Killed Off for Real: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* The mangaka of ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' is not afraid to kill off his characters. Supporting protagonists usually have a good chance of dying; William Zeppeli from Part 1, Caesar Zeppeli from Part 2, and several of the primary protagonists' [[True Companions]] from Parts 3 and 5. Mostly averted in Part 4, which takes place in relatively tame circumstances compared to the other installments.

** Even main characters can get this treatment when you least expect it. Jonathon Joestar sacrifices himself at the end of Part 1, Jolyne Kujo (along with ''everyone else on the good guys' side'' save for their [[Tagalong Kid]]) are killed just before the conclusion of Part 6, and Gyro Zeppeli (who shares main character status with Johnny Joestar) dies in Part 7.

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': depending on which ending you choose, either Kaji and Kaworu, or [[Kill'Em All|the entire human race except for Shinji and Asuka]]. [[Mind Screw|Maybe]]. Depending on how you interpret the original ending, possibly the entire human race period.

* Misuzu in ''[[AIR]]'', in one of the most [[Tear Jerker|heart-wrenching]] anime scenes ever devised (the word "goal" will never hold the same meaning anymore to anyone who has seen it). The fact that she ''might'' be reincarnated or freed from her curse does not diminish the fact that Misuzu herself is gone for good and leaves behind her immensely grieving adoptive mother, Haruko.

* In the ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross|Macross]]/[[Robotech]]'' episode, "Pineapple Salad/Goodbye Big Brother," it should have been made obvious what was going to happen with Hikaru Ichijou/Rick Hunter's senpai/brother, Roy [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Focker/Fokker]], but the usual standard [[Bowdlerization]] of 1980s television animation made assuming that the show would choke rather obvious. When the show actually followed through and killed him off, it showed this was no ordinary animated series on North American TV. [[Moral Guardians]] raised a fuss and complained that it was bad for children.

** No such ambiguity in the original Japanese version of the episode. Three ragged holes in his back and everything. And the reactions of the rest of the main characters seals the fact that he wasn't coming back. In fact, just to give Akira Kamiya more stick time as Focker, they had to bring him back in a prequel.

* ''[[Simoun]]'' has the [[Heroic Sacrifice]] death of Mamina. And to add insult to injury, the Simile carrying her coffin is shot down. Other characters are much more ambiguous: We have Rimone and Dominura, who [[Time Travel]], then take off to parts unknown; Amuria, for whom they [[Never Found the Body]]; Onasia, who, well, [[Mind Screw|who knows]]; Yun, who now exists in the sort of limbo the previous did; and Neviril and Aer who [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]]. Angulas also manages to die as a suicide bomber, but still show up as a body in the cockpit of an enemy Simoun later. ''Great'' series, but very very strange.

* ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' has the protagonist, Shirou ([[Multiple Endings|potentially]]) [[Heroic Sacrifice|killed off]] in the finale of Heaven's Feel. The [[Tear Jerker]] ending sticks to and expands on this, showing the epilogue through the eyes of Sakura as she ages and watches everything change around her, remaining alone until the end... The most depressing part of the game, hands down.

** The Universal Century timeline has this all over the place. Besides the millions upon millions who die in the background, major characters fall in some fantastically '''brutal''' ways. The most memorable of these comes during [[Chars Counterattack]], where {{spoiler|[[The Hero|Amuro Ray]] and [[The Rival|Char Aznable]] die at each other's hand in the climax.}}

** The Cosmic Era is hands down the [[Bloodier and Gorier|bloodiest]] and [[Darker and Edgier|darkest]] of the [[Alternate Universe|Non-UC timelines]]. [[Gundam Seed]] in particular saw the death of more main characters than the most violent of the Universal Century series, [[Victory Gundam]]. Thanks to higher technological capabilities at the time of production, all of the carnage was visible in high definition.

* The original Lockon Stratos was Killed Off for Real near the end of the first season in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]''. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSraFV8AOvM It's arguably the most tragic moment in the whole series].

** Just when they're getting developed, Gundam 00 also has the deaths of both Lichty and Christina via point-black gunshot from a ''mobile suit''. It's made all the more tragic considering Lichty [[Heroic Sacrifice|used his body]] to shield Christina, but she got a large piece of debris jabbed into her back anyway. Just in case there was any thoughts they could survive, ''the cockpit also exploded''. This series is obviously fond of deaths by explosions.

** And Nena. She got her [[So Last Season|antique]] mobile suit brutally dismembered into just the cockpit by Lousie who then stabbed the cockpit for good measure. Naturally, the last we see of Nena is cursing the hell out of her opponent with [[Blood From the Mouth]] before her cockpit explodes.

* ''[[Death Note]]'' is set in the Real World. [[Captain Obvious|When somebody dies, they stay dead]]. It is initially implied that, for Death Note users, when they die, instead of Heaven or Hell, they go to Nothingess (Mu). [[The Nothing After Death|Ouch.]] It is later revealed that this is true for EVERYONE.

** Not that this has stopped the fanfic writers.

** In the manga, Light uses deductive reasoning to come to the conclusion there is no heaven or hell.

* Leomon from ''[[Digimon]]'' season one and three. Also Oikawa,Black Wargreymon (could not be reborn due to being artificial),Arukenimon,and Mummymon from season two, as well as some family members of various characters that died before the seasons' start.

