abstract
| - Here we have Joe. Joe frequently appears throughout the narrative to do what he can to make Frank's life miserable. The problem? Joe isn't actually essential to the narrative and isn't particularly interesting, either. Where a serious villain would Kick the Dog to inspire an emotional reaction, this guy barely manages to Poke the Poodle. He'll dash onscreen every so often, twirl his moustache in a Jerkass manner, and then leave with little fanfare. In other words, Joe is a villain who doesn't do anything. He has been shoehorned into the narrative for little reason beside the conventional wisdom that all narratives need a clear bad guy. For this reason he's an especially common addition to adaptations intended to reach a wider audience than in his original form. While the easiest way to sum up this trope is "useless character", that's more objective as what's going on here. For example, Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas, awesome though he may be, is motivated purely by For the Evulz, causes trouble only after the Denouement, and has little if anything to do with the main plot of how Halloweentown takes over Christmas. This trope can possibly go in line with Designated Villain. If he's there to provide someone to boo because the main problem is too cool to hate or a morally neutral problem (a runaway train, an earthquake) it's a Hate Sink. Compare with Breakout Villain and Orcus on His Throne. When it's an entire unwholesome class of characters who don't seem to do of the dirty deeds of their profession, it's The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Examples of Plot Irrelevant Villain include:
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