History Main / ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin

* If you didn't pick up the Arm Cannon Power up in ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' when Zero Dies at the hands of Vile he gives X his Arm Cannon which then becomes the Arm Cannon Upgrade.

** Done in ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' when Buzz Buzz is fatally wounded by Pokey's mother. Before he dies, he hands you the Sound Stone so you can record the Your Sanctuary melodies. He was going to give it to you in a bit, anyway.

* So begins the [[InNameOnly execrable]] anime adaptation of ''[[Literature/{{Lensman}} Gray Lensman]]''.

* Happens from time to time on ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf,'' and usually it's Happosai who gets the MacGuffin.

* [[spoiler: The 'bowling ball' that the 'glowing man' drops before he is captured by 'The Enchantress', and that is later found by Twilight Sparkle. This gives her the ability to travel to other universes. She and her friends do so. Much joy, and much pain, await them.]] It's all in the MLP fanfic ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/382944/songs-of-the-spheres Songs Of The Spheres]]'' by [[https://www.fimfiction.net/user/275276/GMBlackjack GMBlackjack]].

* [[spoiler: The 'bowling ball' that the 'glowing man' drops before he is captured by 'The Enchantress', and that is later found by Twilight Sparkle. This gives her the ability to travel to other universes. She and her friends do so. Much joy, and much pain, await them. It's all in the MLP fanfic ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/382944/songs-of-the-spheres Songs Of The Spheres]]'' by [[https://www.fimfiction.net/user/275276/GMBlackjack GMBlackjack]].]]

* ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'' (first book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): King Gavilar gives Szeth, the man who killed him, a mysterious black orb as he's bleeding to death, only saying "They must not have it." Szeth believes very strongly in {{Last Request}}s, so he takes the orb and hides it despite having no idea what it actually is.

* So begins the [[InNameOnly execrable]] anime adaptation of ''[[Anime/{{Lensman}} Gray Lensman]]''.

* This is how baby Roshan comes into the care of Manny and Sid in the first ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' film, after his mother succumbs to injuries sustained from jumping into a river to escape the pack of saber-tooth tigers.

A good way to keep the true story a mystery (and to keep the audience interested) is to have the main character be an UnlikelyHero that has NO idea what's going on or who to trust.

* Most of the way through ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', Basilio is involved in a DuelToTheDeath with [[TheConquerer Walhart]], and loses badly. As he's lying on the ground, he passes on one of the gems of the Fire Emblem to the heroes, to further their quest. [[spoiler:Subverted, possibly twice over. Basilio later reveals he wasn't actually dead, and given that the Fire Emblem, after being stolen from the heroes, was revealed to have fake gems--which Basilio claims was his doing--it's possible that the gem he gave the heroes wasn't even the real one, but a duplicate of the real one that was later used by the heroes.]]

* In ''Film/CloakAndDagger'', the FBI agent who is gunned down gives Davey the ''Cloak & Dagger'' video game cartridge containing important national secrets just before dying.

* The plot of ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' kicks off when [[AlmostDeadGuy 009]], clutching a priceless Faberge egg, bursts into the British embassy in East Germany with a throwing knife stuck in his back.

* In the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode ''Sympathy for the Devil'', a dying bounty head gives Spike a ring and tell him that he's the only one who can save "him" now. Cue the crew spending the rest of the episode figuring out what the guy meant and what they're supposed to do with the ring.
** ''Gateway Shuffle'' starts off with this, with Faye finding a fatally wounded police officer drifting through space. He tells her to take a briefcase to the I.S.S.P, and tells her not to open it. She does neither, and the object in the briefcase is sought after by the antagonist of that episode. She manages to steal it back and pocket it, only for it to come back into play at the very end of the episode to ruin her plans.

* The vaccine file in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex''. The file in question was a list of people who had received a vaccine for an otherwise incurable illness (the vaccine was rejected due to pressure from certain individuals and organizations who wanted to prevent their products from being rendered useless). [[spoiler: The current owner of the file tries to give it to Togusa after the building's attacked by TheDragon and his {{Mooks}}. Togusa tries to get him to escape with it instead (he's caught and shot, meaning the protagonists have to make do with a video of what Togusa saw).]]

Compare with ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest, PlotCoupon, and MacGuffinEscortMission. See also AlmostDeadGuy, who passes on ''information'' instead of plot coupons, and BequeathedPower, when the thing being passed on is some kind of superpower rather than an item. For when the transaction involves human beings, see TakeCareOfTheKids.

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* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad''. With his dying breath, Javelin bestows his namesake weapon to Characters/HarleyQuinn, but he croaks mid-sentence, leaving Harley confused what she's supposed to use it for. Nonetheless, Harley carries it with her through the rest of the film [[spoiler:using it to land a crucial blow in the fight against Starro.]]

* This carries over to ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' as well where Primus himself gave Optimus the Matrix before shutting down. [[spoiler: In Season 3, a dying Optimus tries to pass the Matrix to Smokescreen. However, Smokescreen subverts this and instead uses an artifact to revive Optimus]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' Queen Tara is killed by a Boggan arrow while running from them carrying the pod which will bloom into her successor. MK finds her, and Tara bids her to take the pod to Nim Galuu before dying.

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'': During the Matrix Quest, Nightbeat, Siren and Hosehead find themselves in a WholePlotReference to ''The Maltese Falcon'', when a dying alien hands Hosehead a mysterious statue in the middle of a gang shootout. Suddenly the trio find themselves being chased by two different gangs, who ''really'' want that bird statue, but which could be used to restore the planet they're on to a less crappy condition.

* A terribly wounded Saki tries to give her heart (and power source) to ''Anime/SteelAngelKurumi'', but it ends up as a FusionDance somehow.

* Towards the end of ''WesternAnimation{{Coraline}}'', [[spoiler:the Other Father]] is strapped to a [[SlayingMantis praying mantis mech]] and forced to attack Coraline [[spoiler:in order to stop her from claiming the first ghost eye]]. The mantis soon falls through a bridge and sinks into the water, but [[spoiler:the Other Father]] has enough left in him to forfeit the treasure before he drowns along with it.

* Allison of ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'' is given a [[ArtifactOfDoom Key of Kings]] by Zoss, the Conquering King, effectively naming her as his successor. [[spoiler: There is speculation among the angels that the Key was intended for her boyfriend, Zaid, [[CoitusInterruptus who she was trying to have sex with at the time]], but Zoss seems to shoot this idea down--Allison was ''always'' meant to be his successor.]]