-->''As Coroner, I must aver\\
I've thoroughly examined her\\
And she's not [[OnlyMostlyDead only merely dead]]\\
She's really most '''sincerely''' dead.''
-->--''TheWizardOfOz''

-->''"No one stays dead except Bucky, Jason Todd and [[DeathByOriginStory Uncle Ben.]]"''
-->--And old comic book mantra. [[HilariousInHindsight Not long after]] it came into existence, [[DeathIsCheap they resurrected Bucky and Jason Todd anyway.]] Uncle Ben is still dead.

Where a major character is killed, and is not restored by a ResetButton, or the death was not {{All Just A Dream}}, or any of the other resurrection plot devices.

This can be used as vengeance against a recalcitrant actor (see also DroppedABridgeOnHim), especially on soaps such as ''CoronationStreet'' or ''DaysOfOurLives''. Often reinforced by having it done in a spectacularly over the top way just to make sure that everyone understands this character is not coming back.

This is ''still'', of course, no guarantee against a far-in-the-future BackFromTheDead, because [[FirstLawOfResurrection nothing is]]. Even establishing that the character is DeaderThanDead.

Of course, if this happens in the ''GrandFinale'', then yeah. They're dead. For good.

May lead into PersonalEffectsReveal, MeaningfulFuneral, ToAbsentFriends, and DeadGuyJunior.

See also: TonightSomeoneDies, DisneyDeath, ConspicuouslyLightPatch, NotSoSmallRole, ReallyDeadMontage. The VideoGame version would be FinalDeath.

This trope originates in real life, where most deaths are generally irreversible.

