History Main / TheyKilledKenny

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[[quoteright:348:[[SouthPark http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/YouKilledKenny_3361.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:348:[[http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/2008/10/06/YouKilledKenny.jpg You bastards!]]]]

->'''Stan:''' Oh my god, [[TropeNamer they killed Kenny]]!\\
'''Kyle:''' You bastards!
-->-- Almost every episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' for the first five seasons.

A [[RecurringCharacter recurring]] RedShirt, as impossible as it sounds. This character is, and sometimes exists only to be, killed off repetitively (sometimes even OnceAnEpisode), [[SnapBack always returning by the next one]], as a RunningGag.

Usually found in shows with NegativeContinuity, particularly {{Sadist Show}}s - in more realistic shows, the character may be a robot who can be rebuilt or replaced between episodes, or [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap immortal]] in some way, unless there's a GroundhogDayLoop going on. The character does not need to die permanently as long as he appears to die in the narrative.

A subtrope of NegativeContinuity and ComedicSociopathy. A ritualized form of StayingAlive. Could overlap with TheChewToy and CosmicPlaything. Often a by-product of DeathIsCheap. ChronicallyCrashedCar is a variant that refers to vehicles.

As of season 14 of ''SouthPark'', this trope has been deconstructed via a CerebusRetcon. Details can be found in the main and character pages.

'''NOTE:''' this is a comedy trope. If it's not a RunningGag, it's probably just DeathIsCheap.
----
'''AS THIS IS A [[DeathTrope DEATH TROPE]], EXPECT SPOILERS!!!'''

!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Advertising]]
* Louie the Fly, in the Mortein insect spray commercials. For the character's 50th anniversary, Mortein are having a public poll on whether to kill him off permanently.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* There is a character in the ''SailorMoon'' manga who gets killed off several times and always looks the same, but never gets lines (or a name).
* Hyatt of ''ExcelSaga''. Often many times an episode.
** The Ropunmatsus too. Those pretty much exist to explode and then be replaced like nothing happened in the next episode.
** Excel herself has suffered this status on occasion.
*** For example, dying roughly two or three times before the second half of the first episode. [[IGotBetter She gets better.]]
* Sakura ([[GenderBlenderName a boy]]) in ''[[LightNovel/BludgeoningAngelDokurochan Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan]]'' is killed many times per episode depending upon how much he pisses off [[HeroicSociopath Dokuro]] only to be [[DeathIsCheap resurrected seconds later]].
-->'''Sakura:''' "''Why did you just murder me, Dokuro?!''"
-->'''Dokuro:''' "''There was a mosquito on your shirt!''"
* ''GetterRobo'' has an unusual subversion in the form of [[TheBigGuy Musashi Tomoe]]. Musashi is unfailingly KilledOffForReal (usually by way of a CrowningMomentOfAwesome Heroic Sacrifice), only to show up alive and well to repeat the process... In the next ''[[AlternateContinuity continuity]]''.
** And not just the anime either. He bites the dust in most of his appearences in SuperRobotWars as well. Very, VERY rarely is he savable. However, despite being savable in [[SuperRobotWarsAlpha Alpha 2]], his death is Canon.
* There seems to be a RecurringCharacter in GundamWing, who's almost always the Mook leader, that dies all the time during the latter part of the series. On a side note, he may also be the one that ends up shooting Dekim in the head from the sound of his voice but that's probably due to recycling [=VAs=] rather then intentionally.
* Leomon from ''{{Digimon}}'' is a special case. Every series but the second and seventh is a hard {{reboot}}, and all {{Mons}} of a type are identical, so there are several guys named Leomon or [=SomethingLeomon=] who are not the same guy, or even AlternateContinuity versions of the same guy. And what happens to them?
** ''DigimonAdventure'': [[spoiler: Leomon eats a blast meant for Mimi, and after helping vanquish the villain, bites it.]]
** ''DigimonTamers'': [[spoiler: Leomon becomes Juri's partner, and eventually gets run through and absorbed by Beelzebumon, sending Juri over the DespairEventHorizon and setting the stage for D-Reaper's use of her.]]
** ''DigimonFrontier'': [=JagerLowemon=]'s Japanese name? [=KaiserLeomon=]. [[spoiler: Actually being ''human'' doesn't save him from death]] at the hands of [[{{Satan}} Lucemon]], though it turns out that [[spoiler: like Shibumi of ''Tamers'', he's actually physically in the human world and his mind is connected to the digital world, unlike the others. He's alive and well when they get home.]] Bonus points for a MonsterOfTheWeek, Panjamon, who is a white recolor of Leomon. [[spoiler: He gets taken out quite easily, but since he's in Mercuremon's illusionary world, and leaves no egg behind, he may never have been real]].
** ''DigimonSavers'': [=SaberLeomon=] is a "good but misguided" type who believes humans are bad due to the bad actions of one guy. [[spoiler: Not only does he die,]] but... in all Digimon series but ''Tamers'', Digimon revert to an egg state and begin life again, never truly dying. However, Kurata figures out a way to corrupt a Digimon's data so that it can never be revived. [[spoiler: [=SaberLeomon=] is the first Digimon in this series to die ''permanently.'']] Also, [=BanchoLeomon=] turns out to be holding [[spoiler: the spirit of the lead character's father. Naturally, he dies too. When the reformed BigBad gives Daddy back, ''nothing is said about [=BanchoLeomon=].'']] Harsh.
** ''DigimonXrosWars'': [=MadLeomon=] is a villain general. The first one. As he's a WarmupBoss, he's offed very quickly. The fastest record for a Leomon death in the franchise. And he's not the only one; later on there's Apollomon, who while not sharing the name is definitely leonine. He dies ''twice'', but is revived at the end of the series.
** No, that award goes to ''DigimonXEvolution'', where a Leomon dies in the first ''three minutes''. And because he considered the digimon he was attacking (the main character) more '''worthy''' of beeing alive!
* Vrumugun from ''{{Slayers}}'' appears in maybe eight episodes, and dies roughly a dozen times over the course of them. In the anime, this is because [[spoiler: he has been repeatedly cloned]]. In the novels, this is because [[spoiler: the 'Vrumuguns' who are killed are actually people being magically controlled by the real Vrumugun]].
* Chuck the [[spoiler: ghost]] dog from ''Anime/{{Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt}}'' is killed multiple times in every episode only to reappear at random times alive only to get killed again.
* Although everyone in ''Anime/AngelBeats'' dies repeatedly, none of them dies as often as Noda, whose appearance WILL gurantee death.
* JoJosBizarreAdventure has the [[spoiler:Zeppeli family]], in Parts 1 and 2, which has both of their members ([[spoiler: Will A. Zeppeli and Caesar Zeppeli]] die against one of the major enemies but managing to inspire the protagonist beyond the grave. [[spoiler: Gyro Zeppeli from Part 7 does not escape the same fate.]]
* ''CarnivalPhantasm'' has Lancer, who seems to die in his every appearance. In fact, he once got spontaneously struck by lightning on a clear day. The BeachEpisode is the only episode where he doesn't die because he doesn't show up there. [[spoiler:Episode 11 remedies this by revealing that he was hiding in the rocket when it got punctured by a ballistic volleyball]].
** And as of the special, every death is accompanied with "You aren't human!", the Japanese localization of ''SouthPark'''s "You bastards!"
* The second anime series in the HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi franchise is a [[UpToEleven synchronized ensemble of Kennys]]. In LaymansTerms, [[KillEmAll all the main characters die]] and comes back to life multiple times throughout. The explanation why they come back is [[spoiler: the town god Oyashiro-sama is a [[GodIsEvil vengeful god]] who toys with his citizenry by means of reincarnation and a mental disorder dubbed [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hinamizawa Syndrome]]]].
** Actually, each time the cycle restarts, it starts in a parallel universe. It's basically a GroundhogDayLoop [[spoiler:caused by Hanyuu ("Oyashiro-sama") in an effort to find an ending where Rika (and preferably the rest of the gang) doesn't die]]. No one's trying to torture anyone by reincarnation or anything. And it's definitely not a RunningGag, so this entry shouldn't even be here.
* In ''SoulEater'', Blackstar is suffocated to death in the episode Legend of the Holy Sword 2 (a halo appears above his head indicating death), but he is perfectly fine in the next scene.
* At the end of one of the episodes of ''SgtFrog'', the titular character is killed by the red frog (we see him as an angel floating up to Heaven), but is alive and well in the next episode.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CardGames ]]

