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{{quote|''"In the end, there can be only one."''|'''The Immortals' motto'''}}
A [[Long Runner|long-running]] [[Historical Fantasy]] [[
This power exchange manifests as an explosion of energy called The Quickening, in which [[Made of Explodium|everything within 50 yards]] [[Stuff Blowing Up|blows up]]. Drifting invisibly through the history of the world, they battle each other in [[Sword Fight|swordfights]] until only one Immortal remains; the last one standing gets "The Prize", the exact nature of which is unknown.
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* It all started with a single film: '''''Highlander''''' (1986) introduces Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), an Immortal born in the [[Title Drop|Scottish Highlands]]. In a series of flashbacks, Connor is mentored by Juan Ramírez ([[Sean Connery]]), a [[The Obi-Wan|wise]] Immortal who teaches him the basics before being beheaded by Connor's sworn enemy, [[Big Bad|the Kurgan]] ([[Clancy Brown]]). The film's other half takes place in [[The Eighties|Eighties]]-era [[Big Applesauce|New York City]], where all the world's Immortals, whose numbers are now growing thin, are drawn together to [[There Can Be Only One|battle to the last man]] [[Duel to the Death|in a final showdown]] dubbed "The Gathering". By the end of the film, Connor and the Kurgan are the only Immortals left. Connor kills him in a [[Final Battle]], [[Damsel in Distress|saves the girl]] (Roxanne Hart), and gains The Prize.
* '''''Highlander 2: The Quickening''''' (1991) flash-forwards to [[Bad Future|the year 2024]]. Connor is back, having parlayed The Prize (the ability to read the minds of all the world's mortals at once) into building a vast planetary [[Deflector Shields|force field]] to replace the [[Hollywood Global Warming|broken ozone layer]]; the downside is that the entire planet is now [[Always Night|permanently dark]]. In other news, the Immortals are revealed to be [[Human Aliens|space aliens]] from planet Zeist, while the evil [[Awesome McCoolname|General Katana]] ([[Michael Ironside]]) has come to Earth to kill Connor off. While it enjoyed a much bigger budget, it gained a large amount of hate from the fans. It should be noted however, that the bizarre changes that contradicted the original film, were due to [[Executive Meddling]] (the film ran out of budget halfway through the shooting). Several years after the theatrical screening the director re-cast the actors, shot new scenes, deleted the stupid parts out, and basically re-edited ''The Quickening'' into what he called ''The Renegade Version''. That version was released on home video ''twice''. The re-edited film had all references to Zeist removed. The troubled history of the film's production is explained in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMcXvG_DoiY this mini-documentary.]
* '''''[[Highlander (TV series)|Highlander]]: [[Recycled: the Series|The Series]]''''' (1992-1998) follows the life of Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), an Immortal who happens to be a cousin of the movies' Connor MacLeod (then again, who isn't?). The series takes the original film as its [[Backstory]] in [[Broad Strokes]] (except, obviously, Connor being the last Immortal and winning The Prize), and (like everything else) it ignores the second film. It also introduces the Watchers, a [[Ancient Conspiracy|mysterious group]] which has observed and chronicled Immortal activities throughout history. The series coined the term "The Game", which refers to the Immortals' ongoing battle. For the most part it was well-received.
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* '''''Highlander: The Final Dimension''''' (1994) -- [[Either or Title|alternatively titled]] '''''Highlander III: The Sorcerer''''' -- ignores the second film and the TV series, making it a direct sequel to the original film. It turns out that The Kurgan was ''not'' the only [[Blood Knight|savage]] Immortal out to claim Connor's head, as Kane (Mario Van Peebles) was trapped in a cave for 400 years and so didn't quite make it to The Gathering. Despite following a similar formula to the first film, ''Highlander 3'' was better received than ''The Quickening''.
* '''''Highlander: The Raven''''' (1998-1999) was a short-lived [[Spin-Off]] of the TV series and centered on Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen), Duncan MacLeod's sometime love interest. By all accounts [https://web.archive.org/web/20090102201444/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/highlanderraven.php a disastrous shoot from start to finish], making it the ''[[Terry Gilliam|Lost in La Mancha]]'' of spinoffs.
* '''''Highlander: Endgame''''' (2000), the fourth film to be made, followed on from the TV series continuity but attempted to incorporate the events of the original film into its [[Backstory]] as well (although ultimately it ended up contradicting both). Duncan and Connor MacLeod team up to face Jacob Kell (Bruce Payne), a [[Chewing the Scenery|scenery-chewing]] Immortal with a [[It's Personal|massive grudge]] against Connor. ''Endgame'''s poor editing left fans confounded and casual viewers completely adrift. Like ''The Quickening'', ''Endgame'' saw an extended cut which gives it at least some semblance of order.
* '''''[[Highlander: The
* As it turned out, Wingfield wasn't burned out on playing Methos just yet. In 2008, he and two other ''Highlander: The Series'' alumni (Jim Byrnes and Elizabeth Gracen) released a [[Short Film]] entitled '''Reunion''', depicting the characters 10 years after the series finale. Wingfield shot the entire episode [[No Budget|in his house]] (and it shows), but as far as send-offs go, it still beats ''The Source''.
