Tropescilloscope: Parental Abandonment

The character's parents aren't shown, or they're dead. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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