[[Series/{{Heroes}} http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Peter_explode.jpg]]
Since PowerGlows, everything emits light before it blows up, often in brilliant beams that work their way out of cracks in the surface of the doomed object. Often the object bulges like a balloon being squeezed before finally blowing to pieces.

May also cause a PillarOfLight. A SubTrope of PowerGlows.
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!!Examples:

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[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* Virtually anything touched by Kei or Yuri in ''DirtyPair''.
* When Mr. Fujisawa is dogpiled by Bugrom in the first episode of ''ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'', the pile emits a PreExplosionGlow before he bursts out of it.
* Destroyed Strains in ''SoukouNoStrain''.
* It's been said no ''[[TheSlayers Slayers]]'' series or movie can truly begin before Lina's nearly disintegrated a building of some kind with her trademark Fireball spell(Actually, every series begins with her blowing something up with her trademark nuke-level ''Dragon Slave'' spell). And that's not including the countless times it'll happen after that.
** Heh, well, Slayers Revolution (4th season) is kicked off with someone ELSE blowing something up with the Dragon Slave, which seriously pisses Lina off and causes her to complain about it for an episode and a half.
* ''DragonballZ'' has a number of these with almost all of the main characters.
* Wing Gundam, from ''MobileSuitGundam Wing'', emits these when it self destructs. If this one is remembering correctly, and he sincerely believes that he is, so does Gundam Sandrock before it also self destructs. Additionally, in the movie/three episode post-series OVA, all mobile suits self-destructed seem to exhibit this glow. Y'know what? I could've made this shorter by simply saying "In Gundam, if it self destructs, it glows like a Christmas tree."
* Voltorb and Electrode in the ''{{Pokemon}}'' anime have an almost evolution-like glow before using [[SelfDestructMechanism Self Destruct]] or Explosion.
* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in ''StarshipOperators'' when the [[spoiler:Amaterasu explodes, as the ship's armor converts heat to light.]]
* The destruction of [[AnotherDimension closed space]] in ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'', as demonstrated to [[UnreliableNarrator Kyon]] by [[HoYay Itsuki]].
* The Saint's Cradle's [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas crystalline]] engine in ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' goes out in this manner. First came the cracks, then the brilliant beams of light, then the big boom.

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[[folder: Video Games ]]

* A number of targets destroyed by the heroines of ''SakuraTaisen''.
* Destroyed capital ships in the original ''Colony Wars'' game exhibited this, with pure white light spilling out of giant cracks in the hull right before the explosion blanks out the entire screen with white. Later games in the series toned this down a bit.
* At least one boss in ''StarFox 64'' goes bye-bye this way. The creature on Solar gets an especially spectacular version, culminating in a PillarOfLight replacing its head before it explodes.
* Most bosses in ''MegaManX 4'' onwards, as well as the entire ''MegaManZero'' and ''[[MegaManZX ZX]]'' series.
**All the bosses explode like this in the ''Zero'' series. Every one. And ''ZX'' upped the bar by having the screen go dark except for the exploding robots.
* The Armos in the 3D ''TheLegendOfZelda'' titles. After being exploded/receiving an arrow in the back or being fed with bombs/hit enough in the back, they start hopping around madly and eventually explode, glowing in-between.
* Bowser's Galaxy Reactor goes out this way at the end of ''[[SuperMarioBros Super Mario Galaxy]].''
*''ChzoMythos'', in 6 days a sacrifice [[spoiler: when the bomb is going off in the underground complex, you first see strays of light breaking through the ground before the explosion erupts.]]
* Dark Samus in ''{{Metroid}} Prime 2: Echoes''.
** And again in ''Corruption''. [[spoiler: That, and her planet too.]]
* Hitting certain enemy ships in ''[[RType R-Type Delta]]'' with a ChargedAttack causes their midsection to glow for a moment before they are torn in half by the explosion.

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[[folder: Film ]]

* Agent Smith goes out this way in ''TheMatrix''.
* The second Death Star in ''[[StarWars Return of the Jedi]]'' flashes lights, minor explosions and gouts of flame all over before it blows up.

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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The Beast in Disney's ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast'' gets all kinds of PreExplosionGlow when [[spoiler:turning back into a human]].
*In the 90's ''XMen'' cartoon, whatever object Cable shot would glow like this before it exploded. Probably to [[MediaWatchdogs give anyone enough time to escape before it exploded.]]
*Justified in an episode of ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', as the explosive was slowed in a time-warping field.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Ted Sprague, the radioactive man from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' as well as [[spoiler: Peter (illustrated atop the page) and Sylar after they both gain Ted's power.]]

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[[folder: Literature ]]

* In ''The Fourth Bear'' by [[ThursdayNext Jasper Fforde]], this happens with [[spoiler:''radioactive cucumbers''.]] The author says he was inspired by the description of a scientist attempting to [[spoiler:extract sunlight from cucumbers]] in ''GulliversTravels''.
* Ctuchik of DavidEddings' ''{{Belgariad}}'' series bites the dust this way when he tries and fails to will an object out of existence.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* In [[http://www.dragon-tails.com/comics/archive.php?date=040703 this]] ''DragonTails'' strip, they parody the trope (like everything else really).
* Played straight in [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=90 this]] ''Webcomic/{{Sequential Art}}'' strip.

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