Tropescilloscope: Alas, Poor Villain

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

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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