"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
Doesn't this index just sound like the sort of exclamation an elderly troper might use? If there are any, that is.
Contrast Evil Tropes and Neutrality Index.
Tropes:
Main sub-index:
Other categories:
- 100% Heroism Rating: Everyone loves the hero for all their good deeds they’ve done.
- Above Good and Evil: A character believes that their objectives are more valuable than the concepts of good and evil.
- Adaptational Heroism: The adaptation makes a character more heroic than they were in the original work.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: The adaptation makes a character nicer than they were in the original work.
- Adopt the Dog: Neutral character does something nice and becomes a good guy.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: A sincere pat on the head for the children who does a good job.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Nose: A sincere boop on the nose.
- All-Loving Hero: The hero loves everyone.
- Allergic to Evil
- Androcles' Lion: The hero aids an animal, which in turn aids him/her in his/her time of need.
- Animal Lover: Someone who loves, or at the very least likes, most if not all animals.
- Anonymous Benefactor: An aid given to a character by an unknown identity.
- Anti-Hero: A hero who isn't exactly squeaky clean and has some flaws.
- Arcadia: The gentle, quiet, idyllic life of the countryside, peopled by souls of wise simplicity living In Harmony with Nature.
- Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: A character is chewed out by a superior, but at the end they reveal that they did some good.
- Artifact of Hope: An unambiguously good Ancient Artifact.
- The Atoner: A character who has done wrong now wishes to make amends for their misdeeds.
- Bad Powers, Good People: A good character has powers that would be more appropriate for a villain.
- Balance Between Good and Evil
- Bargain with Heaven: Characters get what they desire by making deals with angels, deities, or other benevolent/neutral cosmic entities.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Being beautiful means you're a good person.
- Became Their Own Antithesis, when not on an Anti-Villain or a Hero.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: A character helps another out of gratitude for being treated with kindness.
- Befriending the Enemy: Heroes attempt to befriend an antagonistic character to turn them good.
- Being Good Sucks: Being the good guy has its downsides.
- Benevolent Conspiracy: The Conspiracy is presented as a force of good.
- Benevolent Genie: A genie whose only concern is that their master is safe and satisfied with the wishes granted.
- Benevolent Mage Ruler: Spellcasters ruling others with wisdom and fairness.
- Beware the Nice Ones: A peaceful, mild or otherwise benevolent character is capable of deadly anger or surprisingly effective retribution if sufficiently provoked.
- Big Damn Heroes: The heroes make a very last minute rescue, often doing it in style.
- Big Ego, Hidden Depths: A truly caring person who hides behind their boastful behavior, or a prideful character who shows redeeming moral qualities regardless.
- Big Good: The highest-ranking force of good in the work.
- Birthmark of Destiny: A birthmark marks a character as special in some way, possibly as The Chosen One.
- Bottled Heroic Resolve: A powerful but dangerous healing item that cures even the worst injuries instantly.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: Brainwashing people for a great, justifiable cause.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Characters act like a jerk to their addressees so they'll leave them and stay out of danger.
- Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: A person who grew up with atrocious parents tries to be a better parent to their own children.
- Call to Agriculture: At the end of a story, the hero decides to become a simple farmer for sentimental reasons.
- The Cape: The classic superhero dedicated to protecting the innocent, upholding truth, justice, etc.
- Captain Superhero: A superhero named Captain ________.
- The Cardinal Virtues
- Care-Bear Stare: An attack composed of pure niceness.
- Celebrating the Heroes: A local populace holds a celebration to honor heroes for their good deeds and triumphs.
- Celestial Paragons and Archangels: The highest, most powerful angelic good guys around.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Character abandons their friend but later comes back to save them.
- Cheer Them Up with Laughter: Someone cheers others up when they're upset by making them laugh.
- Chaotic Good: A character alignment involving good and freedom.
- The Chosen One: The ancient prophecy says that only a certain person can save the world.
- Classical Anti-Hero: A mostly noble hero who suffers from flaws and hindrances that must be overcome.
- Comedic Hero: A less-than-competent heroic character who nevertheless succeeds despite their best efforts.
- The Conscience: A character that acts as the others' moral compass.
