Redshirt (stock character)

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In fiction, "redshirt" is an informal term for a stock character who is killed off shortly after being introduced. The term often implies that said character was introduced for the sole purpose of being killed off while adding little else to the story, and is sometimes used pejoratively to point out a redshirt's lack of good characterization or the predictability of the character's death. Redshirt deaths are often used to emphasize the danger the protagonists face. The term originates from discussion of the 1966–1969 television series Star Trek, in which never-before-seen background characters— generally red-uniformed security officers and engineers—often suffered quick deaths when they went on missions with the protagonists.

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