Tropescilloscope: The Hero Dies

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

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