Tropescilloscope: Big Bad

The ultimate villain of the story, who's causing the problem the heroes must solve. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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