History Main / DisposableWoman

* The ultimate fate of [[spoiler:Ashi]] from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. Both she and [[spoiler:the samurai]] develop romantic feelings for one another and decide to get married. But because [[spoiler:she was a creation from Aku's BadFuture that Jack was successful in erasing, she too fades into nothingness]]. And on their ''wedding day'' no less!

* The victim in the very first case of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, Larry's girlfriend, is an example of this trope: Larry moves on from her ''very'' quickly.

* In the second ''Film/AustinPowers'' movie, the disposable women in Film/JamesBond movies are [[ParodiedTrope parodied]]. Austin's former love interest explodes within the first five minutes, inspiring less than a minute of grief before Austin takes off to enjoy the single life again.

* Judy Davis' character in ''Film/BartonFink'' shows up to sleep with the main character and is then murdered in his bed. Barton is able to dispose of the body without anyone noticing, and Davis is never mentioned again in the movie.

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Rachel, the love interest of Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent, is kidnapped by the Joker's goons and is killed in a warehouse explosion. Her death not only impacts Bruce but also [[spoiler: kickstarts Harvey to take revenge on those who wronged him as [[FaceHeelTurn Two-Face]]]]. It's also worth mentioning that Rachel was the ''only'' prominent female character in the movie (and a CanonForeigner on top of that).

* In the lost ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' comic ''Future of Despair'', [[spoiler:Panne]]'s only in-story role is getting herself killed [[IdiotBall in circumstances that]] [[WhatAnIdiot could have easily been averted]], so her CrusadingWidower [[spoiler:Henry]] can go {{mangst}}ing around [[spoiler:while [[ParentalNeglect heavily neglecting]] their son Yarne]] [[spoiler:until he himself dies]].

* An ongoing trend in ''Film/JamesBond'' films. Beautiful women would appear for three scenes at most, before dying, usually after being ploughed by Bond and doing something vague. Often the actresses playing these women would receive star billing in the credits (e.g. "And Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole"). Examples include Jill and Tilly Masterson in ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', Plenty O'Toole in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', Rosie Carver in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and Corinne Dufour in ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''.

** The "New" Bond films have continued this trend. Witness Strawberry Fields in ''Film/QuantumOfSolace.''

* ''Film/ActsOfVengeance'': Valera's wife and daughter basically just exist to be murdered, thus causing his vengeance quest. At least they're given some characterization at the beginning (making their deaths hit harder too).

Compare TemporaryLoveInterest, where a character has a serious relationship with a character who is quickly written out of the story [[StatusQuoIsGod to preserve the status quo]], and HerHeartWillGoOn, where a {{Love Interest|s}} is killed off to showcase the protagonist specifically dealing with the EmotionalTorque of losing a loved one. See StuffedIntoTheFridge.

* In ''ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', ComicBook/LoisLane is StuffedIntoTheFridge, upsetting Superman into creating a BadFuture. ComicBook/{{Huntress}} and [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Renee Montoya]] are StuffedIntoTheFridge, upsetting ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}.

* An ongoing trend in ''Film/JamesBond'' films. Beautiful women would appear for three scenes at most, before dying, usually after being ploughed by Bond and doing something vague. Often the actresses playing these women would receive star billing in the credits (e.g. "And Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole"). Examples include Jill and Tilly Masterson in ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' (StuffedIntoTheFridge?), Plenty O'Toole in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', Rosie Carver in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and Corinne Dufour in ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''.

* ''ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'': Lois Lane is StuffedIntoTheFridge, upsetting Superman into creating a BadFuture.
* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'': In the third game, DamselInDistress Fabiana suffers from this, being rescued in the first chapter only to be recaptured in the second and eventually [[StuffedIntoTheFridge killed halfway through the game]]. To add insult to injury, it's barely even considered a karmic strike against her murderer, who Max secretly hopes became a KarmaHoudini in the end.

** Kiyomi Takada is an even more blatant example. [[spoiler:Light gets her to do some of his dirty work, and she does succeed in killing Mello, but Light kills her anyway in order to cover his tracks.]]

* A young woman dies in the the first scene of ''Film/TheForeigner2017'', which spurs her RetiredBadass father to come out of retirement and track down those responsible.

** ComicBook/MoiraMacTaggert dies from an attack by ComicBook/{{Mystique}}, and returns in ''ComicBook/ChaosWar''.

* In Creator/FrankMiller's run on ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'', after establishing a friendship with Matt Murdock, ComicBook/{{Elektra}} dies at the hands of ComicBook/{{Bullseye}}.

* In Creator/FrankMiller's run on ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'', after establishing a friendship with Matt Murdock, ComicBook/{{Elektra}} dies at the hands of ComicBook/{{Bullseye|MarvelComics}}.

* ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'':
** The show did this rather (in)famously with the "Astray Girls".
** Done even more infamously with the Shrike Team (and several others) in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]''. Creator/YoshiyukiTomino had pretty much [[CreatorBreakdown hit the bottom of the barrel of his depression]], and ''it shows''.

