In the Back: Difference between revisions

[[Back-to-Back Badasses]] is to prevent this—provided the other character is [[The Power of Trust|trustworthy]].

 

 

When [[The Dog Bites Back]], this often comes into play.

** Frieza himself tries this. Goku beats him and now he's not [[Incredibly Lame Pun|not half the despot he used to be]]. So he tries to blast the Super Saiyan from behind. Not smart, Frieza. Just not smart at all.

* In ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' [[Nice Guy]] [[Anti-Villain|Nicol Amalfi]] dies while trying to stab [[The Hero|Kira Yamato]] In the Back; Kira turns around and proceeds to cut Nicol (not [[Humongous Mecha|The Blitz]] but Nicol himself) nearly in half. Nicol's action is never portrayed as anything other than sympathetic, given that a) it's a war, b) The Blitz was too damaged to confront Kira and The Strike head on, and c) he was trying to save his best friend, Athrun, from Kira.

* Gino Weinberg of ''[[Code Geass]]'' certainly isn't above this: this is how he {{spoiler|kills Senba of the Four Holy Swords, and how he destroys the otherwise [[Beehive Barrier|highly guarded]] Shinkirou much later}}.

* Momose from ''[[Bloody Cross]]'' has been known to use her [[Casting a Shadow|shadow manipulating]] abilities to [[Stealth Hi Bye|sneak up]] behind opponents and stab them in the back.

* In the [[Alternate Timeline]] of ''[[Stargate: Continuum]]'', [[Magnificent Bastard|Ba'al]] has become the Supreme System Lord and has taken Qetesh (in Vala's body) as his bride. However, when Qetesh sees that Ba'al is not being as "Goa'uldey" as he should (he doesn't want to destroy Earth), she stabs him in the back with a [[Sharpened to a Single Atom|monomolecular]] blade. She tries to get Teal'c cooperation, but he retorts that she'll kill Ba'al anyway. She does.

** There are other cases in the [[Stargate SG-1|show]] itself, including the good guys. For example, Teal'c android copy shoots Cronus in the back with a staff weapon in revenge for killing Teal'c father.

 

== Literature ==

* While in the Wild East... One 19th-Century Chechnyan warlord surrendered to Russians (yes, Chechen Wars aren't exactly new stuff), and the other kept fighting. On one occasion they met, and when the first one was leaving, the second shouted at him to turn around, because he wants to at least shoot him (for mentioned surrendering to Russians, what he saw as treason), but won't shoot in the back.

* Brutally true in [[Real Life]]. It has actually been proven that it is significantly easier for soldiers to kill their opponents when their backs are turned, especially if they are retreating. An opponent facing a shooter or attacker is a human being and a face that conveys a variety of emotions, immediately triggering the fundamental human aversion to killing one's own kind. On the other hand, a person fleeing triggers predatory "pursue and kill" instincts, and the killer doesn't see their face, thus dehumanizing their target, making shooting or stabbing them much easier. A person from behind also resembles the standard "person silhouette" target used on many target ranges, making it easier to revert back to training mentality and shoot.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Death Tropes]]

[[Category:Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty]]

[[Category:Combat Tropes]]

[[Category:Betrayal Tropes]]