Tropescilloscope: Alas, Poor Villain

The villain's death or downfall is painted in a sympathetic light. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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