History Main / TheComicallySerious

* Ace from ''[=~Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors~=]'', especially around Santa.

** And Kakashi. Remember his reaction when Lee [[Funny/{{Naruto}} takes off his heavy wrist/leg bands upon Gai's request? As everyone is all OMG WTF BBQ, he just covers his masked face and thinks "[[CaptainObvious You really overdid it, Gai...]]" To enjoy a true "what the?" reaction from Kakashi, see [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=kakashi+shippuuden#/d1imui7 the beginning of his fight against Naruto and Sakura in Shippuuden]].

Just because [[NoSenseOfHumor a character doesn't have a sense of humor themselves]] doesn't mean that they can't make the audience laugh. TheComicallySerious is a character who ostensibly has a serious, composed personality, but is funny because [[WeirdnessMagnet he or she is put into funny situations]]. This works with character types who react calmly and realistically to otherwise unusual situations, such as the DeadpanSnarker, TheStoic, and TheQuietOne.

* Squall Leonhart of ''FinalFantasyVIII'', because ThereAreNoTherapists on his planet to tell him that getting over your missing sister by ''joining a PMC at five years old'' isn't a very good idea.

Formerly called "Unfunny," the trope was renamed [[IThoughtItMeant due to being misinterpreted as]] anything which is not funny.

Formerly called "The Unfunny."

* Dr. K from ''PowerRangersRPM''. For a character who is a complete DeadpanSnarker with NoSocialSkills, she provides almost as much humor as the designated ButtMonkey of the series. It mainly comes from the fact that she is often placed in socially awkward situations. (See "Ranger Yellow, Part 2", "Doctor K", and ''especially'' "In Or Out" for proof.)

* ''TheMelancholyofHaruhiSuzumiya''

** A filler episode set soon after Enies Lobby uses this as its entire premise (the title, "Zoro's Slapstick Housework Help" should tell you everything you need to know)

* Cable to Deadpool's antics.

* Batman. Batman, Batman, Batman.[[hottip:*: na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Series/Batman!]]

* Batman. Batman, Batman, Batman.

Just because [[NoSenseOfHumor a character doesn't have a sense of humor themselves]] doesn't mean that they can't make the audience laugh. TheUnfunny is a character who ostensibly has a serious, composed personality, but is funny because [[WeirdnessMagnet he or she is put into funny situations]]. This works with character types who react calmly and realistically to otherwise unusual situations, such as the DeadpanSnarker, TheStoic, and TheQuietOne.

* Rare female examples within ''AzumangaDaioh'' with the [[EmotionlessGirl emotionally repressed]] Sakaki and the [[StraightMan stern]] Yomi. To be fair, Sakaki ''is'' pretty funny herself, if you consider what is shown to go through her mind during half the situations. Yomi is more of the Unfunny one. In one episode, Yomi does demonstrate a rather vicious, almost mean-spirited, sense of humour; when she deceptively convinces Osaka -- who declares herself unable to handle any kind of spicy food -- to eat a piece of her extremely spicy croquettes, with predictable results. Lampshaded by the other characters.

* ''CodeGeass'' - Part of the appeal of LadyOfWar Cornelia li Brittania is the potential for unfunny in just about any comedic situation she could be put into. Fanartists have caught onto this, and she's frequently shown looking flustered in comparison to the other characters. Canon toys a bit with this, considering the reaction she had to Clovis's [[ChivalrousPervert raunchy swimsuits]]. And Cornelia was ''naked'' or at least topless when she commented on how Euphie shouldn't wear any of them. She was concerned about wearing one herself, and it was quite amusing to hear Euphie forcibly putting one on her.

** [[spoiler:Fate]], of all people, had an Unfunny moment. His companions really didn't know how to react to it... What was his moment? [[spoiler:Fate's PetTheDog moment with his severed arm.]]

* Out of the lot of the [[VillainProtagonist villainous]] ''SecretSix'', the role of Unfunny goes to Bane. It says something when you try to act fatherly to a grown woman by treating her like a ten year old.

* [[RobotGirl Cameron]] of ''TheSarahConnorChronicles'' is a solid example of this, when she is put in absurd or socially delicate situations, and tends to react in an extremely straightforward and practical manner. Jonh Henry and Catherine Weaver tend to be this, too. The odd thing here is how much quiet comedy the writers generate between two unfunny characters.

The {{WWE}} [[{{Flanderisation}} Flanderised]] him into a robot-like [[TheStoic Stoic]] who would later [[BadassDecay learn how to have "fun" and dance his way down to the ring]]. It's a far cry from his {{WCW}} and {{ECW}} days, where he was both {{Unfunny}} ''and'' {{Badass}}.

** And Kakashi. Remember his reaction when [[Funny/{{Naruto}} Lee takes off his heavy wrist/leg bands upon Gai's request]]? As everyone is all OMG WTF BBQ, he just covers his masked face and thinks "[[CaptainObvious You really overdid it, Gai...]]" To enjoy a true "what the?" reaction from Kakashi, see [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=kakashi+shippuuden#/d1imui7 the beginning of his fight against Naruto and Sakura in Shippuuden]].

* Hard as it may be to believe these days, but in his original golden age comics by creator Jack Cole, '''''Plastic Man''''' was the straight man surrounded by lunatics.
** Justified as back then PlasticMan was a former criminal and was guilty of some rather serious crimes.

* ''[[{{Terminator}} series'' - The Terminators often have moments like this, due to having NoSocialSkills.
* Two words... [[MenInBlack Agent K]]. So much so that when they were filming the first movie, Tommy Lee Jones was worried he wouldn't be funny, and they had to keep reassuring him that Agent K would be funny in context. He was.

* Buster Keaton started his unfunny act young. Working with his father on the stage, he was continually told to "freeze the puss" because a puzzled or frowning face after a gag made the audience laugh harder. This later carried over to his film career - when he's on screen, his face is a worried blank, his body is ramrod straight but his ''legs'' do the talking.
** A biography of him explained this trope in action. As a child performer he wore a suitcase handle on the back of his jacket, allowing the adults to literally pick him up and toss him around the stage. The act ended with him getting shoved through a bass drum. If he emerged from the drum smiling and waving at the audience (to assure them he was unharmed), people assumed he was being abused and that the smiling was just something he had been ordered to do. If he kept his face deadpan throughout, he brought the house down every time.

* Oddly enough, Otis Driftwood in ''TheDevilsRejects'' is this when with Captain Spaulding and Baby Firefly.

** Miles Edgeworth. Particularly notable whenever an elderly female witness is on the stand. Edgeworth is ''[[{{Bishonen}} irresistible]]''.
*** Calisto Yew from ''Investigations'' lamphades this by noting Edgeworth's serious demeanor makes her laugh uncontrollably.

* The ''{{PPC}}'' universe is ruled by the Laws of Comedy, which require that any character who thinks they have dignity immediately loses it.

Can also be used to describe an entire branch of BritCom.

Not to be confused with DudeNotFunny, NoSenseOfHumor, SeinfeldIsUnfunny, or SoUnfunnyItsFunny.

