Tropescilloscope: Greater-Scope Villain

An evil that is greater than the Big Bad in some way, but is not directly causing the conflict of the story. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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