History Main / WingedSoulFliesOffAtDeath

** In "WesternAnimation/TheHypoChondriCat", the two mice Hubie and Bertie convince Claude Cat he's dead by dressing him as an angel and tying him to a balloon so he floats upward.

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* This happens to Pit in ''Videogame/KidIcarus: Of Myths and Monsters'' whenever he dies.

* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Hell is Other Robots", Bender flies Leela and Fry out of Robot Hell using a robot's wings. On the way out, an energy ring shot at him is hooked on his antenna to complete the angel allusion.

** Happens to Grampa in the intro for the "Love-Matic Grampa" segment of ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E24TheSimpsonsSpinoffShowcase The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase]]''. Animated in a simplistic style, it shows that Grampa was crushed to death by a falling shelf, and his winged soul flew off "but got lost along the way" (the intro shows him getting sucked into a jet engine and losing his wings), and falls into Moe's love-tester machine, which he ends up possessing.
** Happens to Scratchy after being eaten by a crocodile in a well in the episode "Radio Bart". Midway through flight Itchy shoots him down again with a revolver.
** Subverted in an ''Itchy and Scratchy'' cartoon from "Loan-a-Lisa", in which, in a parody of [[DownerBeginning the beginning]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', Itchy kills Scratchy and his wife, and when their souls are flying upward, Itchy [[GhostsAbhorAVacuum sucks them up with a vacuum]] and [[CrossesTheLineTwice sets it on fire]].

* Happens to ComicBook/{{Lobo}} of all people after he is killed in an ambush by two other bounty hunters. True to form, it doesnt last long.

* Referenced in ''ComicBook/TexWiller'', as [[NeverSayDie two of their many euphemism for "being killed"]] are "getting a pair of wings" and "going playing the harp on a cloud".

** In ''VideoGame/CrashBash'', though, '''every playable character''' turn into a winged ball of light when they die in the minigames, even the evil ones.

** With the ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy N. Sane Trilogy]]'' remake, this became Coco's stock death animation. In fact it makes up 80% of her death animations as she was a late unplanned addition to the game.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': This is referenced with the the heads of Igos du Ikana and his two lieutenants still bickering after defeat, showing they are still not at rest even after being killed twice.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': Everything you kill, even bugs, explodes in a flash of light and smoke, leaving behind a purple ghostly afterimage. For monsters the image appears as a skull.

* In the ''VideoGame/JoeAndMac'' series, if either Joe or Mac lose all their energy, they transform into winged souls wearing a toga and fly off.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'': When a Pikmin dies, a small ghostlike spirit will float up from where it fell, wail and fade away. These spirits retain the color they were in life -- red, yellow, blue, etc. -- and, in ''Pikmin 3'', the Rock Pikmin will maintain their blocky, jagged shape and the Winged Pikmin their insect-like wings (making them actual examples of winged souls). A similar thing happens for enemies -- when a creature dies, a ghostly "bubble" (pink-orange in the first two games, light blue with a little tail in the third) with two eye-like holes will rise from the body and fade away.

* Strangely happens to a ''cookie'' of all things in the SNES version of ''VideoGame/YoshisCookie''. In one of a many RunningGag you see between Mario and the runaway cookie every time you clear a stage, the cookie rolls off a cliff and dies. Mario sees the cookie ascend into the afterlife, causing him to have an AsideGlance and wonder what the heck just happened.

* In the flash-game ''VideoGame/HangARoo'', the titular kangaroo floats off with halo and wings whenever he gets hanged.
* Lamona from ''VideoGame/HazelnutHex'' turns into a ghost after her defeat, before floating away off-camera while cacking. There's also a giant ghost boss who turns into a dozen smaller ghosts that flies away.

** This is an interesting one, since the Japanese believe that a human's soul/spirit takes the form of a butterfly

* This can happen as a result of a unlucky roulette spin in ''Sengoku Basara 4''. If the roulette stops on a skull space, chances are your character might get a humongous golden pot with the Xavist logo on it dropped on the head, your character breaks down and while it's not so much your soul flying away as it being carried away by two bearded angels, you still have to get it back by rotating the analog stick fast. If you do it well, you will get some Tenka Medals.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Zombidle}}'', killing villagers sometimes causes a ghost to float out of them, flying off the top of the screen. Once [[VillainProtagonist Bob the Necromancer]] gets his hands on a certain item, he can collect them instead [[PoweredByAForsakenChild and use their ghosts into crafting recpies for powerful items]].

* VideoGame/ToejamAndEarl both turn into ghostly angels (despite being aliens) and fly off-screen when they run out of energy in the first game. If it's your final life, they add a little wave good-bye to the fourth wall.
* In ''VideoGame/LadyBug'', the title character becomes a pair of disembodied wings and halo and flutters off screen when it's killed.

** When failing, the continue screen shows the latest playable Wonderful One's soul sobbing over their fallen body. Continuing will reunite the body and soul, while selecting not to continue has the soul fly up.

