History Main / CorneredRattlesnake

* The protagonist of ''Manga/KillingBites'' isn't a therianthrope. He isn't especially strong or brave, either, and he knows it. So for all his life, he's just followed the orders of other people. ''Then'' he's roped into serving the ObviouslyEvil zaibatsu. He does his job perfectly, careful to never offend or overstep or question. [[spoiler:They assassinate him anyway. [[LeaveNoWitnesses Just because it's convenient for them.]] When he survives due to a twist of fate, he is '''mad''', and very, very committed to taking out the zaibatsu. They threw away the only incentive he had to comply with people like them.]]
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', when Marley's rulers declare their intent to slaughter the fragile [[MedievalStasis backwater]] of Paradis, most of the latter's inhabitants are terrified. But a fraction gets so primally desperate, faced with this certain annihilation, that they dedicate their lives to taking out Marley with the same extreme prejudice that was shown ''them''. And as it turns out, one cell of crazy people can accomplish a lot.

* After resigning the Vale Secret Service in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12574905/44/In-the-Kingdom-s-Service In the kingdom's Service]]'' because he refused a SuicideMission (specifically to sacrifice himself and his team to stop the Breach), Jaune is hunted by the VSS because he could leak information about them to Ozpin or Cinder Fall, both of whom he'd been tasked with infiltrating. When they kidnap Ruby, Jaune snaps and rats out their existence and location to [[spoiler:Roman, Cinder, and Ozpin, causing all three factions to attack at once]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', Sid's toys have been brutalized by Sid, who sadistically enjoys destroying, damaging, and disfiguring his toys. The toys risk being exposed as living creatures but are able to scare Sid into respecting his toys.

* Sauron in ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'' is this. While generally preferring to remain behind the lines and strategize or scheme in the shadows, when the chips are down and he is backed into a corner, he comes out with full strength. The Numenoreans underestimated him, and he managed to ensnare them into his service. And in The war of the Last Alliance, he came down from Barad-Dur to fight and killed both Elendil and Gil-Galad (although he also temporarily died in the duel).

* Following Sun Tzu's advice, Mat deliberately averts this when making battle plans in the fifth book of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', explaining to [[TheMentor Lan]] that you never want to see what your opposition can do when they don't have any option other than to fight as hard as they can.
* In ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', two snakes that were transformed into humans are threatening Magrat, who is usually an utter wimp and tends to shrink from conflict. Then they back her into a corner, and she [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom punches one of them so hard that it flies through air]] and then clubs the other on the head.
-->--''"the trouble with small furry animals in a corner is that, just occasionally, one of them is a mongoose."''
* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', Blake Thorburn averts this — he has a tendency to lash out violently and without thinking, regardless of whether he has a realistic escape route or not. Hence, his enemies have no issues cornering him. The problem arises when Rose, his DistaffCounterpart, is cornered. Being the calmer and more educated member of the pair, she's more learned in the family trade — specifically, [[TheLegionsOfHell diabolism,]] and once she's backed into a corner, she rapidly loses any moral qualms she has about sending things like Bloody Mary after her enemies.
* This is why Gavin de Becker discourages filing restraining orders in ''The Gift of Fear'', as they often just push abusive spouses and stalkers over the edge and cause them to murder their victims.
* In ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'', the young warrior prince Abhimanyu ends up alone, encircled, and cut off completely from reinforcements. He puts up such a ferocious LastStand that the opposition has to break the agreed-upon rules of war by ganging up on him before he decimates them utterly.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', during the Earth Civil War arc, [[spoiler:Sheridan is trying to get Earthforce troops fighting for President Clark to defect or at least stand down from fighting, and is surprised that instead they're determinedly fighting to the death. It turns out that Clark had been telling them that Earthforce crews who surrendered to Sheridan were being executed and replaced by aliens, so they believe they're as good as dead anyway. Some of the actual defectors who had already sided with Sheridan manage to contact them and prove that Clark was lying, and the troops stand down.]]

* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'': Edmund Blackadder becomes this in "Money" when his enormous debt to the Black Bank comes due. With the [[EatsBabies Baby-Eating Bishop of Bath and Wells]] breathing down his neck and the Queen stealing what little cash he's able to scrape together Edmund slumps on the floor and asks [[BumblingSidekick Baldrick]] if people will miss him when he's gone. Baldrick replies that everyone hates him so much, [[AssholeVictim they'll be glad to see the back of him]]. This enrages Edmund so much he leaps to his feet and comes up with a plan to blackmail the Bishop just to show people not to mess with him.

* Some of the flavor text for white, red, and green cards from TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering reference this trope, such as Alara Reborn's [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=179624 Colossal Might]].
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', one racial ability that ratfolk can take is effectively this — if they are under half health and have no conscious allies within 30 feet of them, they get bonuses to both attack and defense.
* The hero known as The Naturalist in ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'' represents this state with his "Cornered Beast" Ongoing card, right down to the flavour text. Mechanically, it does two things: it lets him insta-kill weak enemies, and, if he's got the Crocodile symbol online, it increases his damage when outnumbered.
-->'''Fanatic:''' Whether beast or man or monster, a cornered foe is a desperate one.

