History Main / IneffectualDeathThreats

* Han threatens to have Wedge killed in ''[[XWingSeries Iron Fist]]''. Of course, the two are good friends and the threat was only uttered after Wedge suggested that both of them hang around for a few hours in the uniforms Han hated so much, and after being threatened said "Yes, sir. I trust you'll wear your ''dress'' uniform for an event like that."

** While that Batman was still called out on it, he at least is scary enough to scare criminals. In the 60s Batman movie starring Adam West, he at one point (as Bruce Wayne) threatens to murder the members of his rouge's gallery when he hears they've kidnapped Miss KITKA. The effect is less-than-imposing.

** "I don't talk about reaping souls, I just do it." - TheUndertaker. He's the embodiment of death, and yet he never kills anyone... Except Paul Bearer... Muhammad Hassan.
** It was painfully obvious [[FunnyAneurysmMoment how empty all the death threats]] are when Owen Hart was accidentally KilledOffForReal.

* Invoked in ''12 Angry Men.'' Juror #3 fixates on the evidence that a neighbor heard the defendant yell "I'll kill you!" during a fight. Juror #8 baits him with insults until Juror #3 attacks him and must be held back by the others.
--> Juror #3: "I'll kill you!"
--> Juror #8: "You don't really mean, you'll '''kill''' me, do you?"
* Parodied in ''AKnightsTale'', in which Watt (Alan Tudyk) approaches a downcast Geoff and grimly informs him that if he betrays them, 'your entrails will become your ''ex''trails...' and then, totally stumped for a suitably threatening phrase to continue his rant, settles for a flustered cry of '...Pain! ''Lots'' of pain!'
* In ''ThePrincessBride'', after capturing Westley, the Dread Pirate Roberts says to him: "Good night, good work, I'll most likely kill you in the morning." [[spoiler: This happens every day, until Westley eventually becomes the pirate's successor.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/death-threat-elmo.jpg

* ''DragonBall''. Goku is prone to making dire death threats when angered, but almost always seems to go back on it later because of his merciful nature, regardless of what set him off in the first place. Apparently, you can shoot all the Nameks you like, kill Krillin, and/or significantly reduce earth's population, and he'll still do his best to spare you if you give him the puppy eyes and promise you'll be good from now on. (The villains have taken advantage of this more than once.) At one point, Vegeta actually follows along behind him, killing the Ginyu Force after they're defeated because [[GenreSavvy he knows Goku won't]]. And yes, Goku does get mad at him for it. These guys came within five minutes of killing his 6-year-old son!
* ''ShamanKing'' to an extent - Hao has a very good reason to keep Yoh alive, though doesn't seem to kill quite as many people as he threatens to.

* Parodied in ''AKnightsTale'', in which Watt (Alan Tudyk) approaches a downcast Geoff and grimly informs him that if he betrays them, 'your entrails will become your ''ex''trails...' and then, totally stumped for a suitablly threatening phrase to continue his rant, settles for a flustered cry of '...Pain! ''Lots'' of pain!'

* From ''TheDarkKnight'':
--->'''Maroni:''' "If you're trying to scare somebody, ''pick a better spot.'' From this height, the fall wouldn't kill me."
--->'''Batman:''' "I'm counting on it." (drops him)
---> Maroni promptly learns that while the fall won't kill him, the sudden stop at the end does cripple him and cause great pain by breaking his legs. Also, that while street pizza can't answer questions, a living man in intense pain can and will.