'''Here be spoilers'''--it's the deathiest of [[DeathTrope death tropes]], after all. You have been warned.
----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* One element of ''CodeGeass'' that contributed to its BrokenBase was the fact that sometimes a character would appear to be KilledOffForReal, explicitly or at least implicitly, when in fact it was a case of OnlyMostlyDead ([[spoiler:Jeremiah, Mao, Guilford, and Cornelia]]) or NeverFoundTheBody ([[spoiler:Nunnally, Suzaku]]). The characters who DO die for real include, among others, [[spoiler:Mao (the second time), Euphemia, Shirley, Rolo, Diethard and, finally, Lelouch]].
* A notable anime example is the death of [[spoiler: LTC. Maes Hughes]] in ''FullmetalAlchemist'', whose irrefutable death by gunshot was prominently featured in an episode aptly titled "'Words of Farewell". To further drive the point home, his funeral was shown in the same episode. The movie has an alternate [[spoiler: Hughes]], but it's an AlternateContinuity which takes place in another reality (namely, a fictionalized version of our own).
* Just about everyone in ''SoukouNoStrain''.
* ''MartianSuccessorNadesico'' kiled off Akito's friend and enthusiastic mecha pilot Guy Daigoji early on, and teased his return several times. The only time he ever appeared again was in an hallucination, and it wasn't Akito's. The character that ''did'' come back was a minor backgrounder. Another example of the show's recurring theme, "life is not like SuperRobot anime".
**''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' contains what is quite possibly a tribute to this in that it [[spoiler:kills Simon's enthusiastic mecha pilot friend and inspiration Kamina off in episode 8, with similar repercussions for the main character.]]
*** At least in his case, ''everybody'' gets to hallucinate him later.
* {{Kekkaishi}}'s [[spoiler:Gen]], much to the surprise of... everyone.
* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'': depending on which ending you choose, either [[spoiler:Kaji and Kaworu]], or [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll the entire human race except for Shinji and Asuka]]]]. [[MindScrew Maybe]].
* [[spoiler:Misuzu]] in ''{{Air}}'', in one of the most [[TearJerker heart-wrenching]] anime scenes ever devised (the word "goal" will never hold the same meaning anymore to anyone who has seen it). The fact that she ''might'' be reincarnated or freed from her curse does not diminish the fact that [[spoiler:Misuzu herself is gone for good and leaves behind her immensely grieving adoptive mother, Haruko]].
* This is basically an inviolable rule in the {{CLAMP}} universe. If a person dies, there is absolutely '''NO''' way to bring back him back to life '''EVER'''. In some mangas it is also hinted that not even ''gods'' have the power to bring the dead back to life. The entire plot of ''TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' comes from the problems that result from trying to circumvent this rule.
** I guess that means [[{{Chobits}} Chii]] was never Erased For Real, even though [[spoiler: Hibiya tried to]].
**Note that the rule only applies to living beings who have a "natural existence". So, Chii is excluded from the rule. Even [[spoiler: C!Shaoran and C!Sakura]] can be "brought back from the dead", their "birth" being "unnatural".
* After pulling off a couple fakeout deaths and at least one deliberate [[MythologyGag death joke]], ''MacrossFrontier'' may have gone overboard in making sure viewers understood that [[spoiler: Michael Blanc]] was dead. [[spoiler: He gets stabbed in the chest with an alien claw that's almost as big as he is, and is then sucked out into hard vacuum through a self-sealing hull breach. No real way of coming back from ''that'' one.]]
** You forgot the [[spoiler: 'coughs up blood, makes a final 'I love you' speech, does the {{Really Dead Montage}} and has a memorial shot at the end with his glasses.]] You know, because [[{{Film/Alien}} it's the only way to be sure.]]
* Non-minor characters from ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' that [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism somehow managed to die]] instead of simply getting [[DefeatMeansFriendship befriended]]: [[spoiler: The first Reinforce, Zest]]. Non-minor characters from ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' that seems to be dead, but [[WMG/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha probably isn't]]: [[spoiler: Precia]].
* The character [[spoiler:Cosmo]] is killed in the last episode of [[SonicTheHedgehog Sonic X]]. [[spoiler:By a shot fired by Tails, using a cannon for which Sonic and Shadow were the ammo, no less]]. Though this is [[{{Macekre}} completely wiped out in the dub]].
** The same is true for [[spoiler:The revolutionary, Molly, in the episode ''Molly's Dream''. 4Kids even went so far as to digitally edit out her gravemarker in the final scene]].
* ''{{Simoun}}'' has the HeroicSacrifice death of [[spoiler:Mamina]]. And to add insult to injury, the Simile carrying her coffin is shot down. Other characters are much more ambiguous: We have [[spoiler:Rimone and Dominura]], who TimeTravel, then take off to parts unknown; [[spoiler:Amuria]], for whom they NeverFoundTheBody; [[spoiler:Onasia]], who, well, [[MindScrew who the hell knows]]; [[spoiler:Yun]], who now exists in the sort of limbo the previous did; and [[spoiler:Neviril and Aer]] who AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. Oh, and let's not forget [[spoiler:Angulas]], who manages to [[spoiler:die as a suicide bomber]], but still [[spoiler:show up as a body in the cockpit of an enemy Simoun]] later. ''Great'' series, but very very strange.
* ''FateStayNight'' has [[spoiler:the protagonist, Shirou]] ([[RoadCone potentially]]) [[HeroicSacrifice killed off]] in the finale of Heaven's Feel. The TearJerker ending sticks to and expands on this, showing the epilogue through the eyes of [[spoiler:Sakura]] as [[spoiler:she]] ages and watches everything change around [[spoiler:her]], remaining alone until the end... The most depressing part of the game, hands down.
* The original [[spoiler:Lockon Stratos]] was KilledOffForReal near the end of the first season in ''{{Gundam00}}''. They first had him drift helplessly in space where he was presumably running out of oxygen, and then had a nearby weapon ''explode'' in an enormous blast, taking him with it.
** Just when they're getting developed, Gundam 00 also has the deaths of both [[spoiler:Lichty and Christina]] via point-black gunshot from a ''mobile suit''. It's made all the more tragic considering [[spoiler:Lichty]] [[HeroicSacrifice used his body]] to shield [[spoiler:Christina]], but she got a large piece of debris jabbed into her back anyway. Just in case there was any thoughts they could survive, ''the cockpit also exploded''. This series is obviously fond of deaths by explosions.
*''{{Death Note}}'' is set in the Real World. [[CaptainObvious When somebody dies, they stay dead]]. It is initially implied that, for Death Note users, when they die, instead of Heaven or Hell, they go to Nothingess (Mu). [[TheNothingAfterDeath Ouch.]] It is later revealed that this is true for EVERYONE.