* Painwheel from ''VideoGame/SkullGirls'' has been experimented on, brainwashed, and mutilated by Valentine's labs. Her scarred and deformed body makes it impossible to live a normal life, even her family cannot recognize her and mistake her as a murderous monster. Painwheel was once a normal girly teenager but now is a feral and violent fighter. Valentine's greatest weapon is now her biggest threat.
** There's also [[spoiler:Filia]] in [[CloningBlues Fukua]]'s story, who ends up becoming one hell of an SNKBoss.
* Chell, from ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', is forced to destroy [=GLaDOS=], who is forcing Chell to go through dangerous test chambers and even attempted to kill Chell by dragging her into a fire. Otherwise Chell is just a normal person, while [=GLaDOS=] is a giant robot that can fire rockets, summon turrets, and poison rooms with neurotoxin.

* Happens often in FirstPersonShooters where a capture the flag or capture point game mechanic is used, cornering the opposing team into one last standoff pretty much guarantees that you'll be fighting every single player at once, throwing everything they have at you at once. A good example would be the "red team" in most ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' matches.
* By the ending of ''[[VideoGame/CrisisCore Final Fantasy Crisis Core]]'', Soldier Zack Fair is alone and saddled with a Mako-poisoned cadet. He tries to avoid the massive army sent to kill him, only killing when he's forced to fight directly, and just wants to disappear into the city. Then he realizes that he's doomed if he keeps running. Cue Zack taking down the majority of the Shinra Army by himself before he bleeds out.

* Used in the opening level of ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault''. Team Starfox has been chasing Andrew through the entire level only for him to finally turn around and face them. Peppy even warns the team that you never know what a cornered beast might do. Andrew responds by [[TransformingMecha turning his personal ship into an Andross-like copy of himself]] to begin the boss battle.
* ''VideoGame/StarControl'': the player is warned about the Spathi being this trope. They're hilarious, they're silly, they're utter cowards... but if cornered, they ''will'' fight back, and they are stronger than you would guess.
-->'''Commander Hayes:''' Imagine a cowardly, mobile clam... armed with a Howitzer.
* The ComebackMechanic of ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' is stylized like this. The character has most of their HP gone, they get an {{Eyedscreen}} with a voice clip playing that shows they're not done yet, and their Super Meter gets extended, and they get a full bar of said meter to do with as they wish.
* The [[TheGeneralissimo Warlord]] from ''VideoGame/RebelInc'' can turn his own army into this. He can pass initiatives to punish deserters with execution, and [[IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure punish the families of his soldiers if they fail to defeat]] the Insurgents. Both initiatives greatly increase his fighting strength... [[PowerAtAPrice at the cost of greatly reducing]] his Support...

* In ''Film/AHistoryOfViolence'', Jack repeatedly gets harassed by bullies at school, but always manages to {{turn the other cheek}} and walk away. Jack presumes that fighting back will just lead to trouble, and his dad Tom always made sure to instill a non-violent approach in Jack. However, once two of the bullies physically prevent Jack from leaving school by shoving him, Jack snaps and beats the hell out of them in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, sending both of the bullies to the hospital with severe injuries. Jack also turns out to be right about the fight leading to trouble when RealityEnsues: he gets suspended from school for fighting, and the parents of the bullies are considering criminal charges. It's part of the movie's CentralTheme about the realistic consequences of violent behavior.

The trope name comes from the real life behavior of a rattlesnake when cornered. The human can easily choose to retreat, but instead tries to kill the rattlesnake. Cornered, the rattlesnake would defend itself with a DesperationAttack. This trope doesn't require the rattlesnake to win, as it is possible to kill the snake, but being bitten is highly likely, meaning it's at least a MutualKill [[TakingYouWithMe where the snake goes down with its attacker]].

** Early on, when approached by a thug, Yuu would beg them to just leave him alone, only for said thug to push him and try to attack… At which point he'd fight back with surprising power. He eventually outgrows this after his rampage following Shin's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown… Mostly, as when Yagi threatens Mai he starts feeling again in this situation… And goes on a new rampage. This is the whole reason Yuu became strong: in middle school he was bullied to the point he quit school and even [[DrivenToSuicide came very close to killing himself]], and unable to live with himself, he taught himself basic boxing and started training.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', Sid's toys have been brutalized by Sid, who sadistically enjoys destroying, damaging and disfiguring his toys. The toys risk being exposed as living creatures, but are able to scare Sid into respecting his toys.

