Line #50 Main/HeroicRematch


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6	[[caption-width-right:350:"The Bat's back, man!"]]
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12	->''Ah, this will do. It's just you, and me. TIME TO RAISE SOME HELL! Now that I think of it, the last time we fought like this, you were still my pupil. You were wild, unfocused, and had the eyes of a beast! Even then, I knew you would become the opponent I've been waiting for! I HOPE YOU DON'T DISAPPOINT!''
13	-->-- '''Augus''', ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'', pre battle speech before the boss fight against him.
14
15	A trope for the inevitable rematch on TheHero page. A villain can't get rid of the hero until the hero wins, either because they're stopped before they can kill the hero early, or because [[INeedYouStronger he needs the hero to be stronger for some purpose]], etc.
16
17	Nobody likes a DownerEnding where TheBadGuyWins, but except in the case of the InvincibleHero, the hero of the story won't win every little battle along the way. A common tactic is to make the hero [[HopelessBossFight their own worf]] in TheWorfEffect at the very beginning, then have him come back stronger and win. The hero might have undergone TrainingFromHell for this, and [[LookWhatICanDoNow show off their fruits of said training]] during their rematch, while the VillainForgotToLevelGrind (though villains usually hide nasty surprises on their own). The lost battle at the beginning and the won one at the end, in this trope, are always against the same major adversary, usually either the BigBad (see also FinalBossPreview) or TheRival.
18
19	If there are more than one rematch with the same opponent, said opponent overlaps with RecurringBoss; see also HopelessBossFight.
20
21	----
22	!!Examples
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime And Manga]]
26	* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'':
27	** Played for drama to the point of being the cause of most of the problems in the story: The first time Griffith and Guts fight, Guts gets his ass handed to him, accepting Griffith's offer to join the Band of the Hawk. The day the Hawk achieves its consecration and Griffith is knighted, Guts decides to leave to get out from Griffith's shadow, something Griffith refuses. They fight again... but this time, Guts comes out on top, sending Griffith into a HeroicBSOD that leads him to sleep with Princess Charlotte, then him being imprisoned and tortured and finally him summoning the Eclipse.
28	** The first time Guts and Zodd fight, Guts barely manages to hold his own. During the rematch, he does a lot better (to Zodd's undisguised glee), but they don't go all the way since Griffith orders him to leave.
29	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
30	** Ichigo Kurosaki vs Byakuya Kuchiki is a classic case; Ichigo fights him ''three'' times. The first time is a CurbStompBattle combined with a SingleStrokeBattle. The second is a draw (that Ichigo would have ultimately lost if Yoruichi hadn't bailed him out) and the final one ends in Ichigo's victory because of [[SuperMode Bankai]].
31	** Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez has a similar pattern. The first is a CurbStompBattle, with Grimmjow literally pummeling Ichigo in the face as the highlight; Ichigo's inner Hollow tries to intervene and Tosen stops Grimmjow from continuing after Ichigo [[CurbStompCushion barely manages to scratch him.]] The second has Ichigo gain the upper hand due to his new SuperMode, but when its time limit is reached, Grimmjow proceeds to mop the floor with Ichigo until Shinji saves him just in time and Ulquiorra drags Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo. Their final fight ends with Ichigo battling Grimmjow in a destructive, evenly-matched back and forth duel before the latter finally falls (although Ichigo is so worn out that he can't handle [[CombatPragmatist his next opponent]] that well).
32	** Ulquiorra Cifer - who, being Espada #4, pulls WorfEffect out on some of the other Espada. Who were, until that point, enduring WorfEffect from the heroes. That's right; he Worfs people who Worf the heroes. He faces Ichigo once, and of course, it's a CurbStompBattle (although he has some trouble in the beginning due to Ichigo using an enormous Getsuga Tensho on him). In the second... no, it's ''still'' a CurbStompBattle, leaving [[StrawNihilist Ulquiorra]] seriously at a loss as to why [[{{Determinator}} Ichigo]] persists in fighting. Both times, Ulquiorra succeeds in (temporarily) killing Ichigo, but in the second time, Ulquiorra gets taken out by a COMBINATION of EleventhHourSuperpower and SuperPoweredEvilSide.
