->''"Remember, men, take him alive... so there's something left to ''kill''."''
-->-- '''Zapp Brannigan''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''

->''"I will not tell my Legions of Terror 'And he must be taken alive!' The command will be 'And try to take him alive if it is reasonably practical.'"''
-->-- ''EvilOverlordList #78''

Maybe the villain wants [[ItsPersonal the satisfaction]] of [[LeaveHimToMe killing the hero himself]], especially if he considers himself [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou The Only One Allowed To Defeat Him]]. Maybe he needs the hero in order to finish a magic ritual. Maybe he wants someone to take hostage. Maybe the villain [[FoeYay just wants the hero]]. Or, perhaps, he may need information that only the hero has. He announces to his minions, "I want them alive!"

Usually sets up an increased amount of urgency with the scene. After all, you can only be killed once, but if the BigBad wants you alive, then you know you're in for a ''[[FateWorseThanDeath really]] ''[[FateWorseThanDeath bad time]].

For extra sadism, he might instead ask for only the protagonist to be taken alive, and [[AndYourLittleDogToo everyone else to be killed]].

Less menacingly, this is a standard line for a NobleDemon who would genuinely prefer to keep the body count as low as possible while carrying out his EvilPlan- a sentiment his minions may or may not share. If the villain is a WorthyOpponent or FriendlyEnemy, expect an AntagonistInMourning scene if his henchmen choose to ignore this stipulation. (It's okay, though, because they probably NeverFoundTheBody and just assumed that NoOneCouldSurviveThat).

If the minion who receives this order is GenreSavvy, they may respond with WhyDontYouJustShootHim

[[JustifiedTrope Justified]] if they have important information and the BigBad wants them alive for interrogation.

Sometimes used on the heroic side, especially if the hero is a TechnicalPacifist or, conversely, if killing the villain is [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself Something He's Got To Do Himself]]. The KidWithTheLeash may need to add this injunction to ''all'' his orders.

A variant of LeaveHimToMe.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Akatsuki]] want all the Jinchuuriki alive because killing them would kill the Biiju [[SealedEvilInACan sealed inside them]], which is what they're after. In something of a subversion, this doesn't stop them from trying to ''cripple'' them (Kisame suggested cutting off Naruto's legs to keep him from running away, and later tried to actually do it to [[spoiler:Killer Bee]]).
** Well, in Naruto's case it would kill the fox; not all the seals work like that, but having a free bijuu rampaging around is...inconvenient.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''- [[BigBad Father]] and the [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent Homunculi]] want Ed and Al alive. [[spoiler:So that they can be used as sacrifices, of course.]]
** And Roy and Hohenheim and Izumi. Ed gets the most profit out of this, followed by Roy. If ''anyone'' else had walked into the middle of the AncientConspiracy the way he did, they would have been quietly offed.
** Riza survived. Even after her coded message was intercepted. But then, she was being used as a leash on Roy, and Pride seemed to enjoy messing with her.
* In ''OnePiece'', it's stated that the World Government would rather criminals be turned in alive, so that they can be executed publicly. A dead body causes the reward to drop by 30%.
** A more personal example would be the [=CP9=]'s capture of both Nico Robin and Franky, because they want to interrogate them on the location and blueprints of the ancient, island-destroying weapon Pluton. Nero forgetting this and trying to kill Franky gets him [[YouHaveFailedMe killed by Lucci.]]
* A heroic variant occurs in {{Karneval}}: When [[BadassCrew Circus]] storms Smoky Mansion in order to [[spoiler:rescue Karoku]], [[ActionGirl Eva and Tsukumo]] take on [[TheDragon Uro]] and only wound him without causing any serious damage. When he mocks them for their failure to kill him, Eva reveals that they were ordered to capture him alive and even comments on how hard it was to hold back against him. [[spoiler:He manages to escape before Circus can take him into custody, however.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