*** Bruce is trapped in prison while the city of Gotham is in danger of being blown up, but even his anger and sense or responsibility aren't enough to give him the willpower to escape. Finally, when time is about to run out for Gotham, Bruce becomes so desperate that [[spoiler:he throws all safety to the wind and escapes the prison in a life-or-death attempt without wearing a rope]].

* Sauron in ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'' is this. While generally preferring to remain behind the lines and strategize or scheme in the shadows, when the chips are down and he is backed into a corner, he comes out with full strength. The Numenoreans underestimated him, and he managed to ensnare them into his service. And in The war of the Last Alliance, he came down from Barad-Dur to fight, and killed both Elendil and Gil-Galad (although he also temporarily died in the duel).

-->''"To match that plan," said Sancho, "I have another that is not a whit behind it; I will take a cudgel, and before your worship comes near enough to waken my anger I will send yours so sound to sleep with whacks, that it won't waken unless it be in the other world, where it is known that I am not a man to let my face be handled by anyone; let each look out for the arrow— though the surer way would be to let everyone's anger sleep, for nobody knows the heart of anyone, and a man may come for wool and go back shorn; God gave his blessing to peace and his curse to quarrels;'' '''if a hunted cat, surrounded and hard pressed, turns into a lion, God knows what I, who am a man, may turn into..."'''

* In ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', two snakes which were transformed into humans are threatening Magrat, who is usually an utter wimp and tends to shrink from conflict. Then they back her into a corner, and she [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom punches one of them so hard that it flies through air]] and then clubs the other on the head.

* In ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'', the young warrior prince Abhimanyu ends up alone, encircled and cut off completely from reinforcements. He puts up such a ferocious LastStand that the opposition has to break the agreed-upon rules of war by ganging up on him, before he decimates them utterly.

** Valdemar doesn't have much of an army, or any desire for one. What they do have is fate literally on their side, fate which manifests in the form of magically Gifted children who're typically born at just the right time to fend off opportunistic invaders — [[OneManArmy often in spectacular fashion]]. Quality beats quantity, here. Of course, every few generations, a Karsite or Hardornen monarch gets greedy and has to be [[HomeByChristmas reminded]] that Valdemar is too tough a nut to crack — however idyllic it is.

** The army of UsefulNotes/PompeyTheGreat has cornered what remains of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar's forces in Greece, and are waiting for them to fade away from starvation, disease and desertion. However the senators allied to Pompey urge him to attack and finish off Caesar with a military victory, which will look better for propaganda. It turns out to be a mistake as when faced with a straight-up fight Caesar wins, turning the tide in the CivilWar.

** The trope is lampshaded earlier when Pompey thinks that Caesar's call for terms is a bluff because he's holed up with a single legion. However Caesar crosses the Rubicon and steals a march on Pompey before his forces are ready, forcing him to retreat from Rome.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': Ebon Dragon has this theme as one of his [[GodOfEvil (very few)]] admirable qualities. The harder you gang-up on him (or one of his chosen), the harder he/they fight back — usually in a way that is completely unexpected. For example, Cornered Titan Desperation charm allows you to use ranged attack charm in point blank range if you're, well, ''cornered''. Screw momentum, he ''has'' to survive!

* Painwheel from ''VideoGame/SkullGirls'' has been experimented on, brainwashed, and mutilated by Valentine's labs. Her scarred and deformed body makes it impossible to live a normal life, even her family cannot recognize her and mistake her as a murderous monster. Painwheel was once a normal girly teenager, but now is a feral and violent fighter. Valentine's greatest weapon is now her biggest threat.

* Applies to the ''VideoGame/{{Tomb Raider|2013}}'' 2013 reboot. Lara Croft, an innocent young archeologist that has never found need to harm another living thing, is forced into a corner by a crazy cult and is forced to fight to survive. This has the unfortunate side-effect of [[spoiler:causing Lara to [[TookALevelInBadass gain a dramatic level of skill in survivalism and combat]], and ends up being the single biggest mistake the cultists ever made]].

* The early months of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI were like the traditional wars of old with cavalry charges and infantry charges as the norm, cavalry and infantry charging into battle accompanied by a military band, and a rapidly changing battle line. This began to change with the First Battle Of The Aisne, in September 1914 when the Germans, who had been soundly beaten at the Marne and sent into disarray by the British and French cavalry charges. The Germans merely dug trenches at the Aisne just hoping to hold off as long as possible, believing they would face inevitable crushing defeat, but the fact that the Allies couldn't finish them off set the tone for the rest of the war. The Allies tried to flank them and surround them which led to the Race To The Sea. After early 1915, traditional style cavalry and infantry battles became increasingly rare and what started out as cornered and fearful Germans just trying to delay the inevitable ended up turning the western front into the infamous four year meat grinder it's known for today. Most victories gained by charge attacks would end up being a PyrrhicVictory in some form, either through high casualties or it being short lived before reinforcements showed up.

