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