In the Back: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"A true friend stabs you in the front."''|'''[[Oscar Wilde]]'''}}

Only a [[Dirty Coward]] would shoot someone in the back. Or even knife him.

 

 

 

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

Does not necessarily apply to executions. Or when [[The Big Bad]] decided to turn his back on [[The Hero]] in order to stab a hostage. And if a [[Heroic Bystander]] shoots a villain in the back, for some reason it's considered, well, heroic.

 

 

 

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', Kiku Honda/Japan does this to his adoptive older brother Wang Yao/China. We don't see it because of a [[Gory Discretion Shot]], but it can be assumed that poor Yao tried to run away when he saw Kiku pointing the sword at him. Later on we can see the scar.

* On ''[[The Galaxy Railways]]'', {{spoiler|Manabu's brother}} dies when a space pirate shoots him in the back. Later, {{spoiler|Bruce}} is killed when a thug he pissed off earler in the episode shoots him in the back while he's buying a drink from a soda machine.

* Rokudo Mukuro from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'', after [[I Surrender, Suckers|pretending to have resigned his fight with Tsuna and given up]], attacks Tsuna while his back is turned.

* Used all the time by the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Numbers]] [[Hollywood Cyborg|Cyborg]] [[Dual-Wielding|Dido]] in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. {{spoiler|This led to her downfall in the end, as Teana predicted her doing this [[Badass Back|and countered accordingly]]}}.

** Soifon, Hitsugaya, and Shunshui team up on Aizen, and Hitsugaya successfully stabs in the back. Sadly, {{spoiler|that wasn't really Aizen, but Hinamori, his best friend, placed under an illusion. [[No One Should Survive That|Luckily, she lives long enough to receive medical treatment.]]}}

** A slightly earlier and weird example is what happens with Starrk and Wonderweiss. Turning up behind the man, Wonderweiss puts his ''hand'' through Ukitake's chest, causing Kyoraku to go for ''him'' by flash-stepping behind the 'kid'. But before Wonderweiss gets hit, Starrk takes the opportunity of the distraction to shoot Kyoraku in the back. Kyoraku, being a fine [[Combat Pragmatist]] himself, later returns the favour.

* From [[Dragonball Z]]:

** Krillin has attempted to do this with his Destructo Disk against Vegeta in his Oozaru form (it failed) and Frieza (after his first transformation), where he only managed to lob off some of the latter's tail. Though if the villains hadn't reacted RIGHT when they did, Krillin could've easily killed them both.

** 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.

* 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}}.

 

== Comic Books ==

* In ''Flashpoint'', {{spoiler|Batman does this to Eobard Thawne}}

 

 

== Film ==

* Doc Brown was supposed to be shot in the back by Buford Tannen over a matter of eighty dollars in ''[[Back to The Future]] III''.

* ''The Brass Legend''

* ''Dirty Dingus Magee''

* Subverted in ''[[Ip Man]]'', where {{spoiler|Zealot Lin tries a sneak attack on General Miura after the latter had accepted the Chinese pugilists' loss and gets a fatal beating for his troubles.}}

* How Saruman's death played out in the extended cut of [[Return of the King]], originally Wormtongue [[Slashed Throat|slashed his throat]].

'''John Smith:''' "I've done worse than that." }}

* ''[[Star Wars]]: Revenge of the Sith''

** As soon as Order 66 is brought up, the troops accompanying Aayla Secura (that blue Jedi girl) shoot her in the back. [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|Over and over.]] To be fair to the clones, she was standing in front of them, and they probably had been with her for a while so they know that firing at her from the front is a dodgy proposition

** ''All'' of the clones shot their respective Jedi in the back. Mundi turned around at the last second, but the thought is what counts. Which was the ''entire point'' of not just Order 66, but the entire clone wars. To weaken the Jedi (and Jedi senses) far enough that when you shoot, their back is still towards you when the bolt hits.

** Averted with Yoda, who was ''not'' having any of that shit. Yoda was [[The Force|aware of what was going on]] as the Jedi were being slaughtered, far too many to simply be attributed to combat, and when the clones approached him with weapons drawn, he knew what they were up to and struck first.

* Great dialogue from '' [[Support Your Local Gunfighter]] '': <nowiki>Sidekick: "You hit him from behind!"</nowiki> <nowiki>Garner: "Just as hard as I could."</nowiki>

* [[Shazam|Captain Marvel]] machine-guns a couple of fleeing, unarmed bandits in the 1941 Republic Pictures [[Film Serial]], which is odd behaviour for a superhero of any time, let alone that time.

