Tropescilloscope: The Lancer

The Hero's foil and The Leader's trusted companion. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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