Tropescilloscope: Foil

A character who highlights another character's trait(s), usually by contrast. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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