History Main / ViolenceIsNotAnOption

* "VideoGame/Witcher3:WildHunt" has the Higher Vampire terrorizing Toussant being so insanely powerful that fighting it is considered suicide. It has super speed, super strength, intagibility, and more. Even Geralt considers it insane to fight such a thing. Ultimately, the decision is made to find what it is that's making it so angry, and get rid of it.

* ''{{Series/Legion|2017}}'': It turns out that the only way to prevent David Haller from becoming a supervillain is for Charles Xavier and Amahl Farouk to have never gone to war in the first place.
-->'''Charles''': I'm saying that war is not the answer, it's the problem. David, we don't need this barbarism.

* ''KillSixBillionDemons'' is all about the conflicting views between ViolenceSolvesEverything and this trope; when your enemies include PhysicalGod psychopaths, hordes of blood-thirsty enemies, and the universe itself, do you choose to keep fighting despite impossible odds, or do you try to find a way out?

There are a lot of problems a person can solve with violence: {{evil overlord}}s, [[TheBully bullies]], inconvenient walls, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking high prices at the supermarket]]...

** In ''VideoGame/EarthboundBeginnings'', Giegue has an infinite amount of health, so just attacking him solves nothing. The player instead has to sing Maria's song to him in order to win.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', Giygas has gone full EldritchAbomination, and just doing damage to him won't kill him; the player instead has to use Paula's Prayer command, and this results in the use of ThePowerOfLove to defeat him.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''LIghtNovel/NoGameNoLife'': In the alternate world of Disboard, an ancient war devastated the world so badly that the god which survived the war, Tet, declared that violence--''especially'' violence with intent to kill--was now impossible and all disputes had to be settled through games. [[spoiler:However, this only applies to the 16 races which are bound by Tet's [[TheCommandments Pledges]], and also only applies if the person didn't wager their life or physical safety in the game. If they do and ''lose'', they're screwed. Therefore, all of these races are terrified of being completely conquered by the others, as they fear this would reduce their status to those of animals that can be enslaved and slaughtered.]]

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/RaumschiffGamestar'': When threatened by a space terrorist, TheCaptain of the (ostensibly) good guys prepares to answer with a volley from the ship's main gun, only to be informed that ''all'' weaponry is currently in maintenance, and that he instead should seek a diplomatic solution.

** [[SubvertedTrope On the other hand]], firearms do a bang-up job in dealing with human enemies and low-level "footsoldier" monsters like [[FishPeople Deep Ones]] and [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier Ghouls]]. Conflict is still ill-advised however as combat in the game is very deadly, and your investigators are no more resistant to gunfire than cultists or mooks; any investigator taking a shotgun blast or high-calibre rifle shot is certainly dead, a .45 pistol can nearly kill an unarmoured investigator in a single shot in the right circumstances (and many pistols can shoot three times in a turn), and even if the investigator survives the initial shot, they'll be gravely wounded and have to be spend several weeks recovering in hospital before they are in any condition to be going anywhere.

* In ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'', there is a quest where you have to get rid of explorers that are trespassing in elves' holy forest. You cannot attack them, because if you do, the spirits that live in that forest will promptly eradicate all aggressors. Subverted in that, while there is a peaceful solution, there's also nothing stopping you from provoking the explorers into attacking you, as long as you don't retaliate....

* In an early episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', violence and anger power the Annihilator armor, something Ares uses to set loose the Annihilator loose in the Kasnian civil war. SheatheYourSword is enough to shut the armor down, but to drive Ares away, the two Kasnian factions stand down for the day and according to a later episode, open diplomatic ties to resolve the conflict.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic:'' In "The Cutie Re-Mark - [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E25TheCutieRemarkPart1 Part 1]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 Part 2]]", the villain Starlight Glimmer [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight uses time travel to change the past]]. Twilight Sparkle gets pulled along with the time travel spell, and tries to stop Starlight by fighting her. But after several failed loops, Twilight realizes that fighting can't work: the side effects of their fight wind up altering the timeline just as badly as Starlight did herself. Twilight only succeeds by showing Starlight the BadFuture her actions are creating, and [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talking her into giving up her quest for revenge]].

* This occurs on both sides during the climax of ''Film/DoctorStrange'': The titular hero has no chance against [[EldritchAbomination Dormammu]], and so instead relies on an infinite loop of time to emerge triumphant. Dormammu, on the other hand, has no comprehension of time and learns quickly that just killing Strange over and over again still leaves him trapped, forcing him to bargain for his freedom.

* The antagonist of the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Rosa" is an escaped prisoner implanted with [[RestrainingBolt a device that prevents him from using violence]]. Unfortunately for the Doctor and friends, this doesn't deter him from ''non-''violently [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight disrupting every single event which led to]] [[UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement Rosa Parks' historic arrest]], forcing them to scramble in order to set history back on track.

[[WellThisIsNotThatTrope Unfortunately, this is not one such problem]]. The MonsterOfTheWeek is [[HopelessBossFight just too strong to take on in open combat]] (or may even be outright {{immortal|ity}}), punching out the schoolyard bully [[CrimeOfSelfDefense just makes the whole situation worse]], and a BallisticDiscount is just way more trouble than it's worth. Alternatively, the protagonist may be burdened by a NoHarmRequirement and unable to use violence due to long-term consequences. Some people catch onto this immediately and seek alternate solutions, while others are slower on the uptake and try to punch their way through the situation first and have to backpedal afterwards. Regardless of how they figure this out, it's clear that no amount of direct physical force is going to solve the issue at hand.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Played with in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': being based on a roleplaying game, violence is often used as a means of solving problems (particularly ones that involve [[AxCrazy Belkar]]), but at least once, Roy has invoked this trope to justify not killing anyone. At the Godsmoot, where there's a vote taking place on whether the world should be destroyed or not (due to the danger [[BigBad Xykon]] and [[{{Phlebotinum}} The Gates]] present), the vote is all tied up due to unexpected involvement from a vampire cleric of [[GodOfEvil Hel]].
-->'''Roy:''' Honestly, I've got half a mind to take one for the team and try [to kill the vampire at the Godsmoot] anyway. Being dead's [[FluffyCloudHeaven not so bad.]] (...) But even if I could kill her before they toasted me, that still wouldn't tie this up with a neat little bow. If I die, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou my team falls apart]] and [[BigBad big X]] [[TheBadGuyWins moves into scoring position.]] -- [[AllForNothing And everyone is right back here to voting in a week or two.]]
[[/folder]]

