Tropescilloscope: Historical Villain Upgrade

A work's portrayal of a historical villain is heavily modified from the real-life figure the character is based on. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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