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Basic Trope: The heroes make a very last minute rescue, often doing it in style.

  • Straight: Moments before Bob is executed by Emperor Evulz's mooks by firing squad, he is rescued by his allies.
  • Exaggerated:
    • A tenth of a second before the bullets collide with Bob's skin, a brick is thrown by one of his allies, Alice to block the bullets. The allies then kill all the mooks and bring Bob to safety.
    • King in the Mountain
  • Downplayed: Bob is rescued by his allies from being tricked by Evulz into believing he is one of Evulz's mooks and his allies are the real villain.
  • Justified: Bob's allies had a hard time defeating Evulz's mooks guarding his castle while trying to save Bob from execution.
  • Inverted:
  • Subverted:
    • Bob's allies think they're pulling a dramatic rescue, but Evulz. informs them he already executed Bob 35 minutes ago.
    • Bob in the middle of a peaceful negotiation with Evulz when his allies burst in, thus mistaken by Evulz as an ambush.
  • Double Subverted:
    • Bob's allies think they're pulling a dramatic rescue, but Evulz informs them he already executed Bob 35 minutes ago. Bob's allies then proceed to reveal they had already rescued Bob but tricked Evulz's mooks into thinking he'd been executed; when Evulz emerged to gloat, it gave Bob's allies the opening they needed.
    • It is then revealed Evulz's peaceful negotiation with Bob was just really a trick to brainwash him to be one of Evulz's mooks; the rescue was needed.
  • Parodied: Bob's allies arrive too early, then leave and come back again just in the nick of time.
  • Zig-Zagged: There are so many consecutive Big Damn Heroes moments that you aren't sure who's the hero, who's the near-victim, and who's the bad guy.
  • Averted: Bob's allies save Bob several days before his scheduled execution.
  • Enforced: The creators find the trope to be cliched and want to avert it, but the editors demand they use it for dramatic purposes.
  • Lampshaded: "What the hell took you so long?! I was nearly killed!"
  • Invoked: Bob's allies purposely wait until the last moment because they know that's how these stories go.
  • Exploited: Evulz turns out to be smart and planned for this exact situation, capturing and executing Bob and his allies as part of their Evil Plan.
  • Defied:
    • Rather than sentencing Bob to be executed at dawn, Evulz simply shoots him in the head.
    • Bob's allies come in to rescue Bob, but are quickly disposed of by Emperor Evulz.
  • Discussed: "It sure would be nice if a bunch of heroes showed up. Like right now."
  • Conversed: "Oh come on, if it was real life, they couldn't have rescued him in time."
  • Deconstructed: Bob's allies get into a gunfight with Evulz's mooks, which results in Bob being shot and killed in the crossfire.
  • Reconstructed: Instead of getting into a gunfight, Bob's allies create a distraction elsewhere, causing the mooks to delay the execution in order to intervene, and Bob's allies pull off the rescue in the meantime.
  • Played for Laughs:
  • Played for Drama:
    • Bob is speechless with relief and disbelief that his allies arrived in time.
    • When Bob's allies arrive, they're battered, bruised, and bloodied, but refuse to give up. Bob sheds tears of joy at their valiant display.
  • Played for Horror:
    • Bob's allies arrive and are all massacred in gruesome fashion in front of Bob. After that, executing him is an actual mercy.
    • Bob's allies arrive and reveal how much they actually hate him by gloating that they used Bob as bait to draw Evulz out and even could have saved him much earlier, but they let him be tortured for a little while for kicks.

"Any Last Words?" "Just three: Big Damn Heroes!"

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