Tropescilloscope: Alas, Poor Villain

The villain's death or downfall is painted in a sympathetic light. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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