* In an early issue of ''{{Daredevil}}'', the Masked Marauder tells his men to capture "Daredevil" (in reality Foggy Nelson, whom the world is convinced is old Hornhead), but makes especial note that "Once you have him helpless, leave him for ''me''! The Masked Marauder must have the honor of actually ''finishing'' him!"
* A more reasonable variant in a 1950s or '60s newspaper comic, when the villain told his troops to take {{Tarzan}} "alive if you can -- dead if you must!"
* [[PowerParasite Parasite]] is one of the few members of Franchise/{{Superman}}'s RoguesGallery that doesn't want to kill the Man of Steel. No, he wants to keep Superman alive so he can keep feeding off of him for his powers.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* Heroic version in FanFic/DungeonKeeperAmi. [[BigGood The Light]] have made it as obvious as possible to their followers that if they have the option, they need to take Ami alive due to her [[HeroWithBadPublicity actual morality]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]

* Darth Vader from ''Franchise/StarWars'' is fond of this.
** In ''Film/ANewHope'', to his men on Leia's ship: "...and bring me the passengers, IWantThemAlive!"
** In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', to the bounty hunters:
--->"You are free to use any methods necessary, but IWantThemAlive. [Vader points at Boba Fett] ''[[NoodleIncident No disintegrations]]''!"\\
''[Fett looks down dejectedly]'' "As you wish."
* In ''Film/{{Dragonheart}}'', the villain wants the dragon captured alive, because killing the dragon means killing the villain.
* Averted in ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993'', with TimCurry's Cardinal Richelieu declaring a bounty on the titular Musketeers: "One thousand gold pieces on each of their heads, dead or alive!" (Steps away, then returns) "...I prefer dead!"
* Lord Cutler Beckett, ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean: At World's End'' to Davy Jones: "We need prisoners to interrogate, which tends to work best when they're alive."
* In TheFilmOfTheBook ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', The Wicked Witch Of The West takes the "extra sadism" route: "Do what you want with the others, but I want [Dorothy] alive and unharmed!"
* In ''HudsonHawk'', the villains berate one of their henchmen for threatening to kill a captured BruceWillis, remarking that they need him alive to steal a MacGuffin for them. Realizing that they can't kill him, Bruce takes the opportunity to begin acting outrageously (singing a silly song, slapping the henchmen around, and grabbing the villainess and dancing lewdly with her) until TheDragon threatens Bruce with a GroinAttack, and the villainess remarks there's ''one'' body part that he won't be needing to steal the MacGuffin later on.
* In ''Film/TheMask,'' [[BigBad Dorian Tyrell]] offers fifty thousand dollars to anyone who can find the titular Mask character... and bring him in the next day alive, so Tyrell can find out where The Mask took the money from a bank robbery.
* Cade gives the order to capture Shua alive at the start of ''Film/SkyBlue''.
* Subverted in ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' with Edward Longshanks. "Bring me Wallace. Alive if possible. Dead... just as good."
* In ''Film/TheWarriors'', Masai bellows, "I want ALL the warriors, alive is possible, dead if not!"
* The opening scene of ''DistrictB13'', thus allowing for a cool scene of LeParkour.
* Gambol's response to the Joker flouting the Mob's authority in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': "I'm puttin' the word out. Five hundred grand for this clown dead. A ''million'' alive, so I can teach him some manners first."
** Also used by Gordon, except from a heroic rather than villainous perspective. "I want Lau alive. The Joker, either way."
* In [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame the Disney version of HoND]], after the "feast of fools" sequence wherein Esmeralda humiliates Frollo and his troops, Frollo says to Phoebus, "find her, captain. I want her alive."
** It's good to know that Frollo is, at ''least'', not a necrophiliac.
* In the first ''{{Blade}}'' movie, after spending the entire movie trying to kill Blade, [[BigBad Frost]] realizes he needs him alive for his plan.
-->'''Frost:''' Bring me Blade--alive.
-->'''[[TheDragon Quinn]]:''' [[DoubleTake Wait, what]]?

