History Main / SurprisinglySuddenDeath

* This is how it ended up with Claire Kincaid in ''Series/LawAndOrder'': In the the last few seconds of "Aftershock" (while driving a drunk Lenny home), her car is t-boned by a drunk driver. Claire was only supposed to be crippled by the accident, but since Jill Hennesey declined to come back to film a farewell scene, they wrote her off as having died.

** In Season 2 Episode 1 you are given two sudden deaths to two important characters: one is Clementine's new parental substitute Omid, and the the other is a dog.

* Desti's death in the [[Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64BloopersTheAnimeArc Anime Arc]] of ''Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers'', where she's stabbed InTheBack by a fake [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]] while she and the rest of the gang are celebrating over kicking another fake Sephiroth's ass, forgetting that the BigBad could just [[MookMaker make another]]. Adding to the shock is that her death is [[KilledOffForReal played completely seriously]] when nearly every other death in the show is [[TheyKilledKennyAgain done and undone for laughs]].

* Ready for anotherone

* The climax of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' ends with [[BigBad Thanos]], having managed to don the [[MacGuffin Infinity Gauntlet]] with all 6 Stones equipped, performing the granddaddy's granddaddy of all [[BadassFingersnap fingersnaps]] and instantly erasing half of the ''universe's'' living population from existence. Included in that number are [[spoiler: Peter Parker, Dr. Stephen Strange, King T'Challa, Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, the (remaining) Guardians of the Galaxy, and Nick Fury.]]
** For bonus points, [[spoiler: Fury is played by Creator/SamuelLJackson]], who, as you'll see if you'll scroll down, is a frequent victim of this trope.

* The climax of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' ends with [[BigBad Thanos]], having managed to don the [[TheMacguffin Infinity Gauntlet]] with all 6 Stones performing the granddaddy's granddaddy of all [[BadassFingersnap fingersnaps]] and instantly erasing half of the ''universe's'' living population from existence. Included in that number are [[spoiler: Peter Parker, Dr. Stephen Strange, King T'Challa, Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, the (remaining) Guardians of the Galaxy, and Nick Fury.]]

* In ''[[Literature/ZeusIsDead Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure]]'': Jason, surprising because up to this point he was (arguably) being groomed to be the book's official hero.
-->'''Thalia:''' Oh, gods! No one survives a plummet!

* When the party [[DwindlingParty starts a'dwindling]] in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: The Doomsday Ship'', each death is novel and rather sudden, each soon after the last - EvilElevator, [[DisneyVillainDeath knocked down an empty elevator shaft]], sucked into space through a hole in the ship, attacked by [[HollywoodAcid acid-spraying robots]] until falling. There's even a noncomedic example of TheDoorSlamsYou and a character being locked into a room with the air being pumped out, but those characters don't die.

** Orochi. One panel, he's realizing Kaido has his own plans for Wano that run contrary to his own, the next panel he's merely ''starting'' to voice his objections... and the panel after that his head's flying off his shoulders from a swipe of Kaido's blade. The latter then continues his speech like he didn't just kill the shogun and one of his key pieces in the whole scheme.

** Beta. He's about to kill Negan when Daryl sneaks up behind him, slashes him across the arm, and drives his two knives into Beta's eyes the second Beta turns around. After that Beta simply accepts his demise and makes no last attempt to fight back before the walkers swarm him.

** In the episode "Nebraska", Rick, Glenn, and Hershel meet two guys in the bar. Rick kills the two in about five seconds flat when they imply they want to take the farm by force.

* In the season 1 finale of ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'', the recently-built [[spoiler:USS ''Solvang'']] (the captain refuses to peel off the protective film from the screens) is suddenly attacked by a powerful ship. The captain orders maximum warp, just as the attacker clamps down on a warp nacelle. The escaping ship erupts in a massive fireball. And all that happens in the first few minutes and is the largest loss of life shown so far on the show.

Compare with DroppedABridgeOnHim. Can also be considered a subtrope of HarbingerOfImpendingDoom but is generally a plot twist. As in, up to this point everything has been going in the protagonist's favor up until this trope is invoked. Also compare with DynamicEntry, which is usually nonfatal and portrayed in a [[LighterAndSofter lighter tone]]. InTheBack may use this. KilledMidSentence is a specific sub-trope, and DistractedFromDeath may overlap. Contrast DiceRollDeath, where a character is killed by bad luck.

