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* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Kevin has the heads of six prositutes mounted on the wall of his murder room. It seems to have been inspired by this already disturbing ad for [[http://i.huffpost.com/gen/254621/STUFFED-GIRLS-HEADS.jpg "Stuffed" Girl's Heads]].
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* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Kevin has the heads of six prositutes mounted on the wall of his murder room. It seems to may have been inspired by this already disturbing ad for [[http://i.huffpost.com/gen/254621/STUFFED-GIRLS-HEADS.jpg "Stuffed" Girl's Heads]].
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* TheNthDoctor: The sequel, which will have a "pre-facial surgery prequel" story for Dwight, will star Josh Brolin cast in the role instead of Clive Owen.
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* TheNthDoctor: The sequel, which will have a "pre-facial surgery prequel" story for Dwight, will star Josh Brolin cast in the role instead of Clive Owen. Owen will still play Dwight after surgery however.
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* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Kevin has the heads of six prositutes mounted on the wall of his murder room. It seems to have been inspired by this already disturbing ad for [[http://i.huffpost.com/gen/254621/STUFFED-GIRLS-HEADS.jpg "Stuffed" Girl's Heads]].
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Two more ''Sin City'' films are planned. One of them will include the story ''A Dame to Kill For'', along with a brand-new sequel to ''That Yellow Bastard'' and the three ''Blue Eyes'' short stories, the other will be centred around ''Hell and Back''. They were originally scheduled for a 2008 release, but were in DevelopmentHell for seven years until [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/sin-city-2-is-go-at-last.html in 2012]] they were SavedFromDevelopmentHell. Sadly, the recent deaths of two important actors: BrittanyMurphy (Shelly) and MichaelClarkeDuncan (Manute), and the disappearance of Devon Aoki (Miho) from acting will cause [[TheOtherDarrin some difficulties]]. The first sequel is being called '''''Sin City: A Dame To Kil For'''''.
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Two more ''Sin City'' films are planned. One of them will include the story ''A Dame to Kill For'', along with a brand-new sequel to ''That Yellow Bastard'' and the three ''Blue Eyes'' short stories, the other will be centred around ''Hell and Back''. They were originally scheduled for a 2008 release, but were in DevelopmentHell for seven years until [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/sin-city-2-is-go-at-last.html in 2012]] when they were SavedFromDevelopmentHell. Sadly, the recent deaths of two important actors: BrittanyMurphy (Shelly) and MichaelClarkeDuncan (Manute), and the disappearance of Devon Aoki (Miho) from acting will cause [[TheOtherDarrin some difficulties]]. The first sequel is being called '''''Sin City: A Dame To Kil For'''''.
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* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: Highly averted when characters enact revenge, they often remark how good it feels.
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--> '''Marv:''' It's not a good idea to be talkin' about Goldie like that when I'm around.
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--> '''Marv:''' It's not a good idea to be talkin' about Goldie like that when I'm around.
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--> '''Marv:''' It's not a good idea to be talkin' about Goldie like that when I'm around.
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* BerserkButton: Dissing Goldie in front of Marv, as the Padre and Cardinal Rourke find out.
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Probably writer/artist FrankMiller's best known work (other than ''TheDarkKnightReturns''), ''Sin City'' is an irregular comic book series about the [[WretchedHive venal]] Basin City and the seedy inhabitants who lurk in its alleys and doorways. Infamous for its [[RefugeInAudacity absurdly]] [[RatedMForManly macho writing]], ''Sin City'' reads like an AffectionateParody of FilmNoir turned UpToEleven: every hero is a mentally or physically scarred bruiser and every woman is a beautiful dame with a heaving bosom. BlackAndGrayMorality is predominant.
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Infamous for its [[RefugeInAudacity absurdly]] [[RatedMForManly macho writing]], ''Sin City'' reads like an AffectionateParody of FilmNoir turned UpToEleven: every hero is a mentally or physically scarred bruiser and every woman is a beautiful dame with a heaving bosom. BlackAndGrayMorality is predominant.
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'''Films''' - ''Sin City'' was turned into an anthology film by director RobertRodriguez, who quit the director's guild to let Frank Miller take co-director status. Rodriguez shot the film pretty much panel-for-panel from the comics, using black and white footage and Main/GreenScreen backgrounds to get the perfect ''Sin City'' feel.
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Several of the ''Sin City''
Rodriguez quit the director's guild to let Frank Miller take co-director status. Even his friend Creator/QuentinTarantino was given a co-director credit, since he came over on a day of shooting to film a scene. Rodriguez shot the film pretty much panel-for-panel from the comics, using black and white footage and
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Two more ''Sin City'' films are planned. One of them will include the story ''A Dame to Kill For'', along with a brand-new sequel to ''That Yellow Bastard'' and the three ''Blue Eyes'' short stories, the other will be centred around ''Hell and Back''. They were originally scheduled for a 2008 release, but were in DevelopmentHell for seven years until [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/sin-city-2-is-go-at-last.html just recently]] being SavedFromDevelopmentHell. Sadly, the recent deaths of two important actors: BrittanyMurphy (Shelly) and MichaelClarkeDuncan (Manute), and the disappearance of Devon Aoki (Miho) from acting will cause [[TheOtherDarrin some difficulties]].
to:
Two more ''Sin City'' films are planned. One of them will include the story ''A Dame to Kill For'', along with a brand-new sequel to ''That Yellow Bastard'' and the three ''Blue Eyes'' short stories, the other will be centred around ''Hell and Back''. They were originally scheduled for a 2008 release, but were in DevelopmentHell for seven years until [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/sin-city-2-is-go-at-last.html just recently]] being in 2012]] they were SavedFromDevelopmentHell. Sadly, the recent deaths of two important actors: BrittanyMurphy (Shelly) and MichaelClarkeDuncan (Manute), and the disappearance of Devon Aoki (Miho) from acting will cause [[TheOtherDarrin some difficulties]].
difficulties]]. The first sequel is being called '''''Sin City: A Dame To Kil For'''''.
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Since the film is such a direct adaptation of the comicbooks, listing the tropes seperately won't be necessary.
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** Well, YMMV, but [[spoiler:Becky from Old Town]] might qualify.
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* TheDulcineaEffect: The extreme lengths Marv is willing to go to to avenge Goldie. Most of the other heroes of SinCity might qualify as well, including Dwight, who has this used against him by Ava in a WoundedGazelleGambit.
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* TheDulcineaEffect: The extreme lengths Marv is willing to go to to avenge Goldie. Most of the other heroes of SinCity might qualify as well, including Dwight, who has this used against him by Ava in a WoundedGazelleGambit.
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* VillainProtagonist: The ''Blue Eyes'' stories, ''The Salesman Is Always Right'', and ''Rats'' all count.
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* VillainProtagonist: The ''Blue Eyes'' following stories. The other stories typically feature [[BlackandGreyMorality very dark anti-heroes]].
** The "Blue Eyes" stories,''The in which the protagonist is a ProfessionalKiller pursuing her marks.
** "The Salesman Is AlwaysRight'', Right", in which the Salesman is revealed at the end to have come to murder the woman he strikes up a conversation with.
** "Rats" centers on an escaped Nazi war criminal who is living incognito in the United States, and''Rats'' [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims reminisces]] about all count.the people he murdered during the war.
** The "Blue Eyes" stories,
** "The Salesman Is Always
** "Rats" centers on an escaped Nazi war criminal who is living incognito in the United States, and
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Crosswicking.
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* DrunkDriver: Jack Rafferty drives drunk in "The Big Fat Kill". He dies that night but it had nothing to do with his state, surprisingly.
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Moved to the Trivia tab.
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* PlayingAgainstType:
** Man, it is surprising to see [[TheLordOfTheRings Frodo Baggins]] playing a [[TheVoiceless mute]], psychopathic, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] SerialKiller.
** Seeing one of the GilmoreGirls as a prostitute.
** Man, it is surprising to see [[TheLordOfTheRings Frodo Baggins]] playing a [[TheVoiceless mute]], psychopathic, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] SerialKiller.
** Seeing one of the GilmoreGirls as a prostitute.
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Alphabetization. Example Indentation.
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* MrFanservice: While the series is known for its [[MsFanService alluring female characters]], almost every male protagonist has a nude scene and there are plenty of [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]] scenes as well.
** Not to be outdone, while the movie avoids MaleFrontalNudity due to {{Double Standard}}s in the movie industry, the male leads are played by the likes of BruceWillis and Clive Owen.
** Not to be outdone, while the movie avoids MaleFrontalNudity due to {{Double Standard}}s in the movie industry, the male leads are played by the likes of BruceWillis and Clive Owen.
* MrFanservice: While the series is known for its [[MsFanService alluring female characters]], almost every male protagonist has a nude scene and there are plenty of {{Shirtless Scene}}s as well. Not to be outdone, while the movie avoids MaleFrontalNudity due to {{Double Standard}}s in the movie industry, the male leads are played by the likes of BruceWillis and Clive Owen.
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*** Marv names his gun, much like MikeHammer does in some versions.
*** Nancy's last name is Callahan, which is the same last name of a certain iconic [[DirtyHarry movie cop.]] She also refers to her car as "this heap" which is something MikeHammer would often do.
*** ''The Hard Goodbye'' is the name later given to the first Sin City story. Creator/RaymondChandler wrote a Literature/PhilipMarlowe novel called ''TheLongGoodbye''.
