Does anyone here think we should create a "Greater Scope Paragon" page and/or change the name of "Bigger Bad" to "Greater Scope Villain" like TV Tropes did? I'm not advocating for or against it, just curious to see what others think.
Topic on Forum:Trope Talk
Eh, I don't see any problem with the current name. It means exactly what it says, goes nicely with the Big Bad trope as is, and while the alt name would make a nice alt name here, I'm in favor of keeping the original name for "Bigger Bad".
To me, a "greater scope" character is one that appears in multiple otherwise-unconnected stories (for example, many Marvel and DC comic-book characters). I wouldn't use the term to mean a character that's on the next higher rung of the ladder of good or evil.
That makes sense. I'd still recommend have a "Bigger Good" trope, though, for good forces or characters who are important to the setting of the whole but aren't directly fighting the good fight in the actual story (The Powers That Be in "Angel", for example, or Eru Illuvatar in Tolkien's Middle-Earth writings).
Also, TV Tropes definition seems to count as Bigger Bads (or "Greater Scope Villains" as they now call them) any evil in the setting that isn't a character causing the conflict of the story, whether because it is a character that isn't causing the conflict or because it's not a character at all (hence the dark side of the force from "Star Wars" being listed as an example).
I personally find this a little hard to wrap my head around and think we should make it a character only trope while otherwise keeping the definition the same. What do you guys think?
I definitely agree with you on this being a characters-only trope. IMHO, the concepts of good and evil only apply to people who can choose between then, and natural (or supernatural) phenomena are neither good nor evil.