History Main / PerilousOldFool

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' does the classic subversion -- Snake keeps insisting he's able to fight, partly because he's a DeathSeeker and partly because he is still able to fight out of sheer Determinator factor. However, he limps around in cutscenes, is missing half his face and has developed some form of lung disease from what had been badass smoking when he was younger.

To fit this trope, the subject must be far too old and feeble to do battle anymore, or perhaps seriously disabled (either from [[DentedIron previous battles]] or illness), or both. The subject must ''also'' be in denial and insist [[ICanStillFight they're good for another round]]. Remember: Perilous Old ''Fool''.

If the soldier is willing to sacrifice himself ''because'' he's old and infirm and the others have their lives ahead of them, or knows he's too old for a fight but wants to go out in a blaze of glory, that's DeathSeeker -- or MoreHeroThanThou -- not this trope. If they're going to die anyways and decide to fight to the last breath, that's FaceDeathWithDignity and possibly TakingYouWithMe. If someone's old as dirt but still has the chops, that's an OldSoldier, OldMaster or whatever and should only be listed here as a subversion if they're ''believed'' to be this. Definitely related to (and possible SubTrope of) TooDumbToLive and FearlessFool. If what they know is past its prime instead, they're an ObsoleteMentor.

[[folder:Comic Books]]

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Batman being aging, [[DentedIron worn-out]] and past his peak is a recurring theme in the comics. ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' has Batman tries to fight a (much younger, stronger, and faster) leader of the Mutants on his terms and ends up battered and with a broken arm. For the rematch, Bruce accepts his age and fights the way an old man should fight a young upstart: by choosing the battlefield to his advantage, using precise, practiced techniques to disable the opponent -- and avoiding direct brute force stand-offs.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'': Subverted; Fa Zhou is aware that he is not in the best condition to fight, but is willing to die for his country and honor. Naturally, Mulan doesn't find this acceptable.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': Bruce is only in his late thirties to early forties, yet his accumulated injuries mean he is not nearly fit or strong enough for his first fight with Bane. Alfred also accuses Bruce of being a GlorySeeker by returning as Batman when he could be more effective by using his other resources like his technology and money to help the police, and worries that Bruce's insistence on being Batman amounts to an extravagant form of suicide.

* ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' tweaks this trope a little. Bond is left pretty significantly disabled after his "death", in ways that seriously impact his ability to do all the things that make him James Bond. (No, not [[SexTropes that thing]], that's fine.) He's left physically debilitated, unable to shoot straight, and reliant on pills and liquor. But he's still sent back into battle [[spoiler:despite failing all the assessment exams, even the weapons course]] and, being Bond, still ends up kicking the requisite ass, though he does need the assistance of two literal old people to do so.
--->'''Silva:''' Medical evaluation: fail. Physical evaluation: fail. Psychological evaluation, alcohol and substance addiction indicated. Ooh! Pathological rejection of authority based on unresolved childhood trauma. Subject is not approved for field duty and immediate suspension for service advised. What is this if not betrayal? She sent you off to me, knowing you're not ready, knowing you'll likely die. Mommy was very bad.

[[folder:Literature]]

* ''Literature/{{Legend|1984}}'': Druss the Legend is a subversion of this. By all standards of the setting Druss is way too old to fight another war and Death itself mocks him about it. He has crippling arthritis in his hands and his body is wrecked by decades of fighting. However, he quickly proves that he is still the deadliest man alive and still strong enough to kill hundreds of enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': While Maarva's heart is in the right place, her desire to rebel against the Empire is hampered by her age and failing health, and she doesn't achieve much beyond falling and injuring herself while checking which of Ferrix's hidden underground passages could be used by the rebellion. However, her [[spoiler:posthumously-delivered]] RousingSpeech converts most of Ferrix to the rebellion's cause.

