Boss Subtitles

This is what I get for selecting 'Random' on TV Tropes.

Okay, so let's think back to our video game memories. My earliest are, as with many people's, during the '80s and 'early '90s that somehow refuses to die properly. It's a time when the Zelda series, name issues aside, introduces the world to a youthful hero trying to save Princess Zelda in all her various incarnations (except perhaps that version though even then). Mario, at least the Mario we all remember, first antagonized a gorilla to save another Damsel in Distress before beating up a lizard to save another Damsel (at least when he and his perennial adversary weren't goofing about). Sonic the Hedgehog taught kids various lessons in his Animated Adaptation (much like Mario really) while going insane with speed (even if other characters may run as fast as he can).

There are various tropes (some outlined above) associated with such early memories. One is the delightfully anti-immersive Boss Subtitle. This affects the kind of situation you expect it would, even if you fight them more than once. It is basically the name of the boss flashed on the screen for a brief while, with a brief description sometimes added to the mix.

This one can come across as too cheesy rather than invoke anything serious, though that isn't always what the author desired. After all, it's hard to argue Mario is far from the cynical end of the scale, even if it does raise certain questions about its inspiration. As such, be mindful of how you want the game to come across.

For example, certain genres have traditionally-expected elements where the Boss Subtitle would fit right in with. Platformers, for example, may have a bare-bones plot at best, if a plot at all, as well as the usual array of common enemies to offset the one boss at the end of it all. Without a deep story to compliment the game, an author may be able to get away with a Subtitle for the sake of providing a name (although providing none wouldn't detract from anything in this case).

Batman Grabs A Gun

Some heroes just don't carry guns. Each have their reasons, but the ultimate issue is the same: they forbade themselves from clutching a firearm whenever they can avoid it. As such, they work around this self-imposed limitations by any variety of means, such as technology (whether they are sane or otherwise), martial arts or a flat-out gimmick that saves them (ideally) from such a hindrance.

Naturally, this comes to a head when they are pushed to the limit and may actually need to, shall we say, get dangerous.

Welcome to the Batman Grabs A Gun moment, when all hell breaks loose and a character ignores his imposed ban on guns for the sake of fulfilling a goal. Note that he actually must actually possess a vow against using something on a fundamental level and not just somehow managing to avoid doing so due to coincidence. He has a rule, even if it would overlap with That One Rule metaphorically speaking when it comes to writing his character, and he will never violate it unless it hits the fans and pushes him to do so.

Note, also, that why 'gun' is part of the title, it needn't be firearms specifically. Killing is another example, allowing for characters such as Captain America as well as Batman to wind up in these moments. The basic point is that it is something they find so deplorable that they will not use it if they can help it.

As the trope page mentions, this is almost always a Crowning Moment of Awesome but never a Crowing Moment of Funny (though it can be, unfortunately, if handled inappropriately). It isn't merely a moment a hero's doing something he wouldn't normally get a chance to do - he is against doing so. It's very serious (making it justified and thus not a form of the more sarcastic Serious Business trope) and if done properly, people would say the same thing when it happens. Sometimes this can mutate into a Hell Yes moment so long as the hero (or villain, really) is in a situation where he's pulling the gun (or equivalent self-banned tactic, such

As such, it should be used sparingly and with all due consideration taken if you intend on keeping it a running concept. It is easy to fall into Narm territory, as mentioned above, since it isn't necessarily easy to write such moments (let alone act them, draw them, etc.). It is also possible to saturate this far too often, especially with long runners such as The Simpsons or Naruto.

It's also possible a character evolves to open up more to the idea of tactic he once loathed. As a hypothetical example, Batman may find that gun use isn't so bad after all and may simply find it an adequate means of fighting fire with fire. Obviously this depends on numerous factors and can lead to a 'they changed it now it sucks' attitude from the audience, particularly with such a long runner (remember, Batman debuted in 1939, a golden oldie alongside his compatriot, Superman).

Actor IS The Title Character

Ever notice how films occasionally heavily advertise the fact they star a particular film, to such an extent that they say this guy IS the character? Of course you have, it's a fairly common practice, whether in America or across the seas. The actor's name gets top-billing, even if the character only makes a brief cameo in the film to sucker in audiences.

Welcome to the world of Actor IS The Title Character, a fairly common sight in modern cinema. The implication is that the actor is so similar to who he plays that he basically is the character. A quasi-contrast to this is the fabled Alan Smithee defense, which works for directors (although Alan Smithee is no longer the only name permitted). It's meant to cash in on the celebrity actor's name to draw in audience, similar to how comics announce certain characters in an issue to get more sales.

This can easily allow for fourth-wall breaks and extremely hammy acting, depending on the script and actor involved obviously. It can also be lead into a case of false impressions even if the actor makes an appearance, however brief, though especially if the actor doesn't.

He Who Must Not Be Heard

Here's a quick one, to update this blog.

He Who Must Not Be Heard (contrasting He Who Must Not Be Seen) is a character who never speaks. There are three main varieties of this trope, each with their own reasons for being applied: those who wish not to speak, those who cannot speak at all and those who can speak but are incomprehensible to the audience. The latter need not be unintelligible to his or her fellow characters (think of R2-D2 or Chewbacca) but he or she sometimes might.

There are numerous reasons one can utilize this trope if need be. Someone wise beyond their years may feel it only necessary to speak when it is important, although they may also be quite mad. Sometimes it is to give a world flavor, especially to counteract the suspicious tendency of aliens being capable of speaking the language of the audience, and rather fluently at that. Some who is particularly evil can be driven to this or can drive someone else into this situation as an adequate demonstration of nightmare fuel (which is very rarely accidental).

It may also be used for humor, such as when a foreign language depicted often uses long speeches that translate into short meanings (and occasionally the reverse). This does provide a good deal of Bilingual Bonus when the character Who Must Not Be Heard is actually saying something rather than the silent type (assuming the language is actually intelligible, particularly important when the language is fictional). It could also potentially fall into Amusing Alien and Funny Foreigner, however, which may be a sensitive topic.