*** In ''Hell and Back'' there is a brief narration by Leibowitz's son that is in the style of romance comics from the 50's.
*** Also in ''Hell and Back'', the main character is drugged and we see the only full color sequence in the series. The hero has hallucinations of the following: CaptainAmerica, {{Rambo}}, DirtyHarry, ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}, Comicbook/TheBigGuyAndRustyTheBoyRobot, LoneWolfAndCub, RoboCop, Comicbook/SgtRock, [[RaggedyAnnAndAndyAMusicalAdventure Raggedy-Ann and Andy]], and more.
*** Nancy's last name is Callahan, which is the same last name of a certain iconic [[DirtyHarry movie cop.]] She also refers to her car as "this heap" which is something MikeHammer would often do.
*** ''The Hard Goodbye'' is the name later given to the first Sin City story. Creator/RaymondChandler wrote a Literature/PhilipMarlowe novel called ''TheLongGoodbye''.
*** In ''Hell and Back'' there is a brief narration by Leibowitz's son that is in the style of romance comics from the 50's.
*** Also in ''Hell and Back'', the main character is drugged and we see the only full color sequence in the series. The hero has hallucinations of the following: CaptainAmerica, {{Rambo}}, DirtyHarry, ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}, Comicbook/TheBigGuyAndRustyTheBoyRobot, LoneWolfAndCub, RoboCop, Comicbook/SgtRock, [[RaggedyAnnAndAndyAMusicalAdventure Raggedy-Ann and Andy]], and more.
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Moved to the Trivia tab.
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* BannedInChina: Malaysia.
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* BeamMeUpScotty: Partial example. The series is famous for its use of spot colouring and thanks to the movie is often assumed to make extensive use of it. But the first story to use it was the short story ''The Babe Wore Red'', published after the first two stories and it didn't become more common until a few years after ''that'', with ''That Yellow Bastard''. And even then, it was still used sparingly, only to draw attention to the truly important characters or items.
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* DevelopmentHell: The movie sequels.
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* TheOtherDarrin:
** Jaimie Chung is set to replace Devon Aoki as Miho in the second film.
** [[Series/TwentyFour Dennis Haysbert]] will now play Manute due to ActorExistenceFailure.
** An interesting example with Dwight. JoshBrolin will now play Dwight before his facial reconstruction with CliveOwen playing him after.
** Jaimie Chung is set to replace Devon Aoki as Miho in the second film.
** [[Series/TwentyFour Dennis Haysbert]] will now play Manute due to ActorExistenceFailure.
** An interesting example with Dwight. JoshBrolin will now play Dwight before his facial reconstruction with CliveOwen playing him after.
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* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: The sequel is finally going to be in [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/sin-city-2-is-go-at-last.html production.]]
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Not an example, since Sin City is simply the setting.
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* TitleDrop: "Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything."
** Sin City is mentioned in every story for obvious reasons but even then, the secondary titles are always dropped as well (i.e. "The Big Fat Kill" "That Yellow Bastard", "Blue Eyes", etc.)
** Sin City is mentioned in every story for obvious reasons but even then, the secondary titles are always dropped as well (i.e. "The Big Fat Kill" "That Yellow Bastard", "Blue Eyes", etc.)
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* TitleDrop: "Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything."
**Sin City is mentioned in every story for obvious reasons but even then, the secondary titles are always dropped as well (i.e. "The Big Fat Kill" "That Yellow Bastard", "Blue Eyes", etc.)
**
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According to the note on that page it\'s not this trope, since he didn\'t actually raise her.
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* ThisIsWrongOnSoManyLevels: In "That Yellow Bastard", Nancy reveals to Hartigan that she fell in love with him because he rescued her, and makes a pass at him. He rejects her, because he [[WifeHusbandry first met her when she was still a child]].
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* ThisIsWrongOnSoManyLevels: In "That Yellow Bastard", Nancy reveals to Hartigan that she fell in love with him because he rescued her, and makes a pass at him. He rejects her, because he [[WifeHusbandry first met her when she was still a child]].child.
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* WifeHusbandry: Nancy falls in love with Hartigan due to him being her hero eight years ago. Hartigan does not take advantage due to his sense of morality and because [[spoiler:those eight years were spent in prison on false charges of raping her because of Junior's vindictive Senator father]].
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* RoadBlock: A minor occurrence in the first story (also depicted in the movie). The cops are chasing Marv on foot through the hotel. He drops out of the window and tries to go down the alley, only to see a cop car heading him off, blocking his way. He ends up jumping through the windshield to beat up the drivers and subsequently, take the car.
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Sliding Scale Of Antiheroes was redirected. Deleting wicks to it, Anti Hero Zero Context Examples and \"Type X\" junk
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* SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes: Many of Sin City's heroes tend toward type IV.
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* YourSoulIsMine: Kevin was a SerialKiller who [[ImAHumanitarian ate his victims]], all female prostitutes. Cardinal Roark, who supported him and joined in, claimed that he ate not only their bodies, but their souls as well, which would "fill him with light" and feel close to God. The story makes it clear that they're just delusional though.
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* AcceptableTargets: In-universe. Marv notes that he loves [[ProfessionalKiller hitmen]], because he can torture and kill them all he wants without ever feeling bad about it.
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* MayDecemberRomance: Nancy and Hartigan.
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* MayDecemberRomance: Nancy and Hartigan. He doesn't go so far as to actually sleep with her, since he thinks he's way too old (around 65 at the end of the story) to enter a relationship with a 19-year old, but they do share several very passionate kisses, and he describes her as "the love of my life" in his internal monologue.
* ThisIsWrongOnSoManyLevels: In "That Yellow Bastard", Nancy reveals to Hartigan that she fell in love with him because he rescued her, and makes a pass at him. He rejects her, because he [[WifeHusbandry first met her when she was still a child]].
-->'''Hartigan:''' God! There's wrong, and there's wrong, and then there's ''this''!
-->'''Hartigan:''' God! There's wrong, and there's wrong, and then there's ''this''!
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* VillainProtagonist: The Blue Eyes stories, ''The Salesman Is Always Right'', and ''Rats'' all count.
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* VillainProtagonist: The Blue Eyes ''Blue Eyes'' stories, ''The Salesman Is Always Right'', and ''Rats'' all count.
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Not to be confused with VideoGame/SimCity, which is [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential potentially]] a whole lot nicer. Or [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity GTA Vice City]], which is ''definitely not'' all that nicer.
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Not to be confused with VideoGame/SimCity, which is [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential potentially]] a whole lot nicer. Or [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity GTA Vice City]], which is ''definitely not'' all that nicer. Or [[VivaLasVegas Las Vegas]], for that matter.
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* CradlingYourKill: The Salesman does this in "The Customer is Always Right."
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* CradlingYourKill: The Salesman does this in "The Customer is Always Right."" WordOfGod states that the victim actually hired the assassin, and requested that he comfort her in her dying moments.
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Crosswicking.
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* HeroicSuicide: [[spoiler:At the end of ''That Yellow Bastard'', Hartigan kills himself so that no one will hurt Nancy to get at him.]]
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Because it is almost exclusively set in and around Basin City's criminal underworld, ''Sin City'' has a number of recurring characters, although the protagonists vary from story to story. Additionally, some plotlines overlap or weave together in subtle ways (''The Hard Goodbye'' and ''A Dame to Kill For'' are both mostly set on the same night, with the protagonists driving past one another in a single scene in both comics).
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Because it is almost exclusively set in and around Basin City's criminal underworld, ''Sin City'' has a number of recurring characters, although the protagonists vary from story to story. Additionally, [[ContinuityOverlap some plotlines overlap or weave together together]] in subtle ways (''The Hard Goodbye'' and ''A Dame to Kill For'' are both mostly set on the same night, with the protagonists driving past one another in a single scene in both comics).
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* ContinuityOverlap: The movie has this with "The Hard Goodbye" and "The Big Fat Kill", as both take place on the same night, both protagonists pass at the same bar, and several characters (such as the prostitutes) appear in both. [[spoiler:The same applies for Part 2 of "That Yellow Bastard" and "The Customer Is Always Right".]]
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* InMediasRes: In the movie [[spoiler:"That Yellow Bastard" Part 1 actually took place 8 years ago, and all stories actually happen on the same night.]]
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* TheNthDoctor: The sequel, which will have a "pre-facial surgery prequel" story for Dwight, will star Josh Brolin cast in the role instead of Clive Owen.
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* TheOtherDarrin: Jaimie Chung is set to replace Devon Aoki as Miho in the second film.
** [[TwentyFour Dennis Haysbert]] will now play Manute due to ActorExistenceFailure.
** [[TwentyFour Dennis Haysbert]] will now play Manute due to ActorExistenceFailure.
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* TheOtherDarrin: TheOtherDarrin:
** Jaimie Chung is set to replace Devon Aoki as Miho in the second film.
**[[TwentyFour [[Series/TwentyFour Dennis Haysbert]] will now play Manute due to ActorExistenceFailure.
** Jaimie Chung is set to replace Devon Aoki as Miho in the second film.
**
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* TortureTechnician: Kevin, also Roark Jr., but with less NightmareFuel.
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* TortureTechnician: Kevin, also Roark Jr., but with less NightmareFuel.horror.
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* UrbanLegends: The Colonel has many operations going, two of which, involve [[SnuffFilm snuff films]] and OrganTheft.