* Downplayed for laughs in an episode of ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' involving tension between Frasier and Niles over the leadership of their wine club. At one point Niles, who is the current "Corkmaster", demands that Frasier, who has recently resigned the club, be thrown out of the premises, and barks an order for the Sergeant-At-Arms to come and remove him... and an elderly man who must be at least in his eighties rouses himself from a snooze in the corner, totters over, and menacingly barks to the not-exactly-a-gladiator-but-still-in-much-better-condition Frasier that "we can do this the easy way or the hard way!"

* In ''Series/GoseiSentaiDaiRanger'' there's the very high ranking Gorma leader, Archbishop Saw, who initially subverts this trope, being able to hold his own against the [=DaiRangers=]. During the mecha battle, his advanced age is apparent as he is too slow to hit Dairenoh and he's stunned for a surprisingly long time after getting hit, allowing him to be finished off. In his younger years, he may have wiped the floor with Dairenoh and survived its finisher, but as an old man, he's much less effective.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E12TheDeadlyYears The Deadly Years]]" Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Mr. Scott, Doctor [=McCoy=], and [[{{Redshirt}} Lieutenant Galway]] become victims of RapidAging due to radiation poisoning. Due to her metabolism Lieutenant Galway dies of old age while everyone else on the landing party except Ensign Chekov begin to rapidly age. Captain Kirk rapidly loses his mental faculties and has to be relieved of command before a cure is found and he and the other members of the landing party are restored to their normal ages.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E07OnceMoreUntoTheBreach Once More Unto the Breach]]", Kor is worried that he's being left out of the Dominion War and a chance to die in battle. Worf manages to have him assigned to General Martok's flagship. Unknown to Worf is that Kor is suffering the onset of the Klingon equivalent to Alzheimer's. In the middle of a raid on a Dominion supply base, both Worf and Martok are injured, leaving Kor in command. At that moment, he starts to believe he is actually in the middle of a battle against the Federation nearly a century earlier, costing the raid at least one ship. {{Subverted|Trope}} at the end of the episode, however, when the Klingons are about to be overrun by pursuing Dominion ships and Kor takes command of one of the Birds of Prey in the formation and [[HeroicSacrifice turns back to hold off TEN enemies single-handedly]] [[YouShallNotPass long enough for the remainder of the Klingons to escape]].

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': In "[[Recap/ScrubsS2E14MyBrotherMyKeeper My Brother, My Keeper]]", Dr Townshend (played by Creator/DickVanDyke) is an affable old doctor who is well loved by everyone, including Kelso (who hates everybody). But during the episode, he prescribes an "old school" procedure which goes disastrously wrong. Kelso confronts him about why he didn't prescribe a newer procedure, and Townshend admits he didn't know about it because he is too tired to keep up with medical advances, and is depending on his decades-old knowledge. Kelso is forced to fire him.

[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]
* Literature/TheBible: In [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel 2nd Samuel]], King David becomes this as he gets older, thinking he can still fight battles as an older man. When he almost gets killed and one of his men come to the rescue, he is told to stay home in Jerusalem so that "the lamp of Israel" doesn't get snuffed out.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]

** This is the typical way for giff to die. Their culture has no respect for the infirm, so aging giffs will usually stay in active military duty, trying to prove they still have it. They can live to be 70, but few make it past 40 or 50.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'': Mihaly A. Shilage fits this trope to a T. A man his age should really not be flying fighter jets anymore, but Mihaly insists on doing it anyway. Every time he goes out on sortie, he comes back in a pretty bad shape due to the extreme strain being put on his body. When he meets [[PlayerCharacter Trigger]], a younger ace pilot who proves to be a Worthy Opponent, he orders his wingmen to stay back and deal with Trigger himself out of pride, even as he's straining himself to the limit and is breathing heavily from all the high-G moves. [[spoiler: His pride becomes his undoing as he ends up getting shot down in his final encounter with Trigger, and he ends up getting crippled for the rest of his life.]]

* ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance'': The older mercenaries in the original game all have good marksmanship ratings and a high experience level. However, their low agility makes them quite slow and they cannot improve their stats. Furthermore, they demand high salaries that are not in proportion to their skills. Even worse, some of them will actually have their stats ''decrease'' over time, and some have the "Forgetful" trait, which makes them forget what they were doing occasionally, forcing you to re-issue their orders. ''Deadly Games'' reduced the salaries for these characters in order to make them more viable, and most are retired by the time of ''Jagged Alliance 2''.

[[folder:Western Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': By Season 5, 50 years have passed and the Scotsman is now old and wheelchair-bound, yet he still leads an assault on Aku’s lair. And, the Scot being the stubborn old man he is, he stays to taunt Aku to no end. [[spoiler:Aku gets tired of it and disintegrates him on the spot. [[SubvertedTrope Turns out he came back as a Force Ghost-like entity thanks to his sword’s runes, so this might have been intentional]]]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Several veterans of the Boer War wanted to fight in World War II, being turned away because they were too old. There was one case where the man in question dyed his hair--but the heat made the dye run, revealing his gray hair and thus his age.
* Theodore Roosevelt wanted to fight in World War One also, but was likewise refused a commission by President Wilson. In this case it probably had far more to do with Teddy's status as a former President than his age.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Bohemia King John the Blind of Bohemia]] died at the age of fifty because he insisted on fighting in the Battle of Crecy on the French side despite having been blind for ten years. Upon hearing that his son was probably engaged in combat, he told his companions to lead him into the fighting so that he could strike one blow with his sword, which they did by tying his horse to theirs. When the battle was over the king and his men were all found dead, their horses still tied together. A popular but incorrect legend says that Edward the Black Prince took his motto "Ich dien" ("I serve") afterwards as a tribute to the King of Bohemia. It should be noted that he was blind for a decade, his health was rapidly falling, and he was probably just ''very'' [[InvokedTrope intentionally]] [[DeathSeeker seeking]] a DyingMomentOfAwesome.

* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': While Maarva's heart is in the right place her desire to rebel against the Empire is hampered by her age and failing health and she doesn't manage to do much but fall and injure herself while checking which of Ferrix's hidden underground passages could be used by the rebellion, however her [[spoiler:posthumously]] delivered RousingSpeech converts most of Ferrix to the rebellion's cause.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': By Season 5, 50 years have passed and the Scotsman is now old and wheelchair-bound, yet he decides still leads an assault on Aku’s lair. And the Scot being the stubborn old man he is, stays to taunt Aku to no end. [[spoiler:Aku gets tired of it and disintegrates him on the spot. [[SubvertedTrope Turns out he came back as a Force-Ghost like entity thanks to his sword’s runes, so maybe this was intentional]]]].

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Bohemia King John the Blind of Bohemia]] died at the age of fifty because he insisted on fighting in the Battle of Crecy on the French side despite having been blind for ten years. Upon hearing that his son was probably engaged in combat, he told his companions to lead him into the fighting so that he could strike one blow with his sword, which they did by tying his horse to theirs. When the battle was over the king and his men were all found dead, their horses still tied together. A popular but incorrect legend says that Edward the Black Prince took his motto "Ich dien" ("I serve") afterwards as a tribute to the King of Bohemia. It should be noted that he was blind for a decade, his health was rapidly falling, and he was probably just ''very'' [[InvokedTrope intentionally]] [[DeathSeeker seeking]] DyingMomentOfAwesome.

