History Main / SedgwickSpeech

* The trope is named for John Sedgwick, a United States Army general in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar who, during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, said "I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way for single bullets. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!" seconds before being fatally [[BoomHeadshot shot in the head]] by a sniper. Sedgwick's words are sometimes recorded as being "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist--", implying that he was KilledMidSentence. This is [[BeamMeUpScotty not accurate]]. It is, however, [[RuleOfFunny much]] [[BlackComedy funnier]].
** Also, the 'Elephant' quote was actually his penultimate sentence. His ''last'' last words were, "All right, my man; go to your place," in response to a soldier saying ducking was generally a good idea. The quote is sometimes misattributed to General Custer or Stonewall Jackson.
** The Literature/HorribleHistories book about the era includes a cartoon which depicts two soldiers looking at Sedgwick's corpse, one saying, "[[ComicallyMissingThePoint Pity he wasn't an elephant]]."

** ''Film/GoldenEye'': Boris. "Yes! [[{{Catchphrase}} I am inVEENcible!]]" He's then flash-frozen.

** ''TabletopGame/OnlyWar'': One quote of flavor text is from a Guard officer warning a fresh recruit that he's on a real battlefield now, with real weapons and enemies, and that he'd better do what he does and says if he wants to get back home alive. The officer is then immediately devoured by an alien horror.

This is often a result of TemptingFate. Often results in SurprisinglySuddenDeath.

** Tracy in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. "Anyway, you have given me a wedding present. The best I could have. [[TemptingFate A future]]." [[InstantDeathBullet No, she doesn't...]]
** Boris in ''Film/GoldenEye''. "Yes! [[{{Catchphrase}} I am inVEENcible!]]" He's then flash-frozen.

* In ''Film/MarsAttacks'', Martians embark on a humorously vicious invasion of Earth. When they've reached the President of the United States (played by Creator/JackNicholson), he makes a moving speech, ending with an impassioned, "Why can't we all just get along?" The Martians appear convinced, for just a moment -- then they skewer him. Martians are one bunch who just cannot give peace a chance. The same scene also features the film's blatant Patton parody delivering a direct quote of Churchill's famous "we will fight them on the beaches" speech and firing his pistols wildly. The alien leader shrinks him down and squishes him.

* In the ''Literature/ArciaChronicles'', [[spoiler:Lupe's drunkard husband]] is shot to death by a Tarskan lackey after reading a rousing poem against Tarskan occupation of Tayana in public. With his dying breath, he calls out to the onlookers to fight the occupiers--and [[DyingMomentOfAwesome actually manages to spark a massive uprising that eventually frees Tayana]].
* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's novel ''Literature/{{Barrayar}}'', the villain's WrongGenreSavvy last words are "You're a [[PerfectPacifistPeople Betan]], you can't do--". [[GoingNative Turns out]] [[MamaBear she can]]. Later, another character thinks of "the general whose last words were reputed to have been, ''Don't worry, Lieutenant, the enemy can't possibly hit us at this ran--''"
* A pair of girls (with a megaphone) in ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' attempt to convince everyone to lay down their weapons and refuse to fight any more, and promptly get slaughtered by the token psychopath who's armed with a sub-machine gun.

* Invoked in ''Literature/TheElenium'': As the siege of Chyrellos begins to break apart, Ulesim delivers a long speech to his Rendors to rally them. [[KilledMidSentence In the middle of his speech,]] he develops a fatal case of crossbow-bolt-between-the-eyes courtesy of Kurik, who chose the most dramatic moment in order to cause the greatest despair to the enemy troops.
* In the ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Necropolis'', we have this exchange:
-->'''RedShirt:''' Maybe if we (*bzzzzt-thunk-splat)
* The {{Trope Namer|s}}, General Sedgwick himself, is depicted in ''Literature/TheLastFullMeasure'' uttering the famous quote, and taking the famous bullet to the brain case.
* In John Scalzi's ''Literature/OldMansWar'', people are recruited into the military at the age of 75. This means their recruits have a lot more experience than new recruits in most nonfictional militaries; unfortunately, not all experience is applicable. Private Senator Ambassador Secretary Bender finds out the hard way that just because they're singing does ''not'' mean that they'd rather talk than fight.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' novel ''Before Dishonor'', a Federation diplomat attempts to negotiate with the Borg--and comes back declaring that "There will be [[UsefulNotes/NevilleChamberlain peace in our time]]." Then the Borg blow his ship out of space.

