Ensemble Darkhorse
The term "Dark Horse" has its origin in horse racing. A relatively unknown horse would be risky to place bets on, compared to a horse with a known track record, because the gamblers would be "in the dark", so when an unknown horse won a race it was called a "Dark Horse Victory." The term is also used in politics to describe a lesser known candidate who does better than expected in an election.
This trope is used to describe a side character making up part of the Ensemble, either a non-lead secondary character or a mere
Multiple Government Polity
Most modern western audiences, especially in the United States of America, are used to modern local/sub-national governments acting like miniaturized versions of their national government. But historically that wasn't always the case and some fiction reflects that.
The Federation might form from an alliance of kingdoms and republics, or The Empire might allow subjugated governments to run their territories for them.
This kind of polity tends to be prone to Allowed Internal War, though.
Examples:
Tropes Illustrated
Super Soldier
A soldier specifically intended to be above and beyond a normal man; harder, better, faster, stronger, tougher, more skilled, more determined, built and trained to fight and win. The Super Soldier can come in many forms, ranging from government- … more
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| AdaptationDisplacement: Disney Revision [35] | 24 seconds ago |
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| Franchise: DCExtendedUniverse Revision [34] | 50 seconds ago |
| Main: LockedRoomMystery Revision [397] | 1 minute ago |
| Characters: DetroitBecomeHumanAndroids Revision [111] | 1 minute ago |
| Main: MagicFeather Revision [781] | 2 minutes ago |
| VideoGame: SpiderMan Revision [70] | 2 minutes ago |
| Main: TooFastToStop Revision [341] | 3 minutes ago |
| Main: AskTheTropers Revision [50233] | 3 minutes ago |
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| Wiki Talk 1.8 overhaul or why did the site just change on me? | 1 minute ago |
| Frequently Asked Questions Edit banned/Suspended - would like to edit again. | 5 minutes ago |
| Live Action Film Star Wars Episode IX | 9 minutes ago |
| Forum Games Hunger Games Simulator | 9 minutes ago |
| Manga & Anime Manga/Dragon Ball | 9 minutes ago |
| Western Animation She-Ra reboot | 10 minutes ago |
| On-Topic Conversations How do the dominant cultural narratives in art and mass media affect our politics? | 15 minutes ago |
| Forum Games VG Music Game | 16 minutes ago |
| Frequently Asked Questions Locked Pages: Lock, UnLock and Edit requests | 16 minutes ago |
| Projects: Long Term/Perpetual Subpages cleanup | 20 minutes ago |
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| Mutually Unequal Relation Created 1 week ago | 1 hour ago |
| Bound By The Rules Created 4 days ago | 2 hours ago |
| Godlike Gamer Created 5 days ago | 3 hours ago |
| Botanical Abomination Created 1 week ago | 4 hours ago |
| Personally Relating Created 1 day ago | 4 hours ago |
| Disabled In The Adaptation Created 1 week ago | 6 hours ago |
| Crazy Hair, Crazy Mind Created 1 week ago | 6 hours ago |
| The Ice King Created 1 week ago | 6 hours ago |
| Escort Gambit (formerly Escort Distraction) Created 6 days ago | 8 hours ago |
| Real Person Epilogue Created 2 days ago | 10 hours ago |
Tropes Community Podcasts
Re-Release: 116. Trapped In Another World July 10, 2018
Since we're still trapped in the limbo of being in between studios, we're revisiting an older episode on the trope Trapped in Another World. Check it out, let us know what your favorites were that we missed on Facebook, Twitter, or OnTheTropes@gmail.com. Stay tuned for new episodes VERY SOON, subscribe to us wherever you find your podcasts and let us know what you want to hear about from us!
Episode 236 - Detroit: Become Human July 12, 2018
This week we're reviewing the latest game from the ambitious mind of David Cage: Detroit: Become Human! Does this branching storyline have a satisfying end? We're also discussing our favorite examples of the trope 20 Minutes into the Future while drinking a classic Detroit cocktail.
The Hummer
- 1.5 oz. Kahlúa
- 1.5 oz. Light Rum
- 2 Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream
- 2 Ice Cubes
Indie Corner
- Westworld (IOS)
- Tiny Robot Justice Squad (MAC, PC)
- GunBot (Browser)
The Weekly Trope
20 Minutes into the Future - Stories that are set in the not so distant future.
On The Rocks does not support underage drinking!
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Email us at PodcastOTR@gmail.com if you have ideas for future drink/game pairings!
