History Main / DiabolusExMachina

* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', "Stan's Best Friend" has Francine getting a dog for Steve, retaliate or attack despite Stan's vehemently refusing having the massive overwhelming adventage in numbers and firepower.

[[folder:TV Serials]]
* During any Writers-strike era arc of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Heroes Heroes]], you could expect Peter Petrelli to get one ever since his jackass of a mother tricked him into killing his previous dog when he was a kid. Stan warms up to the dog quickly, until he tosses a frisbee to the street mopey, angst heavily and forget he had a car nearly runs the dog over... [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Cue pirate cats riding a hot air balloon]] landing their basket on the dog, crushing him to death.[[/folder]]

* ''ComicBook/BlueIsTheWarmestColor'': Just as it seems that Emma and Clémentine are going to be happy together, it turns out that [[spoiler:Clémentine]] has been dying of a heart disease all along without realizing it. [[spoiler:[[DrugsAreBad The drugs that she took made her heart even worse]]]].

* ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' story "The Hungry Smurfs" (and its AnimatedAdaptation counterpart "Haunted Smurfs") has one early grandfather's soul on in the story, when the Smurf Village storehouse catches fire without any in-story explanation, immediately setting up the situation line.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'''s last fight features Yusuke vs Yomi, where the Smurfs are without food.

* ''ComicBook/UncannyXForce'' reveals that the ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse reality had been positively ''slammed'' with this, part of Veidt's plan to keep Dr. Manhattan's constantly existentially tortured and ''off-panel'' no less, since we last saw it. The eponymous dictator was dead and everyone seemed to be starting to rebuild their lives... and then [[CosmicEntity the Celestials]] showed up, judging that Earth must be destroyed. ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} cuts a deal with the Celestials: play on his misery so he will function as their agent on Earth if they spare the planet. The Celestials accept and transform Wolverine with their technology. Now, who was the last guy they did this to? Oh, right, [[OhCrap Apocalypse himself]]. Needless to say, it doesn't end well: pogroms against baseline humans are initiated, ComicBook/{{Rogue}} suspect Veidt is up to anything (With the addition of a device that blocks his futuresight). It works to stunning efficiency.

* ComicBook/XMenMessiahComplex. The ''ComicBook/XMen'' have finally defeated all of their enemies and [[spoiler:Cyclops has given the mutant baby to Cable to take into the future]]. Everything seems great. [[spoiler:Until Bishop, who's been trying to kill the baby to prevent his horrible future, shoots at the baby and Cable.]] And [[spoiler:Cable is already disappearing from that point in time, leaving the shot to go through and hit ComicBook/ProfessorX in the head]]. It really sucks to be a mutant. Granted film. When he got better since this is a comic book and [[spoiler:Professor X missing at the end was a hint]].

* It seems like basically the entire final battle during WebAnimation/WolfSongTheMovie is like this. As a simple rundown [[spoiler: the alphas have the Death Alpha pinned down, but they themselves are killed off by him in a short span of time, Arrow then personally confronts the Death Alpha and powers up, landing a few blows, only to have his throat brutally torn out by you know who. Kara then steps up, activates her true form and essentially gives the Death Alpha a full blown CurbStompBattle, finishing it off with a stab to the chest, but instead of just dropping dead, the Death Alpha decides to put her own father under mind control, forcing her to kill him. Yeah, it's safe to say that the Death Alpha seems to weaponise this quite a lot]]

* The first half of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s fifth Act goes swimmingly for its focal group of [[InternetTroll Internet Trolls]]. They overcome their differences to defeat the evil Black King and prepare to receive the ULTIMATE REWARD for defeating him; then a scratch in spacetime releases an invincible demon who kills their robot army and forces the Trolls to hide deep in an asteroid field until they can think of a way to overcome the demon.

* The finale of ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog''. MadScientist [[VillainProtagonist Dr. Horrible]] held at gunpoint with his own death ray? The gun explodes and he survives. The MadeOfIron superheroic jerk Captain Hammer is injured and humiliated. Then Penny, who has just realized Dr. Horrible and Billy Buddy are one and the same and in love with her, gets impaled and killed with shrapnel.

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has a brutal one in the original GrandFinale "Last But Not Beast," combining it with a massive case of StatusQuoIsGod. Dexter and his family have finally learned how to work together and were able to literally not only stop the monster Dexter accidentally unleashed from Japan. However, he accidentally mentions his lab, which causes Mom and Dad to remember it, too[[note]]He had to reveal it to get them to work with him[[/note]]. What does Dexter do? Pull out a mind eraser gun, erasing the memories of the lab and everything after it! However, Monkey, who had aided the family earlier, loses his mask, making Dexter realize his pet monkey was the hero. So, Monkey goes and takes the gun and erases HIS memory, allowing Mandark, who was taken out early on, to claim victory and leaving Dexter to bemoan that he wished he destroyed the monster. And [[TheDitz Dee Dee]] says ''nothing about it''.

* Happens to WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack ''all the time''. Because FailureIsTheOnlyOption ''every'' time a way home is within reach, something will cause him to lose the chance or compel him to forfeit it. [[spoiler:Even when he DOES manage to get back home, he ends up losing the woman he loves]].

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel:'' The fourth issue ends with one, on account of sales having been enough to keep fights into the series going. So that he's suddenly thinking this.

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' villain Lord Cutler Beckett manages to corner both Jack Sparrow and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s preteen son is ''eaten'' by his pirate alliance with a villain, and by massive fleet of ships at the end of the arc that reveals all this, only two of the reality's X-Men are left alive.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' straddles the Autobots line with straightforward Thumbsucking and subverting it, and arguably the entire series can be said to play heavily on the premise. The characters, many of which are triumphant, just ordinary teenagers such as Shinji Ikari are asked to perform militaristic and difficult roles that an average person in their circumstances would be expected to struggle with and be defiant towards. Sometimes the Decepticons series plays up Thumbsucking by having been disabled due to the action of one of cast surrender to angst and suffering leading to terrible outcomes, sometimes they're able to act fantastically brave and composed to get through the situations facing them, and arguably the anime ending is about the creator telling viewers, specifically their human friends, [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Hikikomori japanese audience]] not to give into Thumbsucking in real life.
[[AC:Comics]]
* In Isom, the titular character Isom aka Avery fails to save a single woman at a comic convention, which is so traumatizing to him he literally goes into retirement for years and everything looks good. Optimus gives up being a superhero, spending his time Thumbsucking on a ranch. Even prior to her death he has abit of a mental breakdown while she's captured in a way that is making not only obscene for a speech, and then BAM! [[TheSpock Shockwave]] arrives and takes out seasoned superhero, but likely what few Autobots were still standing leads to her death to begin with.
* In a justified example, this is played intentionally in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/Watchmen Watchmen]], with one shot.

[[AC:Movies]]

* Website/GoAnimate: No matter how savvy the troublesome kids in the grounded videos are nor how far the measures they take to hide their wrong-doings, something invariably happens that exposes them, even when there is no ''possible'' way they could have been caught.

* ''ComicBook/BlueIsTheWarmestColor'': Just as it seems that Emma [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]]: After losing his 2nd dual with Kaiba, Yugi literally collapses on the ground after Kaiba threatened to kill himself and Clémentine are going he felt guilt for almost pushing him to be happy together, it turns out that [[spoiler:Clémentine]] has been dying do so. He spends two whole episodes and a dual with Mai later just to recover, this inspite of a heart disease all along without realizing it. [[spoiler:[[DrugsAreBad The drugs that she took made her heart even worse]]]].

* Enter ''Webcomic/Homestuck2'', where John Egbert finds himself utterly shocked by a firebombing of his home- actually, a replica of his home, from Jane's henchmen. Nevermind that he had won the election now tells him that he ''still'' lost the election powers to some random guy. Diabolus pours salt into Uno's wounds by suggesting that his fellow operatives ''also'' voted for the other guy.]]

* This is the purpose of the Kanker Sisters in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. They tend to show up anytime something's actually going ''right'' for the titular characters (ex. "Over Your Ed," "Look Into My Eds").

