History Main / ResurrectiveImmortality

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', it's implied that a [[{{Kaiju}} Tailed Beast]] can be temporarily killed, but as they are the embodiment of all [[BackgroundMagicField Chakra]], they will not ''stay'' dead. And they will resurrect ''extremely'' pissed off. The only semi-permanent way of dealing with one is to [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan seal them inside a human being]]. The only problem is, this makes the person the [[PersonOfMassDestruction walking equivalent of a nuclear bomb]], with most people trying to use, capture or kill them, and the host's darker emotions will inevitably transfer over to the Tailed Beast, making it even ''more'' ticked off than before. Rinse and repeat each time a host dies and the new one suffers abuse anew. On the other hand...if one of those people overcomes their hate and fear and passes THAT on to the Beast...

* ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series: the homunculi of the Dusk trilogy are immortal, coming back to life shortly after dying. All three games in the trilogy feature an event where the lead character is invited to a homunculus funeral, unaware that the funeral ends with the deceased coming back from the dead. And in a case of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, ''VideoGame/AtelierShallie'''s Homura, a homunculus party member, has a perpetual AutoRevive effect applied to him by a passive skill.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-076 SCP-076-2.]] If he's killed ([[ImplacableMan which is really hard to do by the way]]) his corpse will disintergrate, 076-1 (A giant stone box with a coffin inside it) will slam shut, and he'll be respawned as it were. He's basically a video game character.
** Dr. Bright combines this trope with possession. You can kill his host body, and it'll stay dead just fine, but give [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-963 SCP-963]] to another host and he can keep walking around like nothing happened.
** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1922 SCP-1922]] is doomed to keep dying of natural causes, only to reanimated hours after doing so.
** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2416 SCP-2416]] is Joe Grunderson-Pike, an otherwise ordinary man who [[TooDumbToLive repeatedly gets himself killed in some ridiculous fashion]], only to inexplicably resurrect himself.

'''Jack:''' Earth. 1892. Got in a fight on Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kinda strange... but then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, poison, starvation... a stray javelin... in the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die!

Characters with Resurrective Immortality can die just like anyone else. The thing is, they will not ''stay'' dead.

'''Jack:''' Earth. 1892. Got in a fight on Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up.

** Similarly, in ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestriaPinkEyes'', the protagonist Puppysmiles unknowingly possesses necromantic magic that allow her body to recover from any injury. Due to her innocence, she usually doesn't notice, and her habit of getting up from even missile strikes and being eaten by a Manticore has earned her a rank as TheDreaded among the Big 52 and the nickname of [[TheRedBaron The Pink Ghost.]]

* In ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestriaProjectHorizons'', Rampage has this as her main trait - in addition to being a muscle-bound, armored psychopath with multiple personalities and a cartload of other mental issues. She's also one of the protagonists. She can come back from severe injuries, decapitation, crushing, forced through a wood chipper, being eaten by a band of insane cannibals and ''being disintegrated into a fine pink dust'' with no problems - in fact, main protagonist Blackjack finds that a good dose of grievous killing is the best way to calm Rampage down when she has a psychotic episode [[spoiler:that is, when her serial foal killer persona takes over]]. She just heals the wounds and regenerates any missing parts, although disintegration causes her to regenerate as a small filly, and she has to eat a lot to grow back to normal size.

* Phoenix of ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'': Like his namesake, his special ability is that he ''can't'' be killed for good and will simply revive stronger than before. In the end, the only way Haruto can permanently stop him is by [[HurlItIntoTheSun throwing him into the sun]] [[FateWorseThanDeath and trapping him there]].
* Kamen Rider Genm from the video game-themed series ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'' eventually gains the power of a ZombieApocalypse-themed video game, which grants him a zombie's resistance to damage and the ability to shrug off fatal injuries; this is represented by the LifeMeter on his chestplate being empty. [[spoiler:He actually had to die in order to gain the power in the first place, meaning he's like this whether or not he's in his Rider form. Eventually, Ex-Aid finds a way to strip him of this power... until he later gets his hands on a ''second'' (though lesser) immortality trick, using the alpha version of Mighty Action X to give himself 99 extra lives.]]
* In ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'', every MonsterOfTheWeek has this power, simply reappearing as if they hadn't been hit by a FinishingMove. Each one can only be permanently killed by the Kamen Rider they're an EvilKnockoff of, or someone PowerCopying them.

* Kenji Murasame from ''Manga/GiantRobo'' has this type of immortality. He's also got a bit of MadeOfIron going on, since non-fatal wounds barely slow him down, but he'll always come back from anything that would definitely kill anyone else, including complete bodily disintegration. He's quick about it, too. Getting shot in the head doesn't even put him down for more than half a minute or so.

