Tropescilloscope: Punch-Clock Villain

Working with the villain is just a job for them; they're not inherently a bad person. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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