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Enter [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Webcomic/Homestuck2 Homestuck^2]], where John Egbert finds himself utterly shocked by a firebombing of his home- actually, a replica of his home, from Jane's henchmen. Nevermind that he had won the election now tells him that he ''still'' lost the election powers to some random guy. Diabolus pours salt into Uno's wounds by suggesting that his fellow operatives ''also'' voted for the other guy.]]

[[AC:Anime]]

->'''Billy:''' Billy-Whoa whoa whoa, Miss Lippy. The part of the story I don't like is that the little boy gave up looking for Happy after an hour. He didn't put posters up or anything, he just sat on the porch like a goon and waited. That little boy's gotta think 'You got a pet. You got a responsibility.' If your dog is lost you don't look for an hour then call it quits. You get your ass out there and you find that f***ing dog.
-->--'[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/BillyMadison "Billy Madison"]]
->These days when I'm on the brink of the edge, Remember the words that you said. Remember the life you led. You'd say, "Oh, suck it all up, don't get stuck in the mud Thinkin' of things that you should have done."

-->--'[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/ImagineDragons "Wrecked, Imagine Dragons"]]
When done right, displays of sadness and angst can do alot for the audience. It can make us sympathize with them, identify and and relate to their struggles. It can tell a story about how one overcomes struggles and deals with difficult emotions, tales of facing one's fears and beating adversity.

When done horribly, these displays do the opposite.

Has the sad gotten so bad the cast is making amateur mistakes? Have their character arcs come to a screeching halt? Has their self-pity and BSOD become so strong it's directly impeding the plot in a way that seems disproportionate to the tragedy?

We've entered Thumbsucking territory. Thumbsucking happens when sudden character-driven negative outcomes in a story are so unfairly impacting the character arcs and story and so self-inflicted, they begin to lose the audience. Viewers want to watch their heroes complete their goals, when they stop making progress towards them or sabotage themselves in silly and unnecessary ways the poorly done drama alienates audiences, and characters begin to look foolish and annoying.

Thumbsucking is essentially the melding of [[AngstDissonance Angst Dissonance]], [[IdiotBall Idiot Ball]] and a little bit of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Narm Narm]].

The trope occurs when angst and sadness are so invasive in the tone it renders characters incompetent. Everyone has rainy days, and while it's realistic to expect people in real life to deal with depression and trauma, in fiction being unable to escape depression to the point of active [[HisOwnWorstEnemy self-sabotage]] can quickly alienate fans and even turn them against said character. Even in real life, their are certain circumstances (Legal, military) where the gravity of the situation is too serious where saddening mistakes are going to have dire consequences, i.e. a platoon isn't going to excuse a soldier for getting their fellow soldiers killed because they had a bad breakup or are having an episode.

This can be for a lot of different reasons, some of which are discussed here. We don't really know what's in the characters head, but the audience's room for sympathy extends to characters that we know, so a hero digging a ditch over their wise mentor/father figure will be greatly less annoying than one craddling on the ground because Willy Whompas the Rat mascot character got rabides.

Maybe the character has way more money, power and means to circumnavigate whatever negative outcome hit them, or something so overwhelmingly powerful it makes the tragedy and incompetence aggravating, such as being saddened over a dead character when a revival artifact exists or the setback is way too minor and contrived disproportionate reaction.

Keep in mind that the reason Thumbsucking is so aggravating because not only does the audience know the stakes, they know the character well enough that such actions would be inexcusable in the context they're done. Thumbsucking occurs only when both consistencies are broken.

Thus the trope can be averted when:
* The character in question would not be expected to be able to handle overwhelming trauma or tension in the face of distressing stakes. We expect [[Film/TheTerminator Captain Roboarms]] and Mr. Powerful Man to be able to succeed in light of setbacks, not fall to Thumbsucking. If Captain Doofus or Always Tearup Man however cannot overcome the odds and fumble while crying, that's understandable. Similarly a regular civilian going into shock when they see a city explode or random people slaughtered is just not going to know how to process that or do much, so not alot is really expected of them.

* Complete physical inaction, such as when a character is so in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeroicBSoD shock]] they go into a coma or are physically disabled beyond the point of being able to contribute any further, let alone make annoying mistakes. There's no agency in a character that's passed out, and audiences will usually give them a pass in that case.
* The odds are so ridiculously stacked against the protagonist via [[DiabolusexMachina Diabolus ex Machina]] that no one would fault the hero for being blindsided and having literally no possible turnaround. For ex, a hero having their planned ruined, means destroyed and them running away as fast as they can when there's reasonably no other option left. In that case, trying to do something stupidly rash or giving up uncharacteristically could turn back around into Thumbsucking.
* Lesser stakes rather than overwhelming ones- a character who cannot pass a math test and cries in studyhall might be a little twerpy, but they're not actively endangering others or their goals don't have a huge impact. A starship captain who is getting his entire crew killed because it's holding a picture of his dead wife will draw way more criticism and flack.
* If the plot is supposed to be wangsty and about a character dealing with said trauma, to where it's less Thumbsucking and more the point of the story itself. Not all Angst Dissonance slows down the cast or interferes with the plot, sometimes it just is the plot. A war story like Fairwell to Arms or movie like Grave of the Fireflies are naturally going to be sad and depressing, in both these examples the cast manages the seriousness of the situation as the focus. Additionally you have characters that are just [[TheEeyore always sad]] regardless.
* If the incompetence is not caused by any sadness, depression, trauma or angst related measures and just a stupid thing a character does that they should've reasonable avoided. [[OutofCharacter OOC]] and [[IdiotBall Idiot Ball]] moments happen, but are only Thumbsucking when the culprit is excessive sad moods in the narrative.
* The sadness is given appropriate time to deal with and tackled directly, instead of cutting into more goal-oriented or active beats of a storyline or scene while it's still happening, where it's dramatic poison. A character given a proper funeral for instance or cast sitting around a fire remembering someone departed delivers the pathos much easier than if said characters are feeling overwhelmed to the point they cannot even act when the story calls for it.
* The characters are supposed to be idiots and the sabotage is comedic or intentional, in which Thumbsucking is averted.


For reasons related to how Villains are typically portrayed, antagonists very rarely get Thumbsucking. If they do, the effect is they lose their intimidation and so will seldom give into emotions like this.

Basically, it's understandable if a character is sad because they're losing agency and hit with misfortune. What Thumbsucking is about is when they're hit with misfortune and losing agency ''because'' they're sad and acting irrational or wildly out of character, succuming to results that they could've easily avoided or improved if not for Thumbsucking. Losing a loved one from a car accident leading to depression gathers sympathy, but hitting someone with a car ''because you're depressed'' will invoke annoyance and outrage for analogy.

See also [[MinorInjuryOverreaction Minor Injury Overreaction]], where the trope is intentional instead of unintentional from a dramatic standpoint. Read up on the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Narm Narm]] article for examples that are toned funny and comedic, rather than more often annoying.
----

* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Anime/YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]]: After losing his 2nd dual with Kaiba, Yugi literally collapses on the ground after Kaiba threatened to kill himself and he felt guilt for almost pushing him to do so. He spends two whole episodes and a dual with Mai later just to recover, this inspite of the island tournament being on a timelimit and his grandfather's soul on the line.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'''s last fight features Yusuke vs Yomi, where the former breaks down into existential angst and starts questioning the purpose of fighting, keeping in mind this is the ''third round'' of the second tournament he's done and almost two-hundred chapters worth of fights into the series that he's suddenly thinking this.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' straddles the line with straightforward Thumbsucking and subverting it, and arguably the entire series can be said to play heavily on the premise. The characters, many of which are just ordinary teenagers such as Shinji Ikari are asked to perform militaristic and difficult roles that an average person in their circumstances would be expected to struggle with and be defiant towards. Sometimes the series plays up Thumbsucking by having the cast surrender to angst and suffering leading to terrible outcomes, sometimes they're able to act fantastically brave and composed to get through the situations facing them, and arguably the anime ending is about the creator telling viewers, specifically their [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Hikikomori japanese audience]] not to give into Thumbsucking in real life.

