History Main / BackFromTheDead

* ''WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers'': In the Lawsuit arc, Lawyer Kong gets Shigeru Miyamoto to sign a DMCA on SMG4's channel which causes all the original characters to fall down dead. Fortunately Meggy managed to slip the parody contact to Mario just before she died so he could get it to Judge Kirby and reverse the process, bringing all the original characters back to life.

[[folder:Web Video]]

* ''WebVideo/HeroHouse'' directly addresses how frequently this occurs in comics, as well as the fact that [[spoiler: it is now seemingly impossible]].

** Really almost all Bionicle characters who die heroically do this somehow. Jaller and Takanuva both during ''Mask of Light.'' Mata-Nui coming back inside the Mask of Life at the end of the series following his fight with Makuta. Ekimu being re-awakened from thousands of years of death-like slumber in the [[Toys/BIONICLE2015 2015 reboot]]. The only major exception to this is Matoro, who is never revived after using the Mask of Life to save the Great Spirit Robot's life during the Ignition saga.

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': [[spoiler:Having suffered a DisneyDeath in her HeroicSacrifice to save Amphibia and convinced the Guardian that she's not yet ready to take their place yet as the overseer of the Multiverse, [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne Boonchuy]] is sent back to life with shards of each Calamity Gem to go back home and live out the rest of her life, reappearing close to where she died literally seconds after she left]].

** According to Matthew 27:51–53, "many saints" rose from the dead, climbed out of their tombs, and wandered around in Jerusalem. The gospel doesn't say what happened to the risen dead after this.

* St. Nicholas of Myra (the basis for SantaClaus) is the patron saint of children due to this trope. During a famine in Turkey, a shop keeper murdered three young boys, cut their bodies up and stored them in the brine of a pickle barrel intending to sell their meat to his customers. Later, when he tried serving some of the meat to St. Nicholas, Nicholas recognized what it was. He then proceeded to draw out the three boys from the barrel, whole and alive. This is similar to an earlier Greek myth where Tantalus served up his son to the gods who were his dinner guests, but they instantly knew it was human meat and raised the boy from the dead. In the underworld, [[IronicHell Tantalus's punishment was to spend eternity standing with water up to his neck and grapes just over. He was always hungry and thirsty, but seeking to get either made them vanish.]] This the word "tantalizing".

* ''WebVideo/BelkinusNecrohunt'': ]It was revealed that Thorne, the necromancer hunter who occasionally hounds the party, is actually the result of a true resurrection performed on Abigail Miharian, sister of Kara and Chandrelle.

* The ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'' contains several examples of characters being brought back to life after losing all three of their canon lives.
** The first is Jack Manifold, who was killed by Techno during the Doomsday War but returned with all three lives after a brief trip to Hell. It's later clarified that he dragged himself out of the Afterlife through [[ResurrectionRevenge sheer rage and vengefulness]].
** The second is Tommy, having been murdered by Dream in Pandora's Vault before being brought back as a ploy, allegedly to prove that Dream really does have the power to resurrect people... though the motive behind this turns out to be a lie.
** The third is Wilbur, who was resurrected by Dream when Tommy attempted to break into the prison and murder Dream.
** It's later revealed that during the time between the Doomsday War and the Disc War Finale, [[BusCrash Vikk and Lazar]] lost all three of their canon lives through Dream using them as human guinea pigs to test the revive-book, and they ''did'' get brought back to life by Dream using the book (making them the second and third to be brought back from the dead chronologically)... but they're ultimately [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade killed off permanently to keep the book a secret]].

