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