* Yuki, Akane's friend in ''Anime/PsychoPass'', whose sole purpose is to be [[spoiler:first captured and later killed by Makishima at the halfway point in the series just to reinforce that he can commit horrific atrocities but not have it affect his psycho-pass level]].

* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''
** In Episode 47, [[spoiler:Future Trunks watches as his mother, Bulma, is killed by Goku Black, [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment who initially takes the appearance of a ghastly apparition]] or EldritchAbomination, rather than someone in Goku's body.]] Before revealing to the viewer that [[spoiler:the BigBad is someone who looks near identical to Goku, Trunks' girlfriend, Mai, appears to be killed by Goku Black. This is later [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] when she is shown to have survived the blast.]]
** Later Played Straight when [[spoiler:Zamasu describes to Goku how Goku Black murdered the future timeline versions of Goten and ChiChi.]]

* One of the most infamous examples is the death of Alexandra [=DeWitt=], the then-girlfriend of Franchise/GreenLantern Kyle Rayner; she was killed by Major Force and [[StuffedIntoTheFridge stuffed into her refrigerator]] for Kyle to find. Backlash was so intense that it led to the formation of the Website/WomenInRefrigerators group to protest specifically against the preponderance of the Disposable Woman trope in superhero comics. Green Lantern writer Ron Marz wrote a letter to the Women In Refrigerators website, attempting to justify the event he wrote that gave WIR its name. He actually tried to use the fact that Kyle Rayner's girlfriend was meant to be the Disposable Woman from the beginning as an excuse!

* In ''Semantic Lace'', a happy go lucky girl is shot in the head.

* In the second ''Film/AustinPowers'' movie, the disposable women in Film/JamesBond movies are [[ParodiedTrope parodied]]. Austin's former love-interest explodes within the first five minutes, inspiring less than a minute of grief before Austin takes off to enjoy single life again.

* In ''Film/Deadpool2'', Vanessa is killed during a flash-back within 5 minutes of the film opening, then gets {{lampshade|Hanging}}d during the opening credits. [[spoiler: She gets better.]]
* The family, friends and love-interests of Creator/CharlesBronson's character in the ''Film/DeathWish'' series of movies serve this purpose, and this purpose alone. It starts relatively realistic, showing him to become physically ill after killing his first man. By the later movies, however, he seems to [[AxCrazy positively delight]] in finding creative ways to rid the world of scumbags. [[http://www.laineygossip.com/death-wish-movie-review-starring-bruce-willis/49282 This review]] of [[Film/DeathWish2018 the 2018 remake]] starring Creator/BruceWillis mentions the trope, stating that as in the original film, "women are only in this movie to be harmed so a man can go on an emotional journey."

** In ''Film/{{Logan}}'', Gabriela Lopez finds Logan and promptly dies when he leaves for a couple hours to get ready for the drive. She successfully got Laura to him and left behind her smartphone with an inexplicably well edited video for exposition, but she isn't mentioned again by Logan, Laura, or the kids she had already led to safety - she just dies once her job of kickstarting the plot is complete.

* In the Chinese epic ''Literature/OutlawsOfTheMarsh'', aka ''The Water Margin'', the Outlaws want a WorthyOpponent to stay with them. They kill a whole lot of innocent civilians and make it look like he did it. His wife is executed for being married to the presumed criminal. The husband is outraged and prepares to kill the outlaws, who explain that they only did it so he would be outlawed and have to join them. At this he is touched and agrees. They basically say, "Sorry about your missus, but we know lots of women, we'll give you a new one." [[ValuesDissonance He accepts]].

** Initially played straight in [[Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw the first book,]] we are introduced our protagonist [[TheSheriff Waxillium Ladrian]] [[BattleCouple and his wife Lessie]]. Within the very prologue, Lessie is killed when the serial-killer they've been chasing takes her hostage and inexplicably blocks the bullet when Wax attempts to ShootTheHostageTaker. This disaster motivates Wax to hang up his badge and return to the city to manage his family's estate, being the sole heir, kickstarting the events of the series.

** LGBT example: [[spoiler:Tara's]] death prompts [[spoiler:Willow]] to become the BBEG of season 6

* ''Series/TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries'': while the series as a whole tended to avoid this, three episodes stand out & play it straight:

* In ''Franchise/KamenRider,'' a recurring feature of the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise is that women who become Riders are doomed to die, [[StuffedInTheFridge usually for cheap drama]]. Examples, subversions, and aversions:

** Tiffany Savage (Gary Savage's daughter). She is introduced via Bob Page stating that she was captured by Majestic 12 during an operation to retrieve components for a Universal Constructor, and the next mission has JC attempting to rescue her at a gas station. It's very easy for her to die during this, and it has no real bearing for the rest of the story beyond a couple alternate lines by Savage (and a potential reward) two missions later. He doesn't even seem too broken up over her death.

