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* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/HaloReach'': the game ends with the planet in the final stages of being reduced to glass, and then it cuts to the DistantFuture showing the planet being rebuilt.
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* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/HaloReach'': the game ends with the planet in the final stages of being reduced to glass, and then it cuts to the DistantFuture [[DistantFinale distant future]] showing the planet being rebuilt.
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* {{Downplayed|trope}} in ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', where the pandemic's aftermath is amply depicted in scenes of the future, and the movie ends with the post-apocalyptic time traveler [[YouCantFightFate failing to change events in the slightest]], although his boss appears at the end to collect a viral sample and thus, make the more ''distant'' future less grim. The person carrying the deadly virus is then forced to open the canister by airport security, which is the exact moment that dooms mankind. We never get to see the virus spread, but we already know that it's inevitable.
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* {{Downplayed|trope}} {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', where the pandemic's aftermath is amply depicted in scenes of the future, and the movie ends with the post-apocalyptic time traveler [[YouCantFightFate failing to change events in the slightest]], although his boss appears at the end to collect a viral sample and thus, make the more ''distant'' future less grim. The person carrying the deadly virus is then forced to open the canister by airport security, which is the exact moment that dooms mankind. We never get to see the virus spread, but we already know that it's inevitable.
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* {{Downplayed}} in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'', set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the end shows the cast running out of a trench and then crossfades to a field of poppies.
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* {{Downplayed}} {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'', set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the end shows the cast running out of a trench and then crossfades to a field of poppies.
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%% (ZCE) * Several episodes of both ''Series/TheOuterLimits'' and ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' conclude this way, as anthology series don't need a ResetButton, and neither show's budget allowed for much on-screen devastation. '''-- Which episodes and how?'''
to:
%% (ZCE) * Several episodes of both ''Series/TheOuterLimits'' ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' and ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' conclude this way, as anthology series don't need a ResetButton, and neither show's budget allowed for much on-screen devastation. '''-- Which episodes and how?'''
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* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'' ends with [[EldritchAbomination the]] [[VillainProtagonist creature]], now [[TheyLookLikeUsNow having obtained a perfect human disguise]] that's completely indistinguishable even to scanners, strolling out of the quarantined facility and into the city proper, free to feed on humanity. Cue the credits playing over a panning shot of the city as an ominous music track (called "[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End As We Know It]]"). TheEnd.
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* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'' ends with [[EldritchAbomination the]] [[VillainProtagonist creature]], now [[TheyLookLikeUsNow having obtained a perfect human disguise]] that's completely indistinguishable even to scanners, strolling out of the quarantined facility and into the city proper, free to feed on humanity. Cue the credits playing over a panning shot of the city as an ominous music track (called "[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End As We Know It]]").It]]") plays. TheEnd.
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* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'' ends with the creature, now [[TheyLookLikeUsNow having obtained a perfect human disguise]] that's completely indistinguishable even to scanners, strolling out of the quarantined facility and into the city proper, free to feed on humanity. Cue the credits playing over a panning shot of the city as an ominous music track (called "[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End As We Know It]]"). TheEnd.
to:
* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'' ends with the creature, [[EldritchAbomination the]] [[VillainProtagonist creature]], now [[TheyLookLikeUsNow having obtained a perfect human disguise]] that's completely indistinguishable even to scanners, strolling out of the quarantined facility and into the city proper, free to feed on humanity. Cue the credits playing over a panning shot of the city as an ominous music track (called "[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End As We Know It]]"). TheEnd.
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* ''VideoGame/{{Carrion}}'' ends with the creature, now [[TheyLookLikeUsNow having obtained a perfect human disguise]] that's completely indistinguishable even to scanners, strolling out of the quarantined facility and into the city proper, free to feed on humanity. Cue the credits playing over a panning shot of the city as an ominous music track (called "[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End As We Know It]]"). TheEnd.
