Save the Villain: Difference between revisions

* Averted in at least the early arcs of [[Judge Dredd]]. Dredd has no problem with killing when the situation calls for it, and {{spoiler|deliberately lets members of the Angel Gang die when he could have saved them.}}

* A discussion of this concept is held between Chuck and the freedom fighters in [[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Archie Sonic issue #74]]:

'''Tails and Amy''': You would?<br />

'''Chuck''': Of course! I consider all life to be sacred! [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him|Just because my enemies lack character is not excuse enough for me to stoop to their level!]] }}

* ''[[The Dark Knight Saga|Batman Begins]]'': Bruce Wayne is training with an order of ninjas, and upon being asked to kill, he [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|refuses]]. Consequently, Bruce blows up the palace and escapes with his unconscious mentor in tow. The reason behind this is ostensibly Turning the Other Cheek. The multiple ninjas who died in the explosion aren't mentioned again.

** Later in the movie, this trope is subverted as the train Batman and Ra's are on heads swiftly to a very deadly crash, Batman declares, "I won't kill you... but I don't have to save you," and escapes the train alone. Fans are sharply divided over this, with some thinking it's way out of character for him, while others seeing it as simple, pragmatic, and heroic (that Batman is responsible for the train being about to crash also complicates matters of responsibility for the death).

'''Ducard''': I warned you about compassion, Bruce. }}

* In ''[[The Dark Knight Saga]]'', {{spoiler|it's played straight with the Joker. Not so much with Two Face, but that was accidental; Batman was trying to save a child's life more than trying to kill Two Face.}}

** Which is interesting considering the willingness of the Tracys to use lethal force when necessary in the original TV series...

* In ''[[Star Trek III: The Search For Spock]]'', Kirk attempts to save the Klingon commander, Kruge from falling into a crevasse {{spoiler|after the same officer ordered the death of Kirk's son David}}. Kruge tries to drag Kirk down with him.

* Offered to Nero in the 2009 ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]''. His response is pure [[Card-Carrying Villain]].

** This is possibly the only example that doubles as a [[What the Hell, Hero?]] moment, given Nero's [[Complete Monster|status.]]

'''Spock:''' No, not really. Not this time. }}

** Although Kirk knew what Nero's response would be. And he's all to happy too oblige him.

* In the movie ''Safety Patrol'', Mrs. Day, one of the two robbers, nearly falls into a Hades crater, and Scout and the other kids try to save her. They succeed, and she is arrested shortly after along with her son Bert Miller.

* Shows up in the 2009 ''[[Sherlock Holmes (film)|Sherlock Holmes]]''.

* In ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane'', one of the punk gunslingers loses his balance as he makes his way down to a rail (to kill our hero, Ford Fairlane). [[The Ditz|Zuzu]] tries to save him... by grabbing the gun in his mouth to pull him back up. Guess what happens next.

* In [[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy]] Rick tries to pull [[The Quisling|Beni]] from out of the [[Collapsing Lair]], but doesn't make it. He's not to upset about it, though.

 

== Literature ==

* The ''[[Star Wars]]'' novel ''[[Legacy of the Force|Sacrifice]]'' has a subversion. During {{spoiler|Lumiya}}'s duel with [[The Hero|Luke Skywalker]], she falls off a ledge. Luke ({{spoiler|who decades earlier was romantically involved with Lumiya before she became a Sith, and thinks she's the one who murdered his wife}}) [[Take My Hand|grabs her hand]], saying "I'd never let you fall." {{spoiler|Then he decapitates her.}}

** Typically, though, he plays it straight, as seen in ''[[Shadows of the Empire]]'', where he outfights a [[Ridiculously Human Robot]] with [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|vastly enhanced speed, strength, durability, and combat skills]] ''while unarmed'' and then, when she tells him he won fairly and should kill her, says,

"There’s been enough killing. I’m not adding to it today." }}

* ''[[The Woman in White]]'' by Wilkie Collins plays this fairly straight, making the trope [[Older Than Radio]].

* In the ending of ''[[Zone of the Enders]]'', Leo and Aida consider rescuing Viola, only for Viola to interrupt, saying that rescuing her would be adding insult to injury.

* Subverted in ''[[Primal]]'' after the defeat of {{spoiler|Iblis}}.

'''Jen:''' "Well, my head says no, but my heart... says also no! Sorry, buddy, but this is not your day." }}

** It ends up a bit different, though.

** ...and then a [[Call Back]] when Elliot happen to defend [[Jerk Jock]] and school bully Tony from a monster. "[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=955 Darn it... that doesn't count, Susan!]"

* Lampshaded in ''[[Digger]]'', during the troll bridge story. {{spoiler|Not that Grim-Eyes is really a villain. Digger's prey and she ''did'' break her mother's spear... But then we run into the ethical question of eating things that talk. It's complicated.}}

* Utterly subverted in ''[[Sam and Fuzzy]]'', when {{spoiler|Mr. Blank}} ends up dangling from the edge of a skyscraper after a last-ditch attempt to kill Sam, and states openly that he knows that Sam hasn't got it in him to let him fall to his death. Sam replies that he is utterly correct... And then stands aside and lets [[Heroic Sociopath|Fuzzy]] punt him off instead, stating that "but I bet '''he's''' ok with it".

