Tropescilloscope: The Lancer

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

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