** Not that this has stopped the fanfic writers.
* [[spoiler:Cibo and Sanakan]] from ''{{Blame}}''! cop it for real at the end of the series. This comes as quite a shock, as both characters had [[DeathIsCheap technically died several times before this]]. Admittedly, [[spoiler: Sanakan's]] death ''is'' heavily LampShaded during a conversation with her [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness apparent superior]].
* [[spoiler:Latios]] and [[spoiler:Lucario]] from, respectively, the fifth and eighth ''[[{{Pokemon}} Pokémon]]'' movies.
* Leomon from {{Digimon}} season one and three. Also Owikawa, from season two, as well as some family members of various characters that died before the seasons' start.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* "Nobody stays dead except [[CaptainAmerica Bucky]], [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Uncle Ben]], and [[Comicbook/{{Batman}} Jason Todd]]." Of course, since that saying was coined, both Bucky and Jason Todd [[DeathIsCheap have found themselves resurrected]]. But Uncle Ben works, since an Alternate Universe version of him appeared and died.
** For this reason, all the below must come with the caveat ''"at time of writing."''
* CaptainAmerica, until someone [[RunningTheAsylum retakes the asylum]].
** Or just before the movie comes out, whichever.
*** Or with the new mini series "Reborn." I'd put a spoiler warning up, but it was in the newspapers and honestly putting a spoiler up would give it away anyway.
* If you [[DisContinuity don't count her clone or her lookalike daughter]], [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Gwen Stacy]] is, miraculously, still dead.
* {{Marvel}}'s Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly), Banshee (Sean Cassidy), Thunderbird (John Proudstar), Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), Abomination (Emil Blonsky), Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Baron Heinrich Zemo, Attuma, Betty Ross-Banner, George Stacy, Carnage (Cletus Cassidy), Synch (Everett Thomas), Destiny (Irene Adler), Hornet (Eddie McDonough), Goliath (Bill Foster), Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane), Jean DeWolff, Karen Page, Lilandra Neramani, Microbe (Zachary Smith Jr.), Pyro (St. John Allerdyce), Robert Kelly, Sabretooth (Victor Creed), Vindicator (Heather MacNeil Hudson) and Moira MacTaggert are all, at the moment, very much dead, among others.
* In a move that surprised those who were still reading it, Master Splinter was killed off from old age in ''Comicbook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''--perhaps the highest point in the current volume of the series. The Shredder and Baxter Stockman--unquestionably the franchise's most prominent antagonists--are also dead.
* Several of the G.I. Joes have been KilledOffForReal over the years. And not just ones created for the comic book, like Mangler. Those with actual figures. The most notably would probably be Lady Jaye, who was killed by a ninja a while ago.
* Played straight and subverted, the famous [[spoiler: Batman]], in the pages of FinalCrisis [[spoiler: Batman's corpse was found by Superman and buried, but due to the way Darkseid killed him, his ''soul'' is still alive and continuously reincarnated in an endless loop of lives]].
** Or so it would seem. It's not yet completely clear exactly what became of him and there seems to be conflicting information.
* Peter David, in his book, ''Writing for Comics'', said that the best way to have a character killed is in a very deliberate, human way. His example: In ''Fallen Angel'', a key character was shot six times in the head and then kicked off a building. He got letters asking if that character was really dead. If he'd been magicked off into a dark dimension, he'd be back to life. No questions asked.
* On that note: about one fourth of ''ComicBook/FallenAngel's'' cast has been killed thorought the duration of the series. To wit: Shadow Boxer, Dr, Juris, Slate, Malachi, Wilde, Moloch/[[strike: Jubal]] have all kicked the bucket.
* [[TheFlash Barry Allen]] had a long and prestigious run on this list (for a popular comic book character), in part because he was given a really good death, reversing that death would have undone the heroes efforts to save the universe, and fans eventually embraced his successor Wally West even if they still wanted Barry back. But 24 years and two mega-crises later, Barry has finally subverted this trope though it looks like he may be skirting the CameBackWrong trope for a while.
* Most of the cast of Garth Ennis's Hitman series, including [[spoiler: the titular character himself, "Hitman" Tommy Monaghan]], die by the end of the 60-issue run, and since that was one of Ennis's babies, it seems doubtful anyone will ever be allowed to resurrect them. In fact, compared with the rest of the DC universe, Hitman's Gotham seems almost like some kind of parallel universe where death actually means something.
* Sarah Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's wife, has, remarkably, remained dead ever since being murdered by the Joker in No Man's Land. At least so far.
* ''Zenith'' (''2000AD'' series): Apart from Lux and Spook, [[spoiler: who faked their own deaths (unintentionally, in the case of Spook)]], Dr. Beat[[spoiler:/Warhead (alive in name only)]] and the conflict in the final phase [[spoiler: (all of which took place inside the cosmos-mimicing entity Chimera)]] all of the '''many''' character and background deaths in the series were for real.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* [[spoiler: Book and Wash]] in ''[[{{Firefly}} Serenity]].''
** Joss Whedon does this a lot. See ''Buffy'' in Live Action Television, among others.
* Mufasa really was killed by Scar in ''TheLionKing''. And at the end, Scar is eaten alive by his former hench-hyenas.
* The 1990s version of {{Godzilla}} dies at the end of ''Godzilla VS Destoroyah''. He is not revived for another film, [[HesJustHiding he's not faking it]], he [[IGotBetter does NOT get better]]. It's one of the few films in the Godzilla franchise in which Godzilla dies and stays dead. Although his son (who was THOUGHT to be dead) takes his place at the end of the film.
** Likewise, in ''GMK'' [[spoiler:Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah]] are all killed-off by Godzilla and stay dead throughout the rest of the film.
** Also, the original 1954 film? Yes, folks, Godzilla dies. Even though the original film is pretty much considered canon across all continuities of the franchise, the Godzilla that shows up in any of the prequels; he's just another Godzilla. The first one really did die.
***If we go by Godzilla vs Destoroyah, this also means Godzilla died for good twice.
* [[spoiler:Guido]] in ''Life is Beautiful''. Due to the the comical nature of the film, it usually comes as an unexpected shock.
* [[StarWars Greedo]] hasn't come back yet.
* ''{{Scream}}''. The GenreSavvy heroine makes sure the villian ''stays dead''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Some ''HarryPotter'' fans hoped for [[spoiler:Sirius Black]] to [[HesJustHiding come back after his death]] in the fifth novel, as evidenced by many fan fictions. He didn't.