** We might not see him again, but Leomon (Season 1 only) was presumably reborn, as Whamon was. Digimon who are destroyed get reborn in Primary Village. Except the evil Digimon, cause they never come back to cause trouble after they are destroyed. Etemon and Myotismon's deaths are retconned, but both are later killed for good. This only applies to Seasons 1 and 2; 3 is a different type of universe and it does not apply. Wizardmon, on the other hand, wasn't reborn, for reasons unknown returned as a ghost to help them defeat the Digimon Emperor, and then disappeared. (Maybe he was reborn after that?)

*** That doesn't count; if they were truly brought back to life, they wouldn't be fighting the good guys like they are. They're walking among the living again thanks to Kabuto's Edo Tensei jutsu, which DOES let them have/keep their memories and bloodline abilities(if applicable) and stuff, but they're still not really alive and Kabuto can strip them of their will for absolute control if he so chooses. TLDR: The Killed Off for Real characters weren't really brought back, they're essentially [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|super-powered zombie ninjas]].

* There's a common rule in ''[[One Piece]]'': If you die in a flashback, you're Killed Off for Real. If you don't die in a flashback, chances are, you might pull off a [[Disney Death]]. Prime examples of the former are Bellemere, Hiruluk, Tom, Kuina, Usopp's mother, all of Robin's friends and family members, and Brook's pirate crew. However, the latter rule saw itself subverted as hard as you can get, with Portgas D. Ace having fallen straight into this, and Whitebeard following two chapters later.

* ''[[Bleach]]'': [[Tite Kubo]] is quite good at making sure most villains are Killed Off for Real. However, it took 485 chapters before it was confirmed to the readers that Choujirou Sasakibe had received the dubious honour of being the first protagonist Killed Off for Real.

* In ''[[Rainbow Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin]]'', Sakuragi dies about midway through the series. This is especially surprising since he was [[The Hero]], [[Big Good]] and possibly the protagonist as well.

* Everyone who was dear to, or trusted by, the protagonist of ''[[Le Chevalier d'Eon]]'' is dead by the end of the series -- [[Downer Ending|leaving him completely alone and utterly disconsolate.]]

* ''[[Inuyasha]]'': [[Rumiko Takahashi]] isn't afraid of this trope. Not only do major villains get Killed Off for Real, but so do characters going through redemption arcs such as [[Came Back Wrong|Kikyou]] and [[Broken Bird|Kagura]].

 

== Comic Books ==

* "Nobody stays dead except [[Captain America (comics)|Bucky]], [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Uncle Ben]], and [[Batman|Jason Todd]]." Since that saying was coined, both Bucky and Jason Todd [[Death Is Cheap|have found themselves resurrected]]. But Uncle Ben works, since an Alternate Universe version of him appeared and died.

** For this reason, all the below must come with the caveat ''"at time of writing."''

* Many DC characters that have died were thought to come back after ''[[Blackest Night]]''. While [[Brightest Day|12 random people were brought back to life]] many more stayed dead. Examples are [[Identity Crisis|Sue Dibny]], [[Justice Society of America|Johnny Quick (Johnny Chambers)]], [[The Question]] [[52|(Charels Victor Szasz)]], [[Elongated Man]] (Ralph Dibny), Eclipso (Jean Loring), [[The Flash|Mirror Master (Samuel Joseph Scudder)]], [[Justice Society of America|Doctor Midnight (Charles M. McNider), Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Mister Terrific (Terry Sloane), Damage (Grant Emerson)]], [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Kal-L (Earth 2)]], and many more not listed here.

* If you don't count her clone or her lookalike daughter, [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Gwen Stacy]] is, miraculously, still dead.

* In a move that surprised those who were still reading it, Master Splinter was killed off from old age in Volume 4 of the Mirage ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' comic—perhaps the highest point in that volume of the series. The Shredder and Baxter Stockman—unquestionably the franchise's most prominent antagonists—are also dead.

* Several of the [[G.I. Joe]]s have been Killed Off for Real over the years. And not just ones created for the comic book, like Mangler. Those with actual figures. The most notably would probably be Lady Jaye, who was killed by Dela Eden, member of the Red Shadows.

* The Sentry, Marvel's Superman [[Expy]] with more power and psychological problems than is good for him was killed after his human identity begged a supercharged Thor to kill him before the [[Super-Powered Evil Side|Void]] regained control. Considering how much crap the guy has gone through over the years, it's hard not to feel sorry for him. Thor dropped him into the Sun, but he can resurrect himself at will, so it's doubtful if it will stick.

* [[The Flash|Barry Allen]] had a long and prestigious run on this list (for a popular comic book character), in part because he was given a really good death, reversing that death would have undone the heroes efforts to save the universe, and fans eventually embraced his successor Wally West even if they still wanted Barry back. But 24 years and two mega-crises later, Barry has finally subverted this trope though it looks like he may be skirting the [[Came Back Wrong]] trope for a while.

* Most of the cast of [[Garth Ennis]]'s ''[[Hitman (Comic Book)|Hitman]]'' series, including the titular character himself, "Hitman" Tommy Monaghan, die by the end of the 60-issue run, and since that was one of Ennis's babies, it seems doubtful anyone will ever be allowed to resurrect them. In fact, compared with the rest of the DC universe, Hitman's Gotham seems almost like some kind of parallel universe where death actually means something.

