# Is there a name for a comic figure who revels in his/her own degeneracy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722 "2008-03-25T21:34:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/1 "2008-03-25T21:34:38Z")
I don’t think [“anti-hero”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-hero) is quite it – perhaps a **subset** of the anti-hero. (Anti-heroes can also be plain old losers or cowards or many other things that aren’t heroic.) I’m talking about characters like [Bender,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bender_%28Futurama%29) [Frenchy the Evil Clown,](http://www.nickbakay.com/archives/evil_clown/) [Pip the Troll](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pip_the_Troll) . . . [Falstaff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falstaff) is a borderline case; he’s a bundle of appetites and a debt-bilking scoundrel, but his wit and philosophical mindset might be argued to place him in a different category. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/2 "2008-03-25T21:37:32Z")
Lindsey Lohan? ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/3 "2008-03-25T21:42:03Z")
Maybe “[reprobate hero](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22reprobate+hero%22)”? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/4 "2008-03-25T21:42:59Z")
A “loveable rogue”? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/5 "2008-03-25T21:43:16Z")
A chromium-plated bounder? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/6 "2008-03-25T23:13:32Z")
Ah, the Cad. Don’t forget Flashman. I’d agree it’s a subset of anti-hero, a creature from the Id. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/7 "2008-03-26T00:53:09Z")
Would “Rabelaisian” or (much less commonly) “Trimalchian” do? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/8 "2008-03-26T01:09:40Z")
Never send an asshole to do a Rabelaisian’s job. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/9 "2008-03-26T04:24:24Z")
Dylan Moran? He’s played essentially the same character in **Notting Hill** , **Black Books** and **Run Fat Boy Run**. Read any review that mentions any of those characters and use what they said. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/10 "2008-03-26T10:07:11Z")
I came in here to suggest Bernard Black (of _Black Books_ fame), but **maggenpye** beat me to it. :smack: Dave Lister (from _Red Dwarf_) is a huge slob and proud of it, though, so he’d be another contender for the archetype, IMHO. Edmund Blackadder and Arnold Rimmer (_Blackadder_ and _Red Dwarf_ respectively) are complete and utter bastards and revel in it, so they’d be a similar but subset of anti-hero as well, but for slightly different reasons… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/11 "2008-03-26T10:10:05Z")
Rabelasian would suggest to me a degenerate situation or play, not a degenerate character, and still less one who revels in it - that is purely incidental. More examples include the Baby-eating Bishop of Bath and Wells (I’ll _do_ anything _to_ anything) from Blackadder, and, I suppose, Falstaff? Falstaffian? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/12 "2008-03-26T12:34:47Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] the Baby-eating Bishop of Bath and Wells (I’ll _do_ anything _to_ anything) [/QUOTE] That one made me think of Julian Noble, Pierce Brosnan’s character in _The Matador_. Some quotes: Julian Noble: Margaritas always taste better in Mexico. Danny Wright: They certainly do. Julian Noble: Margaritas and cock. Julian Noble: [after flirting with some Mexican schoolgirls] I hate these Catholic countries. It’s all blushy-blushy and no sucky-f&cky. Mr. Randy: Did you study the assignment? Julian Noble: No, I shredded it. Then I humped the bellboy on the room service cart. Mr. Randy: Goddamn it, Julian, you leave the game, even for a while, I don’t know if they’ll gonna let you back in. And then what the hell are you gonna do? Waste your days picking up illiterate teenagers for suck-and-f&ck sessions behind the Old Navy store? Julian Noble: Sounds delightful to me. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/13 "2008-03-26T13:33:24Z")
From current network sitcom-land, there’s Barney from _How I Met Your Mother_. From film, there’s Geoffrey Rush’s Marquis de Sade from _Quills_. From the stage, there’s Trekky-Monster from _Avenue Q_ (“The Internet is for porn!”) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/14 "2008-03-26T13:36:48Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] Edmund Blackadder and Arnold Rimmer (_Blackadder_ and _Red Dwarf_ respectively) are complete and utter bastards and revel in it, so they’d be a similar but subset of anti-hero as well, but for slightly different reasons… [/QUOTE] Edmund’s just a villainous protagonist, like Richard III but with a better knack for insults. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/15 "2008-03-26T16:34:58Z")
A **buffoon** , maybe? That’s how Papa Karamazov was described to me by the person who encouraged me to read the Dostoevski (sp?) book, and he definitely revels in his degeneracy…it’s hard to call the old reprobate a _hero_ by any stretch of the imagination, true, but certainly does cut a comical figure in some sequences of the book, like when he’s taunting the brother who gets all religious, or spinning a series of outrrageous lies which he knows nobody believes, just to stir up shit. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/16 "2008-03-26T17:20:41Z")
I agree with **E-Sabbath** ; I like cad. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/17 "2008-03-26T17:55:39Z")
“Lothario” perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/18 "2008-03-26T18:24:44Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] That one made me think of Julian Noble, Pierce Brosnan’s character in _The Matador_. [/QUOTE] I’m showing my age(or, better put, my youth) here, but I’m getting a huge amount of cognitive dissonance imagining James Bond saying those lines. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/19 "2008-03-26T18:38:37Z")
> [@](#): > > posted by **Rysto** > I’m showing my age(or, better put, my youth) here, but I’m getting a huge amount of cognitive dissonance imagining James Bond saying those lines. You should see _The Tailor of Panama_. Brosnan plays the Anti-Bond. The character is a British secret agent, and he drinks, and he smokes, and he chases women. But he comes across sleazy, rather than suave. As the movie progresses, you find yourself wishing he would lay off the booze, and praying that he uses condoms. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722/20 "2008-03-26T18:49:45Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [Falstaff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falstaff) is a borderline case; he’s a bundle of appetites and a debt-bilking scoundrel, but his wit and philosophical mindset might be argued to place him in a different category. [/QUOTE] Would John Belushi (in Animal House and arguably, real life) count for your purposes? He’s huge of appetite, degraded, but not actively malicious outside of pranksterism. I guess I’m having trouble defining what traits make up this character you’re trying to define…the suggested examples so far seem to vary more than I expected. Sailboat [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-a-comic-figure-who-revels-in-his-her-own-degeneracy/442722.md?page=2)