33	* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''
34	** Yusuke vs Gouki: Yusuke first bout against a demon had him at a severe disadvantage as he had already used his Spirit Gun earlier in the day before confronting the demon and his regular attacks don't work. He's beaten down and only saved thanks to Botan tricking Gouki into thinking that a mob was searching for him causing him to flee. The next round, Yusuke's fully rested and recharges, Gokui still gives him trouble even with Botan helping, but Yusuke wins by propping Gouki's mouth open with a branch and firing his spirit gun into his mouth.
35	** Yusuke vs Toguro: A sorta example, when the two first meet Toguro pounds him and Kuwabara into the ground, only managing to win against him via teamwork. But it turns out Toguro had taken a fall at the request of his employer (and wasn't even at full power to boot) to con some money out of businessman who had bet on their fight. Togoro later confronts Yusuke and "invites" (read: forces) him to participate in the Dark Tournament along with Hiei, Kurama and Kurabura (along with Genkai) to fight as a team. After a lot of grueling matches, they make it to the finals and, naturally, it's Yusuke vs Toguro at the end. Yusuke has to push himself to extremes but ultimately manages to win.
36	** Yusuke vs Sensui: The only fight that takes three tries. Sensui soundly trounces Yusuke in their first two fights due to having much more experience as well as multiple personalities with varying degrees of power. So much so Sensui [[spoiler: even ''kills'' Yusuke in the second fight]]. The only reason Yusuke wins [[spoiler: is due to Raizen having taken over his body and utterly dominates Sensui in the third battle. Yusuke is completely displeased by this as he doesn't feel he won on his own merits.]]
37	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
38	** Luffy vs Crocodile: Three times, Luffy lost the first time due to Crocodile being a Logia user and couldn't really hurt him as attacks went right through Crocodile thanks to his sand powers. Croc only wins as he takes advantage of Luffy's distress to impale him on his hook. Second time, Luffy found out his weakness to water and came prepared with a water barrel making it a more even fight until Croc reveals his moisture sucking ability catching Luffy off guard and nearly drying him out. Luffy survives due to water shot he tried to hit Croc with falling back on him and reviving him. By round three, Luffy resorts to using his blood from his wounds, meaning he can directly hit Croc now without worrying about a handicap. Since this is a more even fight and Croc can't rely fully on his powers now, Luffy dominates and ultimately wins
39	** Luffy vs Eneru: Luffy was actually winning the first match due to his rubber ability canceling out Eneru's lighting logia powers. But Eneru knocks him off his flying ship by grafting a gold ball around his arm and rolling it and him off the ship. Thanks to his crew and allies, he manages to get back up to the air to continue the fight and even [[HoistByHisOwnPetard uses said ball to knock Eneru out.]]
40	** vs Rob Lucci: On first confrontation, Lucci effortlessly knocks Luffy and Zoro out of the building they're in. But Nami notes later the two were distracted by Robin supposedly leaving them and "had hesitation in their hearts" to be focused. When they meet the [=CP9=] agents again and Luffy fight Lucci once more, he not only has some new tricks with his new Gear moves but is solely dedicated to taking Lucci out so he won't go after his crew. After an extremely long and brutal bout, he squeezes out a win.
41	** Vs Gekko Moriah: Notable in that their first encounter had Moriah soundly defeating Luffy while just sitting there. Well if you can call it that, it's more Moriah used his shadow to keep Luffy at bay then tricked him by running away and switching places with his shadow. He doesn't physically beat Luffy one on one in either match. Played straight with the crew fighting Oars though. Moriah and the zombie giant (powered by Luffy's shadow) initially down the crew. But Luffy returns being powered by his shadows implemented in him to make him stronger and turns the fight around. The crew recover and go for round two, downing the giant in the rematch with their teamwork with Luffy finishing Moriah off in a brief one-on-one (unsurprisingly he's the better fighter since Moriah let himself get lazy and was out of practice).