* ''Literature/{{Legend}}'' is a subversion of this. By all standards of the setting Druss is way too old to fight another war and Death itself mocks him about it. He has crippling arthritis in his hands and his body is wrecked by decades of fighting. However, he quickly proves that he is still the deadliest man alive and still strong enough to kill hundreds of enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E12TheDeadlyYears The Deadly Years]]" Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Mr. Scott, Doctor McCoy, and [[Redshirt Lieutenant Galway]] become victims of RapidAging due to radiation poisoning. Due to her metabolism Lieutenant Galway dies of old age while everyone else on the landing party except Ensign Chekov begin to rapidly age. Captain Kirk rapidly loses his mental faculties and has to be relieved of command before a cure is found and he and the other members of the landing party are restored to their normal ages.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E07OnceMoreUntoTheBreach Once More Unto the Breach]]", Kor is worried that he's being left out of the Dominion War and a chance to die in battle. Worf manages to have him assigned to General Martok's flagship. Unknown to Worf is that Kor is suffering the onset of the Klingon equivalent to Alzheimer's. In the middle of a raid on a Dominion supply base, both Worf and Martok are injured, leaving Kor in command. At that moment, he starts to believe he is actually in the middle of a battle against the Federation nearly a century earlier, costing the raid at least one ship. {{Subverted|Trope}} at the end of the episode, however, when the Klingons are about to be overrun by pursuing Dominion ships and Kor takes command of one of the Birds of Prey in the formation and [[HeroicSacrifice turns back to hold off TEN enemies single-handedly]] [[YouShallNotPass long enough for the remainder of the Klingons to escape]].

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E07OnceMoreUntoTheBreach Once More Unto the Breach]]", Kor is worried that he's being left out of the Dominion War and a chance to die in battle. Worf manages to have him assigned to General Martok's flagship. In the middle of a raid on a Dominion supply base, both Worf and Martok are injured, leaving Kor in command. At that moment, he starts to believe he is actually in the middle of a battle against the Federation nearly a century earlier, costing the raid at least one ship. {{Subverted|Trope}} at the end of the episode, however, when the Klingons are about to be overrun by pursuing Dominion ships and Kor takes command of one of the Birds of Prey in the formation and [[HeroicSacrifice turns back to hold off TEN enemies single-handedly]] [[YouShallNotPass long enough for the remainder of the Klingons to escape]].

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': In "[[Recap/ScrubsS2E14MyBrotherMyKeeper My Brother, My Keeper]]", Dr Townshend (played by Creator/DickVanDyke) is an affable old doctor who is well loved by everyone, including Kelso (who hates everybody). But during the episode, he prescribes an "old school" procedure which goes disastrously wrong. Kelso confronts him about why he didn't prescribe a newer procedure, and Townshend admits he didn't know about it because he is too tired to keep up with medical advances, and is depending on his decades old knowledge. Kelso is forced to fire him.

* ''VideoGame/Anthem'' has Haluk, a Freelancer who is definitely past his prime. Much of the story, and his character development, involves him coming to terms with it.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' does the classic subversion -- Snake keeps insisting he's able to fight, partly because he's a DeathSeeker and partly because he is still able to fight out of sheer Determinator factor. However, he limps around in cutscenes, is missing half his face and has developed some form of lung disease from what had been badass smoking when he was younger.
* ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'': In terms of actual gameplay, Reinhardt Wilhelm is still a formidable warrior, but some of his emotes, along with the lore revealed in his comic, suggests that he is fast approaching this trope. He's absolutely committed to being a KnightInShiningArmor despite his [[DentedIron advancing age]] and increasing physical degeneration (played for laughs in the in-game emotes where he throws his back out), and it's implied that he can't cope with the idea of laying down his arms and would prefer to fight until he dies. It doesn't help that his PoweredArmor is also showing wear and tear and is no longer able to perform at optimal levels.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E07OnceMoreUntoTheBreach Once More Unto the Breach]]", Kor is worried that he's being left out of the Dominion War and a chance to die in battle. Worf manages to have him assigned to General Martok's flagship. In the middle of a raid on a Dominion supply base, both Worf and Martok are injured, leaving Kor in command. At that moment, he starts to believe he is actually in the middle of a battle against the Federation nearly a century earlier, costing the raid at least one ship.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'': Russel hasn't been in a fighter plane since the Vietnam War, but he wants payback for having been (supposedly) abducted by the invading aliens. He contributes to the battle by [[spoiler: making a HeroicSacrifice just before the giant alien ship can use its WaveMotionGun on Area 51]].

