History Main / PostVictoryCollapse

But, after he's sure the bad guys have left, he promptly collapses, whether from the stress of dealing with someone who completely terrified him, or the guy he just talked down could have broken him in half without a sweat, or just because he got hurt too badly in the fight. If it was really bad, they may even die, making this a HeroicSacrifice (albeit an [[DyingMomentOfAwesome awesome]] one). Less serious injuries may start the action back up with an AfterActionHealingDrama.

** Meridoc and Eowyn collapse, after defeating the Witch King.

* An issue of ''Comicbook/YoungJustice'' had Arrowette defending the continued existence of the group of teenage superheroes to the JusticeLeague, primarily, {{Batman}}. Once she was successful in convincing them to allow the group to exist, she breathed very rapidly into a paper bag, because ''she had just faced down Batman''.

But, after he's sure the bad guys have left, he promptly collapses, whether from the stress of dealing with someone who completely terrified him, or the guy he just talked down could have broken him in half without a sweat, or just because he got hurt too badly in the fight. If it was really bad, they may even die, making this a HeroicSacrifice (albeit an [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] one). Less serious injuries may start the action back up with an AfterActionHealingDrama.

* In ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'', if a Pokemon's HP is low enough this can happen when they use moves with substantial recoil damage (Flare Blitz, Wood Hammer, Head Charge) to finish off their opponent.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' collapses after hitting Kabuto in the stomach with a Rasengan. Unfortunately for him, Kabuto is not actually unconscious even though he was smashed into a boulder, which ''shattered.'' He has, however, taken too much damage for even his prodigious healing - as he finds out after trying to walk and then collapsing.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' collapses after hitting Kabuto in the stomach with a Rasengan. Unfortunately for him, Kabuto is not actually unconscious even though he was smashed into a boulder, which ''shattered.''
* ''DragonBall'':

* No one actually ''collapses'' at the climax of ''MassEffect3'' (except the dead people, obviously), but Shepard's palpable relief at ''finally'' ending the Reaper War after [[spoiler: shooting the Illusive Man and allowing the Crucible to dock]] qualifies. If he's present [[spoiler: and not one of the aforesaid dead people]], Anderson comments that it "feels like years since I just... sat down".

* The ''Film/LordOfTheRings''--or the films, at least--have Sam and Frodo, er, [[IncrediblyLamePun chilling on a big rock]] after they destroy the One Ring.

* In ''The Glass Inferno'' (one of the two books that became the movie ''TheToweringInferno''), when everyone is rescued and they're no longer in danger, the junkie resumes having withdrawal symptoms which were suppressed while he and everyone else were trying to avoid burning to death.

* In LordOfTheRings:

* In the finale of the first season of ''PrincessTutu'', [[spoiler:Fakir]] drags himself up to his feet after nearly being killed and dramatically takes away the villain's trump card...then faints backwards into a pool of water and apparently drowning. [[spoiler:He survives, but barely.]]

* In ''[[HeraldsOfValdemar Exile's Honor]]'', Alberich is nearly flattened when his Foresight kicks in unexpectedly, then goes full-berserk defending Princess Selenay from a Tedrel kidnap team, then forces himself to remain functional, alert, and on guard for over an hour while now-Queen Selenay grieves over her father's corpse. His friends are looking for a Mindhealer to knock him unconscious when he finally passes out on his own.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* In an early episode of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' D'Argo ends up getting shot in the back while escaping from an enemy fortress, but manages to keep on running the next few hundred metres to safety. As soon as he stops moving, he promptly keels over, revealing that he is seriously injured.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': Para Ventura, newly restored to the company as coxswain to their gunship (which would only take orders from her), promptly issues out a series of brisk orders like a seasoned officer, stunning most of the assembled crew. Once that's done, she immediately goes to the medlab and has Tailor find her something to stop the shakes she'd developed out of stress. Turns out Bristlecone, the ship itself, had been feeding her the appropriate lines through an earpiece, and her confident commander act was just that.

* In ''FullmetalAlchemist'' (manga and ''Brotherhood'') Roy incinerates [[spoiler: Lust]], despite having just been stabbed twice through the side. He cauterizes his and his dying subordinates' wounds, comes back into the fray with all his badassery intact, and finally defeats [[spoiler: Lust]]. Then, of course, he falls to the floor, asking only some help for [[spoiler: Jean Havoc]], his wounded subordinate.

* Happens in ''[[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]''. After taking the full force of several ''perfected'' [[AngstNuke Shishi Hokodans]] and defeating Ryoga, Ranma manages to [[PietaPlagiarism carry Ryoga's body out of the crater]] and deliver a [[BondOneLiner dramatic quip]] about the pointlessness of said attack, before comically collapsing in an exhausted heap.

* Galuf's DeaderThanDead scene in ''FinalFantasyV'': He keeps on fighting well after his HP hit 0, untill finally collapsing after the bad-guy's been beaten.

* Tavi in the ''CodexAlera'' passes out hard at least once from pushing himself way, ''way'' too far. When breaking Varg out of jail in the fourth book, by the time he got to a point where he could collapse, [[YouCanBarelyStand his arms and legs were about to stop working]].

* Happens to UltimateSpiderman quite a few times, at least at the beginning of the series. After he [[spoiler: pulls out note cards to insult the Kingpin to his face]], he seems to suffer from it far less, however.

* The page picture is Jonathan Joestar from ''JojosBizarreAdventures'', passing out after defeating Dio Brando. As he'd just fought off two vampiric knights simultaneously as well as Dio, he'd completely burned out his energy reserves.

* In ''YuGiOhGX'', Judai goes through this early on in the Seven Stars arc after his duel with Darkness ([[spoiler:Asuka's missing brother Fubuki]]), and stayed that way for a while, until [[spoiler:Carmilla tricks Ryo into losing a duel by risking Sho's life]].

* ''HarryPotter'', all the time.

* In the ''{{Sherlock}}'' season one finale, [[spoiler:John very nearly collapses on the spot after being released from his bomb jacket by a frantic Sherlock, in a rare moment of vulnerability on both sides.]]