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* UrbanLegends: The Colonel has many operations going, two of which, involve [[SnuffFilm snuff films]] {{snuff film}}s and OrganTheft.
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* AwesomeButImpractical: The CoolCar. Lampshaded by Shlubb and Klump.
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* AwesomeButImpractical: The CoolCar.CoolCar Ferrari. Lampshaded by Shlubb and Klump.
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* BadCopIncompetentCop: Almost every cop.
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* BadCopIncompetentCop: Almost every cop.A sizeable portion of the Basin City police, but the rest are as completely honest.
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** [[TwentyFour Dennis Haysbert]] will now play Manute due to ActorExistenceFailure.
** An interesting example with Dwight. JoshBrolin will now play Dwight before his facial reconstruction with CliveOwen playing him after.
** An interesting example with Dwight. JoshBrolin will now play Dwight before his facial reconstruction with CliveOwen playing him after.
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[[redirect:SinCity]]
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->''"Walk down the right back alley in Sin City and you can find anything."''
-->--'''Marv'''
Probably writer/artist FrankMiller's best known work (other than ''TheDarkKnightReturns''), ''Sin City'' is an irregular comic book series about the [[WretchedHive venal]] Basin City and the seedy inhabitants who lurk in its alleys and doorways. Infamous for its [[RefugeInAudacity absurdly]] [[RatedMForManly macho writing]], ''Sin City'' reads like an AffectionateParody of FilmNoir turned UpToEleven: every hero is a mentally or physically scarred bruiser and every woman is a beautiful dame with a heaving bosom. BlackAndGrayMorality is predominant.
The series's other defining attribute is its artwork, which is largely black and white, with [[SplashOfColour occasional spot colouring for certain important characters]]. Miller plays heavily with silhouettes, [[{{Chiaroscuro}} high-contrast images]] and negative space to create a series of visually striking images that look like no other comic on the market.
Because it is almost exclusively set in and around Basin City's criminal underworld, ''Sin City'' has a number of recurring characters, although the protagonists vary from story to story. Additionally, some plotlines overlap or weave together in subtle ways (''The Hard Goodbye'' and ''A Dame to Kill For'' are both mostly set on the same night, with the protagonists driving past one another in a single scene in both comics).
The currently available collected editions are, in order:
'''1: The Hard Goodbye''' - Originally just titled ''Sin City'' until the film adaptation, this story follows Marv, a street thug prone to psychotic episodes, who falls in love with a beautiful prostitute one night, only to find her dead the following morning and the cops beating down his door to take him in for her murder. On his quest for vengeance, Marv shakes down the criminal underworld, does battle with corrupt cops and discovers a sick conspiracy.
'''2: A Dame to Kill For''' - Dwight [=McCarthy=], a freelance photographer with a vicious temper, is pissed off when his beautiful ex -- Ava, the dame of the title -- contacts him out of the blue. But his anger is allayed when he discovers that her life has been threatened. With time running out, Dwight must save Ava from her cruel husband and his bizarre manservant. But is Ava what she appears to be, or is Dwight being manipulated into making the biggest mistake of his life?
'''3: The Big Fat Kill''' - Dwight gets into more trouble when his new girlfriend, Shelly, is harassed by her abusive ex-boyfriend, Jackie-Boy. Dwight chases after him, but can only watch as Jackie and his pals are killed by prostitutes for threatening to rape one of their number. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem -- the prostitutes of Old Town are given free rein by the police -- but Jackie has a dangerous secret, one that might tear Sin City apart.
'''4: That Yellow Bastard''' - [[KnightInSourArmor John Hartigan]] may well be Sin City's last decent cop, but not for long: It's his last day on the job. But Hartigan's refusing to go quietly, especially since a well-connected young serial killer/rapist has just kidnapped little Nancy Callahan. It's no big thing -- Hartigan's spent his entire life taking down scum like him. But this time, there will be repercussions...
'''5: Family Values''' - While picking up some intel for his ''new'' new girlfriend, Dwight learns of a mafia war that's about to go down in Sin City. Captured by one side of the impending war, Dwight has to rely on a certain enemy-turned ally for help: the deadly ninja Miho.
'''6: Booze, Broads and Bullets''' - A collection of short stories from various sources, including back-up strips from the early issues of ''The Big Fat Kill'' and stories from the various ''Sin City'' one-shot specials.
'''7: Hell and Back (A Sin City Love Story)''' - Wallace is an interesting guy: an artist, a war hero, a short order cook and a lightning-quick fighter. His life is pretty dull, though, until he saves a suicidal woman named Esther and they begin a tentative relationship. In typical ''Sin City'' style, however, Esther is kidnapped and Wallace must pull the city -- and the lives of some of its most privileged men -- apart to get her back.
'''Films''' - ''Sin City'' was turned into an anthology film by director RobertRodriguez, who quit the director's guild to let Frank Miller take co-director status. Rodriguez shot the film pretty much panel-for-panel from the comics, using black and white footage and Main/GreenScreen backgrounds to get the perfect ''Sin City'' feel.
The ''Sin City'' film comprised ''The Hard Goodbye'', ''The Big Fat Kill'' and ''That Yellow Bastard'' and was bookended by an adaptation of "The Customer is Always Right", a short story featured in the ''Booze, Broads and Bullets'' collection.
Two more ''Sin City'' films are planned. One of them will include the story ''A Dame to Kill For'', along with a brand-new sequel to ''That Yellow Bastard'' and the three ''Blue Eyes'' short stories, the other will be centred around ''Hell and Back''. They were originally scheduled for a 2008 release, but were in DevelopmentHell for seven years until [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/sin-city-2-is-go-at-last.html just recently]] being SavedFromDevelopmentHell. Sadly, the recent deaths of two important actors: BrittanyMurphy (Shelly) and MichaelClarkeDuncan (Manute), and the disappearance of Devon Aoki (Miho) from acting will cause [[TheOtherDarrin some difficulties]].
Not to be confused with VideoGame/SimCity, which is [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential potentially]] a whole lot nicer. Or [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity GTA Vice City]], which is ''definitely not'' all that nicer.
----
!!''Sin City'' contains examples of:
* ActorAllusion: When one cop advises another to kill Hartigan without hesitation, they're quickly dispatched and Hartigan quips "Good advice". In ''Film/DieHard'', a terrorist who tells John [=McClane=] to kill without hesitation is offed, with [=McClane=] snarking "Thanks for the advice". Both played by BruceWillis, lying on his back and shooting upwards both times.
** FrankMiller even said that he thought of that very scene from ''Die Hard'' when he drew that scenario in "That Yellow Bastard". [[HilariousInHindsight Little did he know...]]
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: An odd villain example. In the comic, the serial killer Kevin was a [[http://www.esensja.pl/obrazki/ilustracje//21996_kto-jest-kim-Sin-City-6-300.jpg pudgy, middle-aged man with a five o' clock shadow and receding hairline]]. He ended up being played by Elijah Wood in the film.
** Another would be Bob, a short, fat man, played by Michael Madsen, and the even fatter Senator Roark played by [[AwesomeMcCoolName Powers]] [[BadassMoustache Boothe]].
* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: The movie moves Dwight's "Most people think Marv is crazy" monologue from ''A Dame to Kill For'' to ''The Hard Goodbye''. This works fine in a standalone movie, but in the comics the chronology of that night is very well fleshed out. Its revealed that while Marv was drinking at Kadie's after Goldie's murder two cops were questioning Shellie about Dwight's whereabouts. At that point in the story Dwight is recovering from events in his own story, so he couldn't be anywhere near Kadie's that night. Furthermore, he underwent plastic surgery which gave Dwight his appearance in the movie but that only happened ''months'' after the events of ''The Hard Goodbye'', at which point Marv [[spoiler:was on Death Row.]] Since ''Sin City 2'' is slated to use ''A Dame to Kill For'' as its lead story they'll have to break from their own continuity or alter the timeline and make the entirety of ''Dame to Kill For'' take place before ''Hard Goodbye''.
** There's also The Salesman, the assassin from "The Customer is Always Right," who later [[spoiler:becomes The Colonel, the BigBad of ''Hell and Back'']]. Since [[spoiler:The Colonel is dead by BoomHeadshot (and quite deservedly so) at the end of ''Hell and Back'']] and the events of ''[[spoiler:The Big Fat Kill]]'' take place after that story, the Salesman doing to [[spoiler:Becky]] what he did to his "customer" in the other story at the very end of the film adaptation can't exactly happen in SinCity canon unless [[spoiler:someone else is the Colonel in the film adaptation of ''Hell and Back'']].
* TheAlcoholic: Jackie Boy seems to be one and Dwight is a recovering case.
* AlienBlood: The Yellow Bastard has yellow blood, though this is more of a stylistic choice than an indication of alien-ness. Either that, or it's because of [[spoiler: the large amount of medical procedures done on him after [[FridgeHorror his castration messed with his body's ability to get rid of waste]] - the blood, given its color and smell, is a direct result of that.]]
* TheAllegedCar: Nancy's car. "No one but me can keep this heap running." Also the clapped out banger without enough space for all the bodies or enough fuel to get them to the tar pits and a cop-attracting broken tail-light. Also the battered old VW Beetle from ''Family Values''.
