Tropescilloscope: Action Girl

A Badass who just happens to be a girl. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

More Tropes Adaptation Distillation For the Evulz Foreshadowing Defiant to the End My Beloved Smother Peek-a-Boo Corpse Karma Houdini Faking the Dead I Need a Freaking Drink Hair-Trigger Temper The Dragon Dual Wielding Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Nice Guy Very Loosely Based on a True Story Non-Indicative Name Large Ham Big Bad Duumvirate Works Set in World War II "Shaggy Dog" Story Vomit Indiscretion Shot Boom, Headshot! Training Montage Taking the Bullet Berserk Button Dirty Cop Intergenerational Friendship Mind Screw Abhorrent Admirer Canadian Movies Pimped-Out Dress Adaptation Name Change Slasher Movie Adaptational Attractiveness Killed Mid-Sentence True Companions Serious Business Documentary Bolivian Army Ending Ass Shove Agony of the Feet Fire-Forged Friends No Ending Eye Scream Bond Villain Stupidity Evil Plan May–December Romance Handicapped Badass Demoted to Extra Cool Shades Lock and Load Montage Big Eater Animal Motifs Fingore The Faceless Self-Deprecation Adult Fear Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Rule of Three Hollywood Law Bilingual Bonus Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Kick the Son of a Bitch Tranquil Fury Becoming the Mask War Is Hell Mundane Made Awesome Faux Affably Evil Christmas Movies Index Rich Bitch Knife Nut Bland-Name Product Evil Is Petty Vitriolic Best Buds I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Spiritual Successor Children Are Innocent Improbable Aiming Skills Imagine Spot Chekhov's Gun All There in the Script Gilligan Cut Shower Scene Card-Carrying Villain Translation Convention "Well Done, Son!" Guy The Dreaded Shout-Out Madness Mantra Loophole Abuse Creative Closing Credits Humans Are Bastards Rule of Cool Fate Worse than Death Noodle Incident Anachronism Stew Eiffel Tower Effect Vomit Discretion Shot Lampshade Hanging The Place Mugging the Monster Babies Ever After Only a Flesh Wound Deliberately Monochrome Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Frame-Up Aside Glance She's Got Legs Grey and Gray Morality Dwindling Party Stalker with a Crush Anti-Hero Hoist by His Own Petard The '90s Framing Device The Chessmaster Curse Cut Short Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Character Development Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Canon Foreigner Beware the Nice Ones Refuge in Audacity Superhero From Bad to Worse Take That! Heroic BSoD Punny Name Meaningful Background Event Freeze-Frame Bonus Double-Meaning Title Ragtag Bunch of Misfits The Cameo Costume Porn The Sociopath Only One Name Laser-Guided Karma Villain Ball Mad Scientist Mighty Whitey Morality Pet Tempting Fate Antagonist Title The Starscream Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Adaptational Villainy Naïve Newcomer Karmic Death Parental Substitute Insult Backfire Hidden Depths All Men Are Perverts Guns Akimbo Stepford Smiler Author Appeal Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas French Films Rule of Symbolism Award-Bait Song Straight Gay Captain Obvious Music Stories Took a Level in Jerkass Closed Circle Daddy's Girl Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Yandere Awesome, but Impractical Even Evil Has Standards Red Eyes, Take Warning Humiliation Conga Sequel Escalation Shut Up, Hannibal! Extreme Doormat Due to the Dead Screw the Money, I Have Rules! A Father to His Men Even Evil Has Loved Ones Wounded Gazelle Gambit I'm a Humanitarian I Have Your Wife Romantic Comedy Genre Savvy Guile Hero Vampire Fiction Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Fake Shemp Spared by the Adaptation Word of God Fun with Acronyms Sci-Fi Horror Sassy Black Woman Maybe Ever After Pragmatic Villainy Stylistic Suck Shirtless Scene Action Survivor Oh, Crap! Cat Fight Sinister Minister Badass Bookworm Say My Name The '70s The Reveal Asshole Victim Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Sequel Hook Visual Pun Mama Bear Mood Whiplash More Dakka Male Frontal Nudity Dissonant Serenity Here We Go Again! Central Theme Call-Forward Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Leitmotif Skewed Priorities Artistic License – Geography Cowboy Cop Missing Mom Kill It with Fire Badass Longcoat He Who Fights Monsters Rasputinian Death Face Death with Dignity Henpecked Husband Roaring Rampage of Revenge Re-Cut Disappeared Dad Sealed Evil in a Can Military and Warfare Films Fanservice Brick Joke Belligerent Sexual Tension Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Psychopathic