History JerkassWoobie / WesternAnimation

** It gets worse. In ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch The Search]]'', one can't help but pity her more. Her mental health is even ''worse'' than before, and she agrees [[spoiler:to help Zuko find their mother. However, her suspicions about her mother not loving her all that much are confirmed, especially when she learns she has a half-sister, who is a much more playful, sweet, and well-adjusted child.]]

** Homer Simpson. He is self-absorbed, hedonistic, dangerously irresponsible, [[AbusiveParent abusive to Bart]], treats his elderly father like dirt, has a very short temper, often doesn't give his loving and hard working wife much, if any consideration, and regularly "borrows" from Flanders and is often extremely rude to him and mean to him out of envy, annoyance, and ForTheLulz. However, he has attempted suicide numerous times, was molested by a ''panda'', he's '''very''' [[IronButtMonkey accident prone]], his marriage is often on shaky ground (sometimes when he isn't even at fault), his kids don't respect him, his [[ObnoxiousInLaws in-laws hate him]], his only regular friends are his drinking buddies and Moe who are often {{Fair Weather Friend}}s at best and Flanders, who Homer can barely stand, he's stuck with a job he hates under a ''very'' BadBoss for the sake of providing for his family that he had to ''twice'' give up a [[HappinessInMinimumWage job that payed less, but he was happier at for]] (second time, he was literally forced to come crawling back to Mr. Burns), often ends up sacrificing his happiness for his family in general, his family left him in The Simpsons Movie because of his jerkass tendencies and Marge banned him from the house because he didn't show up on Christmas, and all of his innocent buffoonery (and alcoholism) is actually an expression of his deep-seated self-destructive tendencies. Also he grew up with an [[AbusiveParent abusive father]] who told him his mother died. When Homer learns Mona is actually alive he assumes that she abandoned him for 27 years because he was a terrible person and she had no reason to love him. While [[DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou Mona and Homer do reconcile]] she later dies in such a way that leaves [[PartingWordsRegret Homer is wracked with guilt.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': Dr. Venture is an amoral {{Jerkass}} and arguably a VillainProtagonist, but his [[BreakTheCutie backstory]] and [[FutureLoser general patheticness]] make it hard not to feel bad for him.

* ''Franchise/TheJungleBook'': [[https://vimeo.com/18820867 Tabaqui]] from the 2012 DQ Entertainment CGI series. Yes, he tries to trick, trap, manipulate and lie to Mowgli several times but he suffers more physical and verbal abuse than any other character in the series, often leaving him a shivering and terrified wreck. His adorkable [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4dimam antics]] when he actually isn't up to something bad only makes him all the more cute and pitiful.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'':
** Oscar Proud may deserve some of the things that happen to him, but he is always emotionally abused by Suga Mama, humiliated by his rival Wizard Kelly, and is sometimes beaten up by his wife and mother. To add insult to injury, his abuse is played for laughs.
** Even Sugar Mama is this, in occasions. True, she treats Oscar as TheUnfavorite, but it is implied that she is one, too. It's a little hypocritical, but you still have to feel a little sympathy for her.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'';

** Poison Ivy of the same series, though it's far more apparent in the comic spin-off ''The Batman Strikes'' (which explores her character in more depth).

** Cosmo (for being lethally stupid, having a sort of AllOfTheOtherReindeer reputation among the other fairies, as well as having a mother who wants to ''kill'' Wanda.) and Wanda (for being the daughter of a mafia fairy (who didn't want her to get married at all and actively disapproves of their marriage) who is always dragged into Timmy's zany schemes and has to deal with a husband with the IQ of a coconut. Similar to Marge Simpson). Jerkass because sometimes they ''encourage'' Timmy's jerkish behaviour. Though they (and probably Timmy too) on their [[DependingOnTheWriter good days]] are more traditional examples of TheWoobie.
** Jorgen von Strangle, TheAhnold and a huge jerk who likes nothing more than to torment Timmy and his fairy cohorts, but the guy has a FriendlessBackground, due to said Jerkass tendencies, lost the love of his life the Tooth Fairy as of a recent season, and half the time is more of an IneffectualSympatheticVillain rather than a competent one. In his focus episodes he is shown to be a ButtMonkey and a pathetic wreck who can't even propose to the Tooth Fairy who he breaks up with on no fault of his own. In Pixies Inc for example, he's so pathetic you just want to hug him.