* ''WebVideo/BelkinusNecrohunt'': [[spoiler: It was revealed that Thorne, the necromancer hunter who occasionally hounds the party, is actually the result of a true resurrection performed on Abigail Miharian, sister of Kara and Chandrelle.]]
* A relatively common occurrence in ''WebVideo/CriticalRole''. [[spoiler: Every single member of Vox Machina]], as well as several members of the Mighty Nein have died and subsequently been resurrected -- not particularly surprising [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons given the setting]]. In particular, Mollymauk Tealeaf has this trope baked into his backstory: He crawled out of his own grave two years before the beginning of the campaign, with no memory from before. [[spoiler: Then he went and did it ''again'' after being [[DeadForReal killed by Lorenzo]] in episode 26, only to reveal that he is alive and traveling with his former companion almost 90 episodes later.]]

* ''WebVideo/{{Economy Watch}}'': Happens twice in the series. The first time in the Season 1 Halloween special, "Night of the Economic Dead", David returns from the dead as a zombie thanks to the old videotape being played. The second time in the Season 1 Christmas special, "A Very Hoarder Christmas", David returns from the dead after being redeemed in the Afterlife.
* ''WebVideo/EscapeTheNight'' : [[spoiler: [[TheSmartGuy MatPat]] dies in Episode 5 of Season 3. At the end of episode six, the team gains access to the Lazarus Harp, an item that can bring one person they lost back to life. Guess who suddenly returns in episode seven]]?

* After being shot, the Prom Queen in ''Prom Queen Resurrection'' by Music/SidMaudlin gets, well, resurrected[[note]]Although it’s suggested that she won’t be ''literally'' resurrected, just that she’ll be in the {{Prequel}}[[/note]].

* After being shot, the Prom Queen in ''Prom Queen Resurrection'' by Music/SidMaudlin gets, well, resurrected[[note]]Although it’s suggested that she won’t be ''literally'' resurrected, just that she’ll be in the prequel[[/note]].

* ''Film/{{Casper}}'' Dr. James Harvey falls into a manhole while intoxicated. After returning to Whipstaff Manor as a ghost, his daughter Kat and Casper resurrect him with a machine Casper's dad invented called The Lazarus.

* In ''Music/UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny'', Abraham Lincoln does this in order to fight Franchise/{{Batman}}.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Massacards}}:

* In the first episode of the short-lived revival of ''WebVideo/Lonelygirl15'', [[spoiler:Bree, who appeared to die in the Season 1 finale, is shown very much alive, even mentioning how [[LampshadeHanging a lot of people thought she was dead.]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': [[spoiler:Having suffered a DisneyDeath in her HeroicSacrifice to save Amphibia and convinced the Guardian that she's not yet ready to take their place yet as the overseer of the Multiverse, [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne Boonchuy]] is sent back to life with shards of each Calamity Gem to go back home and live out the rest of her life, reappearing close to where she died literally seconds after she left.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': In the last episode of Season 1 the boys are killed. In the first episode of Season 2 their clones are reactivated and filled with their stored memories. Dr. Venture explains that this is the thirteenth time it has happened -- and shows all previous deaths.

* As in many Tabletop Games trends, ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' popularized death as a minor setback by giving players access to the Raise Dead and Resurrection spells. Many other tabletop games follow suit. Fourth Edition takes the cake, giving higher level characters abilities whose descriptions start with "Once per day, when you die..."
* While ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'' has its share of resurrections, [[http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Manshoon Manshoon]] of the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms invented a new one. His unique Stasis Clone spell ensured his continuous existence despite insufficient caution. That is, as long as he cared to steer clear of the [[http://ww2.wizards.com/Books/Wizards/?doc=fr_spinyarn2003a few people who have the power to strip him of this convenience]].
* This is generally how Abyssals get ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': their Deathlord comes to them on their deathbed and offers them a second chance at life. Thing is, [[OmnicidalManiac most of them aren't told what that second chance entails]]...
** That is, the Abyssal Exalted have never actually ''died''. The Exaltation does not bring them back from the dead, but keeps them from dying. In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', there is no resurrection.
** Following on from that, when someone tries resurrecting the dead, they occasionally draw the attention of the Dark Mother, who sees fit to grant the corpse a new life as one of the Liminal Exalted. Again, this isn't true resurrection, as the Liminal is, to all intents and purposes, a new person using someone else's vacated body.

