Tropescilloscope: Diabolus ex Machina

Suddenly, unanticipated tragedy strikes. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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