%%* ''Literature/TheBoywhowasashardasStone'' has the main character undergoing this.

The Cornered Rattlesnake; a character or a faction that is pressured to the breaking point. Another entity, usually a villain, will bully or threaten the weaker rattlesnake until the snake fights back. Sometimes the "weaker" group is actually surprisingly powerful, but [[MuggingTheMonster the bully underestimated their abilitie]]s. Having the rattlesnake bite back is something the villain normally didn't intend or anticipate, and often [[SpannerInTheWorks throws a wrench into his plans]] when he [[OhCrap has a sudden realization]] that the weakling he's been tormenting isn't that weak. So the villain will face the consequences.

Sometimes a Cornered Rattlesnake will be given assistance from [[EnemyMine the enemies of the villains]], and so will begin to be able to defend itself. The villain's cruel actions could actually make their allies turn towards the rattlesnakes' side.

Sometimes this is a response to a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, HopelessBossFight or CurbStompBattle. See also BewareTheNiceOnes and NeutralNoLonger for many heroic or pacifistic examples, with NotSoHarmlessVillain and VillainousBreakdown often serving for antagonist examples (especially ones that are more commonly {{Dirty Coward}}s).

This isn't BullyingADragon, as the cornered rattlesnake appears, at first, to be physically weaker or a huge coward and only reacts in self-defense. However, it's a defining trait of a PaperTiger. Compare MuggingTheMonster, and TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening, where the would-be victim just shows no outward sign of the threat they pose. Also compare BurningTheShips, which is intentionally putting ''your own side'' in this position. If the 'rattlesnake' knows they will die for retaliating and doesn't care, that's DoNotGoGentle. If the rattlesnake is a town, it may be the UndefeatableLittleVillage. If there is a species or several generations of cornered rattlesnakes whose strength is defined by their survival and experience, they HadToBeSharp.

** Early on, when approached by a thug Yuu would beg them to just leave him alone, only for said thug to push him and try to attack... At which point he'd fight back with surprising power. He eventually outgrows this after his rampage following Shin's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown... Mostly, as when Yagi threatens Mai he starts feeling again in this situation... And goes on a new rampage. This is the whole reason Yuu became strong: in middle school he was bullied to the point he quit school and even [[DrivenToSuicide came very close to kill himself]], and unable to live with himself he taught himself basic boxing and started training.
** As shown in the flashback of how Masaki became a delinquent, his sempai at the boxing club, jealous of his talent, allied with some delinquents to beat him up and make him beg for forgiveness... And Masaki, [[BerserkButton who couldn't stand anyone calling him a coward let alone being forced to feel one]], found them one by one to beat them up and take back the begging. His later rampage that made him the strongest street fighter in the area was caused by the school finding out about his assaults and expelling him from the boxing club, putting him in this place again.

* The protagonist of ''Manga/KillingBites'' isn't a therianthrope. He isn't especially strong or brave, either, and he knows it. So for all his life he's just followed the orders of other people. ''Then'' he's roped into serving the ObviouslyEvil zaibatsu. He does his job perfectly, careful to never offend or overstep or question. [[spoiler:They assassinate him anyway. [[LeaveNoWitnesses Just because it's convenient for them.]] When he survives due to a twist of fate, he is '''mad''', and very, very committed to taking out the zaibatsu. They threw away the only incentive he had to comply with people like them.]]

* In ''Fanfic/PurpleDays'', experience has taught Joff that he must deal with Baelish and Slynt ASAP the moment the loop resets. On the other hand, killing both will push Renly to desperation to the point he'll try to murder all Stark and Lannister presence in the Red Keep the moment Robert dies - something Joff can't change either. He limits himself to killing Baelish to stop this.

*** Bruce is trapped in prison while the city of Gotham is in danger of being blown up, but even his anger and sense or responsibility aren't enough to give him the willpower to escape. Finally, when time is about to run out for Gotham, Bruce becomes so desperate that [[spoiler: he throws all safety to the wind and escapes the prison in a life-or-death attempt without wearing a rope]].
*** As Gotham's crime rate has gone down the police have become complacent and lazy in their victory, with high-ranking officers being far more concerned about their careers than doing the right thing or catching criminals. Then Bane traps most of the police underground for months, turns their city into a mini tin-pot dictatorship, cuts it off from the rest of the country, and [[spoiler:plans to eventually blow it up via a nuclear explosion, with the months before the explosion goes off being nothing other than a cruel HopeSpot]]. When Batman and Gordon finally free the cops, they're finally willing to go all out and take action despite the dangers when before they were content to sit back and rest on their laurels.

** By the time of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', General Grievous of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series is a famed coward, and retreats as soon as things fall out of favour. When Obi-Wan sabotages his escape however, he continues to fend him off, [[NotSoHarmlessVillain actually leaving the Jedi on the defence for a while as he begins knocking and throwing him around like a rag doll.]]

