History Main / DIsneyDeath

* In ''Film/IronMan3'', Killian, who was [[BigBadDuumvirate the partner in-crime to Slattery]], gets killed by Pepper Potts. But during the finale, he lives in an underground base as his new lair and it was revealed that he is still alive and [[SequelHook swears revenge on Pepper for defeating him]], foreshadowing his next appearance after Tony dies in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.

* In ''Film/IronMan3'', [[BigBad Killian]], who was TheDragon to Slattery, gets killed by Pepper Potts. But during the finale, he lives in an underground base as his new lair and it was revealed that he is still alive and [[SequelHook swears revenge on Pepper for defeating him]], foreshadowing his next appearance after Tony dies in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.

** [[spoiler:Frodo]] is seemingly killed when he is stabbed by the troll in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', and again in ''The Return of the King'' when he is [[spoiler:poisoned by Shelob but turns out just to be paralyzed]]. (Both incidents are canon.)
** In ''The Two Towers'', Frodo appears to fall to his death, but we are immediately shown that he only fell a couple of feet into the fog. (Not canon.)
** Also in ''The Two Towers'', [[spoiler:Aragorn]] is seen to fall over a multi-hundred foot cliff and all the characters mourn, but it turns out he's completely uninjured, besides a little dizziness and some scrapes. (Definitely not canon but almost lethal to Creator/ViggoMortensen who came close to drowning while filming that.)
** In ''The Return of the King'', Faramir is grievously wounded in battle and would've been [[KillItWithFire killed with fire]], albeit accidentally, in his insane father's suicide attempt had Gandalf and Pippin not shown up. After he's rescued, he regains consciousness. (Basically canon.)

* ''[[Film/TheMummy1999 The Mummy (1999)]]'': Ardeth Bay pulls a YouShallNotPass on an army of mummies. Cut to the end and he's alive somehow [[note]]He was originally scripted to die, but the filmmakers liked him so much that they wanted to keep him alive for the sequel, which was easy to get away with since his fate was shown off-screen[[/note]].
** In ''Film/TheMummyReturns, [[spoiler:Anck-Su-Namun stabs Evy to death; her son Alex later gets his hands on the Book of the Dead and brings her BackFromTheDead]].

* Happens to both title characters of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie''. Because it wasn't ripping off Disney enough already.

** In ''WesternAnimation/TheNutJob2NuttyByNature'', Buddy is [[spoiler:mortally knocked unconscious when he falls seemingly many stories off a balcony of the antagonist's home. Surly and Precious bring Buddy's lifeless body to Andie, who helps Surly carry Buddy into the ruined nut shop remains, and they both lay him on a big slab. Surly mourns greatly for his friend, and so do the other animals. When Precious licks Buddy as appreciation for saving her from the evil mayor's daughter, he suddenly moves. The pug licks Buddy twice more, enough to miraculously awaken him. Cue happy music, cheering, and hugs of relief]].
* Near the end of ''Wabuu the Cheeky Raccoon'', when Wabuu chops down a tree to use as a bridge, a bird's egg falls out of its nest to the ground and causes the parents to call him a "child murderer", though the hatchling emerges unharmed. Then we find out that the tree also accidentally fell on Wuschel the squirrel, and the mole declares him dead. Wabuu, however, finds out otherwise and frees him from under the fallen tree.

[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/disneydeath_snowwhite.jpg]]]]

* There is a very long list of people in Franchise/TheDCU who have been revived by the Lazarus Pit. The Lazarus Pit, discovered by ComicBook/RasAlGhul, can revive people at death's door, or full-on bring the dead back to life. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of using the Lazarus Pit is losing your mind. Those who have been resurrected or healed from fatal injuries include [[spoiler:Ra's al Ghul, Jason Todd, the second ComicBook/BlackCanary, [[ComicBook/BatGirl2000 Cassandra Cain]], ComicBook/LadyShiva, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, Isis, the wife of ComicBook/BlackAdam, and more]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}''

