History GodzillaThreshold / ComicBooks

** ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'': It takes the impending end of existence, facing ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} at the height of his power and with no other options left for ComicBook/{{Batman}} to finally [[BatmanGrabsAGun use a gun]]. The crisis is ''so'' bad that Superman, Wally West, and even the just-returned from the dead Barry Allen also make their own attempts to kill Darkseid.

* In the ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' ComicBook/{{Magneto}} treats [[Characters/MarvelComicsExodus Exodus]] as this, intentionally holding back the full extent of the boy's abilities as a SuperpowerLottery winner out of concern that knowledge of his full power would corrupt him. When Sentinels attack a human settlement, he is forced to cross the Threshold and reveal to Exodus his ability to teleport.
* ''ComicBook/AnnihilationConquest:'' In the final issue, an alliance of species are trying to bust through the Phalanx's inpenetrable barrier. One Rigellian reports to the Spartoi commander that the Badoon have tried using something called a "continuum ram" to break through with no results. He wonders which is worse; the fact the Badoon ''have'' such a weapon, the fact they don't care whether anyone knows this, or the fact it still didn't work.
* In ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers Assemble]]'', when ComicBook/{{Thanos}} shows up on Earth looking for the Ultimate Nullifier, ComicBook/IronMan calls the president and tells him to invoke the Cosmic Protocols (which are only for when the destruction of the planet is possible; Iron Man calls this "[[DefconFive DEFCON 1000]]"). They then proceed to detonate the atomic core of a helicarrier on top of Thanos, nearly killing the Avengers, certainly killing some of Thanos' lackeys, and [[spoiler: barely inconveniencing Thanos]].
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
** It's revealed in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel'' that Batman, CrazyPrepared as ever, has secret contingency plans to take down every member of the Justice League in the event that they turn evil, including himself. He's formulated some extremely foolproof but extremely twisted methods like using the Scarecrow's fear toxin to make Aquaman hydrophobic or filling Martian Manhunter up with nanites that ignite on contact with oxygen. These were obviously meant as an absolute last resort, but unfortunately they fall into the hands of Ra's al Ghul and bad things ensue.
** It's implied that this is Commissioner Gordon's attitude toward Franchise/{{Batman}}, at least in the early adventures before they became friends. In a WretchedHive like Gotham, where crime and corruption are rampant, and you can count the number of good cops and competent authority figures on one hand, letting this weirdo who likes to dress up like a bat and fight crime lend a hand couldn't make things much worse..\\\

* ''{{ComicBook/Birthright}}'': In the world of Terrenos, there are purifying spirits of light known as Diviners that are summoned to destroy the minions of [[BigBad Lore]]. However, these are beings of terrifying power who destroy everything in their path, twist nature all around them and possesses innocents, and it will not stop until all Lore agents are destroyed. Only a madman would think about summoning a diviner because the price is not worth the risk, yet there are those desperate enough to do it anyway.
* Large-scale ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' example: the heroes release the Parallax entity and allow it to repossess Hal Jordan in order to defeat Black Lantern [[ComicBook/TheSpectre Spectre]]. This is the same entity who nearly destroyed the ''entire universe'' with Jordan the first time. And then ''ComicBook/WrathOfTheFirstLantern'' sees the heroes unleash not only Parallax again, but also Nekron, the BigBad of ''Blackest Night'', to defeat Volthoom.

* On one particularly bad day in ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'', a leader of the anti-demon army is shot. With mere minutes to live, someone proposes allowing a demon to possess the body and use its flesh-shaping abilities to remove the bullet and fix the damage. There is no precedent for trusting a demon, nor any leverage over its result.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' story arc ''The Fatal Englishman'', the last surviving soldiers in Britain have agreed that the only sane reaction to the [[HatePlague Crossed virus]] is to set off a base full of chemical weapons and hope enough of the uninfected survivors (which they estimate at about 50,000, from a population of 60 million) have access to biohazard gear to rebuild in the aftermath.
* While so much as looking at {{Eldritch Abomination}}s in ''Comicbook/DeathVigil'' is enough to drive a normal person mad, the sight of Mia going OneWingedAngel will ''outright kill them''. This is part of the reason why the Pale Court launches its attack in the middle of downtown New York City; the presence of so many innocent witnesses hamstrings the Vigil by preventing Mia from involving herself in the fight, thus stripping them of one of their most powerful assets. However, the Vigil decides the threat presented by the Court's public attack is so great that they have no choice ''but'' to unleash her despite the risk of collateral damage.