Manchild In Medias Res Decoy Protagonist The Un-Reveal As Long as It Sounds Foreign Made of Iron Sexy Discretion Shot Red Right Hand Index of Film Westerns Adapted Out The Great Depression Captain Ersatz Star-Crossed Lovers Japanese Films Camera Abuse Composite Character Hollywood Darkness Bloodless Carnage Match Cut "The Reason You Suck" Speech Eureka Moment Alliterative Name Gratuitous English Flashback Random Events Plot Double Entendre Overprotective Dad Worthy Opponent Historical Villain Upgrade Broken Pedestal Not Quite Dead Spiteful Spit A God Am I Parental Neglect Science Fiction Films Death Seeker Big Bad Facial Horror Crazy-Prepared Artistic License – Gun Safety Ms. Fanservice Those Two Guys Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Casting Gag Psychological Thriller Villain with Good Publicity Playing Gertrude Novelization Dying Moment of Awesome Monumental Damage Running Gag British Films Bloodier and Gorier Empathic Environment The Bully N-Word Privileges Creator Cameo Didn't Think This Through Reality Has No Subtitles Conspicuous CG Hero Antagonist Jitter Cam Product Placement Those Two Bad Guys Suspiciously Specific Denial Together in Death Loads and Loads of Characters Aluminum Christmas Trees Beauty Is Never Tarnished Red Shirt Small Name, Big Ego Brainless Beauty Fantasy Films Gone Horribly Right Manchild Calling the Old Man Out Slasher Smile Country Matters Adaptation Expansion German Films No Name Given Distracted by the Sexy Genre Throwback Only in It for the Money Truth in Television Developing Doomed Characters Auto Erotica Light Is Not Good Obstructive Bureaucrat Man on Fire Punch-Clock Villain Jerkass Well-Intentioned Extremist Your Cheating Heart Butt-Monkey Video Credits Our Zombies Are Different Pragmatic Adaptation Determinator Earn Your Happy Ending Tap on the Head Accidental Murder Half the Man He Used to Be Expy Be Careful What You Wish For Dramatic Irony Death by Irony Informed Ability The Brute The Remake Horror Comedy Jerk with a Heart of Gold Television Movie Index Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Twist Ending Drill Sergeant Nasty Contrived Coincidence In the Back Artistic License – Biology Disguised in Drag Amusing Injuries Riddle for the Ages Bury Your Gays You Have Failed Me "Awesome McCool" Name Cluster F-Bomb She Cleans Up Nicely Broken Bird Exactly What It Says on the Tin Spanner in the Works Evil-Detecting Dog It Can Think Author Avatar Back from the Dead Deliberate Values Dissonance Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Meet Cute Cool Old Lady Almost Kiss No Antagonist Air-Vent Passageway Left the Background Music On Throwing Your Sword Always Works Get Out! Stealth Hi/Bye Attempted Rape Revenge Chekhov's Skill Let's Get Dangerous! Black and Gray Morality Properly Paranoid Improbable Weapon User Villain Protagonist Femme Fatale Artistic License – Military Dirty Coward Bad "Bad Acting" Blood from the Mouth Race Lift Dropped a Bridge on Him Five-Man Band The Ditz Bond One-Liner Advertised Extra Bloody Hilarious Bunny-Ears Lawyer Historical In-Joke Poor Communication Kills Evil vs. Evil The Musical Disney Villain Death Police are Useless Dull Surprise Not So Different Crazy Jealous Guy Exact Words Ungrateful Bastard Cool Car One-Word Title Honor Before Reason Unwitting Instigator of Doom Hypocritical Humor The Mole Grievous Bottley Harm Disproportionate Retribution Reality Is Unrealistic Film Noir Mystery and Detective Films Nothing Is Scarier Ripped from the Headlines All Girls Want Bad Boys Early Installment Weirdness Whole Plot Reference Villain Song Arc Words Pet the Dog Meaningful Name How We Got Here Big-Bad Ensemble Logo Joke Corrupt Corporate Executive Shipper on Deck Fiery Redhead Shown Their Work Vacation Films Idiot Ball Smug Snake Gorn Moment Killer Unusual Euphemism Dutch Angle Took a Level in Badass Wham Line Break the Haughty Male Gaze Suddenly SHOUTING! Kids Are Cruel Bi the Way Hero of Another Story Mr. Exposition Protagonist Title Shoot the Shaggy Dog Authority Equals Asskicking Jerk Jock Trailers Always Spoil Romantic False Lead Eyepatch of Power Pretty Little Headshots Blood Knight Sports Stories Bald of Evil Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Cruel and Unusual Death You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Crapsack World Black Comedy Rape Stuff Blowing Up The '80s Enemy Mine Red Herring Totally Radical Woman Scorned The Load Off with His Head! Foregone Conclusion Famous Last Words As Himself Comically Missing the Point As the Good Book Says... Despair Event Horizon Black Comedy