The Last Thing You Ever See - Television Tropes & Idioms

Standard threat from villains (and occasionally heroes): "The last thing you ever see will be my X", where X is generally either some variety of weapon or simply "face". Perilously close to being discredited these days, unless it's about to get subverted somehow.

When combined with Exact Words, expect someone to lose their eyes, but probably not their life. Is a mildly more sedate version of ILL KILL YOU.

Examples:

Anime and Manga

"You better not forget my name... and hope you don't have to hear it a second time. Grimmjow Jeagerjacques! The next time you hear this name will be your last, Shinigami!"

Comic Books

Played with in DC: The New Frontier. Joe, a Death Seeker trying to avenge his fallen friends, looks at the sky, decides it's the last thing he wants to see, closes his eyes, and kills the T-Rex that murdered his friends by jumping down its throat while holding live grenades.
Angelus threatens the members of Angel Investigations in "Cavalry":
"The last thing you smell will be each other's blood"

Film

Variation: In Con Air, Cyrus the Virus taunts Poe by saying the last thing his daughter smells will be "my stinking breath."
- He uses another slight variation against the plane's pilot:
Cyrus the Virus: And if you say a word about this over the radio, the next wings you see will belong to the flies buzzing over your rotting corpse.
In King Arthur. Arthur says to the Big Bad "Remember my face. It will be the last thing you see on this Earth".
Variation in Avatar: The Na'vi refer to their world's flying apex predator as "Last Shadow".
Taken: "If you don't get me what I need, the last thing you'll see before I make your children orphans is the bullet I put between her eyes."
Played with in Smokin\' Aces. One of the assassins kills the casino's chief of security, but goes out of his way to kill him painlessly, and comforts him in his dying moments. He tells him to close his eyes so that his face won't be the last thing the guy will ever see, because (switching to Spanish) "Heaven may hold it against you". This compassion is greatly ironic, considering that the assassin in question is known for being a ruthless torturer.
Used in the film of the Biblical story of Samson, when his eyes are put out.

Live-Action Television

Hilariously defied in Firefly. The Dragon is threatening Mal as Mal attempts to explain the (pretty reasonable) terms on which he wants to cancel the crew's deal with the Big Bad. Around the time the guy gets to "...and the last thing you will see is my blade," Mal rolls his eyes, utters a short "Darn," and then kicks him right into the intake of Serenity's engine. Schplercht! The next guy immediately agrees to Mal's terms.
"I am Death Incarnate, and the last living thing you are ever gonna see! God sent me."
In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "The Gift," Buffy states that if the plan fails and the world ends, the last thing Dawn will see will be Buffy protecting her.
In the Lost season 4 finale, Michael tells Desmond and Jin that if the bomb is triggered and they haven't frozen the battery yet, the red light will be the last thing they ever see.
The tagline of Nikita Season 1:
Nikita: I will hunt down Division, and the last word they'll breathe before the end, will be my name.

Literature

In The Pearls of Lutra, the Big Bad tells Martin that the last thing he'll hear is the Big Bad's name.

Music

"Her Eyes Say Yes" by Hit the Lights uses this trope in a rather creepy fashion.

Theme Parks

In the pre-show of The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios, Sideshow Bob says this, stating it will be a brief safety instruction video. Screams from the Simpsons immediately follow.

Video Games

Hitman Blood Money's first mission has the assassin 47 showing a photograph to his target, "Swing King," telling him that his client wants this to be the last thing he sees before 47 kills him. You can then beat him over the head with a fire extinguisher.
- Also, in a twist of irony, 47 can beat Swing King to death with his son's baseball bat.
In the Dawn of War expansion Soulstorm, the primary commander unit of the Eldar says "I am the last thing you will see." in battle. Constantly.
In Halo Wars, during the final confrontation between Forge and the Arbiter, the Arbiter lifts Forge up by the head and prepares to skewer him with his energy sword, telling Forge that "My face is the last thing your pathetic eyes will ever see." Forge then stabs him in the neck with his knife.
Duke Nukem 3D: "The last thing to slip through your mind before you die... will be my number 12 boot."
- Then, upon defeating him, he kicks the Big Bad's one eye out of his head.
Played with in Fallout: New Vegas - The motto of the NCR 1st Recon is: "The last thing you never see".
Boone: Pretty accurate, and so were we.

Western Animation

In Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Joker tells Batman that "the last thing you will ever hear is the sound of our laughter" and proceeds to do so. He is then hoisted on his own petard.
- And in The Batman:
Joker: Clayface! Just the do-gooder I was hoping to see!
Clayface: I'll be the last do-gooder you'll ever see!
I am Hak Foo, the last human you will ever lay eyes upon.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series proves that it doesn't work against You Fight Like a Cow:
Spider-Man: "Did you say 'Hydrant-Man?' The dogs must love you!"
Hydro-Man: "It's Hydro-Man! And it's the last name you'll ever hear."
Spider-Man: "For somebody new to this super-villain gig, you've sure got the cliches down."

Ladies and Germs

Stock Phrases

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