*** He should have. Come on. He was Killed By A Curtain, for God's sake. And nobody even looked behind it.
** The same could also be said for [[spoiler:Albus Dumbledore]], despite much fan speculation to the contrary. Although [[spoiler:he did contact Harry from beyond the grave]].
** And for everyone who died in the last book. This troper will not say who all died.
** ''All'' characters who die in ''Harry Potter'' are dead; it's impossible to reverse death.
* Commander Root in ''ArtemisFowl''.
** [[spoiler:Though he gets a TimeTravel cameo in The Time Paradox.]]
* [[spoiler:The first Visser One, Jara Hamee, Tom (and his Yeerk), ''all'' of the auxiliary Animorphs and Rachel]] from ''{{Animorphs}}''. That last one is the impetus of many a FixFic.
* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse killed of Chewbacca. It took a ''[[ColonyDrop falling moon]]'' to take him out.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* When the actor playing the part dies in real life, it ''usually'' means the character dies as well. Paul Hennessy (John Ritter) in ''EightSimpleRules'', Ernie Pantusso (Nick Colasanto) in ''{{Cheers}}'', Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet) in ''GimmeABreak'', Mother Jefferson (Zara Cully) in ''TheJeffersons'' and so on.
** Ditto for Bill Mcneal (Phil Hartman) in ''Newsradio''.
** And Todd (David Strickland) in {{Suddenly Susan}}.
** And Ella Mae Farmer (Lynne Thigpen) in ''TheDistrict''.
* [[spoiler:Teri Bauer]] in ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'' is the first in a ''very'' long line. Subverted in the case of [[spoiler:Tony Almeida]]
* Prue Halliwell in ''{{Charmed}}''. Also a case of being {{McLeaned}}, since she was fired ''and'' an in-story reason was manufactured why her spirit couldn't come back to advise her sisters the same way their grandmother and mother did.
* [[spoiler: Jenny Calendar, Joyce Summers, Tara Maclay, Anya Jenkins and to a lesser extent most of the Slayers in training, as well as Xander's friend Jesse]] on ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
* [[spoiler: Doyle and Cordelia]] on ''{{Angel}}''. [[spoiler: The personality of Fred was also permanently destroyed]] by an elder god taking over her body, in spite of the entire cast utilizing the resources of an interdimensional law firm to bring her back. [[WordOfGod Had the show been renewed]], however, Fred and said elder god would have somehow been split apart. [[spoiler: this may already be happening the canonical comic follow up.]]
* ''{{Friends}}'': Joey angers the writers of the soap opera he is working on, and they kill off his character by throwing him down an elevator shaft. The gang is watching the show when Phoebe says "Well, maybe they can find a way to bring you back" only to be told by Joey "They said that when they found my body, my brain was so smashed in that the only doctor that could have saved me was me. Supposed to be some kind of irony or somethin'." Of course, he did eventually come back in the end, with a different -- female -- brain in his body.
* A similar plot was used decades earlier by the British show ''HancocksHalfHour''. In an episode where the Hancock character is a BBC radio soap star (in a parody of ''TheArchers'') the other actors are so fed up with his erratic acting style that the producer finally decides to kill him off. Unfortunately it turns out that the character was more popular than the producer thought and the BBC receives a barrage of hate mail. Eventually Hancock agrees to come back as the original character's twin brother - but only if he is given full creative control, which he then uses to kill off the ''rest'' of the cast.
* One of the interesting aspects of HBO's ''{{OZ}}'' is their frequent killing of main characters, even ones who had been well-established over multiple seasons. See AnyoneCanDie.
* ''[[BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'' had a particularly daring example: At the end of the fourth season, the ranger Marcus Cole gave his life to save his (unrequited) love, Commander Susan Ivanova, from certain death. JMichaelStraczynski, the writer, has commented that he would have resolved that differently, had he known he was going to get a fifth season after all, and that Claudia Christian (Ivanova's actor) was going to refuse to come back for another year.
* British series ''{{Spooks}}'' (known in the US as ''MI-5'') subverted ContractualImmortality in their first series. Helen, played by Lisa Faulkner, was introduced as a major regular character and was then killed off at the end of the second episode. Quite rare for British TV, and an early example of DeadStarWalking. Tom appeared to have been killed for real at the end of the second series, but the start of the third series revealed that he was NotQuiteDead. At the end of that series, Danny was killed off for real (after a series where three out of the four regulars were written out).
* Also getting bumped off fairly quickly was Wild Bill Hickock in HBO's ''{{Deadwood}}'', after just four episodes.
** Since the show was based on reality, Hickok in real life never made a comeback either.
* Several title characters were killed off permanently on ''St. Elsewhere'', including Drs. Kiem (suicide) and Caldwell (AIDS). In an interesting subversion the terminally ill Dr. Aushlander, whom the residents had a pool for when he would drop, lasted until the last episode.
* Some killings don't provoke the best of reactions from viewers. TelevisionWithoutPity writes of a recent killing on ''{{Charmed}}'' in its summaries for the latest eps: "In other news, Big Gay Chris remains dead. Bastards!"
* Any number of doctor deaths on ''{{ER}},'' including Lucy Knight (victim of a mental patient), Mark Greene (brain tumor), Robert Romano (helicopter fell on him, ''twice''), and Michael Gallant (roadside bomb while serving in Iraq).
* Den Watts was KilledOffForReal years ago in ''{{Eastenders}}'', but as proof of just how hard it is to kill a soap star, he was resurrected recently (with the RetCon that he was hiding in Spain). But after this miraculous recovery from the choir invisible, he was finally really, ''really'' killed, and just to hammer it home to future writers not to bring him back, there was a whole arc around the disposal, discovery and then burial of his body. So he can't be brought back this time... [[ZombieApocalypse we hope]].
** Parodied in the ''DoctorWho'' episode "Army of Ghosts"; when the Doctor is flipping through TV channels, he lands on ''{{Eastenders}}'', where Den Watts's ghost appears in the Queen Vic. Peggy, exasperated, yells, "GET OUT OF ME PUB!" at him.
*Cigarette-Smoking Man and Alex Krycek of ''[[TheXFiles The X-Files]]'' are examples of characters who had cheated death (usually because they NeverFoundTheBody) so many times that their real deaths (by being at ground zero of a missile blast and shot right between the eyes, respectively) had to be made very explicit, so as to make it clear that, yes, this time they were well and truly dead. And, of course, Krycek managed to kind-of return for the Finale anyway.
* ''{{Scrubs}}'' - Nurse Laverne is killed off in season six, as the show's creator thought it was the final year of the show. When {{Scrubs}} was renewed for a seventh season, the actress that played her returns as "Nurse Shirley."