* ''Film/DjangoUnchained'': After Calvin Candie manages to outwit Django and Schultz (i.e., his HyperCompetentSidekick outwitted them and told Calvin their plan), he still gives Django’s wife to them, but forces them to pay him an exorbitant amount of money. Candie lets the victory go to his head and just keeps pushing on the already-beaten heroes, [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating gloating obnoxiously and bullying them]] until Schultz loses his cool and [[spoiler:shoots Calvin dead in a blind rage, not caring that he’ll die as well.]]

* Sauron in ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'' is this. While generally preferring to remain behind the lines and strategize or scheme in the shadows, when the chips are down and he is backed into a corned, he comes out with full strength. The Numenoreans underestimated him, and he managed to ensnare them into his service. And in The war of the Last Alliance, he came down from Barad-Dur to fight, and killed both Elendil and Gil-Galad (although he also temporarily died in the duel)

** David is this both figuratively and literally. In ''The Solution'' he actually [[{{Animorphism}} morphs]] a rattlesnake, and as for the figurative part? The end-of-book blurb for ''The Solution'' speaks for itself:

** Visser One thinks of [[HumansAreSurvivors the whole human race]] this way, which is why she pushes for a secret invasion -- she knows enough about human history and psychology to realize that they'll fight to the last man, and sometimes even ''win,'' no matter how much stronger their foes might be.

* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', Blake Thorburn averts this -- he has a tendency to lash out violently and without thinking, regardless of whether he has a realistic escape route or not. Hence, his enemies have no issues cornering him. The problem arises when Rose, his DistaffCounterpart, is cornered. Being the calmer and more educated member of the pair, she's more learned in the family trade-specifically, [[TheLegionsOfHell diabolism,]] and once she's backed into a corner she rapidly loses any moral qualms she has about sending things like Bloody Mary after her enemies.

** Valdemar doesn't have much of an army, or any desire for one. What they do have is fate literally on their side, fate which manifests in the form of magically Gifted children who're typically born at just the right time to fend off opportunistic invaders- [[OneManArmy often in spectacular fashion]]. Quality beats quantity, here. Of course, every few generations a Karsite or Hardornen monarch gets greedy and has to be [[HomeByChristmas reminded]] that Valdemar is too tough a nut to crack- however idyllic it is.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': If Cersei's back is to the wall, she will do things that- while not safe for her in the long run- will make her enemies regret pushing her, as shown in the season 6 finale. Cersei is facing judgement for her crimes and all of her plans to escape that justice thwarted by the Faith Militant. Left with no other option, [[spoiler:she uses the fantasy equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction to bomb the court where she would have been tried with all her enemies inside it, despite the fact that this victory will almost certainly be short-lived once the full ramifications kick in]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': Ebon Dragon has this theme as one of his [[GodOfEvil (very few)]] admirable qualities. The harder you gang-up on him (or one of his chosen), the harder he/they fight back -- usually in a way that is completely unexpected. For example, Cornered Titan Desperation charm allows you to use ranged attack charm in point blank range if you're, well, ''cornered''. Screw momentum, he ''has'' to survive!

** Rose in ''Captured''. After being detained, put on constant P.P.I.C.s, and subjected to cruel experiments and indoctrination attempts by the Shop for at least six weeks [[spoiler: an agent tells her that her friends were killed in an escape attempt. She snaps and mangles the agent in question. Details are left out but she notes that the agent isn't pretty anymore and may not ever walk again.]] She doesn't even know what she did or how she did it.
** Harry in ''Broken Things''. Kept in a position similar, although seemingly even crueler, to Rose, he [[spoiler: eventually gains enough power to overcome his captors and goes on a rampage throughout the facility. When his rescuers show up, they find him killing the nurses and doctors that tortured him.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', one racial ability that ratfolk can take is effectively this -- if they are under half health and have no conscious allies within 30 feet of them, they get bonuses to both attack and defense.

* Painwheel from ''VideoGame/SkullGirls'' has been experimented on, brainwashed and mutilated by Valentine's labs. Her scarred and deformed body makes it impossible to live a normal life, even her family cannot recognize her and mistake her as a murderous monster. Painwheel was once a normal girly teenager, but now is a feral and violent fighter. Valentine's greatest weapon is now her biggest threat.

* Chell, from ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', is forced to destroy [=GLaDOS=], who is forcing Chell to go through dangerous test chambers and even attempted to kill Chell by dragging her into a fire. Otherwise Chell is just a normal person, while [=GLaDOS=] is a giant robot that can fire rockets, summon turrets and poison rooms with neurotoxin.

* The first VideoGame/MaxPayne is all about this trope: One [[UndercoverCopReveal cover-blown cop]], framed for partner's murder, ''both'' sides of the law gunning for him, '''''nothing to lose'''''.

