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 May–December 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 Brother–Sister 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 Face–Heel 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 Heel–Face 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