History Main / ThwartedCoupDeGrace

* An MMA bout in 2004 saw future boxing world lightweight champion Nate Campbell badly hurt his opponent Robbie Peden with a body shot, doubling Peden over and causing him to stagger around the ring. Peden was able to defend just well enough for the next 30 seconds or so to evade or block Campbell's attempts to finish him, and recovered enough to finally punch back. Campbell, in his arrogance and certainty of victory, [[WhatAnIdiot stood in front of Peden with no defense at all and dared Peden to hit him again]]. Peden did, and Campbell fell over backwards like a tree going down. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5nPIeDqelI&feature=related Link]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Raptors}}'': When Aznar tries to strike down Camilla, Drago blocks his sword at the last second. Serves as the ImageSource for this trope.

* Happens to Frollo at the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' as a result of him saying [[DeathByIrony "And he shall smite the wicked]] [[KarmicDeath and plunge them into the fiery pit!"]] while trying to kill the heroes. The gargoyle he’s standing on gives way and sends him to his end. Bonus points for [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to]] [[DeathByIrony the flames he started to kill one of the protagonists.]]

* ''Literature/GodsAndWarriors'': As the rebels engage in the final battle with the Crows in ''Warrior Bronze'', [[spoiler:Pharax]] injures [[spoiler:Akastos, the [[RightfulKingReturns returned High Chieftain of Mycenae]]]], and attempts to deliver the deathblow to the latter. Hpwever, [[spoiler:Akastos]] prevents this by thrusting his sword [[GroinAttack right through his enemy's groin]].

** The penultimate chapter "[[Recap/JauneArcLordOfHungerSorry Sorry]]" features an inversion of how this trope typically goes with the main heroine having the BigBad at her mercy [[HopeSpot only to have victory snatched away at the last second]]. [[spoiler:Following a grueling battle, Pyrrha has Darth Nihilus on his knees before her and tries to deal a killing blow by stabbing him through the heart. However, just as she thrusts her blade forward, Nihilus uses his [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]] to adjust her weapon's angle, causing Pyrrha to miss and instead only graze his shoulder. She doesn't get much time to react as Nihilus immediately takes advantage of this and [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice drives his sword through her stomach]], killing her.]]

* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'': In "Fear", right as the terentatek has overpowered Pyrrha and is about to impale her with its AbsurdlySharpClaws, Ruby swoops in on her Semblance and pushes Pyrrha out of the way.

** [[spoiler:Roman Torchwick]] is killed this way by a Grimm. So much for [[FamousLastWords "lie, steal, cheat, and survive"]], eh?

* Inverted and mixed with MercyKill in ''Manga/{{Claymore}}''. Theresa, who was in battle with Priscilla, manages to get Priscilla on her knees. Undergoing a SuperPowerMeltdown, Priscilla begs Theresa to kill her before she can turn into a monster, to which Theresa agrees. However, before she can kill her, [[spoiler:Priscilla grabs her sword and slices Theresa's hands off and then decapitates her.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', just as Hans is about to deliver the coup on Elsa, Anna(who gives up the chance to save herself in favor of her sister) swoops in and takes the blow, fortunately since she becomes frozen solid afterwards, the sword gets shattered instead of her and Hans gets knocked unconscious in the process.

* Used in the climax of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'' when Justin has thrown out his sword and is giving a speech, Jenner sneaks up behind waiting to make the strike, by the time Justin notices Jenner has him, suddenly Jenner gets stabbed in the back,.....by a Mook he just stabbed.

* In ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', Emperor Commodus has ordered General Maximus to be executed. The soldier orders him to kneel so he can stab him. Maximus (with his hands tied) head-butts the soldier, takes his sword and then kills every other soldier who was guarding him. Maximus is badass.

* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'': In "Fear", right as the terentatek has overpowered Pyrrha and is about to impale her with its AbsurdlySharpClaws, Ruby swoops in on her Semblance and pushes Pyrrha out of the way just in time.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', at the climax of a heated battle between Sasuke and Itachi, Itachi has Sasuke cornered and is about to take Sasuke's eyes (and the PsychicPowers they impart) for his own. Itachi touches Sasuke on the bridge of his forehead... and then keels over, dead. [[spoiler:Sasuke later finds out that Itachi was suffering from a terminal illness the whole time and was actually implanting his eyes' powers onto Sasuke just before his death.]]

* In ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'', Mustang, who has [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge just incinerated Envy back down to his parasitic state in a vengeful rage]], has the now slug-like homunculus under the sole of his boot and is ready to kill him, until Riza Hawkeye [[ClickHello shows up with a gun to his head]], threatening to kill him per their promise. Scar and Ed soon join them, with Ed springing Envy away from Mustang, who he pointedly asks if [[HeWhoFightsMonsters this is what he wanted to be]] when he were to become Fuhrer. Mustang finally calms down, and after Envy fails at [[BreakingSpeech breaking them by mocking them for their failures]], he [[VillainousBreakdown breaks down in tears]] and [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', just as Hans is about to deliver the coup on the former queen Elsa, Anna(who gives up the chance to save herself in favor of her sister) swoops in and takes the blow, fortunately since she becomes frozen solid afterwards, the sword gets shattered instead of her and Hans gets knocked unconscious in the process.