** The ironic thing is, The Heap is a 1957 Chevrolet Nomad, a very desirable car, and the car Dwight is given to ditch at the Pits was a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, both CoolCars. Part of Dwight's narration mentions that it once was a CoolCar, but after years of abuse and neglect, it became a clapped out banger at the end of its life.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Subverted with Shellie. She dumps the abusive boyfriend Jackie Boy and goes for the much nicer Dwight [=McCarthy=]. But as readers know, Dwight's no angel either, and he even killed a former FemmeFatale girlfriend in a previous issue--but he's still a far cry from the misogynistic scumbag that Jackie-Boy was.
* AllStarCast: The poster alone features BruceWillis, [[ShootEmUp Clive Owen]], [[TheUsualSuspects Benicio Del Toro]], Creator/JessicaAlba, RosarioDawson, and [[TheWrestler Mickey Rourke]]. And the [[HeyItsThatGuy supporting cast is just as big]].
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The Japanese theme is [[http://www.wat.tv/video/namie-amuro-violet-sauce-best-1z694_2ey5f_.html "Violet Sauce"]] by Namie Amuro.
* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Marv talks about a pair of twin prostitutes who "even smell the same." Then again, Marv is crazy enough that he mistakes one for the other... even while knowing full well that one of them is dead.
** There's also Benny and Lenny, Rourke Junior's bodyguards, although they don't last long.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Subverted. At the end of The Big Fat Kill, Dwight [[spoiler: tricks Manute and his men that Gail is all he wants in exchange for Jackie Boys head. The head was filled with explosives, and as soon as it goes off, every girl from Old Town shows up on the rooftops and fires every bullet they have into Manute and his men]].
* AManIsNotAVirgin: Subverted. Marv tells Wendy that due to his looks, he wasn't even able to buy a woman before the night with Goldie that started it all.
* AnachronicOrder: The comics were published in anachronic order, and the segments of the film are shown anachronically as well.
* AndShowItToYou: The natural conclusion of Marv's brutal interrogation technique.
* AntiHero: Every damned protagonist. Most of them are straight on Type [=IVs=] who like to PayEvilUntoEvil.
* AntiVillain: Liebowitcz, the dirty cop. He's as corrupt as any other cop and beats up Hartigan for not ratting out Nancy. Despite this, he is a devoted family man [[spoiler: and is willing to turn on the Colonel, going so far as to kill him]]. In that instance, he's probably the only sympathetic villain in the entire series.
** Well, YMMV, but [[spoiler:Becky from Old Town]] might qualify.
* ArtEvolution: In the first few issues of A Hard Goodbye the characters and backgrounds are drawn with more realistic proportions and with subtler shading, looking more like a standard black and white comic. By the end of the book the art is crystallized into the high-contrast, over-exaggerated, blocky artwork that became the standard of the series.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Herr Wallenquist (AKA The Kraut), the German crime lord. "Wallenquist" is a Swedish name.
* AssShove: Jackie Boy falls on Miho's swastika shuriken and gets it stuck in his ass. In ''The Big Fat Kill'', Miho apparently shoves her katana up a merc's ass (in the movie, she just stabs him through the back).
* AStormIsComing
* AuthorAppeal: FrankMiller sure does have a thing for prostitutes, and Sin City is stretching this so far that there is an entire part of the city that is run by prostitutes. Similarly, count how many times the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi swastika]] appears.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The CoolCar. Lampshaded by Shlubb and Klump.
* BackupTwin: [[spoiler: Goldie and Wendy]].
* {{Badass}}: Pretty much everyone.
** WorldOfBadass
* BadassLongcoat: Most of the characters wear one and Marv has several. "''That's a damn fine coat you've got there.''" If Marv comes up to you and says this, prepare to die horribly.
* BadassLonghair: Wallace is described as a hippy for a reason.
* BadCopIncompetentCop: Almost every cop.
* BaldOfEvil: Manute, Wallenquist, Liebowitcz, Cardinal Roark, and the Yellow Bastard. There was also a bald bad evil rich guy with an odd sense of [[ParentalIncest family values]] in the short story ''Daddy's Girl''.
* BaldOfAwesome: Dwight fits this at first but he later grows his hair out.
* BandOfBrothels: The ladies are the law in Old Town.
* BannedInChina: Malaysia.
* BatmanGambit: Quite a few:
** Goldie seduced Marv so that she would have someone to protect her... or at least avenge her death.
** The entire story of ''Family Values'' is Dwight pulling one big BatmanGambit.
** Wallace basically turns into Batman himself at the mid-point of ''To Hell And Back'', [[spoiler: turning the Colonel's own CorruptCop against him and calling several favors from friends in order to destroy the military helicopter the Colonel was using against him.]]
** Dwight's revenge against Ava Lord.
** Dwight's actions at the end of ''Big Fat Kill''.
* BattleButler: Manute.
* BeamMeUpScotty: Partial example. The series is famous for its use of spot colouring and thanks to the movie is often assumed to make extensive use of it. But the first story to use it was the short story ''The Babe Wore Red'', published after the first two stories and it didn't become more common until a few years after ''that'', with ''That Yellow Bastard''. And even then, it was still used sparingly, only to draw attention to the truly important characters or items.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Marv's reason for going through hell and high water for Goldie.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Wallace is extremely polite and soft spoken. He's also probably the deadliest person in Sin City... which says something.
** Even Marv can be a pretty jolly guy who's fun to be around. Just don't piss him off... [[TooDumbToLive ever.]]
* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:Bob in That Yellow Bastard]].
* BigBraToFill: Jessica Alba as Nancy Callahan.
* BigElectricSwitch
* BittersweetEnding: This is the best kind of ending you're gonna get in Sin City.
* BlackAndGrayMorality No one in Sin City is good. Some folks are better than others, but none are good.
** Well, there's Hartigan and Wallace. Keep in mind Good Is Not Nice.
* BlackBlood
* BlitheSpirit: Nancy acts as this, not only to Marv and Hartigan, but to [[PuritySue the series as a whole.]]
* BloodyHilarious
* BodyHorror: Kevin's collection of decapitated hooker heads. Hartigan ripping out Junior's testicles. And several more incidents.
* BookEnds
** Though several examples exist, [[spoiler: Hartigan's concluding speeches in the film's second and penultimate chapters are especially notable, as both close with Hartigan getting shot and losing everything so Nancy can live.]]
** In the movie, the Salesman from "The Customer is Always Right", which opens the film, reappears in the final scene.
* BornInTheWrongCentury: Dwight suggests that Marv would have had a better place in ancient times, as a warrior on the field of battle or a gladiator in the Roman arena.
** Also, Hartigan is one of the last honest cops in Basin City. He appears to belong to a better age, and follows his own code of morals and honour, when no-one else does.
* BottomlessMagazines: In the first part of "That Yellow Bastard," [[spoiler: Hartigan's partner, Bob]], shoots him 8 times with a 6 shot revolver without being seen reloading.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick
* BreakingTheBonds: Marv did this while being tortured by the girls of Old Town and managed to not let anyone see it.
** Hartigan did it [[spoiler: in a HopeSpot fantasy sequence while being beaten by a CorruptCop.]]
* BulletproofHumanShield: In the film, a federal agent is used as a shield while SociopathicHero Marv hacks up his teammates with a wood axe. This actually seems to be unintentional on Marv's part since he was busy killing one of the agents when the human shield basically ran into the path of the bullets.
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: A major theme of the series is the act of seemingly random violence happening to the wrong person at the wrong time, resulting in the AntiHero taking revenge. The BigBad in these situations often thought nothing of the crime and may not have even initially known the names of their victims.
** A notable example takes place in ''Family Values'' where the mafia breaks a truce with a rival organization to take revenge for the death of a relative of TheDon. Everyone involved is worried about a gang war. It turns out [[spoiler:a hooker was killed by a stray bullet. No one thought much about it, except her friends and colleagues, who quickly gather to plot revenge.]]
* CaptainErsatz: Many of Sin City's characters are [[ShoutOut homages]] to previous characters from pulp fiction and film noir:
*** Marv was created as "[[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian Conan]] in a trenchcoat."
*** Dwight is quite obviously based on MikeHammer.
*** Miller was always disappointed in ''TheDeadPool'' (the movie, not the [[{{Deadpool}} comic character]]) so he wrote what he thought should be the real final case of [[DirtyHarry Harry Callahan.]] Enter: John Hartigan.
*** The Yellow Bastard is a horrific case in that FrankMiller has admitted that he was based off of a grown-up (and deranged) version of the [[http://www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/YellowKid.jpg Yellow Kid]], the earliest comic book character and a very popular one for children at that time.
* CardCarryingVillain: Most of them openly admit to being bad guys. Senator Roark and Ava Lord especially. Ava gleefully seduces men left and right for her own purposes and gives out an EvilLaugh because she knows she can get away with it. Senator Roark openly admits that he killed his wife and gloats that there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it.
* CarnivalOfKillers: ''Hell & Back'' features a guild of assassins.
* CelibateHero: Wallace is the only example of this in this series.
** Wouldn't exactly describe Wallace as celibate, just wise to Blue Eyes' seduction technique.
** When we first meet Dwight, he's trying to maintain this trope. He seems to do okay until Ava comes back in his life.
* CavalryBetrayal: When the Federal Agents arrive at the farm, Lucille naturally assumes that they are there to help and yells at them to not arrest Marv, as he's with her. And then they pour literally boxes of bullets into poor Lucille.
* ChainedToABed: Blue Eyes chains herself to a bed in order to seduce Wallace. [[spoiler: It doesn't work.]]
