History Main / SavedByThePhlebotinum

One of the major characters of the story, usually (but not always) on a quest to find the aforementioned phlebotinum, is at death's door and finds the phlebotinum just in time to save their life.

* In the original ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga, before it was hijacked by card games, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle is stolen and he is forced to play a cursed game to win it back, with a loss resulting in the loss of his soul. He plays, and loses... but touches the puzzle at the last second, allowing his SuperpoweredEvilSide to jump into his body and use it to win his soul back.

* In the ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' movie, Daniel is shot by one of the staff weapons and (apparently) dies. He wakes up in Ra's sarcophagus, having been resurrected.
* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', [[spoiler: The BigBad shoots Indy's father to force him to find the holy grail and save his father's life this way.]]
* ''Film/TheGoldenVoyageOfSinbad''. Prince Koura is trying to obtain the three golden tablets and get them to the Fountain of Destiny. Unfortunately, his use of black magic ages him and by the time he gets there he's an old man close to death. Luckily for him, one of the tablets restores his youth.

* Raistlin Majere of the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' chronicles, overcome by injuries and the fact his body was [[SquishyWizard not too healthy in the first place]], appears on the doorstep of a magical library and manages to decipher enough of the tomes to help regain his strength.
* In the ''Literature/HyperionCantos'' series by Dan Simmons: On his journey down the River Tethys, Raul Endymion contracts a near-fatal kidney inflammation and is only saved by finding [[spoiler: the now-repaired [[{{CoolStarship}} Consul's Starship]]]] that promptly cures his ailment as they set off for their next destination.
* Subverted with Ponce de Quirm in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', who spent his entire life searching for the fountain of youth. Eventually he found it as an old man, and only then learned the important thing about drinking the water from the fountain - boil it first.
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': From the second book, ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance''. [[spoiler: Kaladin, who had killed Sylphrena, his honorspren {{Familiar}}, earlier in the book by breaking his oaths, has a HeelRealization. He then attempts to atone for his mistake by protecting the king against multiple assassins, including a [[OneManArmy Shardbearer]]. He is almost immediately defeated and is on death's door from internal injuries, when he realizes and speaks the Third Oath ("I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right."). This returns Sylphrena to life and releases a pulse of magic that instantly heals all his wounds. It also lets Syl assume the form of a Shardblade for Kaladin.]]

* In Creator/AlanGarner's mystical novel ''Literature/TheMoonOfGomrath'', when Susan is reduced to a coma after the exorcism of a powerful Celtic spirit of evil, her brother Colin is sent on a moonlight quest into Faerie to find the one thing that will restore her sundered soul to her body. He passes from the surface-England into the superimposed England of Faerie and locates the Motham, the magical plant that will restore her. But this isn't all he brings back - he also awakens the sleeping god, Herne the Hunter...

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Averted in "Children of Time". [[spoiler: The episode made it seem at the midpoint that both the crew and their descendants could be saved by duplicating themselves, but it turned out there was no TakeAThirdOption, and that a SadisticChoice had to be made. Ultimately, they decide to repeat history and strand themselves, but the older Odo ended up hacking the auto-pilot to make sure they escaped. Even after two hundred years, he couldn't stand to see Kira die again.]]
* The sarcophagi from the film reappear in ''Series/StargateSG1'', and it's eventually discovered that SideEffectsInclude SanitySlippage.

* In the ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' movie, Daniel is shot by one of the staff weapons and (apparently) dies. He wakes up in Ra's sarcophagus, having being resurrected.

Compare PhlebotinumMuncher, who has to do this constantly.

* There was a less-known ''Franchise/MortalKombat''-style fighting game (its name eludes me for now) where the {{Big Bad}} was a {{Mad Scientist}} who, after building a temporal portal of some sort, is attacked and nearly killed by a band of ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}''-esque demons. He manages to escape through the portal and is later turned into a {{Hollywood Cyborg}} killing machine.
* ''VideoGame/{{Star Control}} II'' starts with a similar scenario, where a Terran force cut off from Earth and supply lines discovers a cave full of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Precursor technology]].

* There was a less-known ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''-style fighting game (its name eludes me for now) where the {{Big Bad}} was a {{Mad Scientist}} who, after building a temporal portal of some sort, is attacked and nearly killed by a band of ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}''-esque demons. He manages to escape through the portal and is later turned into a {{Hollywood Cyborg}} killing machine.