** This trope is why it's a very bad idea to surround enemy troops on an open battlefield in the games. If you completely surround an army [[DarkestHour they will battle to the death, knowing there is no other option.]] [[HopeSpot However if they are simply outflanked and overpowered, some will want to rout and retreat to save themselves.]] This is also why sieges almost always devolve into [[LastStand a final bloody meatgrinder in the city/castle square.]] Once the defenders fall back there, they know they've got nowhere else to retreat to, so they stand and fight to the last man. The only way to prevent this is to somehow break the entire enemy army before any of them can retreat to the city center. However, if the siege has been long enough and bloody enough, the fight in the city center can result in a BackFromTheBrink moment, when the enemy army is so exhausted and worn down that they break and run.
** [[DirtyCoward Tretch Craventail]] from ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerII'' is a commander based on [[DefensiveFeintTrap exploiting this trope]]. If Tretch is put in a defensive battle where he ''cannot'' retreat (due to having already retreated earlier in the round) his entire army gains a massive +13 attack bonus.
* Applies to the ''VideoGame/{{Tomb Raider|2013}}'' 2013 reboot. Lara Croft, an innocent young archeologist that has never found need to harm another living thing, is forced into a corner by a crazy cult and is forced to fight to survive. This has the unfortunate side-effect of [[spoiler: causing Lara to [[TookALevelInBadass gain a dramatic level of skill in survivalism and combat]], and ends up being the single biggest mistake the cultists ever made]].

* Taking Roche's path in ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings'' has the town of Vergen doing this when an enemy army attacks them. They lose and the town is taken, but at a high price for the attackers (that can also include the attacking army's king.)
* Used in the opening level of ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault''. Team Starfox has been chasing Andrew through the entire level only for him to finally turn around and face them. Peppy even warns the team that you never know what a cornered beast might do. Andrew responds by [[TransformingMecha turning his personal ship into an Andross like copy of himself]] to begin the boss battle.

* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', the [[CapeBusters PRT]] decide that they've had enough of [[VillainProtagonist Skitter]], so once they [[spoiler:find her secret identity]] they dispatch [[ArtificialIntelligence Dragon]] and [[TheAtoner Defiant]] to apprehend her immediately. The location? In the middle of a high school cafeteria filled to bursting. More disturbingly, the PRT [[spoiler:actually ''wants'' Skitter to take hostages so they can justify going to such extremes to take her down]].

* ''Franchise/starWars'':

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'': In "Mouse Trouble", Tom bought a book titled "How to Catch a Mouse". At some point, Jerry was cornered and Tom read from a chapter that "a cornered mouse never fights". The book was proven wrong.

The Cornered Rattlesnake a character or a faction that is pressured to the breaking point. Another entity, usually a villain, will bully or threaten the weaker rattlesnake until the snake fights back. Sometimes the "weaker" group is actually surprisingly powerful, but [[MuggingTheMonster the bully underestimated their abilitie]]s. Having the rattlesnake bite back is something the villain normally didn't intend or anticipate, and often [[SpannerInTheWorks throws a wrench into his plans]] when he [[OhCrap has a sudden realization]] that the weakling he's been tormenting isn't that weak. So the villain will face the consequences.

The Cornered Rattlesnake a character or a faction that is pressured to the breaking point. Another entity, usually a villain, will bully or threaten the weaker rattlesnake until the snake fights back. Sometimes the "weaker" group is actually surprisingly powerful, but [[MuggingTheMonster the bully underestimated their abilitie]]s. Having the rattlesnake bite back is something the villain normally didn't intend or anticipate, and often [[SpannerInTheWorks throws a wrench into his plans]] when he [[OhCrap has a sudden realization]] that the weakling he's been tormenting isn't that week. So the villain will face the consequences.

* In ''Film/AHistoryOfViolence'', Jack repeatedly gets harassed by bullies at school, but always manages to turn the other cheek and walk away. Jack presumes that fighting back will just lead to trouble, and his dad Tom always made sure to instill a non-violent approach in him. However, once two of the bullies physically prevent Jack from leaving school by shoving him, Jack snaps and beats the hell out of them in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, sending both of the bullies to a hospital.

The "Cornered Rattlesnake" is when a character or a faction is pressured to the breaking point. Another group or a villain will bully or threaten the weaker "rattlesnake" until the weaker person fights back. Sometimes the "weaker" group is actually surprisingly powerful, but the bully underestimated their abilities. Having the rattlesnake "bite back" is something the villain normally didn't intend or anticipate, and so he will face the consequences.

Sometimes a Cornered Rattlesnake will be given assistance from the enemies of the villains, and so will begin to be able to defend itself. The villain's cruel actions could actually make their allies turn towards the 'rattlesnake's' side.