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Cohen the Barbarian is edging close to this by his first appearance in ''Literature/TheLightFantastic,'' with his bad back and lack of teeth, but once he gets his back straightened out and a pair of (diamond!) dentures, he returns to being a full-time badass.

[[folder:Truth in Television]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'': Subverted; Mulan's father is aware that he is not in the best condition to fight, but is willing to die for his country and honor. Naturally, Mulan doesn't find this acceptable.

If the soldier is willing to sacrifice himself ''because'' he's old and infirm and the others have their lives ahead of them, or knows he's too old for a fight but wants to go out in a blaze of glory, that's DeathSeeker -- or MoreHeroThanThou -- not this trope. If they're going to die anyways and decide to fight to the last breath, that's FaceDeathWithDignity and possibly TakingYouWithMe. If someone's old as dirt but still has the chops, that's an OldSoldier, OldMaster or whatever and should only be listed here as a subversion if they're ''believed'' to be this. Definitely related to (and possible SubTrope of) TooDumbToLive and FearlessFool.

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', Bruce was still shown to be fighting crime into his old age, to the point that he suffered a heart attack during his last solo rescue mission. It wasn't even this that convinced him to hang up the cowl; rather, on the verge of being beaten to death by an opportunistic criminal, [[BatmanGrabsAGun he drew a discarded gun]] in a moment of desperation, and his realisation of this after the fact is what got him to stop.

* ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'': In terms of actual gameplay, Reinhardt Wilhelm is still a formidable warrior, but some of his emotes, along with the lore revealed in his comic, suggests that he is fast approaching this trope. He's absolutely committed to being a KnightInShiningArmor despite his [[DentedIron advancing age]] and increasing physical degeneration (played for laughs in the in-game emotes where he throws his back out), and it's implied that he can't cope with the idea of laying down his arms and would prefer to fight until he dies.

* ''Franchise/ArchieComics'': One comic shows several veterans chasing a thief -- but they no longer have their youthful stamina. The thief even says "This is where I lose the geezer brigade".

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* One ''[[Franchise/ArchieComics Archie]]'' comic showed several veterans chasing a thief--but they no longer had their youthful stamina. The thief even said "This is where I lose the geezer brigade".
* The whole idea of Franchise/{{Batman}}-is-no-longer-a-young-man in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' is lifted almost verbatim from ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', where Batman tries to fight a (much younger, stronger, and faster) leader of the Mutants on his terms and ends up battered and with a broken arm. For the rematch, Bruce accepts his age and fights the way an old man should fight a young upstart: by choosing the battlefield to his advantage, using precise, practiced techniques to disable the opponent--and avoiding direct brute force stand-offs.

[[folder: Films -- Animated ]]

* Subverted in ''Disney/{{Mulan}}''; her father is aware that he is not in the best condition to fight, but is willing to die for his country and honor. Naturally, Mulan doesn't find this acceptable.

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' - Russel hasn't been in a fighter plane since the Vietnam War, but he wants payback for having been (supposedly) abducted by the invading aliens. He contributes to the battle by [[spoiler: making a HeroicSacrifice just before the giant alien ship can use its WaveMotionGun on Area 51]].
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Bruce is only in his late thirties to early forties, yet his accumulated injuries mean he is not nearly fit or strong enough for his first fight with Bane.

** Alfred also accuses Bruce of being a GlorySeeker by returning as Batman when he could be more effective by using his other resources like his technology and money to help the police.
--->'''Alfred:''' You can strap up your leg and put your mask back on, but that doesn't make you what you were!
--->'''Bruce:''' If this man is everything that you say he is, then this city needs me.
--->'''Alfred:''' This city needs Bruce Wayne; your resources, your knowledge. It doesn't need your body, or your life. That time has passed.
--->'''Bruce:''' You're afraid that if I go back out there I'll fail.
--->'''Alfred:''' No. I'm afraid that [[DeathSeeker you want to.]]