* By proxy in ''Series/{{Angel}}''. After Knox has been responsible for Fred's death, Angel gives a speech to him about how every human is worth saving and redeemable. Wesley interrupts it by shooting Knox dead.

* On ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', the Watchers' Council is blown up at the climax of an inspiring speech Quentin Travers is giving.
* One episode of ''Series/DadsArmy'' has Jones comparing Mainwaring to an officer he had in World War One who didn't like crouching in the trenches and one night decided to walk on the parapet to show the Germans he was not afraid and to set an example to his men. [[spoiler: He got shot. In a very awkward place. Did a lot of crouching after that.]]

* In the second episode of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', Crow makes such a speech promising revenge to the crew for refusing to finish a job (in response to Mal's offer to refund the employer's money). He then gets kicked by Mal straight into Serenity's engine and the offer gets repeated to the next mook, who wisely accepts.
* Although he is neither {{Mook|s}} nor RedShirt, this trope could probably apply to Theon's speech to his ironborn raiding party in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' season two [[spoiler:after the supposed deaths of Bran and Rickon]]. He vows to fight for Winterfell - but as soon as he's done, he's [[spoiler:immediately KO'd by his men, tied up, dispensed with ''somewhere''. Winterfell is left a smoking ruin and the ironborn run for it[[note]]although they don't get far[[/note]]]]. The man who does it even says that he would have done it sooner, but it would have been a shame to interrupt such a good speech.

* In ''[[Series/{{Sharpe}} Sharpe's Peril]]'', a priest tries to convince the villainous leader not to fight because it's the Sabbath. The villain replies that "you of all people should know that God does not work on a Sunday" and shoots him.
* In the series finale of ''Series/TheWire'', during a meeting of the remaining high-ranking drug dealers after the Stanfield Organization collapses, Cheese Wagstaff (the sole high-ranking member of the Stanfield group left standing) goes into an impassioned tirade about how "there ain't no back in the day" and how it's now ''their'' time to shine, inadvertently implying that he was in on the coup that led to the death of his uncle, the former kingpin of the Baltimore drug trade. He never gets to finish the speech, as his uncle's right-hand man shoots him in the head point blank mid-sentence.

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': The final quest before the Battle of Hoover Dam involves either protecting (for NCR, Independent, or House aligned Couriers) or assassinating (for Legion aligned Couriers) President Kimball of the New California Republic while he gives a rallying speech to the troops gathered there. If you're trying to assassinate him, you must do so before he leaves via Vertibird, so sniping him in the middle of the speech is easiest. If you're trying to protect him, any number of things could kill him before he's done speaking.

* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', this happens to Watch Commander Talon during the personal story quest "The Battle of Claw Island".

-->'''Watch Commander Talon''': We'll fight them to the last soldier! To the last sword! We'll never surr--[[note]]These aren't his LastWords since he lives long enough after being hit to order the retreat, but he ''is'' mortally wounded.[[/note]]

* The leading homage in ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'' to the good General Sedgwick is delivered by the AffablyEvil Toren, [[spoiler:just before Ian drops a bridge -- no, make that a ''hotel'' -- on him]]:

* [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0611.html This]] ''[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]]'' comic proves why you should never [[TemptingFate tempt fate]] when Belkar is around. With a healthy dose of KilledMidSentence on the next page, no less.
** At another point, a side-villain of the Evil Aristocrat variety was boasting about how, while his plans were foiled, there were all kinds of ways he could still turn things around, including dragging the trial out, etc., etc., whereupon he gets disintegrated, his ashes scattered, and the one that did so asks if they can get back to the main plot.

* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'''s Saiyan Arc, Yamcha arrived to give a stirring motivational speech to the Z Fighters, but before finishing got taken out by a [[{{Mooks}} Saibaman]].
* During the climax of the third volume of ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'', [[spoiler:Roman Torchwick]] delivers a furious MotiveRant to a prone Ruby, concluding with the following:

* Josh Goodman in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest''
--> '''Goodman:''' [[http://z10.invisionfree.com/SOTF_V2/index.php?showtopic=2042 "It's ove-"]]
** Kathleen Martin too.
---> '''Kathleen''': "Oh Adam, there's no way you could shoot me with that gun. You see, people like you aren't fit for these kinds of situations. Sure, you're basically a big load of muscle with more than enough attitude to compensate, but compared to people like me, you're nothing. Ultimately, it's the smart, the beautiful, and the well-prepared that are going to make it far in this game, and when it comes to you-" * shot*

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In Season One's "[[Recap/{{NCIS}}S01E13OneShotOneKill One Shot, One Kill]]", a Marine recruiting sergeant is talking to two teenagers interested in enlisting. When one of them worries aloud about being deployed to Iraq, the Sergeant assures them that in all his years in the Marines, ''"the closest I've ever come to a bullet is-"'', which are his last words before a sniper's bullet flies through the window.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In Season One's "[[Recap/NCISS01E13OneShotOneKill One Shot, One Kill]]", a Marine recruiting sergeant is talking to two teenagers interested in enlisting. When one of them worries aloud about being deployed to Iraq, the Sergeant assures them that in all his years in the Marines, ''"the closest I've ever come to a bullet is-"'', which are his last words before a sniper's bullet flies through the window.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In Season One's "[[Recap/{{NCIS}}S1E13OneShotOneKill One Shot, One Kill]]", a Marine recruiting sergeant is talking to two teenagers interested in enlisting. When one of them worries aloud about being deployed to Iraq, the Sergeant assures them that in all his years in the Marines, ''"the closest I've ever come to a bullet is-"'', which are his last words before a sniper's bullet flies through the window.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In Season One's "[[Recap/NCIS1E13OneShotOneKill One Shot, One Kill]]", a Marine recruiting sergeant is talking to two teenagers interested in enlisting. When one of them worries aloud about being deployed to Iraq, the Sergeant assures them that in all his years in the Marines, ''"the closest I've ever come to a bullet is-"'', which are his last words before a sniper's bullet flies through the window and goes straight through his heart.

'''Since this is a death trope, expect spoilers!'''

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'': Kanzeil from the light novel version. His exact last words are "Don't waste your time! I'm more powerful than any of your paltry parlor tricks!" A second later, he gets vaporized. The anime version of Kanzeil is somewhat different, but he still dies with a Sedgwick Speech.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* A non-deadly example in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. "I'm Russian, I know everything about snow!" Russia says before he jumps from a plane without a parachute, figuring the soft snow will cushion his fall. The result is not outright seen, but apparently, he broke his back.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' features one of these. Willy Tybur, [[spoiler:the secret ruler of the Kingdom of Marley]] is giving a speech at a festival in Liberio where many [[TemptingFate politicians, nobles and military officials]] (including [[spoiler:the next generation of potential Titan shifters]]) about how [[spoiler:Eren Yeager]] is a betrayer of peace and the enemy of humanity. He riles the crowd up by [[spoiler:saying that all the different countries need to work together to wipe out the Eldians and Paradis Island once and for all]]. Right as he declares war against [[spoiler:Paradis Island]], he's [[spoiler:killed after Eren, who was hiding underground, transforms into his Titan and slices Willy in half with his hands]]. However, Willy knew [[spoiler:that he was TemptingFate by appearing on stage but still wanted to sacrifice himself as bait to lure out the enemy]].

