Tropescilloscope: Decoy Protagonist

The story begins with someone who's not the actual protagonist, who will appear later. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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