** [[spoiler:Valkyrie]] and [[spoiler:Captain America]] die during the flood, but [[spoiler:they were saved because Thor traded their lives with Hela for his own]]

* In the ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'' fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/10195775?view_full_work=true Guardian Blue - Season 1]]'', [[spoiler:Nick falls into the water recycling system while saving a wolf pup from the villain Darmaw who also falls in. Darmaw's body is later recovered, but Nick's is never found. After several days of searching he is pronounced dead. Judy learns of a hidden location his body could have possibly washed into and ventures in to retrieve his body and get closure. Ultimately she discovers that Nick is still alive but badly hurt and is able to pull him back out to safety.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie'', [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick are dried up to death in the Shell City gift shop and then revived a minute later when their tears short out an electrical outlet and activate the sprinkler system.

* [[spoiler:Played with]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''. [[spoiler:Minion's water-helmet shatters in the final fight, and afterwards he appears to be dying. He and Megamind share a few words, and Minion... puts on an overdramatic display of dying. At which point Megamind casually tosses him in the fountain, where he laughs and says he feels much better]]. "What a drama queen!"

* Kate from ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'', there's a double example. [[spoiler:Abbot Cellach locks his nephew Brendan and fellow monk Brother Aidan in the scriptorium to protect them during a Northmen attack. It doesn't work, and when Cellach sees the scriptorium burning, he rushes to save them only to be attacked and left bleeding and unconscious on the ground. Brendan and Aidan manage to escape the building, but when they see Cellach lying in the snow, they believe him to be dead, and flee Kells. Cellach wakes up to see Northmen pouring from the building, and assumes his nephew is dead. The film then jumps 20 years forward to when uncle and nephew are finally reunited.]] Averted in that [[spoiler:nearly every other character really does perish in the Northmen attack]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNutJob'', it seems as if [[spoiler:Surly has died after sacrificing himself to save his friends by falling down a big waterfall. When Precious and Buddy find Surly's motionless body, the latter lays down beside his unmoving friend and says his first two words: "best...friend". When all hope seems lost, Surly suddenly wakes up and hugs his rat friend tightly.]]

* ''Lethal Weapon''

* Subverted amusingly in the movie ''Film/LittleBigMan''. Cheyenne chief Old Lodge Skins, Jack's blind mentor, has finally grown tired of life. He and Jack ascend a hill where Old Lodge Skins prays for his death and lies down with his eyes closed. It then begins raining. Old Lodge Skin blinks, then sighs. "Sometimes the magic works. Sometimes it doesn't." and they both go back to their village.
* It seems like anyone who falls off a cliff in the ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movies is going to show up later (apart from {{Mooks}}, but since when have they counted?).

* In ''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy Millennium 2: The Girl Who Played with Fire]]'', protagonist Lisbeth Salander gets shot in the head and buried. At dawn, she climbs out and goes AxeCrazy.

** At the end of ''Literature/WhiteFire'' [[spoiler:Pendergast's protegee Corrie Swanson is seemingly burned to death by an arsonist prompting an enraged Pendergast to hunt the killer. After his death, it's discovered Corrie freed herself and got to safety - the burnt corpse was actually an different victim whose corrupt actions were responsible for a lot of the events of the book.]]

** [[spoiler:Rana]] is ''crucifed'' at one point but was OnlyMostlyDead and so she survived with help.

* ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' has one in the episode "Charity Begins At Home", [[spoiler:with Shaz]] via [[CleanPrettyReliable CPR]] though it is actually a pretty well done and relatively believable. It's also quite violent as it leads to [[spoiler:a very brutal beating of the "murderer"]].

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]] ends on a {{cliffhanger}} wherein [[spoiler:the Doctor has started to [[TheNthDoctor regenerate]] after being shot by a Dalek]]. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]] resolves this by [[spoiler:having the Doctor use his old [[ChekhovsGun severed hand]] as a receptacle for the regeneration energy, allowing him to heal himself without having to change his appearance.]]