** Byakuya Kuchiki in the omakes. He makes a joke. Once. It makes Renji FreakOut.
*** His obsession with Seaweed Ambassador. Also, he loves his bunny drawings.

* Rare female examples within ''AzumangaDaioh'' with the [[EmotionlessGirl emotionally repressed]] Sakaki and the [[StraightMan stern]] Yomi. To be fair, Sakaki ''is'' pretty funny herself, if you consider what is shown to go through her mind during half the situations. Yomi is more of the Unfunny one.
** In one episode, Yomi does demonstrate a rather vicious, almost mean-spirited, sense of humour; when she deceptively convinces Osaka -- who declares herself unable to handle any kind of spicy food -- to eat a piece of her extremely spicy croquettes, with predictable results. Lampshaded by the other characters.
* ''[[KeroroGunsou Sergeant Frog]]'' {{lampshade}}s and spoofs this relentlessly with no-nonsense {{Badass}} soldier Giroro.

** Zoro and Usopp are cuffed together while facing two opponents. With a totally serious face throughout, Zoro goes...

Zoro still is completely serious even as he executes his (innovative but completely ridiculous) plan. [[http://scottthong.wordpress.com/2007/12/25/the-katanas-name-is-sogeking/ See it to believe it.]]

** One of the few fillers worth watching [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAO0E69-EgI has Neji spazzing out when he eats curry.]] Were it anyone else making those expression, it wouldn't be as funny.
** This trope is probably why Episode 101 is so popular despite being filler.
** Also, Shino. Is it really anyone wonder they dedicated an entire filler episode to [[strike:getting]] drugging him to laugh?
*** His return of him sulking because Naruto failed to recognize him right away.
*** Also his reaction to his bugs being eaten by that anteater.
** And Kakashi. Remember his reaction when [[Funny/{{Naruto}} Lee takes off his heavy wrist/leg bands upon Gai's request]]? As everyone is all OMG WTF BBQ, he just covers his masked face and thinks "[[CaptainObvious You really overdid it, Gai...]]"
*** To enjoy a true WTF reaction from Kakashi, see [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=kakashi+shippuuden#/d1imui7 the beginning of his fight against Naruto and Sakura in Shippuuden]].

* Vanilla from GalaxyAngel, less so in the video games. A [[TheStoic stoic]], EmotionlessGirl couldn't possible be funny, right? [[BewareTheNiceOnes You'd be wrong.]]

* ''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' - Joseph Joestar in his youth once tried to sneak into a Nazi base dressed as a woman. A 6-foot-plus, musclebound woman. When the soldiers freak out and raise their guns, he is genuinely shocked that his disguise failed. Jotaro Kujoh meanwhile has a perfect poker face, as he demonstrates to good effect when gambling against D'Arbsoule
* Stein from SoulEater with his RunningGag of him not be able to slide in a office chair without falling.

* {{Terminator}}s often have moments like this, due to having NoSocialSkills.

* Again, SethGreen as Oz in ''{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}''. Also, Giles and Angel.

** Tuvok was often paired with goofy AlienScrappy Neelix. Interestingly, in a flashback, Sulu commented that Tuvok was stuck up, even for a Vulcan. (Sulu implicitly compares him to Spock.) Which leads to the hilarious image of him being the Unfunny in a group of Vulcans.
*** Tuvok actually ''does'' have a rather pronounced sense of humour -- it's just very dry, even by Vulcan standards, and he doesn't share it with strangers as readily as Spock (who was forever mocking everyone with that eyebrow and almost-smirk of his). Tuvok tended to favour dry quips (and even the occasional epic pun - see ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708936/quotes Night]]'').
** This trope was attempted in an episode where Data discovers the concept of humor and attempts to learn to tell jokes and stand-up. The image of Data, an Unfunny on par with Worf, trying to tell jokes and failing miserably is - on paper - more hilarious than the jokes themselves could ever hope to be.
*** Unfortunately, to say they misfired would be a dramatic understatement -- the resulting episode, "The Outrageous Okona", is regarded as one of the worst in the entire ''Trek'' canon. He can hardly be blamed for getting it wrong considering the jokes being endorsed by Guinan and [[InformedAbility the greatest comedian of the 20th century.]] "Because you're a 'droid and I'm a 'noid."

** Wrestler Steve Blackman often served as the Unfunny in a tag team with one of the federation's wackier wrestlers, including {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Al Snow and white-boy wannabe rapper Grandmaster Sexay. "If I can be serious for a moment..." {{WCW}}/{{WWE}}/{{ECW}} alumnus Lance Storm also used a (fairly humorous) Unfunny gimmick. ("Your days of unabashed hijinks are about to end.")
*** {{WWE}} [[{{Flanderisation}} Flanderised]] him into a robot-like [[TheStoic Stoic]] who would later [[BadassDecay learn how to have "fun" and dance his way down to the ring]]. It's a far cry from his {{WCW}} and {{ECW}} days, where he was both {{Unfunny}} ''and'' {{Badass}}.

* Roy is the realistic DeadpanSnarker and StraightMan to the rest of his party's wacky hijinks in the ''{{Order of the Stick}}''. [[spoiler:His death]] has led to the rest of the party having various breakdowns both comedically and mentally.

* Agent Washington from ''RedVsBlue Reconstruction'' behaves like an actual agent from a secret military in the future. Contrasts well with the whacky mishaps the main cast. The red and blue armies also do this, by tying Caboose up in the brig and putting Grif and Simmons in front of a firing squad.\\

* This is the entire point of ''[[http://averagecats.com Average Cats]]'' -- it's hilarious precisely because the captions are matter-of-fact and serious.
** The captions also sometimes venture into SuspiciouslySpecificDenial. They never stop being {{Unfunny}}.

** Batman often plays the Unfunny role on ''JusticeLeague''.

** Another rare female example is the {{Emotionless|Girl}} Mai, similarly foiled with being accompanied by a cheerful, bubbly {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.

* [[TheSimpsons Marge and Lisa Simpson]].
** The episode "Brother From Another Series" revealed that this trope is why Sideshow Bob became Krusty the Clown's sidekick instead of his brother Cecil. As [[TheKrusty Krusty]] explains after a poor pie-in-the-face gag from Cecil's [[NonIronicClown straightforward goofy clown]] audition:

* Craig from ''{{South Park}}.''

* [[FamilyGuy Meg, Brian, and Lois Griffin]].
* [[PinkyAndTheBrain The Brain]].

[[redirect:{{Unfunny}}]]

[[quoteright:175:[[{{Batman}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cit_batman_and_baby_-_crimefighting_duo.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:175:Batman and Baby, [[TheyFightCrime crime-fighting duo]].]]

Just because [[NoSenseOfHumor a character doesn't have a sense of humor themselves]] doesn't mean that they can't make the audience laugh. TheComicallySerious is a character who ostensibly has a serious, composed personality, but is funny because [[WeirdnessMagnet he or she is put into funny situations]]. This works with character types who react calmly and realistically to otherwise unusual situations, such as the DeadpanSnarker, TheStoic, and TheQuietOne.