- Conscience Makes You Go Back: A character almost abandons someone, but their guilt motivates them to go back and help the person they left to suffer.
- Contagious Heroism: Working with a heroic character rubs off positively on a less scrupulous character.
- Cosmic Chess Game
- The Cowl: The dark superhero dedicated to punishing the wicked, striking terror into the hearts of the superstitious, cowardly lot that is the underworld, etc.
- Creepy Good: Heroes' looks or mannerisms might creep people out, but their hearts and intentions are just as noble.
- Crimefighting with Cash: A hero uses financial resources to deal with the forces of evil.
- Cute Little Fangs: Someone has a small pair of fangs or a fang sticking out to make them endangering.
- Dark Is Not Evil: A being who looks scary is actually a good guy.
- Dark Shepherd: A character gives out threats of punishments to discourage immoral behavior.
- Defeat Means Friendship: An opponent becomes friends with the person who defeated them.
- Deliver Us from Evil: A female villain seeks redemption after getting pregnant.
- Destroy the Villain's Weapon: A plot in which the hero or heroes destroy a villain's weapon.
- Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: A character has a cordial encounter with an Eldritch Abomination, who may be genuinely benevolent.
- Dork Knight: A hero who is brave and righteous in spite of their awkwardness.
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience
- Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: The hero helps others even if doing so would hinder them.
- Dynamic Akimbo: Good guys stand with their feet apart, their chest puffed up, and their hands on their hips, usually during their heroic resolve.
- Dumb Is Good: The good guys are not very bright.
- Earthy Barefoot Character: More dual or nature dwelling characters tend to go barefoot and people who go barefoot tend to be more in touch with nature.
- Elixir of Life: An elixir with the ability to restore lost vitality, or even grant true immortality.
- Embodiment of Virtue
- Empathic Weapon: The weapon acknowledges the hero's desires and good qualities, and is willing to help him out.
- Enlightenment Superpowers: Superpowers are available to anyone who achieves the necessary level of spiritual enlightenment.
- Ethical Slut: A person who is shamelessly promiscuous, but is still a good person regardless.
- Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: There are some people so evil that even an All-Loving Hero just can't help but hate them.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The villain is unable to understand why the heroes do what they do or assumes that there are evil reasons for their good deeds.
- Evil Redeemed in a Can: A villain or evil entity who was sealed away does a Heel–Face Turn during its imprisonment.
- Exalted Torturer: A character who uses torture is presented as the good guy.
- Face of a Thug: A good guy who looks like a hardened criminal.
- Family Man: A man who's loyal to his own family, the one he made (with a partner/spouse and children) as well the one he's part of (with parents and siblings).
- Fire Purifies: Fire has the ability to burn away only the evil parts, leaving any pure or good parts unharmed.
- Five-Token Band: Every member of the heroic group is a minority not represented by the rest of the team.
- For Great Justice: The heroes' motives are unspecified values of "justice", "goodness", etc.
- Justice Will Prevail: A character confirms their commitment to justice.
- For Happiness: Happiness is a good thing that everyone should have as much of as possible.
- Forgiveness
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: A vampire who is good.
- Monster Adventurers: Creatures who are generally disposable Mooks decide they want the Plot Armor that comes with being a hero.
- A Friend in Need: A character who proves their loyalty and friendship by helping their friend.
- Friend to All Children: A person who is very fond of children and enjoys interacting with and helping them.
- Friend to All Living Things: A character who is very fond of animals and enjoys interacting with and aiding them.
- Friend to Bugs: A type of Animal Lover who likes and cares for insects and other creatures.
- From Zero to Hero: A character comes from nothing, and rises up in the world thanks to their goodness and heroism.
- Fun Personified: A character taking a role as a mood-maker who shields others from feelings of despair or doom and generally prevents the plot from getting overly grim.
- Game Face: An Creepy Good character unleashes their inner monster through the look on their face.
- Gentle Giant: A very tall person who is friendly.
- Gentleman and a Scholar: Prudence mixed with intelligence.
- Ghibli Hills: The great outdoors is right around the corner.
- Girl Friday: The dutiful woman who is working behind the scenes, sometimes providing critical information, oftentimes taking a role as a helping hand or heart.