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* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', after the midway point, the villain Sephiroth uses the Black Materia to summon a huge meteor that is gonna crash on Gaia in a few days' time. Cloud and Avalanche fly to the Northern Crater to stop Sephiroth. After the Final Battle, there is a credits scene: the group escapes from Northern Crater; the meteor is approaching Earth near the Northern Crater, but, as soon as it approaches the area, light green energy flows into the crater, and an image of Aeris is seen smiling to the camera. The scene fades to black; the on-screen text reads "500 years later: Red XIII is seen with its cubs among the wreckage of Midgar, which is now overtaken by nature".
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* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', after the midway point, the villain Sephiroth uses the Black Materia to summon a huge meteor that is gonna crash on Gaia in a few days' time. Cloud and Avalanche fly to the Northern Crater to stop Sephiroth. After the Final Battle, there is a credits scene: the group escapes from Northern Crater; the meteor is approaching Earth near the Northern Crater, but, as soon as it approaches the area, light green energy flows into the crater, and an image of Aeris is seen smiling to the camera. The Cue credits. A post-credits scene fades to black; the begins on-screen text reads "500 text: "Five hundrd years later: later", then Red XIII is seen with its cubs among the wreckage of Midgar, which is now overtaken by nature".nature.
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* Invoked in ''Film/RogueOne'', as the last two survivors of the titular Rogue One sit and watch as the blastwave caused by the Death Star firing on the planet they're on slowly fills the sky as it spreads in their direction. The action then shifts to the desperate attempts by the Rebel Alliance fleet in orbit to retreat after successfully receiving the priceless Death Star plans from Rogue One on the surface. We don't actually see what became of the planet, but considering a low power blast already caused widespread devastation on another planet...
to:
* Invoked in ''Film/RogueOne'', as the last two survivors of the titular Rogue One sit and watch as the blastwave caused by the Death Star firing on the planet they're on slowly fills the sky as it spreads in their direction. The action then shifts to the desperate attempts by the Rebel Alliance fleet in orbit to retreat after successfully receiving the priceless Death Star plans from Rogue One on the surface. We don't actually see what became of the planet, but considering a low power low-power blast already caused widespread devastation on another planet...
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* In Neal Stephenson's novel ''Literature/{{Seveneves}}'', the disaster happens near the beginning of the book, when the moon is shattered into pieces which rain onto Earth, causing natural disasters. A technological effort to preserve humanity in a genetic ark works, for awhile,]] but it is also nearly ended by disasters. Ultimately, this trope is subverted, with a semi-happy ending for humanity.
to:
* In Neal Stephenson's novel ''Literature/{{Seveneves}}'', the disaster happens near the beginning of the book, when the moon is shattered into pieces which that rain onto Earth, causing natural disasters. A technological effort to preserve humanity in a genetic ark works, for awhile,]] a while,]] but it is also nearly ended by disasters. Ultimately, this trope is subverted, with a semi-happy ending for humanity.
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%% (ZCE) * Several episodes of both ''Series/TheOuterLimits'' and ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' conclude this way, as anthology-series don't need a ResetButton and neither show's budget allowed for much on-screen devastation. '''-- Which episodes and how?'''
to:
%% (ZCE) * Several episodes of both ''Series/TheOuterLimits'' and ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' conclude this way, as anthology-series anthology series don't need a ResetButton ResetButton, and neither show's budget allowed for much on-screen devastation. '''-- Which episodes and how?'''
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* If your robot is destroyed in ''VideoGame/{{Maabus}}'', you get a message from Admiral Jefferson where he somberly informs you that because of your failure, the source of radiation on the island that you were supposed to neutralize has grown to the point that the island itself is completely gone, and that the rest of the world will soon follow. He then excuses himself to be with his family during what time they have left, and the game's credits roll.
to:
* If your robot is destroyed in ''VideoGame/{{Maabus}}'', you get a message from Admiral Jefferson where he somberly informs you that because of your failure, the source of radiation on the island that you were supposed to neutralize has grown to the point that the island itself is completely gone, gone and that the rest of the world will soon follow. He then excuses himself to be with his family during what time they have left, and the game's credits roll.
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* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' has two examples; in both cases, the aftermath is shown in following season, usually with a measure taken in order to prevent a full-on cataclysm:
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* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' has two examples; in both cases, the aftermath is shown in the following season, usually with a measure taken in order to prevent a full-on cataclysm:
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[[folder:Films - Live Action]]
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[[folder:Films - Live Action]]-- Live-Action]]
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* ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' ends with Skynet launching multiple nukes to start a nuclear holocaust as John Connor and Kate Brewster hide in a deep underground bunker.