** In the ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' finale, [[spoiler:Venjix breaks into Dr. K's lab, hacks her computers, and downloads everything to do with the Rangers. Using this data, he can not only "delete" megazords out of existence, but also the Rangers themselves. He finishes the first of the two episodes by "deleting" Gem and Gemma (Gold and Silver), but with help from Tenaya, Dr. K is able to retrieve their data and reassemble her first two friends to help defeat Venjix once and for all... [[TheEndOrIsIt or did they]]? The final scene of the series is one light on one of the Rangers' morphers lighting, red like the Venjix Eye, with the big V's theme music playing. One good Disney Death deserves another.]]
** Its source material, ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'', also features an example: [[spoiler:in [=GP35=], Yogostein turns Sousuke [[TakenForGranite into a bronze statue]], seemingly killing him off... until the next episode, where he's revived and defeats Yogostein in a one-on-one duel.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour''

* The immortal ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'', in which we see Elmer Fudd actually ''kill'' WesternAnimation/BugsBunny (in a particularly malevolent fashion), at which point [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he laments the foolishness of his actions]], carrying Bugs away. Bugs looks to the audience and asks "What did ya expect from an Opera? A ''happy'' ending?"

** In the season 4 premiere, [[spoiler:Twilight, thinking that Luna has turned back into Nightmare Moon, sobs over the body of Princess Celestia, after she is struck by Nightmare Moon. It is only after Celestia recovers and activates the Elements of Harmony does Twilight realize that she is witnessing the night Nightmare Moon was banished.]]
** Twilight has ''another'' one in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' where [[spoiler:she, along with the Storm King, are sucked into a raging storm and presumed dead. Turns out, she reclaimed the [[MacGuffin Staff of Sacanas]] and manages to make it back on her hooves in one piece. Unfortunately, the Storm King ''also'' survives and attempts to take out the heroes with an [[TakenForGranite Obsidian Orb]], but a [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] Tempest Shadow makes a HeroicSacrifice (and Disney Death of her own) to make sure his demise sticks.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]], [[spoiler:Lars makes a HeroicSacrifice to protect the Off Color Gems from one of Homeworld's Robonoid probes. Steven cries over the dying Lars, and [[SwissArmyTears his tears]] (when Steven had only been able to use his spit to channel his mother's healing powers) miraculously bring Lars back to life... [[TouchedByVorlons though not without a few changes]]. Though I guess we'll give that one a pass because Lars technically DID die and was revived as an immortal zombie.]]

** In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/MovingPictures'', Gaspode the Wonder Dog makes a HeroicSacrifice to save the Disc from the Things from the Dungeon Dimensions. In the first draft he was killed, but this was rewritten following reader feedback, and Gaspode went on to become a recurring character. Given the theme of the book, and the method used to revive Gaspode... possible LampshadeHanging?
** In ''Discworld/LordsAndLadies'', it looks like Granny Weatherwax has given her life to help defeat the Queen of the Elves. When Nanny Ogg and Magrat go through Granny's personal affects, they find an envelope with a piece of card in it: Granny's old "I ATEN'T DEAD" sign. Nanny realizes this means Granny wasn't dead, but off Borrowing (in this case, a swarm of bees).
** Maurice and Dangerous Beans both die in the finale of the first ''Discworld'' children's book, ''Discworld/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents''. Maurice survives because CatsHaveNineLives, and Dangerous Beans survives because Maurice offers ''two'' of his lives to [[BalancingDeathsBooks Balance Death's Books]].

[[caption-width-right:350: Silly witch! Death is for villains!]]

