History Main / CorneredRattlesnake

* Scar from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' 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]].

* 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]].

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* 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.
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[[folder:Web Videos]]

* A famous example from Chinese history is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jingxing Battle of Tao River]], where the Han general Han Xin (no relation; the two "Han"s use different characters and inflections) dealt with the Zhao kingdom's army, which outnumbered the Han troops ten times over, by digging in his forces with their backs to a river that they couldn't cross. Nobody gave Han Xin a prayer, but desperation-fueled aggression allowed the Han troops to fight the Zhao army to a standstill, which promptly turned into a complete rout when [[OhCrap the Zhao forces retreated and realized]] [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs Han Xin had already taken over their camp in the meantime]]. To this day, 背水一戰[[note]]背水一战 in Simplified Chinese[[/note]] (to fight with one's back to the river) is a Chinese idiom used to describe this trope.

** In the early series ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', the episode "Joker's Favor" climaxes with this, when Charlie Collins, driven over the edge by the realization that Joker will keep tormenting him and his family forever simply because he finds it that fun, [[ObfuscatingInsanity feigns]] SanitySlippage and threatens the Joker with a MutualKill via one of Joker's own bombs and delighting in pointing out he'll be found "blown to bits in an alley alongside a ''miserable little nobody''" rather than dead at Batman's hands; this easily terrorizes the Joker into giving up all his information on the Collins family.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': After getting marked for death by [[spoiler: his former boss]], Walt is about to flee with his family when he finds out [[spoiler: his wife, not knowing the trouble they are in, spent all of his money on an unrelated matter]]. With no option left but to fight, Walt resorts to an utterly ruthless assassination plan that involves [[spoiler: poisoning a child and using a crippled man as a (willing) suicide bomber. The plan works. Gus might have survived if he had left Walt a way out.]]

