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10[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/assassination_attempt_on_president_everett.jpg]]]]
11[[caption-width-right:350:Also pictured: Attempt on the assassin's life by the president.]]
12
13->''"Some men are coming to kill us. We're gonna kill them first."''
14-->-- '''Film/JamesBond''', ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''
15
16Someone is attempting to assassinate someone. But the target refuses to be assassinated, either because of luck, a talent to survive, special fighting skills, or a fearsome CadreOfForeignBodyguards.
17
18The assassin may be killed by his target, have poisoned himself before the mission, commit suicide, [[YouHaveFailedMe be executed by his leader or organisation]] (or alternatively [[ContractOnTheHitman have other assassins sent after him]], which sometimes causes him to outclass these in turn) or by the person who contracted him ([[AssassinsAreAlwaysBetrayed which was probably going to happen anyway]]), or [[DefeatMeansFriendship join the "outclasser"]].
19
20A character can evolve into a real 'assassin outclasser' when [[CarnivalOfKillers recurrent assassination attempts]] fail, which makes the character in question even more cautious, which makes the failure of more assassination attempts even more likely. Such can only happen if the majority of assassins were defeated by the target him/her/itself (and not by a bodyguard or similar), since this title demands that the target defeat -- "outclass" -- the assassins. The trope itself, however, is just about assassination attempts failing because of the target (like in ''Literature/TalesOfTheOtori'') or some "protector" (see ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'', where it's the BattleButler), or great amounts of attempted assassinations that failed because of the exceptional luck of the target (see ''Literature/TheDarkSideOfTheSun'').
21
22Sometimes, this is a RunningGag. In many cases, that situation leads to a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome or "WhosLaughingNow" for the assassin's target, but sometimes it can horribly fail, when the lucky streak breaks and the target cannot defend themselves sufficiently anymore, either because of [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil further, much more skilled]] assassins that were sent or because the target became overly self-confident and careless after outclassing various assassins.
23
24Killing an Assassin Outclasser usually is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for the assassin. It will often be a RasputinianDeath since these people are... not easy to kill. Conversely, if the assassin is established as {{badass}} only to reveal their target as ''that much more'' badass, that's TheWorfEffect.
25
26If the assassin refuses to finish the job instead of failing or is [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath verbally convinced by the victim to leave them alone]], see HitmanWithAHeart. Also compare MuggingTheMonster.
27
28!!As this is a {{Death Trope|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
29
30----
31!!Example subpages:
32[[index]]
33* AssassinOutclassin/AnimeAndManga
34* AssassinOutclassin/FanWorks
35* AssassinOutclassin/{{Literature}}
36* AssassinOutclassin/LiveActionTV
37* AssassinOutclassin/VideoGames
38* AssassinOutclassin/RealLife
39[[/index]]
40
41!!Other examples:
42[[foldercontrol]]
43[[folder:Comic Books]]
44* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': Just about any assassin sent to take out Batman, which includes Deathstroke, Deadshot, Lady Shiva, the Court of Owls, Ra's al Ghul, and the entire League of Assassins.
45** One example is when the Court of Owls sends an army of their undead operatives after Bruce Wayne, in his nightclothes. The only thing helping them was their numbers because he quickly realized that their techniques were "outdated", lured them to the Batcave, strapped on an armored (borderline mech) suit, and [[KillItWithIce lowered the temperature until they froze]].
46** PlayedForLaughs with a case of MistakenIdentity in ''ComicBook/SupermanAmericanAlien'' issue 3, in which Deathstroke mistakes Clark for Bruce as he attempts to kill him. Due to Clark's Kryptonian physiology, the neurotoxin Slade gave him only manages to get him [[IntoxicationEnsues drunk]], his further attempts to stab him end with Clark [[EpicFail (with not a scratch on him, but Bruce's outfit in tatters)]] breaking his sword in half with his bare hands, and the whole scene is capped off by Clark [[FingerPokeOfDoom finger-flicking]] [[CurbStompBattle the bewildered Slade]] [[TwinkleInTheSky off the yacht]].
47* The titular ''ComicBook/DoctorZero'' tries to keep the Cold War cool by assassinating nuclear scientist Dr. Henry Clerk. Clerk, a mere human, not only predicts the assassination attempt, but uses a combination of chemicals and electric shocks to negate most of Zero's powers. His would-be assassin then gets left for dead, dumped in the snow outside the research site.