* Provides a CrowningMomentOfAwesome in ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'', second book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''. [[spoiler: Kaladin, who had killed Sylphrena, his honorspren {{Familiar}}, earlier in the book by breaking his oaths, has a HeelRealization. He then attempts to atone for his mistake by protecting the king against multiple assassins, including a [[OneManArmy Shardbearer]]. He is almost immediately defeated and is on death's door from internal injuries, when he realizes and speaks the Third Oath ("I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right."). This returns Sylphrena to life and releases a pulse of magic that instantly heals all his wounds. It also lets Syl assume the form of a Shardblade for Kaladin.]]

* Provides a CrowningMomentOfAwesome in ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'', second book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''. [[spoiler: Kaladin, who had killed Sylphrena, his honorspren {{Familiar}}, earlier in the book by breaking his oaths, has a HeelRealization. He then attempts to atone for his mistake by protecting the king against multiple assassins, including a [[OneManArmy Shardbearer]]. He is almost immediately defeated and is on death's door from internal injuries, when he realizes and speaks the Third Oath ("I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is just."). This returns Sylphrena to life and releases a pulse of magic that instantly heals all his wounds.]]

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* In Creator/AlanGarner's mystical novel ''The Moon of Gomrath'', when Susan is reduced to a coma after the exorcism of a powerful Celtic spirit of evil, her brother Colin is sent on a moonlight quest into Faerie to find the one thing that will restore her sundered soul to her body. He passes from the surface-England into the superimposed England of Faerie and locates the magical plant that will restore her. But this isn't all he brings back - he also awakens the sleeping god, Herne the Hunter...

* In ''[[IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade]]'', [[spoiler: The BigBad shoots Indy's father to force him to find the holy grail and save his father's life this way.]]
* ''TheGoldenVoyageOfSinbad''. Prince Koura is trying to obtain the three golden tablets and get them to the Fountain of Destiny. Unfortunately, his use of black magic ages him and by the time he gets there he's an old man close to death. Luckily for him, one of the tablets restores his youth.

* Raistlin Majere of the ''{{Dragonlance}}'' chronicles, overcome by injuries and the fact his body was [[SquishyWizard not too healthy in the first place]], appears on the doorstep of a magical library and manages to decipher enough of the tomes to help regain his strength.

* There was a less-known ''MortalKombat''-style fighting game (its name eludes me for now) where the {{Big Bad}} was a {{Mad Scientist}} who, after building a temporal portal of some sort, is attacked and nearly killed by a band of ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}''-esque demons. He manages to escape through the portal and is later turned into a {{Hollywood Cyborg}} killing machine.
* ''{{Star Control}} II'' starts with a similar scenario, where a Terran force cut off from Earth and supply lines discovers a cave full of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Precursor technology]].

One of the major characters of the story, usually (but not always) on a quest to find the aforementioned phlebotinum, is at death's doors and finds the phlebotinum just in time to save their life.

* Occurs at the end of ''{{Might And Magic}} VIII'' / beginning of ''{{Heroes Of Might And Magic}} IV'': Just as the clash between the Sword of Frost and [[ArtifactOfDoom Armageddon's Blade]] is bringing about an {{Earth Shattering Kaboom}}, the player's party discovers an entry into the {{Portal Network}} connecting various worlds. This is then used to send the survivors to safety on another world.

* There was a less-known ''MortalKombat''-style fighting game (its name eludes me for now) where the {{Big Bad}} was a {{Mad Scientist}} who, after building a temporal portal of some sort, is attacked and nearly killed by a band of ''Film/{{Hellraiser}}''-esque demons. He manages to escape through the portal and is later turned into a {{Hollywood Cyborg}} killing machine.

* The sarcophagi from the film reappear in ''StargateSG1'', and it's eventually discovered that SideEffectsInclude SanitySlippage.

* In the ''{{Hyperion}}'' series by Dan Simmons: On his journey down the River Tethys, Raul Endymion contracts a near-fatal kidney inflammation and is only saved by finding [[spoiler: the now-repaired [[{{CoolStarship}} Consul's Starship]]]] that promptly cures his ailment as they set off for their next destination.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Averted in "Children of Time". [[spoiler: The episode made it seem at the midpoint that both the crew and their descendants could be saved by duplicating themselves, but it turned out there was no TakeAThirdOption, and that a SadisticChoice had to be made. Odo ended up making it ''for'' them.]]