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* ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' ends with Skynet launching multiple nukes to start a nuclear holocaust as John Connor and Kate Brewster hide in a deep underground bunker.
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* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': The BigBad's contingency plan involves smashing the moon to the planet's surface, and cannot be stopped. Wis opts to evacuate as much of the planet's population off-world as he can (the elves and dwarves choose to stay instead). The sequel series is about his trying to rebuild civilization (several civilizations, in fact, as the assorted {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s spread out over their new world), but make it better this time (he personally slaughters the ruling family of the Aztec equivalent when he finds out they're still practicing HumanSavrifice despite his explicit ban).
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* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': The BigBad's contingency plan involves smashing the moon to the planet's surface, and cannot be stopped. Wis opts to evacuate as much of the planet's population off-world as he can (the elves and dwarves choose to stay instead). The sequel series is about his trying to rebuild civilization (several civilizations, in fact, as the assorted {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s spread out over their new world), but make it better this time (he personally slaughters the ruling family of the Aztec equivalent when he finds out they're still practicing HumanSavrifice HumanSacrifice despite his explicit ban).
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* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', after the midway point, the villain Sephiroth uses the Black Materia to summon a huge meteor that is gonna crash on Earth in a few days' time. Cloud and Avalanche fly to the Northern Crater to stop Sephiroth. After the Final Battle, there is a credits scene: the group escapes from Northern Crater; the meteor is approaching Earth near the Northern Crater, but, as soon as it approaches the area, light green energy flows into the crater, and an image of Aeris is seen smiling to the camera. The scene fades to black; the on-screen text reads "500 years later: Red XIII is seen with its cubs among the wreckage of Midgar, which is now overtaken by nature".
to:
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', after the midway point, the villain Sephiroth uses the Black Materia to summon a huge meteor that is gonna crash on Earth Gaia in a few days' time. Cloud and Avalanche fly to the Northern Crater to stop Sephiroth. After the Final Battle, there is a credits scene: the group escapes from Northern Crater; the meteor is approaching Earth near the Northern Crater, but, as soon as it approaches the area, light green energy flows into the crater, and an image of Aeris is seen smiling to the camera. The scene fades to black; the on-screen text reads "500 years later: Red XIII is seen with its cubs among the wreckage of Midgar, which is now overtaken by nature".
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Adding commented ZCE and dubious examples. Check PlayingWith.End Is Nigh Ending before uncommenting.
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%% * ''Film/SeekingAFriendForTheEndOfTheWorld'': Ends with the male and female leads laying beside each other, talking about their pasts. As they speak, the loud rumbling of the impending asteroid predicted to end all life on Earth can be heard getting louder, as the two of them try to remain calm and talk through it. The film fades to white at the moment the asteroid makes contact. '''-- Seems to be a JustBeforeTheEnd work.'''
%% * ''Series/{{Surface}}'' ended this way due to being [[TooGoodToLast cancelled]]. The series ends on a cliffhanger, with the stranded protagonists looking out on the devastation of a tidal wave from a church steeple while the series' mysterious sea monsters from the deep emerge and begin to invade the land. '''-- [[LeftHanging Outer factors rather than inner developments.]]'''
%% * ''Series/{{Surface}}'' ended this way due to being [[TooGoodToLast cancelled]]. The series ends on a cliffhanger, with the stranded protagonists looking out on the devastation of a tidal wave from a church steeple while the series' mysterious sea monsters from the deep emerge and begin to invade the land. '''-- [[LeftHanging Outer factors rather than inner developments.]]'''
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%% (ZCE) * Several episodes of both ''Series/TheOuterLimits'' and ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' conclude this way, as anthology-series don't need a ResetButton and neither show's budget allowed for much on-screen devastation. '''-- Which episodes and how?'''
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%% (ZCE) * This is one of the two most likely interpretations of the ending to ''VideoGame/Mother3''. '''-- Which ending and how?'''
