Tropescilloscope: From Nobody to Nightmare

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

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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