Basic Trope: A character with red eyes has a high probability of being evil or otherwise dangerous.
- Straight: Lord Bloodstone has red eyes and is the villain of the story.
- Exaggerated:
- Lord Bloodstone has red eyes and Glowing Eyes of Doom. Thus, Glowing Red Eyes of Doom, Take Warning. He's also the main villain.
- Alternatively, Lord Bloodstone's eyes are completely red, including his scleras and pupils. He's the villain of the story.
- All villains have red eyes.
- Downplayed:
- Lord Bloodstone has bloodshot eyes.
- Lord Bloodstone's eyes are an unusually bright coppery brown.
- Lord Bloodstone has ordinary-colored eyes, but wears red eye contacts to look more intimidating.
- Lord Bloodstone is an Anti-Villain.
- Jack has red eyes and is a Jerkass but not outright evil.
- Jack has red eyes and is The Hero, but Good is Not Nice.
- Jack normally has Innocent Blue Eyes, but they turn red when he decides to get dangerous, especially if he has a Superpowered Evil Side.
- Jack normally has Innocent Blue Eyes, but upon being placed under mind control, he develops red Mind-Control Eyes.
- Lord Bloodstone is a villainous individual, but doesn't have red eyes, though his eyes have a color that is mixed with red (like orange, purple or pink).
- Lord Bloodstone is commonly depicted with red eyes in promotional material and fanart, yet in the actual story he lacks them.
- Jack is an otherwise incorruptible hero, yet he wields red eyes, but he has strong powers which he uses to fight crime with ease.
- Justified:
- Lord Bloodstone is the personification of the deadly sin of wrath, and thus, his eyes match the colour associated with said sin.
- All those who are granted power from a sinister source, such as a demon, have their irises stained red by it, Lord Bloodstone included.
- Everyone has Elemental Eye Colors, and pretty much everyone who gets firenote is guaranteed to either become corrupt or just be a pyromaniac.
- Lord Bloodstone is so angry that he actually burst a couple of blood vessels!
- Inverted:
- Lord Bloodstone has Innocent Blue Eyes.
- Lord Bloodstone is the villain of the story but he has bright blue eyes.
- The incorruptible prince Strongheart has red eyes.
- Rogue is a Hero with Bad Publicity who often gets shunned because people think his red eyes are scary.
- Subverted:
- Red-eyed Lord Bloodstone claims/tries to be dangerous, but is just too incompetent to pull it off.
- Red-eyed Lord Bloodstone is established as dangerous, but turns out to be an ally of the heroes.
- Double Subverted:
- Lord Bloodstone, tired of being the Butt-Monkey, puts efforts to become more competent — and dangerous.
- Then it turns out that Lord Bloodstone is also the actual The Man Behind the Man.
- Parodied:
- A character puts in red contact lenses. They immediately go on a killing spree.
- Lord Bloodstone routinely douses himself with pepper spray to ensure that his eyes stay red when he does something evil.
- Lord Bloodstone wakes up with a hangover one morning. He staggers to the fridge, gets a glass of lemonade, and blows up his neighbor's house. He laughs evilly while sipping the lemonade, his eyes glowing.
- Zig Zagged: Lord Bloodstone is initially established as a pyromaniac Blood Knight, but he also has Hidden Depths, being a Good Samaritan who would give you the shirt off his back. Just don't get on his bad side.
- Averted:
- No-one has red eyes.
- A character has red eyes, but they do not really signify a certain trait — they're just destined to be another fragment of the Amazing Technicolor Population anyway. (Or if they're lucky, a Recurring Extra. Or a Memetic Bystander, if they're really lucky.)
- Enforced: "Let's give the Big Bad red eyes so he can be identified as the villain."
- Lampshaded: "So you're behind this all? I should have known since the moment I looked in your evil red eyes."
- Invoked:
- Albinism is fairly common in the setting. The Big Bad spreads a rumor that any child with the trait is destined to become evil; that way, he ensures that he will always have a supply of hated and feared minions with nowhere else to go.
- Lord Bloodstone puts on red contact lenses to make himself look more intimidating.
- Exploited: Prince Strongheart needs to pass for evil, so he gets himself a pair of red contact lenses.
- Defied: "My eyes may be red, but my heart is pure!"
- Discussed: "So, are red eyes a requisite for villainy?"
- Conversed:
- "Why do such a high proportion of evil-doers have red eyes?"
- "He must be the bad guy. Just look at those eyes."
- Deconstructed: Lord Bloodstone was hated and feared ever since he was a child because of his sinister-looking eyes. The abuse he suffered twisted him into the villain that he is today.
- Reconstructed:
- Lord Bloodstone was hated and feared ever since he was a child because the power of the Demon King that dwells within him, and people felt inherently afraid of him. As he grew more twisted and bitter, his eyes became redder, a sign of the Demon King gaining control. The hero has the same power, but maintains his heroic nature, and so his eyes are an untainted blue.
- Bloodstone was not born with red eyes: He only gained them after numerous acts of evil. He is deserving of his bad repetition and the eyes are proof.
Back to Red Eyes, Take Warning