** Why does [[Physical God|Captain Marvel]] need a machine gun?

* In the TV movie ''El Diablo'':

Van Leek: [[Combat Pragmatist|His back was to me.]] }}

** Given an [[Ironic Echo]] at the end.

* What, no ''[[White Heat]]''? When Arthur Cody Jarret {{spoiler|learns that his mother was dispatched through being shot in the back, it's strongly implied that his plans for vengeance against the backshooter in question became all the more imminent and brutal}}

* In ''[[High Noon]]'', Amy shoots Pierce, one of Miller's men, in the back through a window while he's trying to reload.

* [[The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford]], obviously.

* An interesting inversion happened in John Wayne's final film, "The Shootist." In the original script, Wayne's character was to shoot someone in the back during the final gunfight, but Wayne refused to do so, saying, "...I've made over 250 pictures and have never shot a guy in the back. Change it." Despite protests from Don Siegel, who insisted that good friend [[Clint Eastwood]] would've shot a guy in the back, the script was changed, and the final shootout played to Wayne's satisfaction.

** Who, in an [[Ironic Echo]], himself is shot in the back by {{spoiler|Megatron}}. He doesn't die but is cripped enough for {{spoiler|Optimus}} to finish him off with a headshot right after {{spoiler|decapitating Megatron in the space of 5 seconds... while missing an arm}}.

* [[My Name Is Nobody|Nobody]] realises ahead of time that someone intends to shoot him in the back and sets up a humiliation for them when they try.

 

== Literature ==

* ''The Takers'' by Jerry Ahern. When he's trapped on a yacht that's been hijacked by pirates, the hero Josh Culhane has to do this. As he's a writer of action novels where the hero isn't supposed to shoot people in the back it bothers him, but not enough to stop him from doing it.

* In [[Jim Butcher]]'s ''[[Dresden Files]]'' novel ''Summer Knight'', Harry slugged {{spoiler|Aurora}} in the back with his staff, ungentlemanly though it was. {{spoiler|On the other hand, she was trying to [[Human Sacrifice|sacrifice]] a helpless prisoner.}}

** He also shot {{spoiler|Captain Luccio}} in the back of the head. In his defense, {{spoiler|she was possessed by a psychotically evil [[Omnicidal Maniac]] necromancer who would have just possessed ''him'' if it had realized he'd figured it out.}}

** In ''Small Favor'', Harry threatens a thug with this if he tries to run, pointing out it could mean his spine got hurt.

* Lampshaded in ''The Golden Gate'' by Alistair MacLean, when the reporter is not happy to find out that the secret agent is armed with poison dart weapons: "to be shot into the back, I suppose." The hero calmly points out that a dead man doesn't care from what direction he gets shot.

* In [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' novel ''The Traitor's Hand'', Cain's final [[Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand]] was to tell Beije and the soldiers with him

** The primary point of any of Cain's altruistic acts, heroics, etc. are to stop Guard units he is leading from shooting him in the back (as happens to other Commissars).

* Inquisitor [[Eisenhorn]] has the courtesy to wait until the enemy is facing him. Though he still shoves his pistol in Eyeclone's mouth and fires while the renegade isn't expecting to spot him. Just imagine the [[Oh Crap]] look on Eyeclone's face!

** And during our introduction to Bequin she saves Eisenhorn by stabbing a thug through the back of the neck.

* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|The Master Mind of Mars]]'', Gor Hajus is a respected assassin, and part of the reason is that he will not attack from behind.

* In ''[[Cold Mountain]]'', a minor character is terrified of being shot in the back, which would prove he was fleeing the battle. He is eventually shot in the chest, whilst running backwards.

* ''The Casino Murder Case'': The murderer is holding Philo Vance and district attorney John Markham at gunpoint. After shooting Vance, he tells Markham that since Markham is "only a cop at heart", he would shoot Markham in the back. Markham refuses to turn around. {{spoiler|Vance was [[Playing Possum]] after switching the murderer's bullets for blanks, hoping [[The Cavalry]], a.k.a. the NYPD, would kill the murderer and save everyone the hassle of a trial. It worked.}}

* Happens in one of the [[Redwall]] books, because the shrew in question is a [[Jerkass]] and a coward that throws his rapier at Log-a-log, killing him.