* Class clown and school mascot J.T. was killed off for real in an episode of ''DegrassiTheNextGeneration''. The strange part is that it occurred in an episode that revolved around a drunken house party, with no buildup whatsoever.
** It was because the actor himself had planned on leaving the show and they had to write his death in somehow.
* By the end of the HBO series ''[[TheWire The Wire]]'', many of the antagonists are either dead or in prison. Even well-known main characters like [[spoiler:Omar Little]] and [[spoiler:Stringer Bell]] were killed off. When an actor died from natural causes (and was playing the role of a policeman), the show would have a scene where all the characters who work in the Baltimore Police Department stage a wake at an Irish pub for them.
* ''{{Supernatural}}'' - Even if they do appear afterwards, their mother Mary, their father John, Sam's girlfriend Jess, all the psychic children in the Second Season Finale and Bela (WordOfGod that she's never coming back) have all been killed off for real.
* Most deaths on ''{{Lost}}'' are of this variety. The exceptions are Charlie's DisneyDeath and Shannon's AllJustADream death in season 1, plus a few NotQuiteDead villains since, but all of these have later ended up KilledOffForReal. Due to flashbacks and apparitions, most characters have appeared at least once after their deaths, which gives the writers the luxury of writing "real" deaths but still using the characters and actors when they'd like to.
** Season 5 played heavily with this trope. [[spoiler:Upon returning to the island, John Locke came back to life after being strangled to death by Ben. But in the season finale, it was revealed that Locke actually ''was'' dead- Jacob's unnamed nemesis had somehow taken on his appearance and used it to manipulate the Others.]]
* The majority of the cast of ''TheSopranos'', including the vast majority of the mafia characters of any prominence. Of the mob-level characters who make the main cast, you can more or less count the number who are still alive by the series' end on ''two hands.''
* In the final episode of ''CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture'', Jennifer dies when the Power Base self-destructs. Even though there was a fairly blatant angle for her to come BackFromTheDead (The very last thing we see of her is Blastarr aiming his digitizer -- a device which can save humans to disc for archival -- at her), the WordOfGod is that not only did she die, but she already had massive internal injuries from the preceding scene that would have killed her even if she hadn't been blown up. Had the series been renewed, much of the following season would have dealt with Captain Power's failure to cope with her death.
*In period drama ''UpstairsDownstairs'', [[spoiler: Lady Marjorie Bellamy]] sails to visit family in America and Canada in April of 1912. She's on the Titanic.
* [[spoiler:Yes, noone but Marian]] in ''[[Series/RobinHood Robin Hood]]''.
**And as of the end of season 3 [[spoiler:Guy of Gisborne, Allan a Dale and Robin Hood himself]]
* {{Farscape}} set up a brilliant loophole for themselves by having main character Crichton doubled. NOT cloned; the resulting two people were literally one person made two, with both having an equal claim to being the "real" Crichton. Thus, when one was killed off the writers were able to fully play off the emotions surrounding that death while still keeping the character around.
* Henry Blake in ''MASHTheSeries''. Of course, he "survived" the next night on ''The Carol Burnett Show''.
* Valerie Hogan in ''{{Valerie}}'', when ValerieHarper had a contractual dispute with the producers. Well, they kicked her off the show, her character was killed off, and eventually the show was renamed ''TheHoganFamily''.
* ''LawAndOrder'' has had a few over the years: Max Greevey, Claire Kincaid and Alexandra Borgia.
* The new ''BattlestarGalactica'' has the resurrection-capable Cylons finally start Dying Off For Real towards the end of the series after their resurrection equipment gets Blown Up For Real. It wasn't afraid to kill off characters from the very beginning, either. Fortunately, it had LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, so the deaths of [[spoiler: Socinus, Crashdown, Elosha, Fisk, Billy, Maya, Kat, Cally, D'Anna, Dualla, Laird, Zarek, Gaeta, several Sixes, and in the finale, Racetrack, Roslin, and Starbuck]] still left enough cast members to put on a show...
*On {{NCIS}}, [[spoiler: Kate Todd is sniped in the head while talking to Gibbs and Tony.]] Combines with WhamEpisode and DroppedABridgeOnHim, since [[spoiler: the fight was over, she had already dodged one bullet,]] and prior advertisements did not employ TonightSomeoneDies. Just in case anyone had any doubts, the following episode has [[spoiler: her body shown in autopsy and the director recommending a posthumous military award.]]
** Yes, the same director who was killed off herself in the fifth season.
* Recently in ''Reno 911'' Deputies Garcia, Johnson, and Kimball were killed in the parade float crash.
* ''{{Heroes}}'': [[spoiler: Eden McCain, Simon Deveaux, Isaac Mendez, Daniel Linderman, D.L. Hawkins, Kaito Nakamura, Niki Sanders, Bob Bishop, Adam Monroe, Elle Bishop, Arthur Petrelli, Benjamin "Knox" Washington, and Daphne Millbrook]] are major or significant recurring characters who have died thus far. And there will be one more to come in this season's finale (Season 3).
** It's [[spoiler: Nathan. Sort of.]]
* ''{{Torchwood}}'': In just five episodes, we lost [[spoiler:Tosh, Owen, and Ianto]].
* The original Stig from ''TopGear'', even though they NeverFoundTheBody. Only a single black glove was recovered.
* On {{Fringe}} the second season opener killed off [[spoiler:Charlie]]. Just to hammer the point home the thing that stole his face ends the episode by tossing the body into an incinerator.
* [[SaturdayNightLive Generalissimo Francisco Franco.]]
* On {{Smallville}}: Main/recurring characters who are now dead include [[spoiler: Whitney Fordman, Dr. Virgil Swann, Jason and Genevieve Teague, Sheriff Nancy Adams, Jonathan Kent, Lionel Luthor, Henry James "Jimmy" Olsen, and Davis Bloome]]. [[spoiler: Lex]] is most likely a case of NotQuiteDead or NeverFoundTheBody.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' had this happen to an entire race as part of a retcon.
** [[spoiler: Horus]] would be an example of this happening to someone who isn't a RedShirt and had access to ways of cheating death. [[spoiler: He was KilledOffForReal by a psychic attack from the Emperor that ''obliterated his soul'']].
** Captain Tycho of the Blood Angels was killed off in the Armageddon world wide campaign.
* Valten in WarhammerFantasy, at the end of the Storm of Chaos campaign, by Death Master Snicht.
* The rules of ''{{Exalted}}'' states very clealy that for all amazing things magic and charms and exaltation can accomplish, dead is dead and you can't be brought back. And while reincarnation is a common theme and you may have memories of previous lives, it's made clear that it's not so much ''your'' past life as just a past life that happened to have the same shard, which retained a few memories that you can use.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