* ''{{Magic The Gathering}}'' features a [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=39710 handful]] [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=45123 of]] [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=43555 cards]] whose FlavorText references the various deaths of a hapless goblin named Furt.
** More famously, there's [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=106473 Squee]], who eventually proved to be so popular he got his own card, complete with a returning-to-play mechanic.
---> "He is Yawgmoth's reward to me. I shall kill him a hundred times a day."\\

*** More recently, the card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?printed=false&recentpage=4&multiverseid=205066 Reassembling Skeleton]] lampshades a lesser-known rule regarding creature cards; If a non-token creature leaves play for any reason but returns at some point, the game state considers it a different creature. To sum up, same ''card'' does not equal same ''creature''.
** {{Chaotic}} has similar flavor text for some cards involving Bodal.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: ComicBooks ]]

* GreatLakesAvengers
** [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mr. Immortal]]. His one power is the ability to come back from the dead after a few minutes. Since he has a considerable lack of fighting skills, this mostly translates to him frequently dying in a variety of hillariously painful and bizarre ways. Death by giant novelty scissors, death by impalement from a remote control, death by alcohol poisoning from a ray that was only supposed to make him drunk...
** An interesting variation in the succession of Grasshoppers that join the same team; none of them are the same character, but all of them take the hero name Grasshopper, join the team to replace the last Grasshopper, and then get killed in various ugly ways, each with less panel time than the one before.
* The {{Magazine/Mad}} Magazine comic Magazine/SpyVsSpy features a black and a white spy trying to outsmart each other, and either one of them usually ends up beaten or dead by the end of the strip, only to be alive and well by the next gag.
** According to WordOfGod from creator Antonio Prohías, they are not the same spy, but are instead merely spies from rival nations that die horribly and are replaced - this was the basis of his commentary on the Cold War.
* The Red Tornado gets blown up so many times it's become a running gag in the ''Justice League'', and also makes its way into ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''.
* Emperor Palpatine in ''[[StarWarsExpandedUniverse Dark Empire]]''. Practically everyone kills him. Mostly Luke and Leia. Han kills him the last time.
* ''BrewsterRockit'' play this one for laughs with Winky, Dr. Mel's unfortunate assistant, who seems to be able to lose his spleen many, ''many'' times.
* Due to a combination of DeadBabyComedy and NegativeContinuity, nearly the ''entire cast'' of ''TwistedToyfareTheater'', or at least the setting Megoville, dies several times over the course of the series. The character guides in the trades frequently list several deaths for each character. [[CaptainAmerica Bucky]] probably dies the most consistently.
* It's well known among ''{{Transformers}}'' fans that any character without a toy is a RedShirt. The ''TransformersArmada'' comic series had a recurring RedShirt in Dropshot, whose design was taken from a Japanese transforming robot that was not imported during the original series' run.
** The Decepticon Dirge is in any number of unconnected comic series, and meets his doom in nearly every last one, ''and'' blows up ''twice'' in the G1 cartoon. His death count may be higher than Prime. The TF Wiki quotes his BadassBoast, "Death comes to he who crosses me!" and attributes it to "a confused Dirge."
* ShowWithinAShow version: In ''PearlsBeforeSwine'', Rat's "Angry Bob" stories tend to have the titular character die in all sorts of absurd ways, only to be alive at the start of the next story with no explanation (though in a few occasions Rat did write that Bob "undied")
* DC's Solomon Grundy is a cursed zombie (sort of), so whenever he dies he just rises again from the same swamp he died in (often with a completely new personality, including some times where he's been heroic), which of course happens all the time. Eventually they just strand him on an uninhabited planet.
* A number of characters in ''{{Viz}}'' have died and come back without explanation, but Suicidal Sid and Big Vern (and his supporting cast) die almost every time.
* The Finish western comic, ''Pekkos Bill'', have the titular hero dying violently in every third panel, always with the same smug expression on his face (unless the death involves the obliteration of his head or entire person).
* {{Iznogoud}}, in his plots to overthrow the Caliph, always ends up locked in a dungeon, permanently transformed, vanished, etc. and is back to resume his plotting at the beginning of the next episode.
* Freddy in ''{{Horndog}}''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: FanFic ]]

* In the ''FinalFantasy'' fanfic ''Cid Wars'', [[ThoseTwoGuys Biggs and Wedge]] are killed every time they show up, amounting to at least a dozen times over the course of the fic.
** A FanFiction.Net author by the handle of Carbuncle frequently kills off Aeris in his Final Fantasy VII fanfics, which is followed by exclamations of "Oh my god, they killed Aeris!" "You beasts!" This is an obvious reference to Kenny's deaths on South Park.
* In Chris [=McFeely=]'s later ''{{Digimon}}'' fics, the series' running gag of Leomon dying becomes this.
* Kyo Kusanagi died repeatedly in the early chapters of ''KingOfFighters'' improfanfic ''Reforming Evil Can Be Tricky''. It quickly became a RunningGag.
* Sunsetshine in [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4544277/1/Hidden_Prophices Hidden Prophices]].
* Dirge in the ''{{Transformers}}'' fic, ''They Just Don't Care Anymore'', dies in almost every chapter, even parodied in the Halloween Special, where he dresses up as Kenny and, predictably, dies.
** He fares no better in canon.
* In the ''{{Ed Edd n Eddy}}'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4568074/1/Youtube_Ed YouTube Ed]]'', after chapter 6, Eddy gets brutally killed in some sort of way. Edd and Edder then give an obvious ''South Park'' reference, as seen below. This was actually required in one chapter to find Edder, though the kids found out it was a trap for them the whole time.
-->'''Edd''': Oh my goodness, they killed Eddy!\\
'''Edder''': You bastards.\\
'''Ed''': I see an obvious crossover here!
* Adric in ''Series/DoctorWho'' fanfic setting ''FanFic/ThisTimeRound''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