* Kobra, a longtime [[Big Bad]] in [[The DCU]], ''seems'' to have been Killed Off For Real (having your heart ripped clean out of your chest by Black Adam will do that). However, since his minions recently resurrected his brother (who was killed off waaaaaaay back in 1978) to become the new head of their [[Religion of Evil]], all bets are off.

* [[Wolverine]], one of the most popular characters in the [[Marvel Universe]], got killed off in ''[[X-Men Forever]]''. All that remained was a metal skeleton, and to further prove that he's dead, he was connected to Jean Grey at the time.

* From the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' continuity, former ''Daily Bugle'' reporter Ned Leeds is definitely dead. The Hobgoblin, who wanted to retire, [[Brainwashed]] him into thinking he was the Hobgoblin, and he was killed by assassins who thought so, too. The guy who had him killed, Jason Macendale, is also definitely dead. He took over the Hobgoblin identity, made a complete hash of it, and ended up being reduced to a smoking skeleton in his jail cell by the genuine article.

* ''[[Sin City]]'' characters always stay dead but since the series is in [[Anachronic Order]], readers can still expect to see them again. For instance, Marv died in the very first story, but has popped up many times throughout the series.

* When Lord Snooty the Third appeared in ''[[The Beano]]'' in 2008 it was heavily implied that the older Lord Snooty (an older Beano character dating back to the 1930s but last appeared in 2005) had been killed off for real. The older Lord Snooty had previously been dropped from the comic and reappeared a number of times before 2008 when his death was revealed.

* Peter Parker in ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' is definitely dead. [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The final arc is even called "The Death of Spider-Man"]]. There's even a variant cover that has Uncle Ben's spirit walking with the ([[Department of Redundancy Department|spirit]]) Peter telling him he "did good". The series was rebooted and now focuses on another young man trying to live up to Peter's heroic standard.

 

== [[Film]] ==

** Catwoman survived because [[Cats Have Nine Lives|she has nine lives]].

{{quote|'''Catwoman''':Two lives left. I think I'll save one for next Christmas. But in the meantime, how about a kiss Santi-Claus? }}

** [[Joss Whedon]] does this a lot. See ''Buffy'' in Live-Action Television, among others. Although the fans have decided that it's not canon, just because they all have such huge crushes on Wash.

* Jafar from Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' is killed off for real in ''The Return of Jafar''. The ''Aladdin'' canon continued with three seasons of a cartoon series as well as a final movie, all without bringing Jafar back, even though Jafar is a relatively popular Disney villain. He does return in a ''Hercules'' crossover episode, in which he's still technically dead.

** Ra's Al Ghul. Dead.

* Mufasa really was killed by Scar in ''[[The Lion King]]''. And at the end, Scar is eaten alive by his former hench-hyenas. Given Scar's occasional cameos in the questionably-canon Timon and Pumbaa series, some fans think that he [[He's Just Hiding|survived and is in hiding]].

**** Four if you count [[WALL-E|Auto's]] deactivation at the end on his film.

**** And as of 2011, ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'' is now the only Pixar film series not to feature any permanent deaths at all! And [[Cars|do you]] [[The Character Died with Him|know why?]]

** Likewise, in ''GMK'' Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah are all killed-off by Godzilla and stay dead throughout the rest of the film.

** Also, the original 1954 film? Yes, folks, Godzilla dies. Even though the original film is considered canon across all continuities of the franchise, the Godzilla that shows up in any of the sequels; he's just another Godzilla. The first one really did die. Going by ''[[Godzilla vs. Destoroyah]]'', this also means Godzilla died for good twice.

[''Billy starts to rise, only to receive a [[Boom! Headshot!|headshot]] from Sidney.'']

'''Sidney Prescott:''' Not in my movie. }}

** And then revived in a Star Trek novel written by...William Shatner!

* Also Data in ''[[Star Trek: Nemesis]]''

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* Some ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fans hoped for Sirius Black to [[He's Just Hiding|come back after his death]] in the fifth novel, as evidenced by many fan fictions. He didn't.

** The same could also be said for Albus Dumbledore, despite much fan speculation to the contrary. Although he did contact Harry from beyond the grave.

* Kisten Felps dies in ''[[The Hollows]]'' series by Kim Harrison. Also: Matalina, Piscary.

* The first Visser One, Jara Hamee, Tom (and his Yeerk), ''all'' of the auxiliary Animorphs and Rachel from ''[[Animorphs]]''. That last one is the impetus of many a [[Fix Fic]]. As is the very possible death of all the main group except Cassie.

** The first movie character to be KOFR was General Maximilian Veers, an Imperial [[Ascended Extra]] from ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' who was killed in action in the ''[[Dark Empire]]'' comics.

** General Crix Madine (an [[Ascended Extra]] from ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'') was murdered by Durga the Hutt in ''[[The Callista Trilogy|Darksaber]]''.

** [[Fan Dumb|Some people]] were annoyed that Luke Skywalker has been dead for several decades in ''[[Star Wars Legacy]]''. They seem to ignore the fact the series is set 137 years after ''[[A New Hope]]'' and Luke ''died of old age''.

* Everyone that dies in ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]''. Luke not dying even though Percy thought he did in ''Titan's Curse'' doesn't really count because Annabeth told him about thirty seconds later that Luke wasn't dead. The only aversion to this is Tyson. Everyone else thinks that Percy dies, too, but since the story is from his perspective so we know otherwise, it doesn't count.

