Line #39 Main/PostClimaxConfrontation


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10	-> ''"There's a couple of things they don't teach you at Harvard Business School. One is how to cope with defeat, the other's how to handle a shotgun. I'm going to do ''both'' right now."''
11	-->-- '''Russ Cargill''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''
12
13	As an audience, we expect a story to be played out within a certain order: {{exposition}}, RisingAction, [[TheClimax climax]], falling action, and {{denouement}}, and in many stories, the climax also serves as the FinalBattle whereas the events that occur afterward are normally devoid of action, serving to tie up any loose ends and create a satisfying ending.
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15	But sometimes, writers like to throw in one last confrontation. Perhaps TheDragon assaults the heroes in one last attempt to kill them, or the BigBad has a final form that took a while to set up. Regardless of exactly how it occurs, though, our heroes will have to battle one more time before the day is saved.
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17	A particularly extreme version of YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle that occurs just when the plot seems ready to be over. In order for a particular plot point found within a story to be considered a proper example of a Post-Climax Confrontation, the event must initially follow these five distinct bits of criteria:
18	* Firstly, the major threat of the day ''must'' be resolved. The BigBad is defeated, or there is at least no sign that he survived just yet, there is no sign of TheManBehindTheMan, no other hidden enemies waiting somewhere nearby to ambush the heroes. Examples of this trope are rarely the BigBad.
19	* Secondly, this conflict ''must'' be settled within the very same installment of the franchise that the work is a part of, and if the event simply leads into a new conflict that later instead gets settled within the very next installment, or if it just results in a CliffHanger, it will not count.
20	* Thirdly, which is the crucial bit: there must be closure since plot threads and character arcs are already being tied up, and in stories that feature traveling parties of characters, the parties have typically begun to split off, returning to their homelands, and as a result of such, the Post-Climax Confrontation found within those types of stories generally only happens to a select few of the given characters instead of the whole entire group all at once.
21	* Fourthly, as this is a twist trope, the final confrontation must be both sudden and unexpected, and though the antagonist being confronted in question may or may not have had foreshadowing that he or she would be confronted, it is exactly ''when'' the conflict occurs that is oh so surprising since the plot and character threads are already being tied up.
22	* And fifthly and finally, this is always the final confrontation, meaning that there are no more conflicts after this last surviving threat has been eliminated for good.
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24	A subtrope is DragonTheirFeet, when TheDragon from earlier in the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil returns unexpectedly for another go. Compare PostFinalBoss, for when video games throw in a ZeroEffortBoss right after the FinalBoss battle.
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26	Naturally, as with any and all other EndingTropes out there, every single specific example of this trope found within each of the below folders can easily be considered a major spoiler in and of itself.
27	----
28	!!Examples:
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30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
33	%% * In ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'', this is what the majority of the last two volumes (titled ''21st Century Boys'') is based around.
34	* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler:Both Eren and the Source of All Life attempt to reunite to restart the Rumbling, with Eren taking on a Colossal Titan form and the Source titanizing nearly everyone, including Jean and Connie. Mikasa stops them both by entering Eren’s mouth and severing Eren’s human head from his spine, killing him.]]
35	* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
36	** This is how the Cell Arc ends. Cell has been destroyed and the world has been saved; all that's left to do for Future Trunks is to return to his own time and dispose of Future Androids 17 and 18 and Future Imperfect Cell. Having spent a good year training with his father to the point where they could both dominate Semi-Perfect Cell, Trunks wipes the floor with them all.
37	** It initially appears that this trope is in play after Vegeta sacrifices himself to kill Majin Buu. Piccolo observes the wasteland that remains from Vegeta's HeroicSacrifice and finds Babidi, damaged and lying in the dirt following Piccolo's earlier attack on him. Piccolo belittles Babidi and prepares to finish him off, but it's subverted when Buu begins regenerating and a horrified Piccolo has to make an escape.
38	* In ''Manga/DragonQuestTheAdventureOfDai'', the fight against [[spoiler:the real Kill-Vearn]] takes place after the battle against Vearn has been properly concluded.
39	* Towards the end of ''Manga/FairyTail'', the BigBadEnsemble of Zeref and Acnologia are defeated simultaneously--Zeref being beaten by Natsu and killed by Mavis, and Acnologia being forced into a spacetime rift to be imprisoned forever--while Natsu's link to Zeref is severed to keep him from [[CantLiveWithoutYou dying with him]]. Just as everyone takes a hard-earned breather, Acnologia bursts from the rift more powerful than ever and traps all the Dragon Slayers in there, thus kicking off the FinalBattle to truly defeat Acnologia and bring the Dragon Slayers back.
40	* ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' seemingly ends with the threat of [[spoiler:Zonder Master Program]]. But then, cue two more episodes where it plays the first version of the opening. [[spoiler:It turns out that Pasder had one last trick up his sleeve when he first crashed onto Earth: a parasite living within Mikoto that grew even before the whole conflict started, evolving into the final New Machine Species as a last ditch effort to destroy the GGG and Earth altogether.]]
41	* An '80s (or before) anime version of ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'' greatly expanded the story, having Jack rescue a princess and fight a Maleficent-like evil witch who had taken over the kingdom in the sky. The good guys prevail and the evil witch is vanquished. All seems well, until [[TheDragon her giant son Tulip]] shows up and chases Jack. Jack is forced to climb down the beanstalk with Tulip in pursuit, and chop it down while Tulip's still climbing after him -- thus [[BittersweetEnding cutting off access to the kingdom in the sky and the princess]].
42	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
43	** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'' ends on this note, with Dio, reduced to a head after Jonathan beat him in their initial battle, coming after him to exact his revenge. [[spoiler:Which he unfortunately succeeds in doing by killing Jonathan but not his wife. Even when Jonathan attempts a TakingYouWithMe, this only delays Dio's plans as he eventually takes Jonathan's body as his own and returns to menace the Joestars' descendants again in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]''.]]
44	** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Steel Ball Run]]'', in the many parallels it shares with Part 1, has one of these as well. When the BigBad is defeated, [[spoiler:walking (weakly) regained, and best friend and mentor killed after imparting his final lesson onto him,]] Johnny still has one last leg of the eponymous race to finish, [[spoiler:which he fails to, thanks to the final battle of the part being against [[DiabolusExNihilo Diego Brando from another universe]], complete with ''THE WORLD'', that Valentine summoned to [[DragonTheirFeet complete his plans should he fail]]]].
45	* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': Ragyou and Nui are gone and the heroes get ready for a well-earned graduation... Then Ragyo's assistant, Rei, shows up, reveals some Life Fiber clones of the Elite Four and attacks the heroes with the school's defense system (which the heroes didn't get to use beforehand) in a last-ditch effort to [[AvengingTheVillain avenge Ragyou]]. What's more, the heroes have to fight her without their Goku uniforms.
46	* In the manhua adaptation of ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXII'', the climax is a fight between [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXI Magaki]] against ''literally everyone that is still capable of fighting'', and [[OneManArmy Magaki manages to tank a lot of punishment and take out dozens of combatants]] before he's finally neutralized. After the dust settles and loose ends are tied up, one last small-scale battle to satisfy a personal vendetta between [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters94 Kyo Kusanagi]] and [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Ash Crimson]] ensues, which ends with the latter [[VillainExitStageLeft quickly making his leave]].
47	* In both seasons of ''Anime/MarvelFutureAvengers''.
48	** After the final battle with [[spoiler:Kang the Conqueror]], the Leader makes one last attempt to kill Makoto and Bruno, but he is subdued by the Winter Soldier.
49	** In the second season, after the final battle with Maximus, Maximus, having survived the destruction of his fighter, later resurfaces at a party under the guise of a waiter and makes a last ditch effort to kill both the Avengers and Future Avengers, but he is promptly thwarted by Loki.
50	* In the final episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' Season 1, [[spoiler:Sestuna has just defeated the big bad, Alejendro Corner, and the GN-Xs have been defeated as well. It seems the story is coming to a close when Graham Aker suddenly arrives, and the two battle till both of their mobile suits explode, bringing the season to an end]].
51	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' naturally has one between the eponymous hero and his longtime rival and best friend, Sasuke Uchiha. After all of the villains have been defeated, the only thing left is to free the remaining cast members from the LotusEaterMachine that was inflicted on them by said villains. Since Naruto and Sasuke have some issues they need to work out they decide to have one last fight in the very place where they had their first real fight, to settle things once and for all.
52	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
53	** At the end of Thriller Bark arc, the heroes have won a RaceAgainstTheClock, an ArcVillain's OneWingedAngel form has been defeated along with his henchmen, and it's time for quick HollywoodHealing and celebrating with InnocentBystanders. A new [[AdventureTowns island of adventure]] is already waiting for our heroes... Oh, wait a sec, there's still the ArcVillain's fellow PsychoForHire who we forgot about because he has taken a stance of [[AccompliceByInaction non-intervention]]. He is now about to attack right now, but this new confrontation is solved by [[TheLancer Zoro]].
54	** This is kind of the case with Admiral Issho's assault on Luffy after Doflamingo is defeated in the Dressrosa Arc. All of the Doflamingo Family is taken care of, and the Dressrosa citizens' foremost grievances are resolved, yet another antagonist is provided within the arc at its last few chapters. Given that Issho is a Marine, soldiers who regularly capture pirates, it normally wouldn't be too surprising. However, Issho had plenty of moments prior to the confrontation where he places faith and even admiration in Luffy, as well as moments where he expressed disagreement with certain pirate-related principles that are core to the Marines at the current time of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki's leadership.
55	* This has become somewhat common in later seasons of ''Anime/PrettyCure'' where one final MonsterOfTheWeek shows up after the BigBad is taken out and the Cures must defeat it. Usually, this also results in an EarlyBirdCameo from the next season's leading Cure.
56	* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Kenshin explains to Saito that, due to one thing and another, his body is rapidly deteriorating and soon he won't be able to fight anymore. Thus, he offers Saito a duel to settle things once and for all, to put to rest the ghost of their bitter past. [[SubvertedTrope Saito declines]], stating that Kenshin is no longer the man he wanted to defeat. It's as much bittersweet as it's heartwarming.
57	* In ''Anime/SailorMoon S'', after the defeat of the Death Busters and the destruction of [[GreaterScopeVillain Pharaoh 90]], the day is seemingly saved. After a tearful farewell, Chibiusa departs to the future, leaving Usagi and co. Unbeknownst to them, one last [[MonsterOfTheWeek Daimon pod]] survived in the burning remains of Mujin Academy, the villains' headquarters. It crawled into the Daimon oven and combined with it into Rangy. The Daimon immediately went into a pure heart collecting rampage. During the battle with the Sailor Guardians, it proved to be too powerful for them. [[spoiler:It took the intervention of a returning Chibiusa and a distraction by Tuxedo Mask to tip the scales and allow Sailor Moon to destroy the Daimon for good.]]
58	* Subverted at the end of ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo''. At the end, everything else has been wrapped up and the bad guys have been defeated, so Mugen and Jin decide to finally have their long-awaited fight to the death that's been promised since the first episode. But the two's weapons have both become worn and dulled and they're both exhausted from the events of the last several episodes, so when they attempt to fight their swords instantly shatter after colliding and the two both collapse from weariness seconds after. They decided they're fine settling things on a draw.
59	* The last episode of ''Anime/SCryEd'' takes place after the defeat of the BigBad, as the heroes tie up some minor side conflicts, then they square off to determine once and for all which of them is the toughest fighter.
60	* In the anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', the very final battle with GreaterScopeVillain Knives is this. In contrast to Vash's immediately prior battle with [[TheDragon Legato]], which is extremely tense and deeply interrogates the series' {{Central Theme}}s, Vash's fight with Knives takes on a more meditative tone, with little to no music and frequent interruptions by flashbacks to Vash and Knives' history together.
61	* The Doma arc of ''Anime/YuGiOh'' ends this way: The serpent god of the Orichalcos has been defeated, everyone's had their souls restored, and the heroes are about to make their escape. Right before Yami Yugi can follow the others, the possessed spirit of Dartz shows up and there's one final episode where he has to finally cleanse Dartz's soul and put it to rest before everything's over.
62	* ''Manga/ZatchBell'' was about a battle between a hundred demon children for the throne of their world. After rivals Zatch and Brago succeed in destroying the ultimate BigBad who'd reduce their homeland to nothing had he won, they must face each other. It is the about the only battle both combatants [[WorthyOpponent actually enjoy]] and there's nothing at stake as both Zatch and Brago achieved the maturity to become [[TheGoodKing benevolent rulers]].
63	[[/folder]]
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65	[[folder:Fan Works]]
66	* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': The story of the rewritten ''The New Prophecy'' apparently ends with Mothwing killing Hawkfrost, stopping his plans to reinstate Thistle Law and take over the Clans. But as a postscript, Mistyfoot realizes that Hawkfrost was just a symptom of the overall problem and, as long as Leopardstar is leader and enabling Thistle Law, it will continue to fester in [=RiverClan=], leading to Mistyfoot fighting Leopardstar and killing her.
67	* ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'': During the Mothra Festival depicted in the epilogue chapters, a remnant of the defeated [[BigBad Control Brain IX]] is reactivated by Irkens disgruntled by Zim's new regime and attempts to stage a comeback before being blown up by the Membranes at CB's instruction.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
71	* Averted in ''{{WesternAnimation/Balto}}'': While the actual movie ended with [[BigBad Steele]] being shunned by all the other dogs in Nome and presumably branded as an outcast the moment Balto and his sled team finally safely arrive with the medicine to save all the children from dying from diphteria, thus exposing all of Steele's crimes, [[spoiler: at one point during development, Steele, upon seeing Balto still alive, vows revenge and plots to kill him one last time, only to be stopped by the other dogs, who defend him, with his former crony Star even taking off Steele's collar and giving it to Balto, only for Balto to give it back to him and telling him to keep it, thus ensuing one final battle between Balto and Steele, culminating in Steele while making one final attack on Balto, accidentally being knocked into a lever used to activate a coal hatch once Balto gets out of the way, resulting in Steele's collar getting snagged and strangling him after he accidentally pulls the lever and activates the coal hatch, before a pile of burning coal is dropped onto him, crushing, burying, and presumably burning him alive and therefore killing Steele, with his remains being dropped into the shaft below, leaving behind only is collar, still stuck to the lever.]]
72	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls'', Eggs and the boxtrolls have defeated Archibald Snatcher's SpiderTank and exposed his lies about the boxtrolls being baby-eating monsters... when Snatcher emerges from [[ItMakesSenseInContext the remains of a giant cheese wheel]], [[GRatedDrug drunk]] on one of his [[BodyHorror "cheese fits"]], and holds Winnie hostage, blackmailing Lord Portley-Rind into handing over his hat and escorting Snatcher to his exclusive "tasting room". Fortunately, Snatcher's [[DeathByGluttony cheese obsession]] proves to be [[SelfDisposingVillain his own undoing]].
73	* In ''Anime/DragonBallZCoolersRevenge'', Cooler and his henchmen have been defeated, and the worn-out heroes relax and laugh -- when Salza, TheDragon, re-emerges, NotQuiteDead. He tries to finish the weary heroes off but is defeated by Piccolo.
74	* ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'': Just after the BigBad is defeated, Yazoo and Loz show up to harass Cloud, [[TakingYouWithMe trying to take him with them]], either for revenge or because they want their "brother" to go with them ([[PsychopathicManchild they're kind of childish]]). It doesn't end up being so much a fight as an explosion.
75	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}: [[Recap/FuturamaM1BendersBigScore Bender's Big Score]]'', after the climactic space battle against the scammer aliens (which ended with their ship being destroyed by a doomsday device), their leader Nudar comes back, having survived thanks to a [[AppliedPhlebotinum doom-proof platinum vest]] to make a last attempt to gain the [[TimeTravel time code]]. Lars [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to kill Nudar.
76	* In ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'', following the climatic battle with Rudy, during the very last scene before the end credits, Scrat finds [[CompanionCube his acorn]] again, only for him to end up fighting Scratte for it one final time. Said FinalBattle results in Scrat and his acorn getting propelled back up into the above-ground Ice Age world by an airborne rock and Scratte getting permanently stranded in the [[LostWorld subterranean dinosaur world]] upon falling off of said airborne rock, concluding their subplot for good.
77	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', the family stops Syndrome's rampaging robot and exposes his plot to the government (who freeze his assets). However, when they arrive home they find Syndrome abducting their youngest son Jack-Jack, so they must rescue him and stop Syndrome for good.
78	* Near the end of the first ''WesternAnimation/OpenSeason'' film, just as Boog and the other forest creatures believe that their main tussle with the human hunters is all over, Shaw suddenly comes out of nowhere one final time in an attempt to take the aforementioned grizzly bear home with him as yet another hunting trophy of his, but the other forest creatures soon interfere with the attempt by completely coating Shaw in honey and leaves, embarrassing him to the point where he [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere gets up and runs away as fast as possible]] without anything else ever being spoken of the recent incident afterwards.
79	* In ''Anime/PatlaborTheMovie'', the main characters succeed in dismantling the Ark (which they are in too) into the ocean before the typhoon hits it, and the crisis seems to be over. [[spoiler:However, when they regain consciousness having survived the events, a virus-infected prototype mecha that one of the characters was controlling emerges from the rubble and tries to kill everyone.]]
80	* In ''Anime/SakuraWarsTheMovie'', the Imperial Combat Revue kills Brent Furlong to stop his evil plans and Ikki Yoneda knocks out and arrests Haruyoshi Tanuma. But Patrick Hamilton still remains and when Maria Tachibana encounters him on the rooftops, she runs out of bullets. Unfortunately for Patrick, Maria quickly uses a spirit bullet developed by Kohran Li and finally kills him.
81	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', when Springfield has been saved and everything seems to be fine again, Russ Cargill comes out of nowhere with a shotgun and attempts to kill Homer and Bart. Maggie knocks out Russ with a large boulder, luckily.
82	[[/folder]]
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84	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
85	* The baseball game in ''Film/ThreeNinjas Kick Back'', which is, of course, followed by a PostGameRetaliation.
86	* In ''Film/AirForceOne'', after killing lead terrorist Ivan Korshunov, retaking the plane, and fending off [=MiGs=] on an intercept course towards them, TheMole attempts to kill President Marshall as he's about to evacuate the plane before it crashes.
87	* Every single installment of the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' quadrilogy features one of these for our heroes just as it seems that they have already managed to escape any and all further encounters with the franchise's titular Xenomorph species, and even the installments from outside of the original quadrilogy get in on the usage of this trope in one way or another as well:
88	** In ''Film/{{Alien}}'', Ellen Ripley at first seemingly escapes from "Big Chap" aka "Kane's Son" the Xenomorph Drone aboard the Narcissus life-boat, only for him to eerily make his presence known one final time by unsuccessfully reaching out with one of his six-fingered hands and attempting to grab onto Ripley, also prompting her to throw him right out of the nearby airlock using a harpoon-gun.
89	** In ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', a somewhat similar scenario occurs where in which Ripley seemingly escapes the Xenomorph menace again, only for the First Acheron Queen to stab her dangerously barbed tail right on through the Bishop Android's torso and also split him right in half, prompting Ripley to throw the First Acheron Queen right out of the USS Sulaco's main floor airlock using a P-5000-Powered-Work-Loader this time around.
90	** In ''Film/Alien3'', Ripley successfully kills off the lone Xenomorph Runner specimen known as the "Dragon" in using a combination of molten lead and freezing sprinkler water, only for a man who resembles the Bishop Android along with a number of Weyland-Yutani soldiers to come and confront her regarding a Royal Chestburster currently incubating right inside of her, but rather than hand the new Xenomorph Queen embryo inside of her over to the Weyland-Yutani Coorporation, she instead chooses to throw herself right on down into the molten lead furnace below herself.
91	** In ''Film/AlienResurrection'', the Newborn Xenomorph specimen sneaks aboard the Betty just as Ripley 8 and her surviving comrades each attempt to escape the already doomed USM Auriga, only for Ripley 8 to throw some of her acid-for-blood over onto a nearby glass window, causing the Newborn Xenomorph specimen to get sucked right out into outer space piece-meal and likewise finally end the Xenomorph menace once again immediately afterwards.
92	** In ''Film/AlienVsPredator'', it at first glance at the very least appears that this trope's gonna be played straight by having the Antarctic Queen breach the icy surface for one last battle round against both Scar the Yautja and Alexa Woods and also by having her eventually get stranded right down at the bottom of the ocean, but shortly thereafter, Scar's body then gets taken right on back aboard his original starship, allowing "Chet" the Predalien to be later born aboard it and likewise ultimately set up the whole entire plot of the immediately following film mentioned below, thusly making this example a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]].
93	** In ''Film/AliensVsPredatorRequiem'', a rare outright [[AvertedTrope aversion]] for the franchise as a whole occurs with the main human survivors being rescued by still surviving soldiers just following a tactical nuclear strike against Gunnison, Colorado that results in the deaths of both Wolf the Yautja and "Chet" the Predalien.
94	** In ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'', this trope is finally played straight again much like with each of the original Quadrilogy examples mentioned above in that Doctor Elizabeth Shaw has one last encounter with a surviving Engineer within a downed escape pod, who she then locks up within a separate room with the Trilobite Facehugger, which then later results in the birthing of the Xenomorph Deacon who's then absolutely never shown or even mentioned at all afterwards for whatever reason.
95	** In ''Film/AlienCovenant'', after the successful disposal of the first Protomorph, a second one gets successfully birthed right aboard the ''Covenant'', forcing Captain Daniels to have to [[ThrownOutTheAirlock throw him right on out of the starship's main airlock]] within the easily most common Xenomorph specimen disposal fashion found anywhere within the franchise as a whole so far.
96	* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'': The climactic battle against Electro is over, the villain is gone, the city is saved from certain doom, and it seems everything is just fine -- then suddenly Green Goblin appears, as one final challenge before the day is done.
97	* In ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'', after Ash Williams comes back from the medieval age, he must blow away a random deadite who attacks his workplace.
98	-->'''Ash:''' Hail to the king, baby.
99	* In ''Film/AustinPowers: International Man of Mystery'', Austin and Vanessa are celebrating their honeymoon three months after stopping Dr. Evil's plan, when Random Task, the [[ImprobableWeaponUser shoe-throwing assassin]] reappears to kill them. They stop him using the [[ChekhovsGun penis enlargement pump]].
100	* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'': After the humans' assault on the Home Tree fails, Colonel Quaritch suits up in an AMP mech to battle Jake Sully personally.
101	* ''Film/DieHard'': Karl manages to survive being strangled(!), and attempts to kill John [=McClane=] one last time after Hans Gruber is killed, but is quickly shot before he can do anything.
102	* Sarris from ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' pulls this off twice:
103	** After the crew of the ''Protector'' succeed in destroying Sarris' ship, it turns out he had secretly teleported onto the ''Protector'' prior to his ship's destruction. Under the guise of Fred, he starts gunning down the crew until Jason activates the Omega 13 to subdue Sarris before he could attack the crew.
104	** Then, after the ''Protector'' crashlands back on Earth, Sarris regains consciousness after having been knocked out by Jason and Mathesar, and as he emerges at the convention, Jason quickly shoots and destroys him for good.
105	* Even the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' franchise has officially gotten in on the usage of this trope a few times before:
106	** In ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'', after Godzilla officially eliminates Anguirus during their dual within Osaka, the former later suddenly appears again within the Artic, only for a squadron of fighter-jets to soon bury him underneath of a layer of thick ice.
107	** In ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'', after Godzilla and his friends successfully defeat his arch-nemesis, King Ghidorah, the humans soon suddenly end up battling a "burning monster" that's really just another UFO, and then they soon successfully defeat their extraterrestrial enemies once they hit it with a freeze-ray of sorts.
108	** In ''Film/AllMonstersAttack'', after Minilla successfully drives off his personal bully, Gabara, within a young boy's dream about visiting Monster Island, said young boy subsequently awakens and battles his personal in-real-life bully one final time using a fire extinguisher.
109	** In ''Film/GodzillaVsBiollante'', just as it seems that Godzilla's about to come and attack the main human heroes one final time after having some frigid ocean water eliminate the negative effects of the scientists' "anti-nuclear bacteria" on his body following his most recent confrontation with none other than Biollante herself, he suddenly turns around and heads back deeper into the nearby ocean, making for an easy subversion of this trope.
110	** In ''Film/GodzillaVsKingGhidorah'', this trope is soon played straight again in that following King Ghidorah's supposed death, he soon gets brought back as "Mecha-King Ghidorah" and subsequently drops both himself and Godzilla down into the ocean, resolving that particular installment's central conflict afterwards, even though the latter {{Kaiju}} soon eventually returns during the events of ''Film/GodzillaAndMothraTheBattleForEarth'' (1992).
111	** In ''Film/Godzilla1998'', after completely collapsing Madison Square Garden on some 200 baby Zillas, all seems fine for the humans right on up until Zilla Sr. reveals himself to actually still be alive after previously faking his death down within the Hudson River, leading the humans to lure him right on over towards and subsequently trap him atop the Brooklyn Bridge using a taxi where a squadron of fighter-jets then comes and actually kills him off this time around using a volley of twelve missiles to do so.
112	** In ''Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack'', this trope actually gets subverted within the ''exact same manner'' as in the ''Film/{{AVP Alien Vs Predator}}'' example mentioned above in that Godzilla eventually comes and confronts the lead human protagonists one final time shortly following his devestating attack on [[TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse Tokyo]], only for his [[BreathWeapon Atomic Breath]] to shoot out of his ''shoulder'' instead of his mouth, seemingly killing him off once that happens, but the subversion part of this example comes once [[NotQuiteDead his disembodied beating heart's]] shown during the film's very last shot before the end-credits, meaning that [[TheEndOrIsIt the central conflict surrounding him hasn't actually been resolved at all]].
113	** In ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', this trope gets the subversion treatment again in that just as it seems that the other Titans are getting ready to battle Godzilla one final time just following King Ghidorah's final death, all that actually happens then is that the other Titans in question simply bow down to Godzilla during the film's very last several shots before the end-credits with Godzilla also [[VictoriousRoar roaring in victory]] on top of that.
114	* In ''Film/HighwayToHell'', Hellcop shows up one last time after Charlie and Rachel have escaped Hell.
115	* In ''Film/HotFuzz'', after the final, massive shootout against the NWA and the defeat of DevilInPlainSight Simon Skinner and the BigBad Police Chief, everything seems like it's all wrapped up and the cops are all finishing up their paperwork, when suddenly the one NWA member they forgot about bursts into the police station and starts shooting.
116	* Used regularly in ''Film/JamesBond'' movies:
117	** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'': After defeating Red Grant and supposedly home free, Rosa Klebb turns up for some shoe-fighting action and forces the BondGirl to decide where her loyalties lie.
118	** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'': Tragically used; after the wedding, Blofeld and his henchperson [[DiabolusExMachina kill the new Mrs. Bond in a drive-by shooting]].
119	** ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'': After defeating Blofeld's schemes, Mr Wint and Mr Kidd turn up for a "Bombe Surprise".
120	** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'': TheDragon [[HookHand TeeHee]] attacks Bond in the train.
121	** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': Nick-Nack tried to attack Bond on the junk after he's defeated Scaramanga... like he had any chance.
122	** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'': For a moment it looks like Triple X is pulling one of these on Bond, but she changed her mind about killing him once the mission is over -- she wants to shag him instead.
123	** ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'': After Bond kills Carver, Stamper shows up with Wai Lin as his hostage and tries to drown her and finish him off. Bond traps him in the missile firing mechanism and leaves him to die while he saves her.
124	** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'': Just when you think that Bond is going to retire with Vesper, she pulls a FaceHeelTurn and sets up the final act. In this case, though, that was less of a Post-Climax Confrontation and more a case of [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle a climax coming later than expected.]]
125	* In ''Film/JurassicParkIII'', after Alan and Paul successfully scare off the [[SavageSpinosaurs Spinosaurus]] for good by lighting their boat's fuel on fire, the very next day, just as the group is about to escape, several [[RaptorAttack Velociraptors]] confront them regarding their stolen eggs until Alan confuses them using a fossilized ''Velociraptor'' resonating chamber and as Amanda also finally surrenders the stolen eggs in question back to them.
126	* In the ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' director's cut, Balian has a final confrontation with his rival after the siege has been resolved.
127	* In an [[InvertedTrope inverted example]], in the first ''Film/MadMax1'', after Max successfully kills [[BigBad Toecutter]] and [[TheDragon Bubba Zanetti]], the movie ends with Max looking after and blowing up Johnny the Boy, the last remaining member of Toecutter's gang.
128	* In ''Film/OBrotherWhereArtThou'' the main characters have already secured their fortune and Everett has defeated TheRival when his wife forces them to return to her old house to get a wedding ring, where they run afoul of the Sheriff (and possible Devil) who has been hunting them throughout the film.
129	* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'', after Will, Elizabeth, Jack, Norrington, and the Royal Navy defeat Barbossa and the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, the next scene is the Port Royal gallows, where Jack Sparrow is to be hanged for piracy (and a whole bunch of other crimes). Will shows up to interrupt the hanging, and he and Jack end up fighting the Royal Navy one last time.
130	* In ''Film/RedDawn2012'', after the Wolverines defeat [[BigBad Captain Cho]] and the North Koreans as well as recover the suitcase, [[LastBreathBullet the North Koreans suddenly attack the Wolverines]] and [[TheHeroDies kill Jed Eckert]], but the remaining Wolverines manage to escape.
131	* In ''Film/RunAllNight'', after Jimmy Conlon [[StormingTheCastle invades the pub]] and kills [[BigBad Shawn Maguire]] and his men in a shootout, he returns to his son Mike and his family, only to be fatally wounded by [[PsychoForHire Mr. Price]], a professional assassin hired by Maguire earlier and whom Jimmy spared in a BattleAmongstTheFlames. Jimmy eventually kills Mr. Price via BoomHeadshot before succumbing to his wounds.
132	* At the end of ''Film/RushHour2'', Lee and Carter are catching their breath after defeating Ricky Tan, only for TheDragon Hu Li to come in with a bomb that's about to blow.
133	* The penultimate scene in ''Film/Serenity2005'' is a variation in which nothing actually comes of the confrontation. Having been spared by Mal in their earlier confrontation and subsequently ordered his men to provide medical attention for Mal and his crew, The Operative concedes defeat and walks away; he only kills for his cause, which is now lost. Mal tells him that if he ever sees him again, he might kill him. The Operative replies "you won't".
134	* The last scene of ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993''. After the heroes defeat Cardinal Richelieu and Rochefort and save the King and Queen, they're confronted by a group of thugs who started pursuing D'Artagnan at the beginning of the movie. It's been so long since the audience saw them that their appearance is a surprise.
135	* In ''Film/Venom2018'', an armed criminal attempts to rob Ms. Chen's convenience store one final time following the Riot Symbiote's death, only for the titular Venom Symbiote to eat him alive upon encountering him just before the film's end credits.
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder:Literature]]
139	* The first two ''Literature/AlexRider'' books both have a final chapter where the BigBad (or, in the case of the second book, [[spoiler:the BigBad's clone]]) makes a final attempt to kill Alex after their plan has been foiled.
140	* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': The FinalBoss of the ''New Testament'' series is [[spoiler:Coronzon]]. However, the final volume instead focuses on an enemy created from the aftermath of the battle, [[spoiler:an [[EvilDopelganger "Emanation"]] of Touma created from his subconscious regrets who wants to steal the real Touma's identity]].
141	* Both the book and [[WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}} movie]] ''Literature/{{Coraline}}'' have a perfect example, after freeing her parents, the souls of the ghost children, and escaping from the Other Mother's monstrous form and custom dimension, Coraline is attacked by the Other Mother's hand and has a comparatively easy fight against it.
142	* Several ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' books end this way, in particular when the villain deserves to be dealt with specially after his scheme has been foiled, or who is fixated on getting revenge against the protagonist.
143	** In ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', Mr. Teatime survives the dissolution of his plan in the Tooth Fairy's realm and comes to the house where Susan is governess, implicitly threatening the children while aiming to take down Death.
144	** In ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'' Wolf survives a tumble over a waterfall and comes back to the embassy after Vimes. Vimes, being GenreSavvy, expects this and is extremely jumpy until it happens.
145	** In ''Literature/{{Night Watch\|Discworld}}'', after the battle of the Glorious Republic of Treacle Mine Road, Carcer brings his cronies along to confront Vimes one last time.
146	** Defied in ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'' where the villain is taken out by a savvy Willikins before he can come back for Vimes' family.
147	* In ''Literature/DragonFlight'', after the BigBad is dead, the dragons are freed, the war is over, our heroes return home... only to learn that Dragons have been banished from the kingdom. this leads to quite a bit of shouting, and the interruption of a royal wedding. It happens again in ''Literature/DragonSpear'', after Darrym is defeated, Velika is rescued, and all seems well... until the baby dragon princess is snatched.
148	* After the climactic battle in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', [[spoiler:Barty Crouch Junior]], the Death Eater who organized the entire plot, reveals he's been impersonating [[spoiler:Mad-Eye Moody]] and tries to kill Harry. This Death Eater's critical mistake is that he wastes time with a JustBetweenYouAndMe speech, giving Dumbledore and company a chance to come to the rescue.
149	* ''Literature/JamesBond'':
150	** ''Literature/{{Icebreaker}}'' has an inversion; Bond learns that the BigBad is still alive, and goes after him before he leaves the country.
151	** After defeating the BigBad in ''Literature/DeathIsForever'', Bond is forced into a KnifeFight with [[spoiler:his lover Monika Haardt]] in London as he tries to spend time with his girlfriend.
152	** In ''Literature/TheManWithTheRedTattoo'', the main villain and his right-hand-man attack Bond in his hotel room after he foils their EvilPlan.
153	** The ''Literature/YoungBond'' novel ''Literature/BloodFever'' has two instances of it: a masked rider attacks Bond and Amy when they are moving away from the ruins of Count Carnifex's palace, and when they arrive at their destination, they find the Count's sister waiting for them, with a gun in her hand.
154	* In ''Literature/TheJenniferMorgue'', the hero and his girlfriend get caught up in a magical geas that makes their life resemble a series of Franchise/JamesBond tropes. After defeating the DiabolicalMastermind, they go on a holiday to recover, and realize the geas isn't done with them yet when one of the mastermind's underlings shows up for a post-climax confrontation.
155	* ''Literature/TheLawOfInnocence'': The main plot is tied up when Mickey Haller proves himself innocent of first-degree murder charges, and walks out of court a free man, having established that the murder victim was actually killed by the mob. Then in the postcript final chapter, the Mafia hitman who did the murder pops up out of nowhere, and tries to kill Mickey too.
156	* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' may be the most well-known example. The One Ring has been cast into the fires of Mordor, our heroes have gone their separate ways, and the hobbits are ready to return to their peaceful Shire... only to find that it has been taken over by Saruman, and they must take back their home from the evil Men that have enslaved their people. It was [[AdaptedOut omitted]] from [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the film trilogy]], though the omission didn't stop many filmgoers from experiencing EndingFatigue anyway.
157	* ''Literature/TheMentalState'' ends with Zachary State [[spoiler:finally being released from prison and struggling to adapt to life in the real world. All his enemies have been thrashed, ass his friends have their futures assured and he no longer needs to [[SociopathicHero cheat, scheme or lie]]. Then Rose gets attacked by another street thug (just her luck), this time with the intention of killing her. To save her, Zachary has to pull off one final feat of [[ManipulativeBastard manipulation]], using an ObfuscatingInsanity tactic to convince the mugger that he is an insane criminal pimp and crime-lord and chase him away]].
158	* In the ''Literature/ModestyBlaise'' novel ''A Taste for Death'', the climax is the duel to the death and then the break-out of the prisoners being held by Delicata's gang. There follows a quieter chapter of Modesty recuperating from the injury she got in the duel, which is suddenly interrupted by Delicata showing up again and forcing a final showdown.
159	* ''Literature/TheOutsiders'' has [[spoiler:Dally's SuicideByCop, which occurs after the big rumble between the Greasers and the Socs]].
160	* At the climax of ''Literature/TheThreeHostages'', the heroes rescue the hostages and the gang is rounded up, but their leader escapes justice. In the final chapter, he shows up while Hannay is on holiday and tries to get his revenge.
161	* ''Literature/WarsOfTheRealm'' ends with Validus and his team having seen Drew Carter safely through the terrorist attacks on America and having thwarted multiple specific attempts on Drew's own life. And they've only lost two of their men. So Validus [[TemptingFate proclaims the battle over]] and sends his troops off for some much-needed R&R...only to be jumped by [[ArchEnemy Niturni]] right at the moment when he's all alone.
162	* In ''Franchise/TheWitcher'', [[BigBad Vilgefortz]] is killed in a fight with Geralt, Stefan Skellen's forces have been easily defeated by Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri, and [[VillainOfAnotherStory Emperor Emhyr vas Emreis]] shows up to kill Geralt and Yen and abduct Ciri, only to let all of them go after [[HeelRealization rediscovering his humanity]]. Yet there's a hundred pages left and the final confrontation of the series takes place in Rivia, where Geralt ends up defending non-humans in a pogrom completely unrelated to anything that's happened in the series, [[spoiler:and ends up mortally wounded by a random peasant with a pitchfork. Ciri seemingly saves him with her powers by taking his body to heal on an unknown island with Yennefer, and Ciri herself departs to travel TheMultiverse]].
163	* The last chapter of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' has [[VillainProtagonist Taylor]] escape the scene of the BigBad's defeat, having made an enemy of the entire world and driven herself insane in the process. She's found by Contessa, TheDragon of [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Cauldron]], and they have a short discussion about doing the wrong things for the right reasons before Contessa shoots Taylor in the head, [[spoiler:depowering her and saving her life]].
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
167	* The Season 5 finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' features an epic showdown between Team Arrow and their allies and [[BigBad Prometheus]]' army of villains. It ends with Prometheus' defeat, but he manages to slip away to an escape boat, causing Oliver to chase him down for one last fight.
168	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E5TheAngelsTakeManhattan The Angels Take Manhattan]]", Amy and Rory get sent back 50+ years in the past just as it seems that everything's fine.
169	* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' does this with the Neo-Heisei shows save for ''[[Series/KamenRiderOOO OOO]]'' and ''[[Series/KamenRiderFourze Fourze]]''. ''[[Series/KamenRiderDouble Double]]'' has the Energy Dopant, ''[[Series/KamenRiderWizard Wizard]]'' has Amadum, and ''[[Series/KamenRiderGaim Gaim]]'' has Kougane.
170	* In the season one finale of ''Series/LaBrea'', just as it seems that Isaiah aka Young Gavin's about to be able to safely head right on over into a 1988 portal, his grandfather, Silas, all of a sudden comes out of absolutely nowhere in one final desperate attempt to not only stop him from entering the portal in question but also to kill off Josh for good, but Para, Ty, and Levi all also soon arrive on the scene together and likewise stop him from completing his personal mission instead as the Past Gavin successfully time travels to 1988 along with Josh.
171	* After the BigBad [=DaiMaOh=] Grenghost is defeated in ''Series/MadanSenkiRyukendo'', the next episode reveals that NobleDemon and rival Jackmoon is still alive. Since his master is destroyed, Jackmoon thinks his only purpose is to resolve his rivalry with TheHero.
172	* ''Series/OnePiece2023'': After a climactic battle against ArcVillain Arlong and his henchmen in the final episode of Season 1, the Straw Hat Pirates' victory celebration is interrupted by the arrival of Vice Admiral Garp and his Marines, who have come to arrest them. Luffy proves [[CurbStompBattle hopelessly outmatched]] in a one-on-one duel against Garp, but his steadfast refusal to surrender even in the face of overwhelming odds impresses Garp so much that he decides to let him go.
173	* Shaw has one with Blackwell in the GrandFinale of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' sometime after the FinalBattle with Samaritan.
174	* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
175	** Happens twice in the two-part finale of ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder''. BigBad Mesagog is apparently defeated and his base destroyed in the climax of the first episode, with most of the second episode being taken up with a battle with his one-time [[TheDragon Dragon]] Zeltrax. Once he's defeated, Mesagog suddenly reappears, having survived his base's destruction and mutated into a more powerful form, for one last battle.
176	** Used in the finale of ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'': the villains' plans are in ruins, the damsel saved, the major threat is destroyed and TheDragon arrested... when Emperor Gruum (who had suffered a DisneyVillainDeath earlier) crawls out of the rubble to challenge Commander Cruger to one last fight.
177	** The epilogue of ''[[Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge Power Ranger Super Dino Charge]]'' takes place on Christmas and featured a winter/Christmas themed BadSanta MonsterOfTheWeek called Heximas who was revealed to be the last survivor of [[BigBad Sledge]]'s [[MonsterOfTheWeek Outlaws]]. With his cursed gifts, Heximas plans to turn everyone into his evil elves slaves and it's up to the heroes to stop him.
178	* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' seems rather fond of this during the fourth season.
179	** At the end of "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E06TheAugments The Augments]]", the augments are defeated and their ship self-destructs. As everyone is catching their breath, it turns out that augment leader Malik beamed over to Enterprise before the ship's destruction and attacks Archer.
180	** Zig-zagged at the end of "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E21TerraPrime Terra Prime]]", where Terra Prime have been defeated and their leaders arrested, but the Enterprise crew realise they have [[TheMole a mole]] on board and worry he will try and harm the Earth President, who is also on the ship. Instead, as soon as Archer locates the officer in question, he [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide out of guilt]].
181	* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':
182	** ''Series/ChoudenshiBioman'': After defeating Dr. Man’s King Megas robot, the Bioman fly to [[SupervillainLair Neo-Grad]] to try and talk him into recovering his humanity. Along the way, they encounter QuirkyMinibossSquad leader Farrah Cat, the last of the undefeated villains and finish her off after a short fight.
183	** ''Series/ChoushinseiFlashman'': Just as their [[YourDaysAreNumbered limited time on Earth comes to an end]], Flashman infiltrates the villains’ lair and has even a final showdown with [[DragonAscendant Lee Keflen]] and Ley Nefel.
184	* The ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' sometimes does this.
185	** ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'':
186	*** After reducing Yametaranese to a harmless pint-sized creature and lifting the laziness diesease unintentionally caused by the {{kaiju}}, Jack has to contend with Alien Sasahiller, TheManBehindTheMan of Yametaranese's invasion.
187	*** One episode has Ultraman Jack fighting, and eventually defeating the giant robot Builgamo. Cue Builgamo's controller, Alien Baltan II, coming out to confront Jack.
188	** ''Series/UltramanAce'': In one episode, Ultraman Ace has to fight the FlamingSword-wielding monster Firemons, and ''then'' Firemons' master, Alien Fire.
189	[[/folder]]
190
191	[[folder:Theatre]]
192	* In ''Theatre/{{Matilda}}'', after Miss Trunchbull has been driven from Crunchem Hall, Matilda is promoted to the upper classes although still stuck in an unhappy home and no longer able to use {{telekinesis}}, and Miss Honey has regained her father's estate and become the school's new headmistress, the Wormwoods attempt to flee to Spain with Matilda, but are stopped by Miss Honey and TheMafiya. When Matilda speaks to the mob boss Sergei in Russian, showing her extraordinary intelligence, he agrees to let the Wormwoods leave, and Matilda is HappilyAdopted by Miss Honey.
193	* A heroic version of this occurs in the ending of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''. [[spoiler:After Elphaba has faked her death, Glinda, believing that her best friend really has been killed, returns to the Emerald City, kicks out the Wizard of Oz, and has Madam Morrible thrown in prison. Unfortunately, she promised Elphie she wouldn't clear her name afterwards, so Glinda has to take responsibility for Oz alone while Elphie goes into self-imposed exile with Fieyro.]]
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder:Video Games]]
197	* Much like within the main films mentioned above, the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise video games have also even gotten in on the usage of this trope a couple of different times before:
198	** In ''VideoGame/AliensColonialMarines'', after Christopher Winter and his crew successfully reboard the ''USS Resolute'' for a return trip to Earth, the Second Acheron Queen suddenly sneaks aboard the starship much like her famous predecessor from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' boarding the ''USS Sulaco'', only for Christopher Winter himself to expunge the stowaway Second Acheron Queen using a sling-shot platform of sorts to do so.
199	** In ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'', just after the Sevastopol Station self-destructs and also crashes itself right on down into a nearby gas giant, Amanda Ripley soon comes face-to-face with another stowaway Xenomorph Drone aboard the ''Torrens'' one final time, only for her to then [[ThrownOutTheAirlock throw both herself and the stowaway Xenomorph Drone in question right on out of another nearby airlock]] to officially close out the game's main campaign.
200	* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''. Banjo and Kazooie rescue Tooty as Grunty escapes, and their friends throw a party to celebrate. The credits roll, and it seems like the game's finished... only for the gang to realize that Grunty still needs to be defeated. Banjo and Kazooie run right back to where they rescued Tooty for the final showdown against Grunty.
201	* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' has perhaps the most bizarre example. Xelha and Kalas go off into the Moonguile Forest in order for [[spoiler:Xelha to "release the ocean inside of her"]] when suddenly [[spoiler:the head of Emperor Geldoblame (thought to have been killed way back at the beginning of the second disk) pops out of the earth in an attempt to kill them. He is quickly defeated, and nothing more is spoken of it]].
202	* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' has two, in the third and fourth games, respectively.
203	** ''VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma'': After the FinalBoss has been dealt with [[spoiler:the giant superweapon, Takemikazuchi]], Ragna still has to remove its core to shut it down completely, said core being Nu-13. But by this point, the plot has more or less been resolved and serves more as a denouement.
204	** ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCentralFiction'': After [[spoiler:defeating his ArchEnemy Yuuki Terumi/Susanoo]] for good, Ragna has two final fights with Noel and Jin, respectively, [[spoiler:because in order to restore the world back to normal, Ragna has to [[{{Unperson}} erase the memory of himself from everyone]]]]. This one is especially poignant since this serves as the GrandFinale for the series' current story arc.
205	* Overlapping with {{Superboss}}, ''VideoGame/TheBouncer'' has Sion or Kou face a [[DuelBoss Duel Boss]] after resolving the plot, depending on [[GuideDangIt how you used them throughout the game]]; if it's Sion, then you fight [[OldMaster Wong Leung]] in a flashback, and if it's Kou, then he faces [[ActionGirl Leann Cadwell]] [[spoiler:to prove to LUKIS that he can [[TheMole continue keeping tabs on Dominique]]]]. Rather annoyingly, you only have one shot at defeating them, so [[TryNotToDie try not to die]] if you want to [[SecretCharacter unlock]] them.
206	* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'': After Arkham's plan to bring Hell to Earth is brought crashing down by Dante and Vergil, the final battle of the game is between the two sons of Sparda, with Sparda's sword Force Edge as the prize. [[spoiler:Dante gets the sword, but Vergil retrieves his half of the Amulet belonging to their mother, which is required to transform the sword]]. These then [[{{Prequel}} set up]] the events of [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 the first game]].
207	* The entire ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' ExpansionPack ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'': the Archdemon has been defeated, the Blight is quelled, the Darkspawn are slowly retreating back underground... well, the latter not quite. Turns out, there is one loose end to the Fifth Blight, which needs to be cleaned up before the Thaw and rebuilding can settle in. [[spoiler:Namely, the sentient Darkspawn Architect, who awakened the Archdemon in the first place, as well as his insane creation, the Mother.]]
208	* In ''VideoGame/DragonBallZSuperSaiyaDensetsu'', if the player makes Goku go Super Saiyan during the final battle against Frieza and keeps him and Vegeta alive throughout the end of the game, then after the credits roll, Goku will encounter the {{superboss}}: Super Saiyan Vegeta.
209	* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonstersJoker2'', the game itself takes place on an island you crashed on trying to get to a tournament. Once you beat the boss of the island/final boss of the game, you leave and go to the tournament, which is so incredibly easy and postscript-ish that it's mostly done offscreen save for the (still easy) final battle of it.
210	* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'':
211	** In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', after defeating Legate Lanius in the final battle in one way or another, the game is pretty much over. However, if the player takes the [[TheChessmaster Mr. House]] or the WildCard path they will then have to deal with General Oliver and the NCR, who will not accept Vegas as an independent city-state. You'll then have to convince them in some way, or just kill them all.
212	** Even better, in ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', after you complete the game by siding with the Minutemen and [[spoiler:destroying the Institute, you can work on an entirely optional mission where the Minutemen go to war with the Brotherhood of Steel and generally teach them a well-deserved lesson. Namely, by shelling their CoolAirship out of the sky and then holding the Castle against the remnants of the Brotherhood's army]]. And it is ''awesome''.
213	* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Near the end of the Olympus lostbelt, after [[spoiler:Zeus has been defeated, Musashi has sacrificed herself to repel Chaos, the Foreign God has landed, and Kirschtaria Wodime has died after being backstabbed by Beryl]], the party is preparing to leave and return to the Wandering Sea, when [[spoiler:Caenis appears on the deck of their ship to challenge them to one final battle, out of respect for Wodime and his conviction]].
214	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The conflict of the ''Endwalker'' expansion and the MythArc involving the [[TheManBehindTheMan Ascians]] is effectively concluded after [[spoiler:[[BigBad The Endsinger]]]] is defeated. Before the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] returns home to their friends however, [[spoiler:[[ArchEnemy Zenos]]]] asks them to indulge in one last fight to the death, not as a hero but simply as someone who enjoys the thrill of combat. Even though he says he will not stop the Warrior if they choose to simply leave, [[ButThouMust he must be fought]] regardless of whether the Warrior agrees with his NotSoDifferentRemark or just wants him dead.
215	* ''VideoGame/{{Inscryption}}'' has the main threat of the third part of the game, [[spoiler:P03]], dealt with by his former colleagues after the player beats the last of his bosses. One of said colleagues then decides that [[spoiler:deleting the game world]] is the best course of action after everything that's happened, and the player is challenged to no-stakes duels by each of them as [[spoiler:their world ends]]. This is especially poignant with [[spoiler:Leshy]], who antagonized you throughout the entire first act; he will deliberately remove any stakes just so you can play a little longer before [[spoiler:everything ends]].
216	* [[MindScrew Depending on your interpretation of events]], the last sequence of ''VideoGame/Killer7'', [[spoiler:after Garcian assumes his true identity of Emir Parkreiner]], can easily fit this trope.
217	* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
218	** At the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', after Xemnas is apparently beaten he traps Sora and Riku into a final, 3-part fight with him before they can return home.
219	** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': The TrueFinalBoss battle, which takes place in the town square of a darkened Radiant Garden (where Aqua had previously fought Vanitas), and comes after the climax in The Keyblade Graveyard.
220	* After the events of volume 1 of ''VideoGame/LegacyOfHeroes'', you have to fight a minor villain, Sunder, who gathers henchmen and storms the city while the most experienced heroes are still recovering from the fight with the BigBad.
221	* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsThroughDaybreak II'', [[spoiler:the main conflict of the story ends in Chapter 3 with defeat of Garden-Master, aka Auguste, and the retrieval of the 8th, and final, Genesis unit. The Final Chapter, meanwhile, spends most of its time showing the cast enjoying Aramis High School's festival, until Van suddenly decides to head to Trion Tower to settle things for good with [[DragonTheirFeet Grendel-Zolga]]]].
222	* In ''VideoGame/LegendOfIllusion'', Mickey defeats the BigBad, restores everything, plays a BonusStage, and returns to his home kingdom... but then King Pete (who wasn't heard from since the game's first level was completed) shows up and a boss battle commences.
223	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' pulls this in epic fashion. Link claims the Triforce from TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and uses it to destroy [[BigBad Demise]], then finally reunites with [[LivingMacguffin Zelda]]... only for [[TheDragon Ghirahim]] to reappear after being MIA for the entire third act. Ghirahim promptly kidnaps [[BarrierMaiden Zelda]] and uses a portal Link previously opened to travel into the past and [[spoiler:free Demise there instead]]. Link goes after him, naturally, and faces off with him one last time before going straight into the FinalBoss battle against [[spoiler:Demise himself]].
224	* ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' pulls a rather sudden one. The Rebellion and its leader Epsilon have been defeated, X and the others are lauded as heroes, and X, Zero, & Axl are prepared to take an airlift back to their home. Story's over, right? [[spoiler:Nope. When the airlift arrives, it fires at the Resistance base, killing R, as it turns out that the Maverick Hunter's own Commander Redips had been [[PlayingBothSides manipulating both the Rebellion and the Resistance in order to get his hands on the Supra-Force Metal]].]]
225	* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
226	** In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', the final battle against the Metal Gear D is followed by a fistfight against its pilot [[TheDragon Gray]] [[FriendlyEnemy Fox]], then by a ''final'' final showdown against [[BigBad Big Boss himself]], [[CollapsingLair punctuated with an escape sequence]].
227	** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' it's much of the same, only this time it's a Metal Gear REX and you're only fighting the pilot -- ''[[UnexplainedRecovery twice]]'', the second time ''during'' the escape sequence.
228	** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Snake completes his mission, and is now on his way back to America with EVA; suddenly, they are assaulted by Ocelot. Cue a one-on-one close-quarters fight aboard the WIG, and finally an old school pistol duel between Snake and Ocelot.
229	** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', the final battle with Liquid Ocelot happens ''after'' [[spoiler:Snake stops him from destroying JD and, in the process, ends up wiping out the ''entire'' Patriot Network instead, destroying the true Big Bads of the series. Of course, [[MagnificentBastard that was Ocelot's plan the entire time]]]]. What follows is a one-on-one three phase CQC fight between Snake and Liquid Ocelot that references each of the three prior ''Solid'' games; [[spoiler:the first phase is against the "Liquid" persona, while the second is against the "Liquid Ocelot" fusion of Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot's personalities, with each of these phases using a song from the first and second games respectively ("Encounter" and "Tanker Incident") and the health bar UI changing to that of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. The third phase, however, has Revolver Ocelot's personality surfacing to fully assume control, the UI changing to that of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', and the music now being the vocal "Snake Eater" theme, the instrumental version of which was previously used during the final boss fight of ''Snake Eater''.]]
230	* Sometimes employed in ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games. Specifically, in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'', [[spoiler:the "real" final boss is Emperor Ing. During the EscapeSequence, you get ambushed by Dark Samus one last time, whom you must quickly defeat within the time limit]]. In ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', you fight an [[spoiler:Omega Metroid under nearly identical circumstances. Both fights are short and mainly just to avert WhatHappenedToTheMouse and showcase Samus regaining her normal power, respectively]].
231	* In ''VideoGame/{{Myth}}'', you fight and defeat the BigBad in the epic and bloody 24th level, [[NeverTrustATitle which is titled "The Last Battle"]]. Then the survivors are magically teleported for the 25th level into another place where you have to throw the BigBad's severed head inside a bottomless hole to definitely remove his evil taint from the world. Except his lieutenant Soulblighter is there with a small army, waiting for what remains of the forces of light and seeking to retrieve his boss' head. He fails, only to flee and come back for the sequel as a DragonAscendant.
232	* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', the "Real Ending" leads to the long-awaited confrontation between Travis and Henry, despite the original conflict of the assassin rankings having been resolved in the previous fight.
233	* In ''VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege'', [[spoiler:Ranmaru]] sneaks up on Leon and his family after everything seems to be resolved.
234	* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the killer has been caught, the fog has been lifted from Inaba, and the protagonist is bids all his friends a fond farewell before leaving. However, [[spoiler:if the player visits the Junes food court instead of returning home after saying his goodbyes, he'll meet up with the rest of the Investigation Team, who all realize that there are still loose plot threads left (such as how the Protagonist and the killer got their Personas) and that there might be someone else behind the entire incident. This sets the player on the path towards the TrueFinalBoss and the GoldenEnding]].
235	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
236	** In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', after you beat the Elite Four and the Champion of the region, you receive a big parade for saving it from Lysandre and Team Flare. In the middle of it [[spoiler:the former king AZ challenges you to a Pokémon fight]].
237	** This seems to have started somewhat of a tradition, as in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'', after defeating Steven and becoming Champion of Hoenn, the player must fight [[spoiler:either [[TheRival May or Brendan]], who will Mega Evolve their now fully-evolved starter]], and in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Sun and Moon]]'', after defeating the Elite Four and [[spoiler:Kukui]] and becoming Alola's first Champion, during the festival to commemorate the event, the player character and Lillie [[spoiler:sneak off to the Ruins of Conflict and the player finally engages [[OlympusMons Tapu Koko]], who must be either defeated or caught]].
238	* ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': Gauron is the main source of the conflict in the endgame, [[spoiler:since killing him will limit the Fog being produced and end the threat of him becoming a rampaging Hellspawn. However, there's still a lower-stake conflict to be settled with Vanessa, since she wants to die in the Tower of Sinners while the party wants her to live and/or atone for her crimes the hard way]].
239	* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' ends with [[spoiler:a brief but [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown no-holds-barred fight]] between Chris and Wesker as the base self-destructs after [[BigBad Alexia]] is dead]].
240	* ''VideoGame/ScienceGirls'' pulls this one after our heroines have seemingly prevented the invasion, escaped the alien homeworld via wormhole and destroyed the transporter to Earth. [[spoiler:Too bad the alien hivemind got through earlier in the game, had time to start setting up and showed up to kidnap one of your party members.]]
241	* ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'': The area after the final boss has another boss in it; a rematch with The Sorceress.
242	* In the PSP remake of ''VideoGame/StarOcean1'', if Cyuss joined the party then after the final boss is defeated and right before he returns home to his timeline, he'll challenge Roddick to a private match so the two can personally see which one of them is stronger. It doesn't matter whether you win the fight or not, but it does affect the dialogue between the two of them at the end.
243	* ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' has [[spoiler:the final duel with Troy]]. Leads to an AlasPoorVillain moment afterwards, as it's noted that they had no real reason to sacrifice their life.
244	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
245	** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'' ends with the Shroob leader [[spoiler:and her older sister]] defeated, and their invasion thwarted for good. [[spoiler:Not really. As the Toadsworths take the Mario brothers to see a KO'd Bowser, the remains of the Elder Princess Shroob (which had been taken from the final battle) are consumed by him. The result is Shrowser, who the brothers must defeat using only counter-attacks.]]
246	** ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'': By completing the entire map and completing every level in all the story branches, the game will continue on from the main ending to The Really Final Chapter, where Wario steals Syrup's treasure as payback, complete with a PostFinalBoss, the giant spear man.
247	* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ'': Having defeated the Antispiral and stopped the completion of the Time Prison, ''Jigoku-hen'' ends much like the other games in the series, with the heroes talking about what they plan to do after splitting up, and all seems right with the world, until the player realizes that they haven't fought an original final boss yet. Cue alarms as Shikuu (who'd showed up throughout the game but hadn't had a formal introduction yet) appears, challenging the heroes.
248	* Hwoarang's story in ''VideoGame/Tekken4'' has him beat Heihachi and win the King of Iron Fist Tournament in the match before the last one, where he goes to the Parking Garage stage and fights Jin Kazama. However, this is only semi-canon (Hwoarang didn't win the tournament and he never fought Jin, but according to ''VideoGame/Tekken5'', he did go to the garage and get ambushed by the Korean military for his desertion that kicks off ''4'').
249	* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'': In a sense, ridding the world of all the Corruption/Crimson and Hallow after defeating the [[spoiler:Moon Lord]], being the last practical goal of the entire playthrough now that it really has nothing left for you or the current world to benefit from, and with endgame armor, none of the enemies will pose much of a threat as you cleanse the world of them for good.
250	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. After the credits of the True Pacifist ending, the screen shows static and [[spoiler:Asriel Dreemurr]] reappears in his [[spoiler:God of Hyperdeath]] form, saying "Did you really think it was over?!"... only for him to revert back to [[spoiler:his child self]] again and sheepishly state that they haven't done the Kickstarter credits yet. It is played straight soon afterwards, though, if the player loads up the game again after [[GoldenEnding completing the True Pacifist route]] and watching the credits go by, as Flowey will appear and confront the player (not the [[PlayerCharacter player character]] but [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the actual player]]) over how they are about to restart the game and [[HappyEndingOverride deprive everyone, including the player character, of their happily ever after]]. He then says that if he can't change your mind, you should at least wipe [[RippleEffectProofMemory his memory]] of the events of the game as well as everyone else's.
251	* At the end of ''VideoGame/WildArms1'', [[spoiler:Zeikfried and Motherfried have been defeated]], the efforts to drain Filgaia's life have been thwarted, and there's a good chance that its decay will even be reversed. The party takes the teleporter back to the earth [[spoiler:and Zeikfried suddenly attacks them on the way down, having separated himself from Mother and becoming Zeik Tuvai]].
252	* In the ending of ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings'', after defeating [[spoiler:Saesenthessis/Saskia]] and resolving the political conflicts of the game, Geralt gets a message from [[TheRival Letho]] to have a meeting. At this point, Letho explains his role in the story, after which Geralt has two choices: A duel to the death or just letting the man go on his way.
253	* At the end of ''VideoGame/YuGiOhBAM'''s first series, Marik attacks you one last time as you're relaxing with Yugi.
254	[[/folder]]
255
256	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
257	* This happens in the final chapter of ''[[VisualNovel/ItLives It Lives Beneath]]''. After finally dealing with zombie animals, the Society, and the Lake Ghost, everything is peaceful and the Main Character can have their happily ever after, right? Wrong. One last remaining member, Richard Sutcliffe, kidnaps them and ferries them to the middle of the lake locked in a coffin as revenge, leaving the Main Character to die a watery grave. Depending on the choices made, your character will indeed die, or they will break through, swim back to surface and confront Richard once and for all.
258	[[/folder]]
259
260	[[folder:Web Animation]]
261	* ''WebAnimation/DisventureCamp'': Season 1 ends with Miriam winning the final challenge, beating Fiore in the go-kart race to the finish and thus winning Disventure Camp and the million dollar prize. Immediately after she is given her winnings though, the police arrive to arrest the hosts Derek and Trevor, and their employee Jensen, for their crimes. But Jensen manages to escape and steals Miriam's prize money as he drives away, leading to Tom chasing after him and confronting him on the Bus of Losers. This ends with Jensen accidentally losing control of the bus and driving it off a cliff, [[NeverFoundTheBody with his body never found]], but Tom manages to jump off right before this happens and successfully gets Miriam her prize money back.
262	[[/folder]]
263
264	[[folder:Western Animation]]
265	* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' "Islands" mini-series, Finn and the gang still need to get past the Colossus, even though Minerva has long since abandoned their [[AntiVillain "villainous"]] plans.
266	* In the Season 2 finale of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', Remington holds Eva at gunpoint after the climactic battle has ended, requiring intervention from her sister Cleo and Dally to settle.
267	[[/folder]]
268
269	[[folder:Real Life]]
270	* The assassination of President Lincoln and subsequent pursuit of John Wilkes Booth at the end of the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar was an example of this.
271	* For the Soviets, the battle against Japan in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in 1945 was somewhat this for them, as their main adversary had been the Nazis for the war. They only had a few border conflicts with Japan prior to 1939.
272	* The Gulf War was this for the Americans in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the Middle East regarding the UsefulNotes/IranIraqWar. Communism had basically collapsed, but their ally that was Baathist Iraq was still unaccounted for.
273	* The Siege of Masada during the UsefulNotes/JewishRevolts. The Romans had already conquered Jerusalem, and the remaining [[LaResistance dissenters]] had camped themselves in the nearby fortress of Masada. The rest of the conflict amounted to the Roman army finding a means of surmounting the literal StoneWall to reach these rebels.
274	* The Battle of New Orleans was the FinalBattle of the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812. However, it actually occurred ''after'' the war was officially over -- the peace treaty had been signed in Belgium, and word didn't reach American and British forces in Louisiana in time to prevent the battle from taking place.
275	* On a dramatically smaller scale, though, all throughout the modern world, whenever police forces successfully capture one or more crime suspects, and if the crime suspect(s) in question has/have more allies of his/hers/theirs hanging out somewhere nearby, he/she/they might as well go on the attack as well before the case in question is ever truly solved to start with.
276	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PostClimaxConfrontation