Typically works as a StraightMan in the cast, although they may have [[FearOfThunder some odd]] [[CutenessProximity weakness]]. Often, they become the victim of NotSoAboveItAll.

Can also be used to describe an entire branch of BritCom.

Not to be confused with DudeNotFunny, NoSenseOfHumor, SeinfeldIsUnfunny, or SoUnfunnyItsFunny.

----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''KarakuriCircus'' - Narumi's [[NoSenseOfHumor nonexistent sense of humor]] is a problem - because only causing someone to laugh will halt his IncurableCoughOfDeath. Crosses over into SoUnfunnyItsFunny, at times.
* Raven from ''{{Gravion}}'', albeit this is a result of literal BecomingTheMask. [[spoiler: Ayaka, the current "Raven" is a woman and far more emotional than her unfunny alterego.]]
* Hitomonji Kobyashi in ''TenshiNaKonamaiki''.
* ''{{Bleach}}''
** Toshiro Hitsugaya and Uryuu Ishida.
** Byakuya Kuchiki in the omakes. He makes a joke. Once. It makes Renji FreakOut.
*** His obsession with Seaweed Ambassador. Also, he loves his bunny drawings.
* Jin in ''SamuraiChamploo.'' At first glance, he comes off as a [[TheStoic stoic]], cool, smooth, handsome {{badass}}, but then the series proceeds to place him in some of the most comedic of situations alongside his companions. This includes a torture montage, working at an eel stand, getting a sore back after a night with unattractive courtesans, having to pretend to be a tour guide to win back his pawned swords, and dressing up as a female prostitute.
* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''
** During the ''very'' rare occasions of humor, [[ManipulativeBastard Commander Gendoh Ikari]] and [[TheStoic Professor Kouzou Fuyutsuki]] fit this perfectly. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "It's hot". "Yes".]]
** Gendoh can also stare depressingly at Eva-01... while in an orange raincoat.
** There's also something funny about Fuyutsuki {{facepalm}}ing and muttering "Those kids are embarrassing us again..." when Shinji and Asuka are bickering at the end of Episode 9.
* In the first ''FullmetalAlchemist'' anime, Roy Mustang is like this up until he's confronted with [[TeamPet Black Hayate]] and gives a speech about how he [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxGUPobyLIs loves dogs]]! Later in the episode, he reveals that his first executive order as Fuhrer President would be to make all female army personnel wear... ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMmcIgwC58k tiny minskirts]]!''
** His lieutenant Riza Hawkeye is a rare female example in the manga omake, doing such things as trying to measure Ed's height against his will, introducing her dog and responding to Mustang's musing that he might want to grow some facial hair by [[FaceDoodling drawing on his face with a marker]] all with [[TheStoic a completely straight face]] .
* Seto Kaiba from ''[=~Yu-Gi-Oh!~=]''.
* Rare female examples within ''AzumangaDaioh'' with the [[EmotionlessGirl emotionally repressed]] Sakaki and the [[StraightMan stern]] Yomi. To be fair, Sakaki ''is'' pretty funny herself, if you consider what is shown to go through her mind during half the situations. Yomi is more of the Unfunny one.
** In one episode, Yomi does demonstrate a rather vicious, almost mean-spirited, sense of humour; when she deceptively convinces Osaka -- who declares herself unable to handle any kind of spicy food -- to eat a piece of her extremely spicy croquettes, with predictable results. Lampshaded by the other characters.
* ''[[KeroroGunsou Sergeant Frog]]'' {{lampshade}}s and spoofs this relentlessly with no-nonsense {{Badass}} soldier Giroro.
* ''SailorMoon'' - Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mas is a pretty serious guy, but can sometimes lapse into this. Particularly when his child-like girlfriend Usagi/Moon (or any of the Sailor Senshi) say or do something that is so over-the-top all he can do is stare at them with a look that says "Moving right along..." Haruka/Uranus also slips once or twice into this.
* ''TheMelancholyofHaruhiSuzumiya''
** Kyon, who is also the DeadpanSnarker; his creativity and sense of wonder is likely just repressed, though. His aloofness doesn't prevent him from getting stuck in alternate worlds with a [[MagicalGirlfriend Magical]] SheIsNotMyGirlfriend, or from finding himself smack-dab in the middle of mysterious murder cases.
** Yuki Nagato is another example, reacting with [[TheStoic robotic coldness]] to all the wacky hijinks created by Haruhi and Mikuru. Yuki herself is not above a friendly prank or two. Even if she doesn't show external signs of enjoying it...
** Kyon's [[GenderFlip genderbent]] counterpart, [[FanFic/SuzumiyaHaruhiNoSeitenkan Kyonko]], is [[strike:even better at this than the original]] this trope incarnate.
* Juubei Kakei in ''GetBackers'' (at least as an adult). Toss in blindness, unfamiliarity with the modern world, and copious amounts of HoYay. And for extra hilarity, they told him he wasn't funny. He was ''devastated''.
* Zelgadiss from ''TheSlayers''. Which ''of course'' makes him [[ButtMonkey the butt of jokes]] once the series goes comedic.
* Somehow, Unfunny Hatori Sohma from ''FruitsBasket'' manages to put up with ChivalrousPervert Shigure Sohma and WhiteHairedPrettyBoy Ayame Sohma. Hatori is the only serious one of the three, [[NoSenseOfHumor without much of a sense of humour]]. Although this is justified, given his traumatic past. Maybe he's just plain tired of Shigure and Ayame's antics, after all this time?
* ''CodeGeass'' - Part of the appeal of LadyOfWar Cornelia li Brittania is the potential for unfunny in just about any comedic situation she could be put into. Fanartists have caught onto this, and she's frequently shown looking flustered in comparison to the other characters. Canon toys a bit with this, considering the reaction she had to Clovis's [[ChivalrousPervert raunchy swimsuits]]. And Cornelia was ''naked'' or at least topless when she commented on how Euphie shouldn't wear any of them. She was concerned about wearing one herself, and it was quite amusing to hear Euphie forcibly putting one on her.
* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' - Chrono's expression of cold professionalism remains the same even when he's wearing a bandage tied as a ribbon, combing down a coworker's IdiotHair, or lightening up the atmosphere with a joke.
* Re-L in ''ErgoProxy'' gets this a couple of times, due to her being a Very Serious Intelligence Operative...who ended up WalkingTheEarth with Vincent, who is effectively TheFool with superpowers.
* ''OnePiece''
