History Main / FirstEpisodeResurrection

* Happened to Tsutomu Senkawa in ''Manga/BirdyTheMighty'' after the titular SpaceCop accidently killed him and [[TwoBeingsOneBody merges with him]] to save his life

* The first chronological mission of ''Videogame/{{Prototype}}'' has Alex Mercer waking up [[WakingUpAtTheMorgue during his autopsy]] and escaping Gentek research facility. Subverted in that [[spoiler:the real Alex Mercer died but the virus he was carrying reconstructed his body, giving him {{Lovecraftian Superpower}}s and erasing [[AmnesiacDissonance the memories of his previous life]]]].

* Happens to Kate, Rose, Claire, and Rachel in ''RedGarden''.

* Something like this happened with the second {{Supergirl}}, although in this case ''she'' was the unnatural character who got merged with a dying human.

* TheQuestion experiences a non-supernatural version. In the first issue, the angry, two-fisted Ditko avenger is [[RasputinianDeath defeated by Lady Shiva, beaten with a pipe, shot in the head with an air gun and dumped in the river.]] Due to a MillionToOneChance and the diving reflex, he survives, but the near-death experience changes his philosophical outlook.

* You're killed soon after completing the JustifiedTutorial in ''Rune'', only to be resurrected by Odin.

* The first chronological mission of ''Videogame/{{Prototype}}'' has Alex Mercer waking up during his autopsy and escaping Gentek. Subverted in that [[spoiler:the real Alex Mercer died but the virus he was carrying reconstructed his body, giving him {{Lovecraftian Superpower}}s and erasing [[AmnesiacDissonance the memories of his previous life]]]].

* [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick OOTS-esque]] webcomic ''WebComic/{{antiHEROES}}'' features the death of a character in the first strip and the beginning of her new [[TheUndead unlife]] as a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] in the second.
* ''Webcomic/SparklingGenerationValkyrieYuuki'' begins with the protagonist having a gem roughly the size of a fist shot directly into his chest, along with an accompanying huge spurt of blood and shocked expression. He's reborn instantly as a valkyrie, but it seems a safe bet that this killed him.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Which explains rather nicely why Hermod isn't strong enough to reverse the process.]]

* When we first meet Animation/{{Cubix|RobotsForEveryone}}, he's the mysterious trophy sitting around the Botties' Pit that no-one has ever been able to fix. New kid Connor decides to fix him for his initiation, despite the fact that no-one expects him to succeed.

* The main character of the original ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}}'', Samanosuke Akechi, starts out the game as an ordinary samurai... then he gets killed by a demon, and is resurrected by the Clan Ogres, granted superhuman powers, and proceeds to clean house, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil''-style.
** It's intentionally ambiguous whether Samonosuke is in fact killed or just knocked unconscious. There's little to no information given regarding his new existence, and it's implied in ''Onimusha 3'' that the power of the gauntlet is what's keeping him from aging.

* ''AlteredBeast'' begins with Zeus resurrecting your hero(es) to rescue his daughter. ''"[[ElmuhFuddSyndwome Wise from your gwave!]]"''

* The tutorial of ''DemonsSouls'' ends with your death.

* ''ShadowOfDestiny'': you die THREE SECONDS in and are sent back to life. Very plot-relevant since the game is about dying, reviving and then having to [[TimeTravel travel to the past]] in order to avoid the root cause of your death. Over and over again.

* ''PlanescapeTorment'' plays with this; The Nameless One [[WakingUpAtTheMorgue wakes up in a morgue]], but that is ''not'' the first time you died, not by a long shot.

In the MMORPG {{Skyforge}} you begin the game arriving at a big city, where in a flashback you tell a god the story of how you died, and then revived, discovering yourself to be an Immortal. It's the way In-Universe of how all immortals find out about their powers.

* In the first episode/chapter of the ''HappyWorld'' manga and OVA, the main character's [[spoiler:house burns down. Thus, he has to go to school in an unwashed uniform. He steps in a deep puddle, and trips, falling over and landing with his hand in a dog poo. Washing his hand at a public tap, the tap snaps off and sprays him in the face. Chucking the tap over his shoulder in frustration, it strikes a vicious dog on the head which then chases him down the road, though he manages to trick it into running into a tree. Unfortunately, he then runs into a telegraph pole himself (kicks it in the manga), and a part of it (the large, metal, corrugated cylinder part) falls off, the corner of it striking his head and killing him. It is at this point that the story's romantic lead, the angel Elle, appears, apologising profusely for being late, and resurrects the hero]].

