History Main / MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning

* ''SuicideForHire'': One client wanted to die because of the constant harassment after he was involved in a classmate's accidental death by alcohol poisoning. Hunter helped him assemble evidence of every instance of harassment (copies of the threatening letters and emails, photos of the defacement of his dorm room, etc), resulting in lawsuits between both sets of grieving parents after the suicide was completed.

* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'': In an alternate universe of the DCU, although ComicBook/TheJoker [[KickTheSonOfABitch was killed off early]] in the game by a grieving Superman for tricking him into killing his wife Lois and nuking Metropolis, the MonsterClown certainly had the last laugh as his VillainousLegacy of causing Superman's [[FaceHeelTurn road to hell]] and the subsequent fallout in later years has slowly led to the collapse of everything good in the DCU in many ways: the Justice League is no longer what it used to be, Superman hating Batman and vice versa, and the deaths of many who tried to stop Superman. Ironically, [[BatmanGambit this is precisely what]] [[GreaterScopeVillain the Joker]] [[ThanatosGambit ultimately intended, including the part where it got him killed]]: to prove that anybody can be easily [[NotSoDifferent brought down to his level]] if they had "a really bad day" in his twisted StrawNihilist mindset. It was all done ForTheEvulz and ItAmusedMe. Things haven't much in [[VideoGame/Injustice2 the sequel]], as even though he's DeadAllAlong in the game and only appears as a Fear Toxin-induced hallucination to Harley Quinn in chapter 2, he still haunts everybody even from beyond the grave, and certain pre-match intros show that ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards even villains such as Gorilla Grodd, Brainiac and Darkseid of all people]]'' [[HateSink despise him]] for what he [[MoralEventHorizon did to Superman.]] [[SmallRoleBigImpact He may have had a small role in both games]], but the impact he left can never be forgotten.

* ''Film/{{Rampage}}'': Mass murderer/terrorist Bill Williamson orchestrates several massacres while releasing viral videos urging people to cause violence all over the world. He's finally killed by the end of the third movie after a massive manhunt, but more chaos erupts after his death since more people are shown going on massacres.

* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'': In an alternate universe of the DCU, although ComicBook/TheJoker was killed off early by a grieving Superman for tricking him into killing his wife Lois and nuking Metropolis, the MonsterClown certainly had the last laugh as his VillainousLegacy of causing Superman's FaceHeelTurn and the subsequent fallout in later years has slowly led to the collapse of everything good in the DCU in many ways: the Justice League is no longer what it used to be, Superman hating Batman and vice versa, and the deaths of many superheroes who tried to stop Superman. Ironically, this is what [[GreaterScopeVillain the Joker]] ultimately intended: to prove that even the most pure of souls can be easily tarnished and [[NotSoDifferent brought down to his level]] if they had "a really bad day" in his StrawNihilist mindset. It hasn't healed much in [[VideoGame/Injustice2 the sequel]], as even though he's DeadAllAlong in the game and only appears as a Fear Toxin-induced hallucination to Harley in chapter 2, he still haunts everybody even from beyond the grave, and certain pre-match intros show that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the villains]] [[HateSink despise him]] for what he [[MoralEventHorizon did to Superman.]] [[SmallRoleBigImpact He may have had a small role in both games]], but the impact he left can never be forgotten.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Scrapland}}'', The Archbishop of Chimera is the first in a string of murders of Chimera's most influenteial citizens.

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': [[OmnicidalManiac Judge Death]] was already an insane HangingJudge when he was alive. His goal of destroying his entire homeworld in the name of justice required him to die and then be resurrected through dark magic as a zombie, partly so he would become an unstoppable menace, and partly because "kill everyone" would just have been hypocritical if he didn't.