* The Cat from ''TheLookingGlassWars'' dies repeatedly in the series, since he has nine lives.
* In Joel Chandler Harris' original Uncle Remus stories of Brer Rabbit and company, characters sometimes were said to be actually killed by the actions of Brer Rabbit or the others. In the first volume of stories, Brer Possum burns to death during a 'trial by fire' in ''Brer Rabbit Nips the Butter'', Brer Wolf is locked in a chest and scalded to death in ''The Awful Fate of Mr. Wolf'', and Brer Fox is killed by a farmer and decapitated in ''The Sad Fate of Mr. Fox''. But all are back alive again in the second volume, ''Nights With Uncle Remus'' thanks to the NegativeContinuity of the stories. Brer Wolf, in particular, is done in again several times in the second volume, and again back as if nothing happened.
** In fact, Brer Wolf is back in a later story in the first volume, ''How Mr. Rabbit Saved His Meat'', which lampshades this. The little boy to whom Uncle Remus tells the stories to objects when Uncle Remus introduces Brer Wolf, saying that Brer Rabbit scalded the wolf to death. Uncle Remus is forced to admit that yes, that's what happened in the earlier story, and that the story he's telling now might take place before it happened or be about a different Brer Wolf. He doesn't really know -- he just tells them the way he hears them. And that's his final word on the matter and he goes on with the story.
* Commissar CiaphasCain ('''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!''') has been mistakenly reported dead so many times that there is a standing order that he isn't to be taken off the active duty list. Inquisitor Vail notes in the commentary that he is the only officer in the history of the Imperium to remain on the active duty list a hundred and fifty years after being buried with full military honors.
* In David Wong's ''John Dies at the End'', John dies in chapter six of the book. [[spoiler: He gets better.]]
* In DanielPinkwater's ''Young Adult Novel'', installments of the story within the story "Kevin Shapiro, Boy Orphan" are said to frequently end with Kenny's unceremonious death. Charles the Cat explains: "Kevin is indestructible. You can kill him as often as you like. He can be brought back to life in the next chapter, which usually gets told the following day during lunch."
* In the series of ''{{Clue}}'' books, Mr. Boddy was always "killed" in the final chapter. He would then explain how he survived in the introduction of the next book, usually by some silly, implausible stroke of luck (ie, his murderer accidentally picking up a banana instead of a revolver).
* While only one died, teaching [[HarryPotter Defense Against the Dark Arts]] at Hogwarts is not good to anyone's health. No wonder Dumbledore didn't find someone to take the job in the fifth book.
** Well, let's see... One died, one got his memory permanently erased, one quit because of an oncoming scandal due to his Lycanthropy, one got shoved in a trunk/bag of holding for nine months by an impostor, one was run out of the school by essentially an open rebellion of the students and a poltergeist, one was part of a VERY complex double agent plan for Voldemort, and the last one... well, he actually lived after Dumbledore guilt-tripped him into taking the job.
*** That said, it is implied no one person ever holds the job for two consecutive years. Something always makes them quit. The one who died was said to have taught in prior years before taking a sabbatical to get more experience.
*** WordOfGod avtually says he originally taught Muggle Studies.
* Heavystep from ''WarriorCats''. He dies of greencough sooooo much.
* Agrajag from ''TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' is repeatedly reincarnated and is killed again every time - always by Arthur Dent, and always by accident.
* Actually lampshaded in an ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' book, where Rachel dreams she killed the TropeNamer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: LiveActionTV ]]

* ''{{Dinosaurs}}'' had a ShowWithinAShow called Ask Mr. Lizard. The young volunteer, Timmy, would die as a result of the science experiment every episode, prompting Mr. Lizard to spout his much anticipated CatchPhrase, "We're gonna need another Timmy!"
* [[SaturdayNightLive Mr. Bill]] is another early example.
** A recent example on ''SNL'' is Bobby Moynihan's "Ass Dan" character, who has been declared dead in 2009, but has come back (and died again) in 2010 (twice), and 2011.
* Not necessarily a RunningGag or any sort of comedic effect, but Ensign Kim from ''StarTrekVoyager'' seems to fit for this. Basically put, Ensign Kim is the series's designated RedShirt and any time he and one other person are on an away mission, you can almost guarantee that Kim is going to bite the big one... again. Of course, he comes back rather easily with all the various temporal stuff, cloning, alternate dimensions, and just damn good medical stuff.
** Likewise, the Vorta (especially Weyoun) fill this role in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', being repeatedly cloned.
--> '''Female Changeling:''' "I wish you hadn't done that. That was Weyoun's last clone."
--> '''Garak:''' "I was hoping you would say that."
* It's been removed now for being too interesting, but at one point the Wikipedia page on ''{{Charmed}}'' had a tally of how many times the sisters had died. They were all in double figures.
* In ''TheMiddleman'' there are the various Interrodroids, and to some extent [[spoiler:Ida]].
* Larry Duff from ''FatherTed''. Whenever Ted calls his mobile, he's in the middle of doing something from which he ''really'' doesn't want to be distracted. The resulting accidents are never shown to be fatal, but he probably qualifies for the trope anyway.
* Spoofed, along with the RedShirt, in an episode of ''MyBestFriendIsAnAlien'', in which the combination of FanDumb and VR results in the school being turned temporarily into an episode of ''Tarbox Moon Warriors'' (an in-universe show everyone except the main character hates). Said main character comments that "[[RedShirt the ensign in the orange shirt]]" is killed every episode.
* On ''{{Main/Misfits}}'', [[spoiler:after Nathan's power is revealed to be immortality, he begins to die frequently in a variety of gruesome (and often comedic) ways]].
* The henchmen on ''{{Primeval}}'', it turns out that [[spoiler:they're clones.]]
* In the episode "Welcome Back Carter" ''({{Eureka}})'', the new robotic sheriff Andy is crushed multiple times, but Fargo always seems to be able to fix him, though with varying malfunctions occasionally popping up.
** He comes back as Jack's new deputy in season 4, and goes in for repairs a lot.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Doctor, and other Time Lords, can regenerate into a new person every time they die, hence "TheNthDoctor" being the name of the trope. It's happened to him 10 times so far.
** Rory Williams was killed or thought to be killed so many times in the space of less than 2 seasons that it was {{lampshaded}} in "Night Terrors." Rory and Amy were transported to a dark room and Rory said, annoyed, "We're dead... We're dead, AGAIN!" It's Lampshaded again in "The Wedding of River Song." Apparently, aliens have a new title for Rory: "the man who dies and dies again."
* The original ''{{MacGruber}}'' shorts all end with the team failing to disarm the bomb and the building they're in blowing up. Despite this, the shorts in each episode refer back to one another, and dialogue suggests that they see the bombs as threats to the buildings rather than themselves. [[MST3KMantra Don't ask how]].
* Daniel Jackson of ''[[StargateSG1 Stargate SG-1]]'' dies a ''lot''. The OtherWiki used to have a list, in fact. Depending on whether or not you count androids, alternate realities, and virtual reality simulations, he's over 20. Even disallowing every single time he [[DeathFakedForYou didn't actually die]], he still died at least four times. That might not sound like a lot for this page until you consider that in-universe, he's just a BadassBookworm with no actual special abilities. It's not that he's a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien, he just keeps on being saved at the last minute or seeing duplicates of himself get killed. After the second time he died (ironically, one of the times he wasn't really dead), his friends basically gave up on even giving him a funeral. Eventually it did become a {{Running Gag}} that some of the other characters ([[DeadpanSnarker Jack]]) just stopped buying it whenever someone claimed that [[IncrediblyLamePun "They killed Danny!"]].
* A Season Five episode of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' actually opens with a montage of scenes from previous episodes where Sam and Dean "died," along with Bobby Singer snarking "how many times have you two died?"
* TV's Frank in ''MysteryScienceTheater3000''. Not ''every'' episode, but pretty close.
** ''{{MST3K}}'' fan favorite ''SpaceMutiny'' has one character killed, only to inexplicably reappear alive and well... IN THE VERY NEXT SCENE. (Though, in this case, it's due to [[TheyJustDidntCare the movie's editor not paying attention to what order the two scenes were supposed to be shown in]] rather than the character actually coming back to life, though)
* {{Mongrels}} has one episode where Marion dies eight times if you count all the [[ManateeGag Family Guy esque-flashbacks]], but otherwise averted unlike a lot of the "adult" cartoons it draws inspiration from.
* Similarly, expect any recurring immortal in ''{{Highlander}}'' to die and come back to life several times. Unless the death involves decapitation, it's only an inconvenience to them.
* One of the few times it's played for drama is Pygmon from the ''{{Ultraman}}'' series. Everytime the little guy shows up he normally gets killed, or at the very least, severely injured or threatened. While in universe this is played for the drama, and can be a TearJerker, he's earned the reputation in the fandom as the ''[[FanNickname Kenny of Kaiju]]'' due to this.
* Kennedy Smith and Allan Kriegman, the feuding retired secret agents and lead characters of ''Series/TheWarNextDoor'', are prime examples of this trope. At least one of them dies at the end of every episode.
* ''TheYoungOnes'' ended several episodes by killing off all four of the lads, and Neil died once in addition to that. Subverted with Vyvyan, who suffered injuries a few times that would've been fatal for anyone else, but [[MadeOfIron shrugged them off]].
* Jack Harkness of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' and ''Series/DoctorWho'' gets killed numerous times, but he's immortal, so it doesn't stick.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]