* In the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse the people of Pacificus are a PerfectPacifistPeople, relying on their psychic "disapproval" powers to defend themselves from invaders. At times, however, that has failed... So their queen Reginella has come up with ''two'' such solutions:
** Her go-to solution is to summon Donald Duck, knowing he'll unleash a terrifying amount of violence on the invaders and risk the peaceful ways of her people... But better ''that'' than let her subjects be enslaved or worse. Also, if he has the chance he's more than willing to use less violent means.

* Comicbook/DoctorStrange has to pull out these options quite a bit. In one memorable multi-part storyline from the late 60's, he went through a whole ''chain'' of these; to defeat Dormammu's sister, Umar, he had to free the awesomely powerful demon Zom; to defeat Zom, he had to [[ItMakesSenseInContext yank out some of its hair]], which spread evil magic all over the world and also summoned the Living Tribunal, who threatened to destroy Earth unless Strange could remove all the evil magic he had unleashed; to gather together all the evil magic, he had to give it all to [[TheRival Baron Mordo]], giving him a tremendous power-up; to defeat the empowered Mordo, he had to use an ArtifactOfDoom given to him by the ObviouslyEvil entity Nebulos, which gave all the evil power to ''it'' instead. Finally, he aided the Living Tribunal in defeating Nebulos, and the Tribunal then declared Earth was safe, ending the chain.
* In ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis'', it takes the impending end of existence, facing ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} at the height of his power and with no other options left for Franchise/{{Batman}} to finally [[BatmanGrabsAGun use a gun]]. The crisis is ''so'' bad that Superman, Wally West, and even the just-returned from the dead Barry Allen also make their own attempts to kill Darkseid.
* A few from the 2014 CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'':

* An issue of the original 1980s [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel GI Joe]] comic had a Cobra base at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico using ultrasonics to kill the local sea life. The base was so heavily armored that the government almost called in a nuclear strike against it. Averted at the last minute when someone realized they could just drop enough conventional explosives to achieve the same force.
* In the Creator/IDWPublishing ''ComicBook/GodzillaOngoing'' comic, Boxer, former SAS soldier and leader of the team that captured most of the kaiju, decides it's time to free the monsters [[spoiler:to battle Hedorah, Gigan, Space Godzilla, and Monster X when they appear and attack.]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'', after every attempt to stop the Plutonian has failed, world governments unleash their final gambit by releasing the Eleo, extra-dimensional beings whose radioactive presence will kill the majority of life on Earth (or what remains of it at least). As benevolent organisms who are also Plutionian's parents, they are powerful enough to forcibly send him to the end of time, where he will never hurt anyone again. He is later rescued to absorb the radiation, which kills him in the process, meaning the plan succeeded at the cost of extra death and destruction.
* Invoked in ''ComicBook/LadyDeath'' when [[LaResistance a resistance group]] against [[TheCaligula the Death Queen]] are seriously considering releasing Satyricon, a powerful and terrible demon he nearly devastated the [[TheUnderworld the Underrealm]] and he had to be sealed inside a cave because it was impossible to destroy him. [[TheObiWan Wargoth]], who was responsible for locking him up in the first place, strongly opposes this idea but he is overruled, the rebels in favor say they prefer a quick destruction than a slow one. In the end, [[spoiler:they decide to not go through releasing him and Death Queen is later defeated through other means, with that said Satyricon manages to find his own way out...]]
* ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'': Played for laughs. In chapter "The King of the Klondike", Scrooge [=McDuck=] needs money ''quick'', so he resorts to means the stingiest duck in history would ''never'' want to consider.
-->'''Scrooge [=McDuck=]:''' "I need more cash, but I can't waste any more time '''''[[BoldInflation earning]]''''' it! I must resort to '''''desperate''''' and '''''shameful''''' means! I need to (*shudder*) ''get a loan!''"
* The opening arc of ''ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman'' is the discovery of a chain of collapsing universes, which begin when two parallel Earths 'incur' into each other and can be slowed if one of the Earths is destroyed. The Illuminati agree that this crosses the Godzilla Threshold, with a single dissenter who is promptly expelled from the group. [[spoiler:But when confronted with the reality of an entire planet of people dying, the Illuminati ultimately realize they can't stand back and let them die.]]
* ComicBook/NickFury's worst case scenario plan for if Doctor Doom ever gets too out of hand is to drop the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] on one side of Latveria and ComicBook/ThePunisher on the other, and see who gets to the middle first.
* ''ComicBook/ThePowerpuffGirls'' story "Micro Managing" (DC run) had the Micro-Puffs--three sprite avatars of the girls who show up to yank their chains--brainwashing Bubbles and Buttercup into thinking they should be the leader of the team. It doesn't work on Blossom as she's already the leader. Things get out of hand, so Blossom is consigned to recruiting someone as treacherous as the Micro-Puffs to stop them: Mojo Jojo.

