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