History Main / PostMortemComeback

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* ''{{Arrow}}'': Adrian Chase AKA Prometheus commits suicide by [[BoomHeadshot shooting himself in the head]] in the Season 5 finale. He reappears in Season 6 as a hallucination to Oliver induced by [[FantasticDrug Vertigo]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' had this. When Bob enters the core to save data and force a system restart,Bob encountered a program left behind by Megabyte, who at this point was launched into the Web, our resident HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace. It's a simulation of Megabyte, which can self-replicate. All it does it taunt Bob.

* A variation of this occurs in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'', where it is eventually revealed that Big Bad the Shredder keeps an online backup of his mind, in case his body is ever destroyed. After he was written off the series--exiled, but not killed--the writers had that backup take over the mind of the cybernetic villain Viral, allowing a new version of the Shredder to enter the fold.

* In ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'', after the Jackal dies, a post-mortem compulsion activates within {{Spider-Man}}'s brain, causing him to try to kill whoever he loves most under temporary conscious mind control.

* ReBoot had this. When Bob enters the core to save data and force a system restart,Bob encountered a program left behind by Megabyte, who at this point was launched into the Web, our resident HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace. It's a simulation of Megabyte, which can self-replicate. All it does it taunt Bob.

Compare ThanatosGambit and MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning. This may lead to YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle.

Be warned that as this is usually a plot twist, spoilers on this page are '''unmarked'''.

** [[spoiler: Death]], the BigBad of Series 3, is destroyed in ''Darkness Falls'', but returns twice in Series 4 via some "extremely complex" prerecorded messages.

* The final puzzle in ''VideoGame/StillLife2'' revolves around this. After finally identifying and killing the villain, our heroine rushes to save the hostage, [[spoiler:only to find her strapped to the bomb, and a villains' final recording playing on the screen - he has planned for his death and left us with a final SadisticChoice - try to save the hostage and risk detonating the bomb that kills you both; or save yourself and leave the hostage to die - which will get transmitted all over the Internet. ]]

* ''{{Naruto}}'' had [[DroppedABridgeOnHim a particularly]] [[AssPull bad execution]], with Orochimaru randomly appearing during the fight between Itachi and Sasuke.
** [[spoiler: He's back for good now, Sasuke just extracted him from Anko's Cursed Seal since he had placed his consciousness in every Cursed Seal he created.]]

* In one of the most effective executions, we have Slade from the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' animated show. He was thrown into a pool of lava in the second season, but the dust in his mask left a chemical substance that made Robin see, hear and feel Slade, even when he wasn't there. It's also a subversion; Slade himself is resurrected by Trigon in the following season.
** On the other hand, however, the final season had the return of several villains that were either A. [[SealedEvilinACan sealed in a book]] (Malchior), B. not magically animated anymore (the Puppet Master), C. eaten by Cyborg (the alien Nufu) [[AssPull without reason.]]

* A possible TropeCodifier has [[DragonBall King Piccolo]] vomiting up an egg that contained his nearly-identical (appearance and personality) son, who eventually went into an EnemyMine with Goku against Raditz.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': An episode in one of the later seasons featured a villain of the week named Khalek. He's not only revealed to be a Goa'uld-Human hybrid, but a clone of [[OmnicidalManiac Anubis]], the most evil Go'uld who ever lived. Anubis had built him as a backup plan with GeneticMemory from his "father" in the event that he was taken out for good himself.

The BigBad is ''dead'', but there's something missing. The fans want to see more from him; the author has a few ideas left for him that didn't make it before he was killed; or the conflict hasn't entirely been resolved in your view. What can you do? Bring him back, without bringing him back.

* SquareEnix had Sephiroth do this in ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' by focusing on his hatred of Cloud to keep from being assimilated by the LifeStream; while using Kadaj and his gang to find what was left of Jenova to bring about Hojo's reunion theory. Thereby allowing him to be reborn.

* SquareEnix had Sephiroth do this in AdventChildren by focusing on his hatred of Cloud to keep from being assimilated by the LifeStream; while using Kadaj and his gang to find what was left of Jenova to bring about Hojo's reunion theory. Thereby allowing him to be reborn.

* In ''GrimFandango'', the hero's rival Domino has been dead for over a year, but the good guys still have to contend with a deadly booby-trap he's laid for them when they finally get back to Rubacava to find the hiding place of their car. Dom's laid out an elaborate set of dominos all around the car that will trigger a bomb if they disturb it.

* In ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'', after the Jackal died, a post-mortem compulsion activates within {{Spider-Man}}'s brain, causing him to try to kill whoever he loves most under temporary conscious mind control.

* VideoGame/MassEffect1 had a variant, where Saren was reanimated into a husk.
** VideoGame/MassEffect2 had the Derelict Reaper continuing to influence the crew that investigated its insides after it was disabled. Very, ''very'' [[CosmicHorrorStory Lovecraftian]].
* In VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2, Liquid's hand possesses Ocelot.

-->-- ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', "Worse Case Scenario"

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Worst Case Scenario" (S3 E25), a highly adaptive hologram of [[spoiler:Seska]] enters the program and [[spoiler:manipulates it to her own ends.]]

->'''TUVOK:''' She has been dead for over a year now. There would have been no way to predict this turn of events.\\
'''PARIS:''' I guess we should have known Seska wouldn't let a little thing like death stop her from getting even.

* In [[Literature/AlexRider Stormbreaker]] (2006), the main villain has been foiled, but then Alex Rider remembers that he had a failsafe transmitter and so an extra 20 minutes of film time appears.

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'': Voldemort is incorporeal rather than dead, but he still manages to cause problems via a magic diary containing the LivingMemory of his teenaged self, who was already a murderous lunatic and is happy to get another shot.