* ''[[The Lions of Al-Rassan]]'' builds up the hope that when Ammar ibn Khairan and Roderigo Belmonte duel, they will both survive. That is not what happens, and one of them dies (with the other receiving a permanent wound, but otherwise getting a pretty happy ending). Quite a few other characters are permanently killed as well.

* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' loves this trope: notable characters who died include, but are not limited to, Viserys Targaryen, Eddard Stark, Robb Stark, Robert Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin Lannister, Balon Greyjoy, Khal Drogo, Oberyn Martell, Sir Rodrik Cassell, Maester Aemon, Maester Luwin, Lysa Tully, Beric Dondarrion (finally), and others, with several characters [[Not Quite Dead]] and a few cases of [[Back from the Dead]].

** [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] with the leaders, who have nine lives. If they die once, they lose a life, and so on. However, when they lose their last life, [[Played Straight|they still are killed off for real]].

** Also subverted with {{spoiler|Cinderpelt}} who gets reincarnated.

* Cilla in "[[I Miss You I Miss You]]".

* Most Americans are unaware that Geralt was Killed Off for Real at the end of ''[[The Witcher]]'' novel series (mainly because only the first book has been translated from Polish). [[The Witcher|The game]] [[retcon]]ned this to an [[Unexplained Recovery]].

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* When the actor playing the part dies in real life, it ''usually'' [[The Character Died with Him|means the character dies as well]].

* Teri Bauer in ''[[24]]'' is the first in a very long line, which includes George Mason, President David Palmer, Sherry Palmer, Michelle Dessler, Bill Buchanan, Milo Pressman (introduced in season 1, killed when he returned in season 6) and Renee Walker. By the end of the series, Jack and Kim Bauer, Mike Novick, Tony Almeida and Agent Aaron Pierce are the only notable season 1 characters to have survived all eight seasons.

* Jenny Calendar, Joyce Summers, Tara Maclay, Anya Jenkins and to a lesser extent most of the Slayers in training, as well as Xander's friend Jesse on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''.

* Doyle, Wesley, and Cordelia on ''[[Angel]]''. The personality of Fred was also permanently destroyed by an elder god taking over her body, in spite of the entire cast utilizing the resources of an interdimensional law firm to bring her back. [[Word of God|Had the show been renewed]], however, Fred and said elder god would have somehow been split apart. this may already be happening the canonical comic follow up.

* ''[[Friends]]'': Joey angers the writers of the soap opera he is working on, and they kill off his character by throwing him down an elevator shaft. The gang is watching the show when Phoebe says "Well, maybe they can find a way to bring you back" only to be told by Joey [[Chunky Salsa Rule|"They said that when they found my body, my brain was so smashed in that the only doctor that could have saved me was me. Supposed to be some kind of irony or somethin'."]] He did eventually come back in the end, with a different—female—brain in his body. Though the female brain thing only lasted one episode and then Drake was actually back.

** Season 5 played heavily with this trope. Upon returning to the island, John Locke came back to life after being strangled to death by Ben. But in the season finale, it was revealed that Locke actually ''was'' dead- Jacob's unnamed nemesis had somehow taken on his appearance and used it to manipulate the Others.

** Mikhail Bakunin was a minor villain who had proven to be so death-resistant that, even after he died by intentionally detonating a grenade while holding it, some fans were sure that he'd come back. He didn't, although an alternate version of him appeared in the flash-sideways universe. That one was killed too.

* The majority of the cast of ''[[The Sopranos]]'', including the vast majority of the mafia characters of any prominence. Of the mob-level characters who make the main cast, you can more or less count the number who are still alive by the series' end on ''two hands.''

* In the final episode of ''[[Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future]]'', Jennifer dies when the Power Base self-destructs. Even though there was a fairly blatant angle for her to come [[Back from the Dead]] (The very last thing we see of her is Blastarr aiming his digitizer—a device which can save humans to disc for archival—at her), the [[Word of God]] is that not only did she die, but she already had massive internal injuries from the preceding scene that would have killed her even if she hadn't been blown up. Had the series been renewed, much of the following season would have dealt with Captain Power's failure to cope with her death.

** And as of the end of season 3 Guy of Gisborne, Allan a Dale and Robin Hood himself

* ''[[Farscape]]'' set up a brilliant loophole for themselves by having main character Crichton doubled. NOT cloned; the resulting two people were one person made two, with both having an equal claim to being the "real" Crichton. Thus, when one was killed off the writers were able to fully play off the emotions surrounding that death while still keeping the character around. And D'argo is definitively Killed Off for Real in a [[You Shall Not Pass]] [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in The Peacekeeper Wars.

* ''[[Law and Order]]'' has had a few over the years: Max Greevey, Claire Kincaid and Alexandra Borgia. In a case of [[Real Life Writes the Plot]], Lennie Briscoe was written to have died offscreen after Jerry Orbach himself passed away from cancer.

* On ''[[NCIS]]'', Kate Todd is sniped in the head while talking to Gibbs and Tony. Combines with [[Wham! Episode]] and [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]], since the fight was over, she had already dodged one bullet, and prior advertisements did not employ [[Tonight Someone Dies]]. Just in case anyone had any doubts, the following episode has her body shown in autopsy and the director recommending a posthumous military award.