* In ''LittleNicky'' the title character is killed a total of seven times throughout the movie first when he got hit by a train when coming to the surface of the world, next when he got hit by a bus trying to find his brothers, next when he's killed by a polar bear in the zoo, then he got hit by a truck when one of his brothers is mind controlling his body, afterward he tells his room mate and stoner friends to kill him they do so by drowning him in the bath tub, the next time when he sacrifices his life to save Valerie by shoving his evil brother Adrian in front of a subway train when he tried to kill her causing it to hit both of them, and for the last time when he wishes to see his father (the Devil) so Valerie smashes his skull with a boulder given to her by Music/OzzyOsbourne.
* In the first, second and third ''ScaryMovie'' films Brenda gets killed and she's always back for the next one. The fourth one she actually survived.
** Not in a bonus/deleted scene, available in the DVD. In the final scene, she is celebrating for finally not being killed off in the movie, [[DroppedABridgeOnHim then a cargo container falls on her]].
* In both ''Film/MenInBlack'' movies, the local alien black market dealer Jack Jeebs serves a humorous variant on this trope in which his head is blown off, only to [[GoodThingYouCanHeal re-grow]] within less than a minute. This happens multiple times in both movies, usually with the MIB themselves perpetrating the deed, much to his frustration ("You insensitive pricks, do you know how much that stings?").
** This continues in the cartoon TV show, which serves as a better medium for such a [[RunningGag Running Gag]]. Poor guy can't catch a break.
-->'''Jeebs:''' Even if I did, if it doesn't work, K dies, you blow my head off. If it does work, I brought back K who, just for the fun of it, blows my head off. Sooo, ''what's'' my incentive?\\
[K raises his gun to Jeebs' head]\\
'''Jeebs:''' [Weak laugh] Okay homey, I keep it right downstairs next to the snow blower.
* A long-running joke like this is hard to pull off in a film-format, but ''{{Top Secret}}'' manages with the character of Latrine, who shows up three times, mortally wounded, to gasp out the intelligence he gathered.
* In ''[[TheGamers The Gamers: Dorkness Rising]]'', the bard user gets sick of being resurrected (and subsequently losing a level)... so he brings in 50 more bard character sheets. In one scene, the other characters literally use his pile of corpses as cover.
* The QuirkyMinibossSquad in ''TheSixthDay'' technically does stay dead, but they [[ExpendableClone clone themselves over and over]], and several of the deaths are PlayedForLaughs. One of them repeatedly expresses a feeling of phantom pain from whatever his previous death was.
* Phil in ''Film/GroundhogDay'' due to a time paradox is living the same day over and over. He finally loses it and causes a bunch of destruction, abducts the town's groundhog and kills himself by driving off a cliff, only to wake alive and well the "next" morning. He then spends a horrifying montage in suicides in every way he can think of, only to wake up safe in bed on Groundhog Day morning.
* Scamper the rabbit from {{Igor}} is killed multiple times but always comes back because he was injected with an immortality potion, at one point his head is blown off but it just regenerates, and a recurring gag is how he just wants to die permanently.
* Scruffy Banister the cat from ''{{MadHouse}}'' died about 7 times in the movie: its deaths include getting hit by a car, drowning in a fish tank, hit by a lawn mower, blown up by a firecracker, and dying of a heart attack after snorting cocaine. This is probably because of the myth that cats supposedly have 9 lives.
* SeltzerAndFriedberg do this in every one of their "movies".
* Loaded Weapon 1 has a character that keeps returning after his death because he thinks it's the sequel already.
* The {{ThreeStooges}} die at the end of four of their shorts "Half Shot Shooter", "Three Little Sew and Sews", "You Nazty Spie!", and "I'll Never Heil Again".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Newspaper Comics}}]]

* Bill the Cat in ''BloomCounty'' was a frequent example of this in his earlier days in the strip. Notably when he's electrocuted by his tongue being wired into an amplifier while rehearsing with Deathtongue...
-->'''Steve Dallas:''' ...AW, FERCRISSAKES, he isn't dead AGAIN, is he?
-->'''Portnoy:''' ...Naw, naw...I'll get the Bactine.

* Everyone in BrewsterRockit, but especially Winky.

* In PearlsBeforeSwine, from time to time Angry Bob will "undie" at the beginning of a strip. Invariably, he will die at the end of the strip in some gruesomely comic way.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Radio}}]]
* [[OlderThanTheyThink Long before]] ''South Park'', Bluebottle of ''TheGoonShow'' was doing this in every episode, though sometimes inverted when [[KillEmAll all the other characters died]] except him. Of course this show was made of NegativeContinuity.
-->'''Bluebottle:''' [[CatchPhrase You dirty rotten swine you, you have deaded me again!]]
* The later British radio comedy series ''TheBurkissWay'' featured the character of Eric Pode of Croydon, most of whose appearances ended with him getting shot by whoever he was talking to, usually the long-suffering Fred Harris. On one single occasion, Pode shot Harris, announcing 'I had to do that, he was getting on me nerves.'
* The early "Guy Noir" sketches on ''APrairieHomeCompanion'' (and its 80s substitute, ''Garrison Keillor's American Radio Company'') were set up in this manner, with the title character and his then-sidekick, Jimmy, repeatedly accidentally killing each other. After the MoralGuardians protested these violent acts, Jimmy was KilledOffForReal and "Guy Noir" adapted its current format, with Noir getting by on his wits alone.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* This is very easy to do in {{Mortasheen}}, given how DeathIsCheap in the setting due to easy cloning.
** This also applies doubly to {{Paranoia}}
[[/folder]]

[[folder: VideoGames ]]

