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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"This is the bizarre thing about being a superhero -- you've even got to save the bad guys."''|'''Captain Planet''', ''[[Captain Planet and
The hero and bad guy have had a [[Rooftop Confrontation|big fight on the top of a building]], which has resulted in the bad guy being knocked over the edge. He hangs there by his fingers, helplessly.
The hero is then [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|motivated]] (or more cynically, [[Slave to PR|contractually obliged]]) to attempt to save the villain's life, even putting himself in mortal danger in the attempt. This is presumably done so that the hero can be shown once again to be noble and just. (A better [[Rounded Character]] may strongly wrestle with the notion; the temptation is not just to let him die, but consider himself blameless for not directly causing the death. If no one will realize that the hero could have saved him, [[What You Are in
A notable part of this trope is that, often, the villain refuses the hero's help because [[Embarrassing Rescue|he can't bear owing his life to the hero]], or would rather cause his own death, presumably out of ego or "honor".
If the villain does accept the hero's help -- [[Entitled Bastard|even if they begged for it]] -- more often than not, they will be [[Ungrateful Bastard|complete ingrates]] and keep trying to kill the hero, sometimes even immediately. In fact, sometimes the villain will use the opportunity to [[The Farmer and
On other occasions, the villain will continue pursuing their overall evil goal, but will now refuse to harm the hero out of [[Worthy Opponent|grudging recognition of their debt]]. They may even [[I Was Just Passing Through|return the life-saving favor]] at a later point, although this may wipe the slate clean in their eyes and make it okay for them to resume their attempts on the hero's life.
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== Anime and Manga ==
* Goku from ''[[
* In the ''[[
* [[Playing
** Hilariously [[Playing
** In the manga, Yami saves Mokuba Kaiba from a [[Fate Worse Than Death|torturous fate]] via his older brother after Mokuba had nearly succeeded in murdering him and Jounouchi a few chapters earlier.
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' does a traditional villain saving with Fate Testarossa, helping her fly out of a [[Load-Bearing Boss|collapsing lair.]] To be fair, Fate was more [[The Dragon]] than the [[Big Bad]]. Other seasons are mostly saving via [[Defeat Means Friendship]].
** Earlier on, Nanoha intervenes to help Fate while she is performing a highly dangerous attempt to seal the Jewel Seeds that fell into the ocean, splitting the seeds with her and telling her that she wants to be friends with her.
** In A's, Fate intervenes during a fight to save Signum from a desert monster, causing Amy to tell her that her job is to capture her. Signum [[Complaining|notes that she won't thank Fate]] because she destroyed the monster and prevented her from getting its Linker Core, but Fate takes it in stride, noting that she has to interfere with the "bad guys".
* During a sequence in ''[[
* Vash The Stampede, in ''[[
* In ''[[Pokémon (
** Examples of this include the episodes [[Enemy Mine|"Pikachu Re-Volts"]], "Freeze Frame," and "Throwing in the Noctowl".
*** Though to be fair, Team Rocket have saved Ash's life several times in the movies, in part because they admit they wouldn't have much a life without chasing him.
* Train from ''[[Black Cat (
* It's done once... no twice... no, pretty much in every other fight in ''[[
* In the Zanpaktou ''[[
** {{spoiler|Ichigo didn't really have a choice in the matter. His Hollow is still part of his soul and makes up a large portion of his power. Not only that, but Zangetsu was working for Muramasa at that point and wouldn't allow Ichigo to use bankai and was using it himself against Ichigo. He'd've been screwed without his Hollow.}}
** Shortly after defeating Grimmjow, Ichigo protects him from being finished off by Nnoitra, and Nnoitra notes that Grimmjow is quite pathetic for letting an enemy save him.
** In the Soul Society Arc, Orihime saves Makizou Aramaki from being blown up by some Squad 12 members who have been turned into living bombs, prompting him to wonder why she did it and why she is crying over the detonated shinigami.
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': In the first anime, Ed desperately tries to prevent the younger Slicer brother from committing suicide, but fails. He later yells at Lust not to kill the older brother, stating that "he's still a human being", but his pleas fall on deaf ears.