* In Isom, the titular character Isom aka Avery fails to save a single woman at a comic convention, which is so traumatizing to him he literally goes into retirement for years and gives up being a superhero, spending his time Thumbsucking on a ranch. Even prior to her death he has abit of a mental breakdown while she's captured in a way that is not only obscene for a seasoned superhero, but likely what leads to her death to begin with.
* In a justified example, this is played intentionally in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/Watchmen Watchmen]], with part of Veidt's plan to keep Dr. Manhattan's constantly existentially tortured and play on his misery so he doesn't suspect Veidt is up to anything (With the addition of a device that blocks his futuresight). It works to stunning efficiency.

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' villain Lord Cutler Beckett manages to corner both Jack Sparrow and his pirate alliance with a massive fleet of ships at the end of the film. When he mistakingly thinks that the Dutchman has beaten Jack, he's caught offguard in a surprise attack that has him lose morale quickly and lose any semblance of command. Keep in mind he never thinks to hastily retreat, and still has Jack outnumbered with literally dozens of ships more than his enemy that could easily overwhelm said adversary. Once him and his ship is sunk, the rest of the armada are so struck with Thumbsucking they don't think to retaliate or attack despite having the massive overwhelming adventage in numbers and firepower.
[[AC:TV Serials]]
* During any Writers-strike era arc of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Heroes Heroes]], you could expect Peter Petrelli to get mopey, angst heavily and forget he had a ridiculous number of powers that he's copied to get him out of literally any situation. This went so far that he literally lost his brother to Sylar in later seasons when he easily could've prevented it by just remembering his abilities and dealing with Sylar properly earlier on.

* Enter [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Webcomic/Homestuck2 Homestuck^2]], where John Egbert finds himself utterly shocked by a firebombing of his home- actually, a replica of his home, from Jane's henchmen. Nevermind that he had the powers to literally not only stop the bombs but literally put out the fire. The scene suggests he sat there until sundown, literally hours just watching it burn without doing a single thing. It was so bad, the writers even had to do damage control by him lampshading and excusing said actions immediately next update.

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%% This page is not for complaining about plot twists or discussing them.
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%% Also, take note: "Like the Deus Ex Machina, it only applies if it comes out of the left field."
%% It is not just any plot twist that complicates things for the protagonists.
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%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
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[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Sinfest}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sinfest_bad_ending.png]]]]

->''"This is not the convenient plot twist that saves our heroes. This is the convenient plot twist that makes them even more screwed."''
-->-- '''Ryan MC''', ''Webcomic/TwoEvilScientists''

Diabolus ex Machina (''[[GratuitousLatin Devil from the Machine]]'') is the EvilCounterpart of DeusExMachina: the introduction of an unexpected new event, character, ability, or object designed to ensure that things suddenly get much worse for the protagonists, much better for the villains, or both. [[Website/TheEditingRoom This could also be called]] Acute Dramatic Necessity Disorder.

Observers of this trope should note three things:
# Diabolus ex Machina is often brought in simply because if the villain were to lose, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption the story would be over]]. Like the Deus ex Machina, it only applies if it comes out of left field.
# Like the Deus ex Machina, a Diabolus ex Machina does not necessarily occur at the end. Though it often overlaps with {{Ending Trope}}s, it should not be confused for one.
# The Diabolus ex Machina, while a very common PetPeeveTrope when used for a DownerEnding, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools can be pulled off]] — see the entire "[[RuleOfIndex Rule of X]]" series of tropes.

If a movie ends with a "TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath" for the last surviving character, it may be this. Also see NotQuiteSavedEnough. Compare DiabolusExNihilo, AssPull, and CruelTwistEnding, as well as LifeWillKillYou. Often the cause of a SuddenDownerEnding. Likely to be employed by writers who believe that TrueArtIsAngsty. If the ending is fine, but then the ''sequel'' makes it meaningless, that's a HappyEndingOverride.

Please note that the examples below will '''contain lots of ending spoilers''', as many tend to be on the tail-end of stories. But we'll try to keep you from getting too spoiled.

%%Note that most real life sports examples have been removed because, as many have pointed out, one side's impossible loss is the other's miraculous win.