* ''AngelsInAmerica'' - [[spoiler: Roy Cohn]], mere seconds after faking his own death as a trick.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Toys ]]

*Loads of {{Bionicle}} charactrs, including [[spoiler:Lhikan, Matoro, Botar, "Ancient", Carapar, Zaktan, Icarax, Mutran, Gorast, Panrahk, Guurahk, Bitil, Chirox, Antroz, Krika, Vamprah, "Guardian", Kodan, Sidorak, Nidhiki, Krekka, Reysa, Jovan, Nikila, Nocturn, Gadunka, Ihu and Kojol.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Videogames ]]

* After coming BackFromTheDead some 20 times over the course of the ''{{Castlevania}}'' series, Dracula is destroyed for good in the beginning of the game ''Aria of Sorrow''. Of course, he tries to reincarnate, but Soma Cruz (the would-be reincarnation) wants nothing to do with it, and thus Dracula stays dead. People argue about to what level Soma is Dracula, but it's kind of a meaningless argument, as the games following it are all set ''before'' ''Aria''.
* ''FinalFantasyVII'' is popular for the sad, emotional death of one of your main party members Aerith, where she is suddenly stabbed right through her back by the main villain Sephiroth. Although there are many rumours about resurrecting Aerith in some way created by fans, the only way to do so is through some cheating device (which invariably messes up your game anyway). May be spoilers but... [[ItWasHisSled surely you've heard of this by now]].
** Despite Aerith's death being the most popular permanent death of a party member in Final Fantasy games, ''FinalFantasyIV'' is actually the first to have the death of a regular party member, whereby [[HeroicSacrifice Tellah dies]] after casting [[EleventhHourSuperpower the ultimate magic Meteo to defeat Golbez]]. In a title positively ''dripping'' with IGotBetter, this is a little jarring.
*** To add insult to injury, [[SenselessSacrifice Golbez survives]].
*** Surely you haven't forgotten about Minwu and his HeroicSacrifice from FinalFantasyII!
** In ''FinalFantasyVI'' Shadow can die for real if you don't wait for him on the floating continent.
*** Also, General Leo is killed off for real in a cut scene after the first and only time you get to use him as a party member.
** ''FinalFantasyV'' features Galuf, killed by the villain Exdeath. However levelling him up all this time is not in vain, as he imparts all his knowledge into another character who takes his place.
** ''FinalFantasyX'' sets you up to think this is going to happen to Yuna. In the end, Yuna lives (obviously, since she's the star of the sequel), but [[spoiler:both Tidus and Auron really do die for real. Well, Auron was ''already'' dead, but he still sorta counts]].
*** Although, [[spoiler: The perfect ending of both FFX and FFX2 shows Tidus apparently alive and well. The FFX2 one even shows Yuna reuniting with him.]]
*** [[spoiler: Tidus is an animated dream of several dozen dead people, so technically, he was never really "alive" to begin with.]] Though this depends on WhatMeasureIsANonHuman.
*The PhantasyStar series also exhibits this with respect to main characters:
** In ''[[PhantasyStar Phantasy Star II]], [[spoiler: Nei is either killed by [=NeiFirst=] completely overpowering her or dies after killing [=NeiFirst=] due to them being part of the same original being - even the Clone Shop says that nothing can be done. Subverted in the Sega Ages remake - after completing a process that can only be described as GuideDangIt on a MASSIVE scale, Nei is resurrected without fanfare at the Clone Shop as if it was a normal combat death.]]
** In ''[[PhantasyStar Phantasy Star IV]], [[spoiler: Alys Brangwin is hit by, declines from, and permanently dies [[HeroicSacrifice due to saving the main protagonist Chaz Ashley]] from the Dark Energy Wave. It is specifically mentioned that healing techniques do nothing to help as her health declines.]]
* ''{{Tekken}}'' has several cases of this, especially after the time skip and Ogre attacked and absorbed several characters' abilities, with suspicions that he [[KilledOffForReal killed them for good]]. But most characters later were brought back in the latter installments, thereby setting up that the only one KilledOffForReal were Jun Kazama and the original King. Not to worry, they got their successors all right (Asuka and the second King).
**Armor King was another case where at first, he's thought to be KilledOffForReal outside the Ogre interference (Marduk killed him), but he reappeared in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection. However, his personality is rather different, raising predictions whether Armor King really came BackFromTheDead, or it's Armor King's successor and the first Armor King was really KilledOffForReal.
** Kunimitsu is probably dead for real. (killed either by Yoshi or Ogre)
* Zato-1 from ''GuiltyGear''. His voice actor died, and they didn't want to use anyone else for the character, so they killed him off. Doesn't stop people from saying he should return. Conveniently, his character story involved being menaced by a psychic parasite he gained as part of a bargain to trade his eyesight for power, so they had said parasite kill him and take over his body, writing him out of the story, but keeping his moveset and sprite in the game.
** The death of this same voice actor (Kaneto Shiozawa) also necessitated the killing off of another his characters, ''RivalSchools''' Hyo Imawano at the end of ''Project Justice''.
* ''MetalGearSolid'' 2 has a character named Vamp who, no matter how many times he'd seemingly "die," he always comes back to life. Metal Gear Solid 4 explained this as [[spoiler:a result of nanomachines enhancing his already powerful healing factor, and once Snake disables them with a syringe, Raiden is able to kill him off for good.]]
* In ''{{Persona 3}}'', [[spoiler: Aragaki Shinjiro]] bites it [[spoiler: a mere month after he joins your party.]] And so does [[spoiler: Junpei's love interest, Chidori (though in the FES version of the game, it is possible to resurrect her).]] And in the very end, [[spoiler: the Main Character sacrifices his life to save the world.]]
*In ''CliveBarkersJericho'', a game in which the main characters make up an army-based squad of people with supernatural powers, two of whom who have the ability to bring recently-deceased squadmates back from the dead provided that they maintain visual contact, has both [[spoiler: Simone Cole]] and [[spoiler:Xavier Jones]] being killed off (extremely horribly) towards the end of the game, when [[spoiler:the Firstborn decides to '''blow them into bloody pieces''', with no chance of revival even remotely possible.]]
* ''SteelBattalion'' does this WITH THE PLAYER. The game is so determined to present the most realistic mecha combat simulation possible, that there is no way to resume a game after you die; when your mech is close to blowing up, you are given ample chances to eject. If you don't, and your character dies, it ERASES YOUR SAVE.
* Zero, throughout the entire ''MegaMan series'', has been killed and resurrected several times already. However, at the end of the ''[[MegaManZero Zero]] series'', he is never coming back, with a HeroicSacrifice that will last.
**At least until ''MegaManZX''.
** [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]], but, in ThisTroper's opinion, that just ruined the [[CrowningMoment/MegaMan sheer magnitude]] of his HeroicSacrifice.
* Tassadar, in the original ''{{Starcraft}}'', dies to [[spoiler:save the galaxy from the original Zerg Overmind]]. It is completely real, as far as video games go: he gives a stirring speach to those who will live on after him, to remember what was done there that day, which is then followed by the cinematic of him effectively blowing himself up via his awesome psionic abilities, and taking [[spoiler:the Overmind]] with him. In sequel games, the death is so complete that the Protoss change their usual greeting of "An'taro Adun," which effectively means "May Adun protect you," to "An'taro Tassadar." If he were brought back, it would destroy half the ''Starcraft'' canon.
** Many other characters are also killed, most of them in the Brood Wars expansion and some in official(or authorized) side campaigns. [[spoiler:Other than obviously the Overmind(and the new Overmind formed to replace it); these include Raszagal, Gerard DuGalle(suicide), Edmund Duke, Fenix(died, came back, then DiedForReal), Aldaris, Alan Schezar, probably Ulrezaj, Atticus Carpenter, Edullon, Jack Frost and EVERY ZERG CEREBRATE.]] Most of these are unlikely to come back, however it is not impossible as [[spoiler:Fenix came back once before dying again, and it turns out Alexei Stukov is definitely BackFromTheDead. Even so, the only ones likely to come back are the cerebrates...and even then probably not the same ones.]] Other characters also die in other media, such as the novels.
* While a few characters in the ''{{Warcraft}}'' series have cheated death [[spoiler: such as Medivh]], many others have been KilledOffForReal. [[spoiler: King Llane, Blackhand, Gul'dan, Anduin Lothar, Ogrim Doomhammer, King Terenas, Uther the Lightbringer, Grom Hellscream, Tichondrius, Mannoroth, and Archimonde]] from the RTS games have all died in ways to show that they likely won't be coming back, even with all the resurrection and necromancy present in the series. [[spoiler: Llane had his heart ripped out, Blackhand had his head cut off, Gul'dan was torn apart by demons, Lothar and Doomhammer both died on the battlefield (not the same battle), Terenas and Uther were both slain by Arthas with Frostmourne, Hellscream died in a HeroicSacrifice, Tichondrius was permanently killed by Illidan after Illidan absorbed the Skull of Gul'dan's power, Mannoroth was killed by Hellscream's aforementioned HeroicSacrifice (and his ''skeleton'' has been made into a memorial dedicated to Hellscream), and Archimonde was ''disintegrated'' by the released power of the World Tree]]. And that's not even covering the characters permanently killed by the players in ''WorldOfWarcraft''.
**Although [[spoiler: Gul'dan]]'s soul "lived on" within his [[spoiler: skull]].
* The MMORPG ''Shaiya'' does this to players playing on [[HarderThanHard Ultimate Mode]]. While you have access to the most powerful weapons and equipment on that difficulty level, if you don't get revived by an ally within three minutes of your character's death, that character's data is ''erased'', and you have to start all over.
* Surprised that no one mentioned ''[[MassEffect Mass Effect]]'' yet. More specifically the Virmire mission where you [[spoiler:have to leave either Kaidan or Ashley behind as a nuke goes off. Oh, and if you kill Wrex as well, he's dead and gone for the rest of the game too]]. What [[WordOfGod BioWare has said]] about potential character carryovers in the sequel -which they've stated explicitly, mind you- that the [[spoiler:dead party member(s)]] will not return- could potentially solidify the series' listing under this trope.
** And in ''Mass Effect 2'', one ending kills off Commander Sheperd permanently, which brings questions about what happens in ''Mass Effect 3'' with ''that'' save file.
* The Flash-based platformer ''YouOnlyLiveOnce'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. If you die once, it's game over. Try to continue, and you'll just get several cutscenes showing your girlfriend finding your body, calling an ambulance, a news report of your death, etc. Keep reloading the game and it'll just end up showing your grave. You ''can't play again''. (unless you delete two save files from your computer).
* Most every Roguelike game has this in effect for the player; dying deletes the save for the character, meaning any player death is permanent. Often times in these there are randomized dungeons involved that can very easily lead to player death for something small or impossible to see coming, like a very powerful creature showing up well before the player is ready, or a trap destroying critical pieces of the player's equipment. Slightly subverted in those that have an item (Amulet of Life-Saving in ADOM) that will resurrect the player immediately after death (usually breaking to avoid invulnerability).
* After being a pretty much immortal villain for almost the entire series up until Resident Evil 5, Albert Wesker turned into a monster and was finally -according to WordOfGod- [[http://ps3.ign.com/articles/100/1006931p1.html killed for good]]. Of course, Word of God ''also'' said ''ResidentEvil'' would definitely [[FlipFlopOfGod never come back to the Playstation]], so make of [[OrIsIt that]] what you will.