48* In ''ComicBook/Hitman1993'', this happens almost constantly, usually but not always, to Tommy, Natt, and Ringo. It helps that the three of them are all ''also'' assassins, and Tommy and Ringo specifically are the two deadliest assassins in Gotham-freaking-city. Attempted assassins include but are not limited to: idiot Gotham wannabe assassins, a few dozen ninjas, hundreds of mafia thugs, Johnny Navarone, large chunks of the CIA, super-fast mutant cowboys, a SAS hit-squad (though Tommy and Natt get out of that more because of luck and internal strife in the squad than anything else), a ten-armed demon from Hell, Lobo, Benito Gallo, and Johnny's son Marc Navarone. Among others.
49** Ultimately subverted, though, as Ringo is killed by an army of assassins (led by a super-powered one), and Tommy and Natt both ultimately die at the hands of an even bigger army of rogue CIA assassins (though in Tommy's case it's pretty much voluntary).
50** Pat Noonan and Sean Noonan of the main cast are also killed by assassins (Pat by Johnny and Sean by Benito) but do considerably less outclassing beforehand.
51* This is the entire idea behind the ''ComicBook/HumanTarget''. Christopher Chance impersonates people who live dangerous lives and takes on whatever comes after him until they're safe.
52* ''ComicBook/IKilledAdolfHitler'': an assassin comes to kill the main character, but he deals with him.
53* After the [[ComicBook/NewMutants New X-Men]] rescue Mercury (and ComicBook/{{X 23}} and Hellion, who had rushed off alone after her first and were captured as well) from the Facility, Kimura is sent to the Xavier School to assassinate Laura, and has her lined up in her scope and is ready to pull the trigger. Unfortunately she neglected to account for the school's resident telepaths, ''especially'' Emma Frost, who proceeds to go MamaBear on her and telepathically rewires her [[ContractOnTheHitMan to go after the Facility's leadership instead]].
54* ''ComicBook/NickFuryAgentOfSHIELD1968'': After numerous stories where this is played straight, it's notably averted in "The Assassination of Nick Fury". Bulls-Eye is hired by Hydra to kill Fury, follows him to a concert he attends with his girlfriend Laura, and then shoots him in the back from fifty yards away. Fury dies - and never even knew the assassin was there. It does go wrong for Bulls-Eye after that, as [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness his employers double-cross him]], but the assassination itself went exactly to plan. It's also the last new story in the series, so serves as a DownerEnding until a FullyAbsorbedFinale revisits events in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers''.
55* Attempts have been made on ComicBook/SilverSable's life several times by her ex-husband, the A-list assassin the Foreigner; she, in turn, has made just as many attempts on his. Apparently, they both consider this some sort of "game".
56* This is used frequently in ''ComicBook/SinCity''. Both Marv and Wallace's main stories involve assassins coming after them in waves, only to get killed.
57* ''ComicBook/StarWarsDoctorAphra'': In Issue #16 of the second run, a [[spoiler: Crimson Dawn]] mole tries to stab [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Domina Tagge]]. She responds by effortlessly grabbing the woman's arm, snatching the knife she's wielding, and then stabbing her in the back with it.
58* In the ComicBook/{{New 52}}'s ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'', this is how ComicBook/{{Deadshot}} was sent to Belle Reve Prison. He was supposed to assassinate a senator in Gotham but was thwarted by Franchise/{{Batman}}, causing Deadshot his first career miss.
59* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'': This is what lead to Deathstroke's feud with the Titans. Deathstroke's son Grant was recruited by HIVE to kill the Titans, and was given the SuperSerum that enhanced Slade. Unfortunately for Grant, his system reacted negatively to the serum and he died trying to kill the Titans.
60* In ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}: [[Recap/TintinTheBrokenEar The Broken Ear]]'', one RunningGag is the recurrent assassination attempts of General Alcazar by a masked bomber, who is strongly hinted as being Colonel-demoted-to-Corporal Diaz. The attempts all fail miserably, the bomber usually being HoistByHisOwnPetard.
61* ''[[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate]]'' ComicBook/NickFury did this by putting a hit out on himself. When the assassin looked through his scope to take out Fury, the only thing he saw was the good [[ColonelBadass colonel]] sighting him with a rifle of his own.
62* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', Adrian Veidt survives an assassination attempt by beating up the hitman, though he can't prevent the man from swallowing a poison capsule so he can't be taken alive. (The spoiler isn't that Veidt survives the attempt; it's that [[spoiler:he hired the assassin himself to throw Rorschach and anyone else who might be investigating The Comedian's death a RedHerring and take suspicion away from himself. The hitman didn't even have a poison capsule; Veidt force-fed him one]].)