Compare with DroppedABridgeOnHim. Can also be considered a subtrope of HarbingerOfImpendingDoom but is generally a plot twist. As in, up to this point everything has been going in the protagonist's favor up until this trope is invoked. Also compare with DynamicEntry, which is usually nonfatal and portrayed in a [[LighterAndSofter lighter tone]]. InTheBack may use this. KilledMidSentence is a specific sub-trope, and DistractedFromDeath may overlap.

* When Lars from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' jams a pointed rock into the "[[EyeScream eye]]" of one of the [[KillerRobot Shattering Robonoids]], it suddenly ''explodes''. Problem, Lars was sitting on top of it. He takes shrapnel to the face, slams into a wall with an audible CRACK, then falls a good ways to the ground and [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath doesn't get up]]... Until Steven [[HealingHands accidentally brings him back with his tears.]]
* Maude Flanders of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' was abruptly killed by flying t-shirts at a sports race... thanks to Homer.
* In the early ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Mr. Saturday Knight", Peter has [[DinnerWithTheBoss dinner with his boss, Mr. Weed]], and right as he's given a promotion, Brian begins choking on a dinner roll. He's given the Heimlich maneuver and violently spits it out... directly into Mr. Weed's throat, where he dies in seconds.

* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' introduces the necromorphs by having the player enter another room to shut down a security lock. A bio-hazard lock down is immediately triggered and both [[RedShirt Red Shirts]] accompanying the player are ripped apart as the player watches.

* Solo Wing Pixy's return in ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'' is marked by shooting down PJ with his spiffy new "Morgan" superfighter's [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] .

** Kat is shot in the head midsentence, while you and the rest of your team are running to a safety bunker midway through what amounts to hyper-nuclear bombing. Funny thing is, another member of your fireteam noticed a few moments ago that all the Covenant aircraft were suddenly leaving the area (to avoid the nuclear death beam), so that one dropship with the sniper has no reason to be there.

* A big element of the fear in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' comes from how abrupt and unexpected the deaths can be, owing to how genuinely good of a hunter/killer the Xenomorph is. If you're not very alert to signs that it's nearby or make a little too much noise moving through the room, you might find yourself cutting a panel off of a door and '''BAM''' the thing's tail abruptly punches through Amanda's chest from behind and kills her instantly. [[ParanoiaFuel It really keeps you on your toes]].

* Solo Wing Pixy's return in ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'' is marked by shooting down PJ with his spiffy new "Morgan" superfighter's FrickinLaserBeams.

* When the party [[DwindlingParty starts a'dwindling]] in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: The Doomsday Ship'', each death is novel and rather sudden, each soon after the last - EvilElevator, [[DisneyVillainDeath knocked down an empty elevator shaft]], sucked into space through a hole in the ship, attacked by [[HollywoodAcid acid-spraying robots]] until falling. There's even a noncomedic example of DoorSlamsYou and a character being locked into a room with the air being pumped out, but those characters don't die.

* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'': Anderson attempts this with Seras and nearly succeeds, but misses her heart.
** Also, when Seras and Alucard are ordered to chase down the vampire couple that are massacring houses. Alucard blasts the male vampire through the door when he goes to answer it, empties a entire clip into him, reaches into his chest and crushes his heart, killing him.

* Seeing how ''Manga/OnePiece'' had never killed any major characters outside of flashbacks until that point, and that the Marineford Arc was all about saving Ace, it was pretty sudden when they were finally free and running away that [[ShootTheShaggyDog Ace suddenly threw himself between Akainu and Luffy, getting impaled and burned to death in the process]].
** Much later, there was Orochi. One panel, he's realizing Kaido has his own plans for Wano that run contrary to his own, the next panel he's merely ''starting'' to voice his objections... and the panel after that his head's flying off his shoulders from a swipe of Kaido's blade. The latter then continues his speech like he didn't just kill the shogun and one of his key pieces in the whole scheme.