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''{{Bleach}}'' seriously loves this - is there any show/anime with a lower ratio of death threats (tons, all the time) to actual deaths (zero, so far, at least up to episode sixty or thereabouts)?
** If you ignore the filler arcs, no one dies until [[spoiler: Hueco Mundo, when the arrancar start getting knocked off. Although they're really just glorified [[{{Mook}} mooks]], and are DeadToBeginWith, so they don't really count.]]
** Though it is really hard to die when you're technically already dead, which accounts for 95% of the cast. The only main characters who don't wander around as a soul are Orihime, Chad and Uryru.
* At the end of the most recent ''OnePiece'' arc, the villain is ordered to kill the wounded, helpless hero, and makes sure everyone knows it, ramping the drama up to breaking point- but then seems entirely satisfied with seriously wounding a supporting character, and then leaving.
** A bit more justified than most; it has been implied (and recently confirmed) that[[spoiler: the villain in question is an ally of the hero's father who, despite being missing for most of his life, would not want his son killed.]]
* ''DragonBall''. Goku is prone to making dire death threats when angered, but almost always seems to go back on it later because of his merciful nature, regardless of what set him off in the first place. Apparently, you can shoot all the Nameks you like, kill Krillin, and/or significantly reduce earth's population, and he'll still do his best to spare you if you give him the puppy eyes and promise you'll be good from now on. (The villains have taken advantage of this more than once.)
** At one point, Vegeta actually follows along behind him, killing the Ginyu Force after they're defeated because [[GenreSavvy he knows Goku won't]]. And yes, Goku does get mad at him for it. These guys came within five minutes of killing his 6-year-old son!
*** And then, Goku finally beats and cripples Freiza, who previously [[HoistByHisOwnPetard got mutilated by his own energy disc]] [[BullfightBoss that Goku turned around on him]]. He leaves him with just enough strength to run away for good, but Freiza [[UngratefulBastard again tries to kill Goku]]. Finally, ''finally'', Goku lands the finishing blow, and [[LeftForDead assumes Freiza dies when]] [[EarthShatteringKaboom planet Namek explodes]].

* Throughout the course of {{Samurai Champloo}}, Mugen and Jin spend the entire series threatening to kill each other, only to develop a mutual respect and part ways at the end.
* [[GundamWing Heero Yuy]] could be the king of this trope. Over the course of the series he threatens to kill several characters - [[TheOjou Relena]] most famously, but also [[TheRival Zechs]], and [[TheWoobie Quatre]] (when crazy due to the ZERO System). It's a running gag among the fandom, but the show implies that Heero, as a [[HitmanWithAHeart former assassin who's growing a conscience]], is trying to convince ''himself'' to be able to kill people he's grown to care for.

** Of course this made the one death that we even see in a flashback ([[spoiler:Ryu Kumon's father, which was actually an accident]]) [[MoodWhiplash quite]] [[TearJerker disconcerting]].
** Ranma made a comment that roughly translates to wash your neck which was a death threat implying beheading to Saffron as the battle escalated [[spoiler: Ranma eventually was forced to use a RazorWind to kill Saffron; Saffron being a phoenix was immediately reborn in his dying flames]].

* Sanzo from {{Saiyuki}} is constantly making death threats against his [[strike: surrogate family]] servants (Gojyo, Goku, and Hakkai) to the point where no one bats an eyelash. It's like saying, "Good morning" for him or something. Particularly funny when other characters call him out on it and when he turns around the next second to offer encouragement.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* Occasionally, a GenreSavvy criminal will pull this on Batman or Robin. In one recent Robin comic, a CorruptCorporateExecutive asks, "What, are you going to dangle me out a window?" Robin says maybe, and the Exec waves it off, noting "Batman never dropped anyone, and you won't either." Batman occasionally has an answer for it, either, "Nobody's ever ''found out'' about me killing anyone," or pointing out that he may not kill you, but he can make you hurt for a very long time.
* The story of Batman's first Post-Crisis meeting with Superman has a scene like this. He corners one of Magpie's goons in an alley and tries to scare him into revealing his boss' hideout. The thug refuses, knowing that Magpie will kill him if he spills the beans whereas Batman won't. Batman threatens to do worse, by hurting him in a manner such that he 'stays hurt'. He pulls off a desperate escape, and Batman notes with some surprise that he's more afraid of his boss than Batman.