** Zoro. He plays both 'badass' and 'buffoon' very well, but what makes it funny is that he's ''so serious'' the whole time.
** A filler episode set soon after Enies Lobby uses this as its entire premise (the title, "Zoro's Slapstick Housework Help" should tell you everything you need to know)
** He borders on being a ComedicSociopath. He's a cold-blooded killer, but when he angrily shouts at and threatens someone for giving him directions when he gets lost on a ''straight, narrow '''cliff''''', you know you're supposed to laugh at him.
** Zoro and Usopp are cuffed together while facing two opponents. With a totally serious face throughout, Zoro goes...
--->Zoro: I have a plan. We play rock-paper-scissors. The loser cuts off his hand.
--->Usopp: How can you say such a scary thing with a straight face!
--->Zoro: I'm not finished. Then he goes and gets Chopper to sew it back on.
--->Usopp: We're not rag dolls!!
--->Zoro: I have another idea...
--->Usopp: I don't wanna hear it!!!
Zoro still is completely serious even as he executes his (innovative but completely ridiculous) plan. [[http://scottthong.wordpress.com/2007/12/25/the-katanas-name-is-sogeking/ See it to believe it.]]
** Nico Robin is another example, especially given she's the only crew member who never adopts crazy facial expressions when shocked or angry. She once calmly remarked how she knew Zoro hadn't been eaten by a shark because the water hadn't turned red, much to her crewmates' shock. She's also an occasional StraightMan for the crew's antics.
** And a less prominent character who is a notably perfect example: During the Enies Lobby showdown, Cipher Pol 9 agent [[spoiler: Kaku]] takes this trope to hilarious lengths (all ye who have not watched his fight with Zoro, spoil at your own risk): [[spoiler: not only does he turn into a ridiculous block-nosed giraffe-man, he gets ''defensive'' about it, and says things like "Witness the power of a giraffe!" all while keeping a perfectly straight face. Using attacks like "Giraffe Canon" and "Nose Gun" is several times funnier just because of how absurdly seriously Kaku takes himself.]] No wonder he came in 9th in the following popularity poll.
** Jinbei is starting to evolve into one by virtue of hanging out with [[spoiler: Luffy and Hancock on Amazon Lily]].
* Tezuka and Sanada from ''{{The Prince of Tennis}}'', especially in the "chibi" episodes. Preceded by Rukawa, Akagi, Maki and Uozumi from ''SlamDunk''.
* ''FullMetalPanic'' - Sousuke Sagara. At least it tends to actually be his fault, though. He eventually plays the straight man ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny to his own mecha]]''.
* ''MahouSenseiNegima''
** Occasionally Setsuna acts like this. Her mentor-figure Eishun played this to comical absurdity in his own group.
** [[spoiler:Fate]], of all people, had an Unfunny moment. His companions really didn't know how to react to it... What was his moment? [[spoiler:Fate's PetTheDog moment with his severed arm.]]
** Chisame also qualifies on some occasions; most of her humor concerns her reactions to whatever absurd situation she ends up in.
** And in Cosmo Entelechia, we have [[spoiler: Dynamis]], who can be a really really LargeHam, but is ''always'' dead serious.
* Mai Kawasumi in ''{{Kanon}}'', due to her uniqueness in ''not'' rising to all of Yuichi's jokes and kidding. Just watch her at lunch or when Yuichi considers groping her just to get some kind of a reaction... and nearly getting beheaded before even starting to move.
* ''{{Naruto}}''
** Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuuga work out like this, though moreso in the anime. Of course, when something funny actually happens to them, it's just that much better. Seeing Sasuke with [[BlankWhiteEyes those white circle eyes]] is good for a laugh.
** One of the few fillers worth watching [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAO0E69-EgI has Neji spazzing out when he eats curry.]] Were it anyone else making those expression, it wouldn't be as funny.
** This trope is probably why Episode 101 is so popular despite being filler.
** Also, Shino. Is it really anyone wonder they dedicated an entire filler episode to [[strike:getting]] drugging him to laugh?
*** His return of him sulking because Naruto failed to recognize him right away.
*** Also his reaction to his bugs being eaten by that anteater.
** And Kakashi. Remember his reaction when [[Funny/{{Naruto}} Lee takes off his heavy wrist/leg bands upon Gai's request]]? As everyone is all OMG WTF BBQ, he just covers his masked face and thinks "[[CaptainObvious You really overdid it, Gai...]]"
*** To enjoy a true WTF reaction from Kakashi, see [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=kakashi+shippuuden#/d1imui7 the beginning of his fight against Naruto and Sakura in Shippuuden]].
** And Sai, too. His reaction to Konohamaru's yaoi version of the Sexy no Jutsu, which involves him and Sasuke naked? [[DeadpanSnarker "Ah, so that's me."]]
* Giovanni from the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' cartoon. Which of course, only makes Meowth's progressively delusional {{Imagine Spot}}s that much weirder.
* One of the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny highlights]] of the ''DarkerThanBlack'' OVA episode (which spoofs the main series) is the resident EmotionlessGirl reciting [[CovertPervert smutty yaoi fanfic]] in a dead-serious CreepyMonotone.
* Vanilla from GalaxyAngel, less so in the video games. A [[TheStoic stoic]], EmotionlessGirl couldn't possible be funny, right? [[BewareTheNiceOnes You'd be wrong.]]
* In the recent crossover movie between LupinIII and DetectiveConan, [[ImplausibleFencingPowers Goemon]] jumps from a plane and cuts through several floors of a building on his way to land in the vault. Once there, he says [[CatchPhrase "Once again I have cut a worthless object"]] as usual, completely serious... and his legs are wobbling from the impact, seemingly unnoticed. This is not the first time he has done something like this. He tries so very ''hard'' to be serious and dignified... but when he hangs out with [[CrazyAwesome Lu]][[LovableSexManiac pin]]...
* Hayato Akaba from ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' remains almost completely stone-faced while striking goofy rock-star poses for no apparent reason. He also has a tendency to make convoluted music metaphors with the same completely serious expression. Seijuro Shin of the Oujou White Knight sometimes gets this as well.
* ''PaniPoniDash'' - Rei Tachibana. Nothing makes her humorless nature more glaring than when her pissed-off face takes up two thirds of the screen while [[GenkiGirl Himeko]] rises up on the remaining one-third and shoots off her motormouth while rocking side-to-side.