* In ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'', Mr. Mighty has to [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=149321 stop] [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=149953 Jane] from caving in her former boss' skull with a hammer.

** In another episode, when other villain Killer Croc drops Baby Doll ([[Anti-Villain/Western Animation|already a sympathetic character, anyway, though still insane]]) over a [[No OSHA Compliance|poorly designed]] ledge in the nuclear power plant, Batman catches her. She then knocks out Croc with a chemical, saving Batman in return.

** Lampshaded in an early episode, where [[The Joker]] is hanging over a pit of molten metal.

'''Joker''': BATMAN! (Batman pulls him up) }}

*** Batman's expression during the moment is priceless.

** An interesting subversion happens during the three-part "World's Finest" episodes in ''[[Superman: The Animated Series|Superman the Animated Series]]''. The Joker has just accidentally set the huge flying wing he, Harley Quinn, Batman, and [[Lex Luthor]] are all on board to exploding; Superman turns up, Batman tells Superman to get Luthor, he's got Quinn... ''exeunt omnes'' through Superman's entrance hole... ''without making even the slightest effort to save [[The Joker]]'', who's on the far side of what's functionally a minefield. Granted, it did give us the immortal lines after the plane had gone up in a fireball the size of a small city:

'''Batman''': At this point, he probably ''is''. }}

*** That scene came across as practicality on Batman's part - he knew he only had time to save one person, and Harley was closer and less of a threat to the world at large, so she got chosen. If Harley hadn't been there, you know he would have gotten Joker out of the plane.

* Reversed in ''[[Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?|Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego]]'', where the titular crook would actually save ACME detectives Ivy and Zach if one of her schemes unintentionally put them in peril. Naturally, they return the favor, and she refuses, but only because she's wily enough to have a backup escape plan just in case.

* Spoofed in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', after Bart has just saved Sideshow Bob's life:

'''Sideshow Bob''': ''[Sinister]'' Oh, I don't know about ''that''. ''[Bart cringes back fearfully]'' Joking, joking! }}

** Not surprisingly, he [[Status Quo Is God|does try to kill him again]].

*** That might have had something to do with, in the same episode where Bart saved him, it ended with him [[Status Quo Is God|going back to jail for absolutely NO reason.]]

* Occasionally [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] on ''[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers]]'':

'''Captain Planet''': For once, she's right. }}

* An episode of ''[[ReBoot]]'' had both Bob and Megabyte both fighting for survival in a glitched-up Game, which culminated in Megabyte being trapped by the User's character. Bob saves him, and later in the episode, successfully resolves a standoff by reminding Megabyte that he owes him. The indisputable highlight, though, is the way Megabyte finally asks for help...

* In one episode of the ''[[X-Men (animation)|X-Men]]'' animated series, Juggernaut starts an all-out attack on Xavier's mansion, but is stopped when somebody else steals his powers. Cain Marko then starts to die, requiring the X-Men to find the Ruby of Cyttorak to restore his power and save his life. They do, and Juggernaut repays them by stopping the attack and leaving.

'''[[Wolverine]]''': I don't like it. }}

* ''[[Super Mario Bros Super Show]]'' features a subversion in its [[Christmas Episode]]. [[Big Bad|Bowser]], who has taken Santa Claus captive at this point and is threatening to throw him into the icy water below, stupidly causes an avalanche. Mario uses his plumbers' snake to rescue St. Nick, but instead of doing the same for the Koopa King, he gestures to the reptile that he'll just have to jump into the water himself (which [[Fridge Logic|he surprisingly survives]]).

* Lampshaded a bit in ''[[Kim Possible]]'' in this exchange from "Gorilla Fist.":

'''Kim''': Yeah, but it sounds better the way he says it. }}

** "Rewriting History" has Kim get Drakken and Shego away from an invention that would have probably killed them, with Drakken then saying "We never speak of this again!" She also dives in and saves Drakken from drowning in "Cap'n Drakken", proving she's that big a damn hero once and for all.

* Jake and/or the members of his team on ''[[Jake and the Never Land Pirates|Jake and The Neverland Pirates]]'' always offer this to Captain Hook when he inevitably gets into a sticky situation. Hook, however, always refuses, claiming that he doesn't need help. Jake and the others don't try to press the issue.

* Subverted by Posey in ''[[Mission Hill]]'' when she's threatened by a pimp for taking away with her (unfortunately printed) "healthful release" massage. When he pulls his back out of place she uses her massage techniques to fix him, then pushes him off the building.

* In ''[[Kong: The Animated Series|Kong the Animated Series]]'', Jason and the others save De La Porta a few times, and at one point he [[Villainous Rescue|returns the favor]], if only to make them even.

* Subverted in ''[[Transformers Prime]]''. When both Bots and Cons get caught in a cave in, the Autobots consider rescuing them. They choose not to, reasoning that not killing them in cold blood is good enough.