* ''Series/NowAndAgain'' is about a middle-aged man who is hit by a train and has his brain transplanted into a young body augmented with superhuman strength and agility.

* The main character of the original ''{{Onimusha}}'', Samanosuke Akechi, starts out the game as an ordinary samurai... then he gets killed by a demon, and is resurrected by the Clan Ogres, granted superhuman powers, and proceeds to clean house, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil''-style.

Based on ancient archetypes about death and transformation; usually a hero has to go through his darkest hour to get a powerup, but in some series, they cut to this moment right away. Compare SacrificialLamb, DeathByOriginStory. See FirstEpisodeSpoiler for when it is supposed to be a surprise. Can overlap with DeadToBeginWith.

* The titular character of ''[[{{Oddworld}} Abe's Oddysee]]'' is killed in a cutscene after the first two levels, just as Big Face shows up to conveniently bring him back to life.

* This is the basis for [[KidHero Hiro's]] servitude to [[BadassPrincess Hi]][[ChainsawGood me]] in ''PrincessResurrection''. Hiro dies saving Hime, and she brings him back to life. The catch is that he has to be her servant forever, protecting her from all the dangers that come with the job. [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap This makes him effectively immortal, being able to heal from any injury]]...[[ConditionalPowers as long as he gets regular blood donations from Hime.]] If he doesn't, he dies.
* ''GenkakuPicasso!'' starts off with our, uh, [[DesignatedHero "hero"]] Hikari getting killed by a helicopter crash and resurrecting thanks to his only friend Chiaki (who did die) getting the gods to keep him alive in exchange for using his new powers to help others. Chiaki also comes back, but as more of a guardian angel than an all-living person.

* The entire premise of {{Series/Glitch}} is about a few people coming BackFromTheDead, so naturally this trope applies.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''RiseOfTheGuardians'' starts with Jack Frost apparently being born from the water of a frozen pond. Even though it isn't explained until late in the movie that he drowned/froze to death in that pond and was brought back to life (with [[AnIcePerson powers]]!) by the moon, the opening scene still kind of makes it obvious that's what happened.

* The main character in ''NowAndAgain'' starts as John Goodman - until he gets hit by a train and has his brain placed in an artificial body. Too bad his family doesn't recognize him now.

* The series ''DeadLikeMe'' begins with the main protagonist's death by the way of a toilet seat from the space station Mir concluding its orbital re-entry right on her head. She is brought back as a reaper; her replacement body can't re-die, or age, and seems to have abnormally fast healing, but it exhibits all other properties of a normal human being.

* [[Creator/CatherineWebb Kate Griffin's]] fantasy novel ''A Madness of Angels, or, The Resurrection of MatthewSwift'' begins with its protagonist mysteriously waking up after having been dead for two years.

* ''UFOPrincessValkyrie'' sees protagonist Kazuto Tokino getting crushed by a landing UFO and resurrected by its pilot (who is, unsurprisingly, a Valkyrie Princess). Granted, we don't really get the whole story of it 'till episode 2, but it IS seen in a flashback near the end of the first episode.

[[folder:Anime]]

* Played straight with Rumina in ''TokyoUnderground''.

* One of the first and most infamous examples was actually from a MagicalGirl series, ''MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'', and it was more of a First Episode Reincarnation, but still.

* Liz in ''{{Roswell}}'' gets shot dead in the first episode and is healed by alien-disguised-as-shy-high-school-student Max. The (useful) powers that come along with it [[spoiler: don't show up until the third season, though]].
* From the opening narration to the first episode of ''{{Lexx}}'':

* Chuck in ''PushingDaisies'', though her new life doesn't come with immortality or cool powers.

* Both Kain and Raziel, the two main protagonists of the ''LegacyOfKain'' series, started their respective games in this manner. In both cases their resurrections are [[DealWithTheDevil Faustian bargains]] with the beings that arrange for their returns - and they're both all too aware of it.

** {{Subverted}} in the first chronological episode of [[Series/UltraSeven UltraSeven]]. Agent 340 witnesses a mountain climber named Jiro Satsuma nearly falling to his death and saves his life but doesn't merge life forces with him, instead modelling the his human identity's appearance on Earth after Satsuma.

* Pretty much everyone who has ever combined with an incarnation of Series/{{Ultraman}} did so in this manner.