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]

* BigBad Lord Hong from the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Discworld/InterestingTimes'' orders his army to capture Cohen and the Silver Horde alive, so he can spend months or years torturing them.
* Saruman does this "off screen" with the Uruk-Hai in the ''LordOfTheRings'' saga. He wants the hobbits that they capture alive because he believes that one of them is carrying the One Ring that Saruman wants.
** And in case you wonder why alive, he fears that if the orcs killed the hobbits and searched the corpses, one of them might realize just how powerful item they have in their hands and try to claim it for their own rather than bringing it back to their master. That, and carrying the Ringbearer doesn't have the general negative psychological effects that carrying the Ring has.
*** The hobbits are also wanted alive so they can be interrogated. The leaders of both Saruman's and Sauron's orcs say as much.
** In both the books and TheMovie, the orcs have orders to bring them back "Alive and as captured; no spoiling."
** It is interesting to note that both Saruman's orcs and Sauron's orcs were under orders not to search the prisoners.
*** Strange how the orcs didn't find this at least a bit odd. Then again, they aren't particularly [[WhatAnIdiot smart]].
*** Actually, one of them does find it sufficiently suspicious that he picks them up and carries them away from the scene of a battle in order to steal whatever it is. Pippin takes advantage of this, and it's what leads to everybody winding up in Fangorn.
** In ''TheSilmarillion'', Morgoth and his then minion Sauron order for several characters to be taken alive, although in these cases it's because they either act as hostages for their allies or know ''very'' classified information.
* Lord Voldemort consistently orders this where ''HarryPotter'' is concerned, although in a slight subversion, some of his mooks (of the PsychoForHire type) reason that he would be equally happy with a brain-dead and badly injured Harry so long as he was able to deliver the CoupDeGrace (of course, they never get an opportunity to test this plan out).
** A handful of Deatheaters figure out a way to do this without personal risk (which is common in Harry Potter kidnap attempts). They [[spoiler:call Dementors to eat Harry's soul. He'd technically be alive, but wouldn't fight back]]. Brilliant though it was, the plan didn't work.
* The titular VillainProtagonist of ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' uses the NobleDemon variant as his BattleButler leaves to deal with the RedshirtArmy:
-->'''Artemis:''' I prefer scared to dead. If possible.
* In Creator/StephenKing's ''TheStand'', Randell Flagg's second-in-command Lloyd Henreid issues this order to the people belatedly chasing after escaping spy [[spoiler: Tom Cullen]]. Although in this case it's more ''Flagg'' will want him alive, and if he isn't, everyone's gonna be very sorry...
* Both used and averted in ''TheExecutioner'' novels by Don Pendleton. The hero Mack Bolan is a OneManArmy conducting his personal war against the Mafia. On one occasion a mob boss demands that Bolan be taken alive and unharmed so he can torture him to death. The button man assigned to the task retorts that from what he's heard of Bolan's reputation, the boss had better be happy with getting him in any condition whatsoever. On another occasion a hitman who's discovered Bolan holed up in a motel tells his mooks that if they find Bolan "in bed with his pants down" they're to capture him, if not just blast him on sight.
* Subverted a couple of times in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse:
** In ''ShadowsOfTheEmpire'', the main antagonist Xizor orders the ''Millennium Falcon'' destroyed: "If you can disable it and capture the crew and passengers, that would also be acceptable."
** In ''[[TheThrawnTrilogy Dark Force Rising]]'', Grand Admiral Thrawn (notable for being [[ALighterShadeOfGrey less]] [[YouHaveFailedMe cruel to his subordinates]], as well as a [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy big fan]] of the EvilOverlordList) says of the heroes: "I want them also alive if possible. If not -- If not, I'll understand."
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ConanTheBarbarian novel ''The Hour of the Dragon'', Valerius inverts it:
-->''You all know the Countess Albiona. Search for her, and if you find her, kill her and her companion instantly. Do not try to take them alive.''
** In "A Witch Shall Be Born" Constantius orders it for Conan.
* A big part of the reason why Galbatorix was ultimately defeated by Eragon and Saphira in ''Literature/InheritanceCycle''. Had he wanted to, he could have easily had them snuffed out like candles, or done so himself, well before the fourth book. But no, he was hoping to break their will and turn them to his side, hoping to use Saphira (whom he believed to be the last female dragon), to establish a new line of Riders.