** Timmy Turner. Yes, he can be an insensitive jerk at times, but when you consider what his parents and babysitter are like, it's kind of understandable why he would act in such a way, and it makes you want to hug the poor guy. He has a villainous SadistTeacher(who, despite his ineptitude, would be a more nurturing parent than Timmy's own, barring Timmy having to stop Crocker's magic-related schemes), is constantly belittled for his appearance, is constantly beat up and bullied at school, and he was shown with explicit detail how the world would be far better off without him, which was reality essentially giving him a ReasonYouSuckSpeech. It's been explicitly stated he's gone to therapy several times, apparently since he was ''five'' (his parent's way of dealing with an imaginary friend). After all the only requisite to be granted a Fairy Godparent is to be '''the most miserable child in the world'''.

** Harley Quinn is definitely one of them. First off, despite working with The Joker, it's a rare day that in ''this'' [[TheVerse 'verse]] that she comes [[AntiVillain anywhere near true villainy herself]] ([[TheDragon not that she's not dangerous per-se]]). Second, her boyfriend's ''the Joker''. [[FridgeHorror Think about it]]. The closest she gets to a VillainSong is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6wLXj4-5A this lovely number]], which is her playing her own MasochismTango relationship ''[[PlayedForLaughs for laughs]]''. Which makes perfect sense given... [[VillainousHarlequin well,]] [[DontExplainTheJoke you know...]]

** On the show Eddy [[spoiler: even before the movie and TheReveal]] qualifies. While he is a [[SmallNameBigEgo vain,]] [[DirtyCoward cowardly,]] money-obsessed asshole who constantly tries to scam kids out of their hard earned money and abuses his only two friends, there is also the fact that the scams [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption almost never work,]] the main targets [[GrayAndGrayMorality aren't very innocent themselves,]] not to mention always [[DisproportionateRetribution going too far on their payback for said scams]] [[MisplacedRetribution (sometimes when Eddy hasn't even done anything),]] but also his two friends are Ed, who is LethallyStupid, and Edd, who never ceases to tell Eddy that all his plans are flawed, [[OnlySaneMan (usually with good reason)]] as being [[DramaQueen very melodramatic]]. Not to mention that his parents are hinted to be neglectful and his school teachers will give him detentions [[MisplacedRetribution for things he didn't do.]] It's hard not to feel bad for him sometimes.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Several major villains who repeatedly [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption try and fail]] to {{take over the world}}, but Dr. Drakken stands out for all the extra humiliation he suffers from his [[DeadpanSnarker sharp-tongued]] [[TheDragon partner in crime]], his [[SurroundedByIdiots inept henchmen]], and his utter inability to elicit [[DudeWheresMyRespect respect]], much less [[VillainCred fear]], from anyone. In one episode, it's revealed that his StartOfDarkness was triggered by merciless mockery ("we laughed for days") from his college friends (one of whom was Kim's father).

** In the second-to-last-episode of Book 3, P'Li—the [[BombThrowingAnarchists Red]] [[RenegadeSplinterFaction Lotus]]'s [[ColdSniper coldly aloof]], [[StatuesqueStunner 6'8"]] [[HavingABlast artillery]]—[[DarkAndTroubledPast reminisces]], in a teary-eyed, SoHappyTogether moment with [[UnholyMatrimony her boyfriend]] the ArcVillain, about how [[spoiler:he'd {{rescue|Romance}}d her from being a {{Child Soldier|s}}. Ten minutes later, she [[YourHeadASplode dies violently]]]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'': Jamie, [[TheHero Coop's]] [[{{Greed}} greedy]] CowardlySidekick, JerkAss and CasanovaWannabe who more often than not, adds nothing meaningful to the team or even his own friendship with Coop other then [[DeadpanSnarker snide remarks]] and occasionally trying find ways to profit off of their misadventures. He's also an insecure young man with no [[OnlyFriend friends outside of Coop (and later Kiva)]] and seemingly no life outside of the trio's adventures. Hence why he always tags along, despite regularly being put in perilous situations while on missions with Coop and Kiva.

** Even [[EvilOldFolks old Charles]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Montgomery]] [[BadBoss Burns]] (Mr. Burns for short), has his pitiful moments here and there. The episode, "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" has him trying to do good things for people to gain everyone's respect. In the episode "C.E.Doh", it's revealed that Burns' entire family and friends died out while he worked at the nuclear plant. You've got to feel some sympathy for the man after that, regardless of how evil he is.

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'': Tom is a mean cat that gets put through a lot of pain which is sometimes deserved and his own fault and sometimes happens because he's a huge ButtMonkey. He's also [[DrivenToSuicide attempted suicide]] [[WesternAnimation/BlueCatBlues at least once]] and, in the Creator/GeneDeitch shorts, is given [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals an owner who routinely and brutally beats the shit out of him]].