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]

* In the original ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' manga, before it was hijacked by card games, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle is stolen and he is forced to play a cursed game to win it back, with a loss resulting in the loss of his soul. He plays, and loses... but touches the puzzle at the last second, allowing his SuperpoweredEvilSide to jump into his body and use it to win his soul back.

* Occurs at the end of ''{{Might And Magic}} VII'' / beginning of ''{{Heroes Of Might And Magic}} IV'': Just as the clash between the Sword of Frost and [[ArtifactOfDoom Armageddon's Blade]] is bringing about an {{Earth Shattering Kaboom}}, the player's party discovers an entry into the {{Portal Network}} connecting various worlds. This is then used to send the survivors to safety on another world.
** I don't remember anything like that happening at the end of ''MightAndMagic VII''. I mean, you found the portal, but the world wasn't being destroyed. ''MightAndMagic VIII'' came afterwards and took place on the same world.

* Subverted with Ponce de Quirm in ''{{Discworld}}'', who spent his entire life searching for the fountain of youth. Eventually he found it as an old man, and only then learned the important thing about drinking the water from the fountain - boil it first.

* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Averted in "Children of Time". [[spoiler: The episode made it seem at the midpoint that both the crew and their descendants could be saved by duplicating themselves, but it turned out there was no TakeAThirdOption, and that a SadisticChoice had to be made. Odo ended up making it ''for'' them.]]

* There was a less-known ''MortalKombat''-style fighting game (its name eludes me for now) where the {{Big Bad}} was a {{Mad Scientist}} who, after building a temporal portal of some sort, is attacked and nearly killed by a band of ''{{Hellraiser}}''-esque demons. He manages to escape through the portal and is later turned into a {{Hollywood Cyborg}} killing machine.

* In the ''{{Stargate}}'' movie, Daniel is shot by one of the staff weapons and (apparently) dies. He wakes up in Ra's sarcophagus, having being resurrected.

* Raistlin Majere of the {{Dragonlance}} chronicles, overcome by injuries and the fact his body was [[SquishyWizard not too healthy in the first place]], appears on the doorstep of a magical library and manages to decipher enough of the tomes to help regain his strength.
* In the {{Hyperion}} series by Dan Simmons: On his journey down the River Tethys, Raul Endymion contracts a near-fatal kidney inflammation and is only saved by finding [[spoiler: the now-repaired [[{{CoolStarship}} Consul's Starship]]]] that promptly cures his ailment as they set off for their next destination.
* There was a less-known ''MortalKombat''-style fighting game (its name eludes me for now) where the {{Big Bad}} was a {{Mad Scientist}} who, after building a temporal portal of some sort, is attacked and nearly killed by a band of ''{{Hellraiser}}''-esque demons. He manages to escape through the portal and is later turned into a {{Hollywood Cyborg}} killing machine.

* ''{{Star Control}} II'' starts with a similar scenario, where a Terran force cut off from Earth and supply lines discovers a cave full of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Precursor technology]].
* Occurs at the end of ''{{Might And Magic}} VII'' / beginning of ''{{Heroes Of Might And Magic}} IV'': Just as the clash between the Sword of Frost and [[ArtifactOfDoom Armageddon's Blade]] is bringing about an {{Earth Shattering Kaboom}}, the player's party discovers an entry into the {{Portal Network}} connecting various worlds. This is then used to send the survivors to safety on another world.
** I don't remember anything like that happening at the end of ''MightAndMagic VII''. I mean, you found the portal, but the world wasn't being destroyed. ''MightAndMagic VIII'' came afterwards and took place on the same world.
* In ''IndianaJones And The Last Crusade'', [[spoiler: The BigBad shoots Indy's father to force him to find the holy grail and save his father's life this way.]]
* In the original ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' manga, before it was hijacked by card games, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle is stolen and he is forced to play a cursed game to win it back, with a loss resulting in the loss of his soul. He plays, and loses... but touches the puzzle at the last second, allowing his SuperpoweredEvilSide to jump into his body and use it to win his soul back.

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