This is it. The ultimate showdown between good and evil. You're facing the Big Bad... or something else cool and ultimate showdown-y. But wait a second? Your hairstyle isn't right? Your outfit is just "meh?"
Well, you need an eleventh-hour costume change. How? Simple! You can make a wish, cast a magic spell, or some other supernatural magic can happen. You can also just find another outfit in your wardrobe too! We're not picky! It doesn't necessarily need magic!
This may or may not happen directly before facing the Big Bad or some other final confrontation, but it's only this trope if it happens either in:
- The final season or the latter half of the final season in a TV series. ("Final Season")
- Right before the confrontation of the Big Bad. ("Final Confrontation")
This often reflects how a character has changed, or how this character Took a Level in Badass.
Often comes with 11th-Hour Superpower. An inversion of Suit Up of Destiny. Compare and contrast with Transformation Sequence, especially if the transformation is itself an Eleventh Hour Super Power and changes the character's outfit.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Cross Ange: As Ange enters the final battle against Embryo, a new, white variant of her outfit materializes on her body.
- Before their battle against Cell in Dragon Ball Z, Goku who was training in Saiyan Armor opts to change into his classic orange gi so he can "fight as an Earthling." Gohan on the other hand asks for an outfit like Piccolo's in order to honor his first teacher.
- In Eureka Seven, Renton gets an entire new outfit as he heads out to rescue Eureka. Understandable since his old outfit was in tatters.
- Jujutsu Kaisen: On the day of his final battle with Ryomen Sukuna, Satoru Gojo trades in his leisurely Jujutsu Sorcerer uniform for a martial arts outfit and a monk robe. While he's not the primary protagonist, this is the fight that rings in the climatic arc of the series.
- Soul Eater: Right before Maka, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki go to the Moon to confront Crona and Kishin Asura, they switch from their Spartoi outfits to their classic garbs before setting off for the final battle.
Comic Books
- Justice: For the final confrontation with the Legion of Doom, and in order to protect themselves from Brainiac's mind-control worms, the Justice League dons armors using the Metal Men and other methods.
Fan Works
- Cassandra sports three different costumes across Angel of the Bat: her classic Batgirl2000 costume, a gaudy, all-white variation of it, and a more streamlined, aesthetically pleasing variation of the white uniform. The last of the three she received just before the final showdown. It does stick around to become her permanent costume in the sequel.
Films — Animation
- Incredibles 2: Helen spends most of the movie in an updated version of her original Elastigirl costume. Before entering the final battle, she changes back into her red-and-black Mrs. Incredible suit from the first film, as the less-durable DevTech-made Elastigirl suit had become damaged in a previous scene.
- The LEGO Batman Movie: Barbara Gordon wears her police commissioner attire for most of the movie, but she gets a Batsuit from Batman's Merch Gun as they plan to stop the Joker from destroying Gotham City as the climax draws near. Alfred also gets a black costume at this point after spending a good chunk of the movie in his butler attire and then a 60's Batsuit.
- In Turning Red, Mei changes into a ceremonial robe and formal shoes (as opposed to her normal sneakers) before the red moon ritual. She dispenses with the robe just before the climax but remains in the formal shoes until the epilogue.
Films – Live Action
- The Addams Family: After being betrayed by Fester, Gomez spends much of the later part of the film very depressed, and looks scruffy with messy hair and stubble. When he finds out Morticia is in danger, he rushes to her rescue... and yet somehow, despite Thing telling him to "send help at once", when he arrives for his Big Damn Heroes moment he's well-dressed once more in a Waistcoat of Style with his hair neatly slicked back and the stubble shaved off.
- Babe: Pig in the City: After Esme Hoggett's dress gets ruined, she wears Fugly Floom's clown costume as she begins to search the city for Babe and the other missing animals in the city in the film's third act.
- In Batman Forever, Batman dons a silver batsuit with sonar capabilities before his final confrontation with Riddler (justified, as his standard batsuits had been destroyed earlier). Also, after wearing a fabric version of his classic costume throughout the film, Robin is given an armored version when he joins Batman.
- DC Extended Universe:
- Immediately after finally claiming the trident of Atlan and securing the good will and assistance of the Karathen in Aquaman, the titular hero, having spent the majority of the movie dressed in either surface world civilian clothes or a version of the armor similar to what he wore in Justice League, steps out of the waterfall that led to the Karathen's lair dressed in his iconic orange and green suit from the comics. Just in time for his final battle against Orm, the film's Big Bad.
- In Wonder Woman 1984, Diana suits up in Asteria's golden armor to stop Maxwell Lord from granting the world's wishes with heavy costs just before the film's climax.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: For the final battle at the Black Gate, Aragorn switches from his Ranger outfit to a more regal-looking Gondor armor.
- Marvel Cinematic Universe:
- Iron Man 2 has Tony switch to a newer version of Iron Man armor before taking on Whiplash.
- The Avengers (2012) also has Tony switch to new armor.
- Avengers: Age of Ultron:
- Once again, Tony adapts a newer Iron Man armor for the final battle. The Mark 45 is Tony's first Iron Man armor to use FRIDAY as an AI, after all his previous armors used JARVIS (who has now been used to give life to Vision).
- Combined with Good Costume Switch, for the final battle in Sokovia, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff change into outfits more reminiscent of their comic book counterparts. Wanda dons a red leather jacket while Pietro puts on a silver shirt with blue accents.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Steve goes out to steal his old World War II uniform from the Smithsonian before the mission to ground the Helicarriers that HYDRA is about to launch. This is because he'd abandoned his SHIELD uniform earlier in the film (as established in a deleted scene) due to HYDRA installing a tracker on it and he hopes that the familiar uniform will jog a brainwashed Bucky's memory.