* Defied in ''Film/PacificRim''. Hannibal Chau [[TemptingFate tempts fate]] by giving a long description of how the newborn Kaiju was doomed from the first, only to get swallowed mid-rant. See TheStinger to learn how that went.
** Played straight with Raleigh's brother Yancy, who's ripped from Gipsy Danger's cockpit and KilledMidSentence with absolutely no forewarning.

** During the Battle of Hogwarts in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Fred Weasley is suddenly and unexpectedly killed in an explosion (it's never revealed who caused it). Bonus points for being the ''last'' character anyone expected to die.

* British sitcom ''Series/{{Ideal}}'': Moz mentions to Cartoon Head (a hitman) that they should "take Craig out", meaning taking him out to a club. Cartoon Head, high on LSD at the time, misinterprets this and shoots Craig in the head.

* Scully's father on ''Series/TheXFiles'' was killed off this way. The first time we meet him, he's having dinner with his daughter at her home. An hour later, she gets a call saying he's died of a heart attack.
** Diana Fowley's death was this. After a season and a half of tormenting Mulder and Scully, she is murdered and we are only informed after the event.
* Most of the deaths on ''Series/TheSopranos'' qualify, since mob hits generally take place when the victim isn't expecting it. Notable examples include Jackie Aprile Jr., Tony Blundetto, and Phil Leotardo in the final episode.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderUK'': After the successful prosecution of a murderous drug dealer, DS Matt Devlin and CP Alesha Philips are escorting the chief witness to juvenile detention, praising him for his decision to testify in the face of threats and intimidation. It seems as though the episode will end on a high note, until a car pulls up and shots ring out. Devlin is fatally wounded pushing Alesha and the kid to safety.

* In ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', Kat is shot in the head midsentence, while you and the rest of your team are running to a safety bunker midway through what amounts to hyper-nuclear bombing. Funny thing is, another member of your fireteam noticed a few moments ago that all the Covenant aircraft were suddenly leaving the area (to avoid the nuclear death beam), so that one dropship with the sniper has no reason to be there.
** There's also Miranda Keyes in ''VideoGame/Halo3'', who pretty much out of nowhere is gunned down by the [[BigBad Prophet of Truth]] right in the middle of his comeuppance.

* May appear in ''[[VideoGame/SonictheHedgehog2006 Sonic 06]]''. Sonic and Elise are just walking around when BLAM! [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice Death Ray!]] And [[LargeHam hammy]] [[Creator/DanGreen laughing,]] too.

** During the escape following the failed Saint Denis robbery, Lenny is gunned down out of nowhere as he and Arthur escape via RoofHopping.

** In the very first scene of the very first episode, the young guy sneaks his young female friend into the High School at night. It's dark and creepy and she's uncomfortable. It's clear he has dark and creepy [read: 'pointy teeth'] designs on her. She timidly asks if they're really all alone and when he verifies that they are, she's the one who grows teeth and puts the bite on him.
** Tara in season 6. Warren runs into Buffy's lawn, shoots a few times with a gun, and Buffy and Tara are both hit, which sends Willow on a revenge spree.

* ''Manga/DeathNote'' had a particularly nasty one at the end of the anime, when Mikami, realizing that Kira and his cause are done for, drives his pen into his chest, puncturing his heart and [[HighPressureBlood spraying blood everywhere]]. He dies within the minute, while the surrounding police officers are running like headless chooks and trying to stabilise him

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* Rei does this in ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion'' as a variation of her first appearance. On the other hand it could been all in Shinji's head (looking at Cosmic Horrors from up close is not a good thing for your sanity) and what really happened was a DynamicEntry by Misato's team.
* ''FanFic/FalloutEquestria'': Steelhooves/Applesnack is on the wrong end of a Hellhound attack very early on in Chapter 39. This comes as a bit of a shock due to his status as a Canterlot ghoul, hence able to revive from most forms of damage. Turns out decapitation isn't something he can revive from.

* Partway into {{FanFic/Eugenesis}}, Autobot City is getting swarmed by Quintessons. Grimlock meets up with Ultra Magnus as the Autobots are trying to fight them off and the two start discussing what they should do. Than in midsentence a string of gunfire from a passing hovercraft blasts Grimlock in the chest and kills him. The narration even notes that as he fell over he looked [[LampshadeHanging more surprised than pained]].