* ChewingTheScenery: There's quite a bit of it in the movie, but it works with the tone quite nicely.
** Even the comic gets away with this somehow.
* {{Chiaroscuro}}
* ChristianityIsCatholic: The Catholic Church seems to be a big power player in the city, and crucifixes are a motif throughout the series. ''The Babe Wore Red'' also features a nun who is shown in a much more positive light than usual for ''Sin City''.
* ChromaKey: Generally quite good in the movie, but a notable "jerkiness" occurs when Miho stabs several people through the head with her sword.
* CityNoir
* ColdBloodedTorture. Lots and lots and lots.
* ComfortingTheWidow: Mort, a mostly honest Sin City cop, tries to do this with Ava Lord and ends up tangled in her web.
* CoolCar: Yet more AuthorAppeal; many characters drive classic American cars of various ages all in mint condition, to the delight of Marv and Dwight who both think modern cars look like electric shavers. The only modern cars treated with respect are European sports models like the AwesomeButImpractical Ferrari in which Shlubb proposes to smuggle Hartigan's body.
** The 'Heap' owned by Nancy, and later, The Captain in ''Hell and Back'', is a 1957 Chevy Nomad, which is in such disrepair that only Nancy can keep it running, and the 1957 Thunderbird Dwight uses to take the bodies of Jackie Boy and his buddies to the local tar pits has been abused and neglected so much that it just barely holds together for the trip, has a broken taillight, and doesn't even have enough gas to make it.
* CorruptPolitician: The norm.
* CradlingYourKill: The Salesman does this in "The Customer is Always Right."
* CrapsackWorld
* CrazyJealousGuy: Jackie Boy
* CreditsGag: Not only done in the movie but Miller manages to pull it off in the comic as well.
* CreepyMonotone: Manute in the movie.
* CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure: Claire, Lucille's psychiatrist girlfriend, according to Marv:
--> "''She tried to analyze me once, but she got too scared.''"
* CutHimselfShaving: Marv tells his mother this. (The scene was filmed for TheMovie, but it was deleted from the theatrical shot and can be viewed on the recut edition [=DVD=]). The scene was also in the comic, of course.
* DaddysGirl: In the appropriately titled, ''Daddy's Little Girl''.
* DeadlyHug: A few times.
* DeadpanSnarker
* DelusionsOfEloquence: Shlubb and Klump
* DeathByCameo: FrankMiller has a cameo in the movie.
* DeathByDisfigurement: [[spoiler: Lucille]].
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The series is well known for its stark use black and white, with no shading.
* {{Determinator}}: Just about all of the protagonists, but especially Hartigan could be the poster child of this: sixty years plus and feeling it, survives a heart attack, a hanging and having a revolver emptied in his back at close range. Every one of the incidents and each of the bullets ''should'' kill him, but he just keeps going.
** It has been outright stated that the Yellow Bastard's father does everything he can to save Hartigan, so that he can disgrace him.
* DevelopmentHell: The movie sequels.
* DevilInPlainSight: Senator Roark mentions that he could get away with murder in public since he's done it in the past... to his own wife, even.
* DirtyCop: Just about every damn cop in Sin City with the exception of Hartigan.
--> '''Dwight''' "I don't have nearly enough money to bribe this cop, 'course there's always the chance he's one of the honest ones"
* DirtyCoward: The Yellow Bastard both before and after his transformation is more likely to run away from a fight than stay.
** Hartigan's former partner Bob is also quite cowardly since he is more willing to turn on his partner and threaten a child than he is about catching the real BigBad.
** Shlubb and Klump can be pretty cowardly. Especially in the presence of Dwight since he beat up both of them throughout the one-shot ''The Babe Wore Red''.
* DisposableLoveInterest: Goldie exists only to die in the first few pages of ''The Hard Goodbye'' and give Marv a reason for his RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
** Ava Lord has this attitude toward her lovers.
* DisposableSexWorker: Somewhat averted. Goldie's death in ''The Hard Goodbye'' is used to set the plot in motion, but she is portrayed posthumously as a person of value, especially to Marv and her sister. In other stories, the prostitutes of Old Town tend to avoid getting offed by psychos due to their firepower.
* DoingItForTheArt: Wallace is an artist who refuses to sell out dispite money problems. Dwight also had aspirations of being a photographer as opposed to a PI but they never came to be.
* DomesticAbuser: Jackie Boy is an abusive boyfriend to Shellie... or was at least.
* DontTellMama: In the comics Marv tries to keep his mother innocent of what his real purpose is when he goes to get Gladys. As well as Becky with respect to...well, you know.
* DownerEnding: Many of the short stories have one.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Hartigan]] knows that his death is the only thing that can once and for all save the girl. He promptly shoots himself in the head.
* DropTheHammer: Kevin lays Marv out with a sledgehammer.
* DrunkenMaster: Marv admits he's more dangerous when he's drunk. In a later story, Dwight purposefully gets Marv "good and drunk" so he can be of better use in the upcoming fight.
* TheDulcineaEffect: The extreme lengths Marv is willing to go to to avenge Goldie. Most of the other heroes of SinCity might qualify as well, including Dwight, who has this used against him by Ava in a WoundedGazelleGambit.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Wallace and Esther. They are the only Sin City characters to get one.
* EnormousEngine: Muscle cars pop up sometimes, engines exposed and all. Sometimes, the engine is not shown but described in explicit detail.
* MrFanservice: While the series is known for its [[MsFanService alluring female characters]], almost every male protagonist has a nude scene and there are plenty of [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]] scenes as well.
** Not to be outdone, while the movie avoids MaleFrontalNudity due to {{Double Standard}}s in the movie industry, the male leads are played by the likes of BruceWillis and Clive Owen.
* EmpathyDollShot: Done in a very literal way. Wallace is under the effects of a drug given to him by the bad guys. He finds a dead child in the trunk of a car but all we see is his hallucination: a Raggedy-Ann doll. He knows what the doll really is but actually expresses gratitude that the villains drugged him for that one moment.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Marv and his mother.
** When the Yellow Bastard mentions his father, he says, "I'd hate him if I didn't love him so."
** While not literal father and son, it's obvious that Kevin had this relationship with Cardinal Roark.
* ExecutiveSuiteFight
* ExploitationFilm: With a heavy dose of FilmNoir for good measure.
* ExplosionPropulsion: Apparently Miho has the ability to RocketJump while taking no damage whatsoever.
* ExpositionVictim: Happens off-screen when Kevin kidnaps Marv's parole officer.
* {{Expy}}: Hartigan is an expy of DirtyHarry according to WordOfGod
* ExtremeMeleeRevenge: In ''A Dame to Kill For'', Dwight has [[SociopathicHero Marv]] help him rescue Ava. As Marv is beating up the [[{{Mook}} security guards]], he notices [[ScaryBlackMan Man]][[TheDragon ute]] (who had given Dwight a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown earlier) among them and yells "You! You're the bum who hurt my pal!", before tackling him through a window and beating the crap out of him. After the beatdown Marv sits beside Manute panting, he hears Manute gasp for breath, and [[CrossesTheLineTwice continues beating him up.]] It is later revealed he also [[EyeScream gouged out one of Manute's eyes.]]
** Let this sink in for a second. Marv is a {{badass}} {{determinator}} who has shrugged off bullets, cars, and all manner of attacks on his person, has thrown people through walls, and has generally proven to be MadeOfIron and an ImplacableMan...and he beats Manute up so damn badly he ''tires himself out''.
** ''That Yellow Bastard'' gives us the page quote for this trope. [[BadassGrandpa Police Detective John Hartigan]] saved 11-year-old Nancy Callahan from being raped and murdered by Roark, Jr., then was framed for the rape and spent eight years in prison. After Hartigan is released, Roark gets a hold of Nancy again and tortures her. Hartigan doesn't take it well.
* EyeScream: Marv rips Manute's eye out of his socket. In most cases of this trope, this would be out of desperation. Not here. Marv just did it [[CrazyAwesome for the hell of it.]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: Marv and Hartigan.
** The [[MarleyShelton unnamed female character]] in the short story ''The Customer Is Always Right'' fits this trope as well, but it's implied that she put the hit on herself.
* FaceOnAMilkCarton
* FakeAmerican: Englishman Clive Owen as Dwight.
* FallenHero: Jack Rafferty was once a hero cop nicknamed "Iron Jack". WordOfGod states that he used to be a good man but the corrupt system eventually ate away at him.
* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: The Roarks. Also, the unnamed family in ''Daddy's Little Girl.''
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: That Yellow Bastard. Hartigan ''tears his balls off with his bare hands'' before beating him to death.
** Also Kevin, who is dismembered, graphically eaten by his pet wolf, and finally decapitated.
* FanService: A good number of attractive actresses get naked (or wear very little) in the name of art. CarlaGugino brandishes a gun topless, RosarioDawson is in her underwear, BrittanyMurphy is in nothing but panties and a button down shirt, and Creator/JessicaAlba is a stripper as well. In the comics, all of these characters are depicted naked at one point or another, even if their actresses weren't nude in the movie. We can also add Miho to the mix.
** Not to be outdone, the ladies are treated to Dwight getting naked in almost every one of his stories. Hartigan and Wallace also both get MaleFrontalNudity scenes.
** That said, the Yellow Bastard is also [[FanDisservice shown in full glory.]]
* FamousLastWords: That the best you can do, ya pansies?