--->'''Bruce:''' The police weren't getting it done.
--->'''Alfred:''' Perhaps they might have, if you hadn't made a sideshow of yourself.
--->'''Bruce:''' You thought I didn't have it in me.
--->'''Alfred:''' You led a bloated police force on a merry chase with a load of fancy new toys from Fox. What about when you come up against [[TheDreaded him?]] [[ArmorPiercingQuestion What then?]]

--->'''Alfred:''' You're not Batman anymore! You have to find another way.
* Minus the ''Old'', but this trope is tweaked a little in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' -- Bond is left pretty significantly disabled after his "death", in ways that seriously impact his ability to do all the things that make him James Bond. (No, not [[SexTropes that thing]], that's fine.) He's left physically debilitated, unable to shoot straight, and reliant on pills and liquor. But he's still sent back into battle [[spoiler:despite failing all the assessment exams, even the weapons course]] and, being Bond, still ends up kicking the requisite ass, though he does need the assistance of two literal old people to do so.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* Bluddbeak, the redkite from ''[[{{Literature/Redwall}} Triss]]'', is one of the [[TropeNamer Trope Namers]]. He has rheumatism. He's ''blind''. And he's adamant that he's still the great adder-killer he once was and can take on a trio of the snakes [[SiblingTeam who work together as one]]. [[CurbStompBattle Oh, is he wrong.]] The other "fool" Skipper is referring to in the quote is Ovus the owl, who feels the need to help Bluddbeak out despite his own great age and rheumatism. He fares better only in that ''he'' gets some LastWords and a decent burial, while [[NotEnoughToBury all that's left of Bluddbeak are scattered feathers.]]
* The Creator/DavidGemmell book ''Legend'' is a subversion of this. By all standards of the setting Druss is way too old to fight another war and Death itself mocks him about it. He has crippling arthritis in his hands and his body is wrecked by decades of fighting. However, he quickly proves that he is still the deadliest man alive and still strong enough to kill hundreds of enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.
* In one ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novel, a retired Imperial Guard veteran joins the militia to help fend off a Chaos invasion, and although he's very enthusiastic it's clear he's not quite all there.
* Defied in ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar By The Sword]]'' when a mercenary is left behind because he'd be tempted to take part in "one last battle", despite being very old and having only one arm.
* Ajax the Archer in ''[[Literature/MythAdventures Myth Conceptions]]''. He actually is pretty badass in spite of being quite past his prime, but the fool part comes in given how hopelessly overwhelming the odds are: even if he were a OneManArmy he wouldn't be enough.
* Cohen the Barbarian of ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is edging close to this by his first appearance in ''Discworld/TheLightFantastic,'' with his bad back and lack of teeth, but once he gets his back straightened out and a pair of (diamond!) dentures, he returns to being a full-time badass.
* ''Literature/TheBible'': In [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel 2nd Samuel]], King David becomes this as he gets older, thinking he can still fight battles as an older man. When he almost gets killed and one of his men come to the rescue, he is told to stay home in Jerusalem so that "the lamp of Israel" doesn't get snuffed out.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Corporal Jones in ''Series/DadsArmy'', a veteran of wars going right back to 1886, who saw fighting in The Sudan (1886), South Africa (1899-1902), a bit of UsefulNotes/WW1 (1914-1918)... and who in 1940, aged 80, wants to come back for his fourth...