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* '''Highlander: The Animated Series''' (1994-1996) mostly ignores the established canon, though Connor MacLeod and Ramirez (from the original film) both make an appearance. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the Immortals have agreed to a truce. Once everyone else has taken the oath, however, a [[Jerkass]] Immortal named Kortan [[I Lied|takes advantage]] of the binding truce to become [[Take Over the World|ruler of Earth]]. Several centuries later, new Immortal Quentin MacLeod is born. He is [[Curse Escape Clause|not bound by the oath]], making him the sole warrior able to face Kortan. His mentor Vincente Ramirez leads him on a quest to find the other Immortals and receive their knowledge, before Kortan does. Tagging along is Clyde of the Dundee, Quentin's adoptive sister. The series eventually spawned a game ''Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods'' for the [[Atari Jaguar]].
* In 2001, a [[Web Animation|Flash animated]] fan series entitled ''The Methos Chronicles'' was [
* '''''Highlander: The Search for Vengeance''''' (2007) is an [[Anime]] unrelated to any of the films or other adaptations. It starts in AD 125, somewhere in [[Roman Britain]]. A small village is wiped out by Roman troops led by Immortal Marcus Octavius. He is a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] who thinks an Empire is [[Utopia Justifies the Means|necessary to build a utopian society]]. This battle leads to the rise of another Immortal, Colin MacLeod. He is mentored by Amergan, the ghost of a druid. Colin devotes his life to seeking vengeance by killing Octavius. The film follows them in brief scenes taking place during a period of two millennia. The film was a critical hit and is thought to have a far more complex plot than most of the live-action sequels.
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----
{{tropenamer}}
* [[There Can Be Only One]]
* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]
{{franchisetropes}}
* [[Actually Not a Vampire]]: One episode of the TV series features what appears to be a string of vampire attacks in South London in 1840. The victims in Paris all have missing blood and piercing wounds on their neck. There's even a Van Helsing-type character hunting the vampire. He catches him too, [[Wrong Genre Savvy|only the be shocked when the vampire gets up from being staked]]. Turns out the vampire was an immortal faking vampire attacks so that he could kill his young bride and inherit her money.
* [[After the End]]: A strangely popular setting for ''Highlander'' spinoffs, for no explicable reason. ''Highlander II'', ''[[Highlander: The
* [[Alternate Continuity]]: There are at least three -- the (first three) films, the TV series (plus spinoffs and sequel movies), and the animated series. Of course, these are the broadest possible divisions as each one contains multiple [[Retcon|Retcons]] within themselves.
* [[Alternate Universe]]
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* [[Confessional]]: A long, long confession.
* [[Create Your Own Villain]]: It was Methos and Don Salzer's idea to create a database for The Watchers to track Immortals in the modern age. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Nice job]], guys.
* [[Cult Soundtrack]]: The soundtrack to the first movie, with songs by [[Queen]] (and orchestral music by [[Michael Kamen]]), is a cult favorite among glam rock fans, fantasy geeks, and [[Dungeons
* [[Cyberpunk]]:
** ''Highlander: The Search for Vengeance'' uses this for the future segments. It works extremely well.
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* [[Distracted From Death]]: {{spoiler|Connor tells a dying Heather a story [[Let Them Die Happy|that'll let her die happy]]. She dies halfway through it, and he doesn't notice until he's finished.}}
* [[Does Not Know His Own Strength]]
* [[Doing
* [[Doing It for the Art]]: The cast had such a good time doing the original movie, they filmed additional scenes for free, detailing Macleod's relationship with his assistant.
* [[Doppelganger Replacement Love Interest]]: Lisa Milon.
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** Not since the ''[[Alien]]'' teaser with the alien egg spinning toward Earth has there been [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot|a more misleading trailer]].
* [[New Old Flame]]: Duncan gets one in ''Endgame'', and a completely different one in ''The Source''.
* [[New Powers as the Plot Demands]]: Where to begin? In ''The Quickening'', Connor brings Ramirez [[Back
** The ending of ''The Source'' exhibits plenty of this.
* [[No Sense of Humor]]: Kurgan accuses nuns of being this.
* [[Not Even Bothering with the Accent]]: Ramirez. An ancient Egyptian pretending to be a Spaniard having a Scottish accent is an [[Egregious]] example even for [[Sean Connery]]. Especially in a film with a protagonist who ''is'' Scottish.
* [[Not Growing Up Sucks]]: Kenny.
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** Rather heartlessly, {{spoiler|Methos}}, a highly popular character, is last seen running off in to the woods, presumably to be ''killed offscreen.''
** {{spoiler|[[Word of God]] states that ''The Source'' isn't canon and just some kind of trippy nightmare Duncan is having. Don't know if that helps, but there it is.}}
* [[Sunglasses
* [[Sword and Sorcery]]
* [[Synthetic Plague]]: This is the sub-plot in the anime ''Highlander: The Search for Vengeance'', where Marcus has released a virus over New York to wipe out all of people who haven't conformed to his ancient Roman ideals. The virus only had an 80% kill rate but by the end of the movie he's managed to make a 100% version.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Franchise Index]]▼
[[Category:Science Fiction Films]]
[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Film]]
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