Tropescilloscope: Villain Opening Scene

A work opens by introducing the antagonist. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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