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