!!Examples:
[[index]]
* DiabolusExMachina/AnimeAndManga
* [[DiabolusExMachina/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]
* DiabolusExMachina/{{Literature}}
* DiabolusExMachina/LiveActionTV
* DiabolusExMachina/VideoGames
[[/index]]
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/BlueIsTheWarmestColor'': Just as it seems that Emma and Clémentine are going to be happy together, it turns out that [[spoiler:Clémentine]] has been dying of a heart disease all along without realizing it. [[spoiler:[[DrugsAreBad The drugs that she took made her heart even worse]]]].
* ''ComicBook/MarvelUniverseVsThePunisher'': By the end of “Marvel Universe Vs The Avengers”, Hawkeye has vowed to avenge his teammates (many of which have been killed or turned into cannibals)..and then an infected Thor comes out of nowhere and crushes his head.
* ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' story "The Hungry Smurfs" (and its AnimatedAdaptation counterpart "Haunted Smurfs") has one early on in the story, when the Smurf Village storehouse catches fire without any in-story explanation, immediately setting up the situation where the Smurfs are without food.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
** In the issue before the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide crossover with Mega Man]], Sonic and his friends have found and retrieved Mecha Sally and Silver has finally understood what the whole "Freedom Fighter traitor" deal was about... then Eggman hits everyone with the Genesis Wave and we're left at a cliffhanger which is {{aborted|Arc}} the moment the crossover ends.
** The arc before the crossover was a series of these for Ixis Naugus: [[spoiler:his bid for the throne happened on the exact same day that both Eggman ''and'' the Battle Bird Armada attacked for unrelated reasons. And even though some of his later schemes had failed and the fear and paranoia that allowed him to make his bid had died down, Naugus got another chance by possessing his apprentice. Of course, the crossover took care of all that]].
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel:'' The fourth issue ends with one, on account of sales having been enough to keep the series going. So the Autobots are triumphant, the Decepticons having been disabled due to the action of one of their human friends, and everything looks good. Optimus is making a speech, and then BAM! [[TheSpock Shockwave]] arrives and takes out what few Autobots were still standing with one shot.
* ''ComicBook/UncannyXForce'' reveals that the ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse reality had been positively ''slammed'' with this, and ''off-panel'' no less, since we last saw it. The eponymous dictator was dead and everyone seemed to be starting to rebuild their lives... and then [[CosmicEntity the Celestials]] showed up, judging that Earth must be destroyed. ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} cuts a deal with the Celestials: he will function as their agent on Earth if they spare the planet. The Celestials accept and transform Wolverine with their technology. Now, who was the last guy they did this to? Oh, right, [[OhCrap Apocalypse himself]]. Needless to say, it doesn't end well: pogroms against baseline humans are initiated, ComicBook/{{Rogue}} and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s preteen son is ''eaten'' by a villain, and by the end of the arc that reveals all this, only two of the reality's X-Men are left alive.
* A very confusing one in ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'': "Vampis Feary Tales - Metifa" shows a DeusExMachina as this trope. [[spoiler:Metifa, Satan's woman, just wants to show off to an old man by playing with fire. The old man is very unimpressed, demasks as God and smites her.]]
* It's also a favorite of ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead''. Was it really necessary for Rick to [[spoiler: lose his hand, his wife, and his newborn daughter]]?
* Occurs in a number of ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' issues from Marvel. One occurrence dealt with the story arc where Captain America became The Captain when the US Government had replaced him with John Walker. It looks like Cap's won in the what-if and everything's going to be great with him still Captain America when suddenly Red Skull orders his sleeper agent to shoot Captain America in the back of the head in the middle of the news conference announcing the positive resolution of things. Cap's promptly killed, Walker in taking his place ends up going on a bloody rampage, the identity of Captain America is retired and Red Skull sits back sipping his wine reveling over his victory.
* ComicBook/XMenMessiahComplex. The ''ComicBook/XMen'' have finally defeated all of their enemies and [[spoiler:Cyclops has given the mutant baby to Cable to take into the future]]. Everything seems great. [[spoiler:Until Bishop, who's been trying to kill the baby to prevent his horrible future, shoots at the baby and Cable.]] And [[spoiler:Cable is already disappearing from that point in time, leaving the shot to go through and hit ComicBook/ProfessorX in the head]]. It really sucks to be a mutant. Granted he got better since this is a comic book and [[spoiler:Professor X missing at the end was a hint]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* In ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean'', Wally (nephew[[note]]or younger brother or younger cousin. Their relationship depends on which reference you check[[/note]] of the title character) has just returned from a trip to Iraq, with his new bride and newly adopted orphaned waif in tow. The future looks bright for the young Winkerbeans... until Wally gets a letter from the Army telling him that he was technically A.W.O.L., because his discharge was issued ''one day too early''. As a result, Wally is ordered back to active duty to serve a full year's tour of duty. The readership was pretty sure that discharges don't work like that (even the ones incorrectly filed) and could've fought the order if he wanted (and almost certainly won). [[HonorBeforeReason But he fought the war instead.]] As an extra kick in the metaphorical nads, Becky finds out she's pregnant just in time for Wally to get shipped off. [[DeusAngstMachina An extra EXTRA kick]] was administered when the second TimeSkip came about and Wally was nowhere to be found. Turns out that for the entire second TimeSkip, Wally was held captive by insurgents.\\\
Ironically, the author's complete ignorance on military discharges was such that he overlooked an entirely ''legal'' way to suddenly recall Wally to service. All initial enlistment contracts are for ''eight'' years of service obligation, not four. The typical arrangement is only four years of active duty and then four more years of "Individual Ready Reserve" status, the practical upshot being that short of medical disability, Bad Conduct Discharge, etc., you can be yanked back in entirely at their discretion up until eight years have passed since your initial enlistment. The recruiter is required to make darn sure you understand this before you sign.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'':
** If you're going into the funny pages, Charlie Brown learned that the demon of heartbreaking sports losses can attack ''after'' the end of the game, when he has a rare win stripped from him over a "gambling scandal" (Rerun betting Snoopy a nickel that they would win).
** Also, the fire that destroyed Snoopy's doghouse in 1966 seemed to come out of nowhere.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Curtis}}'': [=*GULP!*=] [[KidsAreCruel It's Derrick and]] [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname "Onion"!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* The [[SoBadItsGood cheesy yet fairly popular]] ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' fanfic series, ''Fanfic/HalfLifeFullLifeConsequences'', uses this as a SequelHook: The first installment ends with "the next boss" coming out of nowhere and stepping on Gordon Freeman, setting up for a sequel that centers around [[MartyStu John Freeman]] hunting down the next boss. Adding to the bizarreness, our heroes had just defeated the "FinalBoss", which by all rights should preclude any more bosses showing up.
** And the second installment, after the defeat of the evil boss, ends with the dead Gordon Freeman becoming a ''zombie goast''.
** This is followed up with a glorious DeusExMachina in the third chapter, when even further into the future, John Freeman descends from the heavens to assist his son in defeating the Combines and sending them back to science and outer space.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager Virtual Season 8'' uses one of these after the crew is almost home, getting them lost again in order to [[FixFic fix a few plot holes]] as well as to set up a more satisfying climactic battle in Virtual Season 9.
* ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'' DarkFic series ''Fanfic/ImmortalitySyndrome'' has several of these, but the biggest comes in ''Immortality Relapse'' at [[spoiler: the climax, when Boomer {{Face Heel Turn}}s and survives impalement long enough to trigger the death of the world]].
* There's a {{Crossover}} [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/20025/a-stranger-in-ponyville-or-a-genre-shift-in-three-acts fanfiction]] for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' and [[Webcomic/{{Sonichu}} Chris-Chan]]. One of the chapters introduces a device actually ''called'' the "Diabolus ex-Machina," which serves its purpose of throwing the direction of the conflict in favor of the villains. If that isn't enough LampshadeHanging, the ''chapter'' it's introduced is called "Diabolus ex Machina? [[BlatantLies Never Heard Of It!]]"
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TriumphOfTheRetart'', Daria and her new boyfriend, AuthorAvatar David [=MacAllister=], are finally settling down after surviving David's run for Student Government President, during which he was the target of beatings and an assassination attempt. Just as it seems that they've [[EarnYourHappyEnding earned their happy ending]], David is killed by a suicide bomber.
* ''Fanfic/SonicXDarkChaos'':
** Episode 75. Two fleets - a Demon fleet and a Metarex fleet led by the Blue Typhoon - are facing off. Maledict and the heroes are about to have their final climactic showdown. And then [[spoiler:Dark Tails suddenly appears, steals all the Chaos Emeralds, and uses them to fully manifest himself in the physical universe]], beginning the ''real'' final battle.
** The ending is one of these; [[spoiler:Dark Tails' defeat allows the Forerunners to escape - and it's implied that they quickly devastate the entire universe]].
* After waking up in a Britannian hospital in Pendragon in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11292442/14/Nil-Desperandum Nil Desperandum]]'', [[GenderFlip Luluka]] manages to escape quickly and cleanly without being spotted by anyone. Then at the first intersection she comes to, her getaway car is struck by a drunk driver. Schneizel even notes that if not for that, they likely would have never found her again.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11994721/1/Best-Friends-Forever Best Friends Forever]]'', near the end [[spoiler: a three-way fight between Neptune, K-sha and Noire]] is dying down, and although both Neptune and Noire are seriously wounded and Noire additionally exhausted from using NEXT form, Compa and [=IF=] have arrived and are patching up Neptune, and Noire is about to bring the plot to its resolution by [[spoiler: confessing her love for Neptune]]. However, it turns out the reason why Compa and [=IF=] are there is because [[spoiler: Uzume, Big Neptune and [=MAGES.=] are about to dimension warp over not only an Arfoire from a dimension she rules over, but also her top enforcers [=CFW=] Magic and Dark Purple]].
