Any time the heroes get to save the day in a big, awesome manner.
Say that the poor
Distressed Damsel 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! The heroes
kick down the door and proceed to
stomp the bad guys into the ground.
A
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits will often have a
Misfit Mobilization Moment before becoming the Big Damn Heroes. If they were busy with something else, but saw the crisis and dropped whatever they were doing in order to save the day, it's a case of
Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help.
But note that a Big Damn Heroes moment doesn't have to
succeed. They can fail to save the day, or even make things worse.
If the heroes just finished a training arc and show off new powers, it's
Look What I Can Do Now.
If this is done in an anticlimactic way, then it's a
Deus ex Machina, and dooms it bad, of course. When done right, it is a sure-fire way to get a
Crowning Moment of Awesome.
A
Super Trope to
Roaring Rampage of Rescue.
A
Sister Trope to
Gunship Rescue,
I Got You Covered,
Horseback Heroism,
Just in Time, or even
Changed My Mind, Kid.
Compare
The Cavalry (it's the heroes saved in the nick of time),
Contrived Coincidence,
Bad Guys Do The Dirty Work,
Villainous Rescue (when the villains are like this
trope),
"Hell Yes" Moment.
Contrast
You Are Too Late,
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
Examples
Myth and Legend
- It is said that King Arthur will return in England's hour of greatest need.
- Some Jews believe that in a coming Messiah. Christians and Muslims believe in the Second Coming of Jesus.
