Tropescilloscope: Manipulative Bastard

A character who manipulates others through elaborate schemes and/or persuasive speaking. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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