* [[spoiler:Astro]] in the 2009 ''WesternAnimation/AstroBoy'' film -- twice! The first time, Dr. Tenma removes his Blue Core, but has a change of heart in time to revive him, acknowledge him as his son, and allow him to escape at Tenma's own risk. The second time, Astro pulls a HeroicSacrifice to defeat Peacekeeper, only to be revived by Zog.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]], [[spoiler:Lars makes a HeroicSacrifice to protect the Off Color Gems from one of Homeworld's Robonoid probes. Steven cries over the dying Lars, and [[SwissArmyTears his tears]] (when Steven had only been able to use his spit to channel his mother's healing powers) miraculously bring Lars back to life... [[TouchedByVorlons though not without a few changes]].]]

** The aversion: In season four, [[spoiler:Nabu sacrifices himself to close a dark abyss the Wizards have created to suck up the fairies of Earth]]. Aside from a couple animation goofs, [[spoiler:Nabu]] doesn't return at the end of the season, so it looks like [[spoiler:he is]] dead for real. This hasn't sat well with the fans. And it also created some FridgeLogic, since Bloom seems to have [[ForgotAboutHisPowers forgotten her healing powers]].

* ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'': Oded Fehr pulls a YouShallNotPass on an army of mummies. Cut to the end and he's alive somehow [[note]]He was originally scripted to die, but the filmmakers liked him so much that they wanted to keep him alive for the sequel, which was easy to get away with since his fate was shown off-screen[[/note]].

[[folder:Fan Works]]]

[[folder:FanWorks]]]

** ''Film/RogueOne'': Initially played straight with Cassian, who appears to fall to his death while [[ActionGirl Jyn]] flees with the Death Star plans. When Krennic nearly kills Jyn, Cassian comes to her aid and [[BigDamnHeroes guns him down]] despite severe injuries. It's {{Subverted}} when the Death Star fires on Scarif, and [[KillEmAll obliterates everyone left on the base, including the protagonists.]] Not to mention, ''every single character'' who wasn't SavedByCanon dies during the movie.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhos26E4Survival Survival]]": [[spoiler:The Seventh Doctor]] has a head on collision on a motorbike with the enemy, resulting in a huge explosion which we see nobody escape from. Ace begins to mourn his death after she finds [[spoiler:his hat]] and [[spoiler:his umbrella]] laying on the ground. We soon after find out he's somehow just ended up face first in a pile of rubbish with his backside in the air.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

Beloved [[CharacterDeath major character is seemingly killed]] at the climax of the movie/episode, [[TearJerker hearts are wrenched, four-year-olds are traumatized, grown men are reduced to tears,]] and then -- oh look, the character is NotQuiteDead after all. "I thought you were dead!", [[StockPhrases they recite]] before walking off into the sunset.

Animated films seem destined to have these, considering the target audience is primarily young kids, and nobody wants to give a DownerEnding to them. Writers who are considering implementing it need to be extremely careful, as it can very easily come across as a tacky and cliched way to add some cheap drama to the ending. Over the years it has been done to -- um -- [[{{Pun}} death]], and [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt audiences expect it]]. You run the risk of making your viewers remember they're watching television, even if it does shut up the {{Media Watchdog}}s.

Named after its frequent use in the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon, though even Disney likes to [[KilledOffForReal kill 'em off for real now and then.]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E3TheIceWarriors The Ice Warriors]]", Victoria witnessed Jamie's apparent death at the hands of an Ice Warrior. However, while the man with Jamie was killed, Jamie himself survived.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E4PlanetOfTheDaleks Planet of the Daleks]]", the Third Doctor believed Jo had been killed when the Daleks blew up the Thal spaceship in which she was hiding. In fact, she had been rescued at the last minute by a Spiridon named Wester.
** Following the Thals' missile strike against the Kaled City in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]", the Fourth Doctor believed Harry and Sarah Jane (whom he had sent to warn the Kaled leaders) had died in the attack. In fact, they had been waylaid by Mutos and never even reached the Kaled City.
** This trope was averted in the Fifth Doctor story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E6Earthshock Earthshock]]", which ended with Adric being KilledOffForReal.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E2Mindwarp Mindwarp]]", the Sixth Doctor was shown a scene in which Peri, her mind hijacked by an alien, was apparently killed. However, it later emerged that the scene in question had been fabricated and Peri was "alive and well and living as a queen".

