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