Immune to Bullets Abusive Parents Alpha Bitch The Ace Ax-Crazy Rewatch Bonus The End... Or Is It? Fantastic Racism Stealth Pun The Quiet One The Bad Guy Wins Betty and Veronica Beard of Evil Disney Death Really Gets Around Destination Defenestration Deadpan Snarker All for Nothing Face–Heel Turn Sole Survivor Once More, with Clarity! Overly Long Gag Rated M for Manly Never My Fault Adaptational Heroism Pyrrhic Victory Ship Tease Friend to All Children Accidental Misnaming Fish out of Water Artistic License – History Sadistic Choice I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Interrupted Suicide Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Fainting Black Dude Dies First Action Genre Race Against the Clock Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Amoral Attorney No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Animal Title Index Four-Temperament Ensemble You Killed My Father An Axe to Grind Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Big Brother Instinct Does Not Like Shoes Silent Movie One Steve Limit Homage Made of Explodium Redemption Equals Death Crucified Hero Shot Adults Are Useless Nice Hat Curb-Stomp Battle Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor folderlabel Deconstruction This Is Gonna Suck Badass in a Nice Suit Villain Opening Scene Ghost Fiction Villainous Breakdown Reckless Gun Usage Slap-Slap-Kiss Age Lift The Lancer The Alleged Car Everyone Has Standards Bowdlerise Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Redshirt Army All Just a Dream Genre Shift Damsel in Distress Dark and Troubled Past Chase Scene Martial Arts Movie Real Life Writes the Plot Better to Die than Be Killed Fourth Date Marriage Foil Offscreen Moment of Awesome Scary Black Man In Name Only Actor Allusion Death of a Child Older Than They Look Men Are the Expendable Gender The '50s Ambiguously Gay Fatal Flaw Wham Shot Not Using the "Z" Word Credits Gag Chekhov's Gunman Eagleland Gold Digger Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Title Drop Mooks Action Prologue '80s Hair Film Series Storming the Castle Obfuscating Stupidity Breaking the Fourth Wall And I Must Scream No OSHA Compliance Fanservice Extra Meaningful Echo Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Red Oni, Blue Oni Time Skip Needs Wiki Magic Love Important Haircut Unusually Uninteresting Sight Have a Gay Old Time All There in the Manual Body Horror Evil Laugh It's Personal Apocalypse How As You Know Lighter and Softer Room Full of Crazy Camp Gay Paper-Thin Disguise Too Dumb to Live Kubrick Stare Green-Eyed Monster Unspoken Plan Guarantee Getting Crap Past the Radar The Mafia The Hero Woman in White Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Same Language Dub Big Fancy House Covers Always Lie Your Head A-Splode Not Even Bothering with the Accent Groin Attack Dark Action Girl Victoria's Secret Compartment Bittersweet Ending Funny Background Event It's All About Me Smoking Is Cool Easily Forgiven Death by Adaptation Ambiguous Ending Hypocrite Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Parental Incest Alas, Poor Villain MacGuffin Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Depraved Bisexual Hong Kong Films Adaptational Badass From Nobody to Nightmare 20 Minutes into the Future Big "NO!" Major Injury Underreaction Hope Spot Affably Evil Evil Brit Australian Movies Real Life Rousing Speech Setting Update Dumb Blonde Pre-Asskicking One-Liner A Minor Kidroduction Italian Films NO INDOOR VOICE Epic Fail The Lost Lenore Cool Guns Reality Ensues Eldritch Abomination Car Fu Gory Discretion Shot The Alcoholic Insane Troll Logic La Résistance Wrong Genre Savvy Based on a True Story Ironic Echo Laughing Mad Evil Is Hammy Neck Snap Those Wacky Nazis Corpsing Pre-Mortem One-Liner The Film of the Book Pretty in Mink Papa Wolf Only Sane Man Big Damn Heroes Happily Married Cold-Blooded Torture Diabolus ex Machina Deus ex Machina Historical Hero Upgrade Russian Films Horror Films Death by Sex Actually Pretty Funny You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Call-Back Bar Brawl Sir Swears-a-Lot Psycho for Hire Tagline Dark Reprise Wretched Hive Dark Is Not Evil Public Domain Feature Films Implacable Man And Starring Animated Credits Opening Drives Like Crazy Cloudcuckoolander Ominous Latin Chanting Irony Heel–Face Turn The Chick What the Hell, Hero? Thriller Failed a Spot Check Driven to Suicide Armor-Piercing Question Daylight Horror Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Drugs Are Bad The Atoner No Celebrities Were Harmed Wicked Cultured Dogged Nice Guy Creepy Child The