* Any video game where the player's character can be killed can be this if the player is bad or the game is hard. Some games try to find creative ways of making every death part of the actual plot.
* The Black Baron in ''{{MadWorld}}''. He introduces every death trap-based MiniGame in the game... and is ''always'' thrown into them by his [[TheSpeechless wordless]] [[TheMasochismTango girlfriend.]] "[[CatchPhrase Aw, hell naw...]]"
* The Carmine Brothers from ''GearsOfWar''
* ''SilentHill2'' - [[spoiler:Maria.]]
* Gamon from ''WorldOfWarcraft'' is a player based version of this. He's the only NPC in all of Orgrimmar that can be attacked, and due to his low level and the fact that he's sitting in an inn (where people usually hearth to after questing), he seems to exist solely to die over and over again. This is somewhat infuriating to low level rogues who need to pickpocket him to complete a class-based quest. He later appeared as a card in the World of Warcraft trading card game with the flavor text "Not again!"
** It appears that in the [[http://media.mmo-champion.com/images/news/2010/november/gamon.jpg chaos of Cataclysm]], he TookALevelInBadass.
* In ''{{Halo}}'', due to a limits in terms of how many voices and models there could be, there's quite a bit of YouAllLookFamiliar in the RedshirtArmy, who usually do not last long at all in firefights with the Covenant. Ironically, one of said redshirts (the one with the Australian accent) apparently survived to the end of the third game, while many of the main characters died.
* There is a running gag in ''LiveALive'' where each chapter whenever somebody says Watanabe, a random person will get killed, and usually a son will run in streaming tears dragging them away. [[spoiler:Not played for laughs in Cube's chapter]].
* In the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' "Meet the..." shorts, the entire BLU team.
** Especially the BLU Heavy.
*** The BLU Spy deserves mention too.
* The Ship Captain in GodOfWar gets killed by Kratos on three separate occasions. In the first game, Kratos deliberately lets him fall into the belly of the Hydra, then when they meet in the Underworld, Kratos leaves him to drown in the Styx as he escapes. When the Barbarian King summons the Captain as an undead minion to do battle with Kratos in II, he screams "No! Not you again!" before Kratos kills him.
* [[SuperMarioBros Bowser]] probably counts, as no matter how many times he gets dropped in lava, falls into a bottomless pit, or blown sky-high by a bomb, he is always back in the next game to [[OnceAnEpisode kidnap the princess.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', [[spoiler:this is actually a significant plot point. The characters Fei and Elly are incarnated five times, with Elly dying the first four times in HeroicSacrifice. [[BigBad Miang]], on the other hand, has been killed and revived 999 times, once even as twin sisters.]]
* Lynne from ''GhostTrick''. The game has 18 chapters, [[spoiler: 5]] of which feature her dying and you being forced to go back and save her. She can, of course, die many more times if you fail at said "saving" often enough. Eventually, she herself [[DeathAsComedy stops taking her deaths seriously.]] Also, [[spoiler: she almost dies once more in the last chapter, just before Sissel decides that he's had it with Lynne dying and stops it before it happens.]]
* ''Demons Souls'' game play as a whole makes the player character this Trope, a lower then average player can expect to die at a minimal of 100 times. Quite possibly all on the 1st level.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: WebAnimation ]]

* [[HomestarRunner Teen Girl Squad!]]
* The Spelunker in the ''[[MichaelJackson Michael Quest]]'' flash series by Sikamako.
* John & Richie animations do this pretty often with [[AuthorAvatar John]].
* The Battle Creek Grunts from ''RedVsBlue''. They exist to [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] almost every multiplayer FPS trope, including respawning at the end of a match.
* All of the characters in ''RetardedAnimalBabies'' die frequently. Bunny, in particular, dies in every episode.
* Black Kitty of ''GoodbyeKitty''.
* ''Everyone'' on HappyTreeFriends.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Webcomics}}]]

* Half the point of ''[[NobodyScores Nobody Scores!]]'', in which the entire cast dies with alarming frequency.
* In ''MSFHigh'', death is cheap. Revives are easy. And one of the characters, Rainer, has multiple bodies. A measure of his killed-count reveals he's beginning to approach this trope.
* Ran from ''BobAndGeorge'' who dies multiple times in a single comic from the slightest touch.
* Done excessively with Red Shirt in ''Webcomic/LegostarGalactica''. It runs in the family.
* ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy''. The tag line was 'mad scientist roommates who periodically die!'. It was always their fault too.
* Cooch of the [[StarskyAndHutch Bulldog And Cooch]] strips in ''{{PvP}}'', always by falling victim to StuffBlowingUp.
* From the ''Fire Emblem Online Comics'', we have... You know what, ''[[BeyondTheImpossible the entire cast]]''.
* ''{{Nodwick}}'''s title character is pretty much this trope - he often dies multiple times per story.
* In ''{{Starslip}}'', Quine's vital role as Protocol Officer means he is equipped to be automatically revived in a fresh clone body any time he dies, which makes him a convenient frequent target for death.
* In ''OrderOfTheStick'' the string of clerics always standing next to Redcloak so he can [[TheWatson have someone to explain to]] before they die? His name is Jirix. Now [[MookPromotion ruler]] of a sovereign goblinoid nation.
* The blond woman in ''DinosaurComics'' gets stomped by T-Rex every single strip, usually without comment.
* In #465 of ''DoubleFineActionComics'', one of the flies is cut in half by a spear, but is perfectly fine in #673.
* ''{{Homestuck}}'' takes this trope in a slightly more serious and infrequent direction - [[TheHero John]] has died three times already, twice not counting {{Bad Future}}s, and all in the same day owing to an extreme case of WebcomicTime. The first time led to him becoming a PhysicalGod, so now he's pretty much immortal - as Karkat keeps pointing out, he also keeps proposing ideas which will likely result in him dying again. [[WordOfGod Hussie]] lampshaded this in a news post about an imminent move of his:
-->Moving seems to have become an annual tradition, just like killing John has.
* Yaythunder from [[http://landslide.zymichost.com/Bad_Drama/ Bad Drama]] dies at least once in all six story arcs of the 150-strip comic (twice in the second story arc, though his first death in that arc occurred in a dream world). Yaythunder's deaths appear to be a direct reference to Kenny's deaths on South Park, especially considering the utterance of "Oh my god, they killed Yaythunder!" and "You bastards!" in response to his first death. David, Yaythunder's equivalent in the Bad Drama remake [[http://landslide.zymichost.com/ Landslide]], has not died so far and it is not clear yet if that running gag will still be used.
* CtrlAltDel's early strips would feature Ethan getting killed every once in a while by ninjas or arrows fired from off-screen. The other characters don't pay much attention, as if this were absolutely normal, and Ethan (being the main character) is invariably alive and well in the next strip.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: WebOriginal]]

* {{Phelous}} often dies at the end of his reviews.
* Masaya in ''TokyoMewMewInANutshell''.
* There had been times in which WebOriginal/TheNostalgiaCritic died a lot for consecutive episodes.
* DeathIsCheap in ''InkCity'', and [[RenAndStimpy Ren]] tends to die a lot. The fact few of the other residents seem to notice or ''care'' make him even bitterer than usual.
* As a reference to her counterpart [[FinalFantasy Aerith]]'s death, the character Aeromite from the {{KingdomHeart}} parody ''Kingdom Paf'' gets killed several times in gruesome ways, only to ALWAYS come back alive a few minutes later.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: WesternAnimation ]]

