Tropescilloscope: Black Best Friend

A satellite black character is best friends with non-black main character in attempt to make the latter fare better. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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