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