Came Back Strong: Difference between revisions

[[File:gandalf_1019.jpg|frame|Indeed, you might say I am Saruman. Saruman [[You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good|as he should have been]].]]

 

 

[[The Hero]] is fighting [[The Dragon]], or the [[Big Bad]], and finds out he is [[Hopeless Boss Fight|hopelessly outmatched]]. The villain decides to go ahead and [[Just Shoot Him|kill him off]], and it's over. The hero is dead.

Or is he? Perhaps he was [[Only Mostly Dead]], or [[Death Is Cheap]]. Or maybe [[The Medic]] was able to bring him back. Either way, he starts to fight again, and reveals that thanks to his defeat, he [[Took a Level In Badass]] and may have access to [[New Powers As the Plot Demands|powers that he never had before]].

 

 

Contrast [[Came Back Wrong]]. Compare [[Heroic Second Wind]], which is similar to this without the nasty implications of death.

* Phoenix Ikki in ''[[Saint Seiya]]''. Every time he's killed, he gets back twice as strong. Given that he died quite a few times, he's a undisputed powerhouse now.

* In ''[[Bleach]]'', the straightest example would be Ichigo's near death, or hollow, transformation to regain his spirit powers. The normal example of dying and becoming a shinigami or a hollow does not work because you never come back to life, [[Killed Off for Real|you stay dead]].

* In ''[[Princess Resurrection]]'', one has to die in order to become an immortal blood warrior.

* Brook from ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' plays this somewhat straight. He died and came back as a skeleton, so, while he isn't explicitly stronger, he is much faster now, a lot harder to kill, and able to do things like run on water or jump distances that are ridiculous even by [[World of Badass|One Piece]] standards.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', Ed and Al both nearly die when they try to resurrect their mother. They barely survive and gain the ability to use alchemy without circles, and Al is also a [[Made of Indestructium]] [[Animated Armor]].

* ''[[Code Breaker]]'''s Ogami pulls this trope twice. The first time when he was a child and received the Emperor's flame, and the second when Yuuki kills him and the Emperor allows him access to the next flame for making the [[Secret Test of Character|correct]] [[Take a Third Option|choice]].

* In ''[[King of Thorn (Manga)|King of Thorn]]'', {{spoiler|Marco Owen}} is killed by Zeus. However, another character sacrifices her life to bring him back, and the new Medusa-enhanced body she gives him has useful new abilities such as a resistance to Zeus's electrical attacks.

* In ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'', every time [[Complete Monster|Myotismon]] is killed, he eventually simply comes back in a more powerful form. {{spoiler|Until the [[Grand Finale]] of ''Adventure 02'', where his ''soul'' is blown up, most likely rendering him [[Deader Than Dead]].}}

* Used in the ''[[Disgaea]]'' games. You level up, then you reincarnate into a new body that starts with better stats. The game more plays with this trope.

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (Video Game)|Sonic the Hedgehog 2006]]'' features the controversial kiss from Princess Elise that {{spoiler|not only revives Sonic from dead-but-not-really-death but}} transforms him into Super Sonic for the final boss.

* Happens in ''[[Jade Empire]]'' when your Spirit Monk is killed by the main villain, then finds the last piece of the [[Amulet of Concentrated Awesome|Dragon Amulet]] while fighting his/her way back from the spirit world.

* Death Knights from the ''[[War Craft]]'' series combine this trope with a bit of [[Came Back Wrong]]. Most Death Knights are already powerful Warriors or Paladins to begin with, but when they are raised they are imbued with powers over necromancy and disease, making them the Scourge's most powerful soldiers. This is less evident in [[World of Warcraft]] due to the obvious balance issues making Death Knights more powerful than the other classes would cause, but from a [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|lore standpoint]] it remains true, even though it only translates into a higher starting level.

* In ''[[Final Fantasy IV (Video Game)|Final Fantasy IV]]'' this happens to a few bosses. When you kill {{spoiler|the Earth Fiend Scarmiglione, he comes back as a zombie, attacking from behind}} or {{spoiler|Dr. Lugae, he comes back as a cyborg}}.

* This is how you beat {{spoiler|Izanami}} in ''[[Persona 4 (Video Game)|Persona 4]]'', with a little help from [[The Power of Friendship]].

** Ryougi Shiki in the earlier ''[[Kara no Kyoukai (Literature)|Kara no Kyoukai]]'' gains a stronger version of the same ability when one of her [[Split Personality|two personalities]] dies, leaving a hole to "Origin" in its place. {{spoiler|Effectively her new second personality is the universe itself, and possesses unlimited power}}

* The Nameless One in ''[[Planescape Torment]]'' sometimes regains memories after he dies and comes back, which can translate into more experience points, and hence more power.

* In ''[[Starcraft II (Video Game)|Starcraft II]]'', one mission against a [[Hybrid Monster]] named Maar has him repeatedly assaulting your small base. If you kill him, he keeps coming back, larger, with more hit points and a more powerful attack.

** Additionally, {{spoiler|Commander Gore is killed very early into the mission}}. However, the forces of the Schwarzwelt {{spoiler|bring him back as a puppet and an observer, in a type of zombie called Ubergestalt. When he shakes off control, he reveals that not only has he regained his humanity, but he now possesses supernatural abilities and superhuman traits}}.

* In ''[[Ogre Battle]]'' series (and ''[[Tactics Ogre]]'' games from the same universe) it's possible to ressurect your fallen units as undead. They have weakness against enemy clerics, but often much stronger then they was in live. In ''Knight of Lodis'' it's possible to ressurect fallen knight as Angel Knight, one of the best classes in game, who doesn't have weakness to holy.

* Parodied on ''[[South Park]]'' in which Cartman throws himself off a roof in a poorly-planned attempt to fly and wakes up from a coma in the hospital, and the cops who have the ''[[Idiot Ball]]'' believe he has precognition. [[Only Sane Man|Kyle]] later does the same thing at the end of the episode so people will [[Cassandra Truth|believe him]] about the serial killer's identity and Cartman's uselessness. Eerily, the lights flicker violently when Kyle gets frustrated.

* [[Played With]] in the series finale to the original ''[[Transformers Generation One|Transformers series]]'' when Optimus Prime is [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|brought back to life]] [[In Its Hour of Need]] and promptly rebuilt as a [[Chrome Champion]] to defeat the [[Hate Plague]].

* {{spoiler|Octus}} was killed in episode 18 of ''[[Sym Bionic Titan]]'' and remained that way through episode 19. {{spoiler|Octus is revived in episode 20 by the leader of G3. While he himself hasn't been shown to have become stronger, the Titan gets an upgrade as a result, gaining powerful energy beams and is generally overall stronger. Lance even comments that it's stronger than before.}}

* [[Jerkass|Colonel H. Stinkmeaner]] from ''[[The Boondocks]]'' was just an annoying, foul mouthed old blind guy, who got his ass whooped, and died as a result. Come season 2, we find out he's been spending his time in Hell(Like he'd get into Heaven...) turning himself into a kung fu asskicker. When he get's sent back to Earth, he mops the floor with the Freemans.