** In ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', Giygas has gone full EldritchAbomination, and just doing damage to him won't kill him; the player instead has to use Anna's Prayer command, and this results in the use of ThePowerOfLove to defeat him.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Rosa" has a villain who is in this situation, because he is an escaped prisoner who was implanted with a MoralityChip. As a result he is limited to non-violent means to disrupt history... which still causes the Doctor and friends serious problems, as they are too moral to just kill him and also want to avoid making the historical people aware of their actions.

Compare ActualPacifist and ThouShallNotKill, for when the lack of violence is a moral choice as opposed to a practical one. Also compare TechnicalPacifist, who manages without ''personally'' using violence. Contrast ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption and MurderIsTheBestSolution, for obvious reasons. See also SheatheYourSword, for when the mere act of not fighting is what brings the conflict to a close, and TortureIsIneffective for when the "problem" at hand is gathering information.

Compare ActualPacifist and ThouShallNotKill, for when the lack of violence is a moral choice as opposed to a practical one. Contrast ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption and MurderIsTheBestSolution, for obvious reasons. See also SheatheYourSword, for when the mere act of not fighting is what brings the conflict to a close, and TortureIsIneffective for when the "problem" at hand is gathering information.

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

[[folder: Film]]
* In ''Film/DaysOfFuturePast'', Logan has to remain calm because violence or sudden bouts of emotion would disrupt the MentalTimeTravel that he's using, and thus remove him from the situation entirely without doing anything to fix it.
* This occurs on both sides during the climax of ''Film/DoctorStrange'': The titular hero has no chance against [[EldritchAbomination Dormammu]], and so instead relies on an infinite loop of time to emerge triumphant. Dormammu, on the other hand, has no comprehension of time and learns quickly that just killing Strange over and over again still leaves him trapped, forcing him to bargain for his freedom.

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/RaumschiffGamestar'': When threatened by a space terrorist, TheCaptain of the (ostensibly) good guys prepares to answer with a volley from the ship's main gun, only to be informed that ''all'' weaponry is currently in maintenance, and that he instead should seek a diplomatic solution.
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Rosa" has a villain who is in this situation, because he is an escaped prisoner who was implanted with a MoralityChip. As a result he is limited to non-violent means to disrupt history... which still causes the Doctor and friends serious problems, as they are too moral to just kill him and also want to avoid making the historical people aware of their actions.

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'': One arc has Jason unable to get past a videogame boss called the Red Orb Guardian. His entirely un-nerdy sister Paige gets past it without trying, so she blackmails him for a while until she finally tells him the secret: don't attack him.
-->'''Jason:''' He's the most lethal video game creature ever! He towers above you with fists like anvils! Skulls litter the ground at his feet! And you're not supposed to even ''try'' to take this guy on in a fight??... Wow, talk about counter-intuitive.
-->'''Paige:''' Refresh my memory, you spend ''how'' many nanoseconds in the real world each day?

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Played with in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': being based on a roleplaying game, violence is often used as a means of solving problems (particularly ones that involve [[AxCrazy Belkar]]), but at least once, Roy has invoked this trope to justify not killing anyone.
** At the Godsmoot, where there's a vote taking place on whether the world should be destroyed or not (due to the danger [[BigBad Xykon]] and [[{{Phlebotinum}} The Gates]] present), the vote is all tied up due to unexpected involvement from a vampire cleric of [[GodOfEvil Hel]].
---->'''Roy''': Honestly, I've got half a mind to take one for the team and try [to kill the vampire at the Godsmoot] anyway. Being dead's [[FluffyCloudHeaven not so bad.]] (...) But even if I could kill her before they toasted me, that still wouldn't tie this up with a neat little bow. If I die, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou my team falls apart]] and [[BigBad big X]] [[TheBadGuyWins moves into scoring position.]] - [[AllForNothing And everyone is right back here to voting in a week or two.]]

[[folder: Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'', there is a quest where you have to get rid of explorers that are trespassing in elves' holy forest. You cannot attack them, because if you do, the spirits that live in that forest will promptly eradicate all aggressors. Subverted in that, while there is a peaceful solution, there's also nothing stopping you from provoking the explorers into attacking you, as long as you don't retaliate...

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* In an early episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'', violence and anger power the Annihilator armor, something Ares uses to set loose the Annihilator loose in the Kasnian civil war. SheatheYourSword is enough to shut the armor down, but to drive Ares away, the two Kasnian factions stand down for the day and according to a later episode, open diplomatic ties to resolve the conflict.

[[/folder]]

* The original ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'' has this with the Shadow fight, as the only way to proceed is to sheathe your weapon and run into it, the Shadow following suit and reuniting with you.

* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'' has this with the Shadow fight, as the only way to proceed is to sheathe your weapon and run into it, the Shadow following suit and reuniting with you.

* The original ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia'' has this with the Shadow fight, as the only way to proceed is to sheathe your weapon and run into it, the Shadow following suit and reuniting with you.