* ''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'' - Joseph Joestar in his youth once tried to sneak into a Nazi base dressed as a woman. A 6-foot-plus, musclebound woman. When the soldiers freak out and raise their guns, he is genuinely shocked that his disguise failed. Jotaro Kujoh meanwhile has a perfect poker face, as he demonstrates to good effect when gambling against D'Arbsoule
* Stein from SoulEater with his RunningGag of him not be able to slide in a office chair without falling.
-->Let me try that again.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comics ]]
* Comicbook/{{Batman}} often plays the unfunny role. Anything can be made funnier by adding Batman as the straight guy. A rare exception is found in the ''TheKillingJoke'', [[spoiler: when The Joker tells him [[ActuallyPrettyFunny a joke that makes them both laugh]].]] More typically: In "Hush", when Nightwing and Batman are in the Batmobile discussing Catwoman (well, Nightwing is discussing her... Batman is glaring off into the distance ignoring him):
---> '''Nightwing:''' ''If you don't want to talk with someone, why do you even have a passenger seat in the Batmobile?''
---> '''Batman:''' ''Balance.''
---> '''Nightwing:''' ''...was that a joke? [pause] Of course not.''
--->-- ''Hush''
* To a lesser extent, {{Wolverine}} tends to be this. Whenever he teams up with young girls (which happens more often than you might think) it tends to be a mix between CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming and CrowningMomentOfFunny.
* Hard as it may be to believe these days, but in his original golden age comics by creator Jack Cole, '''''Plastic Man''''' was the straight man surrounded by lunatics.
** Justified as back then PlasticMan was a former criminal and was guilty of some rather serious crimes.
* Out of the lot of the [[VillainProtagonist villainous]] ''SecretSix'', the role of Unfunny goes to Bane. It says something when you try to act fatherly to a grown woman by treating her like a ten year old.
* ''MoonKnight'' - The title character is something of a CaptainErsatz of Batman, usually takes this role when played against Spider-Man. Moon Knight is also insane DependingOnTheWriter. For example, during super-hero rooftop meeting in UltimateSpiderMan #107:
-->'''Spider-Man''': Don't mind me, I'm just here for the chicken wings.
-->'''Moon Knight''' ''confused'': There... [[CrowningMomentOfFunny There are no chicken wings.]]
* Cable to Deadpool's antics.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Just about any character played by ChristopherWalken.
* SethGreen as Scott Evil in ''AustinPowers''.
* Leslie Nielsen was a somewhat successful dramatic actor. When Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker came along and had him act the exact same way in a crazy situation in their film ''{{Airplane}}!'', it made him a comedy auteur. The rest is history. Hence LeslieNielsenSyndrome: it is difficult to impossible to watch older Leslie Nielsen films without stifling inappropriate giggles -- including such classics as ''ForbiddenPlanet''. Lloyd Bridges as Commander Cain in the original ''BattlestarGalactica'' can induce a similar reaction, having spoofed such military commander roles in ''HotShots''.
* ''{{Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}'': Graham Chapman plays King Arthur completely straight through some of the most absurd moments in theatrical history, his stodginess in the face of carefree lunacy played for laughs.
* {{Terminator}}s often have moments like this, due to having NoSocialSkills.
* Two words... [[MenInBlack Agent K]]. So much so that when they were filming the first movie, Tommy Lee Jones was worried he wouldn't be funny, and they had to keep reassuring him that Agent K would be funny in context. He was.
* [[TheGrimReaper Death]] in ''[[BillAndTed Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey]]'' gets a creepy introduction when he arrives to take Bill and Ted to Hell. He promptly gets Melvined by them and spends the rest of the film desperately trying to regain his dignity, which is shattered over and over again the more time he spends with them. In the end he decides 'Screw It', and becomes their bass player.
* Buster Keaton started his unfunny act young. Working with his father on the stage, he was continually told to "freeze the puss" because a puzzled or frowning face after a gag made the audience laugh harder. This later carried over to his film career - when he's on screen, his face is a worried blank, his body is ramrod straight but his ''legs'' do the talking.
** A biography of him explained this trope in action. As a child performer he wore a suitcase handle on the back of his jacket, allowing the adults to literally pick him up and toss him around the stage. The act ended with him getting shoved through a bass drum. If he emerged from the drum smiling and waving at the audience (to assure them he was unharmed), people assumed he was being abused and that the smiling was just something he had been ordered to do. If he kept his face deadpan throughout, he brought the house down every time.
* ''HarryPotter'' - AlanRickman's subdued performance as Snape is sometimes this, especially in the later films (Cormack puking on his shoes comes to mind).
* Oddly enough, Otis Driftwood in ''TheDevilsRejects'' is this when with Captain Spaulding and Baby Firefly.
* ''{{Inception}}'' - Arthur, as he's the most serious in the [[BadassCrew Dream Team]] and smiles but twice in the whole film. He does have a [[DeadpanSnarker sense of humour]] though.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature]]
* Most of the characters in the ''{{Discworld}}'' universe, but [[DeadpanSnarker Vetinari]] and [[DaChief Vimes]] particularly stick out. Also [[NeverMessWithGranny Granny Weatherwax]]. Just look at her experience with theater in ''Discworld/WyrdSisters''.
* In the ''SwordOfTruth'' series, Nicci, after her HeelFaceTurn, [[TheStoic very]] [[DeadpanSnarker much]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny so]].
* The narrator of ''TheRemainsOfTheDay'' is a butler who's trying very hard to develop a sense of humor late in life, because he thinks his new employer would appreciate it. His SpockSpeak WallOfText musings on the subject are very funny, [[DownerEnding until they reappear in the last scene]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Again, SethGreen as Oz in ''{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}''. Also, Giles and Angel.
* Sam the Eagle from the ''TheMuppetShow'' frequently commented on his own program in a condescending tone, usually tripping up over his own hypocrisy (he once followed up a complaint about how uncultured the show was with a comment that the guest of the week, ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, was his "favorite opera singer") or not being aware how silly things actually were (his favorite skit on the show was the "classy" duets by Wayne and Wanda, which always ended in some slapstick disaster).