The phrase refers to the real life scenario of if a person were to corner a rattlesnake. The human can easily choose to retreat, but instead tries to kill the rattlesnake. Cornered, the rattlesnake would defend itself with a DesperationAttack. This trope doesn't require the rattlesnake to win, as it is possible to kill the snake, but being bitten is highly likely.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** Early on, when approached by a thug Yuu would beg them to just leave him alone, only for said thug to push him and try to attack... At which point he'd fight back with surprising power. He eventually outgrows this after his rampage following Shin's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown... Mostly, as when Yagi threatens Mai he starts feeling again in this situation... And goes on a new rampage.
*** This is the whole reason Yuu became strong: in middle school he was bullied to the point he quit school and even [[DrivenToSuicide came very close to kill himself]], and unable to live with himself he taught himself basic boxing and started training.

* [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating Scar]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' prefers to scheme, let his hyena minions do the dirty work, beg and snivel his way out of fights. When he realizes he's about to lose the throne he's desired all his life to his nephew Simba [[FateWorseThanDeath and be banished into exile forever in ridicule]], [[CombatPragmatist that reluctance is thrown completely out the window]] [[TheSoCalledCoward as he attacks Simba with every trick he has and nearly wins]]. [[spoiler:Even as he's being attacked and eaten by his own hyenas en masse, if one watches the shadows closely they can see that he goes down fighting]].

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''

** In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Bruce is trapped in prison while the city of Gotham is in danger of being blown up, but even his anger and sense or responsibility aren't enough to give him the willpower to escape. Finally, when time is about to run out for Gotham, Bruce becomes so desperate that [[spoiler: he throws all safety to the wind and escapes the prison in a life-or-death attempt without wearing a rope]].
*** Also is ''Rises'', as Gotham's crime rate has gone down the police have become complacent and lazy in their victory, with high ranking officers being far more concerned about their careers than doing the right thing or catching criminals. Then Bane traps most of the police underground for months, turns their city into a mini tin-pot dictatorship, cuts it off from the rest of the country, and [[spoiler:plans to eventually blow it up via a nuclear explosion, with the months before the explosion goes off being nothing other than a cruel HopeSpot]]. When Batman and Gordon finally free the cops, they're finally willing to go all out and take action despite the dangers when before they were content to sit back and rest on their laurels.

* By the time of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', General Grievous of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series is a famed coward, and retreats as soon as things fall out of favour. When Obi Wan sabotages his escape however, he continues to fend him off, [[NotSoHarmlessVillain actually leaving the Jedi on the defence for a while as he begins knocking and throwing him around like a rag doll.]]
* ''Film/TheLastJedi'': What ''Raddus'' becomes after its desperate situation becomes ''more'' desperate as the First Order starts shooting down lifeboats. Holdo's desperate measure in response (i.e., light speed ramming with their shields down) doesn't bode well for the much stronger ''Supremacy'' and the rest of the fleet.

[[folder:Live-action TV]]

* ''Series/{{Rome}}''. The army of UsefulNotes/PompeyTheGreat has cornered what remains of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar's forces in Greece, and are waiting for them to fade away from starvation, disease and desertion. However the senators allied to Pompey urge him to attack and finish off Caesar with a military victory, which will look better for propaganda. It turns out to be a mistake as when faced with a straight-up fight Caesar wins, turning the tide in the CivilWar.
-->'''Caesar:''' We must win or die. Pompey's men have other options.

-->'''Pompey:''' Caesar is bluffing. He wishes to appear supremely confident. Evidently he is desperately weak, weaker than we thought. This is a last-ditch attempt to frighten us into making concessions while he still has the semblance of an army. He's weak, Cicero. Dying.
-->'''Cicero:''' Is that not when all the proverbs tell us to be wary? Does not the dying serpent bite deepest?

* Knowingly defied by the Leaping Death, a Tyranid special character from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Sent to infiltrate an Imperial world, it [[ItCanThink figured out]] that killing the Cardinal leading the planet would only make him a martyr and make the planet's population fight back harder. So instead of killing the Cardinal, it went after his bodyguards instead- appearing out of nowhere to brutally murder them one at a time and leaving the poor bastard spattered in their blood. The Cardinal's sanity didn't last long, and the planet's demoralized population became easy pickings for the hive fleet.

* This trope is why it's a very bad idea to surround enemy troops on an open battlefield in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' games. If you completely surround an army [[DarkestHour they will battle to the death, knowing there is no other option.]] [[HopeSpot However if they are simply outflanked and overpowered, some will want to rout and retreat to save themselves.]] This is also why sieges almost always devolve into [[LastStand a final bloody meatgrinder in the city/castle square.]] Once the defenders fall back there, they know they've got nowhere else to retreat to, so they stand and fight to the last man. The only way to prevent this is to somehow break the entire enemy army before any of them can retreat to the city center. However, if the siege has been long enough and bloody enough, the fight in the city center can result in a BackFromTheBrink moment, when the enemy army is so exhausted and worn down that they break and run.

