->''..If a man has you at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you are going to die. So they'll talk. [[EvilGloating They'll gloat]]. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word.''
-->-- '''Creator/TerryPratchett''', ''Discworld/MenAtArms''

Oh, no! The villain has beaten the hero in a fight! Our hero is down on the ground, battered, bloodied and helpless. The villain triumphantly raises his weapon, delivers his [[EvilGloating gloating one-liner]]. This is it, our hero is done for! The BigBad gleefully readies the CoupDeGrace...

...and dies.

There are three general ways that this happens. Either the hero pulls some last-minute trick out of his sleeve and delivers the killing blow to the villain, one of the other BigDamnHeroes leaps in from BehindTheBlack to finish off the baddie himself, or the villain was [[YouAreAlreadyDead Already Dead]].

If the good guy has the bad guy at his mercy, then a SwordOverHead is the usual result. In that case, the hero will either stop himself or go through with it. The distinction between the two is that the good guy almost always gets to make the choice himself and live with the result. Occasionally, somebody ''else'' will kill the bad guy, either while the hero is thinking it over or just after the hero decided [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he couldn't do it]]. This will often happen eventually if the game makes use of a CoupDeGraceCutscene. May be the result of a successful DiagonalCut.

Types of ThwartedCoupDeGrace:
* BaitAndSwitchGunshot
* SwordOverHead

--------------------------------

!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime And Manga ]]


* In ''{{Berserk}}'', after completing a [[ForTheEvulz series of horrific and unimaginable deeds]] to his former friends Guts and Casca, Griffith, now Femto, leaves our StarCrossedLovers unconscious and dying on the ground of hell and is about to let the Apostles finish them off. Luckily for these two, [[MysteriousProtector the Skull Knight]] breaks through the Vortex and [[BigDamnHeroes saves them]] [[JustInTime just in the nick of time]].
* In ''{{Naruto}}'', at the climax of a heated battle between Sasuke and Itachi, Itachi has Sasuke cornered and is about to take Sasuke's eyes (and the PsychicPowers they impart) for his own. Itachi touches Sasuke on the bridge of his forehead... and then keels over, dead. [[spoiler: Sasuke later finds out that Itachi was suffering from a terminal illness the whole time and was actually implanting his eyes' powers onto Sasuke just before his death.]]
* In ''TowerOfGod'', Hwa Ryun attacked Rachel, which led to Baam jumping in between them to catch the strike. With Baam being beaten bloody to the ground, she gets ready for the final blow, but Baam's DefenseMechanismSuperpower activates, slicing her right through [[EyeScream the face.]]
* In ''PandoraHearts Retrace LXXVIII'', [[spoiler:Oz]] is at [[spoiler:Oswald/Glen]]'s mercy, and the latter has just raised his sword to strike when he's shot in the hand by [[spoiler:Gilbert]]. Of course, since he's NighInvulnerable, [[spoiler:Glen]] didn't die, but [[spoiler:Gil's]] "betrayal" of him was still a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film - Animated ]]

* Happens to Frollo at the end of ''Disney/TheHunchbackofNotreDame'' as a result of him saying [[DeathByIrony "And he shall smite the wicked]] [[KarmicDeath and plunge them into the fiery pit!"]] while trying to kill the heroes.
** Bonus points for [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to]] [[DeathByIrony the flames he started to kill one of the protagonists.]]
* Used in the climax of ''TheSecretOfNIMH'' when Justin has thrown out his sword and is giving a speech, Jenner sneaks up behind waiting to make the strike, by the time Justin notices Jenner has him, suddenly Jenner gets stabbed in the back,.....by a Mook he just stabbed.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film - Live Action ]]