* In ''Kogaratsu'''s The Torn-up Summer, as the first big battle begins, a samurai rides forward to issue a DuelToTheDeath to which the opposite army answers by [[ShutupKirk gunning him there and then]]. To prevent his army from attacking disorderly, another samurai rides forward and deliberately invokes this trope by putting himself in the line of fire to give a speech on courage and duty in the face of death. [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim The result is fairly predictable.]]

* In ''Film/MarsAttacks'', Martians embark on a humorously vicious invasion of Earth. When they've reached the President of the United States (played by Creator/JackNicholson), he makes a moving speech, ending with an impassioned, "Why can't we all just get along?" The Martians appear convinced, for just a moment -- then they skewer him. Martians are one bunch who just cannot give peace a chance. The same scene also features the film's blatant Patton parody delivering a direct quote of Churchill's famous "we will fight them on the beaches" speech and firing his pistols wildly. The alien leader shrinks him down and squishes him.
* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'': One of the defining moments is [[spoiler:when Russell's RousingSpeech to the other survivors is cut short. [[ThreateningShark By a shark]]. [[ItMakesSenseInContext While indoors]]]].
-->'''Russell:''' Enough! That's enough now, from all of you! You think water's fast? You should see ice. It moves like it has a mind. Like it knows it killed the world once -- it got a taste for murder. When the avalanche came, it took us a week to climb out. And somewhere, we lost hope. Now I don't know exactly when we turned on each other, I just know that seven of us survived the slide... and only five made it out. Now we took an oath that I'm breaking now. Swore that we said 'twas the snow that killed the other two. But it wasn't. Nature can be lethal, but it doesn't hold a candle to man. Now you've seen how bad things can get and how quick they can get that way. Well, they can get a whole lot worse! So we're not going to fight anymore! We're going to pull together and we're going to find a way to get outta here! First, we're gonna seal off this-- [[spoiler:''['''CHOMP!''']'']]
* ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds1953'': A classic example is Pastor Collins in the original film version, who goes out to the Martians to try and communicate and gets a heat-ray in answer.
* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'': A lone dissenter in New Mecca says the Necromonger Warlord is an intolerant conqueror rather than the "enlightened" liberator he presents himself as and... gets his soul ripped out for it. Ouchies.
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** Tracy in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. "Anyway, you have given me a wedding present. The best I could have. [[TemptingFate A future]]." [[InstantDeathBullet No, she doesn't...]]
** Boris in ''Film/GoldenEye''. "Yes! [[{{Catchphrase}} I am inVEENcible!]]" He's then flash-frozen.

* Brother Jacobus in ''Film/{{Dragonslayer}}'' tries out a pre-beta version of the power of Christ on a dragon: "Unclean beast! Get thee down! Be thou consumed by the fires that made thee!" Though nonverbal, Vermithrax's response translates, approximately, to "no u lol".
%%* Pretty much exactly the same thing happens in the movie ''Film/{{Outlander}}''.

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'' (extended edition) had Aragorn cheerfully kill the Mouth of Sauron while the latter was discussing the terms of peace. Though knowing Sauron, they were probably more like "terms of unconditional surrender".[[note]]The book lets the Mouth finish and nobody kills him; in that, it would probably be fairer to describe it as terms of conditional surrender. It should also be noted that technically, [[LoopholeAbuse no one was actually carrying a parley banner or calling for it]].[[/note]]

* ''Film/TropicThunder'': While they weren't going to war, but to film a movie about one, the director Damien Cockburn died this way. He stepped into a mine after giving a speech about filming the best war movie of all time.
* Near the end of ''Film/ThreeAmigos'', a bunch of El Guapo's men run off. As El Guapo yells at them for being cowards, Jefe says, "I'm still here, El Guapo!" Guess who gets shot immediately thereafter.
* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'': [[spoiler:Curt]] gives an uplifting speech [[spoiler: before fatally crashing his motorcycle into the invisible barrier the audience knew was there all along]].