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[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Han threatens to have Wedge killed in [[XWingSeries Iron Fist]]. Of course, the two are good friends and the threat was only uttered after Wedge suggested that both of them hang around for a few hours in the uniforms Han hated so much, and after being threatened said "Yes sir. I trust you'll wear your ''dress'' uniform for an event like that."

* From The Dark Knight

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]

* {{Jekyll}} "Now, You know what I call this children? I call it the perfect start to an evening. The night is young, there's a beautiful girl, and someone's going to die. That's you, by the way." The threat isn't carried out because Hyde's still avoiding killing people, per his agreement with his Jekyll. So he just breaks the guy's neck (nonlethally) and toys around with his girlfriend for a bit.

* In the [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek TNG]] episode Unification II, the Romulans threaten to kill Spock if he does not cooperate. When he points out that they would probably kill him anyway regardless, the Romulans get angry and... leave. Giving Spock and friends enough time to formulate an escape plan.

[[AC: {{Opera}}]]

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]

[[AC:StandUpComedy]]
* [[JeffDunham Achmed the Dead Terrorist]]'s catchphrase is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go "SILENCE! I KILL YOU!"]].

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Memorably averted in ''FinalFantasy''. "I, Garland, will knock you all down!"
** In the original Japanese, it's, "I, Garland, will kick you around!" The Japanese really do have a verb for "to kick around". Still ineffectual, though.

[[AC:WebComics]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* Happens a few times in {{Futurama}}, from the time during an alien death match an adrenaline crazed Zoidberg cut off Fry's arm-
-->Fry: I won't hurt Dr. Zoidberg, because Zoidberg is my friend. And theres nothing more important than-

** Or when Fry drank Bender's last beer, or the time. . .
* In ReBoot [[TheHero Bob]] once threatened to ''dismantle'' Mike the TV. He even has [[DoAnythingRobot Glitch]] turn into a ''screwdriver'' as part of the threat.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* [[{{Sonichu}} EEEEENGH! I'LL STRANGLE THAT CLYDE CASH! I WILL PUNCH HIS LIGHTS OUT!]]

--->'''Maroni:''' "If you're trying to scare somebody, ''pick a better spot.'' From this height, the fall wouldn't kill me."
--->'''Batman:''' "I'm counting on it." (drops him)
---> Maroni promptly learns that while the fall won't kill him, the sudden stop at the end does cripple him and cause great pain by breaking his legs. Also, that while street pizza can't answer questions, a living man in intense pain can and will.

** A gang leader tries this in ''The Dark Knight''.

* Niftu Cal's ill-advised assault upon Wasea in MassEffect2 is preceded by a few boasts about how he will wipe the floor with her. It doesn't go well.

-Or when Fry drank Bender's last beer, or the time. . .

When the threat is realistic, contrast YouHaveNoChanceToSurvive and subsequently, PrepareToDie.

Not confused with MakeYourTime or subsequently, PrepareToDie.

Contrast MakeYourTime, WeWillMeetAgain, PrepareToDie.

Contrast MakeYourTime, WeWillMeetAgain.

Characters make death threats that they never seem to carry out. It's not uncommon to have people say "[=~I'll Kill You~=]!" all the time, only to have fights that never quite go that far, only stopping at wounding and/or maiming. Granted, "I'll '''seriously wound''' you!" doesn't sound quite as badass (though even that can be pulled off [[ToThePain effectively]]), but at least it's more threatening than a StronglyWordedLetter.

Characters make death threats that they never seem to carry out. It's not uncommon to have people say "IllKillYou!" all the time, only to have fights that never quite go that far, only stopping at wounding and/or maiming. Granted, "I'll '''seriously wound''' you!" doesn't sound quite as badass (though even that can be pulled off [[ToThePain effectively]]), but at least it's more threatening than a StronglyWordedLetter.