-->'''Commander Hayes''': Imagine a cowardly, mobile clam... armed with a Howitzer.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Dr. Shlock is a quivering coward who will pretty much do what you want if you point a gun in his face. But as his HeroicBastard son, Agent Rammer puts it, when he's backed into a corner, he ''always'' pulls through. Dr. Schlock eventually makes his way [[NotSoHarmlessVillain into becoming]] one of the world's biggest threats when he runs out of places to hide.

* {{Discussed}} in ''WebVideo/TalesFromMyDDCampaign''. When the party encounter the raj Lord Kintemazu, he and his fellow rajs know, thanks to their unparalled mastery of divination magic, that if it comes to a fight, Lord Kintemazu will certainly lose, but equally certainly will kill 1.5 members of the party. The rajs admit that this is a poor exchange for them, as they gain nothing from the deaths of the [=PCs=], but point out that it's not exactly a favorable outcome for the party either.
* In ''WebAnimation/NoEvil'', Quetzecoatl is a cowardly albino rattlesnake. He typically flees from danger, but when feeling cornered, will sometimes suddenly lash out and bite.

** A similar thing happens with a dragon in another episode. Back Fluttershy against her wall [[CowardlyLion and her courage will shine through.]]

-->'''Tom''': ''Don't you believe it...''

Sometimes this is a response to a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, HopelessBossFight or CurbStompBattle. See also BewareTheNiceOnes and NeutralNoLonger for many heroic or pacifistic examples, with NotSoHarmlessVillain often serving for antagonist examples (especially ones that are more commonly {{Dirty Coward}}s).

* Knowingly defied by the Leaping Death, a Tyranid special character from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': Sent to infiltrate an Imperial world, it [[ItCanThink figured out]] that killing the Cardinal leading the planet would only make him a martyr and make the planet's population fight back harder. So instead of killing the Cardinal, it went after his bodyguards instead- appearing out of nowhere to brutally murder them one at a time and leaving the poor bastard spattered in their blood. The Cardinal's sanity didn't last long, and the planet's demoralized population became easy pickings for the hive fleet.

* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', when Marley's rulers declare their intent to slaughter the fragile [[MedievalStasis backwater]] of Paradis, most of the latter's inhabitants are terrified. But a fraction get so primally desperate, faced with this certain annihilation, that they dedicate their lives to taking out Marley with the same extreme prejudice that was shown ''them''. And as it turns out, one cell of crazy people can accomplish a lot.

* In Disney's ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', Jafar hires Aladdin to take the lamp out of the Cave of Wonders, and once Jafar has the lamp, he immediately [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness tries to kill Aladdin]]. Aladdin survives, and Abu steals the lamp back from Jafar. Which he probably wouldn't have done if Jafar hadn't revealed himself to be a treacherous enemy.
* [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating Scar]] from ''Disney/TheLionKing'' prefers to scheme, let his hyena minions do the dirty work, beg and snivel his way out of fights. When he realizes he's about to lose the throne he's desired all his life to his nephew Simba [[FateWorseThanDeath and be banished into exile forever in ridicule]], [[CombatPragmatist that reluctance is thrown completely out the window]] [[TheSoCalledCoward as he attacks Simba with every trick he has and nearly wins]]. [[spoiler:Even as he's being attacked and eaten by his own hyenas en masse, if one watches the shadows closely they can see that he goes down fighting]].

* In ''Discworld/WitchesAbroad'', two snakes which were transformed into humans are threatening Magrat, who is usually an utter wimp and tends to shrink from conflict. Then they back her into a corner, and she [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom punches one of them so hard that it flies through air]] and then clubs the other on the head.

* ''Literature/TheBoywhowasashardasStone'' has the main character undergoing this.

* By the ending of ''[[VideoGame/CrisisCore Final Fantasy Crisis Core]]'', Soldier Zack Fair is alone and saddled with a Mako poisoned cadet. He tries to avoid the massive army sent to kill him, only killing when he's forced to fight directly, and just wants to disappear into the city. Then he realizes that he's utterly fucked if he keeps running. Cue Zack taking down the majority of the Shinra Army by himself before his death in the games greatest COA.

* The ComebackMechanic of ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' is stylized like this. The character has most of their HP gone, they get a Dramatic Closeup with a voice clip playing that shows they're not done yet, and their Super Meter gets extended, and they get a full bar of said meter to do with as they wish.

* The ComebackMechanic of ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' is stylized like this. The character has most of their HP gone, they get a DramaticCloseup with a voice clip playing that shows they're not done yet, and their Super Meter gets extended, and they get a full bar of said meter to do with as they wish.

* TheComebackMechanic of ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' is stylized like this. The character has most of their HP gone, they get a DramwticCloseup with a voice clip playing that shows they're not done yet, and their Super Meter gets extended, and they get a full bar of said meter to do with as they wish.