* FatAndSkinny: Mr. Shlubb and Mr. Klump.
* FemmeFatalons: Ava, Blue Eyes, Mariah, the Old Town Girls, ''Daddy's Little Girl'', etc.
* FingerInTheMail: Hartigan gets a severed finger in the mail instead of his usual letter from Nancy. [[spoiler: Junior couldn't find her, so he tricks Hartigan into tracking her down.]]
* FingerLickinEvil
* ForcedToWatch: Poor Lucille...
* FragileSpeedster: As Marv proves, Kevin isn't so tough when he can't hop around.
* FriendToPsychos: The Roark brothers to Junior and Kevin.
* FullFrontalAssault: Dwight fights Manute in the buff in ''A Dame to Kill For'' and the Yellow Bastard engages Hartigan while naked at the end of his story.
* GeniusLoci: The general idea is that the city is the main character of the series. It's not uncommon for characters to talk about the city as if it were alive.
* TheGhost: We know that the third Roark brother is a surgeon general but otherwise, is only mentioned a couple times, never shows up in any stories, and [[NoNameGiven not even named]]. The movie, understandably,[[ThirdOptionAdaptation did not mention him at all.]]
* GoingByTheMatchbook: Hartigan, when looking for Nancy
* GoodGuyBar: Kadie's. Not so much of a ''Good Guy Bar'' as it is an ''AntiHero Bar'' since the main protagonists, Marv and Dwight, frequent the establishment. Not to mention that this is where a few major side characters work as well.
* GoodIsNotNice: Many of the series' more ethical characters skirt (if not outright embrace) this trope. [[JustifiedTrope Perhaps justified,]] considering that Basin City is a pretty nasty place where most people are either victims or victimizers -- being neither of those, in this setting, seems to require a degree of hardassery.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Marv likes taking care of things this way.
** Averted with Dwight who simply either uses guns or his martial arts to do a lot of flying kicks since he hates skinning his knuckles.
* GoodScarsEvilScars
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Most characters smoke but the good guys usually have cigarettes while the bad guys chomp on cigars.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Sometimes invoked... [[{{Gorn}} sometimes averted.]]
* GroinAttack: Hartigan to Roark Jr. Twice. [[spoiler: The second is both {{Squick}} and CrowningMomentOfAwesome]].
** Marv also shoves a hatchet into a cop's crotch and at one point, crushes Weeval's balls in order to get him to comply.
** When he first meets Dwight, Manute gives him a good kick in the junk.
* GunsAkimbo: Everyone wielding a gun (i.e ''everyone'') almost always ends up with two of them.
* HandCannon: Hartigan uses a [[DirtyHarry Smith & Wesson Model 29]] in the beginning of the film. Later on he uses a Ruger Blackhawk, also a .44 Magnum.
** Some of the Old Town prostitutes also use Blackhawks, noticeably Dallas.
** The (likely fake)revolvers Nancy Callahan uses in her cowgirl outfit are stainless Blackhawks.
* HasAType: The Yellow Bastard has a type: little girls. He says that Nancy isn't his type now that ShesAllGrownUp... but he's willing to make an exception. Partly to hurt Hartigan, partly because she's TheOneThatGotAway.
* HereWeGoAgain
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Thanks to the fact that many stories feature Kadie's Bar many characters appear in each other's stories. Marv holds the record for most appearances for a protagonist, appearing in six stories while only being the protagonist of three. Dwight and John Hartigan both have a quick cameo outside of their own stories as well. Wallace is the only protagonist to only be seen in his own story.
* HeyItsThatGuy: I guess [[PlanetTerror Dakota Block]] felt guiltier about her son's death than she let on. Also, [[{{Carnivale}} Ben Hawkins]] is a sick son-of-a-bitch.
* HolierThanThou: The Cardinal
* HonorBeforeReason
* HumiliationConga: Jack Rafferty's last night on Earth was a bit of a rough one, even by his own admission.
* ICallItVera: Marv's pistol Gladys, named after the toughest nun he ever met.
* ImAHumanitarian: Kevin [[spoiler:and Cardinal Roark, who occasionally joined in.]]
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Averted in many cases. Every hero has been pinned down or even clipped by {{Mooks}}. Shlubb and Klump, who are typically PluckyComicRelief badguys, even prove to be expert marksmen. There have also been a few unnamed snipers who proved to have decent aim.
** That said, Yellow Bastard doesn't seem to have as much luck. Hartigan comments on how bad his aim is.
*** Actually, Hartigan comments the Bastard ''is'' a good shot, seeing as how he managed to shoot inches away from two heads in a moving car. The problem is that he's too impatient and doesn't aim properly.
* ImplacableMan: All the heroes get this treatment but Marv is probably the main offender.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Miho, Wallace, and Dwight all get these moments.
** Even Hartigan, as old as he is, is able to shoot a man's ear off with a crack shot.
* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt
* InnocentInnuendo: In "Hell and Back", Wallace is in a car chase with Blue Eyes in the passenger seat. When the bad guys are about to open fire on them he tells her to get her head down, so she, well...
* InformedAttractiveness: Nancy is often seen as the most beautiful woman in Sin City. While she is drawn quite lovely, she doesn't seem to be all that different from say, Shellie, who looks very similar.
* InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja: Miho, the [[TheVoiceless silent]] ninja assassin.
* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle
* InternalRetcon: A recurring theme in the series is characters having to cover up what actually happened because of the disastrous consequences if the truth were known.
* InterruptedSuicide: Wallace stopped Esther's suicide attempt.
* IOwnThisTown: The Roark Family
* IronicEcho: [[spoiler:"Hell of a way to end a partnership."]]
** "Deadly little Miho. You won't feel a thing. Not unless she wants you to."
** "I take away his weapons... both of them."
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Marv is really fond of this. Amusingly, when the Old Town prostitutes try it on ''Marv'', he takes some of their punches and explains himself. Then he calmly rips out of their ropes like they were tissue paper, and could have done so the whole time.
* JerkJock: The story ''Just Another Saturday Night'' has a group of jerk jocks from a fraternity. This being Sin City, they don't stop at just being jerks, though. They like to light homeless people on fire.
* KangarooCourt
* KarmaHoudini: Subverted in the movie with [[spoiler:Becky]], who seemingly escapes with nothing worse than a broken arm but is killed by The Salesman in the movie's final scene. In the book her segment's based on, she dies along with everyone else.
** Also Senator Roark. He may not get his comeuppance, but with Junior dead and Hartigan''s suicide denying him revenge, he's still screwed.
* KickTheDog: All the bad guys love to do this but special mention goes to Lucca from ''Family Values'' who shoots a dog [[spoiler: and ends up inciting a RoaringRampageofRevenge, a massive NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, and a MobWar.]]
* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: Kevin.
* KnightInShiningArmor: The Salesman approaches a women outside of a party and tells here that he has come to help her face her troubles, and that he loves her. [[spoiler:Then he subverts it. He was never there to be her shining knight; she hired him to kill her in a delicate fashion because a mob figure threatened to brutally murder her after she broke up with him.]]
* KubrickStare
* LadyInRed:
** Goldie
** And the eponymous 'Babe' from ''The Babe Wore Red''
** The girl from ''The Customer is Always Right'' sequence in the movie (the opening sequence) wears a red dress, though it was not red in the comics.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Despite the stories often ending with the hero dead or in dire straits, the bad guys usually get what they deserve before all is said and done. Even if they survive, they usually lose whatever they held dear. Case in point, [[spoiler: Senator Roark is still alive but he lost his son and has to live with the fact that the Roark family lineage is now cut. Considering this family has lorded over Sin City for more than a century, that's a hell of a letdown for him and his one surviving brother.]]
** [[spoiler: You mean the brother who got his head ripped off by Marv?]]
** Actually the Surgeon General Brother [[AdaptationDistillation who is never mentioned in the movie]].
** The short story ''Rats'' has a Nazi war criminal being shoved in an oven.
* TheLastDJ: John Hartigan, the last honest cop in Sin City.
* LightningBruiser: Marv is big and tough but he proves to be very fast and agile, as evident in his fights with the cops.
* LotusPosition: Wallace meditates in this position to clear his mind.
* LovesToHearThemScream: Junior.
* MadBomber: The psychopathic Irish henchman in ''The Big Fat Kill''.
* MadnessMantra: [[spoiler:"He made me WAAAAAAATCH!"]]
* MadeOfIron: Marv and Kevin.
* MagicRealism: It's in the crime genre but that doesn't stop it from dabbling slightly with mysticism (Miho, Kevin, the empathic elements of the Farm) or even light sci-fi (Yellow Bastard, the Colonel's operations). There was also the torture technician in ''Big Fat Kill'' who could cause pain with a simple touch. This was changed to Manute in the movie.
** According to FrankMiller, Miho and Kevin are two sides of the same coin: he refers to them as the "demons" of Sin City, Miho being the "good demon," Kevin being "the bad." This is in reference to their silent, super-violent, sadistic natures, and the fact that both are incredibly difficult to harm.
* {{Malaproper}}
* TheManBehindTheCurtain: Cardinal Roark.
* MayDecemberRomance: Nancy and Hartigan.
* MeaningfulEcho
* MegaCrossover: Several stories overlap and there has been at least one instance of protagonists teaming up: ''A Dame To Kill For''.
