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Mal: Well, look at this! Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?
Zoe: Big damn heroes, sir!
Mal: Ain't we just?
Firefly

"Haahaha! It's a hero's job to show up when they're least expected! "Why is that?" you ask! Because it's just cooler that way!!"
Axel:, Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories

The poor Damsel In Distress is looking her fate dead in the face, and is resigned to it, because she knows that Nothing Can Save Us Now... and then, boom! Here come the heroes.

Big Damn Heroes is the heroic swoop to save the day just in the nick of time. Generally this is because the heroes had to fight through a swarm of baddies, or had to figure out just where their friends are before the clock ran out. Or sometimes the hero is just being a real jerk and likes to see the Distressed Damsel suffer a little.

Abandoned By The Cavalry is a subtype where the Big Damn Heroes should have been there in the first place and are only redeeming themselves now. When the Big Damn Heroes come in with a massive gunship or other vehicle with intimidating firepower (see BFG), it is a Big Damn Gunship. In the event that the Big Damn Heroes just show up in some relatively dramatic manner and clear a path for the Hero to get to whatever they need to go, usually during an air battle, it's the I Got You Covered subtype. Commonly precedes or constitutes awesome.

Compare The Cavalry, when it's the heroes being rescued by the suddenly competent Redshirt Army. See also Contrived Coincidence. Polar opposite to Big Damn Villains. However, beware. Villain may declare You Are Too Late.

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