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"Leave anything for us?"
"Just bodies."
— General Kirby and John Matrix, Commando
When the police/military/other supporting group to the scene only after the hero has defeated the monster, killer, or Big Bad.
Sometimes this is played for humor, or to play up their uselessness compared to The Hero. Often, though, it serves the same purpose as No Ontological Inertia — while the hero has to defeat the Big Bad alone for the purposes of the story, The Cavalry is necessary to sweep up loose ends and ensure a happy ending, especially in real-world settings where the hero is on the side of law and order. Thus, they'll arrive just too late to interfere in the big fight, but just in time to handcuff the crooks... and to ensure that the hero isn't anticlimactically killed by a stray remaining mook or some other logical but narratively unimportant danger that wouldn't necessarily have gone away with the Big Bad's death. It also makes Post-Dramatic Stress Disorder less hazardous for the hero, or allows the After-Action Patchup to go on without worrying about clean-up.
Usually signified by the growing sound of sirens in the background. On occasion, the knowledge of their approach is what makes the villain's attacks especially frantic, or especially powerful, or what have you — he has to finish the hero and flee.
(Note that this is really about cases where the cavalry arrives, as it were, just after the nick of time. If the hero defeats the killer, then phones the police to come mop up, and they turn up 15 minutes later in response to the phone call, that doesn't count.)
Contrast Big Damn Heroes, Just in Time, and You Are Too Late.
Examples
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Anime and Manga
- In Holyland, after Yuu beats Shougo, the other thugs beat Yuu up and the police only arrive while the beatdown is already in progress.
- Pokémon:
- If Officer Jenny shows up, it's always after the villain (usually Team Rocket) has been defeated by Ash and his friends.
- In Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, Jenny shows up to arrest the Phantom after Ash defeats him.
- In Berserk, Guts and Caska are attacked by over 100 enemy soldiers. Guts manages to create an opening for Caska to escape, and she runs to get the rest of the Band of the Hawk. Eventually, the Cavalry arrives to bail out Guts, only to find the battlefield quiet, with corpses littered all over it. They find Guts still and unmoving against a tree, and immediately assume the worst. And then Guts wakes up from the nap he took after single-handedly winning a battle where he was outnumbered by over a hundred to one.
- In One Piece, Shanks and the Red-Hair Pirates show up at Marinford at the end of the Paramount War after Ace and Whitebeard died.
Comic Books
Eastern Animation
Film - Live-Action
Literature
- In Robert E. Howard's "The Phoenix On The Sword", Conan the Barbarian deals with both assassins and Eldritch Abomination, and then, his courtiers show up. One is, however, able to show it was not All Just a Dream.
- In Colas Breugnon, the military aid sent by prince de Nevers to help a besieged town arrives only after both sides have made an agreement, ended the siege and proceeded to feast together; these latecomers are welcomed with laughter and politely asked to go away.
- In A Song of Ice and Fire Lord Walder Frey showed up at the climactic battle of the civil war only after it was over - assuring the victors that, of course, he had been riding to their aid. Ever since he's been mocked as the "Late Lord Frey" as a dual reference to his tardiness and refusal to just die already (He's over ninety and has over 100 descendants.)
- Sunshine: After Con and Rae take down Bo, the police turn up just in time to arrest them for being at the scene of the conflict.
Live Action TV
Radio
- 'The Goons' episode The Red Fort features an inversion. The hero, Major Bloodnok is about to be shot by firing squad as Neddy Seagoon rides forth with the Cavalry to rescue him. Point of view rapidly shifts back and forth between the galloping cavalry and the firing squad, up until the final moment when Bloodnok is shot, ending the episode.
Tabletop Games
- Played for drama in Magic: The Gathering's Ravnica novel when all of the angels, along with their sky fortress, Sunhome, fail to show up during the final battle; they don't reappear until the end of the next book.
Video Games
- The first boss fight in Beyond Good And Evil ends with Jade and Pey'j defeating an alien monster and then the Alpha Sections who are supposed to protect them from the aliens arrive. Pey'j proceeds to chew out the "defenders" but is promptly told to shut up. It is later revealed that Alphas are part of a Government Conspiracy and they were supposed to arrive late, wherease Pey'j is a high-ranking member of La Résistance.
- Both Max Payne games end with Max being found by the police after the final shootout. Though in the first game, they are out to apprehend him.
- Invoked in Dawn of War: Winter Assault. General Sturnn holds back his Imperial Guard reserves, knowing that they would be cut to pieces if they tried to make landfall during a fight.
- Entirely possible to do in Fire Emblem, but that's up to the player. In one case in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, defeating the enemy before their help arrives (really easy to do) makes you miss a really good recruit-able character, making him a case of What Happened to the Mouse? afterwards.
Web Comics
Western Animation
- Done in the Aladdin episode "The Secret of Dagger Rock''. Iago and Abu, armed to the teeth (or beak, in Iago's case) show up up to help... only to to find the action ended hours ago.
- Scooby-Doo. "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for You Meddling Kids!", just before the cops snap on the handcuffs. This is eventually lampshaded in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.
- SWAT Kats: "Looks like the Enforcers are here - late as usual."
- Jonny Quest episode "The Quetong Missile Mystery". After the Quests have destroyed the missile and escaped from General Fong's forces, Commissioner Wa and a boatload of Quetong police show up (and presumably take the remaining mooks into custody). Possibly Lampshaded when Dr. Quest says "Too bad they missed the party."
- Part of Daffy's thrilling conclusion pitch of The Scarlet Pumpernickel to the WB execs. Only a part of it, mind.
- Princess Luna from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic is well known for her vanishingly small amount of screen time, and the constant comments from the fans of "Wow, it would sure be nice if the second most powerful character in the show would notice that the villian is about to take over the world" is lampshaded when she turns up at the END of "A Canterlot Wedding" and asks if she's missed anything.
Real Life
- The Spartan relief force arrived at Marathon just in time to take a curious look at the Athenian's work.
- The Siege of Khartoum in 1885. By the time the relieving British Army arrived, the Siege just ended in favour of the Mahdist rebels, killing Chinese Gordon and much of the Egyptian garrison within. The British Army, realising their failure, withdrew.
- The failure of the steamers to arrive on time caused a huge political fallout back in Britain, causing the collapse of the Gladstone government and a Strongly Worded Letter of rebuke from the Queen to the Prime Minister. It wouldn't be until 1898 that the British would reconquer Sudan.
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