*** For Tellah, her running away with Edward kickstarts his joining the party in the ''first'' place, and her death at the hands of Golbez's forces serves to trigger his RoaringRampageOfRevenge and eventual HeroicSacrifice. ''And'' it lead to one of the most famous of all {{Woolseyism}}s.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Setzer's dead girlfriend Darryl only exists in the story to give him some literal last minute CharacterDevelopment. This is a similar deal with Locke's girlfriend, the mothers of at least five characters, and Cyan's wife and kid.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' plays this straight at times - the most recent example is Thassarian's mother, who was introduced and killed in the same comic and did little more than beg for her life and provide angst for her son. Though given how often dead characters manage to reappear somehow in this franchise, it's always possible this isn't the last we've seen of her. And it should also be noted that ''Creator/BlizzardEntertainment'' have an unusual ability to characterize characters who aren't present: such as Alleria Windrunner and Turalyon for the expansions before Legion. As the current expansion is headed into the Shadowlands, the realms of death, it's very likely we may learn more about Thassarian's mother even if we don't directly see her. In any case one of the notable things about this game is that this trope is more often averted than played straight. Notable aversions are Keristrasza, Tarecgosa, and Theradras. Although all three are female characters killed almost immediately after being introduced, they all receive more than enough characterization to be remembered by most players years after their deaths. Keristrasza's death falls under the category of NobleSacrifice, a death trope that is usually reserved for male characters. Although Tarecgosa's death serves as a motivation for her brother Kalecgos to seize political power, that also wasn't the only reason for it: she was killed rebelling against the former leader of the Blue Dragons, a worthy cause in itself. Theradras meanwhile is the boss of a dungeon, driven to madness by grief for her lost husband. But we later meet her mother Therazane, and get significantly more information about her and what happened. Theradras' husband though, would definitely qualify for this trope as a rare male example. To be fair, when you have literally thousands of characters across four games and many many ancillary materials: this trope is somewhat inevitable.

** They get theirs; the TV version notwithstanding, the heroes win major battles, are invited to the capital; meet the Emperor's court, have all the demands met... [[TheBadGuyWins and are murdered in their beds]].

* An ongoing trend in ''Film/JamesBond'' films. Beautiful women would appear for two scenes at least, three at most, before dying, usually after being ploughed by Bond and doing something vague. Often the actresses playing these women would receive star billing in the credits (e.g. "And Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole"). Examples include Jill and Tilly Masterson in ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' (StuffedIntoTheFridge?), Plenty O'Toole in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', Rosie Carver in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and Corinne Dufour in ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''.

* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime'': Perrin is given a wife, Laila, who he kills accidentally the same episode she's introduced to show that his latent wolfbrother ability's coming up and getting him carried away while fighting, after which he can be devastated for it happening.

** Jump forward to ''Literature/ShadowsOfSelf'', Wax finds himself at odds with Paalm, a rogue [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Kandra]] [[FallenAngel revolting against]] [[PiecesOfGod Harmony]]. In typical noir fashion, she plays [[CriminalMindGames mind games]] with Wax, including taking personal shots at his trauma by occasionally taking on the appearance of Lessie. At the end of the book, when he finally catches Paalm, she commits suicide, [[FateWorseThanDeath preferring to die than to lose control]] to Harmony again. As she dies, though, she reveals she was Lessie[[ConnectedAllAlong all along]]. Harmony fabricated their meeting and relationship in order to develop Wax into the lawman he became. Complications arose when Paalm actually [[InLoveWithTheMark fell in love with him]]. When Harmony needed Wax to return to Elendel, Paalm refused to aid him, seeing how happy Wax was with his adventures in the west. Being able to take control of her, Harmony did it anyway, faking Paalm's death. She grew to resent Harmony because of it, setting out to free Wax from his influence with the help of [[NebulousEvilOrganisation the Set]]. As such, this trope comes out to be [[InvokedTrope invoked]], [[DefiedTrope defied]], and especially [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]]. The entire course of events ends up as a [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall meta commentary]] about disposable women. From the perspective of Paalm, the narrative becomes the story of a woman rising up against the author of the grand narrative, rejecting her role within it after she was forcefully [[StuffedIntoTheFridge fridge]] without consideration or rejection of her own perspective and experience for the sole purpose of developing a loved one's character so that he may get the needed motivation or skills to do what the author needs him to do.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman''. Rosella would have been the last of the maidens to be sacrificed to a three headed dragon if Alexander had not shown up to rescue her. As for the other maidens... one maiden was to be sacrificed each year.

* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' features Mona who was [[AlmightyJanitor Skips']] high school sweetheart who was killed during a battle against his hated rival Klorgbane. Additionally, he went by the name 'Walks" but changed it to "Skips" so he'd always remember Mona.