- Glove Snap: A doctor, usually The Medic, puts on gloves and snaps them, before healing others.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: A character's eyes glow, showing that they are not fooling around, and that Good Is Not Soft.
- Go and Sin No More: The hero spares the villain and tells them to atone for their crimes.
- God Is Good: God is unquestionably benevolent.
- God of Good: A deity who embodies all that is good.
- Gold and White Are Divine: Gold and white are considered benign colors.
- Good All Along: A character who looked like they were evil at first later turns out to actually be one of the good guys.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: When faced with a moral decision, a character imagines a tiny angel and a tiny devil appearing on their shoulders to advise them on which choice would be the right one to make. Typically, the angel is there to encourage the person to make a good decision.
- Good Bad Girl: A good-hearted woman who unapologetically enjoys promiscuous sex.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: The hero cannot understand why the villain is evil.
- The Good Captain: A hero with the title "Captain".
- Good Colors, Evil Colors: Character Alignment depends on Color Motif.
- Good Costume Switch: A reformed villain switches to a more heroic-looking costume.
- Good Eyes, Evil Eyes
- Good Feels Good: Being good is good.
- Good Guns, Bad Guns
- The Good Guys Always Win: The heroes never lose and always succeed in defeating the bad guys.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair
- Good Is Boring
- Good Is Dumb: Being the good guy makes some intellectual flaws.
- Good Is Impotent
- Good Is Not Dumb: Being the good guy does not mean that you are stupid.
- Good Is Not Nice: Being the good guy does not mean that you are not a jerk.
- Good Is Not Soft: Being the good guy does not mean that you are unwilling to inflict pain on those who deserve it.
- Good Is Old-Fashioned
- Good Hurts Evil
- The Good King: A monarch who is honorable and virtuous, treating their subjects with respect (no matter how seemingly unimportant they are) and governing the land fairly.
- The Good Kingdom: The realm of a good monarch.
- Good Lawyers, Good Clients
- Good Needs Evil
- Good Old Ways
- Good Parents: Parents who care about their children and do whatever they can to make life better for their offspring.
- Good Pays Better
- Good Prosthetic, Evil Prosthetic
- Good Running Evil
- Good Samaritan: Right-minded and righteous characters.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars
- Good Shepherd: A priest who only wants what is best for his people.
- Good Smells Good: Good people tend to smell great.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking
- Good Taming, Evil Taming
- Good Versus Good: Conflict between two people or groups who are both good.
- Good Weapon, Evil Weapon
- Good Wears White: Heroic characters dress in white clothing.
- Good Wings, Evil Wings
- Goodness Exam: Character is expected to do something evil to prove their affiliation.
- Greater Need Than Mine: Character does deeds for someone else since they're more important than themselves.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: A benign being who is indirectly responsible for the heroes existing or doing what they're doing, but isn't an active part of the story.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A nice girl with blonde hair.
- Headbutting Heroes: Good guys who despise each other.
- The Heart: The barometer of a group's emotional well-being and its peacekeeper/caretaker/benevolence bringer.
- Heart of Happiness: Heart Symbol that indicates the other positive emotions of generalized happiness.
- Heartwarming Orphan: An orphan child who normally ends up being adopted and is a good character who makes the audience emotional.
- Heel–Face Turn: A bad guy becomes good.
- Heel–Faith Turn: An evil character turns good thanks to a religious experience.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: The one female villain reforms.
- Heel–Face Reincarnation: A villain is reincarnated as a good person.
- The High Queen: The queen is beautiful and good to an inhuman degree, and is to be held in awe.
- Helping Granny Cross the Street
- Helpless Good Side: The good personality can't do anything to keep the evil personality in check.
- The Hero: The central character who performs good deeds with a heroic motivation.
- The Hero's Journey: A basic function of narratives that illustrates a character's path to becoming a hero.
- Hero Academy: A school for training young heroes.
- Superhero School: An institute that teaches young superheroes how to use their powers properly.
- Hero Antagonist: Because the main character of a work isn't necessarily the good guy, it is possible for the person opposing them to be a good guy.
- Hero Does Public Service: Heroes help out in the community when not busy with their day job.
