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 "#37: There is no "overkill". There is only "open fire" and "I need to reload."
There are some opponents you want to defeat. There are some opponents you want to kill. Then there are some opponents you want to stab babillion times, followed by unloading an M61 Vulcan Gatling gun, carpetbombing the entire area, spamming the corpse with a combination of Wave Motion Guns and Kill Sats, nuking, then standing on them while dancing horribly before falling on your back (on them), and just to be sure, driving them into the ground with a jackhammer.
Sometimes, the act of killing an opponent can be completely overdone. A prime example would be shooting an enemy until they're almost dead, then, to finish them off, completely blowing up their body and everything else in a five mile radius. All in all, it's a waste of resources, tactics, and time.
...but it's always, always worth it. Always. Especially if the enemy is just hanging on up until the end. Actually, that's just cruel.
Often part of a Curb-Stomp Battle or Humiliation Conga, if said conga ends with the villain's death. If not then it will often happen to the nameless Mook or other poor minion who happens to be in the hero's (generally the Anti-Hero's) way. If you're feeling lampshadish, another character may remark "I think he's dead already" near the end of it.
If done right, you'll probably have the pleasure of saying No One Could Survive That without having to doubt. Or.... maybe not. Can sometimes result in a Cruel and Unusual Death. Every so often, it will actually worsen the situation by crossing the Godzilla Threshold.
In a conservative sense, Overkilling is grossly inefficient (a.k.a Awesome, but Impractical) because of the inherent risk of wasting time and firepower: The weaker and less numerical a target of attack is, the greater the overkill is and the loss of time and firepower put into the attack.
The entire point of Multi-Directional Barrage, especially More Dakka, Macross Missile Massacre. Ludicrous Gibs often results. The more ludicrous can become Apocalypse Wow.
Compare Chunky Salsa Rule, Rasputinian Death, Critical Existence Failure, Videogame Cruelty Potential, Surplus Damage Bonus, Disproportionate Retribution, and Deader than Dead.
Contrast Cherry Tapping, Once is Not Enough, Godzilla Threshold.
— Schlock Mercenary, "The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries"
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Discussion alternative title(s): No Kill Like Overkill; There Is No Kill Like An Overkill; Theres No Kill Like Overkill
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