** The game has this in the form of Redmond and Blutarch, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEOs]] for RED and BLU, respectively. In an attempt to try to outlive the other brother, both have a machine built for them to prevent them from dying. It does not grant immortality in the normal sense, but it does resurrect them within seconds of dying, which does grant the user immortality in the sense that they don't stay dead for long (the third brother, Grey, also has an immortality machine, but it seems to work differently). In a related vein, {{respawn|Point}}ing in-game appears to be part of canon and not just a [[GameplayAndStorySegregation gameplay mechanic]], given that some classes, particularly Sniper, comment on it.

* The fairies in the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series work like this: They have very short lifespans, but are reborn in their default, healthy shape as soon as they die, even if they're blown to pieces, as long as the thing they embody still exists, essentially making them immortal. As a sort of [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] this also gives them a rather [[BlueAndOrangeMorality messed up view of life]]; since they have no concept of death they may consider setting someone aflame and pushing them off a cliff a lighthearted prank.

** The game has this in the form of Redmond and Blutarch, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEOs]] for RED and BLU, respectively. In an attempt to try to outlive the other brother, both have a machine built for them to prevent them from dying, [[HilarityEnsues with obvious results]]. It does not grant immortality in the normal sense, but it does resurrect them within seconds of dying, which does grant the user immortality in the sense that they don't stay dead for long (the third brother, Grey, also has an immortality machine, but it seems to work differently). In a related vein, {{respawn|Point}}ing in-game appears to be part of canon and not just a [[GameplayAndStorySegregation gameplay mechanic]], given that some classes, particularly Sniper, comment on it.

** The Cylons in ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' do this when they die. So long as they're in the operational range of a Resurrection Ship (and since SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale, that range is quite far) and the resurrection network is online; then, when they die, they merely BodySurf into a dormant identical body and continue their existence. However, this also means they get to carry the psychological and emotional trauma of dying with them into their new body and some Cylons are so traumatized by the experience that their consciousnesses are "[[TheNothingAfterDeath boxed]]" rather than having them become a BrokenBird and be a drain on Cylon society.

* {{Subverted}} in ''Fanfic/TheTearsOfGaia''. The dragon Tharos had a spell placed on him that granted him Resurrective Immortality. He can't die, but sees this as a curse, as he's forced to live with the shame of all the times he's been defeated.

* Chucky from ''Film/ChildsPlay'' is easily resurrected from his deaths at the end of most of the films through various means.

** The Cylons on ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' do this when they die. So long as they're in the operational range of a Resurrection Ship (and since SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale, that range is quite far) and the resurrection network is online, then when they die they merely BodySurf into a dormant identical body and continue their existence. However, this also means they get to carry the psychological and emotional trauma of dying with them into their new body and some Cylons are so traumatized by the experience that their consciousnesses are "[[TheNothingAfterDeath boxed]]" rather than having them become a BrokenBird and be a drain on Cylon society.

* In ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', the Lazarus Demon always comes back to life fully healed, even if he is reduced to ashes. The only way to neutralize him is to bury his remains in a cemetary, and he'll come back if he is dug up.
* Chas Chandler on ''Series/{{Constantine}}'' has this type of immortality. There is a reason he's John Constantine's ''oldest'' friend - nobody else survives the dangers around him for long.

* Thackery Binx from the Disney film ''Film/HocusPocus'' was cursed to live forever as a cat. In one scene, he is run over by a car and is clearly dead. Then as the other characters are screaming and crying in horror, he re-inflates, stands up, and says, "I hate it when that happens."

* ''WebOriginal/LoomingGaia'': When the Spirit of Gaia grants someone divinity, that person stops aging, but can still be killed. They resurrect an year later after Gaia has made a new body for them. Unless they were killed with the [[ImmortalBreaker Divine Executioner]], of course.

** '''All''' demons have this as a power, or at least all those who rule or co-rule a dimension, though this may apply even to lesser fiends. Dormammu, Mephisto, Set, Chthon, Shuma-Gorath and the rest can all be killed ([[CompleteImmortality with extreme difficulty]]), but they ''will'' come back as their evil energies will reform in their own dimensions -- how long this takes depends on the nature of the fatality, with total destruction taking millennia to recover from naturally, but it will not keep them down. These energies retain the sentience of the demon in question and thus they can speed up the process by manipulating other magical forces, or even make themselves reappear in somewhere other than their own dimension- once or twice, this has meant Earth. It is also possible, of course, for outside forces (sorcerers, servants etc.) to help them return as well. In the case of Shuma-Gorath, he can even be reborn [[ParanoiaFuel within the soul of the person who killed him last]].