** Subverted chapter 95 of the manga. {{spoiler|When Mustang is about to finally kill Envy, Hawkeye, Ed, and Scar intervene before he can land the final blow. However, this was not because they wanted to save Envy, but because they didn't want Roy to give in to his rage. They had every intention of taking out Envy themselves.}}
* In ''[[
* Kenzo Tenma of ''[[Monster (
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
** Earlier, Luffy had Zoro rescue Smoker before the lot of them drowned. Luffy says he doesn't think Smoker's a bad guy despite the fact that he is ruthlessly hunting down the entire Straw Hat crew across the Grand Line.
* Attempted and failed in ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* At the end of volume 22 of the ''[[
* In ''[[
* This is usually how [[Martial Pacifist|Kimba]] from ''[[
* Haru likes to attempt this in ''[[Rave Master]]''. It works once, but it usually fails. Reasons for this vary. Once the villain has already bled too much and there's just no way he could live. One time the man he's trying to save from a huge fall inverts the [[Life or Limb Decision]] and cuts his arm off so he'll fall anyway. It's a mystery whether {{spoiler|Lucia}} chose not to be saved or was doomed anyway, or even if he really died, actually.
* In one episode [[Magical Idol Pastel Yumi]], Yumi is racing the leader of a hang gliding gang. He tries to cheat but only ends up damaging his ownhang glider. Yumi summons a giant bird to save him.
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*** That's the cynical interpretation of it. The entire point of the story was to show Batman's dedication to justice. In all likelihood, the Caped Crusader was aware of the cynical implications as well, ''but did it anyway.''
** In ''Batman: Cacophany'', the [[Serial Killer]] Onomatopoeia (who targets superheroes, though he doesn't mind killing other people for fun either) stabbed [[The Joker]] in the heart after their villain team-up failed and prepared to flee -- but waited a few seconds because he wanted to see whether Batman would save the Joker or let him die to pursue Onomatopoeia. Batman chooses the first option despite strong protests from Jim Gordon whose wife and daughter were murdered and crippled by [[The Joker]] respectively. When [[The Joker]] asks him why he did it, Batman explains that due to One Bad Day he can't bear to see ''anyone'' die in front of him if he has the power to stop it.
** Played with multiple times in [[Batman:
** In a ''Detective'' issue called "The Executioner Wore Stiletto Heels," Batman risked his life to save an escaped prisoner who was condemned to death. He almost died in the process, but the criminal saved him.
* [[Captain America]] to Baron Zemo, Lord knows how many times: "[[Take My Hand|Your HAND, man! Give me your hand!]]" Astonishingly, this {{spoiler|eventually pays off, when Zemo surprisingly returns the favor at the cost of his face becoming scarred in a battle with Moonstone.}}
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** In another story with the Spoiler, she and Robin are put in a building about to be demolished by [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|the Baffler.]] Except he knocks himself out, so he ends up there as well. The two manage to save themselves but Robin points out they need to save the villain as well, much to Steph's dismay. Yet when the Baffler says they could become a team, the duo beat him up and leave him for the police.
* Scrooge has saved a fair share of villains throughout his life:
** In [[Carl Barks]]'s [[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck|Uncle Scrooge]] comic "The Horseradish Story," the villain who has attempted to swindle Scrooge out of all of his billions and then kill all of the ducks is about to drown in the ocean after [[Hoist
** Another notable case, in the comic "The Great Wig Mystery", was of a villain who tried to use a [[Frivolous Lawsuit]] to get Scrooge's fortune. In that story, Scrooge explained to his family he never expects any kind of gratitude from the villains he saves. He simply doesn't want their deaths to make a weight on his conscience.