* In ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' #29, Amanda Waller plans to force the Thinker-possessed OMAC through an interdimensional portal and make him another universe's problem if Kevin Kho can't retake control of it. At the last second, Kho appears to have beaten the Thinker and taken OMAC's body back. Then Captain Boomerang jumps him and knocks him into the portal.
* In ''Comicbook/{{Supergod}}'', an EldritchAbomination is released in a desperate attempt to get it to communicate with another EldritchAbomination who's wreaking havoc on the world.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** The Doomsday Protocol was a backup plan in case of a threat similar to Doomsday (i.e., it can't be stopped by [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica the JLA]] combined), which was meant to avert this trope. [[RetGone It was never brought up again after Superman's return]].
** From ''Comicbook/SupermanRedSon'': "What have we got to '''lose'''? Release all those '''supervillains''' Luthor created over the years!" Doomsday was set loose on the National Mall in hopes of ''damage control''.

** In ''ComicBook/SupermanDoomed'', Franchise/{{Superman}} is being turned into a Doomsday-like out-of-control monster. Fearing hurting anybody, he leaves Earth. ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} -who back then [[ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton was using her rage to protect the galaxy as a Red Lantern]]- suggests he merely needs to learn how to channel his anger properly and takes him to a planet which is being devoured by a planet-eater so he can cut loose. When Superman objects he doesn't want to make everything worse she asks "How?"

* ''ComicBook/TheThanosImperative:'' Faced with the unstoppable and flat-out unkillable threat of the Cancerverse, Star-Lord figures a good idea is take Thanos and throw him at it, on the grounds the situation cannot get any worse (and if something goes wrong, at least Thanos will happen to a universe which has already been wrecked first). Notably, everyone, Thanos included, point out this is a ''bad'' idea.
* A few examples in the original Marvel ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel Transformers]]'' series:

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''

* Happens a number of times in ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'':

* During ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', Tony Stark gives his second-in-command the authority to send the whole of Manhattan into the Negative Zone if things with the Hulk get out of hand. Meanwhile, they repeatedly attempt to bring in ComicBook/TheSentry to fight the Hulk, and Comicbook/DoctorStrange sees fit to drink in the essence of a universe-destroying demon. Both of these options end up making the situation worse.

** The mere presence of [[TheJuggernaut Thunderwing]] is enough for Megatron to order his flagship to hit Cybertron with everything they have. Even the [[BadassCrew Predacons]] balk a little at this order. For that matter, Thunderwing's original rampage resulted in the Autobots and Decepticons resorting to EnemyMine.

** In ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis'', it takes the impending end of existence, facing ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} at the height of his power and with no other options left for Franchise/{{Batman}} to finally [[BatmanGrabsAGun use a gun]]. The crisis is ''so'' bad that Superman, Wally West, and even the just-returned from the dead Barry Allen also make their own attempts to kill Darkseid.

** In ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis'', it takes the impending end of existence, facing ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} at the height of his power and with no other options left for Franchise/{{Batman}} to finally [[BatmanGrabsAGun use a gun]].

** The events of ''ComicBook/BatmanContagion'', which sees a virus unleashed upon Gotham City, gets so bad that Batman turns to Azrael (even after Azrael let two people die during his tenure filling in for Bruce) and Poison Ivy (one of Bruce's regular enemies) for help, and Robin regarding working with Catwoman as this as well. In the sequel, ''ComicBook/BatmanLegacy'', when the Clench flares back up and mutates, not only is Batman forced to work with Azrael ''again'', he willingly turns to Huntress, another vigilante he doesn't like, for help.

* ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'': Batman's EvilCounterpart, The Batman Who Laughs, is so dangerous that Batman is forced to team up with ComicBook/TheJoker to defeat him.

* In ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis'', it takes the impending end of existence, facing ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} at the height of his power and with no other options left for Franchise/{{Batman}} to finally [[BatmanGrabsAGun use a gun]].

Gordon actually {{discusse|d}}s this trope in ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', when he meets with his successor-to-be Ellen Yindel and talks about the Bat. Gordon steers the conversation to UsefulNotes/{{World War II}}, how President UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt rallied the United States to join the War in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack... and the ConspiracyTheory that Roosevelt had advanced warning of the attack, and let it happen. Gordon says that after thinking about the moral implications, he decided that he couldn't judge -- "It was too ''big''. ''He'' was too big..." When Yindel says that she doesn't see what this has to do with Batman, Gordon simply replies, "Maybe you will." [[spoiler:Despite actively leading the police in hunting Batman after taking power, Yindel is forced to cooperate with him in desparate situations. Finally, when Batman leads the Sons of the Batman to the rescue of Gotham after an {{EMP}}-induced blackout and a prison break, Yindel orders her men not to interfere, only saying "He's too big."]]

