History Main / RedemptionEqualsDeath

Compare VillainsDyingGrace (when the villain is portrayed sympathetically as they are dying), DeathEqualsRedemption (when a dying villain chooses to do a final good act) and AlasPoorVillain (when the character's death (speech) provides a reason for the fans to feel sorry for them). See also HeelFaceDoorSlam, when the poor guy doesn't even get to redeem themself before dying. Non-protagonist [[TheAtoner atoners]] are especially likely to be hit by this trope. See ForgivenessRequiresDeath when death is the only way for a character to earn forgiveness for a crime. May overlap DyingReconcilliation.

Compare VillainsDyingGrace (when the villain is portrayed sympathetically as they are dying), DeathEqualsRedemption (when a dying villain chooses to do a final good act) and AlasPoorVillain (when the character's death (speech) provides a reason for the fans to feel sorry for them). See also HeelFaceDoorSlam, when the poor guy doesn't even get to redeem themself before dying. Non-protagonist [[TheAtoner atoners]] are especially likely to be hit by this trope. See ForgivenessRequiresDeath when death is the only way for a character to earn forgiveness for a crime.

Compare VillainsDyingGrace when the villain is portrayed sympathetically as they are dying, DeathEqualsRedemption for when a dying villain chooses to do a final good act and AlasPoorVillain when the character's death (speech) provides a reason for the fans to feel sorry for them. See also HeelFaceDoorSlam, when the poor guy doesn't even get to redeem themself before dying. Non-protagonist [[TheAtoner atoners]] are especially likely to be hit by this trope. See ForgivenessRequiresDeath when death is the only way for a character to earn forgiveness for a crime.

'''Naturally, this is a {{Death Trope|s}}, so ''[[Administrivia/SpoilersOff expect unmarked spoilers ahead]]''. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[FaceDeathWithDignity Tell]] [[AlasPoorVillain your]] [[GoOutWithASmile sister]]... ''[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi you were right]]''."]]