** Yes, the same director who was killed off herself in the fifth season.

* In ''[[Chuck]]'', Bryce Larkin is killed at the end of Season 2, and Emmett Millbarge at the beginning of Season 3. Stephen Bartowski at the end of season 4 as well.

** In Season 5, CIA representative [[Smug Snake|Clyde Decker]] gets killed off, too.

* ''[[Game of Thrones]]'': Episode 9 left many viewers (save those who read the novel) in complete and utter disbelief. [[Decoy Protagonist|You know exactly who]].

* ''[[Primeval]]'' is fond of this. To date, the show has killed Captain Ryan, Stephen Hart, ''main character'' Nick Cutter, Sarah Page, Helen Cutter, Christine Johnson, Oliver Leek, loads and loads of minor and [[Victim of the Week]] characters, and, [[Ret-Gone|technically]], Claudia Brown.

* Vincent Nigel-Murry on ''[[Bones]]''.

** Also the Gravedigger.

* In ''[[Death in Paradise]]'', with Ben Miller leaving the show, the writers killed off DI Poole. It being a cozy mystery series, the remaining cast (and [[The New Guy]]) naturally are left with the task of solving his murder.

 

 

== Theatre ==

 

== Toys ==

* Loads of ''[[Bionicle]]'' characters, including Lhikan, Matoro, Botar, "Ancient", Carapar, Zaktan, Icarax, Mutran, Gorast, Panrahk, Guurahk, Bitil, Chirox, Antroz, Krika, Vamprah, "Guardian", Kodan, Sidorak, Nidhiki, Krekka, Reysa, Jovan, Nikila, Nocturn, Gadunka, Ihu, Kojol and Teridax.

 

* After coming [[Back from the Dead]] some 20 times over the course of the ''[[Castlevania]]'' series, Dracula is destroyed for good in the beginning of the game ''Aria of Sorrow''. He tries to reincarnate, but Soma Cruz (the would-be reincarnation) wants nothing to do with it, and thus Dracula stays dead. People argue about to what level Soma is Dracula, but it's kind of a meaningless argument, as the games following it are all set ''before'' ''Aria''.

** And the event in question hasn't been put into a game yet!

** In ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' Shadow can die for real if you don't wait for him on the floating continent.

*** Also, General Leo is killed off for real in a cut scene after the first and only time you get to use him as a party member.

** ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' sets you up to think this is going to happen to Yuna. In the end, Yuna lives (obviously, since she's the star of the sequel), but both Tidus and Auron really do die for real. Well, Auron was ''already'' dead, but he still sorta counts. Although, the perfect ending of both FFX and [[FFX 2]] shows Tidus apparently alive and well. The [[FFX 2]] one even shows Yuna reuniting with him.

*** Tidus is an animated dream of several dozen dead people, so technically, he was never really "alive" to begin with. Though this depends on [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]].

** Similarly, ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'' has party members die for real if they are not revived after 3 turns when their HP hits zero. This also counts as an instant game over if Ramza is killed. Guest units are simply knocked out instead of dying unless the mission conditions state otherwise.

*** ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]'' eases up on the concept of party members dying for real, restricting true death to Jagds where party members can die if they are not revived before the battle ends. This is explained in the story where judges and the laws prevent death and the Jagds are places where laws cannot exist, thus people can truly die and only the most hardened clans are willing to have battles in those areas.

* ''[[Tekken]]'' has several cases of this, especially after the time skip and Ogre attacked and absorbed several characters' abilities, with suspicions that he killed them for good. But most characters later were brought back in the latter installments, thereby setting up that the only one Killed Off for Real were Jun Kazama and the original King. Not to worry, they got their successors all right (Asuka and the second King).

** Armor King was another case where at first, he's thought to be Killed Off for Real outside the Ogre interference (Marduk killed him), but he reappeared in ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection''. However, his personality is rather different, raising predictions whether Armor King really came [[Back from the Dead]], or it's Armor King's successor and the first Armor King was really Killed Off for Real.

** Kunimitsu was supposedly killed off for real by Yoshimitsu in ''Tekken 2'', although there's no official [[Word of God]].

** The [[Word of God|official statement]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110213061513/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/226228/interviews/tekken-6-your-questions-answered/ see here]) is that only King I (killed by Ogre) and Armor King I (dying from [[Incurable Cough of Death|some]] [[Blood From the Mouth|disease]] he picked up around the time of ''Tekken 2'', later killed in a bar brawl by Marduk pre-''Tekken 4'') kicked the bucket. Jun is [[He's Just Hiding|apparently just hiding]] (she's [[The Bus Came Back|set to return]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieWp4FvXxk8 in the non-canon] ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''), as is Kunimitsu (maybe).

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'' has a character named Vamp who, no matter how many times he'd seemingly "die," he always comes back to life. Metal Gear Solid 4 explained this as a result of nanomachines enhancing his already powerful healing factor, and once Snake disables them with a syringe, Raiden is able to kill him off for good.

** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'' ties up the Solid storyarc with ''lots'' of this. Big Boss, who was [[He's Just Hiding|just hiding]], is finally Killed Off for Real, as is Solidus. The same might safely be said for Ocelot but he's... [[Magnificent Bastard|well, you know]].