42	** VS Shiki in 10th movie ''Anime/OnePieceFilmStrongWorld'': Luffy along with Zoro, Sanji, Chopper and Usopp on the first bout. They get some hits off, but Shiki then uses his floating powers to swamp the boys and defeat them. Round two is Luffy vs Shiki, an even fight but again Shiki gets the better of Luffy using his power on a nearby waterfall to cover Luffy in water and drown him. He makes the mistake of trying to slice Luffy in half which he survives. Luffy takes him down in one shot by enlarging his leg and having lighting supercharge it (helped that Shiki was too arrogant to actually dodge it.)
43	** The latter half of the Punk Hazard arc had Luffy wanting to wallop Caesar Clown after Caesar used his Gas-Gas Fruit, right when Luffy was about to win, to remove all of the oxygen out of the air to suffocate Luffy to near-death. Ironically the next two bouts are solely in Luffy's favor as Luffy learned to stay out of Caesar's range and hit him from afar. He's only prevented from winning the second time due to Monet's interference. By the third time she's out of the picture and it a complete one on one...where it's not even a contest. Luffy easily kicks Caesar's butt despite the latter trying to power himself up with the poison gas he created.
44	** There are many examples on this list--this didn't escape the notice of Donquixote Doflamingo, who, hoping to defy this trope, always attempts to land a lethal blow onto Luffy any time they meet, knowing that letting him live will simply make Luffy keep trying until he wins. This time, though, not only does Luffy get more allies to help bail him out if things go pear-shaped, but later on, Doflamingo shifts his attention from Luffy to [[spoiler:Usopp due to the latter [[AccidentalHero accidentally unraveling all of Doflamingo's plans for the past decade]], giving Luffy the opportunity he needs to prevail.]]
45	** Shortly after making landfall on [[{{Wutai}} Wano]], Luffy directly challenges Kaido and is defeated [[spoiler:[[SingleStrokeBattle in one hit]]. Kaido is apparently not as wise as Doflamingo though, because not only does he let Luffy live, he has Luffy thrown into the same dungeon cell as Eustass Kid, the previous person to challenge Kaido in this way and Luffy's equal in combat and {{Hot Blooded}}ness. Kaido is arrogant enough to assume he can [[ReforgedIntoAMinion break Luffy's will and make him a minion]]. They do fight again one on one but Luffy runs out of steam mid-battle and falls off Onigashima into the ocean. He's saved by Law's crew and get back up to the island to continue the fight. He is defeated again due to being distracted by an agent of [=CP0=] during a crucial moment of the battle, but when all seems lost he then awakens his Devil Fruit power and unlocks Gear 5, which he uses to defeat Kaido for good.]]
46	** Admiral Kizaru, when he was first introduced in the Sabaody Achipelago arc, he [[CurbStompBattle wiped the floor]] with all the Straw Hat Pirates, handing them their first real defeat and making Luffy [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness order his crew to retreat for the first time in the story]]. More than 500 chapters later he would again face off against Luffy in the Egghead Island arc, with the latter remarking that they're 100x stronger now. True to form, Kizaru gets his ass handed back to him ''twice'' by Luffy, with the battle turning him into no more than a nuisance and a distraction to the latter.
47	* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' has Kenshiro vs Souther and Kenshiro vs Raoh.
48	* Averted in ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', when [[spoiler:"Mophead"]] challenges Kenichi to a rematch. When he wins, instead of sticking around for the rematch, he takes off so he can always remain stronger.
49	* Nanoha vs Fate in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. The entire first season was Nanoha getting rematch after rematch against Fate until Nanoha finally grew strong enough to win and [[DefeatMeansFriendship befriend her.]]
50	* Maka and Soul get to fight Crona a second time in ''Manga/SoulEater''. Maka disobeyed Stein's orders specifically to get this revenge match.
51	** Also happens with BlackStar and Mifune. Although BlackStar wins the first match, Mifune [[CurbStompBattle destroyed him in their second fight]] which Black*Star could never forgive, thus resulting in their final match to settle the score.
52	* Natsu attempts this is ''Manga/FairyTail'' after a defeat by one of the mooks-with one hand tied behind his back just to prove that the last loss was just good luck on his opponent's part. However, he's convinced to go after the big bad instead.
53	%%* Common in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', especially with the homunculi, due to the fact that they aren't allowed to kill “sacrifices.” Subverted in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' when [[spoiler:Ed ''loses'' his rematch against Envy, though Ed was fighting with one hand tied behind his back since he was avoiding the use of alchemy near Al]].