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
66* In ''Film/AngelsDance,'' a random woman is targeted for assassination simply as target practice for a hitman-in-training by his mentor. The woman survives the first attack and quickly adapts herself to avoiding and turning the tables on her would-be killer.
67* Happens in ''Film/BloodSimple'', when the heroine manages to fight off and kill the PsychoForHire.
68* Shows up frequently in ''Film/TheBourneSeries''.
69* In ''Film/DialMForMurder'', Margot Wendice's husband, Tony hires a crook named Swann to strangle her to death. However, Margot manages to stab him to death with her scissors, setting off Tony's XanatosSpeedChess.
70* Near the end of ''Film/GhostInTheShell2017'', the BigBad sends hitmen to take out the members of Section 9. All the assassins end up dead. Even the elderly Aramaki survives by using his bulletproof briefcase as a shield and then takes out all the hitmen sent to kill him with his revolver.
71--> '''Aramaki:''' ''[in Japanese]'' Don't send a rabbit to catch a fox.
72* ''Film/TheHistoryOfFutureFolk'': Kevin fails so miserably that Trius realizes he was sent as a ruse so Trius will lower his defenses before the ''real'' assassin arrives.
73* ''Film/TheManWhoKnewTooLittle'' starring Bill Murray is this trope PlayedForLaughs. The main character is oblivious to the fact that he isn't in an interactive play, but rather surviving multiple murder attempts through a combination of mad luck and help from competent agents.
74* In the backstory segment of ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor'', the future Emperor is preparing to raid the last city standing against his unification of China. A group of assassins sneaks into his tent at night and attempts to kill him. Naturally, being played by Creator/JetLi, he fairly easily kills ''them'', then calls for his army to assault the city immediately instead of waiting until morning, razing it to the ground.
75%%* Happens in ''Film/NinjaAssassin'' in the bathroom.
76* In ''Film/APerfectMurder'', a spiritual remake of ''Film/DialMForMurder'', the same outcome happens. The man that is sent to kill Emily, is instead murdered by her with the sharp end of a cooking thermometer. Furthermore, the man in question wasn't even the guy her husband hired who was Winston, the man she was having an affair with.
77* ''Film/ThePinkPantherStrikesAgain'' is all over this. Chief Inspector Dreyfus has gone insane and sent assassins from around the world to kill Clouseau. But they've also been told to assassinate each other because each country wants to have the privilege of killing Clouseau. Meanwhile, Clouseau bumblingly foils each try, not even knowing about the assassination attempts most of the time. [[spoiler:The second to last one, however, thought he succeeded, mistaking a disguised assassin for the real Clouseau]].
78* In ''Film/PulpFiction'', Vincent is sent to kill Butch after the latter reneges on his agreement to throw a fight. While he's waiting for Butch to come home, Vincent goes to use the bathroom and [[TooDumbToLive leaves his gun on the kitchen counter]]. Butch comes home and finds the gun, and uses it to ambush Vincent as he's leaving the bathroom.
79* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/SpeedRacer'': When Speed puts up more of a fight than expected, the noise wakes [[PapaWolf Pops]], who gets the Ninja into an armlock. That ninja discovers [[OhCrap moments too late]] that Pops is a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown champion Greco-Roman wrestler.]]
80-->'''Trixie:''' Oh my god, [[GratuitousNinja was that a ninja?]]\
81'''Pops Racer:''' More like a NON-ja. [[TheyDontMakeThemLikeTheyUsedTo Terrible what passes for a ninja these days.]]
82* When Order 66 goes out in ''Film/StarWarsRevengeOfTheSith'', most of the Jedi are taken completely by surprise when their clone troopers turn on them. The clones assigned to Yoda, however, are not in his immediate vicinity when the order goes out. By the time they find him, he's sensed the deaths of the other Jedi and knows something very bad is going down. Without the element of surprise, his would-be-assassins don't stand a chance.
83* ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'': Carver orders an AffablyEvil assassin named Dr. Kaufmann to kill both his wife and James Bond and [[NeverSuicide make it look like a murder suicide]]. When his colleagues can't open Bond's armored car to get an item they need, he is ordered to get the information from Bond. This allows Bond (who is of course a government assassin) to get the upper hand by using an electric charge in his phone to knock Kaufmann out.
84-->'''Dr. Kaufmann:''' [[NothingPersonal Wait! I'm just a professional doing my job!]]\
85'''Bond:''' [[PreMortemOneLiner Me too]]. *BANG*
86* Actually subverted in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' despite featuring the page quote. The BigBad, Raoul Silva, is trying to assassinate M, so Bond moves her to his ancestral home and work together with his old gamekeeper to make their stand there. They managed to take out Silva and all of his assassins, but not before one of them inflicted a fatal wound on M, who bled out shortly afterwards. The assassins may be dead, but ultimately they succeeded in killing their target.