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': After getting marked for dead by [[spoiler: his former boss]], Walt is about to flee with his family when he finds out [[spoiler: his wife, not knowing the trouble they are in, spends all of his money on an unrelated matter]]. With no option left but to fight, Walt resorts to an utterly ruthless assassination plan that involves [[spoiler: poisoning a child and using a crippled man as a (willing) suicide bomber. The plan works. Gus might have survived if he had left Walt a way out.]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* 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]].
-->'''Skitter:''' You put me in a room with three hundred people I could theoretically take hostage.
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* A famous example from Chinese history is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jingxing Battle of Tao River]], where the Han general Han Xin (no relation; the two "Han"s use different characters and inflections) dealt with the Zhao kingdom's army, which outnumbered the Han troops ten times over, by digging in his forces with their backs to a river that they couldn't cross. Nobody gave Han Xin a prayer, but desperation-fueled aggression allowed the Han troops to fight the Zhao army to a standstill, which promptly turned into a complete rout when [[OhCrap the Zhao forces retreated and realized]] [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs Han Xin had already taken over their camp in the meantime]]. To this day, "背水一战" (to fight with one's back to the river) is a Chinese idiom used to describe this trope.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* 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.
* Griffith's strategy to take the fortress of Doldrey in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' revolves around this, placing the Band of the Hawk with their backs to a river in order to force his men to win, or die. The ferocity that the Band fights with, along with Guts killing the enemy's greatest general ''and'' a small force led by Casca taking the fortress while its entire garrison was out on the battlefield (another part of Griffith's strategy as the ephebophilic commander was obsessed with him) causes the Band to accomplish what the generals of Midland had thought impossible and let Midland win the Hundred-Year War.
* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' plays this straight with Hantengu, [[TheHeavy Upper Moon Four]] and one of the most powerful demons in the setting. Hantengu himself was a frail, old thief and treacherous murderer before he was turned into a demon, and despite his great power he is shown to retain his snivelling, cowardly disposition well after transformation. His [[BloodMagic Blood Demon Art]] evolved specifically to counteract this - when faced with danger, Hantengu [[MesACrowd creates multiple, progressively younger clones of himself]], based around the primary emotions - Anger, Joy, Pleasure and Sorrow, while his primary body (now representing his Fear) shrinks and hides as far away from the fighting as it can. If the four initial clones are fought off, Fear can combine them into Hatred, who has access to [[AllYourPowersCombined all their powers combined]]. As a last resort, Fear can create a final, massive body representing Resentment, which is only used in cases of emergency due to protect Fear directly.
* ''Manga/DragonBallZ'' has this come up regularly for Gohan throughout his childhood. His power spiked when his anger was peaked, and his training usually takes this into account. Piccolo's DieOrFly training entailed putting him into situations that would kill most others, while Goku nominating Gohan to fight Cell was meant as a means to set up conditions for him to go beyond Super Saiyan. In these cases, his life being imperiled by a seemingly insurmountable foe leads to him overcoming his limitations.
* ''Manga/{{Holyland}}'' uses this for both Yuu and Masaki:
** 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.
** 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 like 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.]]
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has its main character, Shinji Ikari. Usually weak, spineless, and far too kind for his own good, he's still capable of enough berserk rage to slaughter Shamshel and Zeruel on his own. [[spoiler:Or cause a world-ending apocalypse with a little help from Mom.]]
* In ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'', Akira is (in his own words) a coward. He can't rest well until everything threatening him as a bullet in its head. Because of this, he's extremely trigger-happy when threatened, taking life with a frightening level of ease. Even when backed into a corner, he's so determined to survive that he'll never give up so long as his chance of winning isn't zero.
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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* PlayedForLaughs in the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1326589 Impromptu Midterms]]''. The teams are sent to eradicate a nest of Grimm cubs, and [[ButtMonkey Jaune]] ends up dragged into the middle of it. So while everyone else is fighting the cubs, they keep hearing his screams of terror... and then [[spoiler:they find him in the nest, alive and surrounded by the corpses of Grimm he just killed]].
-->'''Jaune:''' [[spoiler:What the ''hell'' took you guys so long?]]
* 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 ''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.
* In ''Fanfic/AllMixedUp'', Mariana Mag spills her backstory to Otto and backs him up against the railing on the platform he's standing on as she does so. A thought forms in his head of how the keyboard on her belt might help in defeating her, but he then tosses that idea and decides to go full LeeroyJenkins instead, charging at her with all he's got.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
** 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:
--->''[[SixthRangerTraitor David]] is [[DangerousDeserter dangerous]].\\
[[AmbitionIsEvil Power hungry]].\\
And he has [[CorneredRattlesnake nothing to lose]].\\
That's why the Animorphs [[ShootTheDog have to get rid of him]]. Now.''
** 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/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'', Creator/SunTzu warns the reader from putting an opposing army in this position: Always leave your opponent an escape route or you'll unnecessarily lose men to the ensuing LastStand, no matter how much stronger your army is.
* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', Captain Raven Tern is genre-savvy enough to avert this. When she stands in front of the Whistler farm, and the question is presented to her why she doesn't just force them to let her in, she points out that the adults are away on business, and the house is full of toddlers and girls in their early teens, who are armed up to the teeth.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** 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."''
** While Colon and Nobby [[DirtyCoward will not fight if given any choice]], if they ''are'' forced to fight they will do so with the ferocity of desperation and the skill of two men who have spent their whole lives on the mean streets of [[WretchedHive Ankh-Morpork]].
* Literature/DonQuixote and the Knight of the Grove are going to fight, and the squire of the Knight of the Grove bullies Sancho Panza, Literature/DonQuixote’s squire, into a fight. Sancho continuously denies this, until the squire of the Knight of the Grove menaces to give Sancho some buffets, so Sancho invokes this trope trying to defy it:
-->''"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/EndersGame'', Ender prefers to win his battles through wits and finesse rather than brute force. However, when pushed too far, [[WeakButSkilled despite his physical weakness]], he becomes a surprisingly hard-hitting CombatPragmatist with a brutality that scares even himself. The military commanders recognize this trait early on and secretly encourage such tough situations to recur in Ender's Battle School career.
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'':
** 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.
** In ''Brightly Burning'', one reason [[TerrorHero Lavan]] kills enemy soldiers (which at the outset of the war he was quite against) is because they've shown by now that nothing but the most horrific shock and terror will convince their masters to retreat from a victory they were so certain they would get. The other reason is that he's a shellshocked kid who's [[DrivenToMadness not in his right mind]].
* 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 ''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.
* 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.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Extrapower}}'': The EXTRAPOWER mechanic can turn the player into this in ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance Star Resistance]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist Giant Fist]]''. When player health is critical, they can perform a special button combination that launches a special DesperationAttack, sometimes powerful enough to turn the entire tide of battle in the player's favour. Major bosses are also capable of pulling this off, with EXTRAPOWER attacks unique to them. It's common to see heated exchanges of EXTRAPOWER as the player and boss alike slip into more desperate conditions.
* Implied by perks in some of the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games that grant major combat bonuses... but only when the player character is at very low health.
* In ''Videogame/FateGrandOrder'', Jason of the Argonauts is portrayed as a smug pompous jerk with little personal power as a Servant and whose innate heroism and talents as a tactician only truly surface when backed into a corner. He even has a personal skill that gives him inspiration only when in life-or-death situations, something which he laments.
* 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.
* Similarly, Gordon Freeman from ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' is a perfectly ordinary young scientist just trying to survive an alien invasion, becoming a OneManArmy in the process.
* 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'''''.
* Invoked by the Cyborg Ninja, Gray Fox, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': when Liquid Snake has Fox pinned to a wall with [[HumongousMecha Metal Gear REX]], he taunts how he used to hunt jackals in the Middle East with royal harriers. To this, the injured and bleeding Fox uses his ArmCannon to destroy REX's radome, forcing its cockpit open to give Solid Snake the opening he needs.
-->"''A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal!''"
* 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.
* 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 [[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...
* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'':
** Painwheel 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.
* ''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.
* 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.
* 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.
* ''VideoGame/TotalWar'':
** 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).
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* ''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]].