* Literature/TrappedOnDraconica: Gothon insists that Ben and Kalak be brought to him alive. [[spoiler: He knows that Kalak is his son, and Lucia has convinced him that sacrificing Ben can bring his dead wife back to life.]]
* This is a common statement by vermin commanders in the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' books that are either looking to take prisoners or make examples.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', John Crichton knows his buried knowledge is invaluable to his enemies, uses it, and ''abuses'' it to the point of strapping himself with a bomb to blow up an enemy base and getting away with it. Twice.
** Scorpius himself, who was at the wrong end of this prior to his more-or-less HeelFaceTurn, acknowledged the tactical genius of this move before ordering the evacuation of his doomed base.
** Not to mention also facing down heavily armed troops once using this: after being captured by Scorpius' right hand man Braca, Crichton is subjected to a bit of gloating by radio from Scorpy, who in the process mentions that Crichton's wormhole physics knowledge is possibly unique in the universe. This leads Crichton to realize that Braca's threat to shoot him, even in a non-vital limb, is a bluff, since the human tendency to bleed out (something Sebaceans don't share) would make it impossible for Braca to seriously harm him without endangering the information he carries. Crichton has no such reservations about hurting Braca, though.
* In the season one finale of ''Series/BurnNotice'', Michael uses the knowledge that his pursuers need him alive to take himself hostage and force them to let his family go.
* Used in an episode of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''. In an earlier episode, Captain Archer had escaped from Rura Penthe and a bounty was placed on him. He is turned in to the Klingons by a bounty hunter, but then manages to escape in an escape pod. One of the Klingons asks if he can charge weapons, but the Klingon captain responds, "No, I want him alive." Later, in the first "In a Mirror, Darkly" episode, the Dark Malcolm Reed offers to kill the Dark Admiral Forrest and Dark Jonathan Archer replies "I want him alive."
* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'s'' fourth season The Beast declines to finish off any of the main characters despite having multiple opportunities to do so. [[spoiler: This turns out to be because Jasmine wants to make them her primary servants once she's born.]]
* Surprisingly averted by Apophis (usually the most cliche of bad guys) in the season 1 finale of Series/StargateSG1. Klorel, son of Apophis, discovers Teal'c and O'Neill hiding out on his ship. When Klorel asks if Apophis wants them alive, Apophis quickly states that Klorel should kill them both, quickly. The GenreSavvy didn't help, though.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* A variation of this trope occurs in {{Pokemon}}. To catch a Pokémon, you must first weaken it, than throw a Pokeball at it. The catch is, if you go too far and hurt the Pokémon too much, it will faint and you will not be able to catch it. It it very frustrating trying to catch a shiny/legendary Pokémon, and hurt it too much. You might have another chance to catch a legendary, but a shiny is almost impossible to find, making them rarer than legendarys.
* A GenreSavvy variation of this trope occurs in MassEffect - "Spare the asari if you can. If not, it doesn't matter."
** A second even more GenreSavvy one comes from the second game - "I want his body recovered, if possible."
* In ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'', Magnus Armstrong regularly orders mooks to tie up and take the protagonist Cate Archer alive. The minions appear to be GenreSavvy, as they regularly ask [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim why they don't just kill her]].
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', crime boss Goto has posted a substantial bounty on Jedi, with an IWantThemAlive stipulation attached. This causes a legion of bounty hunters to pursue the protagonist in order to collect on the bounty... and almost none of them bother even trying for a "live capture".
** The irony here is that Goto actually wants a Jedi brought to him [[JustifiedTrope so they can work for him]], which deadness kind of precludes.
*** He really doesn't care though: as he puts it, "A true Jedi would have no trouble surviving such attacks...and if you could not then would be useless to me."
* Rare hero example: in ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'' after you [[spoiler:defeat Krew]], you discover that the latter sent [[{{Badass}} Sig]] on an assignment to open a door in the Underport. When you get there, you see him fighting for his life and claiming [[spoiler:Krew]] set him up to open the door and [[spoiler:let hundreds of Metal Heads into the city]].
