History Main / VillainsWantMercy

** Inverted in the good ending to ''Justice For All.'' [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] [[MortonsFork has two options]] after his treacherous nature is exposed; [[spoiler:he can either go to prison for the rest of his life or go free, but the vengeful assassin whose murder contract Engarde took out, now livid that he had secretly recorded the deed for blackmail purposes, ready to hunt him down the moment he walks out the door.]] He chooses the former. [[spoiler:Attempting to let him go free will result in him begging to go to prison.]]

** Inverted in the good ending to ''Justice For All.'' [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] [[MortonsFork has two options]] after his treacherous nature is exposed; [[spoiler:he can either go to prison for the rest of his life or go free, but the vengeful assassin whose murder contract Engarde took out, now furious that Engarde recorded the deed for blackmail purposes, ready to hunt him down the moment he walks out the door.]] He chooses the former. [[spoiler:Attempting to let him go free will result in him begging to go to prison.]]

** Inverted in the good ending to ''Justice For All.'' [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]] [[MortonsFork has two options]] after his treacherous nature is exposed; [[spoiler:he can either go to prison for the rest of his life or go free...with a vengeful assassin who [[BerserkButton hates traitors and untrustworthy people]] ready to hunt him down the moment he walks out the door.]] He chooses the former. [[spoiler:Attempting to let him go free will result in him begging to go to prison.]]

* ''Literature/TheMisfitOfDemonKingAcademy'': When Anos throws Emilia Lud(o)well to the ground of the arena following the murder attempt on his mother and fanclub who were allhybrid demons, he fatally wounds her and explains to her that she has around a minute to live. She initially does not beg, but he twists his blade which culminates in her begging for mercy as she is bleeding out with Anos telling her to be louder about it. Ultimately, he stabs her to death before reincarnating her into a completely naked HumanDemonHybrid.

* Franchise/SpiderMan goes through this a lot, with villains who want - but don't deserve - to be spared:

** During the climax of the "Grim Hunt" arc, Spidey has embarked on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Kravinoff family for everything they put him and his "spider family" through, at one point using his {{Wall Crawl}}ing powers to [[FlayingAlive tear a handprint-shaped mass of flesh]] [[FacialHorror clean off of Sasha Kravinoff's face]]. When Sasha frantically begs him to wait, Spidey hatefully asks her if ''she'' "waited" when she killed Kaine, Mattie Franklin, and Madame Web.[[note]]Incidentally, using wall-crawling powers to rip the flesh off a victim's face was the trademark of Kaine, an AntiHero clone of Spidey. The fact that Spidey is willing to resort to that same level of brutality illustrates just how far the Kravinoffs have driven him.[[/note]]

* A dark variation of this trope is in play in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'': [[spoiler:After having his girlfriend murdered and subsequently crashing her funeral for payback, Shogo Akuji gets a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Johnny Gat that ends with the Ronin captain being tossed into a coffin. Shogo begs for a MercyKill instead of being BuriedAlive, but Gat and the Boss ignore him and silently bury him.]]

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', during his trial Lord Baelish a.k.a. Littlefinger, a {{manipulative bastard}} who fucks with everybody and causes only chaos and destruction, begs Sansa, Lady of Winterfell, for his life on his knees when he's accused of murder and other things until [[spoiler:Arya]] slits his throat.

* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': When Vanellope threatens to execute the ''Sugar Rush'' racers for being bullies, they immediately grovel and tearfully beg for mercy.

* The pre-title scene of ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' has Film/JamesBond tangle with a LawyerFriendlyCameo version of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is now permanently crippled and has lost all of his fortune. Once Bond [[ItMakesSenseInContext hooks Blofeld's wheelchair with the helicopter's landing skid]], Blofeld becomes a pathetically begging wreck asking [[DirtyCoward Bond for]] [[AssholeVictim mercy]], going so far to even famously offer a delicatessen - "in stainless steel!" But given Blofeld's earlier attempts to murder Bond, who was visiting his dead wife Teresa's grave, 007 [[spoiler:ignores his offers and obliges his request by [[ExactWords dumping him down a smokestack to his doom]].]] That Blofeld is offering Bond take-out food implies that he's struggling to make ends meet.

* Several examples occur in the ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' fanfic series ''FanFic/IWillNotBow'':

* ''Literature/HungersAsOldAsTime'':

** [[spoiler:After being cornered by Ange and her Ragnamail, [[HumongousMecha Villkiss]], [[TheEvilPrince Prince Julio]] [[DirtyCoward desperately barters for his life]], saying he'll reinstate Ange as a member of the royal family. But Ange is beyond forgiving her treacherous brother after he [[TheCorrupter corrupted Sylvia]] and [[SelfMadeOrphan ordered their father's execution]], and attempts to cut him down (and he ScreamsLikeALittleGirl when Ange prepares to kill him with Villkiss' {{BFS}} LaserBlade). The only thing that stops her is [[BigBad Embryo]], who [[KickTheSonOfABitch takes the liberty of obliterating Julio and his fleet himself with his own Ragnamail, Hysterica.]]]]

* Film/RevengeOfTheSith: When Anakin is sent to [[DeadlyEuphemism “take care of”]] the Separatist Council on Mustafar, the last one left alive is [[DirtyCoward Nute Gunray]], who spends his final moments snivelingly begging for his own sorry hide. Of course, [[FallenHero Anakin]] shows him no mercy, and immediately cuts him down [[KilledMidSentence before he’s even finished speaking]].

