Tropescilloscope: Cowboy Cop

A loose cannon cop who DOESN'T play by the rules! (read more at tvtropes.org)

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