* Happens in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' to [[spoiler: Hazel, who defects from Salem and sacrifices himself to buy the heroes time.]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': In the "[[ComicBook/DaredevilBornAgain Born Again]]" arc, the corrupt cop, after a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, still tries to confess to framing Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and is murdered by one of the Kingpin's minions.
* ''ComicBook/TheMagnificentMsMarvel'': King Maliq Zeer realizes the error of his petty tyranny when the Beast Legions, inhumanly evil monsters from ancient legend, arrive, and dies shortly afterwards to hold the line against them and give Ms. Marvel and his son time to save Saffa.
* ''ComicBook/XMenTheTrialOfMagneto'' pulls an unusual example of this with the ComicBook/ScarletWitch, after many attempts to make up for M-Day, almost all of which ended badly. Extremely badly. As in, [[ComicBook/TheChildrensCrusade one gave Doctor Doom godlike power and got Cassie Lang killed]], another [[ComicBook/UncannyAvengers played right into the hands of the Apocalypse Twins and temporarily got her killed and Earth destroyed]], and the most recent one [[{{ComicBook/Empyre}} turned the entire deceased population of Genosha into zombies]]. The only exception was ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', and that was a mixed success. Taking Strange's advice after the last one, she stops being used by her guilt and trying to undo what she's done. So she dies. [[spoiler: Specifically, while she knows she'll always come back, she orchestrates her own murder on Krakoa with the reluctant aid of Magneto, and possibly also Toad, who's implied to willingly take the fall, so she can die and be put through the Mutant Resurrection Protocols. That allows her to, with the help of Polaris, Proteus, and Legion, to create the Waiting Room a.k.a. the Eldritch Orchard, the Elysian Fields of mutantkind - anyone who wants to get their powers back can just step through and be added to the Resurrection queue without having to go through Crucible. It also allowed Cerebro to sweep through time and space and pick up every mutant who was killed before Cerebro made back-ups, or before their X-Gene activated. Finally, it functions as the ultimate back-up for Cerebro, one that's effectively untouchable. Almost no one actually knows about her connivance with Magneto, though, as she points out that they'd turn it down otherwise]]. In other words, dying is part of her redemption, one that wins over even the likes of Exodus.
* Ulic Qel-Droma in ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'' had an arc solely dedicated to his redemption. In the end, he was able to make peace with himself and the people he hurt before [[DroppedABridgeOnHim getting shot]]. This was still enough to reestablish his connection to the Force and let him become one with it when he died.
* Marvel's ComicBook/WonderMan is one of the luckiest examples on record; he was originally a one-shot villain who decided he couldn't go through with taking out Comicbook/TheAvengers, and whose own powers killed him as he came to their rescue. Twelve years later, he was resurrected, and since then he's been a prominent member of various Avengers teams.
* During Marvel's ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'' story arc, Loki realizes that he's partly responsible for the return of [[ComicBook/TheSentry the Void]], as well as the destruction of Asgard. He attempts to help the heroes defeat the Void and is killed in the process.
** Subverts the algorithm of deadness; he comes back, because it's Marvel, and gods can come back a thousand times.
* An odd example from ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'': Kaine, a flawed clone of Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man), is a serial killer/assassin. However, during Grim Hunt, he disguises himself as Peter Parker, steals Spider-Man's costume, and walks into a trap set by the Kraven family for Spider-Man in order to screw up Kraven the Hunter's resurrection. It doesn't work quite as planned, as Kraven is resurrected normally (though it later turns out that he can't die), but his death does infuriate Peter to the extent that he stops holding back against them. Subverted in that two comics later, Kaine is resurrected as a spider-monster on the last page, and has to deal with the difficult process of redemption as ComicBook/ScarletSpider.
* ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'':
** In the Hulk's very first appearance, he was captured by Yuri Topolov, the Gargoyle, a [[SovietSuperScience Soviet scientist]] who had been mutated into a [[MyBrainIsBig big-headed dwarf]]. However, when the Gargoyle found that the Hulk had reverted to Bruce Banner, he lamented the loss of his own normalcy. Banner decided to use his own genius to cure Topolov, who responded by ensuring Banner's safe return to America while destroying his own base, taking himself and his Soviet handlers out in the process. Unfortunately, [[LegacyCharacter his son Kondrati]] took the wrong lesson from Yuri's sacrifice, deciding to blame the Hulk ''and'' the State for his father's death.
** ''ComicBook/FallOfTheHulks'', Samson sacrifices himself to help drain the gamma energy from the hulked-out heroes before it kills them.
* [[BewareTheSuperman Anissa]] in ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' was initially a cruel [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] who [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped Mark]] out of a desire to produce a pureblooded [[SupermanSubstitute Viltrumite]] child. Later on she has a HeelFaceTurn after [[DefectingForLove falling in love with a human man and starting a real family]], and expresses regret for her past actions before dying helping to protect the Earth. When Mark speaks to their young son about her, he diplomatically puts it as the two of them having a very complicated relationship.
* ''ComicBook/{{Kanan}}'': Commander Grey realizes that he and the other clones had been brainwashed into turning on their commanders, but only after he'd already killed Depa. In response he sacrifices himself to allow Depa's apprentice to escape from his brothers who are mercilessly hunting him down.
* In ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', After breaking free of the mind control, [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] is offered the choice between stopping Superman and letting the nuke to kill all the metahumans, or leaving him and letting the metahuman war continue. Captain Marvel takes the third option, destroying the nuke and sacrificing himself in place of Superman.
* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': The ambiguity of some of these changes of heart is exemplified when Dodge turns on the group of villains he gathered to get revenge on Robin. He specifically attacks the member that usurped Dodge's leadership position from him and threatened his family, and his immediate death means his it's never revealed if he ever moved past his IJustWantToBeSpecial and NeverMyFault motivations even though Robin chooses to have him remembered as a hero.
* Played for laughs in ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' where, on a mission to Apokolips, Dr. Light declares that from now on he's going to be a hero only to be shot down by Parademons the moment he tries to contribute.
* Lampshaded in ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', where Rodimus thinks that sacrificing oneself is a cheap way to gain redemption, particularly since he was the one who put AxCrazy Overlord onto their ship in the first place. He believes that redemption has to be earned by making amends past mistakes.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Violine}}'', Muller attempts to do this after his HeelFaceTurn to save Violine. However, he is saved just before he can be killed.
* In Volume Three of ''ComicBook/KickAss'', Chris Genovese dies saving Hit-Girl from corrupt cops, but not before he asks her to apologize to his mother on his behalf for causing her pain.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: After betraying Hippolyta the power hungry Antiope redeems herself by sacrificing her own life in battle to save Hippolyta's.
* In ''ComicBook/ZombiesChristmasCarol'', Scrooge's change of heart and resulting kindness reverts the zombies back and saves the world, but having become a Spirit of Christmas himself, he dies that same night.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** Henry Pym was one of the founding members of ComicBook/TheUltimates, and became universally hated when he commited DomesticAbuse of his wife. However, in ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'' he died by attracting the attack of several Multiple Men, saving the Triskelion. When Captain America woke up from a coma and mentioned him in disdain (ignoring what he just did), he was told to shut up.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Juggernaut has a change of heart and decides to help Rogue defend the X-Mansion from Stryker's anti-mutant army... and is killed shortly after.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Parodied in ''Fanfic/{{XSGCOM}}''. When Jonas Quinn dies and is brought back to life, O'Neill fires off a quip about this.
