Tropescilloscope: Villainous Breakdown

When their Evil Plan is foiled, a calculating villain loses their composure, if not their sanity. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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