87* In ''Film/TheUmbrellaCoup'', Grégoire manages to take out two of the villain's goons while not even realizing they were after him.
88* In ''Film/War2007'', TheReveal is that [[spoiler:when the Yakuza sent Rogue to take out Tommy Lone and his family, Lone managed to kill Rogue after the latter killed his family. Lone then pulled a KillAndReplace in order to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Yakuza]].
89* Basically the entire plot of ''Film/JohnWick''.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
93* The main cast of canon characters for the ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'' RPG includes TheEvilPrince Villanova, who thrives on this trope. Assassins are casually sent for him, and just as casually are never heard from again. In several instances, he is seen dispatching at least some of them himself. When he publicly broke the rules of the Swordsmen's Guild, they sent specially trained enforcers, who are about as badass fighters as it gets. Being mailed parts of their bodies yearly pretty much stopped said Guild from further action on the matter.
94* The strategy game ''Ikusa'' (set during Sengoku-era Japan) allows the players to hire a ninja to try and assassinate one of their opponent's generals. If the ninja fails, the opponent gets a free retaliatory assassination attempt against the offending player, though there is no (immediate) follow-up if that assassination fails.
95* This is what the board game ''TabletopGame/KillDrLucky'' is all about. Dr. Lucky is as lucky as his name would suggest, and the object of the game is to, well, [[TitleDrop kill Dr. Lucky]] A) yourself and B) without being seen by anyone. The others can play "Failure!" cards, which represent bizarre happenstance that allows the not-so-good Doctor to escape. Another way to keep the Doc alive is [[BuffySpeak to angry so hard at his assassin]] that they can't do it (by paying that player Spite tokens).
96* A particularly impressive (and terrifying) example is shown in the ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' Adventure Path ''Curse of the Crimson Throne''. The captain of the Sable Company Marines attempts to assassinate [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Ileosa]] when she declares that the Sable Company disband. He's a pretty good shot too and nails her right in the temple with a crossbow bolt. Unfortunately for him, Ileosa is ''much'' more powerful than he realized, and she simply [[AnnoyingArrows pulls the bolt out of her skull]], [[NeckLift lifts him up by the neck]], and stabs him between the eyes with it.
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Webcomics]]
100* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
101** After exiting an apparently diverted teleporting device Martellus barehandedly takes on six Smoke Knights, killing them and his cousin Leopold, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130520 with their own daggers.]]
102** The Smoke Knights are also apparently no match for a [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20140606 vigilant Corbettite Monk.]] The ease in which the monks dispose of the assassins is almost casual.
103* The Hegemonic Brute of the Alpha session in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' was sent to kill Dirk Strider but ends up getting [[CurbStompBattle slain by his target a few panels after his appearance.]]
104* ''Webcomic/MenageA3'': When genre-anomalous international spy [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/menage-a-3/too-exciting Bianca comes under attack by what seems to be a team of professional assassins,]] she survives and escapes, despite being surprised, dressed only in underwear, and accompanied by a confused and disapproving non-combatant.
105* ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'': The nameless protagonists of [[https://www.oglaf.com/cookiecutters/ this strip]] see off their would-be assassins very competently, given that they're caught completely off-guard. But then, how capable can [[spoiler:Gingerbread Assassins]] be?
106* ''Webcomic/{{Silenziosa}}'': A man tries to assassinate King Charles by blow-dart. The Queen dispatches the would-be killer with an axe.
107* ''{{Webcomic/Unsounded}}'':
108** When Roger returns to Fluirstadt the queen Maharaishala informs him that there were several assassination attempts on him after her sister's assassination, and that she had the perpetrators publicly hanged.
109** General Bell sends an assassin after Queen Maharaishala on Tirnasday, her three hidden wright protectors rip him to shreds and core-leach his body before he can throw the explosive he's carrying, and then cushion the explosive's fall. Maha doesn't even flinch, as she was already aware Bell would be trying to kill her during the festival.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:WebOriginal]]
113* ''Script/C0DA'', written by former ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series writer/designer Creator/MichaelKirkbride, takes place in the far distant future of ''TES'' universe. Jubal-lun-Sul, the main character, performs this toward the end of the story when he uses his "[[StoryBreakerPower ghost hands]]" to effortlessly defeat a horde of [[MurderInc Morag]] [[ProfessionalKiller Tong]] assassins, as well as [[spoiler:his former friend who hired them, Hlaalu Hir]].
