Tropescilloscope: Black and Gray Morality

Evil villain, flawed hero. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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