Suicide Mission: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|'''Cohn:''' "Think they've got a chance?"

The Suicide Mission is an assignment, task, or quest where it's expected that everyone (or nearly everyone) involved will die in the attempt. They're popular in works involving war and action, providing a convenient way to raise the dramatic tension [[Up to Eleven]].

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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In ''[[Claymore]]'', the organization in charge of Claymores sends them on suicide missions whenever they become too dangerous. Possibly justified to avoid [[Superpower Meltdown|Super Power Meltdowns]].

== [[Film]] ==

* ''[[The Matrix]]''. Neo and Trinity's plan to rescue Morpheus.

{{quote|'''Tank:''' "This is loco. They've got him in a military-controlled building. Even if you somehow got inside, there are three Agents holding him. I want Morpheus back too, but what you're talking about is suicide."}}

{{quote|'''King Leonidas:''' (from ''[[300]]'') "A new age has begun. An age of freedom! And all will know that three hundred Spartans gave their last breath to defend it!"}}

* The mission of the ''[[13 Assassins]]'' to kill [[The Caligula|Lord]] [[Complete Monster|Naritsugu]] definitely counts as this, with many of them seeing it as their last chance to die an honorable death in an age of peace.

== [[Literature]] ==

* The attempt to destroy ''[[The Guns of Navarone]]''.

** Aragorn leads a hopeless march against the gates of Mordor, to draw the orc armies out of Frodo's way. Fortunately, Frodo destroys the Ring before all the good guys are slaughtered.

** Frodo believes his own mission is this, since he holds very little hope that he and Sam will make it to Orodruin and is certain that there won't be a return if they do.

** The end of the Battle of Helm's Deep, where Theoden charges out into the army of uruk-hai is a suicide mission also, to buy time for the women and children to escape.

** The Rohirrim showing up at the Pellenor Fields is a suicide mission too, since everyone would have died if Aragorn and his army of the Dead hadn't arrived.

* In Scott Westerfeld's ''The Risen Empire'', [[The Captain|Captain Laurent Zai]] and his frigate is ordered to destroy a far larger (and more advanced) enemy battleship's receiver array, after his failure to [[Seppuku|commit ritual suicide after failing to rescue the Emperor's sister from a hostage situation]]. Naturally he fails again (I.E Fails to die and become a matyr, not the above mission). Gee, he just can't catch a break.

* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S10/E04 Planet of the Daleks|Planet of the Daleks]]''. When Jo points out the Thals can escape using the Dalek ship, the Thal she talks to is afraid that will make them hesitate when they are needed.

* Shows up rather unexpectedly in the finale of ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'', where all magical and alien technology has been lost, all allies are captured or missing in action, and four of the five rangers go into space on a human space shuttle with the vague goal of "try to find the bad guys and fling ourselves at them in futility". Fortunately when they do randomly come across a member of the evil alliance in the first episode of ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]'', there's also a convenient potential ally with four extra morphers to keep them from becoming instant corpses, but they hadn't been expecting that.

* This is par for the course for Troubleshooter missions in ''[[Paranoia (game)|Paranoia]]''. Given the use of clones, fatality rates over 500% are normal, and survivors are treated with suspicion by [[The Computer Is Your Friend|Friend Computer]].