History Main / DeadHatShot

* In the SegaGenesis ''JurassicPark'' game, if you die as Dr. Alan Grant, his iconic hat comes to rest differently depending on how he died. If you die by a standard Dino attack, he falls flat on his back, his hat falling off his head and landing perfectly on his chest. If you are [[OneHitKill eaten by a T.Rex]], only his hat remains on screen as it slowly drifts to the ground. The trope is played straight if Grant falls in water, all that is left is his hat floating on the surface.

* One of the victims demise in the hands of leech man is made apparent this way in ''The Return of Film/SwampThing''.

* At the very beginning of ''{{Cars}} 2'', Finn [=McMissile=] actually deploys several fake tires to escape the Lemons' oil rig causing them to think that he has died while escaping into the ocean. However, it's played straight with one of the Pacers on the rig; when [=McMissile=] pushes him off the railing, once he falls into the sea, only his wheels remain.

* ''IndianaJones and the Temple of Doom'' for the NES had Indy vanish in a poof of smoke when killed, leaving only his hat.

* In early episodes of AnoHana a shot of a sandal floating downstream is sometimes shown when CuteGhostGirl Menma's death is mentioned.

* ''YuGiOhTenthAnniversaryMovie'' has a rare non-drowning example; after the buildings fall on them, Yugi [[spoiler:finds his Grandpa's bandanna in the rubble, to show that his Grandpa was killed. This being a time travel story, [[IGotBetter he gets better]].]]

* {{Monk}} uses his jacket to fake his death (long story) in order to go undercover and solve the case without the police (who think he's done the deed) on his back.

* Possible variation in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', where the BigBad, after a battle with your ExpositionFairy cum Neon spider thing of [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom DOOM]] breaks her hat and leaves it in pieces on the ground. [[IGotBetter She Gets Better]], and is returned to her full size, but only after the final battle.

* In ''OnePiece'', Sabo's signature hat floats to the surface of the ocean after his boat gets attacked for interfering with a nobleman's arrival. Since this is the last we've seen of Sabo, it's safely assumed he's dead.

* The very last scene of the ''MegaManZero'' series is a shot of Zero's damaged helmet in the dust after the space station Ragnarok disintegrates while falling to Earth. Also falls under NeverFoundTheBody.

* Possible variation in ''TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', where the BigBad, after a battle with your ExpositionFairy cum Neon spider thing of [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom DOOM]] breaks her hat and leaves it in pieces on the ground. [[IGotBetter She Gets Better]], and is returned to her full size, but only after the final battle.
* ''TheWorldEndsWithYou'' subverted due to a rare inversion of NeverFoundTheBody. You steal Minamoto's Hat and it acts as an InfinityPlusOneSword however his body didn't dissapear meaning he's still [[DeadAllAlong as dead as he was for the rest of the game]].

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* Near the end of ''MyNeighborTotoro'', Satsuki finds one of Mei's shoes floating in the river after the younger sister accidentally dropped it after attempting to give the two girls' ailing mother an ear of corn but getting lost instead, causing her to think that Mei drowned in that river.

* The guy in the [[NiceHat panama hat]] (listed in the credits as "Panama Hat") from the opening sequence of ''IndianaJones and the Last Crusade'' is implied to have died on his exploding freighter off the coast of Portugal when his hat is seen floating in the water near a swimming Indy.

* The original ''{{Piranha}}'' film had a police officer fall into the water during the mass attack near the end. He flails, disappears underwater, and the camera cuts to his hat floating down from the bloody water above through clearer water and onto a carpet of water weeds.

* Used against the Hacker in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/CyberChase'' (dealing with odds) when the heroes pull a XanatosRoulette on him hoping he'd get sucked into cyberspace after choosing the wrong door.

* In ''{{Stargate}},'' Skaara's friend Nabeh liked to wear one of the soldiers' helmets. When they're running from the gliders later, one of the gliders' blasts hits where Nabeh had been, and we see the helmet bouncing out of the dust cloud as Skaara yells his name. In the novelization, later on in the book, [[SparedByTheAdaptation a mostly okay Nabeh triumphantly reclaims his helmet]] in the usual subversion of this.

* ''{{Monk}}'' uses his jacket to fake his death (long story) in order to go undercover and solve the case without the police (who think he's done the deed) on his back.