** The Golden Guard/Hunter is introduced as snarky, rude, taking great pleasure in putting other people in their place, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and having zero issue with stabbing his allies in the back]]. However, like Amity, his horrible attitude is a self-defense mechanism. As soon as he's treated with kindness, the Golden Guard mask falls away, revealing that Hunter is actually a kind, protective boy, whose moral compass has simply been skewed by years of religious propaganda and emotional abuse at the hands of his uncle, Emperor Belos. [[spoiler:After defecting from the Emperor's Coven and being shown kindness by Gus, Hunter continues to be snarky, but the outward hostility towards Luz and her friends disappears completely.]]

** On three occasions, Mojo Jojo. In "A Very Special Blossom", he almost gets blamed for something [[TemporarilyAVillain Blossom]] did when he was spending the whole episode not planning on committing crimes, but on wishing his deceased father a happy Father's Day, in "Candy Is Dandy", when he steals the candies the Mayor rewards the girls for saving the day, they take their usual beatings on him up a notch he's literally left a broken wreck, and in "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!", after he gives up hope for a perfect world due to being forced to quit trying to rule the world.

** Mojo Jojo in "A Very Special Blossom", when he almost gets blamed for something [[TemporarilyAVillain Blossom]] did when he was spending the whole episode not planning on committing crimes, but on wishing his deceased father a happy Father's Day, and in "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!", after he gives up hope for a perfect world due to being forced to quit trying to rule the world.

** On the show Eddy [[spoiler: even before the movie and TheReveal]] qualifies. While he is a [[SmallNameBigEgo vain,]] [[DirtyCoward cowardly,]] money-obsessed asshole who constantly tries to scam kids out of their hard earned money and abuses his only two friends, there is also the fact that the scams [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption almost never work,]] the main targets [[GrayAndGrayMorality aren't very innocent themselves,]] not to mention always [[DisproportionateRetribution going too far on their payback for said scams]] [[MisplacedRetribution (sometimes when Eddy hasn't even done anything),]] but also his two friends are Ed, who is LethallyStupid, and Edd, who never ceases to tell Eddy that all his plans are flawed, [[OnlySaneMan (usually with good reason)]] as being [[DramaQueen very melodramatic]] and SuperOCD. Not to mention that his parents are hinted to be neglectful and his school teachers will give him detentions [[MisplacedRetribution for things he didn't do.]] It's hard not to feel bad for him sometimes.

** More minor character Charlie Dog also qualifies as one. Sure, he forces himself to be Porky Pig's pet and he's very manipulative but he's also clearly homeless and faces constant rejection from several of his "masters". There's also the fact that he can pull off really adorable BeautifulTears.

** Buttercup. She can be mean and generally rude, but she's clearly TheUnFavorite, has the whole town turn against her simply because she refused to take a bath (something kids her age sometimes don't want to do), is not allowed to keep her security blanket ([[DoubleStandard while Bubbles is allowed to keep Octi]]) and she [[FlyingBrick does not have an individual superpower]]. When she gets a focus episode, it's usually about how [[MrViceGuy she is in the wrong]] even if she was [[CompressedVice never hinted to have that flaw before]]. Compare to Bubbles and Blossom who usually shine in their DayInTheLimelight episodes. Buttercup's very misunderstood and lets her anger take over her, even if her sisters are trying to help.

** Buttercup. She can be mean and generally rude, but she's clearly TheUnfavorite, has the whole town turn against her simply because she refused to take a bath (something kids her age sometimes don't want to do), is not allowed to keep her security blanket ([[DoubleStandard while Bubbles is allowed to keep Octi]]) and she [[FlyingBrick does not have an individual superpower]]. When she gets a focus episode, it's usually about how [[MrViceGuy she is in the wrong]] even if she was [[CompressedVice never hinted to have that flaw before]]. Compare to Bubbles and Blossom who usually shine in their DayInTheLimelight episodes. Buttercup's very misunderstood and lets her anger take over her, even if her sisters are trying to help.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': This trope can actually vary from [[DependingonTheWriter episode to episode]]:

** AP ([[BalefulPolymorph the former]] Captain Atomic) is the epitome of SmugSuper and tends to be [[GoodIsNotNice very rude]], but his transformation into a sock puppet has made him extremely unhappy. He's always afraid that his former friends won't take him back, the city's he's protected for years thinks he's abandoned them, and he's afraid of losing Joey, as it'll render him totally powerless (it's almost happened to him a few times). For the greatest superhero Mega City has known, he's pretty miserable as a puppet.