* Bert in ''SesameStreet''.
* Moe Howard from ''TheThreeStooges'' is cast as the most "serious" Stooge and often berates the other two to stop screwing around, but he is no less likely to get a pie in the face or clonked with a shovel than anyone else in the cast. This is a natural extension of the much older role of the ''whiteface'' clown as a StraightMan to the more rambunctious ''auguste'' in professional clowning. Some people have trouble with [[MonsterClown smart clowns]]...
* Spoofed in ''[=~Monty Python's Flying Circus~=]'', where a man talking and acting in a blandly everyday manner causes convulsive laughter in everyone he walks past. And that's even an obscure reference. Does no one remember the Colonel? "Now I do my best to keep things moving along, but I'm not having things getting silly." He started as the straight man in his own sketch, and they kept using him to end a sketch for which they had not written a punch line.
---> Colonel: Right! Stop that! Silly! [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5Dfs7jqFI And a bit suspect, I think...]]
* Michael Bluth of ''ArrestedDevelopment''.
* Much of the humor in ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' comes from putting Worf through this. Data and Odo are also frequent targets.
--->'''Worf''': Sir, I protest! I am '''not''' a merry man!
::Same applies to Data's daughter Lal, who summed up the essence of this trope after noting that other children were laughing at her.
--->'''Lal''': Then, without understanding humor, I have somehow mastered it.
* ''StarTrekVoyager''
** Tuvok was often paired with goofy AlienScrappy Neelix. Interestingly, in a flashback, Sulu commented that Tuvok was stuck up, even for a Vulcan. (Sulu implicitly compares him to Spock.) Which leads to the hilarious image of him being the Unfunny in a group of Vulcans.
*** Tuvok actually ''does'' have a rather pronounced sense of humour -- it's just very dry, even by Vulcan standards, and he doesn't share it with strangers as readily as Spock (who was forever mocking everyone with that eyebrow and almost-smirk of his). Tuvok tended to favour dry quips (and even the occasional epic pun - see ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708936/quotes Night]]'').
** This trope was attempted in an episode where Data discovers the concept of humor and attempts to learn to tell jokes and stand-up. The image of Data, an Unfunny on par with Worf, trying to tell jokes and failing miserably is - on paper - more hilarious than the jokes themselves could ever hope to be.
*** Unfortunately, to say they misfired would be a dramatic understatement -- the resulting episode, "The Outrageous Okona", is regarded as one of the worst in the entire ''Trek'' canon. He can hardly be blamed for getting it wrong considering the jokes being endorsed by Guinan and [[InformedAbility the greatest comedian of the 20th century.]] "Because you're a 'droid and I'm a 'noid."
* Teal'c on ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'' was the team's Unfunny. He might have laughed only once in the show's 10-year run - at a [[ProudWarriorRace Jaffa]] joke no one else on the team got. Once in a while he was a bit of a {{Deadpan Snarker}}, and he was frequently the victim of {{Metaphorgotten}}, but he was always a serious person.
* Dr. Wen from ''{{Scrubs}}''. Carla as well: you can get plenty of laughs out of her and her storylines, but it's actually made a point of a few times in the show that she can't tell or do good jokes.
* ''[[{{MASH}} M* A* S* H]]'' - Col. Potter, Major Freeman, and Major Winchester. They have their breakdowns, but compared to [[TheHero Hawkeye]], [[TheLancer Trapper, B.J.]], [[HypercompetentSidekick Radar]], [[ButtMonkey Frank Burns]], [[{{Tsundere}} Margaret]], [[{{Crossdresser}} Klinger]], and good God [[CrazySurvivalist Col.]] [[CrazyPrepared Flagg]]....
* Lilith on ''{{Cheers}}'' and ''{{Frasier}}''... she thinks [[StraightMan Zeppo Marx]] is the funniest of the MarxBrothers. Interestingly, Zeppo was often said to be the funniest one in real life.
* [[RobotGirl Cameron]] of ''TheSarahConnorChronicles'' is a solid example of this, when she is put in absurd or socially delicate situations, and tends to react in an extremely straightforward and practical manner. Jonh Henry and Catherine Weaver tend to be this, too. The odd thing here is how much quiet comedy the writers generate between two unfunny characters.
* ''{{Chuck}}'' - NSA Agent John Casey is the most serious out of the 'Operation Bartowski' team, but he's often the bringer of the most laughs, usually because he's put into amusing circumstances.
* ''NewsRadio'': The whole reason Dave Foley was cast as Dave Nelson (a character created with him in mind) was the fact that Foley has a talent for getting laughs by subtly and seriously ''reacting'' to funny or crazy things, more so than the actors who are actually ''doing'' them, as creator Paul Simms discovered by watching him steal scenes opposite the [[KidsInTheHall Chicken Lady]].
* [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Castiel]] on ''{{Supernatural}}''. He doesn't even react [[spoiler:when he sits on a ''whoopie cushion'', inadvertently interrupting his own {{Serious|Business}} speech about the AntiChrist]].
-->'''Cas''': ''[completely serious]'' That wasn't me.
** See also [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v661/kanger3/51sk0w.gif his utter failure at pretending to be an FBI agent]] and:
--->''This isn't funny, Dean! The voice says I'm almost out of minutes.''
* From [[ConanOBrien Conan O'Brien's]] more recent recurring sketches: RealLife associate producer [[TheDandy Jordan Schlansky]].
* Jamie from ''MythBusters'' is one of the quintessential examples, in contrast to the Adam, who delights in clowning.
* ''TrueBlood'': Eric Northman. A good example--though funnier in context, so spoilered punchline--is when he's speaking in Russian, and his whole speech is subtitled, but he spontaneously switches back to English to call someone a [[spoiler:gold-digging '''whore'''!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* Steve Bender, one of the two German members of the 80's multi-national band DschinghisKhan. Lampshaded in several YouTube comments which mention how utterly ''serious'' he is, when compared with his more cheerful bandmates.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/user/davidchoimusic David Choi]] is so serious a video one YouTube is dedicated to making him laugh.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling ]]