* In ''[[Malevil]]'' Armand is stabbed in the back when attempting to rape a woman. The big thug is unaware that he was ''stabbed'' and walks around town with the knife sticking out.

* ''[[Star Wars]]: The Old Republic: Revan'' has three main characters: Revan (redeemed from the Dark Side), Meetra Surik (the [[Player Character]] from ''[[Knights of the Old Republic|KotOR II]]''), and Darth Scourge (who realizes that [[The Emperor]] is planning to start a war the [[The Empire|Sith Empire]] can't win and wants to stop him). At the end of the novel, {{spoiler|the three characters have joined forces and are facing down the Emperor. Scourge has a Force Vision that shows him a different Jedi killing the Emperor. Realizing they can't win, he stabs Meetra in the back, killing her instantly, while the Emperor disables Revan}}.

* '''White Plume Mountain''' has this as one of The Justicar's main points:

* ''[[Lensman|First Lensman]]'' opens with the visitor to a lab sneaking up on a scientist with a handgun and shooting him in the back seven times, including twice in the head — only for every bullet to pass through him harmlessly. Coupled with the scientist's blasé reaction and addressing the shooter as "Gharlane of Eddore," this is how we find out the shooter and the scientist are an Eddorian and an Arisian (respectively) in disguise. (No one notices any of this thanks to their [[Perception Filter|zones of compulsion]].)

 

* On [[Supernatural]] Sam is killed the first time by a stab in the back. Subsequent deaths are much less dramatic, until three seasons later he jumps into Hell to save the world, and ''technically'' doesn't ''die''.

* The only way you could actually get zapped by the ''[[Interceptor]]''.

'''[[Magnificent Bastard|Garak]]:''' ''It's the safest way, isn't it?'' }}

* ''Have Gun -- Will Travel'' episode "The Colonel and the Lady"

* ''[[Lost in Space]]'' episode "Invaders from the Fifth Dimension"

'''Alien''': ''You showed treachery and cunning, noble qualities on your native planet no doubt, but indicating defective relays in your reasoning circuits.'' }}

* ''The Persuaders''

* Mal's final conversation with Simon in the pilot of ''[[Firefly]]'' has these words assuring Simon that he won't kill him in his sleep: "You don't know me, son, so let me put this to you plainly. If I ever kill you, you will be awake, you will be facing me, and you will be armed." Given Mal's later nature as a [[Combat Pragmatist]], this seems more an acceptance of Simon and his sister into Mal's [[True Companions]] than anything else. [[Joss Whedon]] suggests sardonically that Mal just has a ''very particular'' code of honor that will let him shoot an unarmed, surrendering enemy...but only in the front.

** Alternatively, the monologue could be taken to mean that Mal just plain isn't going to try and kill Simon, and would only do so if Simon was trying to kill him.

** A bit of Fridge Brilliance here, Dobson was awake, armed and looking at Mal when he was killed. {{spoiler|The first time anyways.}}

** After Jayne {{spoiler|betrays Simon and River for money,}} Mal calls him out on it:

'''Rimmer''': I could happily kill him if he was on the job. Gloop him. }}

* ''[[Lost]]''

** In "The Variable," {{spoiler|Eloise shoots Daniel, her own son, in the back.}}

* ''[[SCTV]]'' - an ad for the tv Western "Yellowbelly" shows just what a yellowbelly the title character (John Candy) is as he shoots a ''child'' in the back, and then does the same to the child's ''mother''.

* Whild Bill Hickock's ultimate fate in ''[[Deadwood]]''.

* [[Horatio Hornblower]] is nearly stabbed in the back in the mini-series, by a furious and humiliated {{spoiler|[[Complete Monster|Simpson]]}}, but is saved by {{spoiler|a truly excellent shot by [[A Father to His Men|Captain Pellew]]}}.

* In the [[Criminal Minds]] episode "Masterpiece," Rossi stays pretty composed while the unsub of the week {{spoiler|tries and fails}} to kill his team and destroy him in various other ways. He loses it, however, when that same unsub attacks him from behind.

* Jaime Lannister offed [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|The Mad King]] in this fashion, seventeen years before the beginning of [[Game of Thrones]]. [[And There Was Much Rejoicing]].

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. Buffy finds herself facing the vampire prostitute [[Your Cheating Heart|she earlier caught feeding on her]] [[Love Interest]] Riley Finn. Initially Buffy lets her go, but her [[Woman Scorned|darker side takes over]] and she hurls a wooden spear into the vampire's back as she's running away.