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Created from YKTTW
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-> ''"In one of the countless billions of galaxies in the universe lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead".''
-->-- '''Ending Narration''', ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes''
The global version of a BolivianArmyEnding. Rather than actually showing a CataclysmClimax, some films or other works skip the actual carnage, fading to black and rolling credits just as the wave of destruction begins building on the horizon. Nukes might be seen launching ominously from their silos; the BigRedButton might get pushed; the plague-bearer might be seen striding into an airport, clearly about to spread contagion across the planet. The EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is obviously nigh, but for reasons of budget, drama, and/or use of an Apocalypse Discretion Shot, the audience [[GainaxEnding doesn't actually get to see it happen]].
The main difference between this trope and JustBeforeTheEnd is that there's no way to tell if a work is going to have this ending until late in the work, unlike the aforementioned trope, which has the ending of the world as its very setting. In other words: if, during the transcourse of the plot, things seem well until something near the climax triggers TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, it's this trope. If it instead happens at the very beginning of the work (or a season, for that matter) and the entirety of the plot is based around trying to prevent it to no avail, it's JustBeforeTheEnd. '''Both tropes are mutually exclusive.''' Bear this in mind when adding an example.
Not to be confused with InferredHolocaust, in which FridgeLogic leads viewers to independently conclude that a disaster must necessarily follow the events in-story. Compare {{Cliffhanger}}, when the aftermath of the imminent disaster is expected to be displayed in the next installment. If there's an attempt to prevent the cataclysmic event by way of time travel as a SequelHook, it's SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong. If, instead, the cataclysmic event happens but another party is left to pick up the pieces in said hook, it's FlingALightIntoTheFuture. Beware of the CliffhangerWall.
!! As an EndingTrope, this trope is Administrivia/SpoilersOff, so all spoilers are unmarked and all entries folderized. Proceed with caution. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.
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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The urban horror manga (and only in the manga) ''Manga/{{Tokko}}'' ends rather abruptly after [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent a side story with new characters]] with a closing monologue from previous main character Ranmaru Shindo stating that "Two years later, we were the ones to witness the end of the world."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': The BigBad's contingency plan involves smashing the moon to the planet's surface, and cannot be stopped. Wis opts to evacuate as much of the planet's population off-world as he can (the elves and dwarves choose to stay instead). The sequel series is about his trying to rebuild civilization (several civilizations, in fact, as the assorted {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s spread out over their new world), but make it better this time (he personally slaughters the ruling family of the Aztec equivalent when he finds out they're still practicing HumanSavrifice despite his explicit ban).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films - Live Action]]
* {{Downplayed|trope}} in ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', where the pandemic's aftermath is amply depicted in scenes of the future, and the movie ends with the post-apocalyptic time traveler [[YouCantFightFate failing to change events in the slightest]], although his boss appears at the end to collect a viral sample and thus, make the more ''distant'' future less grim. The person carrying the deadly virus is then forced to open the canister by airport security, which is the exact moment that dooms mankind. We never get to see the virus spread, but we already know that it's inevitable.
* ''Film/TwentyEightWeeksLater'' ends with the zombies, after a period of containment, taking over France and spreading as far as Russia.
* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' ends with the Ancient One's gigantic hand ripping its way out of the ground, as it emerges from below to destroy humanity... an event we don't get to see.
* The end of ''Film/DoctorStrangelove'' plays this for laughs with the President and other members of his cabinet discussing how best to organize the survival of American society and perving out that this means they will need to have sex with many women and figuring out they cannot allow the Russians to outdo them, while a montage of multiple nuclear explosions gets "We'll Meet Again" played as background music.
* The film version of ''Film/FightClub'' ended with the Narrator and Marla watching the destruction of the financial companies' buildings, which was intended to eliminate debt and 'reboot' society: the destruction of our consumer culture and the dawn of a new hunter/gatherer civilization.
* ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'':
** ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'': The film fades to white just as a dying Taylor presses a lever on a DoomsdayDevice that will completely destroy the planet.
** In ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', the film's last scene is of a virus-infected airline pilot heading off to work. The credits play over a global schematic of how the resulting lethal epidemic spreads rapidly from city to city.
