History Main / CoupDegrace

* In ''Film/BadCompany'', Anthony Hopkins shoots an unconscious terrorist dead for no readily discernible reason (there were like 50 CIA agents in the building, so it's unclear why they couldn't have just taken the guy prisoner.). He later complains that there's no one left to interrogate after the second terrorist jumps off the roof of the hotel.

* In ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'', the character [[VideoGame/BionicCommando Spencer]] literally has a level 3 [[LimitBreak Hyper Combo]] literally called "Coup de Grace." He knocks the opponent out, walking up to them to see if they're conscious, only to stick a grenade on them, swinging away as it blows up on his opponent.

If it's done to ensure a swift and painless death, see MercyKill. Part of the CoupDeGraceCutscene. May be used as (part of) a FinishingMove.

* Before modern medicine, the blow of grace was frequently delivered to a mortally wounded enemy. Many weapons could deliver mortal, incapacitating wounds which would leave a human helpless and in agony for hours before their death. Given the battlefields were also prone to attract scavenging wildlife, being swiftly slain after the battle could be a great act of mercy.

* In the film version of ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Return of The King]]'', the orc general Gothmog finds Faramir's aide de camp helpless and dying on the ground in Osgiliath, and takes the opportunity to shove a spear in his chest. It's probably meant to demonstrate the merciless nature of the orcs and make us hate them personally, rather than just an abstract, "they're the servants of the Dark Lord" level. But really, Gothmog practically did the guy a favor. Surprisingly merciful for an orc.

* On ''Series/UltimateForce'', in conjunction with NoKillLikeOverkill, SAS troopers are shown taking down terrorists with controlled bursts and then raking the body with a few more to make sure their targets don't get back up.

* Aimed shots to the head of an enemy [[HumongousMecha [=BattleMech=]]] are essentially this in ''TabletopGame/{{BattleTech}}''. This is because they can only even be ''made'' if that 'Mech is already immobile (due to reactor shutdown or pilot KO) and because the head is relatively easy to destroy and usually holds the cockpit with the pilot, thus killing two birds with one stone.

* You can do this to wounded people in ''{{Postal}}''. There is a control (default: X) which stands for "Execute".

** The AI generally prefers to go straight for the head when it gets this opportunity, reducing the head to [[ChunkySalsaRule chunky salsa]] or sticking a blade into the skull depending on their weapon. This can [[ArtificialStupidity fail]] if the victim is wearing an [[{{Unobtanium}} adamantine]] helmet.

* Somewhat present in the Batman: Arkham series, as the player can finish off enemies that are knocked down but not out. While most characters simply either hit the thug's head with a blunt object (or with the floor, or their fists, or their own head...) rendering them unconscious, the playable Red Hood in Batman: Arkham Knight simply flat out shoots them on their heads.
* A few heroes in ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has abilities that can disable the enemy thus giving a chance to perform this. The most memetic example is perhaps [[BadassAdorable Mei,]] whose standard combat tactic is to freeze an enemy with her FreezeRay, and aim an icicle for a BoomHeadshot while they're immobile.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has the protagonist's Ultimate Persona, [[SatanIsGood Satanael]], deliver one via headshot to the final boss Yaldabaoth, a.k.a. the Demiurge, creator of our world but subordinate to Main/{{God}} Himself.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' :

* An episode of ''Series/Bonanza'' uses this to set up a moral dilemma: can murder be justified if a man with serious, but survivable, wounds asks for a mercy kill?

* Done quite often in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''; there are actually rules in the 3rd edition of the game for when it may be done and how it affects attacks. One of the most surefire ways to kill something in 3rd edition is to have a spell-caster [[StandardStatusEffects paralyze or otherwise incapacitate your opponent]] and then have a [[AnAdventurerIsYou fighter or a rogue]] with a high-critical weapon perform this trope on them while they're down, because a coup de grace is a guaranteed [[NoKillLikeOverkill maximum damage]] critical hit. You don't roll anything at all. If the victim survives that, they must roll a fortitude save with a difficulty equal to the damage dealt plus ten or die. Often, it's the failure of the save that kills them, not the damage. It comes up in earlier editions as well, back to the original D&D rules in the "Three Little Brown Books" that came immediately after Chainmail. A helpless person could be slain instantly, for example paralyzed or magically-sleeping ones. Most of the durability of a person (HitPoints) were abstract. It was assumed that regardless of the combat rules one should still be able to behead or neck-shiv a comatose man.