* Barley's final act in ''Fanfic/TheTaintedGrimoire'' was to try and save Cid. Ewen had him killed for that.
* ''Fanfic/AceCombatTheEquestrianWar'': Played straight in Axe's case, but averted for Black Star.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]], the Siren Lilith, having become addicted to PsychoSerum, realizes what a mess she is after one insult too many from her deranged commander. She asks for (and receives) help from the heroes, culminating in her piloting a doomed ship on a deliberate collision course with Pandora's north pole in the hopes that a chain-reaction combining her Siren powers with Eridium will defeat the Reapers once and for all. It works, at the cost of Lilith's life, though that doesn't stop her from becoming a bit of a SpiritAdvisor later, in ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}''.
* In ''Fanfic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed'', the rebellious General Thunderhide receives a sort of redemption before his death in explaining his motives in the Fillydelphia Trials. His death was hinted to be purposefully set-up to be suspicious even if Celestia had nothing to do with it, possibly to ensure his own [[InspirationalMartyr martyrdom]].
* ''Fanfic/TheImmortalGame'': Minor character Coconut Crunch only joined [[LesCollaborateurs the Royals]] because she honestly believed that [[LaResistance the Loyalists]] had no chance of defeating [[BigBad Titan]]. When she's captured by the Mane Six and realizes that [[HopeBringer Twilight Sparkle]] is still alive, she quickly defects... and by the end of the chapter is brutally killed by [[TheDragon General Esteem]].
* Logan and his minions sans Beljar in ''FanFic/TheEndOfEnds''.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7105611/1/Legend Legend]]'' sees the Joker capture Officer Anna Ramierez (demoted after she helped the mob capture Rachel Dawes) with the intention of torturing her on live television to admit that Batman never killed anyone. However, [[spoiler:Ramierez instead claims that ''she'' committed the murders, and the Joker starts hitting her again before the camera cuts out, and a search of her apartment after her body is found reveals fake evidence supporting her story. While she is condemned as a villain in the eyes of the public, those who know the truth about her sacrifice vow to always judge Ramierez by what she sacrificed to atone for her mistake, with Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne each attending her funeral (Gordon directly and Bruce discreetly)]].
* Subverted in the ''Film/StarTrek2009'' fanfic ''Fanfic/FlightOfTheCondor''. The fugitive Richard Beckwith is killed saving Edith Keeler's life. However, Keeler later becomes involved in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, changing who lives and who dies, causing Earth to be populated by different people for the next three hundred years, preventing the existence of the Federation and the ''Enterprise''.
* Kiba in the crossover fic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10527530/1/Ninja-of-Santoryu Ninja of Santoryu]] acts like an asshole for the first part of the story, only to mellow out once Naruto saves his life from the Akatsuki, even gaining a love interest. He's then unceremoniously killed off by [[Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist Shou Tucker]] in battle.
* In the ''Fanfic/TheBridge'' spin-off ''Shimmer in the Dark'', Countess Mircalla intended this to be the case and made peace with her end. She'd pulled a HeelFaceTurn, destroyed the bomb threatening Canterlot, ensured the Nightmare Army was no more and Nightmare Moon could never return, and kept Mizu from harming Sunset Shimmer. She gives Sunset Shimmer a silver sword and tells her how the death of Sunset's mother was an AccidentalMurder, but she doesn't expect forgiveness. Sunset Shimmer decides there had been enough bloodshed and forgives her.
* ''FanFic/TotalDramaLegacy'': Well, Redemption Equals ''[[VotedOffTheIsland Elimination]]''. Nero's HeelFaceTurn is finalized in "Wild Kat", the episode in which he gets eliminated, and Emilia has her HeelRealization after placing last in the fencing challenge (which ensures that she'll be the one who's eliminated that night) in "She Who Lives By the Sword…".
* In ''Fanfic/TheWeaverOption'', Major-General Gorgias was one of the most incompetent officers forced on Taylor during Operation Caribbean by the Munitorum, with a long track record of failures and no mitigating circumstances. This was so well-known, in fact, that during the invasion of [[spoiler:Commorragh]] the Dark Eldar assassins who gutted his division's leadership specifically left Gorgias alive to ensure no competent leader took over. With the Imperial forces about to rout and cripple the offense, Gorgias rallied a few thousand troops around a crippled tank and proceeded to hold off a Biel-Tan offense for nearly an hour, giving the rest of the forces time to rally. Gorgias himself fought to the end with a heavy flamer, personally killing eight Eldar before dying.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Depending on which version of the story you believe, the Chaos gods possessing Horus abandon him as soon as the tables turn during his final battle with the Emperor. Realising what he has done, Horus begs the Emperor to forgive him for his betrayal. The Emperor does so, then kills Horus to prevent him from being possessed again.
** Quite commonly accepted in-universe. The Ecclesiarchy alone gives us Arco-Flagellants ("repentant" heretics implanted with cyber weaponry and pumped full of combat drugs), Penitent Engines (not quite HumongousMecha piloted by arch-heretics tied to the front of the thing), Sisters Repentia ([[AmazonBrigade Sisters Of Battle]] with a death-wish because of some personal failure armed with an [[ChainsawGood Eviscerator]]) and with the RPG the newly-created Sisters Oblatia (Sisters Of Battle with a death-wish because of ''someone else's'' personal failure--according to their creed, they can redeem another person, group or even planet if their death is heroic enough. Taking the vow associated with this is considered a high honour that is not granted lightly...)
*** 8th Edition expands on the Sisters Repentia by adding a pair of variants to the Penitent Engine. The Mortifier is for Repentia who retreat from battle despite swearing to fight until death and tortures the pilot even more than the standard Penitent Engine. The Anchorite is for those Repentia who actually betray their sisters and have the misfortune of being captured as their cockpits are armored and can keep you going potentially for decades so that you can suffer and be redeemed.
** The Penal legions are criminals on death row who are sent on [[WeHaveReserves suicide missions]]. If they live or (far more likely) die, their sins are forgiven.
** The Tau apparently have an equivalent to sepukku that leaves onlookers splattered in blood and quite shaken, and whoever was at fault restored in the Ethereals' eyes.
* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Eventually, Gishki Noelia was purified of her corruption, leading her to sacrifice herself to revive her daughter, Gishki Emilia.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* In ''Theatre/TheGentlemanRanker'', the disgraced Lieutenant Graylen rejoins the army as Private Smith. He finds himself under the command of his father, Colonel Graylen, who tells him IHaveNoSon. Smith volunteers to push through enemy lines to make contact with reinforcements. He makes it through, but dies of his wounds. Colonel Graylen acknowledges his son again, posthumously.
* ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'':
** Implied to be the case with the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, as Malcolm notes to the King that "nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it."
** This foreshadows Macbeth himself getting a partial redemption in his last moments, being killed by Macduff in honourable combat after first attempting to dissuade his opponent from attacking rather than killing by proxy.
* A clearer Shakespearean example would be ''Theatre/KingLear'', a rare Shakespearean protagonist who actually sees the errors of his ways and becomes a genuinely good person by the end. Unfortunately, his transformation came too late to prevent him from losing his kingdom, his sanity, his daughters, and finally his life.
* In ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'', [[spoiler: J.D.]] goes out sacrificing himself to save Veronica, who planned to do the same by taking an explosion from the very bomb he created, after having a change of heart, proclaiming that he's [[BeyondRedemption too damaged]], but there's still yet hope for her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Happens in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' to [[spoiler: Hazel, who defects from Salem and sacrifices himself to buy the heroes time.]]
[[/folder]]

