History Main / AnOfferYouCantRefuse

* ''Manga/SpyXFamily'': A fan comic by [[https://twitter.com/daruhazu1?t=UcmIEkpIWQ3ShMDI12aBvA&s=09 darahazul]][[note]]an English dubbed version can be found in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G83XZ-uBAk this video]] at the 3:34 mark[[/note]] features [[AgeLift Damian and Anya as young adults (as in their early twenties)]]. In the comic, Damian hasn't been able to sleep since anya went missing a month before, when he's sudenly called into his father's home office. When he enters Donovan's office he sees Anya handcuffed and wearing a patient's robe. Donovan informs Damian that Anya is a government experiment, and was finally recaptured after so many years on the run, and despite trying to force her to use her {{Telepathy}} to his advantage she has refused. Since they know each other already Donavan tells them that Damian will convince her to use her gifts to spy for him, if she doesn't obey or doesn't provide good intel on Donovan's foes, Damian will be pusished for her failure, if she escapes, then Donovan will have Damian killed. Damian and Anya agree to Donovan's terms and go to Damian's villa, where Damian tells Anya she can stay until they figure a way to get her back to her family.

** Finally, he is one of a ''vanishingly'' small number of people who has the unflinching respect of Clan Jade Falcon (after killing well over fifty of them, but [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership that just made them respect him more]]).\\\
A rough tally of the number of Mechwarriors willing to bring 'Mechs to help Kai if he asked is approximately ''five regiments''. The odds stacked against the criminals are so hilariously one-sided that the stable masters sheepishly drop the idea.

* An inverted heroic example occurs in ''LightNovel/OutbreakCompany''. [[spoiler:In episode 12, Japan attempts to kill Shinichi after he attempts to stop their attempts at cultural warfare with Eldant. Both of their attempts fail, and after the second one Petralka threatens to cut off all diplomatic ties if the Japanese government attempted to kill him again, or hindered his work at introducing otaku culture to them. It seems to work, as Matoba later says that what Shinichi is doing may benefit them more in the long run, and for now at least, allows him to continue working without threatening his safety.]]

* ''LightNovel/TorturePrincessFremdTorturchen'': In the first chapter, Elisabeth Le Fanu {{reincarnate|InAnotherWorld}}s Kaito Sena in a {{golem}} body and informs him he is to become her manservant--which is met with [[BluntNo "Hard pass."]] After an intervening monster attack, during which Elisabeth's abilities as the eponymous Torture Princess are put on full display, she makes the offer again, this time clarifying that if he insists on returning to death, "then it will be by way of my methods."

** Vlad lives up to the trope in the second game, using the good will he earned in the first game to advance his plans for a while longer before revealing himself as the true BigBad.

** Finally, he is one of a ''vanishingly'' small number of people who has the unflinching respect of Clan Jade Falcon (after killing well over fifty of them, but [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority that just made them respect him more]]).\\\

--->'''I refuse'''. What I like to do the most is saying NO to people who consider themselves extremely good.

Sometimes a bad guy wants something done, something he can't do himself; none of his own men can do it either, for any of a number of possible reasons. So what's a bad guy to do? Why, get in touch with someone who ''can'' do it and make him an Offer He Can't Refuse.

** If it's implied that [[ShameIfSomethingHappened something bad will happen]] to the Hero's cherished family house or business legacy if he refuses.

** IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure
* If the BigBad is {{blackmail}}ing the hero in some way, [[FlawExploitation using some past actual or perceived fault]] [[MyGreatestFailure or failure]] of the hero as leverage against him in order to make him do the job for him.

Either way, it's clear ThatWasntARequest. It usually turns out that by taking up the offer, the person on the short end of the bargain has been advancing some form of EvilPlan orchestrated by the BigBad, and there's at least a fifty-fifty chance that the bad guy will [[YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo double-cross the hero at some point along the way]], usually in a YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness moment. If it's the hero who was "persuaded" to accept the offer, this often leads to an all-guns-blazing assault on the bad guy, either to get revenge on him, rescue the loved one, or both. This "offer" is also not likely to work so well on [[SociopathicHero Sociopathic Heroes]] or TheUnfettered, who rarely care about any collateral damage incurred while exterminating their foes.

