Tropescilloscope: Pragmatic Villainy

A bad guy keeping standards not for any moral reason, but because it's in their best interest. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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