Tropescilloscope: From Nobody to Nightmare

A character evolves from humble beginnings to terrifying fame. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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