Run or Die: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''A little piece of advice. You see an [[Hero-Killer|Agent]], you do what we do. Run. You run your ass off.''|'''Cypher''', ''[[The Matrix]]''}}
Sometimes our heroes are faced with a foe they simply cannot withstand. Not only is it a fight they cannot ''win'', it's a fight they have no hope of even ''surviving''. They have two options: run away, or fight and die.
This enemy is usually rare and always notorious. Its very presence may inspire panic. Perhaps they're [[The Dreaded]]. Perhaps it's not an individual, but [[The Swarm]] or [[The Corruption]]. In any case, anyone who fights it is screwed, and anyone who could possibly end up fighting it ''knows it''.
The key to this trope is that the threat is very powerful, but also impossible to predict. After all, if you can see it coming and avoid it, then it's not very scary, is it? But when it could show up almost anywhere, virtually without warning, and there's nothing you can do but hope to escape, then ''that's'' terrifying.
Of course, none of this will keep our heroes from fighting it sooner or later. If encountered early in the story, it may require a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] from one character to allow the rest to escape. If the sacrificial character is wounded, he may insist that [[I Will Only Slow You Down]]; either way, expect him to tell the enemy that [[You Shall Not Pass]] before making his [[Last Stand]]. If no sacrificial characters are available, then [[Big Damn Heroes|someone may show up unexpectedly]] and tell the heroes to [[Come with Me If You Want to Live]]. If the foe isn't fought until later in the story, it will probably be after the heroes have discovered its [[Achilles' Heel]], or somehow dramatically increased their [[Power Level]] (though a [[Super Mode]], [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]], or whatever), and it will ''still'' be a difficult fight. If it's fought both early and late, then the latter fight will be a [[Heroic Rematch]].
In [[Video Games]], may be a [[Hopeless Boss Fight]] where dying doesn't result in the plot continuing. See also [[Fear Is the Appropriate Response]].
{{examples}}
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** During the {{spoiler|Fake Karakura Town}} Arc, {{spoiler|Gin Ichimaru}} informs Ichigo (who's been in a quite a bit of a slump up to that point) that he's in one of these situations.
** This is the Karakura crew's entire strategy when Aizen busts into the real Karakura Town. With no spiritual powers whatsoever, Tatsuki, Keigo and others have no option but to run as Aizen slowly chases them down. Worst part? The only reason they survived was because Aizen was toying with them. If he had decided to kill them instantly, ''they would be dead''.
{{quote|
* ''[[One Piece]]'' had one of these come out of virtually nowhere during the Saboady Archipelago arc. It was probably the biggest [[Plot Twist]] ever seen since the manga started back in [[The Nineties]].
** Done even more significantly in the following arc, Impel Down. Luffy and the prisoners he's broken out are making their escape. Hot on their tails is the prison warden, Magellan. Normally taking on one guy wouldn't be a problem for Luffy and his allies, except Magellan's power is generating poison, so fighting him is suicide no matter how strong you are.
** Done to a less extent with [[Super Smoke|Smoker]]. Before the timeskip his intangibility made him invulnerable to the Straw Hats and a very dangerous threat to them, so much that they just ran whenever they encountered him.
* High-ranking demons in ''[[Slayers]]''. Short of employing a [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]], they're [[Physical God
* In ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple|Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple]]'', Kenichi's masters are furious when Kenichi tries to take on a [[Lightning Bruiser|Master-Class sword-fighter]] by himself, claiming that the only acceptable course of action in that situation would have been to
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', during the Third Ninja War there was a "Flee on sight" order on the Fourth Hokage, with
* Invoked in ''[[Sekirei]]''. When the [[Red Baron|Black Sekirei]], [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Karasuba]], decides to fight the weaker duo of Mitsuha and Akitsu, the latter tells the former to run or she'll die. Mitsuha ignores the warning and is [[Curb Stomp Battle|quickly killed]] while Akitsu [[Know When to Fold'Em|ran away and lived]].
== Comic Books ==
* An early [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] ''[[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]]'' story has Rick Jones seeing Cap is in trouble and a [[Mooks|Mook]] tries to silence him. Rick manages to take him down and a mate with a club as well, but as others are approaching, Rick remembers Cap's lesson that only a fool fights impossible odds. So, Rick decides he must make a break for it to get help and manages to escape. Just as the goons decide that they can subdue Captain America and get away before [[The Cavalry]] can arrive, Cap appears and takes them on considering for a [[One-Man Army]] like himself, two dozen to one is hardly impossible odds to him.
