Tropescilloscope: Black Best Friend

A satellite black character is best friends with non-black main character in attempt to make the latter fare better. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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