** The robot version happened to K-9 in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]", although it is unclear if this is the same robot rebuilt (with the same personality and memories) or just another robot of the same model.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter The Doctor's Daughter]]" [[spoiler:Jenny [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet]] for the Doctor near the end of the episode. After the Doctor has accepted that she won't regenerate, he leaves her body with her fellow soldiers and goes off in the TARDIS. Suddenly she pops back to life, apparently none the worse for wear (seemingly due to the {{Terraforming}} process that was still ongoing), and takes off in a stolen spaceship ([[LikeFatherLikeSon like father like daughter, apparently]]). The Doctor, however, is unaware that she came back to life]].
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang The Big Bang]]", there are ''two''. [[spoiler:In 1996, Centurion Rory is presumed dead from pulling the Pandorica out of the fires of the Blitz during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. He's actually the night watchman of the museum holding the Pandorica. The Doctor also gets one. He travels back in time a few minutes faking his death from a partially powered Dalek raygun. He uses this as a diversion to travel back to the Pandorica to jump start the universe in a [[TitleDrop Big Bang]] Two. Geronimo indeed.]] %%Amy was Only Mostly Dead, but still clinically dead for a few minutes, so it's not this trope.

* At the end of ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Furious 7]]'' [[spoiler:Dom apparently dies finishing off Jakande during the climax, and all of Brian's attempts to resuscitate him seem to fail. The shock of this causes Letty to regain her memories and reveals that she remembers that they were married. Dom then opens his eyes moments later and it turns out he heard her say all of this]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Advertising/TrixRabbit Silly witch]]! [[KilledOffForReal True death]] is [[DisneyVillainDeath for villains]]!]]

Subtrope of ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated and FirstLawOfResurrection. Compare SortingAlgorithmOfDeadness (how likely this is to happen), OurHeroIsDead (when this is used as a CliffHanger), UnexplainedRecovery, WorldHealingWave (done on a massive scale), OnlyMostlyDead, PlotArmor (you know he's going to live because he's the main character). Contrast KilledOffForReal. May involve NotNowWereTooBusyCryingOverYou. A PrematureEulogy is likely to occur somewhere between the death and the return.

* ''FanFic/InnerDemons'': [[spoiler:Rarity is seemingly killed by [[TheDragon Trixie]] during the Battle of Fillydelphia, but it turns out she was just rendered comatose]]. The author denies that this was a reaction to the InternetBackdraft that resulted from the apparent death, and claims that this was always the plan.

* There is a very long list of people in Franchise/TheDCU who have been revived by the Lazarus Pit. The Lazarus Pit, discovered by ComicBook/RasAlGhul, can revive people at death's door, or full-on bring the dead back to life. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of using the Lazarus Pit is losing your mind. Those who have been resurrected or healed from fatal injuries include [[spoiler: Ra's al Ghul, Jason Todd, the second ComicBook/BlackCanary, [[ComicBook/BatGirl2000 Cassandra Cain]], ComicBook/LadyShiva, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, Isis, the wife of ComicBook/BlackAdam, and more]].

** Simba is [[spoiler: presumed to be dead in ''Friends to the End''. He isn't, though, and gets his [[TheBigDamnKiss Big Damn Kiss]] with Nala]].
** Nala [[spoiler: does actually die in ''Darkness Falls''. Simba has her resurrected after dying himself]].

* ''FanFic/InnerDemons'': [[spoiler: Rarity is seemingly killed by [[TheDragon Trixie]] during the Battle of Fillydelphia, but it turns out she was just rendered comatose]]. The author denies that this was a reaction to the InternetBackdraft that resulted from the apparent death, and claims that this was always the plan.
* ''FanFic/TheImmortalGame'': [[spoiler: Fluttershy]] is seemingly killed by [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Wrong!Dash]] during the final fight with [[BloodKnight Nihilus]], but it turns out that [[spoiler: Fluttershy]] has a HealingFactor (something that only Earth ponies are supposed to have), which saves her life.

* ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' . [[spoiler:Gune]] saves Stith from [[spoiler: a bomb Preed placed on her wrist, only for it to detonate and leave him wounded]] and he mutters "I'll just take a little nap", before collapsing. Later, just when the Drej are about to destroy the Titan, [[spoiler: Gune]] arrives to the rescue and hangs a {{lampshade|Hanging}} on the trope.

* [[spoiler:Played with]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''. [[spoiler: Minion's water-helmet shatters in the final fight, and afterwards he appears to be dying. He and Megamind share a few words, and Minion... puts on an overdramatic display of dying. At which point Megamind casually tosses him in the fountain, where he laughs and says he feels much better]]. "What a drama queen!"

* In ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddysBigPictureShow'', [[spoiler: the trope was deconstructed. Both Ed and Eddy appeared to be sinking in quicksand, but it was only just mud that happened to looked like quicksand, and it was one of the many jokes they pulled after they went to the gag factory. This ticks off Edd, and almost left the other two to faced the consequences over the NoodleIncident that led to the events of the movie. This made Eddy realize how serious the situation actually was, and that he probably had gone too far]].

** Also used in ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'' with King Harold. He takes a magical blast from the Fairy Godmother to protect Shrek and Fiona, and after her defeat he's notably vanished making it seem like it killed him. But it turns out he's actually [[spoiler: reverted back into his true form of a frog. This might seen a little pointless in hindsight, since ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird'' [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome kills him anyway]]. But his survival from the incident was integral for the reluctant heirs to the throne, Shrek and Fiona, to pass their roles as the new royalty of Far, Far Away onto Arthur in the third film, for he mentions Arthur on his death bed]].

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Minions}}'', it seems as if [[spoiler:Kevin exploded after swallowing Scarlet's bomb]]. However, the [[spoiler: explosion]] only [[spoiler:shrunk him back down to his normal size]] (minus his [[spoiler:overalls]].)
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'', there's a double example. [[spoiler: Abbot Cellach locks his nephew Brendan and fellow monk Brother Aidan in the scriptorium to protect them during a Northmen attack. It doesn't work, and when Cellach sees the scriptorium burning, he rushes to save them only to be attacked and left bleeding and unconscious on the ground. Brendan and Aidan manage to escape the building, but when they see Cellach lying in the snow, they believe him to be dead, and flee Kells. Cellach wakes up to see Northmen pouring from the building, and assumes his nephew is dead. The film then jumps 20 years forward to when uncle and nephew are finally reunited.]] Averted in that [[spoiler: nearly every other character really does perish in the Northmen attack]].

* In ''Film/AlienResurrection'', [[spoiler: after Mason Wren betrays the group and shoots Call, a later scene reveals that Call had survived the gunshot wound, [[RoboticReveal because she is an android]]]].

* In Creator/BrokenLizard's ''Film/ClubDread'', Sam appears to have drowned in mud, but [[spoiler: turns out to be not only alive, but also the actual killer]].

* In ''Film/EndOfWatch'', [[spoiler: Taylor is shot in the chest and falls unconscious as his partner, Zeke, stays at his side, before the villains catch up and shoot Zeke fatally, leaving both protagonists lifeless in the alley as the cavalry arrives. The next scene shows an injured Taylor at Zeke's funeral]].

* At the end of ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Furious 7]]'' [[spoiler: Dom apparently dies finishing off Jakande during the climax, and all of Brian's attempts to resuscitate him seem to fail. The shock of this causes Letty to regain her memories and reveals that she remembers that they were married. Dom then opens his eyes moments later and it turns out he heard her say all of this]].

** In ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'', [[spoiler: "Pops" appears to die after holding off John in the quantum field generator, but survives thanks to a little dip in the liquid metal]].

* Cruelly played with in ''Deeper'' of the ''Literature/{{Tunnels}}'' series. [[spoiler: The hero's brother Cal appears to [[DroppedABridgeOnHim get a bridge dropped on him]] halfway through. However, he is later discovered to be OnlyMostlyDead and is able to recover. He rejoins the other heroes for the climax... only to die in a hail of bullets at the end.]]

* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', [[spoiler: Oreg is revealed to have survived the death of his body at the end of the novel. Turns out, it was not his ''real'' body, that was buried somewhere else, and apparently in a coma. His father seems to have kept it there after binding his soul to castle Hurog. ItMakesSenseInContext]].

** In ''Literature/DanceOfDeath,'' the character of Margo Green, who was the main character in the authors' first two books, is stabbed and apparently killed by Pendergast's brother Diogenes. The very end of the novel reveals that she survived and Pendergast allowed the rest of the world to believe her dead so that his brother would not attempt to target her again. [[spoiler: As revealed in the next book, this fails, but she still lives anyway.]]

** Early on in ''Literature/ColdVengeance'', Pendergast is shot by [[spoiler: Judson Esterhazy]] and is left to die in the Moores of Scotland. Nearly a hundred pages is spent with the supporting cast mourning his "death" before it's revealed he survived, though he's still very weak from the affair.
** At the end of ''Literature/WhiteFire'' [[spoiler: Pendergast's protegee Corrie Swanson is seemingly burned to death by an arsonist prompting an enraged Pendergast to hunt the killer. After his death, it's discovered Corrie freed herself and got to safety - the burnt corpse was actually an different victim whose corrupt actions were responsible for a lot of the events of the book.]]

** [[spoiler: Rana]] is ''crucifed'' at one point but was OnlyMostlyDead and so she survived with help.
** [[spoiler: Kalak]] is yanked underwater by a squid monster and would have drowned if not for his deal with Mordak.
** [[spoiler: One of the goblins]] is squashed by Ravage's corpse and stops breathing, but was only unconscious. He comes too soon after.

** Two-thirds through Day 9, the cliffhanger for one episode has [[spoiler: President Heller]] apparently get blown up by a missile. The following episode opens with everyone mourning his death, only for it to turn out that it was faked by Jack and Chloe to buy everyone some time.
* Death seems cheap in the series ''Series/AceLightning'', at least for the "videogame" characters. Also subverted in one episode when Ace is surprised to learn from Mark that when humans die they ''can't'' come back in a similar fashion. This does not make Sparx's "death" any less traumatic...

*** The same applies to Jack Harkness, who gained ResurrectiveImmortality after [[CameBackWrong Coming Back Wrong]]. [[spoiler: And Rex Matheson from ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay''.]]

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter The Doctor's Daughter]]" [[spoiler: Jenny [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet]] for the Doctor near the end of the episode. After the Doctor has accepted that she won't regenerate, he leaves her body with her fellow soldiers and goes off in the TARDIS. Suddenly she pops back to life, apparently none the worse for wear (seemingly due to the {{Terraforming}} process that was still ongoing), and takes off in a stolen spaceship ([[LikeFatherLikeSon like father like daughter, apparently]]). The Doctor, however, is unaware that she came back to life]].

** During the series finale [[spoiler: House is trapped in a burning building and dies when the building collapses on him. Paramedics pull a body out of the rubble and confirm that the body was indeed House. At his funeral, Wilson receives a text message from House during his speech. It turned out that House actually faked his death so he could be with Wilson during his final 5 months instead of spending it in prison]].

** The same method of death happens in another episode with [[spoiler: Arturo]]. This was just stretched out for years after the show ended. It took the WordOfGod to clear things up.