** The events of ''ComicBook/BatmanContagion'', which sees a virus unleashed upon Gotham City, gets so bad that Batman turns to Azrael (even after Azrael let two people die during his tenure filling in for Bruce) and Poison Ivy (one of Bruce's regular enemies) for help, and Robin regarding working with Catwoman as this as well. In the sequel, ''ComicBook/BatmanLegacy'', even the Clench flares back up and mutates, not only is Batman forced to work with Azrael ''again'', he willingly turns to Huntress, another vigilante he doesn't like, for help.

* It's revealed in one storyline that Batman, CrazyPrepared as ever, has secret contingency plans to take down every member of the Justice League in the event that they turn evil, including himself. He's formulated some extremely foolproof but extremely twisted methods like using the Scarecrow's fear toxin to make Aquaman hydrophobic or filling Martian Manhunter up with nanites that ignite on contact with oxygen. These were obviously meant as an absolute last resort, but unfortunately they fall into the hands of Ra's al Ghul and bad things ensue.
* It's implied that this is Commissioner Gordon's attitude toward Franchise/{{Batman}}, at least in the early adventures before they became friends. In a WretchedHive like Gotham, where crime and corruption are rampant, and you can count the number of good cops and competent authority figures on one hand, letting this weirdo who likes to dress up like a bat and fight crime lend a hand couldn't make things much worse...
** Gordon actually {{discusse|d}}s this trope in ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', when he meets with his successor-to-be Ellen Yindel and talks about the Bat. Gordon steers the conversation to UsefulNotes/{{World War II}}, how President UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt rallied the United States to join the War in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack... and the ConspiracyTheory that Roosevelt had advanced warning of the attack, and let it happen. Gordon says that after thinking about the moral implications, he decided that he couldn't judge -- "It was too ''big''. ''He'' was too big..." When Yindel says that she doesn't see what this has to do with Batman, Gordon simply replies, "Maybe you will." [[spoiler:Despite actively leading the police in hunting Batman after taking power, Yindel is forced to cooperate with him in desparate situations. Finally, when Batman leads the Sons of the Batman to the rescue of Gotham after an {{EMP}}-induced blackout and a prison break, Yindel orders her men not to interfere, only saying "He's too big."]]
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanEternal'', things have gotten so bleak for Gotham and Batman's still clueless as to who's pulling the strings and ruining his city and his allies. He seeks out several [[BigBad Big Bads]] of previous New 52 Batman-related story arcs [[spoiler:including Riddler, Ra's al Ghul, ''and the remnant of the Court of Owls'']], not only to challenge them on their relation to the massive attack on Gotham, ''but for help finding the true culprits.'' If the Joker had been present during the events of Eternal, it's highly likely Batman would've gone to him.
* In the ''ComicBook/BatmanVampire'' trilogy, Batman is turned into a vampire, and when he succumbs to his bloodlust by killing the Joker, he has Alfred and Gordon stake him to prevent him from killing anyone else. In the final story, ''Crimson Mist'', a ''massive'' crime wave has hit Gotham in Batman's absence, causing Alfred to return to Batman's resting place and remove the stake from Bats' heart in the hopes of giving Gotham a savior again.[[note]]Staking a vampire through the heart only incapacitates the vamp in a death-like state unless the head is subsequently removed.[[/note]] Unfortunately, Batman, having [[AndIMustScream spent months fully conscious but immobile as his body decayed and his bloodlust ran rampant]], has been driven completely insane by his condition, and does so by slaughtering the crooks for their blood.
** Gordon crosses a similar threshold near the end, willingly forming an EnemyMine with Two-Face and Killer Croc after Batman has killed all the other villains.

* It's revealed in one storyline that Batman, CrazyPrepared as ever, has secret contingency plans to take down every member of the Justice League in the event that they turn evil, including himself. He's formulated some extremely foolproof but extremely twisted methods like using the Scarecrow's fear toxin to make Aquaman hydrophobic or filling Martian Manhunter up with nanites that ignite on contact with oxygen. These were obviously meant as an absolute last resort, but unfortunately they fall into the hands of Ra's al Ghul and bad things ensue. For some reason, the Justice League treats the very ''existence'' of these plans as a breach of trust, even though they are absolutely a reasonable thing to have and the ''real'' betrayal of their trust was that he left the team unaware that he had them.
** Then again, to be fair, the discussion in question is taking place just hours after all of them were put through the tortures of said contingency plans. All of them are emotionally compromised - a couple are shown having flashbacks to the torture they went through, and even Superman is shown flinching at a sudden flashing red alert light due to the memory of Red kryptonite's effects on him. Doesn't help that Batman (who's on-again-off-again love interest stole said plans) never apologizes or shows regret for what happened.

