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