers bust into the locale and approach her from behind. He's still talking about their game.
Geralt: Let me guess. She's got a dragon.
- There's a Liberty Mutual ad on YouTube with a comedienne and her self-aware puppet singing the jingle, the latter being this trope.
Comedienne: That was great!
Puppet: Well, at least one of us was...
- In the Jay Bush and Duke ads for Bush's Baked Beans, this is Duke's default attitude in response to Jay's statements, such as one in which people are honking because of a message that he posted stating "Honk if you want the secret family recipe" and Jay says that they're friendly for honking like this.
Duke: Yeah. Friendly.
After a lot of bad news with slanted coverage, plus your favorite sports teams doing abysmally, I guess any art even REMOTELY humorous will crack you up.
People actually consider Music an art? They’re just making noise, how creative. And don't even get me started on some subtypes of it!
- Cake are noted for ironic and sarcastic lyrics, and singer John McCrea has a Perishing Alt-Rock Voice that more often than not borders on being emotionless.
- Jimmy Pop from Bloodhound Gang, who delivers snarky lyrics as monotone as he can.
- Patty Donahue, the lead singer of The Waitresses, wasn't a trained vocalist, but in her case, that meant she had an Everygirl persona. She exploits it with a flat, tough-girl delivery on the famous "I Know What Boys Like," which combines this trope with The Tease.
- While "Weird Al" Yankovic is not always deadpan, he usually tones down when the joke requires it ("A huge tyrannosaurus ate our lawyer\Well, I suppose that proves, they're really not all bad").
Y'know, "Myths & Religion" isn't exactly the first thing that pops into mind when I think "snark", but yeah, sure, I guess.
- It tends to get lost in translation, but the Gospels often portray Jesus as quite the Deadpan Snarker.
Jesus: Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?
- There's also his interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well:
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for
you have had five husbands
, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!"
- There's also the first meeting between Jesus and soon-to-be-Apostle Nathaniel, which involves some snarking all around. Philip runs to get Nathaniel and tells him Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, which contains such gems as these: Nathaniel:
Can anything good come from Nazareth?
Philip:
Come and see.
Jesus, upon seeing Nathaniel:
Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!
Nathaniel, to Jesus:
How do you know me?
Jesus:
Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.
Nathaniel:
Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.
Jesus:
Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than this.
- He often used the expression "as a sinner or a tax collector." Implication being, even on a list of lowlifes, tax collectors are the lowest. Guess what Matthew did for a living.
- When Pilate asks if he's The King of The Jews, he basically answers "you said it, not me."
- In chapter 10 of The Gospel of John, when Jews listening to Jesus's preaching pick up stones intending to stone him, his response is, "I've shown you many great works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?"
- Other than him, Paul of Tarsus loved to deal some snark in his epistles. In one instance, mediating an argument amongst the Galatians about circumcision, he helpfully recommends to the conservative Jewish converts agitating against the pagan converts that they "go the whole way and cut the entire thing off!" Another translation is, "I wish those [agitating for the circumcision of the Gentiles] would castrate themselves," which is arguably even snarkier.
- Another example: (Acts 22:26) As a Roman guard ties Paul up to flog him, Paul casually asks if it is legal to flog a uncondemned Roman citizen (it's not). The guard captain, upon hearing that Paul is a citizen says, "With a large sum I obtained this citizenship" to which Paul simply replies, "But I was born a citizen."
- In Acts 23:1-5 (N.I.V.), when Paul is brought before the Sanhedrin:
Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, "My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day." At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you white-washed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!" Those who were standing near Paul said, "You dare to insult God's high priest?" Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not know that he was the high priest, for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'"
- In I Samuel 21, David is brought before King Achish, and fearing for his life he feigns insanity. When Achish sees him, he sarcastically asks his servants if he has a shortage of madmen, that they need to bring him another.
- In 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a showdown, to see whose god could ignite a sacrifice. After what must be hours of calling for Baal:
Elijah: Call at the top of your voice, for he is a god; for he must be concerned with a matter, and he has excrement and has to go to the privy. Or maybe he is asleep and ought to wake up.
- In the Hebrew, Elijah uses a euphemism for the bathroom part (i.e. "busy with something", or the way an English speaker might say it, "on high"). Ultimately, one wonders if he was given any prophetic foresight that the ultimate fate of the temple of Baal would be as a public toilet (2 Kings 10:27).
