History Main / IneffectualDeathThreats

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[[folder: Films -- Animated]]

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-->-- '''Lilah Morgan''', ''Series/{{Angel}}'' ''"Supersymmetry"''

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''

* ''Series/{{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.

* At the end of the "Thriller Bark" arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'', [[BearsAreBadNews Bartholomew Kuma]] 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|Trope}} 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]].

* "I kill you" and "I love you" are the only things Hellwolf from ''Manga/TentaiSenshiSunred'' can say. He's an [[http://tomopop.com/ul/15951-550x-crop.jpg adorable, foot-tall wolf plushie]] who speaks in cutesy BabyTalk, and his death threats [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSAujonWr1Q&t=00m34s tend not to be taken very seriously]] by, well, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPwXsd_7IEM&t=00m10s anyone]]''.

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

* "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/41581248/chapters/104294040 A Convergence of Warriors]]" features [[Franchise/BuffyVerse the Scooby Gang, Angel]] and [[Series/Charmed1998 the Charmed Ones]] assisting John, Dean and Sam Winchester in the confrontation with the Yellow-Eyed Demon and Meg ("[[Recap/SupernaturalS01E21Salvation Salvation]]"); at one point demon-Meg tries to stop the heroes vanquishing her by pointing out that human-Meg will die if she leaves the body, but Paige points out that she's part-Whitelighter so she can just heal Meg afterwards, so demon-Meg has nothing to threaten her with.

** There's also the time he went after Darren with a sword. A prop sword, of course, and no one is hurt. Still, given his history [[spoiler: of going insane]] and how seriously he seems to take it ("I need you to be my second"), Darren can be forgiven for being a little nervous.

** In the third installment's single player, Kai Leng is full of these in gameplay, ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation though not]] [[HeroKiller in story]], [[spoiler: [[AssassinOutclassin taking out fan-favourite Thane while not using his biotic-proof shields, cloak, gun, or anything except his sword]]]]) - being a Phantom [[TheWorfEffect without an instant-kill move, and with a heavily nerfed palm gun, and no cloak outside cutscenes]]. So despite his [[spoiler: [[MagnificentBastard playing bait for a cunning gunship trap on]] [[TheBadGuyWins Thessia, leading to Cerberus' victory against]] [[TheDreaded Commander Shepard, of all people]]]], his [[KickTheDog mocking e-mail]] was horribly ill-advised, as he's a pushover in [[spoiler: [[HeroicRematch Cerberus' final battle on Chronos Station]]]].

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''. As the ambassador for the Reach is FauxAffablyEvil, when it comes to threatening people he lacks the EvilIsHammy menace of the other supervillains.

* In ''Fanfic/AMonstersNature'', when various parties try to threaten Caitlyn to make Brandon stop, Caitlyn points out that killing her isn't a good idea as she's the only reason Brandon hasn't just destroyed Earth already, so it's pointless to threaten her.
* The ''Fanfic/ResurgenceSeries'' features a variation of this as an ineffectual threat that could have ''led'' to death, when Samuel Sullivan tries to get Bella Swan (who has the ability to block other superhuman abilities) to restore Rebecca’s ability to become invisible by having Peter Petrelli and Claire Bennett teleported into the distant past. Samuel tells Bella that he will only bring them back once Rebecca can use her ability, but once Bella confirms that nobody at the carnival can shut down powers like she can, she decides to ignore Samuel and leave to wait for Peter to get him and Claire back on his own.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar''. Jafar is a genie now and as multiple people point out, genies are incapable of killing anyone. He remains a serious threat since these reminders are always followed by [[FateWorseThanDeath "But you'd be surprised what you can live through."]]

When the threat is realistic but not immediate, see YouHaveNoChanceToSurvive. Subsequently and more immediately, PrepareToDie. The opposite of this is ProveIAmNotBluffing where they make good on that word.

Compare WeWillMeetAgain and EmptyCopThreat. Contrast ProveIAmNotBluffing where they make good on that word.

When the threat is realistic but not immediate, see YouHaveNoChanceToSurvive. Subsequently and more immediately, PrepareToDie.

Compare WeWillMeetAgain and EmptyCopThreat.

'''Sanzo:''' Are you trying to pick a fight??\\

** It was painfully obvious [[FunnyAneurysmMoment how empty all the death threats]] are when Wrestling/OwenHart was accidentally KilledOffForReal.

