History Main / SurprisinglySuddenDeath

'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':

* This is how it ended up with Claire Kincaid in ''Series/LawAndOrder'': In 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 proper farewell scene, it was decided to have this moment end up becoming her departure and instant death.

* In the film ''{{Film/Spartan}}'', Val Kilmer's character is having a quiet meeting in a grassy backyard with an information who clues him into the disappearance of an unnamed government official's daughter. [[BoomHeadshot It doesn't end well.]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': uses this; during the Massacre Chapter, the [[TrueCompanions club]] have just [[HopeSpot dispatched the men pursuing them]], and decide to hijack their car to get Rika and Satoko to safety. The group run in to knock out the last few men, when a shot rings out, and Keiichi suddenly falls over. The visual novel and manga completely averts this however, by having Hanyuu stop time before the bullet hits so everyone can contemplate what to do when it inevitably hits Keiichi (when she stops time, it's inches from his chest).

* In the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' comic two guards just heard the alarm to evacuate their base, then they are killed by a Hunter and a Smoker before they could react.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'':
** An E3 trailer shows the player character moving down a tunnel, a comrade in front of him. Your comrade turns to talk to you, but a second later someone appears from BehindTheBlack and kills him.
** Another one would be a guy reaching up over a railing on top of a mountain and pulling the nearby guard over the edge.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'' mission "Just Like Old Times" has Soap and Price abseiling from a mountain road for some DeathFromAbove on Shadow Company mooks.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'' during a fight in Whitestone Archie is bantering with Percy one minute and ends up cut in half by Vedmire the next, not even getting in any last words. The shock is clear on Percy's face.

-> ''"'Tis a vile thing to die, my gracious lord,''
-> ''When men are unprepared, and look not for it."''

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.

* In the second episode of the second season of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', "Valley of Darkness", some Viper pilots are relaxing after fighting off a Cylon basestar in the previous episode, "Scattered". Cue one of the Cylon Centurions who've boarded the ''Galactica'' looming out and slashing one of them across the chest.

* ''Series/TheMissing'' - In series 2, the end of an episode ends on Jorn in the present day following a seemingly normal lead into one of the missing girls - turns out he'd accidentally found a prime suspect in the kidnap case. They both realise at the same time that the prospect-kidnapper has been caught out, and the man grabs Jorn in a headlock and grapples him to the ground, before grabbing a powerdrill and drilling Jorn IN THE FACE. It's a very sudden and brutal death that the episode ends on, and the character murdered was a fan favourite and one of the few characters in the show without any unlikable aspects to his personality.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'':

* Desti's death in the [[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64BloopersTheAnimeArc Anime Arc]] of ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'' , 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]].

The protagonists are walking down a hallway or simply just relaxing and minding their own business when suddenly out of nowhere one of them is killed in a horrific, often violent manner. This form of demise can lead to TheReveal and can often lead to the confrontation with the BigBad. Typically includes or is accompanied by ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice. Sometimes is foreshadowed very briefly by the killer being shown just before the character's death. Most commonly associated with Horror and typically the responsible party is of the monster variety. It can also be used to reveal any obstacles in the protagonist's way by killing a less important character or a RedShirt, if there are any. Not limited to villains, however, as it can also be done as part of a MookHorrorShow.

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': uses this on occasion; during the Massacre Chapter, the [[TrueCompanions club]] have just [[HopeSpot dispatched the men pursuing them]], and decide to hijack their car to get Rika and Satoko to safety. The group run in to knock out the last few men, when a shot rings out, and Keiichi suddenly falls over. The visual novel and manga completely averts this however, by having Hanyuu stop time before the bullet hits so everyone can contemplate what to do when it inevitably hits Keiichi (when she stops time, it's inches from his chest).

* This is a regular occurrence in ''ComicBook/StrikeforceMorituri''. The Morituri Process which gives the protagonists their superpowers is guaranteed to kill them within a year, but no one knows when it occurs. Characters could (and did) die in the most unexpected and inconvenient times, such as the beginning of a stealth attack on a Horde fleet.

* 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.

* A tragic example of this occurs in the Pokémon fanfiction "Fanfic/BlackAlbino": After they spend the whole afternoon training, a family of baby Nidoran decide to take a nap in order to regain their energy after trying to learn the move Leer. Their peaceful sleep is suddenly interrupted when they hear a piercing loud scream and they abruptly wake up only to discover that a wild Growlithe snuck up to them while they were sleeping and mauled their little sister Aamu. And while they stare in horror, frozen in fear, the Growlithe also rips their little brother Kukka to shreds.It's unexpected as it's heartbreaking.

* This is a regular occurrence in ''ComicBook/StrikeforceMorituri''. The Morituri Process which gives the protagonists their superpowers is guaranteed to kill them within a year, but no one knows when it occurs. Characters could (and did) die in the most unexpected and inconvenient times, such as [[spoiler:the beginning of a stealth attack on a Horde fleet.]]