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', Captain Raven Tern is genre-savvy enough to avert this. When she stands in front of the Whistler farm, and the question is presented to her why she doesn't just force them to let her in, she points out that the adults are away on business, and the house is full of toddlers and girls in their early teens, who are armed up to the teeth.

* In ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'', Creator/SunTzu warns the reader from putting an opposing army in this position: Always leave your opponent an escape route or you'll unnecessarily lose men to the ensuing LastStand, no matter how much stronger your army is.

* 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.

* 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.

* In ''Videogame/FateGrandOrder'', Jason of the Argonauts is portrayed as a smug pompous jerk with little personal power as a Servant and whose innate heroism and talents as a tactician only truly surface when backed into a corner. He even has a personal skill that gives him inspiration only when in life-or-death situations, something which he laments.

* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse:

* 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.

* As explained in the trope description, rattlesnakes will lash out when cornered, but they aren't the only animals in nature to display this behavior. Many venomous animals, in fact, prefer to actively ''avoid'' biting large threats, and will only do so when they have no other option:
** Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders, though famous for the deadliness of their venom, will seek to hide from large animals and humans, and usually will only bite when either actively provoked, or unknowingly pressed against the skin. And even ''then'', many of those bites are dry.
** The famous image of cobras standing upright and flaring their crests? That's cobra-talk for "I feel cornered, and you need to GO AWAY before I ruin your day." Considering how quick Cobras are to bite when the warning is not heeded, and how deadly many of them are, you definitely don't want to threaten a cobra.
** Even non-venomous animals can be extremely dangerous when cornered. That line about a cornered/wounded fox being the most dangerous thing in the world? That's not an old wives tale, a cornered fox will ''ruin your day'' if you give it no other option. There have been reports of wounded foxes fighting off animals several times their size, and animal control officers will ''always'' tranquilize a fox if they get called in to take care of one.

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 abilities]]. 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 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 attempt to ward off the attacker by rattling its tail, if that doesn't work, it defends 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 as the snake goes down with its attacker]].

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 (in the latter case, they ''didn't'' pose a threat ''until'' they were attacked). 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.

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 attempt to ward off the attacker by rattling it's tail, if that doesn't work, it defends 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]].

* ''{{Franchise/Extrapower}}'': The EXTRAPOWER mechanic can turn the player into this in ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance Star Resistance]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist Giant Fist]]''. When player health is critical, they can perform a special button combination that launches a special DesperationAttack, sometimes powerful enough to turn the entire tide of battle in the player's favour. Major bosses are also capable of pulling this off, with EXTRAPOWER attacks unique to them. It's common to see heated exchanges of EXTRAPOWER as the player and boss alike slip into more desperate conditions.

** In the early series ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', the episode "Joker's Favor" climaxes with this, when Charlie Collins, driven over the edge by the realization that Joker will keep tormenting him and his family forever simply because he finds it that fun, [[ObfuscatingInsanity feigns]] SanitySlippage and threatens the Joker with a MutualKill via one of Joker's own bombs, terrorizing Joker into giving up all his information on the Collins family.

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 attempt to ward off the attacker by [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin rattling]] it's tail, if that doesn't work, it defends 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]].

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}:

* 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."''

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]].

* ''VideoGame/SkullGirls'':

* [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating Scar]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' 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]].