- What do you expect? The Bible was written by Jews wasn't it? A people famed for snarkiness and black humor — and getting into situations that required it.
- Jeremiah's sidekick Baruch, a scribe. To quote Jeremiah 36:17-18:
- From Classical Mythology, Momos/Momus), the Greek god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, and poets... or in other words, snark*which the ancient Greeks didn't seem to appreciate much, as they saw him as a spirit of evil-spirited blame and unfair criticism. Gee, Zeus, the Trojan War is such a great idea. There are too many people on Earth anyway.
Does anyone under the age of ancient even play Pinball anymore? Might as well add a category for "Telegrams" while you're at it.
- Morticia from The Addams Family, whenever the player misses the skill shot:
"Don't torture yourself."
"That's my job."
- Kaminski the cameraman from America's Most Haunted
"Following instructions written in blood leading to a morgue — what could go wrong?"
- Anyone in Medieval Madness who isn't a Large Ham will make up for it with snark to spare.
- Buzz from No Good Gofers is noticably snarkier and more Jerkass than his friend Bud.
- Spider-Man (Stern) has J.K. Simmons reprise his role as J. Jonah Jameson to give player snark-filled instructions and comments.
Jameson: What're you waiting for, Chinese New Year? Go, go, go!
Podcasts are just people talking. Conversations are boring. End of story.
- Less is Morgue: Riley is insanely snarky and about as deadpan as it gets, speaking largely in complete monotone, unless they're feeling particularly angry or sarcastic. It's largely a defense mechanism, but they'd die before they'd admit it.
- Mystery Show: Most of Starlee's clients are deadpan snarkers and sometimes Starlee is too.
Pro Wrestling, aka sweaty buff people in colorful underwear pretending to hurt each other. No thanks.
A radio, your number one source for white noise. Unless you have a TV, then you get white noise with images!
- Legendary comedy team Bob & Ray based their entire act around this trope, as applied originally to the medium they worked in, and later expanded to take in every media trend and fad going. Given their influence on modern American comedy - including but not limited to Bob Newhart and George Carlin - it could be argued that they played a major role in popularising the concept.
Bob: (introducing a "human interest" segment) We've found that you listeners enjoy hearing these pathetic people tell their tragic stories.
- One might miss it between Captain Obvious moments, but Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978) was not above indulging occasionally.
Ford: How would you react if I said I'm not from Guilford after all, but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse?
Arthur: I don't know. Why, do you think it's the sort of think you're likely to say?
- More obviously, Zaphod snarks at Arthur, Ford snarks at Zaphod, Trillian snarks at both of them and Marvin just snarks.
- Paul Darrow (best known as Avon in Blake's 7) portrays one of these on Jack FM. He supplies all the recorded between song/advert/news/weather etc voiceovers in this style. (Jack FM is a "jukebox" style station with no DJs apart from a weekday breakfast show.)
"Plans for CSI:Basingstoke were dropped after it was discovered no-one has any dental records and they all share the same DNA"
- Our Miss Brooks: Miss Brooks' character uses sarcasm with frequency (as does many of the characters Eve Arden plays in other works).
- On the Preston & Steve show, Steve is known for being able to deliver lines completely straight.
- In Riders Radio Theater, a great many of Woody Paul's lines, despite an earnest delivery, seem to absolutely drip with irony.
Roleplay, because with a life like yours, there's no better way to use your time than pretending to be someone else.
- AJCO:
- Dawn of a New Age: Oldport Blues:
- Fesxis has a very acerbic wit to go with her formal and dour personality, and spends most of her time snarking at her host Sebastian.
- Simon is an anti-social brooder with a snide remark for any situation he finds himself in.
- DC Nation:
- Green Shield and Caleb Zukov take snark to the level of art form — usually at the other's expense.
- Glowfic has a lot of this - Adarins, Bells, Yvettes, and others snark every now and then.
- A lot of the cops on NoPixel have a lot of deadpan snark, like Malton, Wrangler, Bundy, and Toretti. Ditto for judges like Judge Crane, Judge LaBarre, and Judge Stanton.