54	* ''Anime/YuGiOh'':
55	** Yugi's first duel with [[BigBad Pegasus]] end in Pegasus' victory, although Yugi was an instant away from victory when the timer ran out. This kicks off the Duelist Kingdom story arc, which end in a rematch, where Yugi is victorious.
56	** Yami Yugi gets curb-stomped by Rafael the first time, then wins the rematch after a ''long'' and arduous duel.
57	* Happens in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Juudai vs. Edo. Juudai won their first duel, Edo comes back a while later and tromps him into the ground. Lost at sea, a cosmic phenomenon sends Juudai to Neo-Space, returns with the Neo-Spacians after winning against an alien of light, and teaches Edo some lessons.
58	* ''Anime/DragonBallZ''
59	** Inverted, where it is the villain (Vegeta) who wants a rematch with hero Goku. When the rematch occurs, it's postponed indefinitely due to Buu's revival.
60	** Goku vs. Tao Pai Pai in the original. He nearly kills Goku. The boy then climbs up Korin's Tower to train for a rematch.
61	** The same with King Piccolo, who easily curbstomped Goku in their first fight to the point he was believed dead. Goku went back to Korin's Tower, [[TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential got his hidden powers unlocked]], and went to challenge Piccolo to one final match.
62	* Inverted in ''Manga/{{Psyren}}'' where a villain (Dholaki) gets a rematch with the hero who nearly killed him the last time they fought (Ageha).[[spoiler: Dholaki wins thanks to a DeadlyUpgrade and would have killed Ageha if not for an unexpected BigDamnHeroes]].
63	* ''Anime/DuelMasters'' has an unusual take on it. First time Shobu fights the DarkIsEvil rival, Kokujo, he gets curbstomped and said rival breaks his spirit with some psychology and pseudo magic skills. With the help of his friends and mentor, Shodu recovers and improves, and fights him again, doing a whole lot better, but still losing. However when said rival tries his mind shot again the camera shows Shobu looking at the ground, seemingly in depression, only to spring up laughing, congratulating his opponent on a fine match, showing his progression as a duelist. The 3rd time he actually manages to win, after a long and difficult fight.
64	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Naruto's first battle with Sasuke at the Valley of the End ends with both of them colliding their attacks and Sasuke knocking Naruto unconscious and escaping. Fast forward to the end of Part II, they meet again at the same place for the rematch. [[spoiler: This time, their attacks end up destroying Sasuke's left arm and Naruto's right arm. It's technically a draw, but Sasuke concedes victory to Naruto.]]
65	* ''Manga/GreenWorldz'': After suffering a painful and miserable defeat [[spoiler: in the original timeline]], Iwatobi gets to finally meet his sworn enemy the female Hybrid Human again [[spoiler:through time travel]] and unleash his [[spoiler: 30 years worth of rage]] on her upon their encounter. Iwatobi kicked her ass upon his rematch.
66	* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', this is played straight when Ash faces a number of opponents, but usually his rivals: Gary, Paul, Trip, and Gladion all had at least one major win against him before their final clash. Alain subverted it by narrowly winning in the Kalos finals; though admitting Ash was the true victor when morals are concerned.
67	* ''Manga/HoshinEngi'': After being painfully defeated by the Four Demon Generals and having the flesh of all his joints gouged out, Kou Tenka forces his master to patch him up and returns to the battlefield an hour later with a new Paopei, challenging his enemy to a rematch which he manages to win. It's a nod to the original source, ''Literature/FengshenYanyi''.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Comic Books]]
71	* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'':
72	** Nyx kills Vampirella in the conclusion of the original ''Vengeance of Vampirella'' series. They have a rematch in the "Hell On Earth" arc of ''Vampirella: The New Monthly'' where Vampirella kills Nyx.
73	** ''ComicBook/VengeanceOfVampirella2019'': The series is a retelling of the aftermath of the original ''Vengeance'' series. Like before, [[spoiler:Vampirella has a rematch with Nyx and kills her, this time thanks to the power of the angel Abaddon.]]