** It's also possible to save Shinjiro in the PSP version.

* In ''[[Clive Barker's Jericho]]'', a game in which the main characters make up an army-based squad of people with supernatural powers, two of whom who have the ability to bring recently-deceased squadmates back from the dead provided that they maintain visual contact, has both Simone Cole and Xavier Jones being killed off (extremely horribly) towards the end of the game, when the Firstborn decides to '''blow them into bloody pieces''', with no chance of revival even remotely possible.

* Zero, throughout the entire ''[[Mega Man X]]'' series, has been killed and resurrected several times already. However, at the end of the ''[[Mega Man Zero|Zero]]'' series, he is never coming back, with a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] that will last.

* Tassadar, in the original ''[[StarCraft]]'', dies to save the galaxy from the original Zerg Overmind. It is completely real, as far as video games go: he gives a stirring speech to those who will live on after him, to remember what was done there that day, which is then followed by the cinematic of him effectively blowing himself up via his awesome psionic abilities, and taking the Overmind with him. In sequel games, the death is so complete that the Protoss change their usual greeting of "An'taro Adun," which effectively means "May Adun protect you," to "An'taro Tassadar." If he were brought back, it would destroy half the ''Starcraft'' canon.

** Many other characters are also killed, most of them in the Brood Wars expansion and some in official (or authorized) side campaigns. Other than obviously the Overmind (and the new Overmind formed to replace it); these include Raszagal, Gerard DuGalle(suicide), Edmund Duke, Fenix (died, came back, then Killed Off for Real), Aldaris, Alan Schezar, probably Ulrezaj, Atticus Carpenter, Edullon, Jack Frost and EVERY ZERG CEREBRATE. Most of these are unlikely to come back, however it is not impossible as Fenix came back once before dying again, and it turns out Alexei Stukov is definitely [[Back from the Dead]]. Even so, the only ones likely to come back are the cerebrates...and probably not the same ones. Other characters also die in other media, such as the novels.

* While a few characters in the ''[[Warcraft]]'' series have cheated death such as Medivh, many others have been Killed Off for Real. King Llane, Blackhand, Gul'dan, Anduin Lothar, Ogrim Doomhammer, King Terenas, Uther the Lightbringer, Grom Hellscream, Tichondrius, Mannoroth, and Archimonde from the RTS games have all died in ways to show that they likely won't be coming back, even with all the resurrection and necromancy present in the series. Llane had his heart ripped out, Blackhand had his head cut off, Gul'dan was torn apart by demons, Lothar and Doomhammer both died on the battlefield (not the same battle), Terenas and Uther were both slain by Arthas with Frostmourne, Hellscream died in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], Tichondrius was permanently killed by Illidan after Illidan absorbed the Skull of Gul'dan's power, Mannoroth was killed by Hellscream's aforementioned [[Heroic Sacrifice]] (and his ''skeleton'' has been made into a memorial dedicated to Hellscream), and Archimonde was ''disintegrated'' by the released power of the World Tree. And that's not even covering the characters permanently killed by the players in ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. Although Gul'dan's soul "lived on" within his skull.

*** As of the most recent patch, neither were actually Killed Off for Real. Saurfang returns as a [[Tragic Monster]] boss, Deathbringer Saurfang, in the Lich King's dungeon, and while we have yet to see Bolvar, he appears to be suffering a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] at the hands of the Lich King.

**** Technically Saurfang the younger was killed off for real, but was raised as an undead abomination. With his destruction, he is very much killed off for real. As for Bolvar, the final cinematic reveals his burnt, tortured body is trapped between life and death due to a mix of the plague and the life-bringing flames of the red dragonflight. Oh, and he becomes the new Lich King, doomed to pull back on the leash of the scourge for all eternity. Maybe dying wouldn't have been so bad?

*** As of Cataclysm, still ''more'' [[NPC]]s have been killed off for real. The one most likely to hit home? The Grimtotem clan took advantage of a duel to assassinate [[Badass Grandpa|Cairne]] [[A Load of Bull|Bloodhoof]] and try to pin it on [[Creator's Pet|Garrosh Hellscream]]

** There is actually an AP item (premium item that you have to pay REAL money for) called "Character Revival". It costs 7500 AP. The exchange rate of AP to USD is approximately 100:1 (i.e., it'll cost you $75). However, seeing as how you have to reach level 40 on both Normal and Hard mode (no mean feat, if you don't use AP items and have a life outside of playing the game) to be able to create an Ultimate mode character in the first place AND it takes 4x the normal XP to level such a character, it may be worth it.

** In ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', one ending kills off Commander Shepard permanently. Save files with this ending will not be able to be used in ''[[Mass Effect 3]]''.

** Obviously, characters who died in the first two games don't appear in ''[[Mass Effect 3]]''. Of the squadmates who can survive through to the third game, two (Thane and Legion) are guaranteed to die no matter what choices you pick, one (Mordin) can only survive if another squadmate (Wrex) is dead or killed, and several others (Jack, Miranda, Tali, Grunt, Samara) can die depending on the choices you make. Additionally, Shepard dies in all of the endings except for one variant of the "Destroy" ending.

* The Flash-based platformer ''You Only Live Once'' is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]. If you die once, it's game over. Try to continue, and you'll just get several cutscenes showing your girlfriend finding your body, calling an ambulance, a news report of your death, etc. Keep reloading the game and it'll just end up showing your grave. You ''can't play again''. (unless you delete two save files from your computer).

