Tropescilloscope: My Greatest Failure

The mistake that motivates the hero. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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