[[LivingForeverIsAwesome On the plus side]], this means that DeathIsCheap. Any enemies they have will never be able to kill them. For TheCape, this means they will never fall in the line of duty. For the thrill seeker, this means they can get a higher adrenaline fix than any of their mortal fellows and can try things no regular person would ever dream of - [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing what's the risk of dying from trying to do something awesome]] if you'll just come back good as new? If they fall for someone whose species also lives forever, then they have a shot at EternalLove.

[[WhoWantsToLiveForever On the negative side]], this could be a FateWorseThanDeath. Someone could [[ColdBloodedTorture torture them indefinitely without worrying about accidentally killing them.]] In any case [[ImmortalityHurts they will feel the full pain of dying each and every time.]] Less maliciously but equally unpleasantly, this can lead to characters who normally have a no-killing rule [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap not feeling any need to pull their punches]]. And work creators who go by RuleOfCool often can't resist showing this off as [[GoodThingYouCanHeal frequently and gruesomely as possible]].

If they always come back in a certain spot, it's RespawnPoint. If their mind is being transferred to a new body, it's BodyBackupDrive, instead. If they respawn or are reborn as an infant, it's BornAgainImmortality. And if they're a secondary-character who dies for comedic effect, that's TheyKilledKennyAgain.

* In ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':

* In ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'', it's implied that a [[{{Kaiju}} Tailed Beast]] can be temporarily killed, but as they are the embodiment of all [[BackgroundMagicField Chakra]], they will not ''stay'' dead. And they will resurrect ''extremely'' pissed off. The only semi-permanent way of dealing with one is to [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan seal them inside a human being]]. The only problem is, this makes the person the [[PersonOfMassDestruction walking equivalent of a nuclear bomb]], with most people trying to use, capture or kill them, and the host's darker emotions will inevitably transfer over to the Tailed Beast, making it even ''more'' ticked off than before. Rinse and repeat each time a host dies and the new one suffers abuse anew. On the other hand...if one of those people overcomes their hate and fear and passes THAT on to the Beast...
* ''Manga/OnePunchMan'':

