Death by Materialism: Difference between revisions
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{{examples}}
== General ==
* Any plot at all involving a [[Jerkass Genie]] is going to have this. No matter how obvious it is that the genie is purposely misinterpreting the requests, someone's greed is going to do him in, with only the smartest and/or wisest hero even ''suggesting'' throwing the lamp away.
* A common problem with an [[Artifact of Doom]] or [[Olympus Mons]]. Characters who use these tend to have little sense of self-control, becoming [[Drunk with Power]] and thinking themselves invincible, not knowing that the biggest danger to him is the very thing that grants him power.
== Anime and Manga ==
* In the [[Anime]] [[OVA]] ''[[Guy Double Target]]'', the [[Big Bad|BigBads]] of both episodes are cruel and sadistic, but they also show this trope, just in case [[Viewers are Morons|it isn't clear they deserve their fates]]. Then again, the heroes are greedy, so this is a bit of a [[Broken Aesop]].
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* ''[[Tokyo Babylon]]'' features a haunted Chanel suit. It doesn't actually kill its owner, though. Its entire arc/chapter is clearly meant to criticise consumerism; Hokuto does an outright speech at the end.
* No Face in ''[[Spirited Away]]'' is the living embodiment of this. If you're greedy (you go for the coins he offers), he eats you. If you're really greedy, he goes on an apeshit killing spree
* In ''[[One Piece]]'', countless pirates have met horrible deaths in the Grand Line (or trying to ''get'' there), tempted by Gol D. Roger's legendary treasure. Suffice to say, [[Understatement| getting it is not as easy as it sounds.]]
== Comic Books ==
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{{quote|'''Rick:''' It's not worth your life, you idiot!
'''Jonathan:''' Yes it is! YES IT IS! }}
** Warden Gad Hassan, who attempts to take some of the jeweled scarabs from a wall mural, only to discover that they're ''real'' flesh-eating scarabs after one burrows into his boot... up his leg... over his chest... and into his brain...
* In the 1989 ''[[Batman (film)|Batman]]'' movie, numerous Gothamites [[Too Dumb to Live|grab cash offered by a known serial killer]]. Many walk away in good shape, thanks entirely to Batman, but at least some disregarded warnings until it was too late.
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* The otherwise horrid film of ''[[Doc Savage]]'' ends with [[The Dragon]], in the middle of a hidden valley where a lake of molten gold is erupting, dancing in glee, and trying to catch the superheated metal in his pockets. Amazingly, he {{spoiler|does not die from this, or even get burned as liquid gold splatters across him. However, when the hero and his allies leave the cave they took shelter in, they find him nothing but a statue, completely encased in gold.}}
* In ''[[Marathon Man]]'', Dr Christian Szell (played by [[Laurence Olivier]]) dies after he [[Karmic Death|acidentally stabs himself]] risking his life to rescue a briefcase full of diamonds.
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves]]'' has a strange Inversion where the heroes are able to ''save'' lives via materialism. {{spoiler| Here’s the set up, Sofina is planning to use a spell of darkest evil called Beckoning Death to kill the whole population of Neverwinter and turn them into zombie slaves (this same spell was used by her master, Szazz Tam, to inflict such a fate on Thay). Sofina’s accomplice Forge Fitzwilliam has gathered the whole population in a stadium for the Highsun Games; he is planning to loot the town’s vaults and skip town on a boat before the spell is cast. Once the heroes commandeer the boat and realize what Sofina’s plan is, they use the Hither Thither Staff (a staff that can create portals) to place a portal on the bottom of the boat with the other end on a hot air balloon that is circling the area. The spectators see the treasure raining down on the city and they all rush out to grab as much of it as they can, so the casualties of Sofina’s spell are limited to a bunch of [[Upper Class Twit]]s in the VIP seats who clearly had it coming.}}
** Played straight, however, {{spoiler| with Forge, who splits town with as much as he can carry, only to be weighed down by it and caught by Harpers' leader Xent. He doesn't die, but the end of the movie shows him rotting in jail.}}
* ''[[Cocaine Bear]]'' is a horror movie where the most visible "monster" is a bear driven mad by rage after consuming a stash of cocaine, but the true monster would be Syd, the drug runner who inadvertently causes the bear's condition. At the end of the movie, his two henchmen - Eddie and Daveed - are smart enough to flee with the other surviving named characters, and they survive. Syd, however, refuses to abandon the remaining stash of cocaine, and is promptly disemboweled by the bear and her cubs.
== Literature ==
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* If some street robbers on ''[[Discworld]]'' demands "Your money or your life" from some dwarves, they should be prepared for a long wait while the dwarves discuss.
** It's also suggested that any bandit attacking a Dwarf mail coach, Dwarfs being faithful about sending money home, and demanding their money or their lives should bring a book, folding chair and lunch.
** In ''[[
** Also in ''[[Discworld]]'', the Luggage often suckers bandits or other riffraff into biting range by sitting perfectly still with its lid open, exposing a fortune in gold coins within.
* "The Golden Girl", a short story by [[Ellis Peters]] in the [[Alfred Hitchcock]] collection ''Stories Not for the Nervous''. A man and his pregnant wife are passengers on a ship. The ship catches on fire and the passengers must evacuate. After she gets her life jacket on, a ship's officer drops her over the side into the water, where she sinks like a stone. The man jumps in after her. The story ends with a line about how they'll never know if he jumped in to save the girl or to save the 30 pounds of gold being smuggled in her fake maternity bulge.
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'''Genie:''' Duck! You have desecrated the spirit of the lamp! Prepare to face the consequences!
'''Daffy:''' Consequences, schmonsequences, long as I'm rich. ''(get zapped by the genie)'' }}
* Thailog, Goliath's [[Evil Clone]] in ''[[Gargoyles]]'', ''fakes'' his death this way.
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