* Not a physical fight that led to it, but in the first ''[[Elf Quest]]'' graphic novel there's a dramatic moment when Rayek falls off a stone bridge and is dangling by his fingertips... Cutter thinks what will soon become a [[Catch Phrase]] of his ("[[Ape Shall Never Kill Ape|No elf must die]]!") and crawls out to help him. Rayek isn't grateful, but blasts Cutter with the full fury of his hate before backing off the bridge, leaving the acrophobic Cutter there to figure his own way off. (It gives Cutter the resolve to pass the test he'd been unable to do before, winning the final battle between him and Rayek. Way to go, Rayek.)
* There have been several stories about [[
** He's also saved [[Lex Luthor]]'s life on several occasions, even though Luthor's ultimate goal in life is to kill Superman. In fact, Superman and a lot of the Justice League will beat the crap out of villains and then immediately check to make sure they're okay.
* 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 [[
{{quote| '''Chuck''': Of all the actions I regret most, it's saving [[Complete Monster|Robotnik]] from [[Humans Are Bastards|his own kind]] that haunts me above all the others! And yet even if I knew then what I know now, I'd still save his miserable neck!<br />
'''Tails and Amy''': You would?<br />
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'''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.}}
* Yet another Batman example: ''[[
* 1989's ''[[Batman (
** Technically, he didn't kill him, rather than stop him from getting away. It was the fault of the helicopter pilots and their [[Plot Induced Stupidity]]. The irony is that Batman ''did'' have the full intent of killing the Joker earlier during their fight. So he fails to kill him when he's trying, but does kill him when he's not trying to.
*** Precisely. Batman tied the Joker to the statue. Had the statue remained intact, he would have been pulled off the ladder and been left dangling for the police. Even if you take into account that Joker demonstrated the upper levels of the clock tower were less than stable ("They don't make 'em like they used to!"), even BATMAN could have hardly known the statue he'd tied Joker to would '''BREAK OFF AND TURN INTO A WEIGHT...'''
*** In ''[[
**** You can feel remorse for causing an accident ...
** Earlier in the film, Batman grabs Napier's hand as he's dangling above a for-all-we-know fatal chemical bath; it's left ambiguous whether Batman drops him or he merely slips to his "death". The Joker's later claim (you MADE me) notwithstanding.
* This also happens in the film adaptation of ''[[Thunderbirds]]''.
** Which is interesting considering the willingness of the Tracys to use lethal force when necessary in the original TV series...
* In ''[[Star Trek III:
{{quote| '''Kirk:''' [[Punctuated for Emphasis|I...have had...enough of...you!]]}}
* Offered to Nero in the 2009 ''[[Star Trek (
** This is possibly the only example that doubles as a [[What the Hell, Hero?]] moment, given Nero's [[Complete Monster|status.]]
{{quote| '''Spock:''' Captain, what are you doing? <br />
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** Although Kirk knew what Nero's response would be. And he's all to happy too oblige him.
* Inverted in ''[[Blade Runner]]'', in which {{spoiler|Roy Batty saves Richard Deckard. Of course Deckard is an anti-hero and Batty is an anti-villain.}}
* Subverted in the trope-heavy ''[[
* A deleted scene from ''[[Iron Man (
* At the end of ''[[In the Line of Fire]]'', Horrigan tries to save the assassin Leary from falling off an elevator, noting when Leary asks him that he doesn't want to, but it's his job.
* Averted in ''[[Race for
* Memorably averted in ''[[Darkman]]'', where the final [[Climbing Climax]] ends with Westlake catching the villain (by his ankle, for a change) just before the latter can fall to his death from a half-built skyscraper. Hanging helplessly, the [[Big Bad]] [[Idiot Ball|confidently]] points out that Westlake can't possibly drop him, because then he wouldn't be able to live with himself. But unfortunately for him, ''this'' hero's [[What You Are in
* Butch does this for Marsellus Wallace, the man who wants him dead for not throwing a major fight, from ''[[Pulp Fiction]]''. Pulp Fiction [[Black and Grey Morality|being what it is]], though the two of them do have their respective fight, the saving in question is from even ''worse'' guys.
* It is somewhat jarring when it is used in ''[[Daredevil (
** Also, if he learnt that, he'd learnt it ''very quickly'' and without much explanation, in the brief time since hurling Bullseye through a high [[Soft Glass|window]].