== Fan Work ==
* Episode 2 of ''[https://my.w.tt/JTyRFCy6EU Final Stand of Death]'', [[Blink-182| Mark]] is told do this after he [[Too Dumb to Live| made some chainsaw noises, just as Spur was getting up.]] This trigger the events that had led to her "human" death and current stage, which the in-story viewers [[Captain Obvious| points out ''Deathbowl 98'']] to be exact. When Mark learns that Spur, who [[KISS| Gene]] figure it was {{spoiler| Emma}}, was [[Right Behind Me| right behind him]], Mark and his crew realizes they should make a run for it.
** Episode 5 has Evander yelling at the crowd to run as a wave, caused by the shenanigans of Fusion Gundam and Spur not realizing how fast she was going. Many at the prier, [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight| doesn't seems to be bother]] as they were engaged an arm wresting match between [[The Undertaker]] and [[Jack Nicholson]].
== Film ==
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* In the original ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Gandalf simply says of the Balrog "The counter-spell was terrible. It almost broke me... swords are no use here!" and a little later "this foe is beyond any of you." In [[The Lord of the Rings (film)|the film]], [[Talking Is a Free Action|after explaining to them]] [[Mr. Exposition|what a Balrog is]], he helpfully adds ''"...RUN!"''
* Phantoms from ''[[Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within|Final Fantasy the Spirits Within]]''. They're limitless in number and their touch is instantly lethal (via ''pulling out your soul''); any fight against them is necessarily a delaying action until you can retreat... or a [[Last Stand]].
* In ''[[Spice World]]'', the women encounters aliens, Geri tells the others to ''MAKE A RUN FOR IT'', [[Oh Crap| only for Emma to tell her]] [[Deer in the Headlights| none of them can move,]] [[Mass "Oh Crap"| as they're in fear, even Melanie C]]. Luckily for them, the aliens were friendly.
== Literature ==
* Steel Inquisitors from ''[[Mistborn]]''. Nigh-invincible [[Blood Knight
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s ''[[Iron Shadows in the Moon]]'' and ''[[The Pool of the Black One]]'', [[Conan the Barbarian]] faces this. But then, both times he was dealing with what were effectively [[Eldritch Abomination
* The Bugs in David Weber and Steve White's ''In Death Ground''. Given the colonies the military had to protect, [[To Serve Man|running was the worst option.]]
* In some version of ''The Silmarillion'', King Finwe was the only inhabitant of Feanor's fortress of exile who did not run for it when a hostile Melkor approached to steal the Silmarils. He is slain for his trouble, and no surprise, since Melkor is the ''most powerful being ever created by God''. Fighting him, for an Elf or a Man, is a losing proposition.
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== Live Action TV ==
* Near the end of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' season 5, the Scooby Gang decide this is all they can do against [[Physical God|Glorificus]].
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' two-parter "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead", this is all you can do against the Vashta Nerada. Seriously, the characters are never once able to take offensive action against them. The Doctor only gets them to back off by ''threatening'' to do something unpleasant based on his reputation, with no evidence in sight of how he would actually make good on it.
** Your odds against the Weeping Angels from "Blink" and the "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone" two-parter, also [[Steven Moffat]] episodes, are only slightly better. By being very lucky, our heroes trick them into being stuck in the former and being destroyed in the latter.
* In ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', at the start of the second season, [[Robot Girl|Cameron]] takes damage to her processor and reverts to her default orders to kill John Connor. Through the entire episode, the only thing the Connors can really do is run the hell away from her as she doggedly pursues them. {{spoiler|The only thing that ''stops'' her is pinning her between two tractor trailers and cutting her central processor out of her head.}}
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** Bahamut from ''[[Final Fantasy III]]''. You encounter him very early in the game, and if you don't run then he'll kill you on turn one.
** The "Guardian" mecha in ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' is used as [[Border Patrol]]. You can finally fight and defeat it in the endgame.
** ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' has at least two examples:
*** The spider robot during the Dollet mission, which appears unexpectedly and chases the party all the way back to the evacuation point. It doesn't have a particularly powerful offense, but it's impossible to kill (except at [[Guide Dang It|one point]]) and it appears during a [[Timed Mission]] so you can't waste too much time fighting it.