* Invoked in ''Film/RogueOne'', as the last two survivors of the titular Rogue One sit and watch as the blastwave caused by the Death Star firing on the planet they're on slowly fills the sky as it spreads in their direction. The action then shifts to the desperate attempts by the Rebel Alliance fleet in orbit to retreat after successfully receiving the priceless Death Star plans from Rogue One on the surface. We don't actually see what became of the planet, but considering a low power blast already caused widespread devastation on another planet...
* ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' ends with Skynet launching multiple nukes to start a nuclear holocaust as John Connor and Kate Brewster hide in a deep underground bunker.
* In ''Film/TheseFinalHours'', James spent the last 12 hours before an asteroid hits his hometown Perth to save Rose and to consider what is really important in his final moments.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''The Burning Realm'' ends with Pandrogas and Amber realizing that the events of the novel have accelerated the decay of the fragments' orbits, ensuring they'll become uninhabitable in a year or less rather than the decades they'd expected.
* In ''Dead of Night'', the heroine and her boyfriend save the little town, but the boyfriend going back for his girl is why the government is not notified in a timely fashion of PatientZero who is a sentient zombie, cheerfully infecting everyone he encounters while everybody was trying to contain the infection in the small town.
* Jeff Long's novel ''Literature/{{Deeper}}'' ends with Chinese nuclear missiles heading for the United States.
* ''Literature/LadyOfTheLake'' ends with Ciri [[ScrewDestiny cheerfully failing]] to fulfill her destiny of saving the world (or at least, its inhabitants) from the impending global glaciation, the effects of which aren't mentioned.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's short story ''Nightfall'' ends with the planet's first darkness in centuries and civilization starting to break down.
* Creator/ArthurCClarke's ''Nine Billion Names of God'' ends with [[TheStarsAreGoingOut the stars starting to wink out]], implying the end of the universe.
* In Neal Stephenson's novel ''Literature/{{Seveneves}}'', the disaster happens near the beginning of the book, when the moon is shattered into pieces which rain onto Earth, causing natural disasters. A technological effort to preserve humanity in a genetic ark works, for awhile,]] but it is also nearly ended by disasters. Ultimately, this trope is subverted, with a semi-happy ending for humanity.
* ''Literature/WeAllDiedAtBreakawayStation'', by Richard Meredith, has a relay network on a small planet sustain faster-than-light communications between Earth and its outer colonies. Most of the story is told from Breakaway Station's perspective, they're mostly Bell Telephone grunts trying to keep the network running, knowing that the Jillies, an alien assault force with a TakeNoPrisoners attitude, is coming to obliterate them. The Jillies damaged the Station during an attack, but the Tachyon link went unbroken. A desperate battle ensues between a RagtagBunchOfMisfits (mostly sentry craft and a hospital ship) and a Jillie assault force. The Earth forces are wiped out, but not before critical intel is routed through the station: [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture the location of Jillie homeworld]]. However, the story simply ends here, and [[AmbiguousSituation there's no guarantee that knowing the location of the Jillie homeworld will decide the war]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* {{Downplayed}} in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'', set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the end shows the cast running out of a trench and then crossfades to a field of poppies.
* The series ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'' ended with the self-inflicted end of the dinosaurs fast-approaching. The news predicts that it will be tens of thousands of years before the suns comes out again, and there is constant snowfall. Earl [[TemptingFate says that it's not like dinosaurs are just going to die out]], and the final scene shows Howard Handupme doing one last broadcast, and he ends his brief monologue with "[[FaceDeathWithDignity Good night... Goodbye.]]" Throughout the credits, [[SnowMeansDeath snow continues to fall]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:VideoGames]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', after the midway point, the villain Sephiroth uses the Black Materia to summon a huge meteor that is gonna crash on Earth in a few days' time. Cloud and Avalanche fly to the Northern Crater to stop Sephiroth. After the Final Battle, there is a credits scene: the group escapes from Northern Crater; the meteor is approaching Earth near the Northern Crater, but, as soon as it approaches the area, light green energy flows into the crater, and an image of Aeris is seen smiling to the camera. The scene fades to black; the on-screen text reads "500 years later: Red XIII is seen with its cubs among the wreckage of Midgar, which is now overtaken by nature".