* Double subverted...kind of, in a Russian movie ''Lions' Share''. The hero kicks the villain of a roof and, while the villain is falling, ''[[Improbable Aiming Skills|shoots him straight in the forehead]]''. Cue an awesome one-liner: "So that it doesn't hurt when you land."
* Father Cornelius saves Zorg from choking on a cherry in ''[[The Fifth Element]]'', prompting the "You saved my life, so I'll spare yours" line.
* The 1987 version of ''[[The Untouchables]]'' both affirms and subverts the trope when Elliot Ness first assists [[Big Bad]] mob hitman Frank Nitti, whom he had cornered dangling from a rope off the edge of a building, and then after enduring some [[Evil Gloating]] Ness [[Kill Him Already|reappraises the situation]] and casually throws him off the roof.
* Played with in ''[[Thor (
** Also, the whole point of the battle in part was to prevent Loki from exterminating the Frost Giants, the deadly enemies of Asgard.
* 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 (
{{quote| '''Blackwood''': "It's a long way to the rope..." }}
* 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.
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"I am what I am, Jedi. I don’t think there can be any salvation for me."<br />
"There’s been enough killing. I’m not adding to it today." }}
* ''[[
* ''[[Les Misérables (
* The [[Batman]] novel "Fear Itself" double subverts this when it has Batman try this with Scarecrow when Batman, the [[Love Interest]] of the week, Scarecrow, a henchman, and the body of a guy Scarecrow had just killed are trapped in a burning house. {{spoiler|Initially, Batman ''does'' leave Scarecrow to die in the mess he created ... But after he rescues the [[Love Interest]] and the Henchman, as well as carrying out the dead victim's body, he goes back for Scarecrow. He apparently doesn't succeed, but they [[Never Found the Body]] and [[Joker Immunity|we all know what kind of record the Bat Rogues have with death.]] }} And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we love Batman.
* In ''[[Discworld
* In ''[[Discworld
** It's complicated. Vimes is perfectly happy with traitors being hanged, it is the burning he can't stand. Vimes will NOT rescue a villain from quick death; he WILL rescue villains from torture.
* In [[Scaramouche]], Mme. la Comtesse de Plougastel stops Andre-Louis from killing the [[Big Bad]], the Marquis de La Tour d'Azyr.
* In [[
** In Rip Tide, it's a little different. {{spoiler|At the beginning, the Drift surfs are the villains, but by the time he saves them at the end, Ty's realized that they were never actually the bad guys.}}
* There's a version in the [[Tortall Universe|Beka Cooper]] book ''Bloodhound''; having finally caught, outfought, and subdued the [[Big Bad]] in a flooding sewer, our protagonists have to keep her from drowning and later have her healed of her injuries, despite the fact that open wounds that then got tainted with sewage are extremely difficult to treat. However, this is not a second chance: they want her put properly on trial for her crimes so she can be executed in good time.
* In ''[[Septimus Heap
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** {{spoiler|And even the 'in the dark' portion doesn't work, since Sheppard is just offscreen.}}
* In one episode of ''[[Bones]]'', Booth tries desperately to save a serial killer who doesn't want to be saved. {{spoiler|His failure sends him into a deep depression, until he is forced to see a psychiatrist.}}
* ''[[
** Eh, they never really intended to kill him, they just wanted to scare him into telling the truth.
* In season 3, episode 3 of ''[[Primeval]]'', villainess Helen Cutter is trapped in the burning ARC building (caused by an explosion in her failed takeover attempt). Nick Cutter, being the hero as well as Helen's husband, rushes into the building and frees her. As thanks, {{spoiler|Helen shoots Nick, [[Killed Off for Real|killing him for real]]}}.
* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' had the necessity of this as part of its plot: the one-armed man has to live or there's no evidence that Richard Kimble is innocent. He also saved [[Inspector Javert]] Phillip Gerard quite a few times, which paid off in the finale when Gerard finally catches him, but in exchange gives him 24 hours to search for the real killer.
