History Main / OnlyEvilCanDie

!!'''As a DeathTrope, beware of Spoilers.'''

->''"All [[Creator/JRRTolkien your]] bad guys die, and your good guys survive.\\

-->-- '''Creator/GeorgeRRMartin''', ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona all survive the fiery escape from the castle with the giant, vicious dragon. Farquaad, on the other hand, gets immediately swallowed by the same dragon. (Somewhat justified, since Farquaad was taken by surprise from behind.)

In AnyoneCanDie, everyone dies (or, well, ''can'' die[[note]]"everyone ''does'' die" is [[KillEmAll a whole other thing]][[/note]]), villains and good characters alike.

In AnyoneCanDie, everyone dies, villains and good characters alike.

This trope exists mainly because people don't feel the same level of upset when the villain dies as when the good characters die, and killing the villain is a good way to resolve the plot. This is also a notable trope in fairy tales and fantasy for younger readers, as once again, villain death is not treated with the seriousness that good character death is. No PosthumousCharacter counts towards these - only characters with onscreen deaths. SubTrope of PlotArmor when not only the main character but all the morally correct characters have it. See also ImprobableInfantSurvival if the large group with the PlotArmor is the children rather than the good characters, although they may overlap if the good guys are kids and the bad guys are adults. Mutually exclusive with TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth. For when a villain survives because he pulls a HeelFaceTurn, see RedemptionEarnsLife.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', the only people explicitly shown to die are [[spoiler:Horde Prime]] and [[spoiler:Shadow Weaver]] (the latter being an AntiVillain who [[RedemptionEqualsDeath dies to save the protagonists of their own free will]]). The HeroicSacrifice of [[spoiler:Angella]] is treated as equivalent to death, but she's still alive out there somewhere and can possibly be brought back.

* Very notable in ''Manga/OnePunchMan''. Monsters are killed by the thousands yet Heroes have not suffered a single casualty. Hell, it's not just evil, but humans, good or evil are spared. While many civilian deaths are mentioned, the instances where a human actually gets killed onscreen can be counted on one hand and every single one of them either are villainous or a TokenEvilTeammate.

* PlayedWith in ''Franchise/{{DragonBall}}'' in that while people of either alignment die, DeathIsCheap, but this almost always applies to heroic characters. Villainous characters almost always are KilledOffForReal if they haven't had a HeelFaceTurn, with notable exceptions of Vegeta (though he was [[TokenEvilTeammate working for the heroes]] at the time) and Frieza (it takes a long time in-universe and out, but he does eventually gain JokerImmunity). The Majin Buu arc invokes this with them wishing everyone but the most evil people Majin Buu killed back and all the villains in the arc so far stay dead.

* Played with in ''Franchise/{{Dragonball}}'' that while people of either alignment die DeathIsCheap, but this almost always applies to heroic characters. Villainous characters almost always are KilledOffForReal if they haven't had a HeelFaceTurn, with notable exceptions of Vegeta (though he was [[TokenEvilTeammate working for the heroes]] at the time) and Frieza (it takes a long time in-universe and out, but he does eventually gain JokerImmunity). The Majin Buu arc invokes this with them wishing everyone but the most evil people Majin Buu killed back and all the villains in the arc so far stay dead.

* Usually a major element in the ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' franchise, where the villainous faction of the series (especially their [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters Of The Week]]) meet their end [[DefeatEqualsExplosion in blazing fashion]] (except for the ones who manage to pull a HeelFaceTurn), while the heroes' side usually doesn't suffer a single casualty[[/note]]Though there have been known to be exceptions, and even then, they end up being a DisneyDeath[[/note]].

This trope exists mainly because people don't feel the same level of upset when the villain dies as when the good characters die, and killing the villain is a good way to resolve the plot. This is also a notable trope in fairy tales and fantasy for younger readers, as once again, villain death is not treated with the seriousness that good character death is. No PosthumousCharacter counts towards these - only characters with onscreen deaths. SubTrope of PlotArmor when not only the main character but all the morally correct characters have it. See also ImprobableInfantSurvival if the large group with the PlotArmor is the children rather than the good characters, although they may overlap if the good guys are kids and the bad guys are adults. Mutually exclusive with TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', the only people explicitly shown to die are [[spoiler:Horde Prime]] and [[spoiler:Shadow Weaver]] (the latter being an AntiVillain who [[RedemptionEqualsDeath dies to save the protagonists]]). The HeroicSacrifice of [[spoiler:Angella]] is treated as equivalent to death, but she's still alive out there somewhere and can possibly be brought back.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Shrek'', Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona all survive the fiery escape from the castle with the giant, vicious dragon. Farquaad, on the other hand, gets immediately swallowed by the same dragon. (Somewhat justified, since Farquaad was taken by surprise from behind.)

* In ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', Gaston is the only casualty, even though there were wolves and a battle.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', Gaston is the only casualty, even though there were wolves and a battle. However, they NeverFoundTheBody, and it's revealed in ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' that he later had a son.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Discussed in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E12BrideOfChaotica Bride of Chaotica!]]" where Tom Paris goes into the holodeck where his "Captain Proton" program is running and finds Proton's assistant Constance Goodheart dead. He notes that something must be wrong, as the program is based on old 20th Century film serials where the "good guys" never died.
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In this trope, no one dies except the BigBad, TheDragon, the VillainOfTheWeek, and villains' {{Mooks}} (although good characters may end up FakingTheDead).