Tropescilloscope: Alas, Poor Villain

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

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