* ''ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers'': Mr. Immortal's ''only'' superpower is the ability to resurrect in perfect health immediately after dying, regardless of the method of death. It is implied that he is ''homo s. supreme'', having ''evolved beyond death'', and will survive to see the end of the universe (becoming something akin to ComicBook/{{Galactus}} in the ''next'' universe as a result). He can take advantage of it by killing himself to heal any persistent injuries, so it's not entirely a bad thing.
* Franchise/TheDCU's Immortal Man and ComicBook/ResurrectionMan both have this power, coming back to life each time they're killed. It became a plot point in [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2008]] storyline ''ComicBook/WayOfTheWorld'', where ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} thought Resurrection Man's power might be used to save a boy who was dying from cancer.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} was one time explained to have a version of this. Each time he suffered injuries great enough to kill him he would fight the angel of death, win and return to his body with his body fully healed. It's debatable if this still works for him.
* As revealed in ''ComicBook/AvengersNoSurrender'', ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk, and by extension Bruce Banner, has this power. This is even more telling as, at this point, Banner had been depowered by Amadeus Cho, shot in the head and killed by Hawkeye, resurrected by the Hand and killed by the Unity Squad, resurrected again by HYDRA and left for dead in the destruction of the Resistance's base.
** It's further implied in the spinoff ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'' that this power extends to ''all'' people who've been affected by the Hulk's specific variety of gamma radiation, not just himself, including his girlfriend Betty Ross and his cousin [[ComicBook/SheHulk Jennifer Walters]].
** A standalone issue of She-Hulk delves into this deeper. There is a ... layer of hell, for lack of better terms, where Gamma beings gather energy before they return. She-Hulk is trying to cope with the idea she's become immortal, and fragments of not-quite-memories keep haunting her. She's met The Leader there, and worse ''Bruce's father'', ''her uncle''.
* ''All'' ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' demons have this as a power, or at least all those who rule or co-rule a dimension, though this may apply even to lesser fiends. Dormammu, Mephisto, Set, Chthon, Shuma-Gorath and the rest can all be killed ([[CompleteImmortality with extreme difficulty]]), but they ''will'' come back as their evil energies will reform in their own dimensions- how long this takes depends on the nature of the fatality, with total destruction taking millennia to recover from naturally, but it will not keep them down. These energies retain the sentience of the demon in question and thus they can speed up the process by manipulating other magical forces, or even make themselves reappear in somewhere other than their own dimension- once or twice, this has meant Earth. It is also possible, of course, for outside forces (sorcerers, servants etc.) to help them return as well. In the case of Shuma-Gorath, he can even be reborn [[ParanoiaFuel within the soul of the person who killed him last.]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Valerian}}'', this is the fate of the fallen archangels who lose at the divine game of economics on planet Hypsis, most notably Mr. L.C.F. Sat. Having lost his immortality, but not his eternity, he dies repeatedly for no reason, evaporating into the air, only to poof back none worse for wear.
* The pygmy tribe of ''ComicBook/PocketGod'' have a Gem of Life that resurrects them by it when they die. [[BlackComedy Which happens often]]. They later meet a female tribe with their own Jewel of Life.
* Isstvan in Creator/PhilFoglio's adaptation of Robert Asprin's ''[[Literature/MythAdventures Another Fine Myth]]''. Note that it's an involuntary curse, and the whole plot is launched by his latest scheme to get himself permanently killed.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}'s foe Doomsday will come back to life [[AdaptiveAbility immune to whatever killed him before]].
* In the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe, all recipients of the Oz drug turn out to have this, including Norman Osborn, Peter Parker, and presumably Miles Morales and [[CloningBlues Jessica Drew]]. Peter never has to worry about [[spoiler: Mary Jane again, since she was injected during the Ultimate Clone Saga]].
* As long as ComicBook/{{Thanos}} is alive, [[ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Drax the Destroyer]] will be there to try to kill him, no matter how many times Drax dies before Thanos does. Interestingly, the one time Drax died while Thanos was also dead, he stayed that way; but as soon as Thanos was resurrected, Drax was as well. PlayedForDrama more than anything else, as Drax's resurrections are described as "being torn from his well-earned paradise"; while Thanos has, at various points, been completely [[CompleteImmortality rejected by Death]].
* In an attempt to reverse a curse on ComicBook/{{Wildcat}} that played on his superhero name ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} thought she was giving him nine lives, but those lives ended up being fairly unlimited in number as that "nine" gets reset continuously so he'd have to die a bunch in very quick succession to actually run out.
* Batman's villain ComicBook/RasAlGhul can be brought back via the Lazarus Pit if necessary, but it is less and less effective as he naturally ages.
* Eleanor Camacho, the daughter of Comicbook/{{Deadpool}} has a HealingFactor like her father. Unlike her dad's version, hers is only activated upon death. It also de-ages her back to the age when her X-gene was first triggered.
* In ''Comicbook/{{Invincible}}'', Atom Eve's powers become more potent right when she dies, allowing her to save herself and others by directly transmuting them (her powers normally can't transmute organic matter). [[spoiler: The final issue reveals this also applies to a natural death via aging -- when she dies of old age, she immediately comes back young and re-vitalized.]]
** The aptly-named The Immortal is a combination of this and TheAgeless, as he has lived for over 3000 years and has the ability revive good as new if his body's in one piece.
* [[Characters/GreenLantern1941 Solomon Grundy]] can be put down by strong enough opponents, but he'll just rise again from Slaughter Swamp on the following Monday. In this case Grundy never comes fully back to life and is instead a zombie who retains different elements of the man he was in life every time his undead form is resurrected.
* Marvel's Krakoan Age gives the mutants this via a combination of four mutant powers and Mr. Sinister's cloning technology.

** The Heralds have a very slow and terrible version of this. Under the terms of the Oathpact when they die or a Desolation ends they are returned to Damnation (Hell), where they are captured and tortured until one of them snaps. This triggers another Desolation that they return to fight, and when the Desolation is over any of them that survived have to go back again. The book begins with them breaking this cycle, refusing to return after all but one of them survived the latest Desolation. [[spoiler: More than four thousand years later, the [[TheDeterminator one left behind]] finally gives in.]]

** Jesus. In one episode, he escapes from a jail cell (in the Vatican) by having Kyle kill him and resurrecting on the other side of the door. He can only do this on Easter.

* In ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'', this is the case for [[spoiler: Erazer Djinn]].

* In ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', [[TheHero Denji]] and the other half-devils have the ability to recover from any form of injury or brutal death if [[HealItWithBlood they're fed enough blood]].

** Yhwach's Schrift, [[MeaningfulName The Almighty]], allows him to [[CombatClairvoyance see all possible futures]] and counter anything his opponents may use against him by [[RealityWarper forcibly altering the future into any one timeline he chooses]]. This includes rewriting timelines in which he's been killed: all Yhwach has to do is change the future to one in which he's still alive. This makes him functionally immortal, unless [[spoiler:someone can [[PowerNullifier de-power him]] and kill him while he can't use The Almighty]].

** Yhwach's Schrift, [[MeaningfulName The Almighty]], allows him to [[CombatClairvoyance see all possible futures]] and counter anything his opponents may use against him by [[RealityWarper forcibly altering the future into any one timeline he chooses]]. This includes rewriting timelines in which he's been killed: all Yhwach has to do is change the future to one in which he's still alive. This makes in functionally immortal, unless [[spoiler:someone can [[PowerNullifier de-power him]] and kill him while he can't use The Almighty]].