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