Tropescilloscope: The Dragon

The Big Bad's Number Two; often the penultimate challenge that The Hero must face before confronting the Big Bad. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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