Tropescilloscope: Superhero

Stories where the hero has superhuman abilities. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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