Steve: If you're going to fight a war, you got to wear a uniform.
- Thor: Ragnarok:
- Loki's costume on Sakaar is dark blue/violet with a dark blue/yellow cape. When he returns to Asgard to join the battle against Hela, he wears the same outfit but in black/green with a green cape.
- After spending most of the movie wearing black leather, Valkyrie dons an old suit of white and gold Valkyrior armor from the Asgardian armory for the final battle.
- In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter makes a new red and black costume for himself right before fighting the Big Bad. This is especially significant since it is the first high-tech suit that Peter has made himself.
- In D2: The Mighty Ducks after Iceland takes a 4-1 lead with one period to go in the championship game, Team USA changes into new Ducks uniforms (that suspiciously looked like ones the new professional hockey team owned by Disney were going to wear) for the third period.
- The Patriot (2000): For the Battle of Cowpens, Major Jean Villeneuve changes back to his bright blue military uniform after being seen for most of the film in less conspicuous clothes, saying that if he dies in battle, he will do so dressed fancy.
- In Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Dr. Robotnik spends a majority of the film dressed in a black suit. Near the end of the film, he wears a red flight suit similar to that of his video game counterpart as he confronts Sonic, Tom and Maddie on the Transamerica Pyramid in his hovercraft. And Sonic himself spent most of the movie wearing ratty mismatched shoes before being given his classic red and white ones.
Live-Action TV
- Daredevil (2015): Throughout Season 1, Matt fights in an all-black homemade costume, rather than his comic counterpart's more famous look. The iconic red Daredevil armor first appears in the finale, as Matt gears up for his climactic confrontation against Wilson Fisk.
- Kamen Rider Kiva: Wataru embraces his destiny and dons the Fangire King's attire in the final arc.
- In a more general sense, ever since Build for every Kamen Rider instalment to have the protagonist receive a new powered up form to defeat the Big Bad. It gets played with in Kamen Rider Revice with the Deuteragonist getting the new suit, but multiple people had been calling her the real main character with varying degrees of sarcasm and derision.
Puppet Shows
- In Muppet Treasure Island, the good guys have a rather gratuitous costume change, all putting on matching clean white shirts and dark breeches before confronting Long John Silver.
Video Games
- Celeste: After finally coming to terms with 'Badeline', Madeline gains the ability to perform a second dash, and to show this her hair changes its default color to pink.
- In the endgame of Final Fantasy XV, Noctis puts on the Kingly Raiment as he prepares to take back his throne. His friends wear the uniforms of the Crownsguard as they accompany their king.
- A variation with Riku in Kingdom Hearts. He spends most of the second half of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days in a Black Cloak, but ends up taking on Ansem's form at the end. When he's finally restored to his original form during the endgame in Kingdom Hearts II, he's encouraged by Sora to abandon the coat, and we see that Riku has acquired a new outfit during the Time Skip. He then becomes the final Guest-Star Party Member of the game.
- Pokémon Sun and Moon: After she and the player land on Poni Island, the game's final island, Lillie changes outfits, along with taking on a more confident persona which she calls her "Z-powered form", finally making her own style choices where she had previously worn what her mother wanted.
- Super Mario Odyssey: When travelling to the Moon Kingdom for the first time, Cappy turns whatever clothing Mario was wearing into a white tuxedo and top hat in preparation for stopping Bowser from marrying Peach. While you do receive the outfit automatically upon travelling there for the first time, you can get the outfit much earlier if you scan Mario's Wedding amiibo via Uncle amiibo.
Visual Novels
- At the finale of the final route in Dies Irae, Ren's clothes undergo a massive overhaul as he ascends to godhood and heads for the final battle with him finally having stopped making excuses and accepts himself for what he is and vows to clear himself of his cursed lineage. He changes from his usual clothes to being clad in a cross between Bodhisattva vestments and Samurai armor.
Western Animation
- Kim Possible has examples of both the "final showdown" and "final season" versions:
- The battlesuit in "So The Drama" was an 11th-Hour Superpower version for (what was intended to be) the final showdown with Dr. Drakken and Shego.
- After the series was Un-Cancelled for one more season, Kim changed to a new mission outfit after her old one got ruined and she found that the stores didn't stock her old style any more.
- The Owl House:
- In the last two episodes of the second season, Luz Noceda, Willow, Gus, and Hunter all have new outfits, although Willow might have worn hers offscreen prior to these episodes, since the previous times she appeared after her change in hairstyle was in her school uniform. Luz also continues to wear Eda's Grudgby jacket.
- Downplayed in the first episode of the third season; most of the characters are shown to wear several outfits in both the Time-Passes Montage and in photos that were taken during their time in the Human Realm. Aside from Camila and Vee, they are all wearing Halloween costumes during the episode's climax, and return to the Demon Realm wearing what's left of them. Most notably, Luz is wearing an outfit based on The Good Witch Azura and doesn't appear to have brought Eda's jacket with her.
- In season 5 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Adora (as She Ra) has a different She-Ra costume than usual. This isn't quite as close to the Climax as maybe it should be, but it is justified as this is a TV series that lasted for 5 Seasons. Catra also receives one to reflect her Heel–Face Turn.
- Steven Universe: Having been poofed in the previous episodes, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis Lazuli, and Peridot enter the Grand Finale with new outfits, the latter via a Big Damn Heroes moment and the former via Steven Quartz Universe forcing a reform by fusing with them.