** Whether intentional or not, Miko does redeem her character to some extent. She does, after all, finally accept a compromise (seeing Windstriker again, even if she couldn't become a paladin again). Also, Miko was widely hated by the fanbase but still gets redeemed enough in the fans eyes to get a tear jerker ending.

* [[spoiler:Vriska]] from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. After crossing her MoralEventHorizon by brutally murdering one of her friends in cold blood, she then starts talking to John about how [[PetTheDog she regrets all the murders she's committed, announces her intention to take him on a date]] and decides to challenge the BigBad to a duel she'll almost certainly lose. And then Terezi kills her in order to stop her from compromising the rest of the {{Troll}}s.
** A case could be made for Equius as well. He's a JerkJock, a {{bowdlerize}}r and a [[FantasticRacism racist]], but he's genuinely sweet to his moirail, Nepeta. The exchange between the two of them before he's brutally murdered by Gamzee verges on being a TearJerker moment, especially since he makes peace with his romantic feelings for Aradia, despite her being the lowest troll on the hemospectrum right before he dies.
* ''Webcomic/{{Roommates}}'' gave us this lampshade-tastic [[http://asherhyder.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=168#/d12p906 conversation]] about dying for your redemption. Jamie (from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'') knows what he is talking about; "been there and done that"... and is around to talk about it because this is a comic where NobodyCanDie.
* Mako, a mind-clone of a government wet-worker, gets this in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' after exposure to Sorlie's far more morally upright approach to government service during an EnemyMine. Eventually, Mako serves as spotter for a weapon that can pass through matter, being vaporised in the blast but taking out an army of suborned security officers trying to sabotage the Dom Atlantis central reactor, and leaves a note begging Sorlie not to go down the same dark path...and if she could kindly kill the original wet-worker that'd be peachy.