* A tragic example of this occurs in the Pokémon fanfiction "Fanfic/BlackAlbino": After they spend the whole afternoon training, a family of baby Nidoran decide to take a nap in order to regain their energy after trying to learn the move Leer. Their peaceful sleep is suddenly interrupted when they hear a piercing loud scream and they abruptly wake up only to discover that a wild Growlithe snuck up to them while they were sleeping and mauled their little sister Aamu. And while they stare in horror, frozen in fear, the Growlithe also rips their little brother Kukka to shreds.It's unexpected as it's heartbreaking.

* The climax of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' ends with [[BigBad Thanos]], having managed to don the [[MacGuffin Infinity Gauntlet]] with all 6 Stones equipped, performing a [[BadassFingersnap fingersnap]] that erases 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/ElijahOfBuxton'', Elijah and Mr. Leroy are riding to the Preacher's last known location when [[spoiler:Mr. Leroy just falls off his horse. Elijah rushes back to him and discovers that he's dying. In his final moments, Mr. Leroy makes Elijah swear that he'll get his money back, and if he can't that he'll kill the Preacher]].

** Snape’s death is also so sudden that even he probably didn’t know why he died.

* In ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', Pope Pío is in the climax of an impassioned call to arms when he drops dead from a cardiac arrest, to surprise of everyone.

* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Fëanor becomes High King of the Noldor, swears eternal vengeance on Morgoth, gets his sons to join him in a blasphemous oath, initiates the First Kinslaying to seize some ships, and sails for Middle-earth with a host of the Noldor to retrieve his life's masterwork, the Silmarils. Thus is the stage set for his long and epic contest of wills and battle against the enemy. That is, if he hadn't decided to chase ''three'' retreating [[HeroKiller Balrogs]] until they were forced to turn and fight him, resulting in his death a scant month after making landfall. His sons are left to an increasingly destructive pursuit of the Silmarils for the next six hundred years.

* ''Series/WetHotAmericanSummerFirstDayOfCamp'': [[spoiler: Greg and Jim Stansel are both shot in the head in quick succession by The Falcon while Jim is talking to the press]]. Despite the show being a goofy comedy, their deaths are pretty startling.

* ''Series/SquidGame'' kills off player 244, a recurring character, when he wastes time praying while in the middle of a life-or-death game that’s running on a timer. It’s even more unexpected since the last person who attempted to push him was thrown off by 244 himself.

* Once the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Creepy Town'' gets to the murder stage, players draw cards from the terror deck to guide the scene. If they draw the Joker, the victim dies, and this could easily happen within the first few draws. Like what happened when Jake was drawing for [[spoiler: Olivia]].
-->'''Jake:''' [[spoiler: Olivia]] starts walking towards the symbol...''*{{beat}}*'' And she dies.\\

* Episode 1 of ''VideoGame/GameOfThronesTelltale'' ends with [[spoiler: [[WouldHurtAChild Ramsay Bolton unceremoniously stabbing Ethan Forrester through the neck.]] He dies from blood loss in less than a minute.]]

** Season 3 Episode 2 gives you [[spoiler:Javier's niece Mariana, who is [[BoomHeadshot shot in the head]] from behind by [[WouldHurtAChild Badger]], a New Frontier lieutenant, after Javier goes to rescue her and the rest of his family from the junkyard.]]

* ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' has [[spoiler:Carmine Falcone abruptly KilledMidsentence while Bruce is visiting him at the hospital]] midway through Episode 2.

* ''WebAnimation/Plan3'': The pirate cursed with the same bad luck curse as Stephen trips and dies before he can finish his warning about the curse. Stephen certainly wasn’t expecting it.
-->'''Stephen''': [[WeHardlyKnewYe Wha- you can’t just introduce a character and then kill him off immediately, that’s literally illegal!]]

** Subverted, as it turns out in Season 6 episode “Xerox of a Xerox”, [[spoiler: Sarah Lynn didn’t die at the planetarium (in fact, she was barely alive), but in the hospital, because [[MurderByInaction Bojack waited 17 minutes to call an ambulance in order to create an alibi for himself]]]].
* Beetle in ''WesternAnimation/KuboAndTheTwoStrings'' is abruptly stabbed InTheBack by one of the Sisters. Even more painful because 1) he'd [[TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath just saved Kubo and Monkey from her]] and 2) they'd just learned [[spoiler: Beetle was [[LukeIAmYourFather Hanzo.]]]]

** Happens again early in the second season, this time [[spoiler: with a main character no less. Vex'ahlia, despite having backstory-filled flashbacks throughout the episode, is hit by an instant-death trap accidentally activated by Percy. She has no last words, is given no time to prepare: she is hit by the magic and sent flying backwards, and when she stops rolling she lets go of her last breath and her eyes glaze over.]]
* The Scotsman in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is killed rather abruptly in the fifth episode of Season 5, while raining Aku with endless insults. [[spoiler: As soon as Aku leaves however, The Scotsman comes BackFromTheDead as a Celtic Ghost. We have the Celtic magic of his sword to thank for that.]]