* ''Fanfic/ForgedDestiny'': In Book 6: Chapter 8, [[spoiler:the Hunters have set up a reasonably well thought out trap to ensnare Roman, Neo, and Watts, all of whom are exhausted from their trek through the desert and have no way of even accessing the first temple. Even if they did have a way to enter the temple, they would have to outrun the Hunters close behind them while fighting through hordes of Grimm to reach the main complex. Even if they did reach the main complex, they still don't have any of the human sacrifices necessary to summon Salem. Through unexplained means, the villainous group both gains access to the temple without having to perform a blood offering, outruns the heroes while fighting Grimm, and have a large amount of sacrifices delivered to them presumably through a portal that is briefly seen when it was previously stated that portals shouldn't be able to access the temple.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove''; a chase sequence leads to the villains Yzma and Kronk falling down a ravine, leaving the heroes Kuzco and Pacha free to get back to the palace. However, then it turns out that [[OffscreenTeleportation the villains are already there]], and Kuzco demands to know how they got back first. After a pause, Yzma admits that she doesn't know, and Kronk even [[BreakingTheFourthWall pulls up a chart of the chase sequence]] to point out that it makes no sense.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeVTheMysteriousIsland'': At the start, a massive horde of locusts suddenly appears in the Great Valley and devours all the plants, thus kicking off the plot since the Dinosaurs are now forced to abandon their home and seek refuge elsewhere. These locusts come without any foreshadowing, and once they have ravaged the valley they simply disappear, never to be seen or mentioned again.
* When it's only a few minutes left in ''Animation/PlanetataNaSakrovishtata'', the heroes are making their way back to Earth with the treasure thanks to the reformed Black Dog, who had managed to imprison the villainous pirates within the ship... [[spoiler: Unfortunately, Supersilver suddenly breaks out, kills everyone except Philip, and causes a fire in the ship in a [[TakingYouWithMe fit of rage]], and the only escape pod can't fit both Philip and the treasure at the same time. This forces Philip to have to make a difficult choice between saving himself or send the treasure back to Earth.]]
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobMovieSpongeOutOfWater The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water]]'', because Burgerbeard is able to rewrite reality to his will, he obtains the secret formula, empties the Patty Vault, and turns Bikini Bottom into a dystopia. [[spoiler:He later strands the heroes on Pelican Island with the same method.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/DepecheMode's song "Blasphemous Rumors" is about a girl who tried to commit suicide at age sixteen. She fails, and learns to love life again. Then she dies in an accident.
* Countless country songs take advantage of this, often to a {{narm}}y extent. In fact, it's a common joke in the American south that if you play country music backwards, the singer's wife will return to him, bearing his dog and his truck intact.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/MichaelCole winning at ''Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}} XXVII''. He was a non wrestling non athlete going against one of the all time greats with another all time great backing that one up, but "won" because the anonymous general manager decided to reverse the decision on the grounds Wrestling/JerryLawler had help, even though that "help" was just evening the playing field since Cole tried to get Wrestling/JackSwagger to help him.
* Wrestling/{{M|ontelVontaviousPorter}}VP's Beat Down Clan was a logical place to go, seeing as he had been a megalomaniac ever since his FaceHeelTurn in TNA. Kenny King had been with him from the start, even Wrestling/BobbyLashley not being in on it was okay because he was at least ''implied'' to be more honorable than the other two. What knocked them into this trope was the entry of Wrestling/SamoaJoe and Wrestling/LowKi into the group. Joe in particular had been feuding with MVP almost since the start of his turn and him maybe putting aside his differences with Lashley might have made sense but King had cheated during Joe and Bobby's last match so him taking King and MVP's side was even more baffling.
* Las Sicarias being infiltrated, beaten down and cheated out of a match by their sworn enemies C4 was [[HangingSeparately largely]] the [[PoorCommunicationKills fault]] of their new recruits Wrestling/MercedesMartinez and Wrestling/TheaTrinidad. Losing all their contenders to all SHINE title belts in the process though was the fault of the referee seeing Martinez choking out Wrestling/AllysinKay during a three way title match, [=LuFisto=] arriving too late to stop her and giving [=LuFisto=] the winning pin fall anyway on a ''one count''. It also wasn't the fault of Martinez that after SHINE officials all but admitted they had messed up they put Martinez in another match with Kay, who she basically already beat, rather than [=LuFisto=] who got credit for it. But the heels had apparently gone long enough without the clear advantage.
* Wrestling/FinnBalor [[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]] in Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} would've been shocking enough. That it had to happen at the expense of Wrestling/JohnnyGargano (who up until that point ''never'' had beef with Finn) in the middle of a HopeSpot while he and Wrestling/TommasoCiampa were staring down Wrestling/TheUndisputedEra was rubbing salt in the wound.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* To some ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' fans, Diabolus is behind the Jihad storyline. Let's see, the Clan invasion is finally called off, the Star League tentatively reestablished, and while there are still loose ends left over (like the threat of the Wolf Khan to come invading anyway once the original truce is up, or the aftermath of a nasty civil war) things finally seem to be ready to calm down a bit...but hey, we can't have that, right? This game isn't called ''[[StatusQuoIsGod PeaceTech]]''! So the Star League declares itself a sham and disbands again for no good reason just in time to cause the suddenly uber-powerful pseudo-religious lunatics known as the Word of Blake to go AxCrazy and start pulling cyborg super soldiers, nuclear weapons, and other stuff out of their nether regions in an all-out war against everybody...
* The [[{{Metaplot}} ending]] to the ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}: Hell on Earth'' setting involved the [[PlayerParty PCs]] getting a chance to kill the {{Big Bad}}s of the game. After going through a bunch of [[{{Railroading}} Railroaded]] scenes, they're presented with the opportunity to win and a ship to do so ([[spoiler:but they have to [[PoweredByAForsakenChild sacrifice one of their own]] to the demonically-powered engine to do so]]). Then you get to a distant planet... and the ship crashes and the {{Big Bad}}s are re-released. At least the GameMaster ''should'' have been implying that this was the best possible result from the start; the [[SealedEvilInACan can]] that had the {{Big Bad}}s in it was always shaky at best. [[AllUpToYou Guess who gets to hunt them down]] and [[KilledOffForReal finish the job]] now?
* The entire universe of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' was probably made by Diabolus.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* In the Richard Strauss opera ''Elektra'', the title character, in the midst of rejoicing over the deaths of her mother and her consort, suddenly drops dead at the end for no reason except to bring down the curtain on a crushing downer note.
* Creator/WilliamShakespeare is a notorious offender.
** In ''Theatre/KingLear'' Cordelia's death comes out of the blue, transforming the play into a tragedy in its final act. Many of Shakespeare's other plays were based on earlier stories that his audience would have been familiar with. Shakespeare killed Lear and Cordelia off because he wanted to surprise the audience. This ending was subject to a lot of FanonDiscontinuity in later centuries, and many performances ended with Cordelia marrying Edgar instead ... even though she already got married earlier in the play.
** ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' is one Diabolus Ex Machina after another. This is even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d; the line in the opening speech about them being "star-crossed lovers" is a reference to the practice of trying to predict the future using astrology, implying that Fate really is out to get them. (Most notably, the final tragedy plays out when the Friar is temporarily detained by a plague quarantine, and thus is unable to get to Romeo and tell him the truth about Juliet's fake suicide.)
** The famous ExitPursuedByABear bear that appears in ''Theatre/TheWintersTale'' appears completely at random.
* In ''Theatre/{{Finale}}'', the reveal that [[spoiler:the world is ending in a week]] comes at the end of Act 1, and ''severely'' screws up everyone's plans.
* At the end of ''Pass Over'', a [[RaceLift black-focused]] SettingUpdate of ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'', Moses and Kitch [[HopeSpot seem to have earned their happy ending]], but then Master, the [[FaceHeelTurn previously friendly]] white businessman, suddenly reappears and guns down Moses, who [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dies in Kitch's arms]].
* Much like ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', the final tragedy of ''Theatre/WestSideStory'' only plays out because Anita gets attacked by the Jets while trying to tell Tony to wait for Maria. Then, in the heat of the moment, Anita claims that Chino killed Maria. Tony then becomes a DeathSeeker and begs Chino to kill him- and it’s just when he sees that Maria is alive that Chino pulls the trigger.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Whenever the glider in ''VisualNovel/IfMyHeartHadWings'' is completed, something will go wrong no matter what, unless it's the end of a route.
* Quite a few Bad Ends for ''VisualNovel/OokamiKakushi'' fall under this. To be fair, not all of them are like this; some can be obtained by simply making the wrong decision (such as choosing to believe one girl over the other). As for ''others'', however, there are arcs where you don't immediately see the result of a combination of choices you made until much later, which tend to result in this trope. Probably the best example of this is one Bad End where Hiroshi attempts to commit suicide after [[spoiler:becoming a Kamibito and losing his friends]] only to be saved by Nemuru, who convinces him to keep living. Sounds like a happy, potentially heartwarming way to end a chapter, right? [[spoiler:Cut to one month later, where Hiroshi comes across his old mufflers that have his old, strong honey-like scent attached, which causes him to go insane and attack his sister, which then leads to his implied execution.]]