* In ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'', minor character Anna Grout [[DrivenToSuicide kills herself]] out of guilt after accidentally slicing off Dane Zygmunt's arm and causing his subsequent death by blood loss. One of the reasons mentioned is offering his family some sort of redemption.

* Inverted in ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', when Penny's death causes Dr Horrible's final damnation.
* In "How to Challenge Toxic Masculinity as a Writer" on ''Website/{{Springhole}}'', Syera advises using this trope very carefully in the case of male characters, as it can send a message to depressed, self-loathing men that the only way to better the world and keep their loved ones safe is if [[DrivenToSuicide they kill themselves]].

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': Ulic Qel-Droma had an arc solely dedicated to his redemption. In the end he was able to make peace with himself and the people he hurt before getting shot. This was still enough to reestablish his connection to the force and let him become one with it when he died.

'''Naturally, this is a {{Death Trope|s}}, so ''expect unmarked spoilers ahead''. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''

* In the "[[Comicbook/DaredevilBornAgain Born Again]]" arc in ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'', the corrupt cop, after a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, still tries to confess to framing Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and is murdered by one of the Kingpin's minions.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'', Ulic Qel-Droma had an arc solely dedicated to his redemption. In the end he was able to make peace with himself and the people he hurt before getting shot. This was still enough to reestablish his connection to the force and let him become one with it when he died.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Tell your sister... ''you were right''."]]

* ''ComicBook/XMenTheTrialOfMagneto'' pulls an unusual example of this with the ComicBook/ScarletWitch, after many attempts to make up for M-Day, almost all of which ended badly. Extremely badly. As in, [[ComicBook/TheChildrensCrusade one gave Doctor Doom godlike power and got Cassie Lang killed]], another [[ComicBook/UncannyAvengers played right into the hands of the Apocalypse Twins and temporarily got her killed and Earth destroyed]], and the most recent one [[{{ComicBook/Empyre}} turned the entire deceased population of Genosha into zombies]]. The only exception was ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', and that was a mixed success. Taking Strange's advice after the last one, she stops being used by her guilt and trying to undo what she's done. So she dies. [[spoiler: Specifically, while she knows she'll always come back, she orchestrates her own murder on Krakoa with the reluctant aid of Magneto, and possibly also Toad, who's implied to willingly take the fall, so she can die and be put through the Mutant Resurrection Protocols. That allows her to create the Waiting Room a.k.a. the Eldritch Orchard, the Elysian Fields of mutantkind - anyone who wants to get their powers back can just step through and be added to the Resurrection queue without having to go through Crucible. It also allowed Cerebro to sweep through time and space and pick up every mutant who was killed before Cerebro made back-ups, or before their X-Gene activated]]. In other words, dying is part of her redemption.

* An odd example from ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'': Kaine, a flawed clone of Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man), is a serial killer. However, during Grim Hunt, he disguises himself as Peter Parker, steals Spider-Man's costume, and walks into a trap set by the Kraven family for Spider-Man in order to screw up Kraven the Hunter's resurrection. It doesn't work quite as planned, as Kraven is resurrected normally, but his death does infuriate Peter to the extent that he stops holding back against them. Subverted in that two comics later, Kaine is resurrected as a spider-monster on the last page.

* [[BewareTheSuperman Anissa]] in ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' was initially a cruel [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] who [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped Mark]] out of a desire to produce a pureblooded [[SupermanSubstitute Viltrumite]] child. Later on she has a HeelFaceTurn after [[DefectingForLove falling in love with a human man and starting a real family]], and expresses regret for her past actions before dying helping to protect the Earth.