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