Tropescilloscope: Historical Hero Upgrade

Fictionalized portrayal of a historical figure as more heroic than their real-life counterpart. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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