** And later to Mac in 'Near Death'.

 

== Video Games ==

* The [[Fighting Dirty|Dark-type]] [[Pokémon]] move Pursuit hits an opponent attempting to switch out, inflicting double damage in the process (presumably by striking their back).

* ''[[Call of Duty]]: World at War''

'''Sgt. Reznov:''' ''The back, the front, the head! Whatever you wish! Just so long as they are dead!'' }}

* In ''[[Fallout 3]]'', one of the first quests is to decide if you want to set off or defuse an atomic bomb in the middle of a town. If you tell the town's sheriff about the individual who offers to pay you to set it off he will go to confront him and be shot in the back for his trouble (unless you save him, but this doesn't effect the game much).

** As for the player, you score automatic critical hits (for double or better damage) when shooting an opponent who hasn't seen you. Early in the game, before you're very good at sneaking, this is easiest from behind them.

* You can earn medals in the multiplayer modes of ''[[Halo]]'' by doing this. In-game these are registered as "assassinations".

* A rare good guy version occurs in ''[[Quest for Glory]] 3''; when the five heroes enter the Demon Wizard's inner sanctum, they're confronted by super-strong, demonic versions of themselves created via magic mirror. The player's fight seems unwinnable until {{spoiler|the thief from the bazaar appears and backstabs the evil version, telling the hero to go on and face the wizard while he holds off the copy.}}

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]''

** In terms of game mechanics, this sort of behavior is encouraged against raid bosses and a danger for tanks. In raids, attacking a boss from the front often involves standing in a frontal attack zone where only the tanks can survive, so most melee attack from the rear; conversely, monsters striking a player from behind can both daze the player(slowing them). Some attacks also only work from behind, and you can't be dodged by players (or parried by anyone) from behind either.

** Orgrim Doomhammer died when he was stabbed in the back with a polearm. Those who look up to him consider this a cowardly act.

** One quest in the Twilight Highlands involves fighting some enemies long enough for your ally to sneak up on them and finish them off.

* In ''[[World of Tanks]]'', you'll find that attacking your opponents in the back to be very efficient, as tanks always have the armor strongest in front.

* ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]]'': {{spoiler|1=Inverted near the end of Chapter 4: Not only does LeChuck (figuratively) stab Guybrush in the back in a clever ambush attack, but he (''literally'') stabs Guybrush ''in the chest... with the Cursed Cutlass of Kaflu that is powerful enough to kill him,'' if not instantly!}}

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* Non-Skirmisher units in [[Warhammer Fantasy]] get ''massive'' bonuses to combat resolution (the check to see if the enemy breaks and runs) if they charge from the side or rear.

 

* Sarine in ''[[Errant Story]]'' has the dubious honour of being the first to backstab someone from the front with a sword.

* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' Advisor Magon does this [http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=990705 within three panels of his introduction], just to make it clear that he's "morally challenged." And in case there's any lingering doubt, he [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|does it four more times]] in [http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=990706 the next strip].

* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', it's something of a recurring theme. {{spoiler|Vriska, John, Bro, Dave,}}and possibly others are all killed by being either stabbed or shot in the back. {{spoiler|Some of them get better.}}

* Elan gets stabbed in the back by his [[Evil Twin]] brother [[Sdrawkcab Name|Nale]], serving as Nale's reveal to the rest of the characters as...well, evil.

 

== Web Original ==

* In episode nine of ''[[There Will Be Brawl]]'', {{spoiler|Zelda}} stabbed {{spoiler|Link}} in the back {{spoiler|with his own sword.}}

* During the 'Recovery One' miniseries of ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'', Agent South shot Agent Washington in the Back. He really likes to bitch about that.

 

== Western Animation ==

'''Bugs Bunny''': ''(appears out of smoke)'' Ah! Have some cheese, rat! ''(shoves cheese wedge in Elmer's mouth)'' }}

* In the Season 2 finale of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Aang's attempt to enter the [[Super Mode|Avatar State]] is promptly shut down by [[Combat Pragmatist|Azula]] putting a lightning bolt into his back.

 

== Real Life ==

* Famed Lakota warrior chief Crazy Horse was reputedly bayoneted in the back.

* Famed gunslinger and killer [[Wild West|John Wesley Hardin]] was shot in the back. His killer got off by claiming self-defense on the grounds that Hardin could see him reflected in the barroom mirror Hardin was looking at.

* 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]]