* {{WWE}}
** Wrestler Steve Blackman often served as the Unfunny in a tag team with one of the federation's wackier wrestlers, including {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Al Snow and white-boy wannabe rapper Grandmaster Sexay. "If I can be serious for a moment..." {{WCW}}/{{WWE}}/{{ECW}} alumnus Lance Storm also used a (fairly humorous) Unfunny gimmick. ("Your days of unabashed hijinks are about to end.")
*** {{WWE}} [[{{Flanderisation}} Flanderised]] him into a robot-like [[TheStoic Stoic]] who would later [[BadassDecay learn how to have "fun" and dance his way down to the ring]]. It's a far cry from his {{WCW}} and {{ECW}} days, where he was both {{Unfunny}} ''and'' {{Badass}}.
** Kane, who for years had been the most serious of performers, had a point for about two or three years where he could be relied on for some of the best comedy moments -- because no matter how many times he did it, you didn't ''expect'' Kane to crack jokes, except deadpan.
* Beth Phoenix comes off as unfunny since she plays [[StraightMan straight woman]] to her boyfriend [[TheFool Santino]], her intern [[LoonyFan Rosa Mendez]], frequent tag team partner [[DreadfulMusician Jillian Hall]] and the crazy characters they tend to attract.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Radio]]
* ''BobAndRay'' had a number of interview sketches that used this -- with one (usually Bob) as himself, trying to make sense out of the other as the increasingly loopy subject.
* ''Wiretap'' - Jonathan Goldstein as portrayed in most of the "conversations" on his radio show.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theater]]
* Malvolio from {{Shakespeare}}'s play ''TwelfthNight'' is often played this way.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''AceAttorney'' series
** Miles Edgeworth. Particularly notable whenever an elderly female witness is on the stand. Edgeworth is ''[[{{Bishonen}} irresistible]]''.
*** Calisto Yew from ''Investigations'' lamphades this by noting Edgeworth's serious demeanor makes her laugh uncontrollably.
** And, to a lesser extent, Phoenix. His finger-pointing antics pale in comparison to the quirks of the {{Bunny Ears Lawyer}}s he has to deal with on a daily basis.
** Shelly de Killer, gentleman assassin and ice cream eater.
* Sasha Nein from ''{{Psychonauts}}.'' He's more or less TheSpock, but gets the most amusing punishments -- such as having his [[{{Brainwashed}} brain removed]], leaving him to babble about [=TVs=] and hackeysacks, or being squashed on the underside of a giant rubber stamper.
---> '''Sasha:''' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yon_Yonson My name is Yon Yonson, I live in Wisconsin, I work in the lumberyard there...]] * [[NonSequiturThud Thud]]*
* Though it isn't often, Nero Chaos of ''{{Tsukihime}}'', thousand year-old uber-vampire with a body comprised of 666 demon beasts composed of pure chaos, is sometimes called into this role during side stories. His crowning moment? Participating in an involved game of ''tag''.
* Marcus Fenix of ''{{Gears of War}}'' never smiles. Not even on his birthday, when they give him the cake. He seems to have something of an ironic sense of humour, though.
--->'''Marcus:''' Hey, Colonel! I guess we ''are'' the support, huh?
* ''BlazBlue'' - Hakumen is like this during his "Help Me Dr. Kokonoe!" segment. Also, he's so Unfunny that he has no joke endings.
* ''MetalGear'' - Solid Snake from these gritty, realistic games is a sight to behold fighting and commenting on [[SuperSmashBrothers cartoony Nintendo characters]]. He also plays that role in his own games too from time to time. [[CargoShip Cardboard boxes]], anyone?
* Valygar from ''[[BaldursGate Baldur's Gate II]]'', especially when bantering with Jan Jansen, Minsc, Imoen or Haer'Dhalis (as the latter discovers, Valygar [[HiddenDepths is surprisingly adept at puns]]). For that matter, almost ''any'' character becomes the {{Unfunny}} when paired with Jan, especially Valygar and Keldorn. Or [[DumbMuscle Minsc]], even the PC.
* The spin-off ''{{City of Heroes}}'' comic revealed Statesman to be one of these. To the point where him making a remark about letting Manticore die gave the latter pause because he couldn't tell if Statesman was actually deadpanning a joke or not.
* Cloud Strife in ''FinalFantasyVII''. Despite being intended to be a stoic leader, nobody can take him seriously when [[DudeLooksLikeALady cross dressing to save Tifa]], [[NotWhatItLooksLike giving mouth to mouth to a little girl]], and [[BadAss 'jumping with Mr. Dolphin']].
* Yuri Hyuga from the ''ShadowHearts'' series. Somehow he manages to remain {{Badass}} even while surrounded by a LargeHam pro wrestler, a ditzy fortune teller, an intelligent wolf and the princess of Russia. (It's mainly because he's pretty goofy himself.)\\
\\
Moreso in the second game, which had a goofier cast, particurly as the events of the first game had made him a KnightInSourArmour / GrumpyBear / {{Determinator}}.
* ''ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlrevis'' gives us TheStoic JerkWithAHeartOfGold Roxis, who is a frequent target of humiliation from fellow [[{{Nakama}} workshop]] member Flay and especially his own [[{{Familiar}} Mana]]. The Highlight was the 'Secret Crush' Incident. Never has anyone been so hilarious and sympathetic at once.
* In ''[[WarioWare WarioWare: Smooth Moves]]'', the silly descriptions for the "forms" used with the Wiimote are made even funnier by the deadpan, Ben Stein-esque tone of the narrator reading them.
* Sten in ''[[DragonAge Dragon Age: Origins]]'', especially if he's present during the [[spoiler:scene where your team attempts to help break you out of prison]].
-->'''Oghren:''' My partner and I are, ah, performers...
-->'''Captain:''' You're performers, are you? What's your act?
-->'''Oghren:''' Our act? Oh... well, the big guy here sings and dances while I... er... juggle swords...
-->'''Sten:''' On fire.
* Squall Leonhart of ''FinalFantasyVIII'', because ThereAreNoTherapists on his planet to tell him that getting over your missing sister by ''joining a PMC at five years old'' isn't a very good idea.
* ''RadicalDreamers'' - "The simple fact that Magil tried to make a joke just there makes me stop and forget where I am for a second."
* EDI from ''[[MassEffect Mass Effect 2]]''. While she does tell some jokes, particularly after Joker [[spoiler: frees her from her Cerberus constraints]] and they contain reasonably funny material, it's her robo-monotone delivery that makes it hilariously {{unfunny}}.
-->EDI: "That was a joke."
* Shantae from ''{{Shantae}}'' with her VisibleSilence.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* Roy is the realistic DeadpanSnarker and StraightMan to the rest of his party's wacky hijinks in the ''{{Order of the Stick}}''. [[spoiler:His death]] has led to the rest of the party having various breakdowns both comedically and mentally.
** Vaarsuvius has had his/her moments, too.
--->'''V:''' Fascinating. Durkon, I have just now formulated a theory that encompasses both Nale's most likely method of engagement and the most suitable response on our part.\\
'''Durkon:''' THE TREES BE ATTACKIN'!! RUN FER YER LIVES!!!\\
'''V:''' Ah, I see you have already grasped the core principles of my theory.
* Referenced in ''GirlGenius'', when an actor in the travelling Heterodyne show [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050914 explains his character]]: "Klaus keeps his ''dignity'', or '''tries''' to. ''That's'' what makes him ''funny''."
* Susan from ''ElGoonishShive'' occasionally fills this role, due to her serious attitude towards pretty much everything. Due to this, she is, among other things, a favorite cuddling perch for Tedd's cat-hedgehog Jeremy. In addition, a early running gag established that, whenever she did anything overly cheerful, it was so alien to her usual personality that it couldn't be anything but hilarious (to us).
* Sakido from ''SlightlyDamned'' spends most of her time brooding, a pass-time which is considerably hampered by living in the same ''dimension'' as her goofy, affectionate brother Buwaro.
* Marth in ''AwkwardZombie''. Considering that he has to share a house with the characters from the [[SuperSmashBros Smash-verse]] ''doesn't'' help.
* ''{{Shortpacked}}'' has put forward the notion that Batman is comedy gold, based solely on the fact that combining him with anything mundane produces instant laughter.
* ''Tag'', a warship AI for Tagon's mercenaries in ''SchlockMercenary'', tends to react to any situation with absolute, deadpan seriousness, while still producing a punchline. The two weeks following [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20071107.html this strip]] are a good demonstration.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]
* The ಠ_ಠ emoticon.