* Kenny [=McCormick from=] ''SouthPark'' is the most well-known example and TropeNamer. During the first few seasons, Stan and Kyle would always give their trope-naming exchange (seen above), sometimes varying it depending on the situation. There's even a ''pie-chart'' devoted to the causes of each of his deaths at the top of this page! The formula was played with quite a bit over the years to keep it amusing--giving an obvious way he would die and then using something else instead, having him come back as a zombie for a HalloweenEpisode and get killed again, having his girlfriend give him CPR, etc. The show creators were aware that this could become an OverusedRunningGag though, and made one VerySpecialEpisode where Kenny's death [[KilledOffForReal actually stuck]]. His place in the [[FiveManBand Four Man Band]] was later filled by [[ProperlyParanoid Tweek]] or [[ButtMonkey Butters]], but he then [[IGotBetter returned with no explanation]] after one season (WordOfGod has hinted that it might have had something to do with Jesus dying in the episode he comes back). Now he no longer dies...[[MauveShirt as often]].
** This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a few episodes, particularly in "Cartmanland"
-->"''...and the rest of the money is owed to the family of a boy who died on one of your rides."''
-->''"Kenny?! He dies all the time!"''
** In later seasons they've taken to subverting/averting this trope. For example, in "Poor and Stupid," Kenny finds himself on an active NASCAR track while accidents are happening all around him and cars are ramming each other trying to win, and manages to not get killed. In other episodes, they use him to avert LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt. The audience is so used to seeing him die, that whenever they want to have real tension in a potentially-fatal situation, they stick Kenny in there.
** And now, it seems that [[spoiler:Mysterion is Kenny, and he has been completely aware of these multiple deaths all along, though no one else is much to his annoyance]]. The three-part episode [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] and explains the mechanics of his "power." There are still some plot holes (for example, his resurrection in "Cartman's Mom Is Still A Dirty Slut"), but for a show with NegativeContinuity and MultipleChoicePast it's oddly cogent.
** Actually it could be explained that his reappearance is really their memories of his death being wiped away. They act: an as if he walked back to them.
*** it is [[spoiler:he shoots himself in the head during the Mysterion trilogy after stating he's tired. he awakens in his bed and all the south park kids as their hero identities show up at his door asking him why he just ran away like that. same thing happens when he gets knifed in a fight with the others.]]
** Non-Kenny example: In "Probably," Satan's caught in a LoveTriangle, with his two potential boyfriends (SaddamHussein and some random dude) constantly killing each other. However, since they're already dead and in Hell, this just means they disappear for about a day and show up again with the next batch of damned souls. ([[RunningGag "Where was I supposed to go, Detroit?'']])
** Osama Bin Laden has been killed twice on the show (maybe three times if the events of his real life death occurred in their universe).
* Virtually every cartoon featuring Wile E. Coyote:
** In his pairings with the Road Runner, the most famous example is "To Beep or Not to Beep," where he makes ''six'' attempts to use a catapult to hurl a large boulder on top of the unspsecting Road Runner. Each attempt fails, often in comically spectacular fashion; the sixth attempt has -- after much prodding -- the catapult finally working (he jumps up and down repeatedly to get it to unjam ... only for him to be hurled toward a large rock formation and then a series of electrical transmission lines, after which he is hurled back to the catapult and finally killed. (After Wile E. is finally flattened, the catapult's manufacturer is revealed -- The Road Runner Manufacturing Co., the Road Runner on the name plate "beep-beeping" for joy as he runs off.
** In his pairings with Bugs Bunny, the most spectacular deaths come in:
*** "Operation: Rabbit." In the final gag, Bugs uses a tractor to pull a shed (where the Coyote is pouring nitroglycerin into carrots) and unhooks it on some railroad tracks ... just in time for a train to be coming. The train hits the shack, resulting in a huge explosion and sending Coyote launches him high into the air. The dazed Wile E. lives long enough to visit Bugs and admit defeat.
*** "Compressed Hare," where in the final gag, Wile E. builds a 10 '''''billion'''''-volt magnet to -- after getting Bugs to eat a metal carrot -- pull his prey to his cave for an easy dinner. However, not only does Bugs send the carrot back, but the magnet begins pulling everything with metallic properties toward Wile E.'s cave, trapping him inside as a Mercury rocket lodges itself in the cave; immediately thereafter, everything explodes and (presumably) killing the Coyote once and for all.
** There have been at least two occasions where he's blasted into space and the rocket explodes once turning him into a constellation.
* [[FunWithAcronyms N.I.G.E.L]] in ''GodzillaTheSeries'' was destroyed or heavily damaged in just about every episode. Of course, being a robot, the crew would often send him into dangerous situations so they wouldn't put themselves at risk.
* ''BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' has XR, who was built by the [[LittleGreenMen LGMs]] for the purpose of being practically indestructible- he could be reassembled from ludicrous amounts of damage. In the prequel movie, he gains his '[[{{Jerkass}} human]]' personality and [[DoAnythingRobot improbable equipment loadout]] from being incorrectly repaired while the [=LGMs=] were in disarray. Thus, in pretty much every episode he is destroyed, disassembled, taken over, torn apart, and otherwise suffers all kinds of AmusingInjuries and complains about it all the while.
* ''{{Sealab 2021}}'' has the whole lab blow up with all hands aboard on in several episodes. It once lead to the line, "Once again, your stupidity has killed us all!"
** Note that this was the very first episode of the show, period.
-->'''Dr. Quinn:''' "You know Sealab is prone to massive explosion!"
* ''TheSimpsons'': Hans Moleman dies in just about every episode he appears in.
** Also {{Lampshaded}} in ''TheSimpsons'' with the animated cartoon ''TheItchyAndScratchyShow'', in which Itchy kills Scratchy in every episode, only to have him return in the next for another slaughtering.
*** Except for the one episode where Scratchy kills Itchy. [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome Naturally]], neither the viewers nor the Simpson children get to see the end of said episode.
** In the HalloweenEpisode "Treehouse of Horror V," Groundskeeper Willie tries to assist the protagonist(s) in all 3 tales, only to be murdered with an axe to the back.
-->'''Willie:''' ''Hold on, kids! I'm coming to rescue the lot of you! I'll- '''OW!''' Ugh, I'm bad at this. (collapses)''
** "Holidays of Futures Past" reveals this is also the case with future Ralph.
* ''HappyTreeFriends'': Most of the cast, with Cuddles (just barely) in the lead. Mole is the only character not to have died in the series itself, although he did in a cutscene from the video game adaptation.
** The reason Mole has not died as frequently as the other characters in the main series is kind of touching: he's blind. So is the daughter of one of the creators.
** Mole ''has'' died several times in the latest season of Happy Tree Friends - most notably, during the episodes ''Concrete Solution'' and ''Idol Curiosity'', as well as fifteen other deaths from regular episodes ''alone''. Normally, however, Mole is one of the characters responsible for the deaths of ''others''.
* ''AeonFlux'', at least in the original shorts. Notable in that she's the series' main character. Justified in that they were all clones... [[MindScrew maybe]].
* Why trope page forget [[BeastWars Waspinator]]?
** [[TemptingFate "Waspinator having good day! Not get shot once." BLAM]]
*** Apparently the folks at Mainframe believe in kharma: after being the ignominious ButtMonkey for the ''entire show'', at the end of the big finale the Predacons are either destroyed or imprisoned, the Maximals are on their way home... And Waspinator is still on Earth, living large as the king of the proto-humans.
**** [[WesternAnimation/BeastMachines Until he gets bored, the proto-humans revolt against him and he goes back to Cybertron on his own]], only to have his [[OurSoulsAreDifferent spark]] stolen by Megatron and used to power [[spoiler: the vehicon general Thrust]]. He was okay with that for a while but after that character [[MenaceDecay became less threatening]] he started getting smacked around some more once new villains showed up.
* Something happens to Eustace from ''CourageTheCowardlyDog'' in every episode. In the pilot, he was shot by a ray gun and reduced to a cinder, but other episodes just have him suffering some horrible fate that there doesn't seem to be any way to reverse.
* ''{{Futurama}}'' had a minor character, a used car salesman named Malfunctioning Eddie. Every episode he appeared in, his head exploded at some point. Of course, being a robot, he was always fixed by his next appearance.
** The various members of the Waterfall family are always killed off at the end of the episode they're featured in, with the Waterfall that will be featured next time lamenting their demise.
** The entire cast has died at some point at least once, most notably the first Comedy Central episode (Rebirth) when everyone BUT the Professor died, and the Professor himself often declares himself to not be technically alive. In the episode Ghost in the Machines, even the robots [[spoiler:Bender and the Robot Devil]] die during the episode and are alive again before the end of it, which is amusing considering in the prior season [[spoiler:Bender was told he'd {{killed off for real}} if he ever died. The episode doesn't technically violate continuity, since Bender wound up in his same body while the Robot Devil downloaded to a new one]].
** Even the city of New New York and Earth itself have been Kenny'd several times, from being scorched from the Omicronians to being consumed by a {{Grey Goo}} of Benders, only to be rebuilt perfectly in time for the next episode. Even lampshaded during one such ending.
* Everyone in ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', but mostly Carl.