Smurfette Principle Plot Hole Not So Stoic Heel Realization Dirty Old Man Obviously Evil Blatant Lies Scenery Porn Darker and Edgier Artistic License – Physics The Voiceless The Ghost Malevolent Masked Men Establishing Character Moment What You Are in the Dark Kill 'em All Celebrity Paradox Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Mythology Gag Undying Loyalty The Casanova Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Leave the Camera Running Black Best Friend No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Final Girl Show Within a Show Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Darkest Hour Blackmail Manipulative Bastard Every Car Is a Pinto Fat Bastard A Date with Rosie Palms Offscreen Teleportation Sanity Slippage Token Minority Badass Grandpa Retirony The Stoic Heroic Sacrifice Anti-Villain Biopic Retired Badass timeperiod Retcon Zombie Stories Toplessness from the Back The Power of Love The Big Guy Instant Death Bullet Bait-and-Switch Greater-Scope Villain Unreliable Narrator Would Hurt a Child Continuity Nod What Happened to the Mouse? Manly Tears Drowning My Sorrows Does This Remind You of Anything? Our Vampires Are Different Chewing the Scenery Take a Third Option Broken Aesop Police Brutality Dressing as the Enemy Coming-of-Age Story Posthumous Character The '60s Stock Footage After the End Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Kick the Dog Deal with the Devil Improvised Weapon Bottomless Magazines Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Bring My Brown Pants Leaning on the Fourth Wall Brother–Sister Incest Names to Run Away from Really Fast Adorkable Historical-Domain Character Dramedy Insistent Terminology Catch-Phrase B-Movie The Stoner Domestic Abuse Evil Sounds Deep Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Badass Boast Dramatic Gun Cock Annoying Younger Sibling Jerkass Has a Point Mr. Fanservice Anguished Declaration of Love Bavarian Fire Drill My Greatest Failure Determinator aka: The Determinator "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue And the Adventure Continues It Will Never Catch On Bullying a Dragon Downer Ending Heterosexual Life-Partners Hell Is That Noise Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience He Knows Too Much Mistaken for Gay Love Triangle The Dog Bites Back Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Sacrificial Lion Hate Sink Intrepid Reporter Cool Old Guy I Did What I Had to Do Defrosting Ice Queen Adaptation Dye-Job A.I. Is a Crapshoot Mexican Standoff One-Man Army Last-Name Basis Affectionate Parody Epic Movie Not So Above It All Soundtrack Dissonance My God, What Have I Done? Scare Chord Outrun the Fireball The Cavalry Serial Killer Recycled IN SPACE! Danny Peary Cult Movies List Death Glare Spell My Name with an "S" Film Noir Index Early-Bird Cameo Ascended Extra O.O.C. Is Serious Business Funny Foreigner Soft Glass Would Hit a Girl Hooker with a Heart of Gold Naked People Are Funny Fatal Family Photo An Arm and a Leg Action Girl Arranged Marriage Book-Ends Badass Normal Motor Mouth Expository Hairstyle Change Slashed Throat Big Applesauce Gainax Ending Arch-Enemy Bound and Gagged Catapult Nightmare Super Strength Rule of Funny Anyone Can Die No-Sell Flipping the Bird Parental Abandonment Unresolved Sexual Tension Evil Counterpart Gender Flip Bare Your Midriff The Vamp Cat Scare Love at First Sight Never Found the Body Demonic Possession Scenery Gorn Artistic License – Law Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Silence Is Golden Fan Disservice BFG The Smart Guy Dies Wide Open Politically Incorrect Villain Neck Lift Chiaroscuro Heroes Want Redheads The X of Y Precision F-Strike Beta Couple Anachronic Order Pay Evil unto Evil Combat Pragmatist Make It Look Like an Accident Put on a Bus Mercy Kill The Hero Dies Plucky Comic Relief Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Batman Gambit Off-into-the-Distance Ending Suspiciously Similar Substitute An Aesop Good Is Not Nice Not What It Looks Like Did Not Get the Girl Shell-Shocked Veteran Only Known by Their Nickname Taking You with Me Freudian Excuse Narrator Bad Boss Jump Scare Cain and Abel The Stinger Market-Based Title Never Trust a Trailer The Oner The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Ambiguous Disorder There Is No Kill Like Overkill Reasonable Authority Figure Manic Pixie Dream Girl Extremely Short Timespan Line-of-Sight Name For Want of a Nail Rape as Drama Cassandra Truth Up to Eleven Break the Cutie Knight Templar Department of Redundancy Department World of Ham Brutal Honesty Married to the Job