* This happens to [[spoiler:General Garza]] as he rallies his troops in ''Film/TheExpendables''.
-->'''Garza:''' We will kill this American disease! ''[[[spoiler:gets shot in the back by [[BigBad Munroe]]]]]''

* ''Literature/WatershipDown'': Come back, you fools! Dogs aren't dangerous! Come back and fight! Possibly subverted, since they NeverFoundTheBody.

* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's novel ''Literature/{{Barrayar}}'', the villain's WrongGenreSavvy last words are "You're a [[PerfectPacifistPeople Betan]], you can't do--". [[GoingNative Turns out]] [[MamaBear she can]]. Later, another character thinks of "the general whose last words were reputed to have been, ''Don't worry, Lieutenant, the enemy can't possibly hit us at this ran--''"

* In John Scalzi's ''Literature/OldMansWar'', people are recruited into the military at the age of 75. This means their recruits have a lot more experience than new recruits in most nonfictional militaries; unfortunately, not all experience is applicable. Private Senator Ambassador Secretary Bender finds out the hard way that just because they're singing does ''not'' mean that they'd rather talk than fight.
* In the Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Necropolis'', we have this exchange:
-->'''RedShirt:''' Maybe if we (*bzzzzt-thunk-splat)
* A pair of girls (with a megaphone) in ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' attempt to convince everyone to lay down their weapons and refuse to fight any more, and promptly get slaughtered by the token psychopath who's armed with a sub-machine gun.
* The {{Trope Namer|s}}, General Sedgwick himself, is depicted in ''Literature/TheLastFullMeasure'' uttering the famous quote, and taking the famous bullet to the brain case.
* Invoked in ''Literature/TheElenium'': As the siege of Chyrellos begins to break apart, Ulesim delivers a long speech to his Rendors to rally them. [[KilledMidSentence In the middle of his speech,]] he develops a fatal case of crossbow-bolt-between-the-eyes courtesy of Kurik, who chose the most dramatic moment in order to cause the greatest despair to the enemy troops.
* In the ''Literature/ArciaChronicles'', [[spoiler:Lupe's drunkard husband]] is shot to death by a Tarskan lackey after reading a rousing poem against Tarskan occupation of Tayana in public. With his dying breath, he calls out to the onlookers to fight the occupiers--and [[DyingMomentOfAwesome actually manages to spark a massive uprising that eventually frees Tayana]].

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': The final quest before the Battle of Hoover Dam involves either protecting (for NCR, Independent, or House aligned Couriers) or assassinating (for Legion aligned Couriers) President Kimball of the New California Republic while he gives a rallying speech to the troops gathered there. If you're trying to assassinate him, you must do so before he leaves via Vertibird, so sniping him in the middle of the speech is easiest. If you're trying to protect him, any number of things could kill him before he's done speaking.
** General Oliver also gets one if you're Independent, although he's allowed to finish talking. After taking the Dam along with the NCR, you tell them to get off your territory. He'll deliver a harangue ending with "If our roles were reversed, I'd see you hang." Possible response? "I see. Yes Man, please throw the General off the dam."
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': During the quest "With Friends Like These...", you're tasked to kill one of three captives, purportedly because there's a bounty involved. One of them is Vasha, an extremely corrupt khajiit who boasts about his crimes and sins, and makes it clear that getting bagged and dragged into the wilderness to have some lily-livered goon make impotent threats at him is a common occurrence that he's stopped caring about long ago, and snidely promises you a relatively painless death if you let him go. Since you can end the conversation while he's still talking, it's perfectly possible to cut short his grandstanding with a swift blade. Or arrow. Or fireball. (And no, no retribution will come from killing him. Maybe he wasn't as important as he thought.)
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': This happens to a unnamed Triad member during the mission "A Home in the Hills", once CJ and the Triads enter Madd Dogg's mansion to take it back from a drug dealer:
-->'''Triad:''' We're heavily outnumbered, but if we all keep our heads, we should kick ass!
--> (Gets shot in the head)