* ImageBoards such as /tg have humourous mockery of ''{{Warhammer 40K}}'' po-faced dark and serious tone. For example, the homebrew SpaceMarine chapter Lazy Marines (they have Rocket-Couches) and the Silly/Clown Marines ([[ClownCarBase who can fit up to three times the normal number of units inside a single vehicle]] ).\\
\\
[[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Angry_Marines As well as THE ANGRY MARINES!!!]] [[MemeticMutation always angry, all the time!]] The only chapter that has a tank that they use to fire their marines directly into the heat of battle, and power feet, for kicking the enemies of the Emprah in the balls.\\
\\
[[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Pretty_Marines And the Pretty Marines.]] This is what Warhammer40K would be like in Japan, gentlemen. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
* The ''WhateleyUniverse'' has several such characters. Sometimes, it's Stormwolf, the leader of the Wild Pack, and the most serious, unamused, straight arrow since the invention of arrows. This plays off well against DeadpanSnarker Phase, comedian Chaka, and the rest of the protagonists in Team Kimba.\\
\\
Within Team Kimba, there's Ayla, who while not lacking a sense of humor, is not exactly the type of person who takes jokes well when he is the punchline. Ayla's status as TheUnfunny was eventually {{lampshaded}}. See the [[Quotes/{{Unfunny}} quotes page]]
* Agent Washington from ''RedVsBlue Reconstruction'' behaves like an actual agent from a secret military in the future. Contrasts well with the whacky mishaps the main cast. The red and blue armies also do this, by tying Caboose up in the brig and putting Grif and Simmons in front of a firing squad.\\
\\
Earlier in the series, Tex also qualifies. Though to a lesser degree. Her toughness was played for action and being a badass, rather than humor.
* This is the entire point of ''[[http://averagecats.com Average Cats]]'' -- it's hilarious precisely because the captions are matter-of-fact and serious.
** The captions also sometimes venture into SuspiciouslySpecificDenial. They never stop being {{Unfunny}}.
* The ''{{PPC}}'' universe is ruled by the Laws of Comedy, which require that any character who thinks they have dignity immediately loses it.
* Batman (of course) in ''[=~I'm a Marvel... and I'm a DC~=]''. And he's occasionally the OnlySaneMan, to boot.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Squidward in ''SpongebobSquarepants''.
* Batman. Batman, Batman, Batman.
** Batman often plays the Unfunny role on ''JusticeLeague''.
** In the episode "Flash and Substance", Batman passes the Unfunny torch to fellow JLU member Orion.
** [[http://shortpacked.com/comic/book-1-brings-back-the-80s/02-one-upmanship/a-25/ This strip]] from Dave Willis's webcomic ''[[{{Walkyverse}} Shortpacked!]]'' illustrates the basic concept of the Unfunny, theorizing that Batman's grim demeanor makes him the ultimate straight-man. Case in point: [[http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/1057385.html Batman with babies.]]
** Even in the GrandFinale of ''[[JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', where he threw himself hopelessly at a villain who could take punches from ''{{Superman}}'', he was laughing at the Bat's sheer tenaciousness. Of course, in lieu of better ideas, which is what Batman normally does, what else was there to do?
** Who can forget the ending of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Ynj4i0Gmw This Little Piggy]] when Batman is forced to ''sing''? And actually has a great voice!
** In "Kid Stuff" when the Justice Leaguers are de-aged into childhood Batman still keeps up his grumpy demeanor. This becomes ''actual'' unfunny at the end of the episode, when he mentions that he stopped being a child at the age of 8 -- [[DeathByOriginStory when his parents were murdered]].
** A rare Batman laugh came when Harley Quinn told him how The Joker will love her for successfully putting Batman in a DeathTrap. However, it was more an EvilLaugh meant to freak Harley out.
** ''[=~Batman: The Brave and the Bold~=]'' is a subversion of Batman's usual unfunny role. Heck, in the second episode, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Batman plays both straight man and funny man in the same joke.]] Another good episode is "Gorillas in Our Midst".
** In one Kids WB commercial, Batman was forced to sing the Jigglypuff song from Pokemon. The look on his face was priceless.
* Bill the Caveman, from the ''Terrible Thunder-Lizards'' sections of ''EekTheCat''. (The fact that he was also TheChewToy made it even funnier -- "When will the hurting stop?")
* ''[=~Avatar: The Last Airbender~=]''
** In the same vein as Batman, Zuko's [[PerpetualFrowner perpetually frowning]], serious demeanor leaves him wide open to many a humorous moment, partially to being paired with his foil of a [[CoolOldGuy jolly uncle]].\\
\\
Subtly acknowledged later in the series when Sokka asks Zuko if he's happy now that he's foiled Sokka's plan, and Zuko replies, deadpan, "I'm never happy."
** Another rare female example is the {{Emotionless|Girl}} Mai, similarly foiled with being accompanied by a cheerful, bubbly {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.
** Sokka started out as a stern, down-to-earth, warrior-in-training, but his {{Unfunny}} moments, as well as [[ThrowItIn improvisations]] from his comedian voice actor, soon turned him into a goofy PluckyComicRelief. Also see him trying to work with a bunch of [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} out-there]] "[[NewAgeRetroHippie nomads]]" in "The Cave of Two Lovers".
** Not even Azula, the DangerouslyGenreSavvy [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] and MagnificentBastard, can work her way out of this one. One episode displays that Azula + social ineptitude = win.
* Raven, the DeadpanSnarker of ''TeenTitans'', who the writers torture with such plots as: a FreakyFriday with her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} team-mate Starfire, being [[{{Animorphism}} turned into a bunny rabbit]], and ''baby-sitting''.
* Hank Hill, of ''KingOfTheHill''.
* ''SamuraiJack'' - Jack himself.
* Al Gore on ''{{Futurama}}''.
-->"I have ridden the mighty moon worm!"
* Cosgrove from ''{{Freakazoid}}'', taking everything seriously to the point of ridiculous.
* [[TheSimpsons Marge and Lisa Simpson]].
** The episode "Brother From Another Series" revealed that this trope is why Sideshow Bob became Krusty the Clown's sidekick instead of his brother Cecil. As [[TheKrusty Krusty]] explains after a poor pie-in-the-face gag from Cecil's [[NonIronicClown straightforward goofy clown]] audition:
-->'''Krusty:''' "Free comedy tip, slick: the pie gag's only funny when the sap's got dignity. ''(sees Bob)'' Like that guy. Hey, Hal, pie-job for Lord Autumnbottom there!"
* Craig from ''{{South Park}}.''
-->""Listen sir, I am not going to ruin your plans. I'll just walk away...see? Okay...now there's sparks shooting out of my eyes."
* [[FamilyGuy Meg, Brian, and Lois Griffin]].
* [[PinkyAndTheBrain The Brain]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other]]
* Thanks to a combination of attempted clinical tone and strange or even downright silly subjects, TheOtherWiki occasionally dabbles in this trope. For example, their page for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butte_County_High_School Butte County High School]], home of the Butte Pirates. Similarly, their 'plot' section for The Lonely Island song "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizz_In_My_Pants#Plot Jizz In My Pants]]. Or their entry on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_%28aesthetic%29 "cool"]].
* Some of the [=ESRB=]'s detailed writeups about game ratings are simply absurd, especially since they're coming from an organization devised to objectively rate games. They have been known to highlight features like [[{{Scribblenauts}} the ability to "attach steaks to babies to attract a lion"]]. Most of the unfunny comes from ESRB descriptions of sexual content, such as [[HeavyRain shower cutscenes that show "a male character's bare butt"]], [[StreetFighter flexed]] gluteus, and [[DantesInferno demon bosses with "its penis visible during the flying and fire-spewing"]]. Anyone care to explain how the ESRB could find a phrase like [[SakuraTaisen "I was just patrolling the museum, when the thing started shaking!"]] sexual?
[[/folder]]
----

Just because [[NoSenseOfHumor a character doesn't have a sense of humor themselves]] doesn't mean that they can't make the audience laugh. TheUnfunny is a character who ostensibly has a serious, composed personality, but is funny because [[WeirdnessMagnet he or she is put into funny situations]]. This works with character types who react calmly and realistically to otherwise unusual situations, such as the DeadpanSnarker, TheStoic, and TheQuietOne.