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