* The leading homage in ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'' to the good General Sedgwick is delivered by the AffablyEvil Toren, [[spoiler:just before Ian drops a bridge -- no, make that a ''hotel'' -- on him]]:
--> '''Toren''': "Okay, that was a desperate tactic, heh. [[spoiler:Destroying the beams holding the ceiling up in the hopes of crushing the both of us? But it won't be that difficult for me to keep this place from caving in long enough to finish you off and get that damn book I was sent here f-- URRK!"]]

* During the climax of the third volume of ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'', [[spoiler:Roman Torchwick]] delivers a furious MotiveRant to a prone Ruby, concluding with the following:
--> '''[[spoiler:Torchwick]]:''' "As for me, I'll do what I do best: lie, steal, cheat and [[{{Irony}} survive]]!" ''[A Griffon swoops in from behind and [[SwallowedWhole eats him whole]].]''

The speech in question will either be an idealistic plea for peace to an implacable enemy, or an attempt to boost morale by emphasizing how the heroes will [[RousingSpeech never give up, never surrender]], with bonus points if the character in question actually apes Churchill's manner of speech. This can be a chilling KickTheDog moment to show just how inhuman the enemy is, a comedic moment to show how ineffective [[WideEyedIdealist wide-eyed idealism]] is against violence, or, disturbingly, [[BlackComedy both]]. Or it could simply be a moment of overconfident gloating on the part of a [[GenreBlindness genre blind]] villain who hasn't read the EvilOverlordList...

* A pair of girls in ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' attempt to convince everyone to lay down their weapons and refuse to fight any more with the aid of a megaphone, and promptly get slaughtered by the token psychopath who's armed with a sub-machine gun.

A fierce battle is about to ensue. One brave RedShirt will step forward and give [[RousingSpeech an uplifting speech]], only to be paid for his efforts by getting brutally killed. [[KilledMidSentence Bonus points if he is killed before he finishes the speech]].

This is often a result of TemptingFate.

[[folder:Film — Animated]]
* ''[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsMovie Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]'': A clone trooper jumps up on the makeshift barrier the Republic troops have erected to keep the droids out of their base perimeter. His rallying cry is abruptly cut off when he is hit by a blaster bolt and killed. The clones still charge, anyway.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* ''Film/DeepBlueSea'': One of the defining moments is [[spoiler: when Creator/SamuelLJackson's RousingSpeech to the other survivors is cut short. [[ThreateningShark By a shark.]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext While indoors.]]]]
-->'''Russell:''' Enough! That's enough now, from all of you! You think water's fast? You should see ice. It moves like it has a mind. Like it knows it killed the world once -- it got a taste for murder. When the avalanche came, it took us a week to climb out. And somewhere, we lost hope. Now I don't know exactly when we turned on each other, I just know that seven of us survived the slide... and only five made it out. Now we took an oath that I'm breaking now. Swore that we said 'twas the snow that killed the other two. But it wasn't. Nature can be lethal, but it doesn't hold a candle to man. Now you've seen how bad things can get and how quick they can get that way. Well, they can get a whole lot worse! So we're not going to fight anymore! We're going to pull together and we're going to find a way to get outta here! First, we're gonna seal off this- [[spoiler: '''''CHOMP!''''']]
* ''Film/{{The War Of The Worlds|1953}}'': A classic example is Pastor Collins in the original film version, who goes out to the Martians to try and communicate, and gets a heat-ray in answer.

* Boris in ''Film/GoldenEye''. "Yes! [[CatchPhrase I am inVEENcible!]]" *flash-frozen* Aaand now you're a coat rack.
** Tracy, ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. "Anyway, you have given me a wedding present. The best I could have. [[TemptingFate A future]]." [[InstantDeathBullet No she doesn't...]]