* Virtually everyone in ''{{Squidbillies}}''. Most common [[ButtMonkey targets]] being Rusty, the Sheriff, Granny, the convenience store guy, and Early himself. Technically justified for the Sheriff, as it's revealed he's actually one of hundreds of identical Sheriffs grown in a field, all just as stupid and incompetent as him.
* In most episodes of ''TheVentureBros'' H.E.L.P.eR. has something horrible happen to him, including being sent into orbit around the Earth and shrunk to ant-size and stepped on. Of course he's a robot so it's likely that he gets repeatedly fixed up. As well, Hank and Dean are shown in the first episode of the second season through flashback to have been killed/died many, many times.
* Sylvester J. Pussycat from ''{{Looney Tunes}}'' died the most out of any golden age cartoon character at 16 deaths in 8 cartoons with one of them losing all nine of his lives, but he always came back when he was needed.
* Fluffy and Uranus the teddy bear secretaries from ''{{Duckman}}'' died in every episode they appeared in except one.
* The entire cast of ''DrawnTogether'' is subject to this, with Toot and Ling-Ling dying the most.
** Somewhat justified with Xandir, as he is a video game character with numerous extra lives in reserve. In one episode, however, Ling-Ling was so angry with him that he killed off ''all'' of Xandir's extra lives, though that didn't stop Xandir from coming back to life the next episode anyway.
*** Totally Justified. He used a CONTINUE after that one.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Wooldoor in "Lost in Parking Space, Part 2": "We can't just keep dying and coming back to life the next episode! IT'S TOTALLY ILLOGICAL!"
*** After which Ling-Ling appears to say he agrees with that--two minutes after dying himself.
* Optimus Prime of ''{{Transformers}}'' is known to die once or twice in almost every continuity he appears in.
** This also happens to Starscream who is immortal in ''TransformersAnimated''.
*** And voiced by Tom ''Kenny''.
* ''RobotChicken'' has the host of the Blooper shows, who always ends the show by killing himself. The entire show's staff has been killed at least once as well.
* Tom of ''TomAndJerry'' has died at least three or four times, not counting the short ''Heavenly Puss'' which was AllJustADream. He's been executed in Revolutionary France in ''The Two Musketeers'', and in another cartoon is blown up and floats upward toward Heaven after a failed attempt to catch Jerry. But of course he's back next cartoon as if nothing happened.
* Daffy Duck has died four or five times: first in "Daffy and the Dinosaur" when a giant inflatable duck stuff with dynamite exploded and he's seen as an angel on a cloud, in "Draftee Daffy" when the rocket he's riding on crashes and explodes and his soul is seen in Hell, in "Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a Half Century" he is vaporized by Marvin the Martian (but revived by Porky so this one may not count), in "TheScarletPumpernickel" in which he may or may not have died after shooting himself in the head, and in "Show Biz Bugs" he swallows a bunch of explosives and tosses a lit match down his throat causing himself to explode he is then seen as a ghost.
* The title characters of ''{{Ren and Stimpy}}'' died at the end of many of their shorts, most notably in "Terminal Stimpy" when Stimpy keeps getting killed and he tries to stop prevent himself from losing his last life.
* Scarface the Ventriloquist's puppet from ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' is destroyed at the end of every episode he appears in. The creators said they went out of their way to give Scarface the most gruesome "deaths" they could, which they'd never get away with if he was a human, because hey, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman he's a puppet, so it's okay.]]
* A running gag in ''WesternAnimation/{{Celebrity Deathmatch}}'' was Don King getting killed randomly during matches; he eventually had a deathmatch himself against Donald Trump who kills him for the last time in the series when he climbs down his throat and tears him apart from the inside.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' when Dao Lon Wong turns Finn, Chow, and Ratso into Dark Chi Warriors they got killed multiple times per episode exploding into dust every time they do so, until they are changed back. Uncle explains that Wong had the power to resurrect them any time he wanted.
* In the ''PrivateSnafu'' shorts, the title character died in 6 out of his 15 shorts all due to his stupidity; these were made to teach soldiers what they shouldn't do when in the army.
* In ''{{Superjail}}'' the fat, balding, lecherous inmate (the one who wants to show you his penis) gets killed several times but is always shown as a recurring character.
** Actually this extends to all of the inmates of the prison.
* Katnip Cat of ''{{Herman and Katnip}}'' died at the end of many of their shorts.
* Nearly every episode of ''StressedEric'' had Eric die from stress at the end.
* The title characters from both ''JohnnyBravo'' and ''SpongebobSquarepants'' have both completely exploded... and somehow returned... ''seconds later in the same episode''.
** Justified with Spongebob, it's explicitly shown he can regenerate.
*** Also in ''SpongeBobSquarePants'', a fish apparently drowned when Spongebob left him buried up to his neck on the beach. This same fish was seen alive and well in later episodes.
**** He also appeared later in that episode as a ghost/angel, let that sink in for a few seconds
** That character (Scooter is his name) died on two other occasions, in "Something Smells" Spongebob's stinky breath killed him and another fish and in "My Pretty Seahorse" after he thinks Mystery the seahorse is a ride and inserts a coin into her she kicks him and he explodes where he lands.
* In ''WoodyWoodpecker'' his nemesis Buzz Buzzard died in a couple of shorts, in Wild and Woody Woody locked him in a stove and threw dynamite inside causing it to explode he then guides his soul to hell, in Buccaneer Woody he lights a match in a gun barrel he's carrying and it after it explodes he's seen as a ghost, in Scalp Treatment he's blasted off into the distance with a large explosion where he lands, and in The Great Who Dood It he launches him into space with exploding cigars.
** Woody himself has died in a couple of cartoons such as "Ration Bored."
* There's a series of short films based on a picture book named "The Many Deaths of Norman Spitall," in which the title character would die or be executed by quirky methods.
* Surprisingly mostly averted in ''FamilyGuy''. Once a character dies they stay dead, unless they're [[ButtMonkey Meg]].
** Death doesn't seem to stop Vern and Johnny from showing up.
* Bluto from ''{{Popeye}}'' has died in a couple of shorts like in "Blow Me Down" after being punched around the world twice by Popeye he falls to the ground with x's on his eyes, in "We Aim To Please" at the end Popeye punches him into a wall where he lands on a meat hook and he turns into cuts of meat labeled "a bunch of baloney"
* In ''WesternAnimation/BigGuyAndRustyTheBoyRobot'', the crew had a trio of robots who they would sometimes use to protect them, they would give them a command and they would repeat the command they were given and be instantly destroyed by the MonsterOfTheWeek.
* In the ''South Park'' parody segment in the {{Arthur}} special episode The Contest, Buster's character fell victim to this trope after aliens landed directly on top of him right when he told the aliens to land. Staying true to the source material, Francine's character shouts "'''Hey!''' You squished Buster!"
* Many of Chris's interns in the ''TotalDrama'' series end up dying in various horrible ways only to come back perfectly fine in future episodes.
* DonaldDuck may have died at least three times, in "Uncle Donald's Ants" after getting sick of the ants invading his house he attempts to blow them up inside his shed sending him sky high and he never comes back down, in "Dragon Around" he is blown sky high by Chip and Dale with rockets and sticks of dynamite attached to his ladder with the dynamite exploding one at a time and like the previous entry he doesn't come back down, and in "All In a Nut Shell" Donald is knocked unconscious and Chip and Dale place him in a log then cut down a bee hive, when the bees sting Donald he goes bolting out of the log like a cannon and falls off a cliff and Chip and Dale hold their hats while "Taps" plays and they laugh.
* Another LooneyTunes character to get this treatment is Yosemite Sam. In the short "Devil's Feud Cake", Sam has a run-in with Bugs Bunny and gets himself killed. He finds himself in Hell, where Devil offers to bring him back to life if he can send him Bugs's soul to take his place in Hell (by killing Bugs). Yosemite Sam ends up getting himself killed a second time while going after Bugs, so the Devil "gives him another chance" and sends him after Bugs again. After dying a third time, Yosemite Sam tells the Devil that if he wants Bugs so badly he should go get him himself - he's staying right here, he also died at the end of "Dumb Patrol" after his plane crashed into a mine field and he's seen as spirit in a devil costume strumming a harp.
* Elmer Fudd died at least twice first in "The Old Grey Hare" in which at the end after being buried alive Bugs hands him a huge stick of dynamite and the explosion rocks the title card, and in "Back Alley Oproar" in which at the end he is fed up with Sylvester's singing so he plants a bunch of dynamite around the fence and it explodes as he lights it killing both of them as he's seen as an angel on a cloud surrounded by Sylvester's past lives, and this last one may or may not count in the ending of "Hare Do" he is eaten by a lion but he's still alive before the iris out.
* Zorak from ''WesternAnimation/TheBrakShow'' died a the end of a lot of episodes, most commonly being shot or blown up.
* Several characters such as Grim, Billy, Irwin,and General Skarr from ''TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' have died multiple times.
** Granted, they have TheGrimReaper under their control. They could easily reverse death with him.
* Everyone in ActionLeagueNOW, every episode unsualy involves heavy objects falling on the characters, getting dismembered, run over by cars...and more!
* Anton the toast from ''TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' is often eaten alive, but he always gets better.
* Rigby from ''RegularShow'' has died or almost died on multiple occasions, often getting better through supernatural means.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other ]]