* MobWar: One starts in ''Family Values''.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Becky]].
* MonsterMisogyny: Kevin, a farm boy cannibal who primarily eats women.
* MoreDakka: This is what the ''Big Fat Kill'' refers to. [[spoiler: Dwight and the Old Town girls unload on Manute and his men until they're just "wet chunks of meat."]]
* TheMurderAfter: Marv and Goldie.
* MurderInc: The Colonel's organization.
* MurderSuicide: Hartigan commits suicide after killing Roark, Jr., realizing that he's the only link left leading to Nancy (the latest victim). By killing himself, he ensures that she is left alone.
* MyCarHatesMe: Subverted with Nancy's car, which waits until [[spoiler:Yellow Bastard's taking her away]] to break down. This is because she's the only one who knows how to get it working right. Played straight with the car Gail provides to Dwight to dispose of [[spoiler: Jackie Boy]] and his crew. The trunk is too small to hold all the bodies and it runs out of gas before he reaches the tar pits.
* MyNameIsInigoMontoya
* NaziHunter: [[FanNickname The Janitor]], in "Rats", hunts down a Nazi war criminal. This may or may not have taken place in Sin City.
* NeckSnap
* NecroNonSequitur: In ''Family Values'', a mob hitman machine-guns a passing dog ForTheEvulz while he on a job, causing a DisasterDominoes effect when [[spoiler: a stray bullet accidentally kills an Old Town girl. The girl's lover, also an Old Town girl, has Dwight and Miho systematically bring down the entire crime family, even going so far as to force the hitman to kill his own brother and betray TheDon. The girl's lover comes in during the last act and guns down the mafia heads, including the hitman who killed her girl. To cover their tracks, the heroes frame the Wallenquist crime family, inciting a MobWar which would surely result in even more deaths.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The biggest example is Dwight beating up Jack Rafferty at the beginning of ''The Big Fat Kill''. If he hadn't, not only would Jack be alive but Old Town would've been much safer.
** Another Dwight example is from ''A Dame To Kill For''. [[spoiler: Dwight kills Ava's husband, but that just means that Ava will now be in control of his organization and will pin everything on him.]]
** Hartigan's actions at the beginning of ''That Yellow Bastard'' also count. [[spoiler: He ends up exposing Nancy, leading Junior right to her.]]
* NiceJobGuidingUsHero: The Hartigan example mentioned above.
* NighInvulnerability: Marv goes several days without eating or sleeping, gets run over by a car many times in a row, gets shot, slashed, kicked around, hit with a sledgehammer, and more in the span of one story and still manages to bring down one of the most powerful men in the world.
* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where the hell is Basin, anyway?]]
* NoDialogueEpisode: ''Silent Night'' only has a single word balloon.
* NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe: The Yellow Bastard's appearance completely changes due to the medical procedures that made him whole again, but his voice has remained the same.
-->'''Yellow Bastard:''' Remember my voice Hartigan, you piece of shit cop?
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Hartigan pays so very dearly for saving Nancy.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Hartigan to Yellow Bastard.
** Marv to... just about everyone. The exception being Kevin.
** Miho to everyone, but particularly Jackie Boy.
** Wallace to everyone.
** As for villain examples, Manute delivers one against Dwight and, as implied above, Kevin gives one to Marv.
* NonNaziSwastika: The Asian assassin Miho throws a large shuriken in the shape of a manji.
* NotQuiteDead: Marv and Miho both have scenes where they surprise people by still being alive.
** Jackie Boy goes through this a bit before fully dying. It's [[ColdBloodedTorture intentional by Miho.]]
* NoShirtLongJacket: Dwight in ''Big Fat Kill''.
* OffWithHisHead: Miho is fond of this.
* OhCrap: Manute and his men when they realize Dwight tricked them into an ambush. Also Becky in the film, when the Salesman tracks her down.
** Becky still has that reaction when she gets gunned down in the comics, not to mention when she realizes that Manute [[ILied wasn't going to let her live after all.]]
** Shlubb and Klump too.
---> I can only express puzzlement that borders on alarm.
* OlderHeroVsYoungerVillain: Hartigan vs Roark Jr.
* OnceIsNotEnough: "I take his weapons away. Both of them." And he does this ''twice''.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Major characters are often hanging out in the background. In some cases, this is used to show that two major stories are happening at once.
* OnlyOneName: Just about ''everyone''. The setting is "[[WretchedHive down there]]", after all. If we learn someone's full name, chances are good they're one of the extremely rare honest men or innocent women in the city.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Clive Owen as Dwight. Most audible in "Dammit Gail, not right now."
* OtherStockPhrases
* TheOtherDarrin: Jaimie Chung is set to replace Devon Aoki as Miho in the second film.
* ParentalIncest: [[spoiler: Such is the case in the short story ''Daddy's Little Girl.'' Although its unclear if they really are related, or its just a fetish.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: A hallmark of the series in general.
* PercussivePrevention: [[spoiler:Lucille to Marv and Marv to Wendy]].
* PistolWhipping: Wendy does this to Marv during his interrogation, and gets lectured on proper techniques by Marv.
* PlayingAgainstType:
** Man, it is surprising to see [[TheLordOfTheRings Frodo Baggins]] playing a [[TheVoiceless mute]], psychopathic, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] SerialKiller.
** Seeing one of the GilmoreGirls as a prostitute.
* PluckyComicRelief:
** Shlubb and Klump are usually the only bright spot in a story if they show up.
** Of all characters, Marv has been used as this when he shows up in [[TheCameo brief cameos]] at Katie's Bar, as opposed to taking a larger role.
* PocketProtector: [[spoiler:Jackie-Boy's badge stops a sniper bullet meant for Dwight's heart]].
* PoliceBrutality: Hartigan being interrogated by Liebowitz.
** The cops have similar techniques against Marv.
** Averted when cops try to beat up Wallace for little reason. The keyword is '''[[BadAss try]]'''.
* PragmaticAdaptation: Arguably one of the best examples in a comic book movie. The stories are mostly frame-by-frame adaptations, right down to the cinematography. However, a ''lot'' of narration is chopped out, either in small trimmings (removing a fair bit of Frank Miller's [[SignatureStyle infamous use of repetition]]) or in entire ''pages'' worth of backstory, commentary, etc that would have bogged the movie down. Its done so smoothly that its not noticeable unless you read along to the movie.
** A pragmatic example: In the book, Marv escapes from a cell by bull-rushing the door, slamming into it with his shoulder, over and over and over again, until he finally jars the bolt loose from the wall. This is implied to take at least an hour. Since this would have slowed down the movie intolerably, he instead simply wrenches the window bars out of the frame.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner:
-->'''Cop''': Sir, there's no sign of the target.
-->'''Marv''': [[AxCrazy Here's]] [[GroinAttack a]] [[ShareTheMalePain sign]].
* PrecisionFStrike: Despite all of its many taboos, the comic is pretty [[GoshdangItToHeck tame in terms of language]]. The one and only F-Bomb comes from Lebowitcz when he [[spoiler: shoots the Colonel]] and says, "Make a missing person's case out of this fucker."
* PrettySpryForADeadGuy
* PrisonEpisode: Both movie and comic versions include a very existential-looking prison for John Hartigan.
* PrivateEyeMonologue
* ProfessionalKiller: Both hitmen and assassins show up. Hitmen are sent after Marv early on in The Hard Goodbye; Shlubb and Klump are specifically described as "low-rent killers" but are often just errand boys for the baddies. Miho and Kevin are used as assassins but they're in it for more than money. The Colonel (''The Salesman'' in the movie) has an entire guild of assassins.
* PsychoForHire: A good number of people, including at least one ''good guy''.
* PunctuatedPounding: [[spoiler:EIGHT! LONG! YEARS! YOU! SON! OF! A! BITCH!]]
* PyrrhicVictory: Marv avenges Goldie, but is captured by the police, blamed for the murders committed by Kevin as well as by him and finally executed in the electric chair.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The IRA mercs and the small group of thugs led by Manute.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: Marv rams the frat boys' car multiple times in ''Just Another Saturday Night'' to get them off the road and doesn't mind running straight into armed foes more than once.
** Averted when Dallas rams the IRA members' car in ''Big Fat Kill''. Dwight remarks that she is too excited and careless. This leads to Dallas getting shot to death, Miho getting caught by a grenade, and Dwight almost getting killed.
* RasputinianDeath: Kevin and Marv.
** In ''The Yellow Bastard'', we see type 2 and 3. [[spoiler: While Junior was probably going to die after the initial stabbing, he goes on to have his balls ripped off and his head caved in for good measure. Hartigan had [[KickTheSonOfABitch his reasons.]]]]
* RedemptionInTheRain
* RedOniBlueOni: Mariah and Blue Eyes, the assassins in the Colonel's Guild, although we never see them together.
* RedLightDistrict: Old Town.
* RedRightHand: Manute has a fake eye. The Yellow Bastard has, well... yellow skin.
* {{Retirony}}: Hartigan. On the last hour of his last day, no less.
* {{Retraux}}
* {{Retronym}}: The very first Sin City story was titled just that... Sin City. The series caught on, resulting in future stories containing secondary titles (i.e. Sin City: A Dame To Kill For). Even when the original story was first collected in a trade paperback format, it retained its original title. Word Of God gave it the nickname The Hard Goodbye and that's what Fanon called it when discussing this particular story. When the movie came out, the collected editions added this title. Likewise, this particular sequence in the movie shares the same title. It resulted in a slightly awkward line, however. Every story name drops its own title but this one never contained the line "the hard goodbye" since that wasn't its original name. The line was added to the dialogue in the movie.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: ''The Hard Goodbye'' and the end of ''That Yellow Bastard''. Not to mention all of ''Hell And Back.'' FrankMiller loves this trope.