* The game ''Evil Genius''. If one of your henchmen is defeated 3 times, they're gone for good.

* The upcoming [[Play Station 3]] exclusive ''[[Heavy Rain]]'' will feature permanent death, even making it possible to have a standard ending with all of the playable characters dying.

** Funnily enough, two of the characters have [[Plot Armour]] that doesn't come off until endgame. Those two are Ethan - who can be killed by the police or commit suicide - and Shelby - who dies either by getting shoved into a grinder by Jayden, shot by Jayden/Ethan/Lauren or impaled by Madison.

* In ''[[The World Ends With You]]'', all the Players are already dead and are playing the Reaper's Game to win another chance at life. However, Players erased by the Noise are killed off permanently and their entry fee is lost forever. Notable victims of Erasure include Rhyme in the first week (she recovers though), Sota and Nao in the second (as well as that Reaper)) and all three Game Masters (Sho also gets recovers) as well as Megumi.

* In the ''[[Suikoden]]'' series, your characters may randomly die for real if defeated in a large-scale war battle.

* E-102 Gamma in ''[[Sonic Adventure]]''. After the battle with E-101 Beta, he self-terminates himself to free the last trapped bird.

** This also applies to all [[Big Bads]] who are not Robotnik or Metal Sonic.

* In ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' and related games, Wrinkly Kong dies between ''Donkey Kong Country 3'' and ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''. She does remain in the series as a ghost, however.

* Both ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' games treat dying as [[Death Is a Slap on The Wrist]] since dead players can come back later on in a closet, the next map, or be revived with a [[Magical Defibrillator]]. Dying in a finale makes you dead for good since there's no closets for you to come back in. Realism and VS mode also enforce the trope.

** Also, Bill sacrificing himself to raise a drawbridge so the others could escape at the end of the first game. You find his corpse in the second game, and there is no way to bring him back.

* In ''[[Sam and Max]]'', Max himself dies in The Devil's Playhouse due to the events of the final episode. Specifically, he was transformed into [[Eldritch Abomination|a giant Cthulhu-rabbit hybrid]] in the fourth episode, and at the end of the fifth episode, before Max can be turned back to normal, he gets impaled by a nuclear bomb and teleports off the planet before it can go off. Despite being the perfect set-up for a [[Grand Finale]], [[Chekhov's Gunman|Max's time-travel paradox duplicate from season 2]] re-appears soon after Maxthulhu's death, implying more adventure.

* In ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'', Isara dies on the Marberry shore, after her latest invention, the smoke shells, save her squad. Stupidly, Isara and many other characters who were in fact killed off for real, such as Selvaria, are secret unlockables in Valkyria Chronicles

* Any non main spirits that fall in battle in ''[[Eien no Aselia]]'' are killed off. Main spirits result in a game over. On the first playthrough, {{spoiler|Kouin and Kyouko}} are killed off and can be in later playthroughs as well if you don't do the third chapter exactly right.

* ''[[Rock Man 4 Minus Infinity]]'' had Shadow Man escape from every battle until his last battle. He falls off the kite and dies with an offscreen explosion.

* [[Dummied Out]] in ''[[Star Wars: The Old Republic]]'', at least in regards to companion characters, for game balance reasons.

* Wingmen who get killed in ''[[Tachyon the Fringe]]'' stay dead. The exception is the [[Fun with Acronyms|JASPER]] robots, who are mass-produced and replaceable.

* {{spoiler|Shandra Jerro}} in ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]''.

* Turned into a core game mechanic in ''[[Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume]]''. Activating the titular item [[Super Mode|maxes out a character's stats]], at the cost of [[Deadly Upgrade|having them die permanently at the end of the battle]].

* ''[[Arkham City]]'' concludes with the death of The Joker. Yes, even despite having [[Joker Immunity]]. Even Comissioner Gordon is stunned by the news. Mark Hamill has since tweeted that he had a great time playing the Joker, but he won't be doing so anymore.

{{quote|'''Batman''': "You know what's funny? Even after everything you did, I still would have saved you." ]]

* ''[[Dark Souls]]'' does this [[Anyone Can Die|''a lot'']] of [[NPC]]s. Oddly enough, when they die or are killed by you, they die for real despite the Darksign supposedly bringing people back from the dead repeatedly.

 

* The character Bush was killed near the end of ''Exploitation Now!'' She started off as a minor character but after [[Cerebus Syndrome]] set became one of the two protagonists.

* ''[[Erfworld]]'' example: After Wanda gets the Arkenpliers and reveals its powers of 'decryption', Parson hopes that she can decrypt Bogroll, since he died in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]. This hope is quickly squashed when Wanda points out that his remains "were rather thoroughly obliterated."

* Angels and demons are told to not have any afterlife in ''[[Slightly Damned]]''. [[Word of God]] says that the character in question was created completely from the dreamer's imagination, no [[Back from the Dead]] involved.

{{quote|Yes, yes, Miho is no more, I know.}}

** [[Lying Creator|He lied.]] [[He's Just Hiding|She was just hiding.]]

* Freddy from ''[[Horndog]]'', although he later [[Back from the Dead|came back]] [[Rise from Your Grave|as a zombie]].

* Kairi was killed off in the first season of ''[[Ansem Retort]]''. [[Word of God]] says if she ever comes back to life, he's officially run out of ideas.