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[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* Black Belt from ''[[EightBitTheater 8-Bit Theater]]''. Mostly [[WriterRevolt done out of spite by Clevinger]] after fans inundated the message boards with theories on how and/or why BB could be revived. The comic solving the issue was titled [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=051110 Now Shut Up.]]
* [[spoiler: Bush]] was killed near the end of Exploitation Now! She started off as a minor character but after CerebusSyndrome set became one of the two protagonists.
* ''{{Erfworld}}'' example: [[spoiler: After Wanda gets the Arkenpliers and reveals its powers of 'decryption', Parson hopes that she can decrypt Bogroll, since he died in a HeroicSacrifice. This hope is quickly squashed when Wanda points out that his remains "were rather thoroughly obliterated."]]
* Angels and demons are told to not have any afterlife in ''SlightlyDamned''.
** [[http://raizap.com/sdamned/pages.php?comicID=104 They seem to be able to visit people in dreams, though.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

*''SurvivalOfTheFittest'': Everybody except the winners of the game and Burton Harris, due to some BodyDouble antics in Burton's case. He ends up dying anyway. Also. some handlers are fond of putting fake 'Student deceased' messages in their posts when it seems as if the characters have died but are actually alive. (very uncommon though, and it's invariably revealed to not be the case).
* DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog: [[spoiler:Penny]]. [[strike:Probably]] [[WordOfGod Definitely.]]
** Subverted or not? Too soon to tell; the clearest WordOfGod actually states that Joss and the cast and crew want Felicia Day back for the sequel in any capacity; her revival as Penny is neither guaranteed nor ruled out.

