Kill Us Both: Difference between revisions

Sometimes a [[Big Bad]] is bigger and badder than expected and the heroes are unable to take him down by conventional means. One of the heroes may get lucky and restrain the villain, either physically or by trapping the villain's malevolent spirit within their own body, but this presents a problem. At any second the villain may break free from the character's control and continue on in his or her rampage. This is especially problematic if the character restraining the villain is the strongest member of the heroes' team; if the best the ''strongest'' hero can do is mildly inconvenience the villain for a short time, then the ''rest'' of the heroes aren't going to stand much of a chance against the villain once they break free. Sometimes the hero who is doing the restraining will recognize this fact, and from their mouth will issue forth the ominous phrase which heralds the sad solution to this problem:

 

 

Of course, the phrasing need not be exact, but the general idea remains the same for all examples. This particular brand of [[Heroic Sacrifice]] is probably the most poignant and heart-rending of all, since it requires at least one of the heroes to be the instrument of a friend or ally's death. More often than not, the heroes will shrink away from this solution, allowing the villain to escape. In cases like this, the hero who was doing the restraining will often berate the other heroes for not taking the opportunity to end things right then and there. The rest of the team usually won't sweat it, though—as surely there ''has'' to be some other way of defeating the villain that doesn't involve sacrificing one of their own. (If not, expect a [[Downer Ending]] to ensue...)

If the author is really aiming for a [[Downer Ending]]/[[Tear Jerker]] and the heroes do decide to [[Shoot the Dog|pull the trigger]], the villain may survive anyway despite the death of the sacrificing hero. This is the cruelest twist that this situation can result in.

 

 

A variation is commonly found in [[Spot the Imposter]] scenarios, where the Good character will use this to distinguish him/herself from his [[Evil Twin]], who would never be so self-sacrificing. On the other hand, a [[Genre Savvy]] villain may use it knowing that that will convince the good characters allies that he is the good twin. Any villain who does this has become [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]].

 

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* Mikage from ''[[Jubei-chan]]: Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch''. At one point during her duel with the [[Big Bad]], she holds him down and begs the heroes to run her through. As this is a rather non-serious series that would suffer from having a [[Downer Ending]], the order is refused and the [[Big Bad]] throws her off. In the manga, this was done by undead but friendly Koinosuke, and the heroine ''does'' run them both through. However, Jubei-chan's sword doesn't kill people, but restores them, so Koinosuke becomes fully resurrected.

* Goku's first death in ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', where he grabs Raditz long enough for Piccolo to blast them both.

'''Guard #3:''' ''(matter-of-factly)'' He knows that. }}

* In the episode of ''[[South Park]]'' where a portal to a [[Mirror Universe]] where everyone is evil and [[Beard of Evil|has goatees]], this is used. The Cartman from the other universe is good, and the main universe's group decide they like him better than their Cartman. Main!Cartman attacks Mirror!Cartman and rips off his beard, causing them to get mixed up. Main!Cartman says to send them both away, and Stan, thinking this trope was in effect, shoots the other. The remaining Cartman loudly rejoices that they fell for it.