* ''Film/ThreeHundred'': An amusing hero-on-villain version; Leonidas and the Captain idly converse about how there's no reason they should not "be civil" when dealing with the Persians. Leonidas is even eating an apple... and all the while the rest of the Spartans are searching the fallen for wounded Persian soldiers to finish off. This is also present in the comic, with one of the Spartans humming or whistling.

** Subverted when it comes to [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Tenpenny]] in ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'', where he's already dead after delivering his last words, and when the player character takes aim to put a bullet in Tenpenny's corpse, another character tells him not to.

* Defied in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': CJ ''wants'' to put a bullet in Tenpenny's head, but Cesar stops him. Cesar points out that Tenpenny is going to die from his injuries anyway, and that shooting him would make CJ a marked man, but if he walks away Tenpenny is just another car crash victim with no-one to blame for his death.

* The TV adaptation of the Robert Harris novel ''Literature/{{Archangel}}''.

After a villain attacks a location, there will usually be one or two wounded people left lying on the floor writhing in pain (sometimes begging for mercy, depending how tough they are). The villain will then dispatch them with a single shot, or any kind of OneHitKill, to the head. This is often done one handed to emphasize how casually the villain is performing his little clean-up job.

Also used in assassinations. In Russia, this is known as a "control shot". It's also used by hero protagonists on occasion, often spy characters, either to ensure a kill has succeeded, or to make sure a BigBad is indeed dead. Not to be confused with actions such as a "DoubleTap" in which multiple bullets are fired during the initial action; these are additional killing shots (or blows) delivered at some point after the target is disabled.

* ''Film/JohnWickChapter2''. John Wick is sent to assassinate a former friend Gianna D'Antonio, who [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled elects to die her own way]] and [[BathSuicide slits her wrists in the bath]]. Wick holds Gianna's hand as she dies, but once he's unconscious he puts a bullet in her head [[ConsummateProfessional just to be sure she can't be revived again]], but possibly also so she won't have committed a mortal sin by dying from her own hand.

* ''Film/JohnWickChapter2''. John Wick is sent to assassinate a former friend Gianna D'Antonio, who [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled elects to die her own way]] and [[BathSuicide slits her wrists in the bath]]. Wick holds Gianna's hand as she dies, but once he's unconscious he puts a bullet in her head [[ConsummateProfessional just to be sure she can't be revived again]].

* ''Film/JohnWickChapter2''. John Wick is sent to assassinate a former friend Gianna D'Antonio, who [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled elects to die her own way]] and [[BathtubSuicide slits her wrists in the bath]]. Wick holds Gianna's hand as she dies, but once he's unconscious he puts a bullet in her head [[ConsummateProfessional just to be sure she can't be revived again]].

* ''Film/JohnWickChapter2''.

After a villain attacks a location, there will usually be one or two wounded people left lying on the floor wincing in pain (sometimes begging for mercy depending how tough they are). The villain will then dispatch them with a single shot, or any kind of OneHitKill, to the head. Usually one handed.

If pronounced after the French manner, the term is pronounced "coo deh graass" and translates as "blow of mercy". However, most English speakers hypercorrect the pronunciation so the last word is pronounced "grah", which in French changes the meaning to "[[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels blow of fat]]". However, since we're speaking English and not French, it's a bit of a moot point. It comes from the use of such execution methods as the "Breaking Wheel", often used in France during the Dark Ages, where the victim is stretched across a wheel and has their limbs broken by a very large hammer. Often, it was then ordered for the executioner to deliver a fatal blow to the chest, in order to end the torturous ordeal quickly.