* Noble Six's broken helmet in the [[BookEnds opening and post-epilogue]] cutscenes of ''HaloReach''. During the epilogue, his final moments are shown from the discarded helmet's camera.

* Noble Six's broken helmet in the [[BookEnds opening and ending]] cutscenes of ''HaloReach''.

* At the very beginning of ''{{Cars}} 2'', Finn [=McMissile=] actually deploys several fake tires to escape the Lemons' oil rig causing them to think that he has died while escaping into the ocean. However, it's Played straight with one of the Pacers on the rig; when [=McMissile=] pushes him off the railing, once he falls into the sea, only his wheels remain.

* Used against the Hacker in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/CyberChase'' (dealing with odds) when the heroes pull a YagamiGambit on him hoping he'd get sucked into cyberspace after choosing the wrong door.

* This is toyed with in, appropriately, ''ToyStory3''. During his escape from the daycare centre, Woody loses his hat: when the remaining toys discover it, they briefly believe that he has died.

* Toward the end of ''ThePebbleAndThePenguin'', just right before they actually arrive at [[TimCurry Drake's]] island to save Marina, both Hubie and Rocko are chased by orcas. When they finally arrive at Drake's island, Hubie noticed that Rocko's scarf got washed up onto the island, but not Rocko himself, and as a result, Hubie actually thinks that Rocko was eaten by an orca. [[spoiler: It then turns out that Rocko survived, and he actually ends up saving both Hubie and Marina when Drake's island falls into the sea.]]

** In the novel, and in the 1982 film, he leaves it on the parapet. GenreSavvy, apparently.* The guy in the [[NiceHat panama hat]] (listed in the credits as "Panama Hat") from the opening sequence of ''IndianaJones and the Last Crusade'' is implied to have died on his exploding freighter off the coast of Portugal when his hat is seen floating in the water near a swimming Indy.

** In the novel, and in the 1982 film, he leaves it on the parapet. GenreSavvy, apparently.
* The guy in the [[NiceHat panama hat]] (listed in the credits as "Panama Hat") from the opening sequence of ''IndianaJones and the Last Crusade'' is implied to have died on his exploding freighter off the coast of Portugal when his hat is seen floating in the water near a swimming Indy.

* In Disney's ''Film/{{Robin Hood}}'', this occurs with the titular character. Needless to say, despite the arrow through the hat, he lives.

* Another variation on this trope occurs in the ''{{Defenders of the Earth}}'' episode "The Ghost Walks Again", where the Phantom falls into a river after being shot. On finding his belt floating in the water, Jedda immediately fears the worst and, when the Phantom is subsequently declared dead (even though [[NeverFoundTheBody his body has not been found]]) has to decide if she is ready to take over his duties. However, the Phantom has, in fact, survived and is reunited with his daughter by the episode's conclusion.

* Bart tossing his red baseball cap on to a cardboard box when he ditches the ClassTrip to the box factory leads Homer to conclude that he has been made into a box in an episode of ''TheSimpsons''.

* In ''{{Brother Bear}}'', we are shown that Kenai's older brother has been killed by his fall from a glacier into the water hundreds of feet below when his hat is found floating.
* In the penultimate episode of ''[[BeastWars Beast Wars]]'' the battle between Depth Charge and Rampage ends with a massive underwater explosion followed by various bits and pieces (most notably one of Depth Charge's wings) floating to the surface in a deliberate send up of this trope.
* ''{{Looney Tunes}}'': In ''Speedy Gonzales'', a mouse tries to get to the cheese factory without getting captured by Sylvester. He goes and Sylvester eats him offscreen and all that's left of him is his sombrero. Another mouse throws it onto a pile of other discarded sombreros.

* At the very beginning of [[{{Cars}} ''Cars 2'']], Finn McMissile actually deploys several fake tires to escape the Lemons' oil rig causing them to think that he has died while escaping into the ocean. Played straight with one of the Pacers on the rig however, when McMissile pushes him off the railing, once he falls into the sea, only his wheels remain.
* Used against the Hacker in one episode of ''CyberChase'' (dealing with odds) when the heroes pull a YagamiGambit on him hoping he'd get sucked into cyberspace after choosing the wrong door.

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* Non water variant: In Disney's ''{{Mulan}}'', the helmet of [[spoiler: Chang's father]] is found in the snow after the troop reach a destroyed town.

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* Another non-drowning example in ''AstroBoy'', where Toby's hat is all that is left of him after he gets [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath vaporized]].