* Lurtz, the head Uruk-Hai in the movie version of ''LordOfTheRings: The Fellowship of the Ring'', has shot Boromir full of holes and is ready to deliver the killing shot when Aragorn leaps in and kills Lurtz. This gives Boromir enough time to deliver his dying speech.
* The climax of the Battle of Cowpens at the end of ''ThePatriot'' has Colonel Tavington ready to deliver the killing strike to Benjamin Martin. Martin ducks under the sword and impales Tavington on his bayonet.
* ''StarWars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' has Mace Windu having just beaten Chancellor Palpatine in a lightsaber duel. Anakin charges in and tells Windu not to finish Palpatine as Palpatine is begging for his life. Just as Windu is about to KillHimAlready, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Anakin hacks Windu's hand off]] and Palpatine breaks out the Force Lightning.
** In Episode II, [[MasterSwordsman Dooku]] brings down [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan]], but before he can deliver the final blow, a previously electrocuted Anakin gets better and jumps across the room to block it.
** Episode VI: Palpatine [[NiceJobFixingItVillain uses Force Lightning again, this time on Luke]], and Vader [[PapaWolf stops]] [[HeelFaceTurn him]]. Unusual in that it doesn't involve any weapons.
* In ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', Emperor Commodus has ordered General Maximus to be executed. The soldier orders him to kneel so he can stab him. Maximus (with his hands tied) head-butts the soldier, takes his sword and then kills every other soldier who was guarding him. Maximus is BadAss.
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' does this twice with Mal's confrontations with the Operative. The first time, Mal is surely beaten, and the Operative is about to finish him off with his sword when Inara's flashbomb goes off and stuns him. The second time, the Operative is about to kill Mal after having paralyzed him by grabbing a specific nerve cluster. [[spoiler: Mal had that nerve cluster removed by shrapnel in the Unification War, and right as the Operative strikes, he twists out of the way and ''dislocates his shoulders''.]]
* In ''Film/{{Highlander}}'', Connor [=MacLeod=]'s first death nearly his final as the Kurgan prepares to deliver the beheading shot, only to be tackled away by Conner's kinsmen.
** Not to mention The Kurgan gets distracted in their final SwordFight when he's about to take [=MacLeod=]'s head because of the intervention of Connor's LoveInterest.
* Standard issue in ''TheLastSamurai'', where Nathan takes advantage from the samurai opening himself up. However, Nathan was already wounded and fell unconscious after making the kill.
* In ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'', the Sheriff beats Robin with his father's sword and has Robin backed against the wall. The Sheriff turns to Marian, says, "Get ready", only to have Robin pull Marian's dagger out of his boot and stab the Sheriff.
* In the final duel of ''RobRoy'', Archibald Cunningham has Rob at his mercy and pauses to remind him that no quarter would be asked nor given. Rob grabs onto Archie's blade, preventing the dainty fop from delivering the killing blow, and hacks him nearly in two.
* Happens in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' TWICE within 10 MINUTES of each other. First with Bumblebee, then with Optimus.
* In ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', Largo has JamesBond at gunpoint and is about to shoot hime when he is killed by a harpoon fired the girl he had tortured earlier.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* This happens in ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' during the duel between [[spoiler:Oberyn Martell and Gregor Clegane. Martell spends the entire fight using HitAndRunTactics to wear Clegane down. Finally, he delivers what seems to be the final blow by impaling Clegane with a spear. Unfortunately Martell is obsessed with hearing Clegane confess to the rape and murder of his sister, (and the sister's children) so he gets too close while trying to force a confession, allowing Gregor to grab him, pull him down, and then beat him to death. Doing the SwordOverHead routine on a guy who is both the [[WorldsStrongestMan World's Strongest]] and Most Psychotic Man is a ''very bad idea''. And yet despite this Oberyn still manages to get his revenge since his spear was coated in a deadly poison that leaves Clegane in unimaginable agony for days until he finally succumbs to his injuries]].
* [[spoiler:Benjamin Mayhew]] thwarts one for Literature/HonorHarrington in ''The Honor of the Queen''.
* In ''TheHungerGames'', during the "feast" at the Cornucopia Clove gets Katniss pinned down with a knife to her throat. She takes the time to gloat, and is promptly [[spoiler: killed by Thresh for saying that she killed Rue.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In the ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' season 2 finale, Angelus has seemingly defeated Buffy in a sword fight. He goes to finish her off and she catches the blade between her hands.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' does this, though sometimes with a role reversal. Two good examples come from near the end of Season 2: HRG/Noah has [[spoiler:Bob, the head of the Company]] at gunpoint, and pauses to remark about how if he just pulls the trigger it will all be over. Then, later, Victoria has [[spoiler:Adam/Kensei]] at the end of a shotgun. Knowing he can regenerate, she says, "I knew it would take blowing your head off. Better late than never." Neither was successful, largely because they ran their mouths when they should've been pulling the trigger.
** "What am I [[PsychicPowers thinking]] now, Parkman?"
* In [[StargateSG1 Stargate SG-1]] this happens in the episode ''The Warrior'' when Teal'c kills [[spoiler:Kytano/Imhotep]]
* In an episode of ''Series/BabylonFive'', Londo's old friend, who is accused of treason without proof, challenges him to a duel for supposedly conspiring against him. At the end, he has Londo on his knees, raises his sword for the final blow, and hesitates a split second, which is all Londo needs to stab his opponent in the gut. After the fight, Londo reveals to Vir that his friend threw the fight, as he was always better, in order to allow his family to escape disgrace. By rules of the combat, the victor assumes responsibility for his opponent's family. As such, they are now Londo's family, so the accusation of treason won't harm them.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* Happens ''twice'' in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0613.html this]] ''[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]]'' episode.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Batman loves this trope. The Riddler hates it. Batman once used this to save the Riddler's former lab partner that was suspected of sabotaging a brain enhancing disk.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* In one spectacular MMA bout, fighter Pete Sell landed a powerful, devastating body shot to opponent Scott Smith's liver. As Smith doubled over in agony, Sell rushed in to finish the job ''with his hands down'', giving Smith the opportunity to deliver one last knockout punch. Smith won the fight, right before keeling over for medical attention.
* The most famous sports-world example is the Miracle at the Meadowlands, in which the Giants had the lead, had possession of the ball with less than thirty seconds left in play, and their opponents the Eagles had no timeouts, and yet somehow the Giants ''still lost the game''.
** Context: all the Giants had to do was kneel down. Instead, they tried to run a handoff, fumbled, and the Eagles returned the loose ball for a touchdown. The offensive coordinator for New York was promptly fired.
* Similar to the MMA bout above, in 2004 future boxing world lightweight champion Nate Campbell badly hurt his opponent Robbie Peden with a body shot, doubling Peden over and causing him to stagger around the ring. Peden was able to defend just well enough for the next 30 seconds or so to evade or block Campbell's attempts to finish him, and recovered enough to finally punch back. Campbell, in his arrogance and certainty of victory, [[WhatAnIdiot stood in front of Peden with no defense at all and dared Peden to hit him again]]. Peden did, and Campbell fell over backwards like a tree going down. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5nPIeDqelI&feature=related Link]].
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