* While not exactly his plan, the Master in the new ''Series/DoctorWho'' series creates a cult devoted to himself and leaves specific instructions on what to do in case he is killed. After he is shot by his wife, he chooses not to regenerate so as not to end up the Doctor's prisoner, and because he knows his followers will bring him back to life. Unfortunately for him, his resurrection is sabotaged by his wife, which causes him to [[CameBackWrong Come Back Wrong]]. Worse, this all may have been a GambitRoulette of [[strike:TimothyDalton]] the Time Lords.

* In ''Literature/TollTheHounds'', book eight of Steven Erikson's ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', Anomander Rake and the God of Death Hood both sacrifice themselves in order to free the world within Dragnipur and reconcile the Tiste Andii with Mother Dark.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', the final boss of the game, the ancient demon Demise finally released from his seal placed on him by the gods invokes this against Link and Zelda and their descendants. He says that an incarnation of his hatred will continuously be reborn to seek revenge against them. Said incarnation? Ganondorf.

** At the climax of ''Film/TheLastJedi'', [[spoiler: Luke warns Kylo Ren that the war has only just begun, and that he will be with him always, before he follow's Obi-Wan's example.]]

** Obi-Wan Kenobi's death in ''Film/ANewHope'' is either a heroic version of this trope or a HeroicSacrifice depending on whom you ask.

* In ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'', [[MentorOccupationalHazard Koumyou's death in a youkai attack]] right after he passed his rank and responsibilities onto his pupil is suggested to be this trope. Considering the person who voiced the suggestion, the reveal of this ''might'' have been intended just to mess with Sanzo, but on the other hand, said person ''did'' get to see Koumyou's true strength first-hand, and thus his claim that Koumyou was powerful enough to easily fend off the attackers is far from being baseless. The implication is that Koumyou knew what effect his HeroicSacrifice for Sanzo would have on Sanzo himself; indeed, this results in Sanzo's life getting dedicated to recovering his master's sutra stolen in the attack, and he grows up to be the {{Determinator}} seen throughout the main series. Whether Koumyou's death had something to do with [[spoiler:his bet with Ukoku]] remains to be seen.

** In the [[Literature/LegendsOfDune prequel series]], Serena Butler tries to get Omnius to kill her in order to become a martyr and inspire humanity to destroy Thinking Machines once and for all. [[spoiler: Erasmus catches on and stops Omnius before he can do this. Unfortunately for the Thinking Machines there is also a plan B. Serena is killed by one of her female guards and her death is presented as Omnius’ fault anyway.]]

* In ''Toll the Hounds'', book eight of Steven Erikson's ''MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', Anomander Rake and Hood both sacrifice themselves in order to free the world within Dragnipur and reconcile the Tiste Andii with Mother Dark.

* In DJ [=MacHale=]'s Pendragon series [[spoiler: in Raven Rise, book 9, Naymeer, the leader of a huge cult, is killed by Bobby. It turned out his death made him a martyr to the cult, and corrupted Bobby.]]

** In ''The Seeds of Death'', when [[spoiler:Fewsham, who has been a DirtyCoward up until this point,]] finally grows a pair and makes sure that [[spoiler:Earth gets desperately-needed info on the pending invasion]], [[RedemptionEqualsDeath at the cost of his own life]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' features a plan that requires two deaths, masterminded by the eponymous demon himself. It was first hinted at in ''Diablo II'' by the fallen angel Izual, who hints that the deaths of the Prime Evils are serving some greater purpose. [[spoiler: In Diablo III, the purpose is to get all the defeated Evils, Prime and Lesser, into the same Black Soulstone, which is then jammed into the chest of the daughter Diablo fathered after being killed the first time. This allows Diablo to become the personality in charge of the full power of ''the'' Prime Evil.]]

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', the final boss of the game, [[spoiler:the ancient demon Demise finally released from his seal placed on him by the gods]] invokes this against Link and Zelda and their descendants. He says that an incarnation of his hatred will continuously be reborn to seek revenge against them. Said incarnation? [[spoiler: Ganondorf.]]