* Similarly, plenty of bad ends for ''VisualNovel/RootDoubleBeforeCrimeAfterDays'' in Root A end up this way, typically in ones where he follows his superior's orders. While there are a few cases where he was ultimately right for not following them (as the aforementioned superior took an emergency field promotion and is inexperienced in that area), that's very much the minority in such endings.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'': In BFDI 18 Pencil loses for getting over a hundred points because of budget cuts. In BFDI 20 Firey's spaceship disappears due to budget cuts. Conversely, Team No-Name loses the challenge when Puffball lets her team get eaten by a giant fish because of her greed for prizes. In BFB 25 Leafy and Woody are up for elimination because their totems were given to them by Purple Face.
* Website/GoAnimate: No matter how savvy the troublesome kids in the grounded videos are nor how far the measures they take to hide their wrong-doings, something invariably happens that exposes them, even when there is no ''possible'' way they could have been caught.
* By its very nature, any given episode of ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' will end this way:
** "Swelter Skelter": Nutty trips and his head cracks right open, at which point his brain fries in the heat like an eggshell, and Lifty getting trapped in a ''frozen explosion'', which Shifty then impales himself on.
** The end of "Wingin' It," when after surviving a plane crash and a shark attack, Godzilla shows up out of nowhere and eats Flaky.
** "Idol Curiosity": Just when Sniffles thinks he's evaded all the Cursed Idol's traps, the earthquake he evaded earlier in the episode somehow ''takes a cab'' and destroys his house. He manages to evade it again... and then he breaks in half for no reason, though this could be explained as an effect of Sniffles being cursed.
** "Spare Me": Sniffles spins around, which somehow causes his head to go flying off his body.
* ''[[WebAnimation/SBBBrothers Sims Big Brother 5]]'':
** The main twist of the season is that there was a liar in the house. By "liar", we mean someone playing under a false identity. The Liar is revealed to be Logan, but not to the houseguests. One week, there is a double elimination week and Michael Goldsmith says they have to evict the Liar, or else they will lose a portion of the grand prize (which the Liar would receive). Knowing he is in trouble from the other alliance, Logan persuades the majority and the floaters that the liar is Darby. Thus, the house cast their votes for Darby and Logan, and since Darby receive more, she is evicted.
** Diablous ex Machina struck once before. In ''Sims Big Brother 2'', there was a week in which 6 people were taken into the Solitary chamber, making themselves immune from the vote during Public Voting Week (in which ''everyone'' was up on the block, sans the 6 in the chamber). However, the person who lost all of the challenges was more or less screwed. They couldn't use any of the luxuries, couldn't compete for Head of household, were automatically nominated for three weeks in a row, had to eat an instant meal diet, and if any of those rules were broken, they'd be expelled. Dora unfortunately lost....meaning she had many of the worst weeks of her life in the house. Is it any wonder that after becoming the Unlucky Houseguest, she [[SuicideByCop asked everyone to nominate her and vote her out]]?
* ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' pretty much runs on this. Good thing DeathIsCheap for them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Maria's death in ''Webcomic/AndersLovesMaria''. Occurs in the second-to-last strip, wtih next to no foreshadowing, and Anders spends two splash panels just staring off into space before a TimeSkip to his life as a single father.
* In ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl'', Confrontation just gets worse and worse, with every choice the characters make just making things more dangerous for them.
* The first half of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s fifth Act goes swimmingly for its focal group of [[InternetTroll Internet Trolls]]. They overcome their differences to defeat the evil Black King and prepare to receive the ULTIMATE REWARD for defeating him; then a scratch in spacetime releases an invincible demon who kills their robot army and forces the Trolls to hide deep in an asteroid field until they can think of a way to overcome the demon.
* Din and Jin from ''Webcomic/LasLindas'' seem to be this trope personified. Their latest "prank" rivals the [[Anime/CodeGeass Euphinator Incident]] in terms of everything going to hell in the worst way possible just when things were going good for the cast.
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' pulls two of these at various points to save the (un)life of its BigBad, Xykon -- first [[spoiler:when [[KnightTemplar Miko Miyazaki]] unwittingly pulls the rug out from a paladin who's about to smite Xykon and his [[TheDragon lieutenant]],]] and second when [[spoiler:Xykon's Soul Jar narrowly misses utter and permanent annihilation by falling ''just short'' of a portal to another dimension -- after the bird that was supposed to drop it in from point-blank range stopped shy for what was then no apparent reason]].
* In ''Webcomic/{{Plume}}'', chapter 9 is chock-full of this. It starts with the protagonists having captured the villain and Vesper at the edge of having her vengeance, only for a sudden appearance of Azeel, who proceeds to wreck the party, leaving Corrick's amulet free for Dom to take and ushering what seems to be the ''true'' plot of the comic.
* Happens several times in ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned''. Every things start getting good for the Protagonists, something happens to mess it up. Made even worse, since many of them double as HopeSpot moments. The lists include:
** The end of the "Escape from Hell" arc, where just before Sakido manages to get them out of Hell and into Medius, which she had always wanted to see (at the cost of going berserk, which would have killed her anyway, albeit probably allowing her to at least get a glimpse of her dream), she's promptly shot dead by a Holy Arrow shot by an Angel that for some reason was in Hell.
** In Weyville, just as Buwaro was about to express his feelings to Kieri...an Angel (with severe PTSD that's given him an intense hate for demons and anything remotely associated to them) suddenly shows up out of nowhere.
** In St.Curtis, everyone seemed to be having a good time, with the St. Curtis Arc seemingly shaping up into a breather arc, then the army of Hell decides to break the TruceZone that St. Curtis was shaping up to be. Also, [[spoiler:the Seraphim have gone full-blown cultist, complete with ritual sacrifices of angels, and are commanding most of the demons]].
* Season 5 of ''Webcomic/SurvivorFanCharacters'' was full of these, given that the season was tagged "The Cursed Islands". Such "curses" involved having someone divvy up the tribes, but then get sent to Exile Island and have no control over which tribe they're sent to at the end of Day 3; a tribe being absorbed into the other tribes; someone having the choice to send themselves to Exile Island until the merge, but have absolutely no contact with their tribe mates until then; a random mutiny - one of the challenges was full of these; mainly, contestants would vote as to how many tribal councils they would be willing to go to with such debilitations as not being able to vote, having an extra vote against them, and not being applicable to win immunity. Miranda won the first, Brock won the second [[spoiler:and subsequently led to his elimination]], and Marius won the last [[spoiler:although he managed to ''win'' because of this curse]].
* In the climax of ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic's'' [[http://yafgc.net/comic/2913-final-confrontation/ Rannite arc]], [[TheAce Arachne]] - [[DeusExMachina who just happens to be]] specially trained for this purpose - manages to seal [[GodOfEvil Ranna]] into an unfamiliar body, subdues her and prepares to kill her with a weapon made to make sure Ranna's soul can't escape at the moment of death. But before she can land the coup de grace, she's [[TheGlomp tackle-glomped]] by [[TheDitz Princess Dewcup]], who wanted to show Arachne her new Drow body. And Ranna promptly [[BackStab throat-stabs]] Arachne. In an [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass impressive, but ill-timed bit of badassery]], Dewcup chokes out Ranna with a sleeper hold. Which allows Ranna to escape Arachne's vessel and return to her body. Which she ''then'' promptly uses to [[DeathFromAbove obliterate Black Mountain]] with a burst of raw magic. This is on top of several major characters meeting horrible ends in the course of the storyline.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The finale of ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog''. MadScientist [[VillainProtagonist Dr. Horrible]] held at gunpoint with his own death ray? The gun explodes and he survives. The MadeOfIron superheroic jerk Captain Hammer is injured and humiliated. Then Penny, who has just realized Dr. Horrible and Billy Buddy are one and the same and in love with her, gets impaled and killed with shrapnel.
* "The Grand Heist" in Creator/AchievementHunter's ''[[LetsPlay/AchievementHunterGrandTheftAutoSeries Let's Play Grand Theft Auto V]]''. The Fake AH Crew is able to get the money and race towards the Titan to escape. Ray stays behind and performs a HeroicSacrifice to get the other five into the air. As they're in the air, Gavin's doing his best to stay there and reach their target. [[spoiler:Suddenly, the Titan ''stalls'', clips one of the chasing helicopters and ''kills the rest of the team''.]]
* {{Parodied|Trope}} in WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's review of ''Film/MoulinRouge:'' he spends practically the entire episode complaining about the movie before WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick and Music/{{Brentalfloss}} convince him it is fine as a {{guilty pleasure|s}}. He then randomly shoots Brentalfloss and mourns his loss; mocking one of their complaints about the movie (namely that Satine's consumption -- and her decision to break up with Christian instead of telling him about it -- seem like this trope).
* ''Roleplay/NanQuest'' appears to pull one: just as Nan, Santiago, and Kim have come through a frighteningly-literal hell to get to the end, they are just managing to get out; then, just as Kim goes to leave, part of the burning, crumbling building collapses, pinning her under there where it's likely she'll be burned to death. They reach for her hand, call her name, fade out...[[SubvertedTrope and then]] the timeline alters, the hotel is intact, Kim is a child again and perfectly fine who goes off with her mother (keeping her memories), and even Santiago gets a happy ending as a child/surrogate son for Nan.