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Fan Works]]
77	* FanFic/AGrowingAffection: The first time Naruto fought shinobi!Reaper, she defeated him quite thoroughly. Then he got a weapon to match hers, and learned a technique to overcome her trump card move, and won the rematch.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Film]]
81	* In ''Film/BlackPanther2018'', T'Challa is challenged for the throne of Wakanda by his cousin, Eric "Killmonger" Stevens. The fight is to '''Death or Yield'''. At the end, Killmonger throws T'Challa off the cliffside where they were fighting, but T'Challa survives the fall and is nursed back to health in the Mountain Tribe's domain. Later, he returns to challenge Killmonger, since he never yielded the fight and is obviously not dead.
82	* ''Franchise/StarWars''
83	** After being systematically demolished and having his hand cut off by Darth Vader before [[LukeIAmYourFather learning that Vader is his father]] in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', Luke Skywalker gets his rematch and defeats the dark lord in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. In a twist, Luke doesn't actually want to fight Vader, and his real victory comes in convincing his opponent to make a HeelFaceTurn.
84	** Anakin gets his arm cut off by Count Dooku in the climax of ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' before [[OffWithHisHead decapitating him]] in the opening of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.
85	** Inverted in the sequel trilogy, as Rey actually defeats Kylo Ren in their first fight in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which motivates the villain to improve his skills over the course of the next two films in preparation for their rematch.
86	** Gambling example, in ''Film/{{Solo}}'', Han challenges Lando to a game of sabacc making him stake the latter's ship, the Millennium Falcon; He loses due to Lando cheating by drawing an extra card up from his sleeve. Near the end of the movie Han challenges Lando again, and this time he wins "fair and square" by spotting Lando's hidden card and pickpocketing it from him before he can draw it, thus winning his ship.
87	* Happens in all ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' films (though two don't have the hero defeated: Spidey wins the first over Green Goblin, and Sandman escapes the fight).
88	* The ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' have Storm/Callisto in ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'', and Wolverine/Sabretooth in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''.
89	* Wong Fei-Hung vs Yan Ti San in ''Film/DrunkenMaster''.
90	* In ''My Bodyguard'', Moody bullies Clifford Peach with impunity... until to his own surprise Clifford gets his climactic HeroicRematch at the end.
91	* In ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', [[spoiler: Scott replays the confrontation and battle with Gideon Graves after being brought back via extra life]].
92	* Happens twice in the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' series. In the [[Film/{{Rocky}} first film]], Rocky goes the distance but loses to Apollo Creed, leading to a rematch in the [[Film/RockyII sequel]] that Rocky wins. In ''Film/RockyIII'', Rocky's newfound cockiness leads to newcomer Clubber Lang beating him; the rest of the movie consists of Rocky getting his head back into the game to win the rematch, with Apollo as his trainer. At the end, Apollo and Rocky face off for one last, friendly fight to see who's really the best. [[spoiler: ''Film/{{Creed\|2015}}'' reveals that Apollo won.]]
93	* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', after being broken and thrown into [[HellholePrison The Pit]] by Bane, Batman rises up to reclaim Gotham from him.
94	* In ''Film/FastAndFurious6'', we have a rematch between Riley and Letty. [[spoiler:Due to Riley turning out to be TheMole and Letty pulling a HeelFaceTurn, Letty goes two for two.]]
95	* In ''Film/Aquaman2018'', Arthur loses against Orm in ritualistic combat, mostly due to being underwater and Arthur was not accustomed to fight in that element. But after claiming King Atlan's trident and bringing Orm to the surface he wins against him.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Literature]]
99	* ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'':
100	** The first clash with the Four Saints of Nine Dragons Island goes badly for the heroes and Jiang Ziya even suffers a DisneyDeath before being rescued by Wenshu Guangfa. The second challenge goes much better for the heroes, Jiang Ziya this time manages to use his newly-obtained Gods-Beating Whip to kill the second brother in combat, while the third brother is slain by Jinzha and the last one, forced to flee, runs into Muzha and is killed by him.
101	** The first time Huang Tianhua fights Mo Liqing, the elder of the Four Demon Generals/Mo Brothers, he had accidentally forsake his Taoist training by eating meat and wearing metal armor and he's felled by his opponent's White Jade Circlet. After being revived by his master and receiving the Heart-Penetrating Nail, he's able to take on and kill Mo Liqing and his three brothers Lihai, Lihong and Lishou.