* In the backstory to ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock 1}}'', "legimitate businessman" and mobster Frank Fontaine was gunned down in his own office by police. Before going to the mattresses, Frank complained publicly about the city stealing his revenue (they had) and their plans to assassinate him (they did). This cast a baleful light on Rapture's patriarch, Andrew Ryan. [[spoiler:Double inverted -- Frank faked his death, then masqueraded as a paddy freedom fighter to demand the city turn Frank's assets back over to the people, i.e. Fontaine himself]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock 2}}'', [[spoiler: Subject Delta unless you get the neutral selfless ending. In the evil, neutral selfish, and good endings, Eleanor drains his Adam into her and his viewpoint melts into hers, implying that Delta's living consciousness is now inside of Eleanor, despite his body being lifeless.]]
* In the Seal of Nehahra, a four-hour long Machinima fully rendered in VideoGame/{{Quake}}, the phrase "Death is Just the Beginning" is uttered numerous times by a number of characters, most notably by Sergeant Lawrence Maxwell [[spoiler:when he executes Major Bent]].
* ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'''s Daisy Fitzroy is stopped from murdering a child only by the intervention of Elizabeth... then the ''BioshockInfinite/BurialAtSea'' DLC reveals that Fitzroy had ''no intention'' of murdering the boy, was actually upset at the idea of even making the empty threat, and only went through with the plan because she was told up front that she would die at Elizabeth's hands, and that her death would harden Elizabeth into the woman who would be instrumental in bringing down [[BigBad Zachary Comstock]] [[spoiler: and by extension Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine]].

* In ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'' [[spoiler: Hasdrubal takes his own life and gives his most able subordinate Izebel one last order to ensure that his son's rebellion will succeed. Izebel is to pretend that Hasdrubal has rebelled and she crushed it, and there-by secure the position of Governor-General of Hispania for herself. From there she is to as far as possible limit the expansion of [[CorruptChurch the Holy Church]] within Hispania, and she would be in a position to protect the seeds of rebellion, his son and other subordinates, until the time is right.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'': the leaders of the Bacterion Empire like to claim that by destroying them, all you've done is scatter their body across the stars, and each piece will grow and become a new Empire to come attack you again later. Several boss characters are fought multiple times across the series due to this facet of Bacterion biology. [[spoiler:According to ''Gradius NEO'', set far into the future, the Bacterions are never exterminated, but eventually they become unable to rebuild their intelligence and are reduced to wild animals.]]

[[folder:Anime]]

* ''{{Exalted}}'': The First Age Solars, who by that point had gone [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity cuckoo for cocoa puffs]], were killed during the Usurpation, and as their souls settled into the Underworld, they finally realized [[DeathEqualsRedemption what sort of atrocities they'd committed]]. That is, save for 13 Solar ghosts who still raged at their betrayal... and who were all too happy to accept the deal the [[EldritchAbomination Neverborn]] offered them. Thus were the Deathlords born -- immensely powerful ghosts with a stated goal of dragging all of Creation into the maw of Oblivion.

* While not exactly his plan, the Master in the new ''Series/DoctorWho'' series creates a cult of FanGirls and leaves specific instructions on what to do in case he is killed. After he is shot by his wife, he chooses not to regenerate so as not to end up the Doctor's prisoner, and because he knows his followers will bring him back to life. Unfortunately for him, his resurrection is sabotaged by his wife, which causes him to [[CameBackWrong Come Back Wrong]]. Worse, this all may have been a GambitRoulette of [[strike:TimothyDalton]] the Time Lords.

* ''ValkyrieProfile'': Lezard Valeth kills himself to gain immortality, which allows him to survive Ragnarok. This is only seen in the best ending, but presumably occurs in every one since there are no NiceJobBreakingItHero moments related to him.

%%* The first campaign in ''SpellForce''.

* In ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', The Operative [[NecessarilyEvil knows what he does is evil]], but is deprived the ability to pay for his sins with death when Mal [[SwordOverHead refuses to kill him]] after winning their duel.
* ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' begins in the 18th century when the French authorities prepare to punish Destro's ancestor. When he speaks the tropes, the French respond, "We're not going to kill you, we're going to make an example of you." and shove a red hot metal mask on his face.