** [[It Got Worse]]: The trolls are dying with [[Kill'Em All|alarming frequency]](Though at least one got better.) and both the kid's and troll's guardians are all officially dead. On the other hand, the fairly generous afterlife offered by the dream bubbles means that death is little more than a minor inconvenience. Though it still equates to putting them on a bus for all narrative purposes.

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', where as a general rule [[Death Is Cheap]], Lord Shojo was attempted to be resurrected, but apparently he refused to come back (in [[Dungeons & Dragons]], resurrection spell only works if the subject is willing to come back). Similarly, Therkla said she wouldn't come back just before she died. Other characters were killed [[Deader Than Dead]], such as Kubota. Miko is a special case: while there is no in-story proof, [[Word of God|the author]] specifically said she won't come back.

*** And this came within strips of Redcloak having [[Total Party Kill|completely wiped out]] the Resistance (with the exception of Niu, who escapes).

* Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton is killed off for real in ''[[The Dreamer]]''.

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'': Everybody except the winners of the game and Burton Harris, due to some [[Body Double]] antics in Burton's case. He ends up dying anyway. Also. some handlers are fond of putting fake 'Student deceased' messages in their posts when it seems as if the characters have died but are actually alive. (very uncommon though, and it's invariably revealed to not be the case). Also: Maxie Dasai To escape in V3

** Subverted or not? Too soon to tell; the clearest [[Word of God]] actually states that Joss and the cast and crew want [[Felicia Day]] back for the sequel in any capacity; her revival as Penny is neither guaranteed nor ruled out.

* Donut is shot in the end of ''[[Red vs. Blue]] Recreation'' (Season 7) and is pronounced dead by Doc in the beginning of ''Revelation'' (Season 8).

** [[Patch Adams|Dr. Bitch Spasms]], lampshaded in Nostalgia Critic's Top 11 Fuckups Part III.

{{quote|'''Critic:''' I bet you thought he'd come in here and do something funny, but nope! I shot him! He's still lying there on my living room floor...I really should do something about that.}}

 

== Western Animation ==

** In the third season, Combustion Man is also Killed Off For Real.

** Yue in the first season finale. An odd one, as the excuse for Jet's death not being shown was that the network wouldn't let them show a kid die onscreen - but Yue's death ''was'' onscreen, and she was the same age. It ''might'' be because Jet's was a violent death, while Yue's looked more like she fell asleep, and she was shown becoming the Moon Spirit immediately after, while Jet was just dead.

** Frank "Grimey" Grimes is dead and his son confirmed it.

** Also possibly averted with Lionel Hutz's habit of repeatedly running over Judge Snyder's son. Being repeatedly run over might be enough to kill the Judge's son, but like Mr. Burns in "Who Shot Mr. Burns Part 2", [[Unexplained Recovery|his conditions must have been upgraded to alive at the "better" Springfield General Hospital everytime.]] Because Lionel Hutz, like Troy McClure, was retired when voice actor [[Phil Hartman]] was killed off for real by his wife in a murder-suicide, it is not known of Hutz's habit has continued and the Judge's son is always killed, then revived.

* ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' has quite a few, most [[Tear Jerker|heartbreakingly]] 24's death by exploding muscle car.

* In ''[[King of the Hill]]'', quite a few recurring or main characters have been killed off over the years including Luann's first boyfriend Buckley, Buck Strickland's mistress Debbie, Pops Poppaseto, Cotton's war buddy Topsy, and most recently Hank Hill's father Cotton Hill.

** Inverted with [[They Killed Kenny|Kenny]]. He was killed off for real but they decided to randomly bring him back in "Red Sleigh Down", one season after his deaths.

** Other recurring characters to have died over the years include Ms. Choksondik, Ms. Crabtree, the mayor's aide named Ted, and most recently Pip.

* In ''[[Winx Club]]'' they have killed off the main villains of season 2, 3 and 4 at the end of those seasons. In addition to this, we lost [[Heroic Sacrifice|Nabu]] in season 4.

* At the end of the ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]'' two-parter "Apokolips Now", after Darkseid's invasion of Earth is thwarted and just before he leaves he murders Superman's friend Metropolis Police Inspector Dan Turpin with his Omega Beams in front of Superman and a crowd of onlookers. Some fans hoped Turpin was just teleported to Apokolips like Kalibak had been after ''he'' got apparently zapped, but it seems he's gone for good.

*** It gets more bizarre when Stinkmeaner's name comes up. Robert tries to reason with the Hateocracy to leave them alone and forget revenge, and they reveal they couldn't care less about the deceased Colonel- [[For the Evulz|they're just ruining lives for the hell of it]]. Luckily, an army of cops shows up in the nick of time to cart off the unruly trio. Taking a jab of his own at his ungrateful cohorts, Stinkmeaner's ghost, who has been narrating on and off throughout the episode, [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a cynical lampshade on his fate over his old pals]]: He thinks death and hell are ''better'' than being in jail!

* Warhok and Warmonga from ''[[Kim Possible]]'' were confirmed by [[Word of God]] to be dead for real after {{spoiler|Ron used his Mystical Monkey Powers to throw them into their own ship after they threatened to kill Kim, after which the ship exploded exploded}}. They're about the only villains in the series to be killed for real... {{spoiler|Except perhaps for [[Taken for Granite|Monkey Fist.]]}}

 

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