* Averted big time in ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' during the second appearance of her archenemy, Callisto. After Callisto murders Gabrielle's husband in cold blood, then almost burns Gabrielle at the stake, Xena finally catches up with her in a furious [[Chase Scene|chariot chase]] which culminates with the both of them stuck in a quicksand pit. Xena uses her whip and chakram to pull herself to safety, then simply stands there and watches as Callisto is pulled under, screaming. {{spoiler|Callisto eventually comes back, though.}}
** Reinforced big style, "Strike me down and I shall arise mightier than before." The next four seasons are Xena wangsting and paying off infinite karmic punishments.
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* In the [[The Movie|TV-movie]] for Nickelodeon's ''[[Cousin Skeeter]]'', the villain is about to fall into what looks like an incinerator. The protagonists make a run for it, except Skeeter, who runs back for him while yelling "I got a conscience, man, I'm sorry!" and tells the villain to [[Take My Hand|take his hand.]] The other characters go back to help pull when it looks like Skeeter isn't strong enough.
** And in this case, the villain is so astonished/moved that they would bother to help him, that he immediately pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]] and helps the protagonists return home. (After giving Skeeter an alien medal as thanks.)
* ''[[
* Peter makes Neal do this in the [[White Collar]] episode ''Company Man.''
* In ''[[Prison Break]]'', both Michael and Sara keep others from killing the villains, and sometimes even helping them.
* In an episode of ''[[The Cape (TV series)|The Cape]]'', called "Dice", the [[The Cape|titular hero]] had to save the villain, [[The Chessmaster|Chess]], from a woman named Dice.
** Atypically for this trope, however, The Cape's motives for doing so are purely selfish; he needs Chess to live long enough so that {{spoiler|his name can be cleared}}.
* Justified in the 2,000 AD ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'': Prince John promised that if the Sheriff dies, then the entire town will be nuked.
* Played straight in 1960 ''[[Robin Hood]]'': Robin wades through a sea of Mook blood and insists we must not kill the Sheriff, because that would make us as bad as him. [[Technical Pacifist]] * [[A Million Is a Statistic]].
** [[Fridge Logic]]: off-screen, Robin must also insist that we must not confiscate the Sheriff's money because that would make us as bad as him because next week, the Sheriff has hired a whole new army of Mooks for Robin to slaughter.
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== Video Games ==
* Geese Howard from ''[[Fatal Fury]]'' dies this way. Terry (the hero) tries to save him, yet Geese simply smiles and lets go. It isn't until ''much'' later on that we figure out why: {{spoiler|Geese knows that Terry will be racked with guilt for the rest of his life, because with Geese's death, Terry will have orphaned Geese's son Rock the same way Geese orphaned Terry and Andy.}}
* The ending of ''[[
** There's a similar situation in ''Advent Children''.
* A variation occurs in SUDA 51's ''[[No More Heroes]]''. {{spoiler|In this case, our [[Anti-Hero]], up-and-coming assassin Travis Touchdown, has ''already'' dealt a fatal wound to his opponent Destroyman by impaling him through the chest with his beam katana. Nevertheless, Destroyman begs Travis to help him. Travis, who has already fallen for Destroyman's tricks a couple of times before, rips the weapon violently out of his chest. As his final vindictive act, Destroyman whips around and opens fire on Travis with his nipple-mounted machine guns (yes, really); he suffers his [[Karmic Death]] immediately thereafter, however, as Travis simply cleaves Destroyman from crotch to skull while bullets whiz past on either side of him.}}
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'''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.
* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (
* This happens in ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[Batman: Arkham City]]'' ends with [[The Joker]] invoking this trope and demanding {{spoiler|[[Batman]] give him the cure needed to save him from TITAN poisoning.}} This is after {{spoiler|he's poisoned 2000 people and killed Talia Al-Ghul}}, ''on top'' of his comic-book [[Complete Monster|track-record]], and yet he points out Batman'll follow the trope and [[Joker Immunity|save him anyway.]] {{spoiler|Batman hesitates, so Joker stabs him in the arm, [[Pyrrhic Villainy|causing him to drop and smash the cure.]]}} Turns out {{spoiler|Batman ''[[The Fettered|would]]'' [[The Fettered|have saved]] [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|him anyway.]]}}
* Justified in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep]]'': {{spoiler|Aqua saves the life of Master Xehanort. The thing is, Xehanort was [[Grand Theft Me|possessing]] the body of her friend Terra, and letting Xehanort die would kill Terra as well. Aqua was out to save Terra from the beginning, so this (combined with the fact that Terra is [[Fighting From the Inside]]) was the logical choice. Unfortunately, this turns into a [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]], as Terra can't break free, Xehanort's backup plan is in effect, and Aqua can't do anything to stop it.}}
** In ''coded'', {{spoiler|Data-Riku}} saves {{spoiler|Maleficent and Pete.}}
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== Webcomics ==
* Seen in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0068.html this] ''[[The Order of the Stick
* Subverted humorously (via [[Imagine Spot]]) in [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-04-23 this] ''[[
** Played straight later when Elliot hesitatingly defends [[Jerk Jock]] and school bully Tony from a supernatural attacker despite a great deal of animosity between them.
* Lampshaded in ''[[
{{quote| '''Digger''': Now, I could probably work up a good explanation for why I caught the hyena, who had, after all, been trying to kill me for awhile now. I could tell you that I was hoping to earn her gratitude, or point out that Surka was still attached to her ankle. These are all good and valid reasons. The fact is, though, that when people fall off cliffs, you grab for them. It's just a reflex.}}
* 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".
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series
** In an earlier episode, Batman saves a villain called the Sewer King from being hit by a subway train. When the astonished villain asks why, Batman responds that he leaves judgment and execution to the courts. Batman is still sorely tempted to make an exception here, what with the nature of the otherwise silly-looking villain's crimes.
*** Which was that he used [[Mook|children]] for his crimes, and abused them if they didn't do it perfectly.
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'''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
{{quote| '''Harley Quinn''': '''PUDDIN'!'''<br />
'''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.
* In the ''[[Justice League (
** Also subverted in the earlier episode "The Enemy Below." Orm ends up dangling off a ledge over a high drop, screaming for help, after trying to kill both his brother Aquaman and his infant son as well as untold numbers of people by melting the polar ice caps. Aquaman reaches down... and grabs his nearby trident instead, while Orm falls to his apparent death.
* ''[[
** Naturally, Aang, the hero, has saved Prince Zuko on a number of occasions, including in the unaired pilot. However, despite the page quote, Zuko never actually tried to kill them and actually [[I Want Them Alive|thought he had to catch Aang alive]].
** Even MOMO saves enemies which wanted to eat him five minutes earlier.
* Reversed in ''[[Teen Titans (
** It's revealed later that Slade had plans for Robin. Robin would have been useless dead.
** Happens again in the fourth season, when Slade {{spoiler|arrives at the end of the final battle in time to save the Titans from the ominous-looking sphere of electricity that Trigon had trapped them in.}}
* ''[[
* Audience-based subversion: There was once an ''[[
* Reversed in ''[[Where
* Spoofed in ''[[The Simpsons (
{{quote| '''Sideshow Bob''': You saved me, Bart!<br />
'''Bart''': Yeah - I guess this means you won't ever try to kill me again, huh?<br />
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** 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
{{quote| '''Dr. Blight''': You've got to save me, Planet! It's in your hero's manual!<br />
'''Captain Planet''': For once, she's right. }}
* An episode of ''[[
* In one episode of the ''[[X-Men (
{{quote| '''Cyclops''': We're going to save the Juggernaut's sorry life. And don't bother telling me you don't like it.<br />
'''[[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 ''[[
{{quote| '''Ron''': So you want to tell me again exactly why we're going back?<br />
'''Kim''': 'Cause it is the right thing to do.<br />
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'''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.