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' ends with the biggest Psynergy vortex ever seen ready to engulf Matthew's house.
* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Xrd''[='=]s story mode: Ramlethal Valentine begins the story by triggering the events that should have triggered the end of the world, but she's stopped by her sister Elphelt.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/HaloReach'': the game ends with the planet in the final stages of being reduced to glass, and then it cuts to the DistantFuture showing the planet being rebuilt.
* If your robot is destroyed in ''VideoGame/{{Maabus}}'', you get a message from Admiral Jefferson where he somberly informs you that because of your failure, the source of radiation on the island that you were supposed to neutralize has grown to the point that the island itself is completely gone, and that the rest of the world will soon follow. He then excuses himself to be with his family during what time they have left, and the game's credits roll.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Riven}}'', your character falls into the Star Fissure just as it begins to spread, and thus miss witnessing the final breakup of that Age.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' ends with the ground breaking open to reveal [[EldritchLocation The Void]], which has deemed Elmore a mistake for being too wacky. Rob (who had been to get everyone to escape) notes that "it's started..." before being sucked in and the series ends with the implication that all of Elmore is about to get sucked into the void.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' has two examples; in both cases, the aftermath is shown in following season, usually with a measure taken in order to prevent a full-on cataclysm:
** Season 1 ends with [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens the Vok]] launching an anti-planetary beam just as Optimus was entering into its range. While the explosion of Optimus's coffin-shaped ship is shown as the weapon is fired, we don't get to see any effects until the next season. Cut to the screen showing the phrase "The End?" in the very center.
** Season 2 ends with Megatron damaging the original Optimus Prime's face in order to mess with the time-space stream and preventing the Maximals from existing. The effects of his actions are displayed, as the screen cuts to black and the words "To be continued?" are displayed.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HorribleHistories'' episode "The Savage Stone Age", the episode ends with Mo and Stitch going back to their real time after it begins to snow. It's never outright proven, but everyone believes it to be the start of the Ice Age, which makes Neanderthals almost die out.
[[/folder]]
----
-->-- '''Ending Narration''', ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes''
The global version of a BolivianArmyEnding. Rather than actually showing a CataclysmClimax, some films or other works skip the actual carnage, fading to black and rolling credits just as the wave of destruction begins building on the horizon. Nukes might be seen launching ominously from their silos; the BigRedButton might get pushed; the plague-bearer might be seen striding into an airport, clearly about to spread contagion across the planet. The EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is obviously nigh, but for reasons of budget, drama, and/or use of an Apocalypse Discretion Shot, the audience [[GainaxEnding doesn't actually get to see it happen]].
The main difference between this trope and JustBeforeTheEnd is that there's no way to tell if a work is going to have this ending until late in the work, unlike the aforementioned trope, which has the ending of the world as its very setting. In other words: if, during the transcourse of the plot, things seem well until something near the climax triggers TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, it's this trope. If it instead happens at the very beginning of the work (or a season, for that matter) and the entirety of the plot is based around trying to prevent it to no avail, it's JustBeforeTheEnd. '''Both tropes are mutually exclusive.''' Bear this in mind when adding an example.
Not to be confused with InferredHolocaust, in which FridgeLogic leads viewers to independently conclude that a disaster must necessarily follow the events in-story. Compare {{Cliffhanger}}, when the aftermath of the imminent disaster is expected to be displayed in the next installment. If there's an attempt to prevent the cataclysmic event by way of time travel as a SequelHook, it's SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong. If, instead, the cataclysmic event happens but another party is left to pick up the pieces in said hook, it's FlingALightIntoTheFuture. Beware of the CliffhangerWall.