* Subverted by Prince Vigo in ''Film/GhostbustersII''. Despite his apparent last words being "Death is but a door; time but a window. I'll be back!", it was not his intention to die and become all powerful. He was murdered with extreme prejudice against his wishes, and just happened to have a way to reincarnate as an immortal overlord a few centuries later. A straighter example is seen in ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' where that movie's villain, Rowan North, commits suicide so he can be born again as a powerful ghost.

* In the backstory to Creator/TadWilliams' ''MemorySorrowAndThorn'' trilogy, the [[TheFairFolk Sithi]] prince Ineluki attempts to use forbidden magic to destroy the human forces invading the city of Asu'a, but the spell [[PhlebotinumOverload backfires]] and kills him and his five servants. However, his spirit survives and eventually returns to haunt the world as the Storm King.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Homaged with [[Film/FlashGordon Ming the Merciless]]-expy Dr. Chaotica as he lays dying, 'killed' by Queen Arachnia and Captain Proton (Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Paris) in ''The Adventures of Captain Proton!'' holodeck program.
-->'''Chaotica:''' Arachnia, death as you know it has no hold on me. My defeat is but a temporary setback. I shall return to seek my revenge.
-->'''Janeway:''' He doesn't give up, does he?
-->'''Paris:''' They never do.
-->'''Chaotica:''' Our love was not meant to be, my Queen, but be warned. You have not seen the last of...Chaotica.
-->''THE END then shows on the screen, [[TheEndOrIsIt followed by a question mark]], and Chaotica's EvilLaugh.''

** Bonus points for showing someone take his ring after his death in the style of [[Film/FlashGordon Ming the Merciless]].

* ''{{Mistborn}}'' by Brandon Sanderson:

* Kelsier in ''{{Mistborn}}'' by Brandon Sanderson sets himself up as a figure of quasi-religious adoration, gets himself publicly and heroically killed, and arranges for a shapeshifter to take his form and make a bunch of ambiguous appearances, as part of an elaborate plan to foment rebellion.

*** Also Preservation, who sacrificed most of himself to set off the dominoes that would ultimately lead to the death of his [[OrderVersusChaos opposite number]] Ruin. Technically he didn't actually die until much later, but since his sacrifice left him almost totally unable to interact with the world, and his eventual true death was also part of his plan, it counts.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Tigerstar spends all his time in the afterlife walking in other cats' dreams and training them to kill Firestar. However, sickness as well as Firestar's own [[HeroicSacrifice heroic sacrifices]], have done a better job of killing him off than Tigerstar's interference.

*** [[{{Badass}} Auron]] accidentally falls into this trope as well, ten years prior to the game's beginning, when he's killed but immediately reanimates as an Unsent. He took advantage of his new mortality status to ride Sin to Zanarkand and help mold Tidus into the hero his father wanted him to become. Namely, one who'd be willing and able to destroy his father, the newest incarnation of Sin, forever.

* In ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'', [[MentorOccupationalHazard Koumyou's death in a youkai attack]] right after he passed his rank and responsibilities onto his pupil is suggested to be this trope. Considering the person who voiced the suggestion, the reveal of this ''might'' have been intended just to mess with Sanzo, but on the other hand, said person ''did'' get to see Koumyou's true strength first-hand, and thus his claim that Koumyou was powerful enough to easily fend off the attackers is far from being baseless. The implication is that Koumyou knew what effect his HeroicSacrifice for Sanzo would have on Sanzo himself; indeed, this results in Sanzo's life getting dedicated to recovering his master's sutra stolen in the attack, and he grows up to be the {{Badass}} {{Determinator}} seen throughout the main series. Whether Koumyou's death had something to do with [[spoiler:his bet with Ukoku]] remains to be seen.