* Happens in the episode "Black Sand" from the ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' TV series when Aladdin tries to save Mozenrath [[Take My Hand|from falling off the palace]] into his black sand trap. Obviously, Mozenrath attempts to pull Aladdin down with him, but ends up falling into his own black sand. Aladdin seems to try to save Sa'luk from falling off a cliff in the sequel "Aladdin and the King of Thieves", but fails.
** In the episode "The Hunted," Genie has to save Mukhtar, a Genie Hunter, from a man-eating Venus flytrap in Mozenrath's citadel. He then says "Saving people we might not like. [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|It's a good guy thing!]]" Afterwards, {{spoiler|Mukhtar seems to be an [[Ungrateful Bastard]] and betray Genie to Mozenrath, but after reflecting on what Genie did for him for a while, comes back and helps save Genie and defeat Mozenrath.}}
* In ''[[Beauty and
* At the climax of ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', where Frollo {{spoiler|knocks Quasimodo over the edge of the cathedral but is pulled along with him. Despite having just found out that Frollo killed his mother, Quasi doesn't let go of the cloak by which Frollo hangs. As Esmeralda desperately tries to pull Quasimodo back up, Frollo (who refuses to drop his sword, even to save himself), manages to swing himself to a handhold before attempting to finish them both off, at which point [[Karmic Death|karma kicks in]]}}.
** Very pointedly averted, however, in [[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (
* On ''[[
** Amusingly, Perry is also prone to rescuing Doofensmirtz from much less serious situations, such as in "Brain Drain", where Perry saved Doofensmirtz from embarrassing himself in front of [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|his daughter]] and her friends, and "Run Candace, Run", where he convinces Doofensmirtz to ask his ex-wife for money so he doesn't lose his building.
** Doofensmirtz is also one of the few villains that has no problem with thanking the hero.
* In an episode of ''[[Fantastic Four:
* In an episode of ''[[Western Animation/The Spectacular Spider-Man|The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', Spidey finds himself saving Tombstone from the Green Goblin. He seriously resents this.
** In an episode of the animated series SM rescues Jameson from the Scorpion (who, by the way, was created by Jameson to hunt down Spidey). Naturally, That Doesn't Change Anything, and SM later ruminates in amusement that "It's like Sherlock Holmes rescuing Moriarty".
*** In the 80s show, Jameson is in trouble at one point and begs Spider-Man to save him, promising to stop printing bad things about him. After he's rescued, he immediately tells Spider-Man that he was lying and gloats about it. Spider-Man says that he wasn't fooled. If Jameson had kept his promise, ''then'' he'd be surprised.
** Back into ''[[Spider-Man:
* [[
* {{spoiler|Woody and Buzz save Lotso}} in ''[[
* He-Man saves Skeletor's life a lot of times (or his henchmen and other villains) in ''[[He-Man and
* ''[[
** Believe it or not, what was originally intended was Kiara saying "Zira! Give me your paw!" and Zira shouting "Never!" and letting go, falling to her death! Unsurprisingly, [[Executive Meddling]] changed the scene, since suicide is not exactly a topic Disney is known to touch on.
* In one of the final episodes of ''[[
* Attempted in [[Disney Animated Canon]]'s ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]''. Tarzan had only meant to incapacitate Clayton, tying him up in vines. Clayton, however, is in an [[Unstoppable Rage]] and starts slashing through them...except for the one around his neck. Tarzan sees the problem before Clayton does and tries to warn him: "Clayton! Clayton, don't!" He doesn't listen, plummets downwards, and Tarzan zips after him. Unfortunately, he's not fast enough, and by the time he reaches Clayton, he's already hanged himself. One look at Tarzan's face and you know he really ''did'' hope to save him...
* In ''[[Care Bears
* [[The Smurfs (
* Jake and/or the members of his team on ''[[Jake and
* Subverted by Posey in ''[[
{{quote| '''Posey:''' I didn't want him to fall off the roof and not feel it.}}
* In ''[[Kong:
* Subverted in ''[[
* Played in ''[[
* In ''[[Young Justice]]'', Superman tries to save Kroleteans about to be destroyed by a bomb hidden in their volcano base. {{spoiler|They don't believe him and keep attacking, so he fails}}.
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