* 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. In fact, the whole episode is significantly darker than the rest of the season and ends with [[spoiler:the HeroicSacrifice of Lieutenant Shaxs and Ensign Rutherford losing his memories]].

* Kaname Tousen from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. When fighting Hisagi, he pulls out his [[OneWingedAngel Hollow form]], and while busy laughing at how screwed the heroes are...is promptly stabbed in the head by Hisagi before he can show anything. This doesn't kill him though. As he lies dying, a remorseful Tousen asks Hisagi if he can show him his face, but before he can, Aizen finishes him off by blowing up Tousen.

* Kaname Tousen from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. When fighting Hisagi, he pulls out his [[OneWingedAngel Hollow form]], and while busy laughing at how screwed the heroes are...is promptly stabbed in the head by Hisagi before he can show anything. This doesn't kill him though. As he lies dying, Tousen is filled with remorse. He asks Hisagi if he can show him his face, but is abruptly killed by Aizen, who explodes his body.

* This is how it ended up with Claire Kincaid in ''Series/LawAndOrder'': In 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 proper farewell scene, it was decided to end up becoming her departure and instant death.

* In ''LightNovel/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'' (in the light novel, anime, and manga), Ripple and Top Speed have just defeated and killed the AxCrazy Calamity Mary when Top Speed wants to do a celebratory high five. Ripple was about to do it when Top Speed suddenly hugged her. It was only when Ripple touched Top Speed's back and found blood on her hand did she realize Top Speed had been stabbed in the back by fellow magical girl Swim Swim, and had fallen into Ripple's arms as she died.

* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' practically starts with one of these, as a man who wakes Isaac up out of a coma is suddenly [[BlackDudeDiesFirst impaled]] and turned into a necromorph.

** Flay Allster from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' was in the middle of reuniting with her ex-boyfriend, Kira Yamato, after finding him and his Gundam Freedom in the shuttle she was piloting. [[HopeSpot It seems like the beginning of a happy reunion, and that Kira and Flay might reconcile]]. But then suddenly, a laser blast from ''nowhere'' pierces the ship, and it explodes; before Flay even realizes what is happening, she is engulfed in a ball of flame and dies in shock as she is incinerated. The culprit of the blast that destroyed the shuttle was [[OmnicidalManiac Rau Le Creuset]], the BigBad, and his [[FinalBoss Gundam Providence]], who destroyed the shuttle [[KickTheDog just to screw with Kira]]. And Rau might have known Flay was onboard when he did it. Flay's death proceeds to throw Kira into an UnstoppableRage, and he goes for Rau's ass right after.

** Flay Allster from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' was in the middle of reuniting with her ex-boyfriend, Kira Yamato, after finding him and his Gundam Freedom in the shuttle she was piloting.
[[HopeSpot It seems like the beginning of a happy reunion, and that Kira and Flay might reconcile]]. But then suddenly, a laser blast from ''nowhere'' pierces the ship, and it explodes; before Flay even realizes what is happening, she is engulfed in a ball of flame and dies in shock as she is incinerated. The culprit of the blast that destroyed the shuttle was [[OmnicidalManiac Rau Le Creuset]], the BigBad, and his [[FinalBoss Gundam Providence]], who destroyed the shuttle [[KickTheDog just to screw with Kira]]. And Rau might have known Flay was onboard when he did it. Flay's death proceeds to throw Kira into an UnstoppableRage, and he goes for Rau's ass right after.

* Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 has the death of [[KnightTemplarBigBrother Michael Trinity]] at the hands of [[BloodKnight Ali Al-Saachez]]. When the Trinity siblings are stranded on an island, they meet Ali, who shoots Michael almost instantly during a conversation. [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes His brother and sister are understandably shocked.]]

** Scully's father 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.

** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E19SeeingRed Seeing Red]]", Warren runs into Buffy's yard and fires a few gunshots. Buffy and Tara are both hit, which sends Willow on a revenge spree.

** Tara in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E19SeeingRed Seeing Red]]". 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.

* This is how it ended up with Claire Kincaid in ''Series/LawAndOrder'': In 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.

The protagonists are walking down a hallway or simply just relaxing and minding their own business when suddenly out of nowhere one of them is killed in a horrific manner. This often can and does fall in the category of {{Gorn}}. This form of demise can lead to TheReveal and can often lead to the confrontation with the BigBad. Typically includes or is accompanied by ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice. Sometimes is foreshadowed very briefly by the killer being shown just before the character's death. Most commonly associated with Horror and typically the responsible party is of the monster variety. It can also be used to reveal any obstacles in the protagonist's way by killing a less important character or a RedShirt, if there are any. Not limited to villains, however, as it can also be done as part of a MookHorrorShow.