Tropescilloscope: Foil

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

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