The trope name comes from the movie ''Film/TheGodfather'' where Don Vito Corleone is always making people offers (such as letting one of his favorites star in a movie or signing a business over to him) with dire consequences attached if they are refused (like, say, a bullet in the head, getting put in the hospital, or having the head of the person's prized horse being delivered to his bed).[[note]] The line was borrowed by Mario Puzo from the earlier novel ''Literature/LePereGoriot'' (1835), by [[Creator/HonoreDeBalzac Honoré de Balzac]], when Vautrin tells Eugène that he is "making him an offer that he cannot refuse": namely, that he [Vautrin] will make Eugène rich, profiting off the death of a man whom he has never met. ''This'' concept, in turn, was Balzac's bringing-to-life of a theoretical concept by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, of "Rousseau's [[ValuesDissonance Chinaman]]" (the root of disinterested evil). [[/note]]

In real life, particularly in Hispanic countries, this is known as "Plata o Plomo?", literally "Silver or Lead?"; i.e., your choice is between taking a bribe or taking a bullet between the eyes.

* On the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'', [[Characters/DreamSMPDream Dream]] makes this to each member of L'Manburg[[note]]a rival faction run by SMP members Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, Fundy, and Eret that ends up declaring independence[[/note]] during the SMP war -- to [[JoinOrDie join him or die]]. None of them take the offer [[spoiler: except for [[RebelliousRebel Eret]]]].

Compare EnemyMine, in which the bad guy accompanies the hero, and AppealToForce, where one party's having more power to inflict violence on another decides one's bargaining position rather than questions of justice and logic. TheFace of the villain's team is likely the one who'll be appointed to make the formal offer. Also see MyWayOrTheHighway and LeonineContract.

* In ''Literature/TheBible'', Judges 14, when some Philistines find that they are unable to answer a riddle Samson has asked them, they threaten his wife in order to get the answer.

** In "The Circle", Odo deputizes petty crook and gambler Quark because he needs the Ferengi's underworld contacts to gather information on who's supplying weapons for an coming CivilWar. Quark finds this ActuallyPrettyFunny until Odo points out the alternative--he locks up Quark for obstruction at a time when Quark might need to get off the space station in a hurry.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14128289/ A Darker Path]]'': After gaining the "Path to Ending" power, Taylor/Atropos issues a public ultimatum to the gang leaders of Brockton Bay, to leave or die. And she reiterates it after each hit.

* In the penultimate chapter of ''Fanfic/MassEffectInterregnum'', Sidonis is given an offer he can't refuse by the Eclipse mercenary leader Jaroth: either he betrays the identities and locations of his fellow Archangels, or Eclipse will [[KillEmAll murder tens of thousands of civilians]] in cruel and inventive ways, and [[ForcedToWatch make him watch]]. In the ''final'' chapter he accepts ([[ForegoneConclusion of course]]), the team is wiped out (except for Garrus), and Jaroth [[VillainsNeverLie actually holds up his end of the bargain]], giving Sidonis a bag of cash and a trip to the Citadel. (Although the text points out that Sidonis [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone dies just as surely]]; [[CruelMercy it just takes a lot longer]].)

* In 1945, the Rockefeller Foundation were deeply afraid that a [[PowerSource newly-discovered energy source]] threatened the lucrative oil business that had built the family fortune. To head off this threat, they approached geneticist Hermann Muller to [[PropagandaMachine scaremonger about radiation]] for them: he was in no position to refuse as he was 56 years old, had no pension or savings (due to frequent job-changes often forced on him as a result of his socialist beliefs), and had a [[AgeGapRomance young wife]] and a 2-year-old daughter with health problems who would likely require expensive treatments.