* At the New York Renaissance Faire, Sheriff of Nottingham Philip De Marque has been killed off a number of times at the end of many years' story lines. It helps a bit that they change actors as the Robin Hood storyline repeats throughout the years, so one ''could'' see it as a different Robin Hood killing a different Sheriff each time.
* Music/AliceCooper "dies" at the end of his concerts.

[[/folder]]
----

** "Holidays of Futures Past" reveals this is also the case with future [[RalphWiggum Ralph]].

* Sakura ([[GenderBlenderName a boy]]) in ''[[{{BludgeoningAngelDokuro-chan}} Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan]]'' is killed many times per episode depending upon how much he pisses off [[HeroicSociopath Dokuro]] only to be [[DeathIsCheap resurrected seconds later]].

* In ''{{Xenogears}}'', [[spoiler:this is actually a significant plot point. The characters Fei and Elly are incarnated five times, with Elly dying the first four times in HeroicSacrifice. [[BigBad Miang]], on the other hand, has been killed and revived 999 times, once even as twin sisters.]]

** ''{{MST3K}}'' fan favorite ''{{SpaceMutiny}}'' has one character killed, only to inexplicably reappear alive and well... IN THE VERY NEXT SCENE.

** According to WordOfGod from creator Sergio Argones, they are not the same spy, but are instead merely spies from rival nations that die horribly and are replaced - this was the basis of his commentary on the Cold War.
** Wait, isn't the creator Antonio Prohías?

* Alex Mercer from ''{{VideoGame/Prototype}}, where he is killed a few times throughout the game only to come back if there is some biomass he can absorb. At one point coming back after being blown up by a nuke.

* Alex Mercer from ''{{Prototype}}, where he is killed a few times throughout the game only to come back if there is some biomass he can absorb. At one point coming back after being blown up by a nuke.

* ''[[SilentHill Silent Hill 2]]'' - [[spoiler:Maria.]]

* Optimus Prime of ''{{Transformers}}'' is known to die once or twice in each continuity he appears in.

* Done excessively with Red Shirt in ''LegostarGalactica''. It runs in the family.

** Actually, each time the cycle restarts, it starts in a parallel universe. It's basically a GroundhogDayLoop [[spoiler:caused by Hanyuu ("Oyashiro-sama") in an effort to find an ending where Rika (and preferably the rest of the gang) doesn't die]]. No one's trying to torture anyone by reincarnation or anything.

* ''CarnivalPhantasm'' has Lancer, who seems to die in his every appearance. In fact, he once got spontaneously struck by lightning on a clear day. The BeachEpisode is the only episode where he doesn't die because he doesn't show up there. [[spoiler:Episode 11 remedies this by revealing that he was hiding in the rocket which got punctured by a ballistic volleyball]].

* ''CarnivalPhantasm'' has Lancer, who seems to die in his every appearance. In fact, he once got spontaneously struck by lightning on a clear day. The BeachEpisode is the only episode where he doesn't die because he doesn't show up there. [[spoiler:Episode 11 remedies this by revealing that he was hiding in the rocket that got punctured by the ballistic volleyball]].

* ''CarnivalPhantasm'' has Lancer, who seems to die in his every appearance. In fact, he once got spontaneously struck by lightning on a clear day. The only episode he doesn't die is in episode 2 since he doesn't show up there. [[spoiler:Episode 11 remedies this by revealing that he was in the rocket that got punctured by the ballistic volleyball]].

* ''CarnivalPhantasm'' has Lancer, who seems to die in his every appareance. In fact, he once got spontaneously struck by lightning on a clear day.
** And as of the special, every death is accompanied with "You aren't human!"

* Jack Harkness of ''{{Torchwood}}'' and ''{{Doctor Who}}'' gets killed numerous times, but he's immortal, so it doesn't stick.