102	** The first battle against the Grand Tutor Wen Zhong and his army ends in defeat for Jiang Ziya and the Zhou army. After recovering from his wounds, Ziya leads a second attack during which he's able to break one of Wen Zhong's whips and force him to run away.
103	* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': [[spoiler: Lydia]] does a lot better in her second fight against [[spoiler: Abyss.]]
104	* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' spinoff ''Ravenpaw's Path'', Ravenpaw faces off against [[BigBad Willie]] in ''Shattered Peace'' and gets completely crushed. They fight again in ''The Heart of a Warrior'', and this time it is Ravenpaw who is victorious.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
108	* ''Series/CobraKai'': An unbalanced and rage-filled Daniel is demolished by the cold and calculating Terry Silver midway through Season 5. In the Season 5 finale, after Daniel has found balance and has his family and friends supporting him, he returns the favour by destroying the now unhinged and rage-filled Silver.
109	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' with Peter vs Sylar near the end of season 1.
110	* ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'': In "Part III", an out of practice Obi-Wan is easily defeated by Darth Vader in their first meeting since ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' and has to be rescued from Vader's torture by burning. In "Part VI", having regained his sense of purpose and balance in the Force, Obi-Wan manages to decisively defeat Vader and ensure the escape of his allies in the Hidden Path.
111	* This is the general formula of most episodes of ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers''.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:VideoGames]]
115	* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'': As part of the main storyline you face the final boss Lavos at the Ocean Palace well before the actual end of the game, at which point it [[spoiler:outright kills Crono, though you can undo his death.]] Only later can you face Lavos for real and win. To make sure you lose like you're supposed to, Lavos is stronger here than at any other point in the game, though still defeatable.
116	* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'': In the first game of Dark Souls franchise, you will face Seath the Scaleless, but he is immortal, in the first encounter with him the only option to proceed is dying, you can't even inflict damage. Afterwards you will be able to defeat him in a proper boss fight.
117	* Numerous examples in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series:
118	** Villainous example: ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'''s [[spoiler: final boss is the first one]].
119	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' has the heroes confront Exdeath in his castle after only barely surviving the previous encounter due to [[spoiler: Galuf's HeroicSacrifice]].
120	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the team face Kefka at the end, who during their last meeting [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroyed the world]], destroyed their airship, and [[BreakingTheFellowship scattered the party]].
121	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Double subverted in the rematch with [[spoiler: Trance]] Kuja, which, after an epic boss fight, ends exactly the same way as the first fight. The ''third'' fight does not.
122	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has the rematch with Sin after the spectacularly failed attempt to stop it en route to Kilika. Counts for the Al Bhed as well in the final fight, after their machina failed during Operation: Mi'hen.
123	* ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'', you're forced to lose to Gades as soon as you land a hit on [[AttackItsWeakPoint his core.]] After you've gained some companions and levels, you rematch him in an epic battle.
124	** Gades loves this trope. In every main game, he will beat you up badly when you first meet him (unless you grind) then you have to defeat him at the very end of the game, if not any time before the other [[BigBad big bads]] shows up.
125	* ''VideoGame/AgarestSenki'', the Black Knight ''kills'' Leonhardt, but the man's saved by making a pact with a devil girl. The Black Knight ends up as a DiscOneFinalBoss.
126	* Mario vs Bowser in the original ''VideoGame/{{Paper Mario\|64}}''. Mario loses the first fight with Bowser and his Star Rod granted invincibility right at the start, then returns seven chapters later, beats Bowser and saves the world. Possibly also in some other games like ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', although Mario technically only attempts to initially stop Bowser before he's sent flying.
127	* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'':
128	** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterFreedom2'': Your first encounter against Tigrex ends in misfortune, as you're very underprepared against it. Several quests later, you get a rematch against it and, though the first is still difficult, you'll ultimately triumph against it.
129	** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri'': You against the Lagiacrus after swimming away from it in pure terror (or attempting to kill it and failing [[PlotArmor miserably]]), then repelling it, then finally a full-length showdown.
130	%%* The fight between Raiden and Jetstream Sam in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''.
