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