* Kor in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Once More Unto The Breach." Worried that he is being left out of the Dominion War and a chance to die in battle, Worf manages to have him assigned to General Martok's flagship. In the middle of a raid on a Dominion supply base, both Worf and Martok are injured, leaving Kor in command. At that moment, he starts to believe he is actually in the middle of a battle against the Federation nearly a century earlier, costing the raid at least one ship.
* In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' "My Brother, My Keeper", Dr Townshend (played by Creator/DickVanDyke) is an affable old doctor who is well loved by everyone, including Kelso (who hates everybody). But during the episode, he prescribes an "old school" procedure which goes disastrously wrong. Kelso confronts him about why he didn't prescribe a newer procedure, and Townshend admits he didn't know about it because he is too tired to keep up with medical advances, and is depending on his decades old knowledge. Kelso is forced to fire him.
* In ''Series/GoseiSentaiDaiRanger'' there's the very high ranking Gorma leader, Archbishop Saw, who initially subverts this trope, being able to hold his own against the DaiRangers. During the mecha battle, his advanced age is apparent as he is too slow to hit Dairenoh and he's stunned for a surprisingly long time after getting hit, allowing him to be finished off. In his younger years, he may have wiped the floor with Dairenoh and survived its finisher, but as an old man, he's much less effective.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

** This is the typical way for giff to die. Their culture has no respect for the infirm, so aging giffs will usually stay in active military duty, trying to prove they still have it.
** Goliaths have a similar issue. Goliath society is built upon competition and continually topping past achievements. Once a goliath suffers from a permanent injury or begins to lose physical ability due to age, they almost always die trying to do something that tops feats they'd accomplished when they were younger and healthier. This is noted as a serious issue for goliath communities as it means they never have access to the wisdom that comes with age and experience and must always hope for leaders with innate wisdom, instead (while permanently missing out on leaders with experience).

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' does the classic subversion - Snake keeps insisting he's able to fight, partly because he's a DeathSeeker and partly because he is still able to fight out of sheer Determinator factor. However, he limps around in cutscenes, is missing half his face and has developed some form of lung disease from what had been badass smoking when he was younger.
* In terms of actual gameplay, Reinhardt Wilhelm of ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'' is still a formidable warrior, but some of his emotes, along with the lore revealed in his comic, suggests that he is fast approaching this trope: he is absolutely committed to being a KnightInShiningArmor despite his [[DentedIron advancing age]] and increasing physical degeneration (played for laughs in the in-game emotes where he throws his back out), and it's implied that he can't cope with the idea of laying down his arms and would prefer to fight until he dies.
* [[RedBaron Mihaly A. Shilage]] from ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' fits this trope to a T. A man his age should really not be flying fighter jets anymore, but Mihaly insists on doing it anyway. Every time he goes out on sortie, he comes back in a pretty bad shape due to the extreme strain being put on his body. When he meets [[PlayerCharacter Trigger]], a younger ace pilot who proves to be a Worthy Opponent, he orders his wingmen to stay back and deal with Trigger himself out of pride, even as he's straining himself to the limit and is breathing heavily from all the high-G moves. [[spoiler: His pride becomes his undoing as he ends up getting shot down in his final encounter with Trigger, and he ends up getting crippled for the rest of his life.]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Lampshaded and subverted by Toph in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': she's the greatest earthbender in the world, but she's also 80-plus and her back is killing her. Sometimes you just gotta let the kids win the war. (This is also the reason Katara never showed up for the Water Tribe Civil War.)

[[folder: Truth In Television ]]

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Bohemia King John the Blind of Bohemia]] died at the age of fifty because he insisted on fighting in the Battle of Crecy on the French side despite having been blind for ten years. Upon hearing that his son was probably engaged in combat, he told his companions to lead him into the fighting so that he could strike one blow with his sword, which they did by tying his horse to theirs. When the battle was over the king and his men were all found dead, their horses still tied together. A popular but incorrect legend says that Edward the Black Prince took his motto "Ich dien" ("I serve") afterwards as a tribute to the King of Bohemia.
** It should be noted that he was blind for a decade, his health was rapidly falling, and he was probably just ''very'' [[InvokedTrope intentionally]] [[DeathSeeker seeking]] DyingMomentOfAwesome.