!! As an EndingTrope, this trope is Administrivia/SpoilersOff, so all spoilers are unmarked and all entries folderized. Proceed with caution. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The urban horror manga (and only in the manga) ''Manga/{{Tokko}}'' ends rather abruptly after [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent a side story with new characters]] with a closing monologue from previous main character Ranmaru Shindo stating that "Two years later, we were the ones to witness the end of the world."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': The BigBad's contingency plan involves smashing the moon to the planet's surface, and cannot be stopped. Wis opts to evacuate as much of the planet's population off-world as he can (the elves and dwarves choose to stay instead). The sequel series is about his trying to rebuild civilization (several civilizations, in fact, as the assorted {{Fantasy Counterpart Culture}}s spread out over their new world), but make it better this time (he personally slaughters the ruling family of the Aztec equivalent when he finds out they're still practicing HumanSavrifice despite his explicit ban).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films - Live Action]]
* {{Downplayed|trope}} in ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', where the pandemic's aftermath is amply depicted in scenes of the future, and the movie ends with the post-apocalyptic time traveler [[YouCantFightFate failing to change events in the slightest]], although his boss appears at the end to collect a viral sample and thus, make the more ''distant'' future less grim. The person carrying the deadly virus is then forced to open the canister by airport security, which is the exact moment that dooms mankind. We never get to see the virus spread, but we already know that it's inevitable.
* ''Film/TwentyEightWeeksLater'' ends with the zombies, after a period of containment, taking over France and spreading as far as Russia.
* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' ends with the Ancient One's gigantic hand ripping its way out of the ground, as it emerges from below to destroy humanity... an event we don't get to see.
* The end of ''Film/DoctorStrangelove'' plays this for laughs with the President and other members of his cabinet discussing how best to organize the survival of American society and perving out that this means they will need to have sex with many women and figuring out they cannot allow the Russians to outdo them, while a montage of multiple nuclear explosions gets "We'll Meet Again" played as background music.
* The film version of ''Film/FightClub'' ended with the Narrator and Marla watching the destruction of the financial companies' buildings, which was intended to eliminate debt and 'reboot' society: the destruction of our consumer culture and the dawn of a new hunter/gatherer civilization.
* ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'':
** ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'': The film fades to white just as a dying Taylor presses a lever on a DoomsdayDevice that will completely destroy the planet.
** In ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', the film's last scene is of a virus-infected airline pilot heading off to work. The credits play over a global schematic of how the resulting lethal epidemic spreads rapidly from city to city.
* Invoked in ''Film/RogueOne'', as the last two survivors of the titular Rogue One sit and watch as the blastwave caused by the Death Star firing on the planet they're on slowly fills the sky as it spreads in their direction. The action then shifts to the desperate attempts by the Rebel Alliance fleet in orbit to retreat after successfully receiving the priceless Death Star plans from Rogue One on the surface. We don't actually see what became of the planet, but considering a low power blast already caused widespread devastation on another planet...
* ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' ends with Skynet launching multiple nukes to start a nuclear holocaust as John Connor and Kate Brewster hide in a deep underground bunker.
* In ''Film/TheseFinalHours'', James spent the last 12 hours before an asteroid hits his hometown Perth to save Rose and to consider what is really important in his final moments.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''The Burning Realm'' ends with Pandrogas and Amber realizing that the events of the novel have accelerated the decay of the fragments' orbits, ensuring they'll become uninhabitable in a year or less rather than the decades they'd expected.
* In ''Dead of Night'', the heroine and her boyfriend save the little town, but the boyfriend going back for his girl is why the government is not notified in a timely fashion of PatientZero who is a sentient zombie, cheerfully infecting everyone he encounters while everybody was trying to contain the infection in the small town.
* Jeff Long's novel ''Literature/{{Deeper}}'' ends with Chinese nuclear missiles heading for the United States.
* ''Literature/LadyOfTheLake'' ends with Ciri [[ScrewDestiny cheerfully failing]] to fulfill her destiny of saving the world (or at least, its inhabitants) from the impending global glaciation, the effects of which aren't mentioned.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's short story ''Nightfall'' ends with the planet's first darkness in centuries and civilization starting to break down.
* Creator/ArthurCClarke's ''Nine Billion Names of God'' ends with [[TheStarsAreGoingOut the stars starting to wink out]], implying the end of the universe.
* In Neal Stephenson's novel ''Literature/{{Seveneves}}'', the disaster happens near the beginning of the book, when the moon is shattered into pieces which rain onto Earth, causing natural disasters. A technological effort to preserve humanity in a genetic ark works, for awhile,]] but it is also nearly ended by disasters. Ultimately, this trope is subverted, with a semi-happy ending for humanity.