* In the final episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', [[spoiler:after Belos's attempt to possess the Titan was foiled by Luz and her [[EleventhHourSuperpower Titan-powers]], he tries to trick her into sparing him by telling her [[BlatantLies his curse made him do all of the evil things he did, and her ripping him out of the Titan's heart cured him. Then the boiling rain starts, and Belos starts to melt, at first begging, then ''demanding'' Luz save him while clinging to her ankle, because them being human supposedly makes them better. Luz does not dignify ''any'' of this with a response, and just steps back so Eda, Raine and King can stomp him to death.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': The minute Simba corners Scar, the latter pathetically starts begging him for mercy, going to such lengths as pulling the family card and [[NeverMyFault blaming the hyenas for his own actions]]; Simba doesn't buy any of it for a second, but ultimately decides not to kill Scar because [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he doesn't want to stoop to Scar's level]], instead opting to [[CruelMercy banish him]]. Scar starts to walk away, [[ISurrenderSuckers but then]] [[AHandfulForAnEye flings burning embers into Simba's eyes]] and attacks him viciously. When he loses the fight and is thrown down to the hyenas (who heard ''everything''), he desperately tries to reason with them and insist he didn't mean what he said, but the hyenas will have none of it and, as vengeful as they starving, attack him en masse, mauling and devouring him off-screen.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': During the showdown between [[BigBad Gaston]] and the Beast, the Beast eventually gets the upper hand and is [[NeckLift dangling Gaston off of the roof of the castle]], threatening to drop him to his death. Despite having attacked the Beast first and [[BullyingADragon egged him on to fight]], Gaston panics and desperately begs the Beast not to hurt him; the Beast ultimately gives in and spares Gaston, ordering him to GetOut. As the Beast is going to reunite with Belle, Gaston sneaks up behind him and stabs him InTheBack while [[SlasherSmile smiling nastily]]... [[BackstabBackfire only to lose his footing]] [[DisneyVillainDeath and fall to his demise]].
* ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'': During the final showdown, Peter steals Captain Hook's sword and threatens him with it. In response, Hook tearfully begs for mercy, [[PleaseIWillDoAnything stating he'll do anything Peter says]]. Peter agrees to let him live, [[CruelMercy on the grounds that he admits to being a "codfish" and agrees to leave Neverland forever]], which Hook does. As soon as Peter's back is turned, however, Hook goes for one last attack, using his hook now that he no longer has his sword, but Wendy sees what's about to happen and calls out for Peter to look out. Peter jumps out of the way in the nick of time, causing Hook to lose his footing and fall into the sea, where the crocodile promptly chases him into the horizon.

If the hero does grant them mercy, they may perform a HeelFaceTurn out of gratitude. However, it's very common for the villain to attempt to attack the hero one last time, usually while their back is turned. [[BackstabBackfire This will rarely work]]. If the villain doesn't backstab, IOweYouMyLife may follow (and because RedemptionEqualsDeath, there's a high chance they'll end up actually giving their life for the hero at some point).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': The minute Simba corners Scar, the latter pathetically starts begging him for mercy, going to such lengths as pulling the family card and [[NeverMyFault blaming the hyenas for his own actions]]; Simba doesn't buy any of it for a second, but ultimately decides not to kill Scar because [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he doesn't want to stoop to Scar's level]], instead opting to [[CruelMercy banish him]]. Scar starts to walk away, but then [[AHandfulForAnEye flings burning embers into Simba's eyes]] and attacks him. When he loses the fight and is thrown down to the hyenas (who heard ''everything''), he desperately tries to reason with them and insist he didn't mean what he said, but the hyenas will have none of it and attack him en masse, mauling and devouring him off-screen.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': During the showdown between [[BigBad Gaston]] and the Beast, the Beast eventually gets the upper hand and is [[NeckLift dangling Gaston off of the roof of the castle]], threatening to drop him to his death. Despite having attacked the Beast first and [[BullyingADragon egged him on to fight]], Gaston panics and desperately begs the Beast not to hurt him; the Beast ultimately gives in and spares Gaston, ordering him to GetOut. As the Beast is going to reunite with Belle, Gaston sneaks up behind him and stabs him InTheBack... [[BackstabBackfire only to lose his footing]] [[DisneyVillainDeath and fall to his demise]].
* ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'': During the final showdown, Peter steals Captain Hook's sword and threatens him with it. In response, Hook tearfully begs for mercy, [[PleaseIWillDoAnything stating he'll do anything Peter says]]. Peter agrees to let him live, [[CruelMercy on the grounds that he admits to being a "codfish" and agrees to leave Neverland forever]], which Hook does. As soon as Peter's back is turned, however, Hook goes for one last attack, but Peter jumps out of the way, causing Hook to lose his footing and fall into the sea, where the crocodile promptly chases him into the horizon.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': [[spoiler: Lotso]] begs Woody and Buzz to help him survive at the trash dump after he had been actively screwing them over for most of the movie, as well as being responsible for them being there in the first place. How does he repay them? He proceeds to leave them to die at the hands of the incinerator after he is given an opportunity to stop the machinery carrying them down there, taunting Woody in the process with the pivotal line "[[WhereIsYourXNow Where's your kid now, sheriff?]]" Fortunately, karma catches up to him.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': When Tiana [[spoiler:destroys his amulet and his "[[WithFriendsLikeThese friends]]" show up to claim his soul, Facilier spends his final moments desperately begging them for mercy and more time to pay off his debt. None of it works, and he's ultimately [[DraggedOffToHell dragged off to their world]], screaming all the while.]]

* Downplayed with [[spoiler:Daud]] in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}''. He does ask for his life upon defeat, but he's pretty much accepted his fate and doesn't expect you to show him mercy. He's genuinely stunned if you do.

* ''Film/AbsolutePower'': A corrupt Secret Service agent attempts to kill Luther's daughter Kate because SheKnowsTooMuch. When Luther foils this attempt by injecting him with a poisoned needle first: