Line #81 Main/DeathIsGray


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/optimus_death.png]]]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Everything’s less colorful without you…]]
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12	If PowerGlows, then what happens if something is out of power, or even dead? A great way to indicate this is to have it fade to a monochrome color scheme, usually a gray one. Certain sections and parts might be the only ones to be affected by the loss of energy, but the entire body might fade too.
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14	Can be TruthInTelevision. Humans owe the warm tint of skin to the blood circulating underneath it. In death, the circulation stops and within less than an hour the skin turns grayish. In fiction however, discoloration usually happens much faster and affects more than just the skin.
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16	Robot characters undergoing this process can overlap with NoPowerNoColor.
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18	Commonly used in VideoGames for both [[GameplayAndStorySegregation gameplay and storytelling]], especially for menus indicating incapacitated members. In most examples of SubsystemDamage, the system that is lost, disabled, and/or destroyed is often grayed out on the diagram if red isn't used instead (or red is reserved for when a system is destroyed versus gray when it's merely disabled).
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20	A SubTrope of ColorCodedForYourConvenience and GrayIsUseless.
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22	See ColorFailure for when the change to a singular color scheme is the result of a state of shock. See also UndeathlyPallor and MonochromeApparition.
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24	!!As this is a {{Death Trope\|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
25	----
26	!!Examples:
27
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
31	* ''Anime/JewelpetSunshine'': Iruka-sensei is a dolphin with [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife pink]] skin, but will start changing colors if he's left out of water long enough. He turns gray once he is on the verge of dying.
32	* ''Anime/{{Promare}}'': The Burnish [[NoBodyLeftBehind don't leave corpses]] when they die. Instead, they turn gray before slowly disintegrating into ash, [[spoiler:as shown with Thyma]]. Lio's theme, 'Ashes' references this fact.
33	-->''They've burnt to ashes''\
34	''Faded to gray''
35	* ''Anime/TransformersVictory'': God Ginrai's dead corpse fades to gray. The resemblance to Optimus Prime's death in [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie the movie]] and Ginrai's similarity to him is probably unintentional as said movie had not been released in Japan yet (for further proof that it is probably a coincidence rather than intentional, Wheeljack, who dies in the movie, shows up alive and well in the same episode as Ginrai dies).
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW'': "Aggressive depigmentation" is an occurrence in Transformers who suffer intense damage or death wherein the natural colors of their bodies fade to shades of gray.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Fan Works]]
43	* ''Fanfic/DriftCompatible'': [[NoPowerNoColor Unpiloted B-units are grey]]: they gain their colours upon forming a link with their pilots, only to lose them again if said pilots die.
44	* ''Fanfic/FamiliarEvil'': Those infected by the T-Virus and turned into zombies have their skin turned grey and their eyes becoming milky white, making them easy to spot.
45	* ''Fanfic/{{Katzenjammer}}'': Tidearrow's corpse starts slowly fading to grey after Starscream [[BoomHeadshot blasts his head off]].
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
49	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Skywhales}}'': When the aliens reach the end of their lives, their skin turns white, their eyes turn monochrome black, and they instinctively shuffle off to [[spoiler:undergo a {{Metamorphosis}} into the titular [[GiantFlier skywhales]].]]
50	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'': Optimus Prime turns gray upon death. Interestingly, almost none of the other [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies many characters who die in the first twenty minutes of the film alone]] change color upon death, indicating that Optimus is a special case. The exception is Starscream, who also takes on a gray color scheme when he is (finally) executed by the rebuilt Galvatron, crumbling to pieces when the blast finishes destroying him.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
54	* ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'': After Bill and Ted are thrown off a cliff by their evil robot twins, they appear as ghosts with gray skin.
55	* ''Film/IRobot'': The [=AIs'=] positronic brains fade from luminescent blue to dark gray when they're destroyed by the deactivator {{nan\|omachines}}ites. Most obvious when the nanites are used on [[spoiler:the evil MasterComputer and take several seconds to work through its oversized brain.]]
56	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''
57	** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': When the Vision has the Mind Stone torn out of his head by Thanos, he fades from his usual red and green into a lifeless gray. Justified because he's made of Vibranium metal, which is naturally gray in its unaltered state.
58	** ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'':
59	*** Metaphorical rather than literal death. After Gorr buries his daughter and comes face-to-face with the god he spent his life serving, he eagerly anticipates the rewards of his faith. The god callously dismisses Gorr's naivety and says there were never any rewards to begin with, yet he still expects devotion. Heartbroken and furious, Gorr takes possession of the Necro Sword (or, arguably, the sword takes possession of him), slays the god, and swears to do the same to all others. His skin drains of pigment and becomes grey, symbolizing the death of his emotions/humanity.
60	*** A somewhat positive subversion. [[spoiler:After defeating Gorr the God-butcher, Dr. Jane Foster - a.k.a. The Mighty Thor - succumbs to a combination of terminal cancer and having her life force drained by wielding Mjolnir. She dies in Thor's arms but has earned her place in the Asgardian paradise of Valhalla. She arrives at the gate dressed in a gray gown and is greeted by Heimdall, who is garbed in the same color.]]
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Literature]]
64	* ''Literature/BooksOfTheRaksura'': The titular shapeshifters lose their natural colouration and turn white when they're [[YourDaysAreNumbered very near death]] from old age. Moon, who was RaisedByHumans, doesn't know what it means when it happens to Flower, and she [[LockedOutOfTheLoop doesn't tell him]] so he'll keep treating her normally.
65	* ''Literature/TheCosmere'':
66	** ''Literature/TheLostMetal'': When Telsin suffers a DeathByDePower as the god Autonomy rejects her as an avatar, her body turns grey for unknown reasons.
67	** ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Shardblades [[SoulCuttingBlade cut the spirit]] but don't physically damage living tissue. If a limb is cut, it turns grey and useless, and it regains its natural color if healed by Light.
68	** ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'': [[ArtificialZombie Lifeless]] turn grey when they are created, as the Awakening feeds off the color of their bodies. Similarly, [[RevenantZombie Returned]] who use their Divine Breath leave a grey body behind.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Video Games]]
72	* ''VideoGame/{{Alisa}}'': Enemies that die turn gray after falling to the ground [[MoneySpider and dropping their tooth-wheels]].
73	* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': When a member of the PlayerParty is dead, their CharacterPortrait turns to grayscale until they're [[DeathIsCheap resurrected]].
74	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': In TheStinger, Solas is revealed to be [[spoiler:Fen'Harel, the ancient elven [[TheTrickster trickster]] god.]] He approaches [[spoiler:Flemeth]] and absorbs her powers, killing her in the process. Her lifeless body immediately turns ash-gray and colorless.
75	* ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe'': In the arcade version, when opponents are killed they turn gray.
76	* ''VideoGame/JumpSuperstars'': The playable characters' colours become less saturated as they take more damage. When there is only a sliver of health left, they turn gray.
77	* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': When the player dies, their entire screen goes grayscale, save for the red number ticking down to their respawn. Color only returns once they respawn.
78	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': The Great Deku Tree fades to a lifeless gray when it succumbs to the fatal curse inflicted on it by Ganondorf.
79	* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'': The King Kihunter's death is signaled by its body and the nest it's attached to shriveling and turning a pale gray colour.
80	* ''VideoGame/{{Parameters}}'': Defeated, and therefore unusable, enemy spaces, are grey.
81	* ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'': If a playable unit falls in battle, its sprite in the map takes on a dark gray coloration.
82	* ''VideoGame/RemiLoreLostGirlInTheLandsOfLore'': When Remi loses all her HP, the entire screen goes grayscale before the run's statistics list is provided and continuation options are offered.
83	* ''VideoGame/TinkerQuarry'': While the toys cannot die, they can be "Impaired", which [[AndIMustScream traps them in a death-like state]]. When a toy is either Impaired or close to being Impaired, they lose all their color and go grayscale.
84	* ''VideoGame/VermintideII'': {{Downplayed\|Trope}} -- when a character is out of [[NonLethalKO Non-Lethal K.O.s]] and will die instantly the next time they're downed, the player's screen switches to greyscale.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Western Animation]]
88	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In the final episode, [[spoiler:Anne Boonchuy's whole body turns a flat shade of grey after her (temporary) HeroicSacrifice.]]
89	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': When Admiral Zhao kills the white koi fish that is the mortal form of the moon spirit, the surrounding world is plunged into complete grayness. Only after Princess Yue sacrifices her life force to resurrect the spirt is the grayness lifted.
90	* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': The decay incantation is incantation of death and destruction. And it is represented by anything it touches going gray, for example when Zhan Tiri casts the decay incantation to murder all of Corona, the town as well as the citizen's slow death, is represented by them getting grayer.
91	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': In reference to Optimus Prime's death in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'', all Transformers fade to gray upon death. This is {{justified\|Trope}} by the concept of Transformers having "electronic paint jobs" that let them change color at will, with the implication that their normal color schemes are such paint jobs that deactivate to reveal their real gray colors underneath when they die. After Blurr is crushed by the disguised Shockwave into a cube and handed off to be disposed of, it's noteworthy that the cube is still Blurr's powder blue coloring, hinting that [[AndIMustScream he's still alive but immobile]].
92	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': The [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie movie death]] is alluded to in an episode wherein Bumblebee enters Megatron's comatose mind to find a cure for a disease afflicting Optimus. Megatron is quick to sense his advantage and pressures the scout to agree to a little quid pro quo or else "Optimus fades to gunmetal gray."
93	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DeathIsGray