Tropescilloscope: Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?

Villains never take the most direct approach to dealing with enemies. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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