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