* In ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'', when a cat or enemy dies, its soul flies up into the sky and disappears. Most units get a swirly generic soul, but [[CatGirl Moneko, Neneko, and their variants]] get a soul that looks like them, and [[OlympusMons Legend Rares]] have a crystal-like, rainbow soul which fragments and flies away. Some Aku enemies have a more demonic-looking soul, which [[TakingYouWithMe casts one final surge attack]] before flying off.

* Infamously in the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "One Beer", in which Buster, Plucky, and Hampton get drunk, drive off of a cliff, and die. The ending shows the whole thing to be a [[ScareEmStraight PSA]] filmed by Buster and co. Uh huh. The FCC knew they were being trolled and yanked the episode after one airing.

** The 1948 short "WesternAnimation/BackAlleyOproar" with Sylvester and Elmer Fudd. Sylvester insists on singing when Fudd wants to sleep. This leads to wacky hijinx that end with Elmer setting off a load of dynamite, and Elmer's winged soul ascending to Heaven immediately after, along with [[CatsHaveNineLives all nine of Sylvester's lives]].

** ''WesternAnimation/ShowBizBugs:'' Daffy doesn't have wings (beyond what he [[FeatherFingers already possesses]]), but this essentially what he does at the end of the short following his literally explosive stage-act.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Happens to [[spoiler: Gerhard Shnobble]] at the end of the ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'' story named for him.

[[folder:Myths and Religion]]

* In the WWII short Animated Film ''Booby Traps'', WesternAnimation/PrivateSnafu is blown up, does this while playing 'Those Endearing Young Charms' on his harp, and [[spoiler: is blown up again]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In the first season finale, the soul of Yogo the sentient yogurt does this as it rises from its grave. In Episode 92, [[spoiler: Adele]]'s soul does this too, before the GrimReaper steals it.

--> '''Rowdy:''' So let's get our heads in the game - 'cuz if you ''don't'', [[DraggedOffToHell I might lose mine!]]

* In the 1941 stage in ''VideoGame/TimeGal'', while on the wing of a falling plane, there's a Time Stop moment where you have to choose the correct option to progress further into the level. One of these options is "Pray to God" ([[{{Bowdlerise}} "Hope for Luck"]] in the English version). Should you choose this option, the plane will crash into the side of a ship, and you Reika's spirit ascending into heaven.

* The platform game based on ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' has Jerry fly away as a harp-toting, halo-bearing angel if he dies.

* A few ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoons have done this with nine of them for Tom's nine lives. Though on at least one occasion, only one is seen for Tom.

* Quite a few Creator/{{Taito}} games did this, including ''Kuri Kinton'', ''VideoGame/KikiKaiKai'', ''Monkey Mole Panic'', ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders '95: Attack of Lunar Loonies'', and ''VideoGame/OperationWolf''.

* Strangely happens to a ''cookie'' of all things in the SNES version of ''Yoshi's Cookie''. In one of a many RunningGag you see between Mario and the runaway cookie every time you clear a stage, the cookie rolls off a cliff and dies. Mario sees the cookie ascend into the afterlife, causing him to have an AsideGlance and wonder what the heck just happened.

* This happens to a playable character in the ''VideoGame/MrDriller'' series, whenever he/she gets [[{{Falling Blocks}} crushed by blocks]] or [[{{Oxygen Meter}} runs out of oxygen]].

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* This happens to a playable character in the ''VideoGame/MrDriller'' series, whenever he/she gets crushed by blocks or [[{{Oxygen Meter}} runs out of oxygen]].

* This happens to a playable character in the ''VideoGame/MrDriller'' series, whenever he/she gets crushed by blocks or runs out of oxygen.

* As well as in the ''VideoGame/MrDriller'' series.

* PlayedForLaughs ([[CrossesTheLineTwice dark ones]]) in ''Manga/FairyTail'', as Elfman delivers a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to a villain that's so severe that he actually grips this to stuff back in the poor sap's body to ''continue'' the beating.
* In ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'', this happens to UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro (in the past, is a long story involving time travel).
* Parodied in ''Manga/OnePiece''; Lao G inexplicably dies of old age during a battle, and we (As well as people in-universe) see this trope happening. An ally of Lao G [[SayMyName tearfully calls out his name]], causing the soul to return because Lao G can't hear well at his age, and he needed to ask what's going on.

* ''ComicBook/SuskeEnWiske'': Happens to the villain Savantas in "De Sprietatoom". He then returns to Earth to repent for his sins.

* Referenced in ''ComicBook/TexWiller'', as [[NeverSayDie two of their many euphemism for "being killed"]] are "getting a pair of wings" and "going playing the harp on a cloud".

* ''Film/{{Topper}}'' omits the wings but otherwise plays this straight, as the ghosts of George and Marion rise from their bodies after they're killed in a car wreck.

* A couple episodes of Film/TheThreeStooges had this.
* "''Seven James Bonds at Film/{{Casino Royale|1967}}''. They came to save the world and win a gal at Casino Royale. Six of them went to a heavenly spot. The seventh one is going to a place where it's terribly...hot."

* Lamona from ''VideoGame/HazelnutHex'' turns into a ghost after her defeat, before floating away off-camera while cacking.