*** A minor example is the T-Rexaur, a ''[[Tyrannosaurus Rex|goddamn T. rex]]'' encountered in Balamb Garden's training center and the forest nearby, which you are repeatedly warned about by various characters. It ''will'' kill you early in the game (unless you've already abused the Junction system to [[Game Breaker]] levels). The first time you encounter one with Quistis in your party, she even tells you to run away, just in case you missed the other warnings. [[Zig-Zagging Trope|She also tells you exactly how to defeat it (junction Sleep to your status attack), as the T-Rexaur is absolutely vulnerable to the Sleep effect.]]
** The battle against Ba'gammnon in ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' in the Lhusu Mines. Some members of the party suggest fleeing from him and his gang, as beating them all in a head-on fight is extremely difficult without level grinding. If you exploit their weaknesses to certain status ailments, however, it's possible to win at a normal level.
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** Even before that, in both games, you're attacked by a swarm of Necromorphs without any weapons, stasis, or kinesis. Your only hope is to flee.
* After the planetary shield drops in ''F.A.K.K.<sup>2</sup>'', tough new enemies appear and Julie straight up declares that fighting them with her current weapons is futile. They technically can be killed, but it requires the better part of your current arsenal's ammo cap to down even one, so it's pretty awesome when [[So Last Season|your shiny new toys later in the game can grind them to hamburger]].
* In one of the third round of missions in ''[[Star Wars: Dark Forces|Jedi Academy]]'', a mutated rancor appears and you have to run away from it through the entire level (while fighting dozens of dark Jedi) until you can achieve an environmental kill. In an earlier level, you have to help prisoners escape from a rancor pit, usually by leading the rancor away from their group while they
* The first two ''[[Paper Mario (franchise)|Paper Mario]]'' games have Clefts. If examined, you'll be warned that sometimes there's no shame in running. There's one fight in the second game you can't win, though losing that one instead of running away doesn't result in Game Over anyway.
* ''[[Mother 3]]''. The Chimera Factory. The [[One-Hit Kill|Ultimate Chimera.]] If it touches you or any member of your party, that's it. No [[Hopeless Boss Fight]], just a cutscene where the Chimera chomps down and the screen quickly turns red before you get to the Game Over screen.
* ''[[Fatal Frame]]'' final boss ghosts are like this whenever you encounter them prior to the end of the game. All of the games have a sequence where the main character must just run the hell away from the invincible ghost, lest she catch you and end your game instantly (interestingly, with the exception of the Kusabi, all of these ghosts are female). The third game has the [[Final Boss]] as a [[Random Encounter]] throughout (hint:RUN!), and also reintroduces the Kusabi from ''II'' in the [[Nostalgia Level|Minakami Village]] areas. Though you can fight him off once or twice, it's really a better idea to just flee. [[Boss in Mook Clothing|He's freaking tough.]]
* In the [[
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'': In the dungeon Halls of Reflection, after beating a couple preliminary bosses the final "boss" consists of running from the Lich King until help arrives.
* ''[[Pikmin]] 2'' features the [[Murder Water|Water Wraith]] in one dungeon, which cannot be killed except with a Pikmin variety that cannot be brought in and can only be created at the last floor. Once it drops down, you haul ass to the exit.
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* ''[[Goblins]]'' - When facing down [http://www.goblinscomic.com/03252011/ Mr. Fingers], a [[Eldritch Abomination|monstrosity]] from whom [http://www.goblinscomic.com/04082011/ one touch] will [http://www.goblinscomic.com/04152011/ melt you] [[Body Horror|to purple goo]], there's really only [http://www.goblinscomic.com/04262011/ one] [http://www.goblinscomic.com/04292011/ response.]
** Ironically it does end up being fought... and goes down. {{spoiler|At a tragic cost.}}
{{quote|
* ''[[Roza]]'': [http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2007-05-08 "You can't beat this guy. Just run!"]
* [[Double Subversion]] in [[Another Gaming Comic]], during a Matrix-pastiche arc. The Agents are hyped up as unkillable, unstoppable monsters who, if you do somehow manage to kill them once, will just come back again. Since the protagonists are highly talented power gamers, their first encounter with an Agent results in the agent getting one (high-damage) hit in and then getting [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|vaporized.]] The heroes then proceed to run away very quickly, [[Conversational Troping|explaining it]] to [[The Loonie|Nuclear Dan]] as they go.
{{quote|
* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'', [http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/01-44.html Perrault's reaction to Red's appearing.]
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