* In 1945, the Rockefeller Foundation were deeply afraid that a [[ILoveNuclearPower newly-discovered energy source]] threatened the lucrative oil business that had built the family fortune. To head off this threat, they approached geneticist Hermann Muller to [[PropagandaMachine scaremonger about radiation]] for them: he was in no position to refuse as he was 56 years old, had no pension or savings (due to frequent job-changes often forced on him as a result of his socialist beliefs), and had a [[AgeGapRomance young wife]] and a 2-year-old daughter with health problems who would likely require expensive treatments.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' has a rare example used for humor: several Solaris stables consider trying to use organized crime families to threaten Kai Allard-Liao after his policies proved unpopular because [[BenevolentBoss he paid his crews higher ages and provided safer employment contracts]], which cut into their profits. Someone eventually realize that they cannot even ''hope'' to think of threatening him because:

** He is the single greatest Mechwarrior ever tested on a Wolf's Dragoons proving ground, and is personlly known and respected by the Dragoons commanders.
** Finally, he is one of a ''vanishingly'' small number of people who has the unflinching respect of Clan Jade Falcon (after killing well over fifty of them, but [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority that just made them respect him more]]).
** A rough tally of the number of Mechwarriors willing to bring 'Mechs to help Kai if he asked is approximately ''five regiments''. The odds stacked against the criminals are so hilariously one-sided that the stable masters sheepishly drop the idea.

Wiki/TheOtherWiki states that political philosophy calls situations like this a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throffer throffer]]", a threat mixed with an offer such as, "Kill this man for cash or I'll kill you."

** An all-time SoapOpera favorite is the treatment or cure for the IllGirl.

* In 1945, the Rockefeller Foundation were deeply afraid that a [[ILoveNuclearPower newly-discovered energy source]] threatened the lucrative oil business that had built the family fortune. To head off this threat, they approached geneticist Hermann Muller to [[PropagandaMachine scaremonger about radiation]] for them: he was in no position to refuse as he was 56 years old, had no pension or savings (due to frequent job-changes often forced on him as a result of his socialist beliefs), and had a [[AgeGapRomance young wife]] and a [[IllGirl 2-year-old daughter with health problems]] who would likely require expensive treatments.

* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'': The [[SoulEating soul-eating]] Tremere liches sometimes recruit an unwilling member by [[YourSoulIsMine severing their soul]], then letting them choose either to [[DeaderThanDead fade into oblivion]] or to eat a soul and live on through lichdom.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** In the Amonkhet block, the BigBad Nicol Bolas gives Liliana Vess the option of abandoning the Gatewatch to work under him in exchange of knowing how to control the [[ArtifactOfDoom Chain Veil]]. Her other option is death. Naturally, she begrudgingly chooses the former.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO27mdEII7U&ab_channel=Magic%3ATheGathering-Topic Literally the name]] of the [[DealWithTheDevil Brokers]] VillainSong, in which they promise safety with none-to-subtle threats if one does refuse.

* ''TabletopGame/Battletech'' has a rare example used for humor: several Solaris stables consider trying this on Kai Allard-Liao after his policies proved unpopular because [[BenevolentBoss he paid his crews higher ages and provided safer employment contracts]], which cut into their profits. Someone eventually realize that they cannot even ''hope'' to think of threatening him using organized crime... because Kai is close friends with the Prince of the Federated Commonwealth and the heir-designate to the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, and is hiself the ''actual'' heir to the St. Ives Compact, another soverign nation (and he has a viable claim to the throne of the Capellan Confederation on top of that). Besides that, Kai is also the Champion of Solaris, nephew to the commander of the Kell Hounds, the single greatest Mechwarrior ever tested on a Wolfs Dragoons proving ground, and one of a ''vanishingly'' small number of people who has the unflinching respect of Clan Jade Falcon (after killing well over fifty of them, but [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority that just made them respect him more]]). A rough tally of the number of Mechwarriors willing to pack up their things and help Kai if he asked is approximately ''five regiments''. The odds stacked against the criminals are so hilariously one-sided that the stable masters sheepishly drop the idea.

* In Season 3 of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', ComicBook/RasalGhul offers Oliver Queen the position of his heir of the League of Assassins. When Oliver asks what will happen if he refuses, Ra's tells him he's free to go, and even returns his captured friends as a gesture of goodwill. Unsurprisingly it's not that easy, and by the end of the episode when Oliver still hasn't reconsidered his offer, Ra's starts putting pressure on Oliver by [[CostumeCopycat dressing up as the Arrow]] and murdering people to [[HeroWithBadPublicity turn the city against him]]. And that's [[FromBadToWorse just for starters.]]