History Main / UnpopularPopularCharacter

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Darth Vader is not a very popular person in the galaxy. Citizens hate and fear him for terrorizing the galaxy, Imperials hate and fear him for his BadBoss tendencies, his Sith master Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious views him as a disposable pawn, his former Jedi masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda believe him to be beyond redemption and are training his son to kill him. His daughter also hates him for enabling the Empire's atrocities and her political career got ruined after her being Darth Vader's daughter became public knowledge. And as shown in both the Legends and Canon EUs, Vader even hates himself for what he has become. Only his son Luke has any affection for him. Needless to say, Vader is easily ''the'' most popular character in the entire ''Star Wars'' franchise.

* [[InvisibleJerkass Randall Boggs]] from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1''. In-universe, with the exception of Fungus and Waternoose, the characters don't take him too seriously and he's quickly over-shadowed by Sulley. The fans, on the other hand, consider him one of the best (if not ''the best'') Pixar villains due to how malicious he is, his determination and his sympathetic potrayal in ''University''. It helps that he's voiced by Creator/SteveBuscemi (who's known for playing [[AxCrazy violently deranged characters]] with [[HairTriggerTemper bad tempers]]).

* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' gives us the title character Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, victims of severe FantasticRacism in the world of video games they live in. They were both shunned by their fellow inhabitants for being a PunchClockVillain and a glitch. Now...go ask the ''fans'' what they think of [[BigBeautifulMan Ralph]] and [[TheCutie Vanellope]] and prepare yourself for a very long session of [[{{Squee}} squealing]] and [[SugarWiki/GushingAboutCharactersYouLike gushing.]] This is brought up in-universe when [[spoiler:King Candy argues that the players will dislike a glitchy character like Vanellope being made playable and will report the game as broken because of her. Ralph counters with the possibility that the players will love her. [[GoodBadBugs In the end, Ralph's right]]]].

* Sid from the ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' series was abandoned by his own family for how obnoxious they find him to be, all the kids he's supposed to take care of see him as a joke, he's a CasanovaWannabe that no one wants to be around among members of his species (and that's not including the tribe of Mini Sloths that tried to sacrifice him) and the few interactions he has with animals that aren't part of the Herd imply they aren't happy to have him around as well. Only the Herd and his Dinosaur family are fond of him, and even in these groups, he's TheFriendNobodyLikes. Among audiences, however, Sid is one of the most popular characters and is seen as the second-funniest character of the series after Scrat.

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'':[[InvisibleJerkass Randall Boggs]]. In-universe, with the exception of Fungus and Waternoose, the characters don't take him too seriously and he's quickly over-shadowed by Sulley. The fans, on the other hand, consider him one of the best (if not ''the best'') Pixar villains due to how malicious he is, his determination and his sympathetic potrayal in ''University''. It helps that he's voiced by Creator/SteveBuscemi (who's known for playing [[AxCrazy violently deranged characters]] with [[HairTriggerTemper bad tempers]]).
* Hades from ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''. He's hated by every other god and it's implied he has his job in the Underworld because of it, due to the way he treats mortals as pawns for his sick amusement. The fans, on the other hand, consider him one of the best Disney villains due to his [[LargeHam hammy personality]] and Creator/JamesWoods's stellar performance.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' has Bruno, who is a social outcast both within the village and with his own family [[spoiler:(at least until the end of the movie)]] who do not even allow the mention of his name, but extremely popular within the fandom, with millions of people who adore him and even some fans stating that [[DryDocking they would like to have him as a husband]].

* ''Series/TheSecretCircle'': TallDarkAndSnarky UnscrupulousHero Faye Chamberlain is disliked by many of the townspeople and even some of her fellow coven members at times, but she is probably the most popular character with the show's fanbase.* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'':

** Jaime Lannister is reviled behind his back and known as the [[TheOathbreaker Kingslayer]] for his BodyguardBetrayal of King Aerys II, among a few other horrible things he's done. For a while this was the attitude among fans until he became a [[SympatheticPOV POV character]] in ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'', and we got the story behind his killing of Aerys. Afterwards, he became one of the most beloved and sympathetic characters among the fans because of [[HeelFaceTurn his desire to]] [[TheAtoner redeem himself of other crimes he's committed]].

* ''Webcomic/YumisCells'': Yumi's Naughty Cell, which governs her libido. The other cells find him annoying/embarrassing and constantly try to suppress him. But he's so popular with readers that he became something of a mascot for WebSite/{{Webtoon}} itself, being used to advertise its merchandise page.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Darth Vader is not a very popular person in the galaxy. Citizens hate and fear him for terrorizing the galaxy, Imperials hate and fear him for his BadBoss tendencies, his Sith master Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious views him as a disposable pawn, his former Jedi masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda believe him to be beyond redemption and are training his son to kill him. His daughter also hates him for enabling the Empire's atrocities and her political career got ruined after her being Darth Vader's daughter became public knowledge. Only his son Luke has any affection for him. Needless to say, Vader is easily ''the'' most popular character in the entire ''Star Wars'' franchise.

* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In season 3, when the TNG crew reunites, they (excluding Worf) don't seem to think much of the ''Enterprise''-E, which was featured in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'', and ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', and is frequently listed among many ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fans' favorite ships in the franchise. Though that's probably due to their happiness in seeing [[spoiler:the rebuilt ''Enterprise''-D]].

* ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Charlie. To most characters, they don't take her too fondly and think her idea to help sinners is a waste of time. To the fans, however, she's just downright precious and you'd be hard pressed to find a fan who isn't rooting for her to succeed.

->'''Hawt Saus''': Back by popular demand, it's ME: Hawt Saus!\\
'''Chikn Nuggit:''' Who wanted this?

* The central family from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''. In one episode, they discover that their entire neighborhood has a block party whenever they go on vacation.

* ''Series/TheNanny'': [[RichBitch C.C. Babcock]] is [[TheFriendNobodyLikes usually disliked by everyone in the main cast but Maxwell]], however her [[SnarkToSnarkCombat verbal]] [[VolleyingInsults sparring]] against [[ServileSnarker Niles]] is among the funniest aspects of the show.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Darth Vader is not a very popular person in the galaxy. Citizens hate and fear him for terrorizing the galaxy, Imperials hate and fear him for his BadBoss tendencies, his Sith master Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious views him as a disposable pawn, his former Jedi masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda believe him to be beyond redemption and are training his son to kill him. Only his son Luke has any affection for him. Needless to say, Vader is easily ''the'' most popular character in the entire ''Star Wars'' franchise.

** Spidey himself, and arguably the TropeCodifier: one of the most beloved and popular of all superheroes in real life, in addition to being one of Marvel's flagship characters; but widely feared and distrusted by the Marvel U. public with frustrating consistency. One of the key factors that made him such an effective {{Deconstruction}} of the SuperHero at the time of his creation, it's become an integral part of his character to the point that he has it worse than pretty much anyone else in the Marvel U. (where practically everyone who isn't [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]] or [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] has to deal with this, and even they have had their moments).

* Characters/{{Deadpool|WadeWilson}} might be one of Marvel's most popular characters right now, but he's disliked by heroes and villains alike. He's one of the most talented mercenaries in the Marvel Universe (he beat [[Characters/MarvelComicsTaskmaster Taskmaster]] with his hands cuffed behind his back) but he can barely get a job because of his bad reputation. That and his ChronicHeroSyndrome normally kicking in only when he's employed by the bad guy, and vice versa for when he's working with the heroes. ''And'' [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he's annoying]].

* Characters/{{The Punisher|FrankCastle}} doesn't exactly win popularity contests in the Marvel Universe. Villains hate him since he spends all his time slaughtering them, while other heroes hate him for how much of a ruthless, violent psycho he is, and Frank (DependingOnTheWriter) holds most heroes in contempt for being soft on crime. But for readers he's a fan favorite, due to him [[PayEvilUntoEvil slaughtering creeps who have it coming]], his status as one of the most BadassNormal characters in Marvel history, and how even when he's written at his most sociopathic he isn't above [[PetTheDog some acts of compassion]].

* You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in the DC Universe that actually likes [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]. Well, there's Characters/{{Harley Quinn|TheCharacter}}, but [[RelationshipRevolvingDoor even she's had her days]]. [[HatedByAll Anyone that knows him hates him with a passion]] and simply can't tolerate him ([[EvenEvilHasStandards including other villains]]), because he's such an unpredictable, maniacal sociopath. This hatred also spans other universes, because as seen in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', the entire MK cast makes it clear how much they despise him, with several of them having no issue with killing him. And yet, he's hailed as not only one of the most popular villains of comic book history, but also pop culture.

* Possibly Riley Poole of the ''Film/NationalTreasure'' films, whom the filmmakers seem content to treat as a standard {{Sidekick}}.

** Vanya, who has earned the ire of her siblings with an autobiography spilling their most painful secrets, painting herself as the constant victim of their cruelty, and casting them as the villains of her story, has quite a sizable and vocal fanbase, some of whom go out of their way to absolve her of all responsibility for her more harmful and self-centered actions.

* Charlie Brown from ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}''. He's a lonely kid who always fails, the other characters rarely respect him, he has very few friends who treat him well, and even they have their moments of treating him like trash - fans ''love'' him. When he gets only rocks at Halloween, bags of candy flood in from fans as gifts for him, and when he gets no Valentines from his class, fans send him them by the hundreds. Why, you might ask? Mainly, it's because a lot of people know exactly how he feels because they've been there throughout their own lives.

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Charlie. To most characters, they don't take her too fondly and think her idea to help sinners is a waste of time. To the fans, however, she's just downright precious and you'd be hard pressed to find a fan who isn't rooting for her to succeed.

Compare EnsembleDarkhorse, ToughRoom, CreatorsPest, DesignatedMonkey, as well as UnconvincinglyUnpopularCharacter, when the in-universe unpopularity of a character is to a degree that it becomes confusing to the out-of-universe audience. Contrast AscendedExtra, CreatorsPet, and TheScrappy.

Compare EnsembleDarkhorse, ToughRoom, CreatorsPest, DesignatedMonkey, and UnconvincinglyUnpopularCharacter. Contrast AscendedExtra, CreatorsPet, and TheScrappy.

Compare EnsembleDarkhorse, CoolLoser, ToughRoom, CreatorsPest, and DesignatedMonkey. Contrast AscendedExtra, CreatorsPet, and TheScrappy.