* ''''ComicBook/RatchetAndClankComic'': {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and utilized as the first part to a BrickJoke during the miniseries, which provides the page image:

[[folder:Comics -- Books]]

* Occasionally, a criminal will pull this on Franchise/{{Batman}} or Robin. In one ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'' 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.
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and utilized as the first part to a BrickJoke during the ''[[Comicbook/RatchetAndClankComic Ratchet & Clank]]'' [[Comicbook/RatchetAndClankComic miniseries]], which provides the page image:
-->'''Ratchet:''' That's it. I'm gonna kill Qwark.
-->'''Clank:''' You say that at least once a year.
* After ComicBook/{{Superboy}} takes an incredibly painful and powerful magical blow helping out Tim in ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'' he grumbles that "After strangling you, I'm going to pour sugar in your bike's gas tank and break all your bat toys." while Tim is helping him limp back to Tim's Bludhaven hangout. Tim of course does not take this seriously and Conner doesn't try to make good on his threats, he's just trying to get across how annoyed he is that Tim didn't properly do his homework on the villain they were up against.

* In the ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'' fic ''Fanfic/AMonstersNature'', when various parties try to threaten Caitlyn to make Brandon stop, Caitlyn points out that killing her isn't a good idea as she's the only reason Brandon hasn't just destroyed Earth already, so it's pointless to threaten her.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''. As the ambassador for the Reach is FalseAffablyEvil, when it comes to threatening people he lacks the EvilIsHammy menace of the other supervillains.

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and utilized as the first part to a BrickJoke during the ''Comicbook/RatchetAndClankComic'' series:

** 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 he knows Goku won't. And yes, Goku does get mad at him for it. These guys came within five minutes of killing his 5-year-old son!
** The above only holds true when he is an adult. When he was a kid, he was far less merciful to the point when he claims he's going to kill you, chances are he will unless the person escapes, repents, or beat him. The Red Ribbon Army, King Piccolo, and his children are testaments of this. It isn't until his training with Kami that Goku becomes more merciful. Even then, Goku goes back to killing his enemies after the Frieza Saga and stops offering second chances. Even in Frieza's case, it was more CruelMercy than him forgiven Frieza for pissing him off.

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Germany and Japan had some...interesting...battle cries as they [[CockFight fought each other]].

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar''. Jafar is a genie now and as multiple people point out, genies are incapable of killing anyone. He remains a serious threat since these reminders are always followed by [[FateWorseThanDeath "But you'd be surprised what you can live through."]]

* ''Fanfic/WrongRoadToTheRightPlace'' sees the Dodger and Helena Bertinelli make these to Laurel and Tommy respectively, as the Dodger can't threaten Laurel's life without killing himself and Tommy observes that Helena can't kill him without losing her hostage and guaranteeing that Oliver will never help her (on top of what Tommy's recently learned about his father's inability to cope with loss making it clear that him dying would lead to bad consequences).

* In ''Discworld/{{Pyramids}}'', Pteppic realizes he isn't very good at threatening people because the Assassins' Guild doesn't work like that. He ends up saying "I could give you this knife. I could give it to you point first." Even more ineffectual because Pteppic is opposed to killing people. [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything Despite being an assassin.]] It makes sense in context.

* In the ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'' fic ''Fanfic/AMonstersNature'', when a government group captures Brandon and Caitlyn and attempts to find a way to stop Brandon, a suggestion that they threaten Caitlyn to make him stand down is swiftly dismissed as Caitlyn points out that she's the only reason Brandon hasn't just destroyed Earth already.

* Bakugo from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' makes these a running joke, as he deploys in any and all kinds of conflict. This includes musical performances (promising to kill the audience with his awesomeness) and brushing his teeth (deploying them at his ''own oral bacteria''). It's repeatedly pointed out that as a hero he's not supposed to be killing anyone, not that it stops him.

[[folder:Comedy]]
* From Creator/JeffDunham's routines, Achmed the Dead Terrorist's catchphrase is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go "SILENCE! I KILL YOU!"]].

[[folder:Comedy]]
* From Creator/JeffDunham's routines, Achmed the Dead Terrorist's catchphrase is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go "SILENCE! I KILL YOU!"]].
[[/folder]]

* In ''Literature/Hogfather}}'', Susan makes a literal Death threat against Mr. Teatime, seeing as TheGrimReaper is her grandfather. Teatime simply points out that everyone meets Death eventually.

* A fan-made TextAdventure for ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' lets you make one to shadowy guy that gives the location of the traitor's hideout. The problem is that he's a cardboard cutout, making your threat look silly.

* In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', Mao as a child threatens to hurt Yin with a tiny [[{{Fireballs}} fireball]] if she comes any closer.