I Cannot Self-Terminate: Difference between revisions

* Very cruel example from ''[[Saint Seiya]]'': {{spoiler|An Ansgard warrior named Volker abused his adoptive son Mime for years and once taunted him with the fact that he had killed Mime's biological parents, which sent Mime in an [[Unstoppable Rage]] and made him his father. What seemed to be a case of revenge is actually one where Volker, [[My Greatest Failure|haunted for years]] for ''accidentally'' killing Mime's parents during a civil war, wanted Mime to punish him. (Mime's dad was [[The Rival]] and [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|refused to be spared because of his family]], and when Volker attacked him in self-defense, he hit both him ''and'' his wife who [[Go Through Me|was trying to stop them]]). Volker couldn't be easily killed by anyone in Ansgard since he was the top [[Retired Badass]] there, so he played a [[Thanatos Gambit]] to have his wish to die honorably at the hands of someone who'd take his place in the top ten of Ansgard's military force, while also atoning for a double kill that he never truly intended to commit.}}

* In part two of the classic Alan Moore "Imaginary Tale" ("...Aren't they all?") ''[[Whatever Happened to The Man of Tomorrow?]]?'' which brought an extra-continuity close to the [[Silver Age]] [[Superman]] mythos, Lex Luthor's body is essentially possessed by the disembodied head of Brainiac, which he is forced to wear like a rather macabre helmet. When confronted by a temporarily superpowered Lana Lang (who, pre-''Crisis'', he had some history with), Luthor valiantly struggles against Brainiac's control long enough to beg her: "kill me!", rather than remain the living computer's meat-puppet. Lana complies and snaps Luthor's neck... but (unfortunately for Jimmy Olsen) even the death of his host body wasn't enough to keep Brainiac down, as he manages to continue stimulating the corpse's nerves and muscles for a while longer, Luthor's head [[Nightmare Fuel|grotesquely lolling to one side on its broken spine]]. Eventually the rigor mortis catches up with him, forcing the malignant robot head to dismount and crawl, Krang-like after Superman with futile murderous intent before finally expiring. Best villain death EVER.

* ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero (Fanfic)|Kyon Big Damn Hero]]'' has {{spoiler|Ryouko Asakura}} asking Kyon to kill her, mentioning the trope name word by word, because [[First Time Feeling|she can't stand feeling guilty]] due to putting Kyon's sister in peril.

* The 1990 comedy ''[[Short Time]]'' stars Dabney Coleman as a police officer who erroneously finds out he has a terminal illness. The problem is, his wife ([[Hey, It's That Guy!|Marge]] in [[Mom and Dad Save The World]]) only gets his pension pre-retirement if he is killed in the line of duty. Since suicide is also out of the question, he starts taking massive risks on the job in an effort to get a perp to kill him.

* In ''[[CallahansCallahan's Crosstime Saloon (Literature)|Callahans Crosstime Saloon]]'', Michael Finn was sent by an alien force to determine whether Earth is so dangerous that it needs to be destroyed; however, he's decided (after an evening at Callahan's) that he likes us [[Puny Earthlings]]. Should he fail to report in, they will assume we destroyed him and stay well clear of us -- but it's impossible for him to ''intentionally'' fail to report, as long as he's properly functioning. When he gives his name as Michael Finn, Callahan the bartender takes the hint and [[Slipping a Mickey|slips him a "mickey"]], which renders him unconscious during the assigned reporting period. (Also of note here is that Michael himself refers to his mission as a "geas.")

* The Dalek in the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' episode "Dalek" was developing more emotions than just hatred - a situation its species could not stand. It had to be ordered to die by someone else, as its training would not let it commit suicide under other circumstances. Rose finally (and reluctantly) gave the order.

* The humanoid Cylons on ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined (TV)|Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' are forbidden from committing suicide by their religion (although at least two have successfully self-terminated by putting themselves in close proximity to explosives); given the overall tone of the series, it is perhaps not surprising that this has led to ''multiple'' instances of Cylons begging someone else to pull the trigger on them. This appears to be purely a psychological effect rather than something hardwired into them - Brother Cavil, the one Cylon who doesn't believe in the Cylon god, is shot by the underground resistance on New Caprica in the third season, and, upon coming back sometime later, casually mentions that he had to cut his jugular vein open with a shell casing to kill himself. And he does it again in the final episode as well, {{spoiler|shooting himself in the head after Tyrol makes resurrection impossible by killing another one of the Final Five.}} "Frak!" * bang*

** Also a third time with {{spoiler|Pelleas, who has to be killed by someone else in order to nullify the Blood Pact.}} Notable in that {{spoiler|while at first you're only given the option to have Micaiah kill him herself or make Tauroneo do it, on your [[New Game Plus+|second playthrough]], you can refuse his offer entirely and have him [[Secret Character|join your party later.]]}}