- Heroes' Frontier Step: Characters commit an action so noble that it proves that they're a hero.
- Heroes Gone Fishing: The good guys are relaxing from fighting evil.
- Heroes Love Dogs: The hero have a dog which they love and spend quality time with.
- Heroes "R" Us: An organized group of heroes and other good guys.
- Heroic Fire Rescue: A heroic character shows their heroism by rescuing someone from a burning building or something similar.
- Heroic Lineage: Heroism is passed down through the family.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A heroic character makes a sacrifice, typically their life, to achieve a particular objective, such as saving other lives.
- Heroic Safe Mode: Instead of breaking down, the hero goes into fight-or-flight Determinator mode.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: A character doesn't want others to know about their good-hearted acts.
- Holy Hand Grenade
- Hope Bringer: A character who acts as the inspiration for their civilization.
- Horseback Heroism: Good guys are performing noble actions while riding horses.
- Hospitality for Heroes: Generous shopkeeper gives away product to heroes or generally good people for their deeds.
- Humans Are Good
- Humans Are Flawed: Humanity might be far from perfect, but it is in their struggle to overcome their shortcomings that mankind truly shines.
- Human Jungle Gym: Large characters letting little children climb up their bodies like a playground.
- I Control My Minions Through...: Acceptance, Loyalty and Kindness variants
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: A character has been turned to the dark side and someone close to them must now fight them and persuade them that they still have good within them.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: A character decides to stop pursuing another romantically so they can be with the one they love.
- I Was Just Passing Through: A character, usually a rival, saves another character and makes an excuse for it.
- I Work Alone: A character declines help, stating that they work alone in doing good deeds.
- Ideal Hero: A hero who is morally upright and not flawed.
- Idealist vs. Pragmatist: A conflict between The Idealist and a Pragmatic Hero.
- I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Heroes (or any characters with good qualities) deny their status as a hero even if their actions said otherwise.
- Immortality Inducer: A magical or technological device that grants immortality.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: A being who is so good-natured and kind that it is impossible for them to be corrupted.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Blue eyes represent innocence and heroism.
- Innocent Soprano: In opera and musical theater, the roles of The Ingenue and other young, romantic, and virtuous beautiful maidens are traditionally sung by lyric sopranos.
- Iron Woobie: The Woobie overcomes their endeavors for a good effort.
- Jade-Colored Glasses
- Jeanne d'Archétype: A young Action Girl in military combat who is viewed as an inspiring symbol of the cause.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A character who often comes off as mean occasionally proves that they're not a completely bad person and are perfectly capable of showing kindness.
- Jumped at the Call: A character is eager to uphold the responsibility of being the hero once they are given the chance.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Criminals who steal from the filthy rich and give to the poor.
- Karma Houdini: A character who escapes the consequences of their wrongdoings might step back and reevaluate their lives and redeem themselves.
- Karmic Jackpot: Characters are rewarded for performing good deeds.
- Keep the Reward: A true hero is blasé about collecting a fee.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: A character's fondness for cats is portrayed as a benevolent quality.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: A generally pig-ignorant, stupid character who makes up for their idiocy and denseness by being morally nice and show any sort of likability in them.
- Kiss of Life: A character attempts artificial respiration to revive an unconscious person.
- Kneel Before Frodo: High praise is given to a hero lower on the social scale.
- Knight Errant: A deliberate Drifter with a case of Chronic Hero Syndrome.
- Knight in Shining Armor: A noble knight with a strong sense of justice who slays the dragon and rescues the princess.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Pessimistic heroes who keep on the good fight, despite their Jade-Colored Glasses.
- Knight Templar: Character has noble goals, but takes their actions way too far.
- Lady and Knight: The brave, chivalrous knight defends and falls in love with the fair lady.
- The Lancer: The foil for a hero of the closely allied variety.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: A good guy with a huge chin.
- Law Enforcement, Inc.: A self-funded, self-supporting private agency which can act as a legal authority and law enforcement power, or as an official military outfit.
- Lawful Good: A character alignment involving good and order.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Two heroes, on the same side, and working for the same goals, attack each other.