* One exists in-universe in ''Website/SCPFoundation''. [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3167 SCP-3167]] (the Character Assassin/[[PunBasedTitle Serial]] [[SerialKiller Killer]]) is an entity that manifests inside copies of popular fictional written works, murdering major characters and rewriting the plot accordingly while causing all those who witness it to view sequels of the affected work as being altered accordingly, often for the worse. Its victims include Literature/SherlockHolmes, [[Literature/HarryPotter Ron Weasley]], and the titular game within the light novel version of ''Literature/SwordArtOnline''. It claims to be carrying out the author's wishes, stating "Rowling wanted Weasley to die. Doyle hated Holmes at the end. Kawahara wishes he had axed SAO a while ago." but neglects to elaborate on its other murders.
* In the ''World's BIGGEST Domino Run'' by ''WebVideo/CorridorDigital'', this trope is used twice. The first usage can be observed when a drone comes out of nowhere to start the driving plot for the protagonists by setting off the domino run before they're ready. The second usage can be observed once the main crisis seems to be averted: they get a call saying Sam's foot is now impossibly stuck under the extremely-heavy domino tower, making them choose between failing and succeeding the world record.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' are not safe from the Diabolus. In one episode, involving a new cat dubbed "Cookie Chomper the 3rd," a DeathByNewberyMedal comes out of nowhere in the ''last two minutes'' of the show.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', "Stan's Best Friend" has Francine getting a dog for Steve, despite Stan's vehemently refusing to get one ever since his jackass of a mother tricked him into killing his previous dog when he was a kid. Stan warms up to the dog quickly, until he tosses a frisbee to the street and a car nearly runs the dog over... [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Cue pirate cats riding a hot air balloon]] landing their basket on the dog, crushing him to death.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' does this ''three times'' in the Book 2 finale. First, it's quite clear that [[spoiler:Zuko's gonna do a HeelFaceTurn and join Team Avatar, but he instead does the [[FaceHeelTurn reverse]], betraying his uncle Iroh and teaming up with Azula]]. Then, [[spoiler:while Aang appears to have mastered the Avatar State, Azula shoots him with lightning, killing him, and successfully taking the Earth Kingdom capitol of Ba Sing Se. [[BackFromTheDead He comes back]], at least]].
** Thirdly, [[spoiler: Azula convincing the Dai Li to turn on Long Feng, an intelligence master who specialized in brain-washing, even on his own subordinate, makes little sense when you break it down. How did Azula break through the brainwashing, loyalty, and the distrust the Dai Li had towards her, all with just the limited interactions she had with them and also with Long Feng being literally the only one to not notice?]]. This may be overlookable if it was just a plot-of-the week type of twist against a band of bandits, but the Dai Li are supposed to be elites and [[spoiler: their turn]] plays a pivotal role in both the climax of the 2nd book and the direction of the story from that point onward.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "Ballin" has Riley coming close to [[BrokenWinLossStreak finally winning a game]] when the mentally challenged replacement center for his main competition turns out to be a [[spoiler:child prodigy at basketball]].
* It didn't involve any dying, but... ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', "Operation Elections": Nigel Uno has just led his school to fend off an attack against a rival middle school, and is making a speech as he's assuming his rightful position as 4th grade president position that was robbed from him by the Delightful Children, who had instigated the attack by the middle school. [[spoiler:And then the guy who earlier told him that he had won the election now tells him that he ''still'' lost the election to some random guy. Diabolus pours salt into Uno's wounds by suggesting that his fellow operatives ''also'' voted for the other guy.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}'' LOVED using these to keep the magical cure-all MacGuffin out of the protagonists hands; it's how they lost it in the first place.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has a brutal one in the original GrandFinale "Last But Not Beast," combining it with a massive case of StatusQuoIsGod. Dexter and his family have finally learned how to work together and were able to stop the monster Dexter accidentally unleashed from Japan. However, he accidentally mentions his lab, which causes Mom and Dad to remember it, too[[note]]He had to reveal it to get them to work with him[[/note]]. What does Dexter do? Pull out a mind eraser gun, erasing the memories of the lab and everything after it! However, Monkey, who had aided the family earlier, loses his mask, making Dexter realize his pet monkey was the hero. So, Monkey goes and takes the gun and erases HIS memory, allowing Mandark, who was taken out early on, to claim victory and leaving Dexter to bemoan that he wished he destroyed the monster. And [[TheDitz Dee Dee]] says ''nothing about it''.
* This is the purpose of the Kanker Sisters in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. They tend to show up anytime something's actually going ''right'' for the titular characters (ex. "Over Your Ed," "Look Into My Eds").
* This trope is a recurring theme in ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeRenegades'', where FailureIsTheOnlyOption. Every time the Joes find something that will clear their names, it's a safe bet it will either get burned, blown up, smashed, stolen, or stabbed. [[spoiler:That is until the series finale where the Joes returned to the Pentagon with all the evidence they needed to clear their names after destroying Cobra Mansion and defeating Cobra Commander, who survived and is ticked off by the way.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'':
** The Devil sure loves stalking [[TheChewToy Eugene Horowitz]]...
** Used in-universe in one episode (that was actually Eugene-focused) where the drama teacher, having been dumped by his girlfriend, changes the ending of the school musical so [[DroppedABridgeOnHim the protagonist is randomly hit by a bus]], the villain steals his {{Love Interest|s}}, and then sings a gloating song about being a KarmaHoudini. The kids spend the rest of the episode trying to get it changed back.
* Happens on a regular basis in ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', usually with [[ButtMonkey Dib]].
* During the ChristmasEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', Doctor Rockzo, The Rock and Roll Clown (he does cocaine) sells all of Toki's Secret Santa gifts, for some cocaine. When Toki finds out, he prepares to give the clown a sound thrashing. Unfortunately, before he can reach him, Murderface's drunk Grandma crashes her scooter into a cross, trapping Toki under it. [[KarmaHoudini Rockzo escapes punishment, and even gets a handjob from Skwisgar's mom]].
* ''[[Franchise/{{Peanuts}} It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown]]'': Final play of game, and we're looking at either Charlie slotting in the game-winning field goal from short-range, or Lucy humiliating herself in front of the crowd for pulling ''that trick'' (you know the one). Even Charlie pulling a John Carney wouldn't have been as bad as [[spoiler:Lucy pulling the trick anyway and ''not'' getting any of the blame for the loss, not even from poor old Chuck]].
* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot''. The final episode of the revival season has [[spoiler:Megabyte captured and our heroes celebrating. But then it turns out the captured Megabyte is an alias (a.k.a. a decoy) and that Megabyte has infiltrated the Principal Office and then takes over]].
* Happens to WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack ''all the time''. Because FailureIsTheOnlyOption ''every'' time a way home is within reach, something will cause him to lose the chance or compel him to forfeit it. [[spoiler:Even when he DOES manage to get back home, he ends up losing the woman he loves]].
* The early episodes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2021}}'' always end with the ''Sealab'' exploding. The most notable example of this trope is the GagDub episode on the original series.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In other election news, a lizard-suit wearing Homer Simpson seems well positioned to win a mayor recall election to replace Quimby, since no one else seems to be good enough. The suit turns out to be his downfall when it shrinks in the wash, and suddenly no one likes him, and since no one gets enough of the vote, Quimby stays in office.
** In "Brother from Another Series," Sideshow Bob appears reformed and gets work release when his brother Cecil offers him a job for a dam project. Bart is convinced that Bob is up to no good, but in the end it turns out Bob really ''has'' reformed and Cecil was trying to embezzle millions from the dam project. Bob actually helps stop Cecil and saves Bart and Lisa's lives, but when the police arrive to arrest Cecil, Police Chief Wiggum insists on arresting Bob as well for no good reason.
--->'''Bob:''' (''in the backseat of the police car with Cecil'') But I ''saved'' the children's lives! I'm a hero!\\
'''Cecil:''' [[ShmuckBait Tell them they'll live to regret this]].\\
'''Bob:''' ''You'll live to regret this!'' ...Oh, thanks a lot. Now ''I'' look crazy.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has too many examples to list.
* This trope is played for laughs in ''WesternAnimation/StoneTrek'': Every episode ends on a happy note... until the ''Starship Magnetize'' explodes for no apparent reason.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Island'', Bunny is [[SwallowedWhole eaten by a snake]]. When Geoff tries to catch the snake to get Bunny back, an eagle swoops in and captures said snake. Geoff [[HopeSpot gets another chance]] when the eagle lands at the edge of the dock, but then a shark jumps out and snatches up not only the eagle with the snake with Bunny inside, but a sizable portion of the dock as well. Although Bunny's demise has dramatic consequences, the incident itself is played for laughs.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'', the double elimination that sends [[spoiler:the Rockers]] home isn't announced until after they reach the Chill Zone and narrowly avoid last place. It's also the only double elimination in the whole series and comes straight after [[spoiler:Spud]] finally gets some CharacterDevelopment and stops being TheLoad.
* Early Creator/BillPlympton short ''WesternAnimation/YourFace'' is a plotless cartoon about a man who sits in front of his camera while a romantic song called "Your Face" plays, and the man's head transforms and morphs in all sorts of bizarre ways. At the end the man finally stops doing weird faces and looks at the camera as it pulls away--until a giant mouth in the earth opens up and swallows him whole.
[[/folder]]
[[noreallife]]
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* When it's only a few minutes left in ''Animation/PlanetataNaSakrovishtata'', the heroes are making their way back to Earth with the treasure thanks to the reformed Black Dog, who had managed to imprison the villainous pirates within the ship... [[spoiler: Unfortunately, Supersilver breaks out, kills everyone except Philip, and causes a fire in the ship in a [[TakingYouWithMe fit of rage]], and the only escape pod can't fit both Philip and the treasure at the same time. This forces Philip to have to make a difficult choice between saving himself or send the treasure back to Earth.

