Tropescilloscope: Anti-Hero

A hero who lacks the proper traits of The Hero. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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