-->'''Wombosi''': If they want to kill me, they'd better kill me the first time! They'd better kill me dead! They'd better kill me when I'm in my sleep! (''shot by a sniper'')
** In ''Film/TheBourneSupremacy'', [[spoiler: Marie]]'s last words: "You have a choice". Subverted because [[spoiler:Bourne does, in fact, take them to heart, and refrains thereafter from killing in cold blood]].

* In ''Literature/TheDayOfTheJackal'', Bastien-Thiry, failed assassin of Charles De Gaulle is shown remarking that he is a patriot and no firing squad will dare shoot him. The next [[{{Pun}} shot]] is immediately after his execution.

* The LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/{{Golgo 13}}'' (the second one, with Sonny Chiba as Duke Togo) shows a mook spying on Golgo with binoculars see him look their way. He turns to his partner and says, "Ah, who cares? It's over 300 yards!" Anyone familiar with the series will know how short that mook's lifespan is.

* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'': [[spoiler: Curt]] gives an uplifting speech [[spoiler: before fatally crashing his motorcycle into the invisible barrier the audience knew was there all along]].
* [[DeadpanSnarker Marvin]] of all people gives one of these in ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' when everyone is getting attacked by the Vogons. It goes like this:
--> '''Marvin:''' I don't know what all this fuss is about. Vogons are [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy the worst marksmen in the galaxy-]] [[KilledMidSentence OW!]]
--> (Turns around to reveal a large hole in the back of his head)
--> '''Marvin:''' Now I have a headache.
--> (Falls over)
* This happens to [[spoiler: General Garza]] as he rallies his troops in ''Film/TheExpendables''.
--> '''Garza''': We will kill this American disease! [[spoiler: (gets shot in the back by [[BigBad Munroe]])]]

* In a bit of MoralDissonance, ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'' (extended edition) had Aragorn cheerfully kill the Mouth of Sauron while the latter was discussing the terms of peace. Though knowing Sauron, they were probably more like "terms of unconditional surrender".[[note]]The book lets the Mouth finish and nobody kills him; in that, it would probably be fairer to describe it as terms of conditional surrender. It should also be noted that technically, [[LoopholeAbuse no one was actually carrying a parley banner or calling for it]].[[/note]]

* In ''Kogaratsu'''s The Torn-up Summer, as the first big battle begins, a samurai rides forward to issue a DuelToTheDeath to which the opposite army answers by [[ShutupKirk gunning him there and then]]. To prevent his army routing, another samurai rides forward and deliberately invokes this trope by putting himself in the line of fire to give a speech on courage and duty in the face of death. [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim The result is fairly predictable.]]

-->-- '''[[TropeNamers General John Sedgwick]]''''s alleged last words before being [[TemptingFate shot in the head by a sniper]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks "Evolution of the Daleks"]], the leader of Hooverville attempts to show the Daleks that they're NotSoDifferent than him, and gets XRaySparks through his body for the trouble. It's also played with, in that, since he's talking to [[AxeCrazy the Daleks]], it doesn't matter if he were as eloquent as his namesake — the audience knows that he'll still get murdered.

-->-- '''[[TropeNamers General John Sedgwick]]''''s alleged FamousLastWords before being [[TemptingFate shot in the head by a sniper]]

* In a bit of MoralDissonance, ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'' had Aragorn cheerfully kill the Mouth of Sauron while the latter was discussing the terms of peace. Though knowing Sauron, they were probably more like "terms of unconditional surrender".[[note]]The book lets the Mouth finish; in that, it would probably be fairer to describe it as terms of conditional surrender. It should also be noted that technically, [[LoopholeAbuse no one was actually carrying a parley banner or calling for it]].[[/note]]

* A non-deadly example in ''WebComic/AxisPowersHetalia''. "I'm Russian, I know everything about snow!" Russia says before he jumps from a plane without a parachute, figuring the soft snow will cushion his fall. The result is not outright seen, but apparently, he broke his back.