- Light Equals Hope: Light is used symbolically to literally signify hope.
- Light Is Good: A character with a benevolent appearance truly is benevolent.
- Load-Bearing Hero: Heroes hold a falling object to save the members of main cast or others.
- Loon with a Heart of Gold: A character who is quirky, insane or unhinged is also one of the kindest and most compassionate, more than most of the "normals".
- Lovable Lizard: Lizards are seen as cute and heroic among reptiles.
- Loved by All: The character who is loved by everyone else is usually the most good-hearted.
- Love Redeems: An antagonistic character is redeemed due to their love of another character.
- Made of Good
- Magnetic Hero: A hero with remarkable personal magnetism gains friends and allies with astonishing ease.
- Main Character Final Boss: The lead hero of a given work also serves as its final opponent.
- The Man in the Moon: The moon is often an aged but benevolent figure who stands over the Earth, granting it natural bounty or serving as the destination for young adventurers.
- Man of the City: A character makes it their life mission to protect a city.
- Mellow Fellow: A character, who is easy-going and content with their position, is often a benevolent or at least affable character due to rarely being confrontational.
- Memorial Statue: A statue to honor a person, who may have heroically died saving somebody else, dedicated their lives to the greater good, or created a successful organization.
- The Men First: The boss, leader or captain wants to get their soldiers out of the bad situation.
- Mentor Archetype: Someone whose role is to ensure The Hero's Character Development.
- Mentor in Sour Armor: Bitter mentors with soft hearts.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: A character teaches another character a skill by putting them in a life-or-death situation.
- Messianic Archetype: A savior who endures great sacrifices, up to and including death, to aid others.
- Minnesota Nice: People from Midwest America are nice and polite.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: A character may seem evil, but he/she is actually a good person.
- Morality-Guided Attack
- Moral Pragmatist: Joining the side of good because it's practical.
- More Hero than Thou: Characters argue who should perform the noble sacrifice based on their heroism.
- The Morality/Mortality Equation: The more evil a villain is, the greater the odds that their loved ones will not survive. The more moral the hero is, the greater the odds that their own loved ones will survive.
- Mr. Vice Guy: Characters who have habitual vices, but are still heroic nonetheless.
- Multinational Team: A team of heroes has members from different countries.
- My Fist Forgives You: Someone who has been wronged strikes the one who wronged them once before forgiving them.
- Nature Hero: Heroes who fights to protect nature.
- Nature Lover: A character is driven by an affinity for the natural world.
- Naughty Is Good: Children who tend to misbehave are still the good guys.
- Neutral Good: A character alignment involving selflessness, without substantial favor for or outside rules.
- Never Hurt an Innocent: A villain (or Anti-Hero) refuses to harm innocent people.
- Nice Guy: A character who tends to be selfless and friendly.
- Nice to the Waiter: A character shows basic courtesy to everyone, including servants.
- Noble Profession: Some occupations are just expected to be benevolent, well-meaning and lovely.
- Old-Fashioned Copper: British bobbies are characterized for being morally upstanding law enforcers.
- Officer and a Gentleman: A cultured, refined, polite, and honorable military officeholder.
- Only Good People May Pass
- Only the Pure of Heart: In some areas or locations, people with pure hearts will have the chance to access things malevolent people cannot.
- Pajama-Clad Hero: A hero who does good deeds while in sleepwear.
- The Paragon: A hero encourage others to help themselves and/or to strive their goodness within their abilities.
- The Paragon Always Rebels: In a heroic sense, the guy leading by example rebels, dragging a whole bunch of others with him.
- Paying It Forward: Doing good for those to whom you don't owe anything, just for its own sake.
- Pet the Dog: A villain or jerk does something nice to prove that they're not a completely awful person.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: A good guy who holds racist, sexist and/or controversial views.
- Positive Friend Influence: A friend who has a positive influence on their other friends.
- The Power of Rock: Heroes defeat an evil force using music, especially rock & roll.
- A Protagonist Shall Lead Them: A long-divided people are united by the prophesied arrival of a hero, who becomes their leader.
- Pragmatic Hero: Characters who resort to morally ambiguous methods to get positive results for the greater good.
