Tropescilloscope: The Hero Dies

A protagonist's ultimate sacrifice. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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