[[caption-width-right:335:[[VideoGame/AlteredBeast Wise Fwom Youw Gwave!]]]]

** Really almost all Bionicle characters who die heroically do this somehow. Jaller and Takanuva both during ''Mask of Light.'' Mata-Nui coming back inside the Mask of Life at the end of the series following his fight with Makuta. Ekimu being re-awakened from thousands of years of death like slumber in the [[Toys/BIONICLE2015 2015 reboot]]. The only major exception to this is Matoro, who is never revived after using the Mask of Life to save the Great Spirit Robot's life during the Ignition saga.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' the "Lazarus Heart" spell, the most advanced and difficult form of WhiteMagic, has a chance of being able to revive the dead. Though it works better on a character who is merely "dying", and becomes more difficult with every hour that one is dead.

* In the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'', [[TabletopGame/MummyTheResurrection mummies]] are guaranteed to come back to life no matter what, though they can be truly killed via extreme measures, such as nuking them.
** The Gurahl werebears of ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' have a Gift that allows them to resurrect a recently dead shapeshifter. They also have a rite that gives them the chance to bring any deceased back to life -- but in order to do so, they have to fight [[TheGrimReaper their incarnation of Death]].

* In ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'', it's possible for the titular Prometheans to come back from the dead once if their Azoth is high enough. The Osirans actually have the special ability to come back multiple times, but they have to buy the ability up again with experience points once it's used -- other lineages can also buy this ability, but it's more expensive for them. Said ability can also be used to revive others... but it's costly, and gets more costly each time you bring someone back from the dead after the first.
** Also in the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'', there are the Sin-Eaters from ''TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters'', whose characters start by coming back from death. Even if you destroy their bodies after you kill them, they COME BACK. They just won't stay dead. Every time they come back, they become more and more insane, and somebody else dies a horrible death in their place to keep the balance.
** A substantial portion of World of Darkness characters ''are'' undead, so...
** And then we have one of the [[ChurchMilitant Malleus Maleficarum's]] Benedictions from ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil''. Boon of Lazarus allows you to raise someone from the dead. Unlike the Promethean example above, they are restored to fully human status. Unlike the Geist example above, no one will die to balance Death's books. In a setting where most deaths are supposedly final, this is the only '''true''' resurrection power. That said, dying is a traumatic experience regardless, and the resurrectee would gain a derangement as a result.
** The Arisen of ''TabletopGame/MummyTheCurse'' have a form of resurrective immortality which means that while they'll always die, one way or another, they'll always resurrect. Even destroying their body won't work, since their spirit can be called back into a new body.
** The Unchained in ''TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent'' have the ability to resurrect dead humans as an Exploit. Unlike the Malleus Maleficarum version, the penalty isn't going crazy; the recipient [[TouchedByVorlons becomes a stigmatic]].
** The [[EldritchAbomination Kerberos]] that's in charge of Mictlan is called Polydegmon or Mictlantecuhtli, and he knows every soul who has ever died and passed through his domain. It won't be easy, but if you can entreat his favor, he will be willing to grant you the soul of anyone who has ever died, and if you can provide said soul with a physical body, you can even restore them to full life. The interesting thing is that there is no limit to this resurrection method other than the effort required to gain his favor. FinalDeath, DeaderThanDead, DestinationHostUnreachable, or even CessationOfExistence, ''none'' of these will be an issue for Polydegmon to return the soul to you. This sheer dominion over the souls of the dead means he's a step above most other Kerberoi, that some theorize he's actually a [[GodOfTheDead Deathlord.]]
* In ''TabletopGame/SorcerersOfTheMagicKingdom'', [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Hades]] offers several villains this in exchange for their help in taking over the Magic Kingdom.
* Broadly speaking, death ''is'' final ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', but a handful of beings have come back over the years.