History Main / GutPunch

** It can be argued that 'NightOfTheLivingDead' was one of these for the entire horror genre.

--> Legato: ''If I'd felt like it, all the people within a 50 meter range, in 0.2 seconds, would all be dead... In the next ten minutes, you'll learn the true meaning of hell."

* Legato's introduction in ''{{Trigun}}'' pulls this off in a single ''frame''. It's a bright and sunny day, the kids are playing with Vash. Then out of nowhere, Legato. He killed and ate the friendly shopkeeper Vash was just speaking to, and feels it would be a downright shame if the little girl Vash just bought an ice cream for would have to be next. The entire scene is prime HighOctaneNightmareFuel, but what cements it as this is the opening shot of the usually lighthearted and goofy Vash looking legitimately terrified for the first time in the series that clearly indicates of exactly how bad things are about to get.

* Legato's introduction in ''{{Trigun}}'' pulls this off in a single ''frame''. It's a bright and sunny day, the kids are playing with Vash. Then out of nowhere, Legato. He killed and ate the friendly shopkeeper Vash was just speaking to, and feels it would be a downright shame if the little girl Vash just bought an ice cream for would have to be next. The entire scene is prime HighOctaneNightmareFuel, but the shot of the usually lighthearted and goofy Vash looking legitimately terrified for the first time in the series is a clear indicator of exactly how bad things are about to get.

* ''ToyStory3''. See [[TearJerker/ToyStory the Tear Jerker page]] for more details.

* Legato's introduction in ''{{Trigun}}'' pulls this off in a single scene. It's a bright and sunny day, the kids are playing with Vash. Then out of nowhere, Legato. He killed and ate the friendly shopkeeper Vash was just speaking to, and feels it would be a downright shame if the little girl Vash just bought an ice cream for would have to be next. The entire scene is prime HighOctaneNightmareFuel, but the fact that the usually comedic Vash looks legitimately terrified for the first time in the series is a clear indicator of exactly how bad things are about to get.

You've just been hit with the Gut Punch: the single moment when a work makes it abundantly clear that the gloves are off. This is where you figure out that playtime is over: PlotArmor has been switched off, the hero won't be getting up from that NoHoldsBarredBeatdown anytime soon, AnyoneCanDie, and [[TheBadGuyWins the bad guy winning]] has become a very real possibility. Maybe ItGotWorse, maybe it was always that way and just forgot to tell the audience. Either way, this is a clear indication that the creator has decided to [[LetsGetDangerous get dangerous]] and that those who haven't prepared will not be pleased.

* Legato's introduction in ''{{Trigun}}'' pulls this off in a single scene. It's a bright and sunny day, the kids are playing with Vash.. Then out of nowhere, Legato. He killed and ate the friendly shopkeeper Vash was just speaking to, and feels it would be a downright shame if the little girl Vash just bought an ice cream for would have to be next. The entire scene is prime HighOctaneNightmareFuel, but the fact that the usually comedic Vash looks legitimately terrified for the first time in the series is a clear indicator of exactly how bad things are about to get.

* Legato's introduction in ''{{Trigun}}'' pulls this off in a single scene. It's a bright and sunny day, the kids are playing with Vash.. Then out of nowhere, Legato. He killed and ate the friendly shopkeeper Vash was just speaking to, and feels it would a downright shame if the little girl Vash just bought an ice cream for would have to be next. The entire scene is prime HighOctaneNightmareFuel, but the fact that the usually comedic Vash looks legitimately terrified for the first time in the series is a clear indicator of exactly how bad things are about to get.

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has an unusually late example at the end of season 2 (out of 3). Up until that point, the show had proven its willingness to tackle difficult subjects, but always ultimately ended in a relatively lighthearted way. In the season two finale, [[spoiler:despite a great deal of foreshadowing Zuko refuses to take a FaceHeelTurn and instead sides with [[TheDragon Azula]], the Fire Nation [[TheBadGuyWins succeeds]] in taking over Ba Sing Se, held up as the Earth Kingdom's last defence, and just when a HopeSpot arrives in the form of Aang reaching the Avatar State, [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy Azula]] attacks him mid-transformation, outright killing him, his life only spared by the [[ChekhovsGun magical water]] Katara had received from the northern water tribe.]] Where Season 1 ends with the heroes victorious, season 2 ends with them battered and broken and having lost much that they had gained.

