Tropescilloscope: Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!

The hero's efforts to fix things make things worse instead. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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