- Touhou: a Glimmer of an Outside World has Koakuma providing lots and lots of snark, along with Mima. Hilariously, Koakuma is a Mima Fangirl.
Ah, the Theatre. Where snobs go to watch people dance around for a few hours so they can say they're more cultured than everyone else.
- Arms and the Man has Nicola, who is always ready with some witty banter behind the master's back.
- Mrs. Baker in Butterflies Are Free. And it's awesome.
Jill: (talking about auditioning for a play naked) I don't think anyone could call me a prude.
Mrs. Baker: (mock outrage) I'd like to see them try!
- The Bridges of Madison County: Francesca definitely has her moments. See: her suggestion that "the patron saint of Iowa housewives" sent Robert to her, or this little exchange:
Robert: Is there anything else you'd like me to do?
Francesca: That you haven't done to me already?
- Cyrano de Bergerac: In a play settled in Paris at The Cavalier Years, Witty Banter is Serious Business for everyone.
- Countess Orsina from Emilia Galotti who brims over with sarcasm, being the only enlightened woman in the whole play.
- Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After: The Magic Mirror, when he isn't scared out of his mind by the villains, is often making snide comments about them.
- Faust has Mephistopheles, the devil the titular Faust has a deal with. Mephisto looks down at humanity in general and can't help to make snarky remarks about it all the time.
- John and Ken mostly in Fifth Of July, but everyone gets their shots in at least once.
- Lorenzo "Lorenzino" de' Medici in Alfred de Musset's Lorenzaccio is famous in-universe for his snarky remarks, some of which are extremely bitter.
- Much Ado About Nothing has Benedick and Beatrice, whose Belligerent Sexual Tension results in much Snark-to-Snark Combat.
- Ollantay: While how deadpan his delivery is depends on the actor playing him, Piqui Chaqui's dialogue is almost entirely comprised of him giving witty remarks to Ollantay's requests for him to locate Kusi Qoyllur. He's also pretty unfazed whenever Ollantay jabs him good-naturedly. For example, in the first scene, Piqui Chaqui answers him, "As the stars shine at night, that's why [he] only knows her at night." This is funny because Kusi Qoyllur's name means Shining Star. A couple of scenes later, Piqui Chaqui dreams of a llama tied up, which is a bad omen. When Ollantay tells him the llama must be Piqui Chaqui, the latter simply muses that has to be why his neck is growing so long.
- Romeo and Juliet:
- Mercutio. Especially as he's dying.
- Romeo's usually too busy whining, but he is shown to be quite snarky himself when he's in a happier mood, i.e. Act II.
- In 1776, Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams all have their moments, but Jefferson wins for sheer... deadpan-yness.
Adams: Do you mean to tell me that [the Declaration of Independence] is not yet finished?!
Jefferson: No, sir. I mean to say that it is not yet begun.
- And then, almost immediately afterwards:
Adams: He has a whole week! The world was created in a week!
Jefferson: Someday you must tell me how you did it.
- One of the funniest iterations of a Running Gag:
Adams: Disgusting. Look at him, Franklin. Virginia's most famous lover!
Jefferson: Virginia abstains.
- Gemma on Sons of Anarchy:
Gemma: Jesus is the guy who cuts my lawn.
- Speed, Servile Snarker extraordinaire from Two Gentlemen of Verona. Proteus jokes that he's so dry, he'd save a ship from sinking simply by being on it.
- Wicked
-
But that line is the least of it.
Nessarose: What are you doing here?
Elphaba: Well, there's no place like home.
Glinda and Elphaba: There must be some confusion for you see my roommate is...
Glinda: Unusually and exceeding peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe.
Elphaba: [Beat] Blonde.
You know a cartoon is really good when it doesn't even get to be on TV.
- Anon has Dani, Hunter and Tucker. Candace, Tucker's daughter, is shown to have inherited this trait in Season 6.
Jasmine: Um, EXCUSE ME! I'm trying to give a presentation here.
Candace: Oh my God, Jasmine. I am SO sorry I interrupted the presentation that no one was listening to.
Jasmine: Umm...
Candace: Please continue.
- Max from Camp Camp, which while not totally deadpan given his tendency to scream, frequently makes fun of his fellow campers, and the staff's, eccentricities.