** In ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'', [[spoiler: Buredoran embodies this trope and is a rare villainous example. Not counting his reappearances in movies, he seemingly dies twice. First as Buredoran of the Comet and second as Buredoran of the Chupercabra when he's revived as [=BuredoRUN=] after being OnlyMostlyDead. He's finally killed for good, ...for the time being, after his reveal as Brajira of the Messiah]].

* The ending of the second season of ''Series/VeronicaMars'' has the season's BigBad [[spoiler: Cassidy]] detonating a remote bomb aboard a plane that presumably has Veronica's dad on it. However, it turns out that her father drove home and he wasn't on the plane.

* In ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'', [[spoiler: Metal Gear]] uses himself as a target for a KillSat beam. He comes back, but [[spoiler:in the form of whatever console the version of the game you're playing is on]].

* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': In the ''U.S. Acres'' segment "No Laughing Matter", [[spoiler: the aliens from Clarion get killed by laughing at Roy slipping on a banana]]. In the Quickie before "Much Ado About Lanolin" (a later episode), Orson, Booker, and Shelldon watch a show [[spoiler: about the Clarion aliens, whom are revealed to (still) exist at the end of the Quickie by coming out of the TV]].
** Speaking of "Much Ado About Lanolin", [[spoiler: in that episode, the fake Lanolin, Lanolina, disappears with sparkles after kissing Orson]].
** In "Snow Wade and the 77 Dwarves", [[spoiler: Snow Wade dies after eating the poison apple. His last words? "Uh-oh, I'm doomed." He also holds his stomach while doing this]].
*** Unlike [[WhatTheHellHero Orson and the other characters who only took this as a story]], [[spoiler: Roy (who was taking this seriously near the end of the two-parter) was the only one, who seemed alarmed/upset that Wade could really be hurt/dead, when Wade didn't wake up right away]].

** In the season 4 premiere, [[spoiler: Twilight, thinking that Luna has turned back into Nightmare Moon, sobs over the body of Princess Celestia, after she is struck by Nightmare Moon. It is only after Celestia recovers and activates the Elements of Harmony does Twilight realize that she is witnessing the night Nightmare Moon was banished.]]

** In "Gates of Gloom" [[spoiler: Fred, Velma, and Daphne all apparently perish inside the Mystery Machine when they blow it up to destroy Pericles' robots. Fortunately, Fred was actually piloting it with remote control so they're all okay. Though the fact that the gang's iconic van is gone still manages to be a pretty big gut punch in itself]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]], [[spoiler: Lars makes a HeroicSacrifice to protect the Off Color Gems from one of Homeworld's Robonoid probes. Steven cries over the dying Lars, and [[SwissArmyTears his tears]] (when Steven had only been able to use his spit to channel his mother's healing powers) miraculously bring Lars back to life... [[TouchedByVorlons though not without a few changes]].]]

* Happens to [[spoiler: Ilana]] in "The Demon Within" episode of ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan''. Technically also happens to [[spoiler: Octus]] later on, only it takes two episodes for the character to be revived.

''(he runs to Wimp Lo; we hear flies buzzing)''\\

** [[spoiler:His aunt accidentally steps on him and crushes him, the family goes "GASP!"... no, wait, that was a decoy fish, the real Fly is fine.]]

* In another triumph for Don Bluth, Petrie does this in ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', getting seemingly devoured by Sharptooth just before drowning

** This happens in ''WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter''. At the end of the movie Shrek fades out of existence, as he gave up the day of his birth to Rumplestiltskin in exchange for a day to live his life the way he wanted to as an ogre. But he gets one last chance to tell Fiona how much she means to him before he dies. They exchange one last kiss and Shrek disappears... only for the entire reality that 'Stiltskin had created to fade out of existence as well. As it turns out, the contract was to be made null and void if Fiona and Shrek exchanged a lovers' kiss; if Fiona had fallen in love with Shrek in the alternate universe, then the contract ends and the universe with it. Shrek is returned to his original universe, with his friends and family surrounding him at his children's birthday party. Shrek gets his happily ever after.