Tropescilloscope: Anti-Villain

The antagonist is rather morally ambiguous instead of straight evil. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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