Tropescilloscope: Dark and Troubled Past

Tragic Back Story. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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