Tropescilloscope: Manipulative Bastard

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

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