Tropescilloscope: Establishing Character Moment

Moment during or soon after a character's introduction which illustrates their personality. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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