Career Killers

"Career Killer" can refer to several things depending on the context. Please see the relevant article for what you are looking for.

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If you're looking for a character who has made a career out of killing people, see

• Professional Killer.

If you're looking for something that can kill your career, we have multiple tropes for that

For writers, artists, producers, etc., a "Career Killer" is a work that ends up being more harmful than helpful to their careers:

• Creator Killer: a work which threatens the viability or harms the reputation of its writer(s) or producer(s).
• Franchise Killer: a work within a long - running franchise that destroys hopes for further sequels.
• Genre Killer: a work that results in an entire subgenre falling out of fashion.
• Ink Stain Adaptation: a work within a long - running franchise that colors the public perception of the franchise as a whole.
• Star-Derailing Role: a work that damages the reputation of performers taking part in it.

Taking a new job can also destroy a career:

• George Jetson Job Security: a job that comes with a boss who likes to fire people for the most minor mistake.
• Kicked Upstairs: a character is deliberately promoted to a high - ranking but unimportant role, in order to remove them from their current, more important role.
• Promoted to Scapegoat: a character is deliberately promoted to a seemingly important role, in order to use them as The Scapegoat.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: a reassignment to a remote location intended as a punishment or to simply get rid of a character.

For other things that destroy characters' careers in-universe, you might be interested in:

• Jail Bait: to a Lovable Sex Maniac or Dirty Old Man, temptation can be the biggest threat.

Of course, there are also career moves that can get someone killed

• Retirony: A Mauve Shirt who has held a dangerous job for many years dies within days of their retirement date.
• Uriah Gambit: a character is deliberately given a particularly dangerous reassignment in hopes they won't come back.