- Chadam can be quite sarcastic, such as telling the 8-year-old Ripley that her drawings are good "for a 6-year-old", and tells Sandy that he'll "just pour some ink on the Pallid".
- Charlie the Unicorn.
"Were on our way to Candy Mountain, Charlie!" "Yeah, that's great."
"I think I died long ago, and you two are my eternal punishment."
- Dreamscape: Vampire Lord is quite the wisecracker and definitely the most sarcastic of the group.
- DSBT InsaniT: Killdra. And her monotone voice definitely helps.
- Comes free with Dave, due to being around people he really doesn't care about.
- Even in comparison to the other cast members, Cody has a quip for just about everything.
Cody: This is gonna end badly and I'm gonna love it.
- Lisa is The Gadfly, so of course she's sarcastic too.
Killer: If you survived having your skull crushed on steel, you'll survive THIS.
Lisa: You really know how to comfort a gal, Killer.
- Tom from Eddsworld is a self-despising cynic who is a major definition of this trope, thanks to de-flanderizing his personality, and making him more sarcastic in later episodes.
- Epithet Erased:
- Ramsey spends most of the Western arc being sarcastic about and/or bewildered by the deranged coterie of eccentrics who seem to be the entire population of Redwood Run, including both regulars like the bartender and visitors like Percy. When Percy drags him out into the open, his response is, "Oh yeah, I love getting shot at!"
- Mera is a villainous, Stepford Snarker version, who deals with her chronic pain by taking it out on the people around her. It may not help that she spends most of her time around Indus.
- Homestar Runner: Strong Bad. Strong Sad sometimes fulfills this role when he isn't busy being The Eeyore.
- The Emperor from If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device constantly snarks from his throne at Kitten, Magnus and the universe at large. The delivery of his lines is helped by the fact that he speaks in Computer Voice. Kitten
: So the Necrontyr became the Necrons?
Emperor
: Someone give this man a
PhD
because that's some serious brainpower for a giant armored potato chip.
** Magnus finishes Calling the Old Man Out*
Emperor
: Good, Magnus. Give that revenge shit your best shot.
- Foamy the Squirrel provides the page image.
- Calamity/Chalchiutlique of No Evil gets off some decently snarky zingers at the other characters, while Kitty/Kajortoq alternates between this and Team Mom.
Calamity: (to Wrip) It's amazing. You don't seem at all concerned that this plan is a poorly constructed tapestry of lies.
- The makers of Overly Sarcastic Productions take this trope and make it into history and literature lessons. FUN history and literature lessons.
- About half the cast of Red vs. Blue, especially Grif and Church.
Simmons: Well of course it sounds stupid when you say it like that.
- Blake from RWBY has a tendency to calmly and bluntly put down others, particularly with Adam and Weiss.
- Bridget Tice from The Most Popular Girls in School
Bridget Tice: Hello and welcome to-
Brittany Matthews: Fuck off.
Bridget Tice: Don't mind if I do.
- A lot of characters in TTA fall into this category, but Kirbopher15 is by far the worst offender. It gets worse when he goes into 1111 form and is openly acknowledged as being an asshole in said form. Which is quite odd when you realize that had season 4 been produced, Phaxal would've been revealed to be Kirbopher 1111. It's not the reveal, it's that their personalities are entirely different, Kirbopher 1111 for the most part is a snarky asshole, while Phaxal is a somewhat melodramatic guy who's definitely evil, but doesn't seem to be entirely sure on what his evil goal is.
- Gary to Roamin the Paladin in Unforgotten Realms. Usually in the form of blunt, tactless explanations of how Roamin is being stupid.
Roamin: Gary, why are we even friends?
Gary: Well, no-one will be friends with you, and I enjoy pissing on people's parades.
Roamin: Better reasons than most, I suppose.
Gary: Not really, it's probably the worst reason for being friends out of anyone who has ever used the word "friendship" to describe their bond with another person.
- Wolf Song: The Movie has a few characters with this tendency. Notably Kendon, although protagonist Kara does have her moments
Kara [flatly]:’’’why don’t you become a tree and die in a forest fire’’’
Garrett
While first meeting Garrett, Kayley realises that he is blind in which he initially uses sarcasm to respond with guesses and claim that he forgot about his blindness.
Example of:
Disabled Snarker
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