* In ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'', Mr. Mxyzptlk reveals that he, as an immortal, has grown bored and decided to spend the next few millennia being evil. It's thanks to him that the events of the story play out, from previously harmless villains turning into murderers to his most dangerous foes showing up to kill him, all before Mxy himself tries to kill Supes. Seeing the sort of danger that [[RealityWarper a reality-warping sorcerer]] who could decide to be evil on a whim can be, Superman makes the choice to use the Phantom Zone projector. Not just banishing him, but giving him just enough time to see it and try to teleport back to the Fifth Dimension, [[PortalCut ripping him in half between realities.]] Lois comforts Superman and points out that there really was no other way to stop him, but [[ThouShaltNotKill Superman's]] ''intention'' to kill ultimately drives him to remove his powers and hang up his cape.

** ''ComicBook/XMenRed2022'': During the events of ''Eternals Vs. X-Men'', Cable breaks out a {{BFG}} which even in the BadFuture he came from was outlawed, just to try and stop [[TheJuggernaut Uranos]]. And it doesn't do anything.

*** faced with the end of the world, Nick Fury tells his tech people to forget the budget restrictions so he can use his outfit's light-sensitive mode for sixty seconds. Doesn't work, since Herr Kleiser can see him anyway.

* In ''ComicBook/Irredeemable'', after every attempt to stop the Plutonian has failed, world governments unleash their final gambit by releasing the Eleo, extra-dimensional beings whose radioactive presence will kill the majority of life on Earth (or what remains of it at least). As benevolent organisms who are also Plutionian's parents, they are powerful enough to forcibly send him to the end of time, where he will never hurt anyone again. He is later rescued to absorb the radiation, which kills him in the process, meaning the plan succeeded at the cost of extra death and destruction.

* ComicBook/NickFury's worst case scenario plan for if Doctor Doom ever gets too out of hand is to drop the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk on one side of Latveria and ComicBook/ThePunisher on the other, and see who gets to the middle first.

* In another Hulk-related example, during ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', Tony Stark gives his second-in-command the authority to send the whole of Manhattan into the Negative Zone if things with the Hulk get out of hand. Meanwhile, they repeatedly attempt to bring in ComicBook/TheSentry to fight the Hulk, and Comicbook/DoctorStrange sees fit to drink in the essence of a universe-destroying demon. Both of these options end up making the situation worse.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' story "Micro Managing" (DC run) had the Micro-Puffs--three sprite avatars of the girls who show up to yank their chains--brainwashing Bubbles and Buttercup into thinking they should be the leader of the team. It doesn't work on Blossom as she's already the leader. Things get out of hand, so Blossom is consigned to recruiting someone as treacherous as the Micro-Puffs to stop them: Mojo Jojo.

*** It's the end of the world, so forget the budget restrictions and activate light-sensitive mode for sixty seconds, ASAP!

*** First three initiatives are dead in the water, so Fury gave permission to "traumatize Banner". Meaning, to force him to turn into the Hulk.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': The US government agreed to cease using Sentinels, but gave them a last mission. Magneto's base was finally found, and that's too good an oportunity to pass.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy'': Reed figured out a way to hurt Gah Lak Tus, perhaps even kill it, but it is a crime against nature. [[spoiler:The idea is to open a portal to a universe having its Big Bang, let it get out like a death ray, and attack Gah Lak Tus with it.]]

* In the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse the people of Pacificus are a PerfectPacifistPeople, relying on their psychic "disapproval" powers to defend themselves from invaders. At times, however, that has failed... So their queen Reginella will summon Donald Duck, knowing he'll unleash a terrifying amount of violence on the invaders and risk the peaceful ways of her people... But better ''that'' than let her subjects be enslaved or worse.

** In ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'', the GreaterScopeVillain is [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Dr. Manhattan]] and the only thing the cast knows about him at the time is that his power dwarfs even ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}. With the exception of Superman and Batman, almost the entire Justice League of America, virtually all of Earth's superheroes, go to confront him on Mars. [[CurbStompBattle It doesn't go well for them]], and the only person to come close to actually injuring him is his counterpart ComicBook/CaptainAtom.