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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

*''{{WITCH}}'' killed of quite a few of the lesser villains, such as [[spoiler:Tridart and Ember being disposed of by Nerissa when they were no longer needed. In the finale, Tracker is also subsequently impaled and killed.]]
*Thanks to MediaWatchdogs and the cultural osmosis of [[BackFromTheDead a certain comic book trope]], being KilledOffForReal in American children's programming is so rare, it's hard for some to grasp. Jet's fate on ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', despite being tragically obvious, was surrounded by [[HesJustHiding speculation]] that he somehow survived. They just don't do that in kids' shows! [[http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=40634&type=0 A SciFi.com interview with the program's creators]], however, has confirmed this character was indeed KilledOffForReal.
** In the third season, [[spoiler:Combustion Man]] is also Killed Off For Real.
** Also, Zhao and Hahn from the first season.
* Parodied in an episodes of ''TheSimpsons''. Moe gets a facelift and becomes handsome, and is awarded a role on a Soap Opera. After reading a new script that says he dies, he retaliates by revealing all of the major plot twists in the show for the next year on air (the show was filmed live, apparently). The director than angrily informs him that his character wasn't being killed off and that that page of the script was a dream sequence.
** And not parodied with the very "real" (at least in animation terms) deaths of Bleeding Gums Murphy and Maude Flanders. Dr. Marvin Monroe was also apparently dead enough to have a hospital named in his memory (but [[IGotBetter he got better...]]) and Hans Moleman has technically died several times due to explosion, motor accident, fire, and pack of hungry wolves, but has yet to have been killed off for real.
*** [[spoiler:Dr. Nick Riviera]] was killed off in TheMovie, but he [[IGotBetter got better]] and resurfaced in a later episode of the TV show.
** And of course, when the hated {{Poochie}} is killed off, Krusty signs a legal document swearing that he will never, ever come back.
** This trope finally caught up with [[spoiler:Mona Simpson, Homer's mother]]. What makes this death particularly impacting is [[spoiler:her successive NotSoDead track record in previous episodes.]]
* In ''{{Robotech}}'', the episode, "Goodbye Big Brother," should have made it obvious to this troper what was going to happen with Rick Hunter's brother, Roy Fokker, but the usual standard bowdlerization of 1980s television animation made assuming that the show would choke rather obvious. When the show actually followed through and killed him off, it showed this was no ordinary animated series on North American TV. Of course, MoralGuardians raised a fuss and complained that it was bad for children.
** No such ambiguity in the ''SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' original episode, "Pineapple Salad." Three ragged holes in his back and everything. And the reactions of the rest of the main characters pretty much seals the fact that he wasn't coming back. In fact, just to give Akira Kamiya more stick time as Focker, they had to bring him back in a prequel.
* In ''The Real Adventures of JonnyQuest'', while the show's other main villains tended to get the NoOneCouldSurviveThat treatment in their last episodes -- and since the show didn't get a third season, it's probably safe to say that they're gone for real -- Ezekiel Rage had an established tendency to cheat death. Therefore, [[DroppedABridgeOnHim just to be sure]], [[spoiler:he got sent back to prehistoric times and blown up by a nuclear bomb, [[NeverFoundTheBody leaving a skull behind]] for good measure]]. DeaderThanDead? Deader than dead.
* TheVentureBrothers has quite a few, most [[TearJerker heartbreakingly]] [[spoiler: 24's death by exploding muscle car.]]
* In {{King of the Hill}} quite a few recurring or main characters have been killed off over the years including Luann's first boyfriend Buckley, Buck Strickland's mistress Debbie, Pops Poppaseto, Cotton's war buddy Topsy, and most recently [[spoiler: Hank Hill's father Cotton Hill.]]
* ''Transformers'' as a whole has never shyed away from this.
** ''BeastWars'' continually killed its cast. Some simply died. A surprising number died, were brought back, and died again. Two of them died, were brought back as a fused form of the two, and then died. And two of them died [[ChekhovsGun with the possibility that they might return]], but didn't.
** In ''Transformers:Animated'' [[spoiler:Blurr]] is killed, pretty graphically, for a machine. It's 'possible' he'll come back, but given that his remains were handed over to another character, in convienient crushed-box form, and were immediately dumped down a trash chute...it may be that we have seen the last of him, although [[spoiler:his 'spark', or soul, can be partially seen in some shots, so it's might be a [[NotQuiteDead Not Quite Dead]].]]
*** The finale also killed off [[spoiler: Prowl and Starscream]]. [[spoiler: Prowl sacrificed his Spark to save the city, and Starscream's Allspark fragment, the only thing keeping him alive after he was killed by Megatron in "Megatron Rising", was pulled out of his head]]. To hammer the point home, their bodies turned completely grey, the telltale sign in this series that a Transformer is really dead [[spoiler: barring interference from the Allspark itself]].
** Jazz was killed by Megatron in the final battle of the first live-action movie. The Fallen was killed by Optimus at the end of the sequel and pretty much every Decepticon (who isn't Megatron) that has been killed has stayed dead so far.
*** WordOfGod says he won't be back in this season, anyway. And since there are no plans for a fourth one, the NotQuiteDead will have to be left to fanfiction.
**** And/or the [[ExpandedUniverse spinoff comics]].
** TheMovie killed off a good chunk of the G1 roster.
*** ...although this didn't stop some of them (Prowl and Wheeljack, most notably) reappearing in the later Japanese-exclusive TransformersHeadmasters and TransformersVictory seasons.
*In {{Family Guy}} a few recurring characters such as Mr. Weed, Paddy Tanniger, and Vern and Johnny have been killed off.
**It was recently revealed as well that Joe's son Kevin had died in Iraq. This was done because the writers thought he was boring.
* In a subversion of [[JokerImmunity the very trope named after him]], the Joker eventually got this treatment in the {{DCAU}}. Yes, having proven himself as much of a survivor as his counterpart in the comics, every bit the "no one" in NoOneCouldSurviveThat, TheMovie of ''BatmanBeyond'' took the big leap and put him down once and for all - killing him twice in the same movie just to make sure. (In just a bit of a cheat, the event occurs at the far end of the universe-at-large's history, allowing him to show up in stories taking place earlier; ''JusticeLeague'' took advantage of this.)
* In {{The Animals of Farthing Wood}} quite a few of the main characters were killed off like the Hedgehogs, Badger, Mole, Bold, The Great White Stag, Sinuous (this troper doubts it, mostly because of how horribly off his death was, since that's not quite how you would choke a snake...nor how you draw the inside of the mouth) and quite a few others.
* Unless {{Isaac Hayes}} is somehow reanimated in real life, Chef from ''{{South Park}}'' is likely gone for good, despite his "Darth Chef" remaking.

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