** ''VideoGame/HalfLife2 Episode 2'': After Gordon has whipped the Striders, [[spoiler:a Combine Advisor shows up, immobilizes Gordon, Alyx and Alyx's father Eli, rapes Eli's brain to death by jamming a nozzle up his spine to suck the brains out, but is then stopped by Dog before he can do the same thing to Alyx or Gordon]], leaving the game on a KickTheDog moment.
** Heck, look at ''VideoGame/HalfLife1''. [[spoiler:If you decide not to side with the ostensibly evil G-Man, you're immediately dumped into the middle of a bunch of angry monsters with no hope of victory.]]

* Dalton in the ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''[=/=]''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' continuity. He is quite clearly used as a comedic (and a not really super-powerful) villain in ''Trigger'', but he manages to [[spoiler:exact his vengeance against the heroes]] as suggested in the backstory of ''Cross'' backstory and in dialogue exclusive to the DS version of ''Trigger''.

* It's also a favorite of ComicBook/TheWalkingDead. Was it really necessary for Rick to [[spoiler: lose his hand, his wife, and his newborn daughter]]?

* The [[SoBadItsGood cheesy yet fairly popular]] ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' fanfic series, ''FanFic/HalfLifeFullLifeConsequences'', uses this as a SequelHook: The first installment ends with "the next boss" coming out of nowhere and stepping on Gordon Freeman, setting up for a sequel that centers around [[MartyStu John Freeman]] hunting down the next boss. Adding to the bizarreness, our heroes had just defeated the "FinalBoss", which by all rights should preclude any more bosses showing up.

* ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'' DarkFic series ''FanFic/ImmortalitySyndrome'' has several of these, but the biggest comes in ''Immortality Relapse'' at [[spoiler: the climax, when Boomer {{Face Heel Turn}}s and survives impalement long enough to trigger the death of the world]].

* ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'':

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' fanfic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11994721/1/Best-Friends-Forever Best Friends Forever]], near the end [[spoiler: a three-way fight between Neptune, K-sha and Noire]] is dying down, and although both Neptune and Noire are seriously wounded and Noire additionally exhausted from using NEXT form, Compa and [=IF=] have arrived and are patching up Neptune, and Noire is about to bring to plot to its resolution by [[spoiler: confessing her love for Neptune]]. However, it turns out the reason why Compa and [=IF=] are there is because [[spoiler: Uzume, Big Neptune and [=MAGES.=] are about to dimension warp over not only an Arfoire from a dimension she rules over, but also her top enforcers [=CFW=] Magic and Dark Purple]].
* ''FanFic/ForgedDestiny'': In Book 6: Chapter 8, [[spoiler:the Hunters have set up a reasonably well thought out trap to ensnare Roman, Neo, and Watts, all of whom are exhausted from their trek through the desert and have no way of even accessing the first temple. Even if they did have a way to enter the temple, they would have to outrun the Hunters close behind them while fighting through hordes of Grimm to reach the main complex. Even if they did reach the main complex, they still don't have any of the human sacrifices necessary to summon Salem. Through unexplained means, the villainous group both gains access to the temple without having to perform a blood offering, outruns the heroes while fighting Grimm, and have a large amount of sacrifices delivered to them presumably through a portal that is briefly seen when it was previously stated that portals shouldn't be able to access the temple.]]

* The entire universe of TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} was probably made by Diabolus.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': The finale of the main quest is especially guilty of this, capping off with the protagonist [[spoiler:sacrificing his/her own life by entering a radiation-flooded room to save the world... even though your radiation-proof mutant friend is standing right beside you. The ''Broken Steel'' expansion pack changes this ending, allowing you to send in a highly resistant super mutant, a ghoul who is actually healed by radiation, or a Robot!]]
** Additionally, between {{VideoGame/Fallout 3}} and {{VideoGame/Fallout 4}}, the Capital Wasteland was ravaged by a giant super mutant army that appeared out of nowhere despite the fact that Vault 87, where the super mutants had been created, was out of the Forced Evolutionary Virus that allowed them to make more of themselves in the first place.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' pulls this infamously at the end of the first installment of the duology, ''Innocent Sin''. [[spoiler:Despite having lost his bet with [[BigGood Philemon]] over whether humans can overcome the supernatural adversity he was stirring up, [[GodOfEvil Nyarlathotep]] teleports a minion of his behind [[BarrierMaiden Maya Amano]], who stabs her with the mythical [[LanceOfLonginus Spear of Longinus]], fulfilling the Oracle of Maia and triggering the end of the world. Distraught at the death of their friend, and with the earth destroyed, the remaining party members agree to give up their memories of each other in exchange for Philemon reviving Maya and resetting the timeline.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin 2}}'', after collecting enough treasure to repay the debt of Hocotate Freight, Olimar immediately takes off to return home, only to realize [[SomethingWeForgot he forgot to make sure sure his coworker, Louie, got on the ship with him.]] This results in him needing to return to the planet again, this time to retrieve Louie, who [[spoiler:has somehow taken control of a massive mutant spider, who serves as the game’s [[FinalBoss final boss.]]]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'':

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* One exists in-universe in ''Website/SCPFoundation''. [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3167 SCP-3167]] (the Character Assassin/[[PunBasedTitle Serial]] [[SerialKiller Killer]]) is an entity that manifests inside copies of popular fictional written works, murdering major characters and rewriting the plot accordingly while causing all those who witness it to view sequels of the affected work as being altered accordingly, often for the worse. Its victims include Literature/SherlockHolmes, [[Literature/HarryPotter Ron Weasley]], and the titular game within the light novel version of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline''. It claims to be carrying out the author's wishes, stating "Rowling wanted Weasley to die. Doyle hated Holmes at the end. Kawahara wishes he had axed SAO a while ago." but neglects to elaborate on its other murders.

* ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' pretty much runs on this.

** Raiden's ending in the original ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1''.

* In TheStinger of ''VideoGame/SyphonFilterLogansShadow'', Logan and Xing return to their hideout only to find Mujari dead and Teresa wounded by Trinidad, who then shoots Logan in a moment of CutsceneIncompetence, although he gets off a LastBreathBullet. Xing starts [[CleanPrettyReliable CPR]] on Logan, and the story is left on a {{cliffhanger}}.

* The VideoGame/LikeADragon series is incredibly fond of this trope, where at numerous points throughout the series an antagonist gets their hands on a gun while the protagonists aren't looking, [[OnceAnEpisode getting the supporting character(s) of the game killed so they don't have to be written into the next game.]] This happens so often that the subversion or complete defiance of the trope ends up being more surprising than it being played straight.