** While it's not obvious at first, the story [[spoiler: ''Family Values'']] also ends up invoking this.
* RobbingTheDead: Dwight sifts through Jackie Boy's wallet after the latter was killed by Miho. He finds a wad of cash (which he puts in his own pocket)... And Jack's police badge.
* RocketJump
* RollerbladeGood: Miho uses this to [[CrazyAwesome race after a speeding car]] in ''Family Values''.
* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: The sequel is finally going to be in [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/sin-city-2-is-go-at-last.html production.]]
* SayYourPrayers: In ''Family Values'', one of the mobsters about to be massacred starts doing this.
* ScaryBlackMan: Manute.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Kevin.
* TheSchlubPubSeductionDeduction: How Marv and Goldie meet. Subverted in that she dies instead of him, due to some very bad people being after her.
* ScopeSnipe: Wallace does this in ''Hell and Back''.
* SelfRestraint: Before he goes back to Ava, Dwight struggles with this.
** Wallace fits this as well since he's probably the most calm protagonist in the series.
** Hartigan has to employ this to keep himself from sleeping with Nancy.
* SerialKiller: Kevin, Roark Jr.
* SeriesContinuityError: ''The Big Fat Kill'' takes place after ''Hell and Back'', but Dwight is seen driving the [[CoolCar 1953 Cadillac Eldorado]] he took from Vito at the end of ''Family Values'', a story that takes place well after both ''The Big Fat Kill'' and ''Hell and Back''.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Shlubb and Klump to the point of having DelusionsOfEloquence.
* SheIsAllGrownUp
-->'''Hartigan:''' Skinny little Nancy Callahan. She grew up. She filled out.
* [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]: Happens to several of the women of the SinCity verse, particularly [[spoiler:Goldie and Lucille]].
* ShoutOut: As mentioned in the Captain Ersatz section, there are many shout outs:
*** Marv names his gun, much like MikeHammer does in some versions.
*** Nancy's last name is Callahan, which is the same last name of a certain iconic [[DirtyHarry movie cop.]] She also refers to her car as "this heap" which is something MikeHammer would often do.
*** ''The Hard Goodbye'' is the name later given to the first Sin City story. Creator/RaymondChandler wrote a Literature/PhilipMarlowe novel called ''TheLongGoodbye''.
*** In ''Hell and Back'' there is a brief narration by Leibowitz's son that is in the style of romance comics from the 50's.
*** Also in ''Hell and Back'', the main character is drugged and we see the only full color sequence in the series. The hero has hallucinations of the following: CaptainAmerica, {{Rambo}}, DirtyHarry, ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}, Comicbook/TheBigGuyAndRustyTheBoyRobot, LoneWolfAndCub, RoboCop, Comicbook/SgtRock, [[RaggedyAnnAndAndyAMusicalAdventure Raggedy-Ann and Andy]], and more.
** Marv's profile is almost identical to ComicStrip/DickTracy's famous profile.
* SignsOfDisrepair: In at least one instance, a now entering sign is shown outside the city "Basin City" with the B and A degraded.
* SilentScapegoat: Marv
* SimultaneousArcs: ''A Dame To Kill For'' takes place during both ''The Hard Goodbye'' and ''Blue Eyes''. ''That Yellow Bastard'' takes place at least partially during the course of ''Just Another Saturday Night''.
* SinisterMinister: Cardinal Roark as well as the priest Marv interrogates and kills.
* SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes: Many of Sin City's heroes tend toward type IV.
* SlippedTheRopes: Marv combines this with BreakingTheBonds.
* SnowMeansDeath: Hartigan.
* SociopathicHero: Several of the main characters.
* StairwellChase: Marv's escape from the apartment building.
* SuicideMission: This is a recurring idea in the comics, where almost every mission is said to be one in which the hero could easily be killed. Considering the AnyoneCanDie structure of the narrative, it isn't far-fetched to believe that they really will meet their end.
* SwitchingPOV: Every story has a different protagonist but aside from that, there's a brief sequence in ''Hell And Back'' where Liebowitcz's son is the narrator.
* TerroristsWithoutACause: The ex-IRA mercenaries sent to kill Dwight.
* TestosteronePoisoning: And ''how''!
* ThatOneCase: Roark Junior.
* TheGhost: Herr Wallenquist in the movie.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Manute and his men. The story's called ''The Big Fat Kill'' for a reason.
** The death of [[spoiler: Junior]] also probably counts.
* ThisBedOfRoses: When Dwight [=McCarthy=] is on the run from the cops, the girls from Old Town heal him and let him stay.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Shlubb and Klump.
* ThrillerOnTheExpress: "Wrong Track".
* TitleDrop: "Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything."
** Sin City is mentioned in every story for obvious reasons but even then, the secondary titles are always dropped as well (i.e. "The Big Fat Kill" "That Yellow Bastard", "Blue Eyes", etc.)
* TooDumbToLive: Jackie Boy and the mob enforcer from ''Family Values'' both made the mistake of using [[DeathByRacism racial slurs]] towards Miho.
** A neo-Nazi once insulted the bar tender at Kadie's. Marv asked her if he should step in but she told him to remain calm. Dwight mentioned that Marv was in an "all too generous mood". The Nazi then began to insult the bar tender some more. Marv voiced his displeasure but maintained his cool. The thug [[TemptingFate then decided it was a good idea to shove a pistol in Marv's face.]] It didn't end well for him.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Wendy and Goldie.
* TortureCellar: Kevin's basement.
* TortureTechnician: Kevin, also Roark Jr., but with less NightmareFuel.
** There is also Davis, the torture expert in ''The Big Fat Kill'', who can inflict pain just by touching people. This character was changed to Manute in the movie.
* TrenchcoatBrigade: Pretty much every one of the protagonists.
** Also a few villains.
* UnproblematicProstitution
* UrbanLegends: The Colonel has many operations going, two of which, involve [[SnuffFilm snuff films]] and OrganTheft.
* TheVamp: Ava Lord. Very much Ava Lord.
** Also, Blue Eyes, Mariah, and "Daddy's Little Girl" to a lesser degrees.
* VaporTrail: Marv does this to a wrecked car in ''Just Another Saturday Night''.
* VillainProtagonist: The Blue Eyes stories, ''The Salesman Is Always Right'', and ''Rats'' all count.
* VillainBallMagnet: Marv just wants to be left alone but he will always end up in trouble with someone. Usually this is just a drunk bar patron [[TooDumbToLive looking for a fight.]] And sometimes it's [[TheMafia the Roark family]].
* VillainByDefault: Many of the villains.
* TheVoiceless: Kevin and Miho.
* WasntThatFun: This happens mid-chase in ''A Dame to Kill For''. Dwight [=McCarthy=] has just been betrayed, is bleeding to death, is being chased by cops, and has SociopathicHero Marv behind the wheel of the getaway car. The entire situation is harrowing for him to say the least but Marv quips how fun the situation is.
* WhatADrag: "I don't know about you, but I'm having a ball."
* WhatDidIDoLastNight: Marv blacks out a lot due to unnamed mental problems. This is most notable in ''Just Another Saturday Night'' where he has to sit down and remember the events of the night in order to figure out why he's surrounded by dead bodies.
* WhatTheHellHero: Lucille gives Marv one of these when he reveals that he beat up a group of cops.
* WifeBasherBasher: Marv.
* WifeHusbandry: Nancy falls in love with Hartigan due to him being her hero eight years ago. Hartigan does not take advantage due to his sense of morality and because [[spoiler:those eight years were spent in prison on false charges of raping her because of Junior's vindictive Senator father]].
* [[ManBitesMan Woman Bites Woman]]: Gail to [[spoiler:Becky]] in "The Big Fat Kill," nearly ripping her throat out, after learning that [[spoiler:she sold Gail and the other girls out to the mob]] to protect her own neck.
--> '''Gail:''' Your neck, your neck, your precious little neck...
* WorldHalfEmpty
* WorldOfBadass
* WouldntHitAGirl: One of Marv's only rules. The only time he breaks it is to [[spoiler:spare Wendy from watching him torture Kevin to death]].
* WorthIt: Marv's quest to avenge Goldie results in [[spoiler:his death, along with some pretty brutal baseball bat torture, being riddled with bullets and the death of Lucille.]] Considering the person he was avenging only slept with him for protection and felt nothing for him some might wonder if it was all worth it. But Marv? When he gets confused and sees Wendy as Goldie he proudly says "I got him for you ''good'', didn't I?" For him it was completely worth it and he'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: [[spoiler:Ava uses Dwight's violent protectiveness toward women in general to manipulate him into murdering an innocent man]].
* WretchedHive: Duh.
* XMarksTheHero: Hartigan is a shining example of this.
* YouCanBarelyStand: Subverted by Hartigan [[spoiler:the first time]]: "''You can't even lift that cannon''" -- "''Sure I can.''"
** [[spoiler: Not that Junior learned his lesson the second time around, either.]]
----
''[[PreAsskickingOneLiner Reader, that's a damn fine coat you're wearing...]]''