** In the second-to-last-episode of Book 3, P'Li—the [[BombThrowingAnarchists Red]] [[RenegadeSplinterFaction Lotus]]'s [[ColdSniper coldly aloof]], [[StatuesqueStunner 6'8"]] [[HavingABlast artillery]]—[[DarkAndTroubledPast reminisces]], in a [[CryCute teary-eyed]], SoHappyTogether moment with [[UnholyMatrimony her boyfriend]] the ArcVillain, about how [[spoiler:he'd {{rescue|Romance}}d her from being a {{Child Soldier|s}}. Ten minutes later, she [[YourHeadASplode dies violently]]]].

** More minor character Charlie Dog also qualifies as one. Sure, he forces himself to be Porky Pig's pet and he's very manipulative but he's also clearly homeless and faces constant rejection from several of his "masters". There's also the fact that he can pull off a really adorable CryCute.

* ''WesternAnimation/TrustMeImAGenie'': [[RascallyRaccoon Ziggy]] is an AntiHero genie, somewhere on the borderline of BenevolentGenie and a JackassGenie due to his ItsAllAboutMe attitude. He's selfish, short-tempered, sarcastic, a loudmouth, sneaky, verbally abusive at times and often lies, cheats and steals to help his master Diego fulfill his final wish so he can finally be set free. The woobie part of him comes in when you realize how messed up his magic got from sand being trapped in his can. He tries so hard for the final wish to succeed that it always comes close only for Ziggy to experience a YankTheDogsChain because his magic is defective. There are times when [[CryCute he's actually broken down in tears]] over the failed final wish and in the final episode, he gets treated like garbage from the other genies because of all his failed wishes and when he says his goodbye to Diego in the final episode because his master's wish succeeds, he looks to be on the verge of tears. Possibly, because he's saying goodbye to his best (and possibly one of his only) friends in the whole world. On top of all this, Ziggy looks like an adorable and cuddly purple raccoon to contrast his mean personality.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse''. Amity is your standard AcademicAlphaBitch, but the show is quick to show that much of her holier-than-thou behavior is a front she developed in order to hide her InferioritySuperiorityComplex and deal with the endless mockery and teasing from [[BigBrotherBully her older siblings]]. She's ''far'' more amicable when her peers aren't present, and her diary entries reveal that she does feel guilty about being mean to her classmates, but feels that doing otherwise would be showing weakness. Her behavior towards the main character in particular was a result of her being unable to tell if Luz was [[NotWhatItLooksLike intentionally being a jerk or not]]. She was also particular harsh towards [[TheWoobie Willow]], [[spoiler: but [[WeUsedToBeFriends the two used to be extremely close friends]] and it was ultimately [[RichBitch her parents]] that forbade her from being Willow's friend]].

** [[CatsAreMean Kitty]] is the best friend of the Bunny appearing in the two-parter "The Mask." Developing a deep hatred towards dogs because of Bunny's [[BastardBoyfriend boyfriend]], Kitty arrives at the Bagge residence, and viciously beats Courage for no other reason than because he's a dog. When Courage successfully saves Bunny, Kitty learns the error of her ways and genuinely expresses her gratitude towards Courage.

** Lisa is an insufferable SoapboxSadie who takes on pet causes for no good reason (though often, but not always, her reasons are good: in the movie she single-handedly delays the eco-catastrophy that the lake becomes) and isn't ashamed to admit she thinks she's better than everyone else in Springfield, often acts like her family is all bad even though ''all of them'', even Bart, have been willing to make sacrifices for her multiple times, and is often very hypocritical, especially when it comes to her reher relationship to Bart. She's also completely alone, with a family that usually doesn't even try to help her or share her interests, her friends (on the occasion that she has any) aren't much better either, and she's one of the few people that actually ''tries'' to make their CrapSackWorld better while everyone else usually just falls into blissful complacency and ignorance.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': Wheeler is a somewhat insensitive [[KnightInSourArmor reluctant hero]] with a short fuse and a tendency to flirt with every girl he sees. Of all the Planeteers, he's probably the closest to the eco-villains. However, this is mostly out of ignorance rather than malice or lack of concern and growing up poor in New York City explains why he doesn't know much about the environment. As a child, his alcoholic father constantly called him a loser; as a teenager, he's frequently criticized by his teammates for his stance on every issue ([[StrawmanHasAPoint even when he has a point]]). [[ButtMonkey He's also the target for every unfortunate thing possible.]] Combine this with his [[BruiserWithASoftCenter soft center]] and his heroic protective instincts, and it's no surprise that some fans find him UnintentionallySympathetic.