131	* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
132	** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' begins with Samus fighting Ridley, who has stolen the last Metroid hatchling, on the Ceres station and losing (or possibly doing enough damage to make him briefly drop the Metroid, but in either case he flies off to Zebes). Samus spends most of the rest of the game going deeper and deeper into Zebes until she refights Ridley in the depths of Norfair.
133	** Half-story example in ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' between Samus and Raven Beak, with only [[FinalBoss the rematch being playable]]. Samus first runs into him at the start of her mission, and though [[CurbStompBattle she does NOT go down like she-dog]], he easily overpowers her and almost kills her [[spoiler:before her Metroid DNA awakens inside her, causing him to be intrigued enough to spare her]], prompting him to instead [[BagOfSpilling raid her Bag Of Holding]] and distribute six of them to those [[TheDreaded E.M.M.I. robots]] still intact[[labelnote:*]](One is seriously damaged and does not yield an ability when Samus destroys it.)[[/labelnote]] and the rest are [[CallBack placed on Chozo Statues]] for Samus to re-obtain as she proceeds through Planet ZDR.
134	* The first ''Videogame/MegaManX'' has this with Vile, [[HopelessBossFight who is unbeatable when X confronts him in the first stage]]. Later [[spoiler: when Zero sacrifices himself to destroy his Ride Armor]], X is capable of beating him.
135	** In the third game, this becomes a possible Villainous Rematch: if you fail to destroy Bit and Byte with their weaknesses, they'll reappear together (or individually if you killed one but not both) at the end of the first final stage with upgrades to fight you again. The same happens if you fail to kill Vile in a Sidequest: he'll show up at the end of the second final stage with prototype ride armor and a few new moves.
136	* ''Videogame/MegaManZero 3'': Omega is fought as the intro boss. Due to his regenerative systems, Zero can't do a decisive blow onto him; the fight is interrupted by the incoming Copy X, as well as Omega's boss Dr. Weil. Much later, after Omega gets strengthened, he becomes the FinalBoss, and Zero beats him after a grueling 3-phase battle - and also with the help of the Four Guardians at the end.
137	* Bayonetta vs [[spoiler:Loptr]] in ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2''.
138	* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', a mid-game boss fight against [[spoiler:Odin]] in Tsukiji Konganji ends horribly when [[spoiler:he uses a combination of Concentrate ([[ChargedAttack next magic attack's damage has a 250% damage multiplier]]), Will of Thunder (causes his Thunder attacks to [[ArmorPiercingAttack pierce resistances]] until the end of the turn), and Thunder Reign (his SignatureMove, a Thunder spell that targets all opponents for massive damage), wiping out your party instantly and leading to your party's capture]]. At the start of the two "neutral" routes, [[spoiler:he guards the Cosmic Egg entrance and the party challenges him again and defeats him this time, which also happens to complete Gaston's CharacterDevelopment arc as [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt he obtains Odin's Gungnir for himself]].]]
139	* In ''VideoGame/SushiStrikerTheWayOfSushido'', Musashi fights General Tiburon but is ultimately rendered [[TheParalyzer unable to move]] when Tiburon starts using Sushido techniques. The next three chapters of the game focus on Musashi looking for a way to counter Sushido for a rematch.
140	* Two in ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault2'': The first is against BigBad Adam, who devastates the party and steals the wind crystal. The second is against Shieldmaster Galahad; while he doesn't defeat the heroes outright, his defenses are so impenetrable they realize the fight with him is going nowhere and retreat. In both cases, they are fought again later as proper battles to be won, and in both cases winning the first time ''is'' possible...though [[TheBattleDidntCount pointless]] in the case of Galahad and [[NonStandardGameOver ill-advised]] in the case of Adam.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:WebAnimation]]
144	* While all characters involved in such scenarios [[GoodVsGood are heroes]], in ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'', both [[spoiler:[[Franchise/FinalFantasy Cloud Strife]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]]] initially lost their fights against [[spoiler:[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] and [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]]]] respectively, only to prove victorious in a later rematch.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
148	* Repeatedly in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', most especially the [[spoiler: failed invasions at the end of each season]].
149	[[/folder]]

Context Main / HeroicRematch