- Precursor Heroes: A hero or group of heroes that arose in the hour of need and dealt with the threat 1,000 years ago.
- Pro-Human Transhuman: The enhanced hero still cares for the well-being of others, augmented or not.
- Proper Lady: An ideal woman who's self-sacrificing, smart, loyal, chaste, incorruptible, gentle, and strong.
- The Quarterback: An effective captain who is usually nicer than his teammates.
- Quintessential British Gentleman: An stereotypical proper British character who is involving the virtues of hospitality, rationality and temperance, the avoidance of irrational extremes, devotion to 'things held dear', rebellion against corruption, and courageous composure in the face of adversity.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Some good guys have red eyes to show that they’re not fooling around.
- The Redeemer: A character whose personality allows them to get others to turn over a new leaf.
- Redemption Demotion: A character who makes a Heel–Face Turn gets substantially weaker.
- Redemption Promotion: A harmless/ful or incompetent character gets substantially stronger post-Heel–Face Turn.
- Redemption Earns Life: A villain clearly avoids certain death by joining the cause of good.
- Redemption Quest: A character goes on a journey, looking for redemption after committing a disastrous deed.
- Reformed, but Not Tamed: A villainous character turns to the good side, but retains some of their negative qualities.
- Refusal of the Call: The character, typically the hero, receives a Call to Adventure but at first refuses for some reason.
- Restored My Faith in Humanity: A character learns that humanity isn't so bad after all.
- Revenge Is Not Justice: A character is in the wrong for taking revenge against another.
- Revolting Rescue: An action that's heroic, yet disgusting.
- Right Makes Might: The hero believes that justice will prevail, and so it does.
- Righteous Rabbit: A rabbit or hare is portrayed as a heroic character.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: A girl with pink hair has an affable and cheery personality to match.
- Rousseau Was Right: The belief that all people are inherently good.
- Rushmore Refacement: Heroes sometimes have their faces placed on Mount Rushmore due to their good deeds they've done.
- The Sacred Darkness: Dark is not only not evil; it's benevolent and holy in and of itself.
- Sacred Bow and Arrows
- Safe, Sane, and Consensual: If no one gets seriously hurt, no one's under the influence of anything, and everyone wants to do this, then it's fine.
- Saintly Church: A religious organization that actually wants to do good and righteous deeds for the world.
- Satan Is Good: Satan is portrayed as benevolent.
- Save Both Worlds: The heroes try to save another world from destruction, which in turn results in saving their own world.
- Saving Christmas: Christmas (or the local equivalent) may not happen and the good guys have to solve the problem.
- Saving the Orphanage: The hero has to stop a heartless business exec who wants to destroy a local Orphanage of Love.
- Saving the World: The ubiquitous goal of many stock heroes: Preventing the end of the world or the world from being conquered.
- Scary Teeth: Some good guys' teeth can be quite disturbing, especially if they focus their righteous anger on evil-doers.
- Science Hero: A hero who uses science or high technology to save the day.
- Science Is Good
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: A character disobeys the laws, customs, or their instructions so they can follow their conscience.
- Sealed Good in a Can: A benevolent being is sealed away before eventually being freed.
- Selfless Wish: A character forfeits their wish on behalf of someone else.
- Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Good guys dress modestly while villains wear revealing attire.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Characters go back in time to change an error, or undo mistakes.
- Seven Heavenly Virtues
- Sex Is Good
- Sexy Villains, Chaste Heroes: Sexualized villains' designs contrast with the designs of more modest heroes.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: A good person is suspected to secretly not be as good as they were assumed to be, but it turns out their supposed bad deeds had benign ulterior motives.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: The villain mocks the hero for being idealistic and the hero responds with a rebuttal on why it's a good thing that they are idealistic.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: The hero tells the villain that they'll inevitably lose and the villain responds by saying that they don't care and still have the hero outclassed.
- Siding with the Suffering: A villain switches sides when they see another villain making someone suffer.
- Silver Has Mystic Powers
- Slave Liberation: Characters elect to free people from slavery.
- Smile of Approval: A character smiles at another character they initially disliked as a sign of admiration or respect.
