Butt-Monkey

A butt-monkey (aka "Megward the Wizard", a term coined by TheMysteriousMrEnter; "punching bag", "torture victim", "outcast", "chew toy", "laughing stock", "bad luck", or "accident") is a character who is always the butt of a demeaning joke, goes through a "put them through hell" plotline, and/or the only character who endures all the slapstick pain & misery inflicted onto them, which is often played for comedy or for drama.

To put it shortly, they are scapegoats and are treated like the world's metaphorical punching bag, even if they do nothing inherently wrong.

Pretty much nothing ever goes right for this character, and if something bad happens, chances are it happens to them out of their control, or somebody else (as a twist shock), to add another schlimazel/schlemiel/scapegoat to the mix.

For whatever reason, butt-monkeys seem to walk through life with a permanent "Kick Me" sign attached to themselves, invisible to them to notice but all too visible to the rest of the world to see and view them as a easy victim. They are the polar opposite of karma houdinis, sometimes getting bullied and abused by them can also lead to another trope besides this trope, like vengence, insanity, sadism, etc.

Furthermore, not all butt-monkeys are "unlucky" characters because they are frequently just accident-prone characters and get abused for no reason, their predicaments and vulnerabilities are always varied. Needless to say, it's usually unwarranted unless it's a jerk or a villain that gets what's coming to them.

Why This Trope Sucks

 * 1) This trope basically serves as tiresome character development.
 * 2) *Where characters you adore or root for to succeed, are suffering through all kinds of pain, misery, and torture that they didn't deserve at all in the first place to make them have conflicts people can easily relate to, often in an overly mean-spirited manner to the point of going overkill. Meanwhile, these karma houdinis always get away from what they do and deserve a sense of retribution for their actions, far more than what these scapegoats go through.
 * 3) Following from the first pointer, there are times when their misery can be incredibly forced if it gets too exaggerated, making it much harder to watch sometimes.
 * 4) On top of that, their over-inflated mistreatment can be so much, it can also feel very out of place, questionable and unnatural, especially since it makes the viewer question what did these guys do recieve these horrible situations and mishaps, and why does the universe exclaim that they do to deserve it so much (the motives can be exceptional). Especially when the sadists and torturers, in a certain work, deserve these predicaments more than these guys do, and it makes the viewer pity the characters a little too much.
 * 5) It's also just an excuse for a lame joke, the joke being "it's funny to see them suffer", which can be funny to a extent (if it's either warranted or done to make the character easy to root for), but it stops becoming humorous and entertaining when the character's suffering goes way too far, or if their misery becomes too predictable.
 * 6) * The definitive Butt-Monkey's suffering is often so bad, that it makes anyone in the right mind, feel like hugging them, covering them up, and protecting them from anything bad from happening to the characters due to how sadistic and petty the joke of this trope and the universe surrounding this trope really is.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) There are plenty of butt-monkeys that do deserve their misfortunes and are also karmic butt-monkeys for being unlikable, stupid, rude, annoying, selfish, mean, villainous, etc. Such to the point that it can range from being satisfying, funny, or even hilarious in some instances. (i.e Eric Cartman from South Park, Roy Rooster from Garfield & Friends, Deandra "Dee" Reynolds and Charlie Kelly from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, just to list a few.)
 * 2) * These are all examples of Butt-Monkeys, that deserve their misfortunes due to possessing unlikable traits.
 * 3) * Brainy Smurf
 * 4) * Donald Duck (The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, seasons 1-5)
 * 5) * Gelatin (BFB 1-18)
 * 6) * Mr. Krabs (seasons 6-10)
 * 7) * Crusher (Blaze and the Monster Machines)
 * 8) * Eustace Bagge
 * 9) * Cat (CatDog)
 * 10) * Peter Griffin (sometimes, seasons 8-present)
 * 11) * Ed, Edd n Eddy
 * 12) * Joey, Marky and Dee Dee (season 5, most of the time)
 * 13) * Gordon the Big Engine (HIT model era and season 13)
 * 14) * Stimpy (APC)
 * 15) * Caillou
 * 16) * Bubsy
 * 17) * Pop
 * 18) * James the Red Engine (Thomas & Friends)
 * 19) * Mokap
 * 20) * Dr. Robotnik
 * 21) * Gumball Watterson
 * 22) * The Teen Titans (Teen Titans Go!)
 * 23) * Minoru Mineta
 * 24) There are many butt-monkey characters that are well-written. Much to the point of being rather likable, relatable, and sympathetic. (i.e Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Mario and Chef Pee Pee from SuperMarioLogan, Roger Rabbit, Squidward Tentacles, Plankton, Fred and Scooter from SpongeBob Squarepants, Dr. Flug from Villainous, Butters from South Park, Abyo from Pucca, Coop Burtonburger from Kid vs. Kat, Johnny Bravo, Courage the Cowardly Dog and Tom and Jerry from Tom and Jerry for example.)
 * 25) * Even though the misfortune and mishaps are unwarranted and undeserved, but it helps make you sympathize and emphaize with their situations, as you see their perspective of life and see where they're coming from.