Tropescilloscope: Foil

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

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