114* In ''WebVideo/CriticalRoleExandriaUnlimited: Calamity'', Cerrit, a non-magical investigator in a city of wizards, is able to spot an invisible cultist of Asmodeus by the ''fraction of their pupils'' left visible for them to see by, and cuts them down in a single strike of his tomahawks.
115* This is the premise of ''LetsPlay/{{Dream}}'''s Minecraft Manhunt series. Dream only has one life and tries to complete the game by killing the Ender Dragon, while the hunters can respawn indefinitely and have compasses leading to his location. He doesn't always win, but he does it frequently enough for the series to keep going and adding more hunters into the mix.
116* King Karn and his wife Starling in ''WebVideo/JourneyQuest'' have a heated argument... [[IgnoredEnemy while taking apart a small army of assassins with little effort.]] [[spoiler: Starling gets wounded by the last assassin, but doesn't die.]]
117* In ''Podcast/TheMinisterOfChance,'' Ambassador Durian not only escapes an undercover assassin but even goes on to use her as a political tool against both the political rival who sent her ''and'' the rival state of Jura.
118* Volume Five of ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'' has the Albain brothers of the [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters White Fang]] attempt to assassinate [[spoiler:Ghira and Kali Belladonna]]. Clearly aware of the fact that RankScalesWithAsskicking, the brothers not only send in a load of armed mooks but join the assault on [[spoiler:the Belladonna manor]] themselves. ''It's still not enough''. Special mention goes to [[spoiler:Kali]], who bludgeons an assassin into submission with a ''[[ImprovisedWeapon tea tray]]''.
119* Carmilla of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' seems to specialize in this. Right after she manifested, she took down a hypnotized armed security office who shot a hole in her. Then she thwarted the killers pursuing her until she got to America. Then, when the Reverend Englund sicced a team of mutants on her, she ''ate'' at least one of them and escaped. Then at Halloween, she faced a mutant assassin, a school-wide invasion of Syndicate troops, and a team of Syndicate killers. Now she has Jobe Wilkins trying to kill her with bio-weapons. It might have something to do with the issue that she's a [[EldritchAbomination baby Great Old One.]]
120* In ''Literature/UntilEveryDropOfBloodIsPaid'', Abraham Lincoln helps fight off a group of assassins led by John Wilkes Booth, even bashing Booth's head in with a log.
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Western Animation]]
124* Zuko from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' survived six assassination attempts in just his first year as Fire Lord. It’s implied that he killed the first five attempters himself.
125* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', an assassin, Curare, is sent after Commissioner Barbara Gordon's husband, DA Sam Young. When she fails, the society she's a member of begins [[ContractOnTheHitman hunting her down for her failure]]. Thinking proactively, she in turn begins hunting down and eliminating them. [[spoiler: She succeeds, but fails when she attacks her final target on her list: Batman himself, the one she held most responsible. (For some odd reason, she didn't include either Young or Gordon, but that may be for the best.)]]
126* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox'', [[spoiler:Aquaman's wife Mera caught him in bed with Wonder Woman, so she sneaked onto Themyscira and tried to assassinate Diana. Diana managed to overcome Mera and beheaded her, sending the head back to Atlantis, while keeping her crown. This is how the war between Atlantis and Themyscira started]].
127* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' carves through the myriad of assassins Aku sends after him. Very few pose much of a challenge.
128* The episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' "Lisa the Iconoclast" shows that Jebediah Springfield tried to assassinate UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, only to get his ass handed to him; George was no lightweight.
129* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E15ThroughImperialEyes "Through Imperial Eyes"]], TheMole sets the sentry droids Thrawn uses in sparring on him, after reprogramming the override code. Thrawn manages to defeat the droids, but not until after the purpose of the attack has been served -- [[spoiler:to allow Ezra and Chopper to escape from Thrawn's office]].
130* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' Season 3 finale, Brock Samson manages to defeat three assassins sent after him.
131* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'':
132** Episode "Infiltrator": the Team is assigned to protect Dr. Serling Roquette, who has a hit on her because she's the only one who can neutralize [[GreyGoo the Fog]]. The Team only manages to stop the three assassins when Dr. Roquette completes the virus that stops the Fog; rendering the hit void due to The Light [[PragmaticVillainy preferring to avoid killing anyone who might be useful in the future]].
133** In the opening of the episode "Insecurity", Black Spider's assassination of a man is thwarted by ComicBook/{{Green Arrow}} and his sidekick Artemis.
134[[/folder]]
135

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