* ''Literature/WeAllDiedAtBreakawayStation'', by Richard Meredith, has a relay network on a small planet sustain faster-than-light communications between Earth and its outer colonies. Most of the story is told from Breakaway Station's perspective, they're mostly Bell Telephone grunts trying to keep the network running, knowing that the Jillies, an alien assault force with a TakeNoPrisoners attitude, is coming to obliterate them. The Jillies damaged the Station during an attack, but the Tachyon link went unbroken. A desperate battle ensues between a RagtagBunchOfMisfits (mostly sentry craft and a hospital ship) and a Jillie assault force. The Earth forces are wiped out, but not before critical intel is routed through the station: [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture the location of Jillie homeworld]]. However, the story simply ends here, and [[AmbiguousSituation there's no guarantee that knowing the location of the Jillie homeworld will decide the war]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* {{Downplayed}} in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'', set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the end shows the cast running out of a trench and then crossfades to a field of poppies.
* The series ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'' ended with the self-inflicted end of the dinosaurs fast-approaching. The news predicts that it will be tens of thousands of years before the suns comes out again, and there is constant snowfall. Earl [[TemptingFate says that it's not like dinosaurs are just going to die out]], and the final scene shows Howard Handupme doing one last broadcast, and he ends his brief monologue with "[[FaceDeathWithDignity Good night... Goodbye.]]" Throughout the credits, [[SnowMeansDeath snow continues to fall]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:VideoGames]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', after the midway point, the villain Sephiroth uses the Black Materia to summon a huge meteor that is gonna crash on Earth in a few days' time. Cloud and Avalanche fly to the Northern Crater to stop Sephiroth. After the Final Battle, there is a credits scene: the group escapes from Northern Crater; the meteor is approaching Earth near the Northern Crater, but, as soon as it approaches the area, light green energy flows into the crater, and an image of Aeris is seen smiling to the camera. The scene fades to black; the on-screen text reads "500 years later: Red XIII is seen with its cubs among the wreckage of Midgar, which is now overtaken by nature".
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' ends with the biggest Psynergy vortex ever seen ready to engulf Matthew's house.
* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Xrd''[='=]s story mode: Ramlethal Valentine begins the story by triggering the events that should have triggered the end of the world, but she's stopped by her sister Elphelt.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/HaloReach'': the game ends with the planet in the final stages of being reduced to glass, and then it cuts to the DistantFuture showing the planet being rebuilt.
* If your robot is destroyed in ''VideoGame/{{Maabus}}'', you get a message from Admiral Jefferson where he somberly informs you that because of your failure, the source of radiation on the island that you were supposed to neutralize has grown to the point that the island itself is completely gone, and that the rest of the world will soon follow. He then excuses himself to be with his family during what time they have left, and the game's credits roll.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Riven}}'', your character falls into the Star Fissure just as it begins to spread, and thus miss witnessing the final breakup of that Age.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' ends with the ground breaking open to reveal [[EldritchLocation The Void]], which has deemed Elmore a mistake for being too wacky. Rob (who had been to get everyone to escape) notes that "it's started..." before being sucked in and the series ends with the implication that all of Elmore is about to get sucked into the void.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' has two examples; in both cases, the aftermath is shown in following season, usually with a measure taken in order to prevent a full-on cataclysm:
** Season 1 ends with [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens the Vok]] launching an anti-planetary beam just as Optimus was entering into its range. While the explosion of Optimus's coffin-shaped ship is shown as the weapon is fired, we don't get to see any effects until the next season. Cut to the screen showing the phrase "The End?" in the very center.
** Season 2 ends with Megatron damaging the original Optimus Prime's face in order to mess with the time-space stream and preventing the Maximals from existing. The effects of his actions are displayed, as the screen cuts to black and the words "To be continued?" are displayed.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HorribleHistories'' episode "The Savage Stone Age", the episode ends with Mo and Stitch going back to their real time after it begins to snow. It's never outright proven, but everyone believes it to be the start of the Ice Age, which makes Neanderthals almost die out.
[[/folder]]
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