Tropescilloscope: Historical Hero Upgrade

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

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