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