- Spare a Messenger
- Sparing the Final Mook: After beating a number of mooks single-handedly, a heroic character spares a final one, often telling the last one to take a dive.
- Spoiled Sweet: A rich, spoiled character who is nice to everyone.
- Uncle Pennybags: A wealthy person who often uses their fortune to help the needy and/or give those less fortunate than them a good time.
- Standard Royal Court: A staple setting of historical and Speculative Fiction, the natural home of good kings, the Good Chancellors, and every breed of aristocrat.
- Subbing for Santa: Characters takes the role of a popular mythical character when they can't do their job of the year.
- Suit Up of Destiny: Heroes put on important suits/costumes for the Call to Adventure.
- Superhero Capital of the World: A location with an overwhelming surplus of superheroes.
- Sweet Baker: A person who regularly bakes has a sweet personality.
- Sweet Home Alabama: The Deep South in a (usually) more positive light.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: The antagonist of a work is a sympathetic police officer trying to capture the law-breaking criminal protagonist.
- Sympathy for the Devil: A hero sympathizes with a villain.
- Sympathy for the Hero: An evil-doer/morally grey character/Innocent Bystander feels and expresses a moment of sympathy/pity for The Hero(ine).
- Take My Hand!: A character saves, or tries to save, someone dangling from a ledge by having them grab their hand.
- Take Up My Sword: The hero dies, so someone else needs to heed his/her call.
- Tastes Like Friendship: A character becomes another's friend after being given food.
- Tenor Boy: The young and idealistic romantic lead in theater tends to sing in the tenor range.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Characters have a moral code that precludes killing.
- To Absent Friends: Two or more heroes gather to grieve for a dead comrade, with a toast or without a formalized structure, usually after their heroic cause.
- To Be Lawful or Good: A character must choose between doing what is honorable and what is compassionate/good/just.
- Token Good Cop: A cop who's still doing the right thing, despite being surrounded by corruption or incompetence.
- Token Good Teammate: The one member of a villain team who is actually a good guy.
- Token Heroic Orc: The only heroic member of a species that is (otherwise) evil.
- A True Hero: An exploration of what makes someone a legitimate or better hero.
- Turn the Other Cheek: Responding to cruelty with instant forgiveness.
- Unintentionally Karmic: A Stupid Good or Innocently Insensitive character who is always nice to a jerk and aims to please or befriend them, only for their attempts to go wrong for the bad guy.
- Upbringing Makes the Hero: Heroes with a down-to-earth upbringing tend to have a strong enough moral compass to navigate most moral dilemmas.
- Virtue Is Weakness
- Virtuous Vegetarianism: A character's refusal to eat meat is used as a symbol of inner goodness or purity.
- Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: A Kid Hero has at least as much trouble dealing with social pressures and crushes as with saving the world.
- We Help the Helpless: The hero helps everyone in need even if there's no chance of getting anything in return.
- Welcome Back, Traitor: A teammate changes sides only to come back and is received in open arms.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The villain/Anti-Hero is only doing what they do because they have noble goals.
- West Coast Team: Superhero team's far-away equivalent/affiliate/subsidiary.
- White Is Pure: White is associated with cleanliness, innocence, and virtue.
- White Magic: A type of magic (or equivalent force) that centres on beneficial effects.
- White Man's Burden: A well-to-do white character selflessly works to help an unfortunate person of color.
- White Sheep: A good character who rebels against their evil family.
- Wise Old Turtle: Turtles and tortoises are depicted as wise old mentors.
- With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: A hero uses his powers and abilities to defend the helpless and weak from evil, rather than for personal gain, revenge or side benefits.
- A World Half Full: A Crapsack World becomes a better place by the end of the story.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Character draws the line at hurting children.
- Wounded Hero, Weaker Helper: A hero is wounded and needs help from a comparatively weaker/frailer character.
- "X" Marks the Hero: A character has a cross-shaped scar to show they're a badass good guy.
- You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good!: The hero points out that the villain could've used their gifts to benefit humanity.
- You Must Be Cold: Someone puts their jacket over the other to protect them from the cold and/or snowy environment, to show that they're a good person underneath.
- Zero-Approval Gambit: Someone makes a plan that involves making everyone hate them.