* [[spoiler: Legato's]] introduction in ''{{Trigun}}'' pulls this off in a single shot. The entire scene is prime HighOctaneNightmareFuel, but the fact that the usually comedic Vash looks legitimately terrified for the first time in the series is a clear indicator of exactly how bad things are about to get.

* ''{{Vindictus}}'' starts out in a moderately DarkFantasy world, but doesn't initially explain how it turns into the LowFantasy CrapsackWorld that it's advertised as. Then less than halfway through the third major zone, Ainle, [[spoiler: Ellis]] [[KillTheCutie gets viciously beaten to death by a sadistic goblin warlord in a cutscene]]. And the name of the mission in which this happens? "Wake Up Call." Things don't really improve from there.

* {{Ben-to}} episode 10 [[spoiler: seeing the otherwise invincible Ice Witch got completely [[CurbStompBattle stomped]] will leave you as [[MassOhCrap shocked as it did the characters]].]]

->''Playtime's over.''

Sub Trope of CerebusSyndrome, DarkerAndEdgier, and MoodWhiplash. Super Trope to SacrificialLion, WhamLine, KillTheCutie, DecoyProtagonist, and WakeUpCallBoss. The KnightOfCerebus, TragicMonster, and the HeroKiller are three characters extremely likely to cause this. Despite the name, has nothing to do with AudienceSuckerPunch. But it ''may'' overlap with PlayerPunch.

* ''{{Vindictus}}'' starts out in a moderately DarkFantasy world, but doesn't initially explain how it turns into the LowFantasy CrapsackWorld that it's advertised as. Then less than halfway through the third major zone, Ainle, [[spoiler: Ellis]] [[KillTheCutie gets viciously beaten to death by a sadistic goblin warlord in a cutscene]]. And the name of the mission in which this happens? ''"Wake Up Call."'' Things don't really improve from there.

* ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'': Due to Xykon's LaughablyEvil tendencies, it's very easy to assume that he's not that much of a threat. However, during the invasion of [[spoiler: Azure City]], he swiftly reminds the audience exactly how dangerous he is by [[spoiler: '''KILLING ROY.''']].

* ''{{Vindictus}}'' starts out in a moderately DarkFantasy world, but doesn't initially explain how it turns into the LowFantasy CrapsackWorld that it's advertised as. Then less than halfway through the third major zone, Ainle, [[spoiler: Ellis]] [[KillTheCutie gets viciously beaten to death by a sadistic goblin warlord in a cutscene]]. And the name of the mission in which this happens? "''Wake Up Call''." Things don't really improve from there.

* ''{{Vindictus}}'' starts out in a moderately DarkFantasy world, but doesn't initially explain how it turns into the LowFantasy CrapsackWorld that it's advertised as. Then less than halfway through the third major zone, Ainle, [[spoiler: Ellis]] [[KillTheCutie gets viciously beaten to death by a sadistic goblin warlord in a cutscene]]. Things don't really improve from there.

* ''{{Vindictus}}'' starts out in a moderately DarkFantasy world, but doesn't initially explain how it turns into the LowFantasy CrapsackWorld that it's advertised as. Then on the third boat, [[spoiler: Ellis]] [[KillTheCutie gets viciously beaten to death in a cutscene]]. Things don't really improve from there.
* ''YggdraUnion'' waits until the player has been lulled into a suitable sense of security before it shows its true colors--it seems upbeat enough for a medieval war game for two thirds of the plot. Then there's Battlefield 40, where you begin your invasion of TheEmpire for the sake of protecting TheKingdom, and [[spoiler:have to slaughter an entire town of civilians [[GoThroughMe determined to defend their homes]]]]. And it gets worse very quickly from here.

* ''{{Gantz}}'' was already a pretty dark series, but it still manages to give us this somewhere around the end of volume 9 with the death of [[spoiler: [[EverybodysDeadDave THE ENTIRE TEAM]] except for Kurono.]] The fact that [[spoiler: Kurono]] takes a level in badass afterwards does nothing to mitigate the new knowledge that PlotArmor has ceased to exist.

* The original ''NightOfTheLivingDead'' gets two back to back in the same sequence. First we get something that looks like this, specifically the deaths of [[spoiler: Tom and Judy]]. In any other horror movie made at the time, that sequence alone would have been enough to qualify as this trope. It doesn't, but only because the '''real''' punch comes immediately afterwards when we see an extremely graphic (for its day) image of the zombies chowing down on the recently charred corpses. RogerEbert's reaction provides the page quote.