-->'''Jak''': [[spoiler:Krew]] is dead.
-->'''Sig''': Then he's lucky! Because he sure wouldn't want me to catch him alive!
* The ''{{Mercenaries}}'' series encourages this. While your contacts don't have a problem with you killing high value targets, they pay you double if you manage to capture them alive.
** Which only makes sense, as your targets are high-value military personnel who most likely have information wanted by the guys paying you to capture them.
* In ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers'', the Beastector are told to bring in Marina and the Prof alive. They misinterpret this as dead.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'', the bounty [[spoiler:the Komato]] put on Iji's head has three conditions: a low bounty for total destruction, a bounty more than an order of magnitude higher for preserving her equipment (as her Nanogun is an example of technology they don't have and want), and a bounty fifty times ''that'' for taking her alive. [[spoiler: Asha, while an arrogant bastard, will settle for dead.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'', Zelda herself does a mild variation of this late in the game.
* The player in ''VideoGame/{{X-COM}}'' often finds himself in the position of issuing this order whenever the squad identifies an alien with useful knowledge.
* Dr. Doppler in ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man X}}3'' tells his minions Bit and Byte to bring X to him... alive if possible. Both of them, when X finds them, interpret the order as "kill X". So does Vile.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': During the "That Which Redeems" arc, Horribus insists that Torg be taken alive so that Horribus can rip out his soul and torture it for all eternity.
* [[Webcomic/GirlGenius Ferretina's]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080130 reaction]] to Othar Tryggvassen, GentlemanAdventurer.
* Frans Rayner in ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' subverts this when [[spoiler: Doc's father]] is making his way towards Rayner's base.
-->'''Rayner''': "Bring him in, dead or alive, whatever. It would be cool if I could kill him myself, but you know... whatever."
* In ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'', this is used to justify [[SociopathicHero Lothar]] being barred from a mission. Lothar protests by saying he got [[NoodleIncident his last suspect]] alive...
-->'''Commander Schaefer''': Yes. And the doctors say that if he ever ''wakes up'', he might just have enough of his ''brain'' left to answer our questions.
-->'''Lothar''': [[CompletelyMissingThePoint There, you see? I don't know what you're all bitching at me for.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Justified in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', where killing Aang would just lead to some other Avatar being reincarnated and the hunt having to start all over again. However, the series is big on {{Fight Scene}}s so this often led to [[CouldHaveBeenMessy jarring circumstances]] where Aang is nearly killed by the same people who explicitly stated that they wanted him alive moments beforehand. This up and down went on until the season 3 where the notion is dropped altogether. Even if he does reincarnate that still buys them probably a decade without worrying about him, and the Fire Nation could probably conquer the rest of the world then (especially after [[spoiler:taking down the Earth Kingdom]]).
** Toph's dad puts out a reward for finding her, but [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Xin Fu]] seems to misunderstand the mission.
-->'''Xin Fu:''' She's wanted - dead or alive.
-->'''[[OddCouple Master Yu]]:''' No she's not! I'm certain her father wants her alive!
* Also Justified in ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]''. [[BigBad The Queen]] is ''very'' specific about making sure any humans are brought to her "alive and undamaged." Otherwise, they can't be [[LifeEnergy used]] [[SoulJar to]] [[PoweredByAForsakenChild power]] [[AndIMustScream her]] [[FateWorseThanDeath Slaverlords]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Police forces prefer to capture rather than kill suspects and fugitives, generally only resorting to killing to prevent other people from dying.
** The fact is that police forces in countries with Rule of Law have no authority to use deadly force except in situations where bystanders would have that same right.

[[/folder]]
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