* Happens to Frollo at the end of ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' as a result of him saying [[DeathByIrony "And he shall smite the wicked]] [[KarmicDeath and plunge them into the fiery pit!"]] while trying to kill the heroes. The gargoyle he’s standing on gives way and sends him to his end. Bonus points for [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to]] [[DeathByIrony the flames he started to kill one of the protagonists.]]
* Used in the climax of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'' when Justin has thrown out his sword and is giving a speech, Jenner sneaks up behind waiting to make the strike, by the time Justin notices Jenner has him, suddenly Jenner gets stabbed in the back,.....by a Mook he just stabbed.

* In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', just as Hans is about to deliver the coup on the former queen Elsa, Anna(who gives up the chance to save herself in favor of her sister) swoops in and takes the blow, fortunately since she becomes frozen solid afterwards, the sword gets shattered instead of her and Hans gets knocked unconscious in the process.

* In ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', Hwa Ryun attacked Rachel, which led to Bam jumping in between them to catch the strike. With Bam being beaten bloody to the ground, she gets ready for the final blow, but Bam's DefenseMechanismSuperpower activates, slicing her right through [[EyeScream the face.]]

* In the climax of ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'', [[TheUsurper Jewelius]] tries to decapitate his subdued aunt Celestia with a telekinetically held sword after [[spoiler:his army is [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] by the Elements of Harmony]]. However, the sword is magically blasted away by his cousin Cadance.

* In ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', Hwa Ryun attacked Rachel, which led to Baam jumping in between them to catch the strike. With Baam being beaten bloody to the ground, she gets ready for the final blow, but Baam's DefenseMechanismSuperpower activates, slicing her right through [[EyeScream the face.]]

* Lurtz, the head Uruk-Hai in the movie version of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings: The Fellowship of the Ring'', has shot Boromir full of holes and is ready to deliver the killing shot when Aragorn leaps in and kills Lurtz. This gives Boromir enough time to deliver his dying speech.

** In Episode II, [[MasterSwordsman Dooku]] brings down Obi-Wan, but before he can deliver the final blow, a previously electrocuted Anakin gets better and jumps across the room to block it.
** Episode VI: Palpatine [[NiceJobFixingItVillain uses Force Lightning again, this time on Luke]], and Vader [[PapaWolf stops]] [[HeelFaceTurn him]]. Unusual in that it doesn't involve any weapons.

* The most famous sports-world example is the 1978 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_at_the_Meadowlands Miracle at the Meadowlands]]. The New York Giants were leading the Philadelphia Eagles 17-12, they had possession of the ball with less than thirty seconds left in play after Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski was picked off, the Eagles had no timeouts, and [[AssumedWin the telecast was already rolling credits]]; all the Giants had to do was kneel down. Instead, they tried to run a handoff (which no Giant on the field wanted, but Giants QB Joe Pisarcik had gotten into hot water with Giants offensive coordinator Bob Gibson over changing the play at the line in previous weeks), the handoff was fumbled, and Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards returned the loose ball for the game-winning touchdown. Gibson was promptly fired and never called another play in any level of football again.
** This play was so epic, it actually caused the development of the victory formation (now when the quarterback takes a knee, two running backs will flank him immediately behind him and a third will sit five or seven yards back as a safety) and legitimized taking a knee (before this, a lot of football people thought taking a knee was cowardly).
* Similar to the MMA bout above, in 2004 future boxing world lightweight champion Nate Campbell badly hurt his opponent Robbie Peden with a body shot, doubling Peden over and causing him to stagger around the ring. Peden was able to defend just well enough for the next 30 seconds or so to evade or block Campbell's attempts to finish him, and recovered enough to finally punch back. Campbell, in his arrogance and certainty of victory, [[WhatAnIdiot stood in front of Peden with no defense at all and dared Peden to hit him again]]. Peden did, and Campbell fell over backwards like a tree going down. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5nPIeDqelI&feature=related Link]].

* The most famous sports-world example is the 1978 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_at_the_Meadowlands Miracle at the Meadowlands]]. The New York Giants were leading the Philadelphia Eagles 17-12, they had possession of the ball with less than thirty seconds left in play after Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski was picked off, the Eagles had no timeouts, and [[AssumedWin the telecast was already rolling credits]]; all the Giants had to do was kneel down. Instead, they tried to run a handoff (which no Giant on the field wanted, but Giants QB Joe Pisarcik had gotten into hot water with Giants offensive coordinator Bob Gibson over changing the play at the line in previous weeks), the handoff was fumbled, and Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards returned the loose ball for the game-winning touchdown. Gibson was promptly fired and never called another NFL play again.

* In ''Manga/PandoraHearts Retrace LXXVIII'', [[spoiler:Oz]] is at [[spoiler:Oswald/Glen]]'s mercy, and the latter has just raised his sword to strike when he's shot in the hand by [[spoiler:Gilbert]]. Of course, since he's NighInvulnerable, [[spoiler:Glen]] didn't die, but [[spoiler:Gil's]] "betrayal" of him was still SugarWiki/{{heartwarming|Moments}}.

* In ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', Largo has Film/JamesBond at gunpoint and is about to shoot him when he is killed by a harpoon fired by the girl he had tortured earlier.