History YouHaveFailedMe / ComicBooks

[[AC:Creator/DCComics]]
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''
** ComicBook/TheJoker has a variation: You have succeeded admirably... But I'm bored. Working for Joker is like Russian Roulette. With bullets in all 6 chambers. And two guns. [[OverlyLongGag And the bullets are dipped in poison. And you don't get to spin the barrel.]] According to Creator/GailSimone, that same chaotic nature also means Joker might shower you in cash for doing something like tipping a chair over. This is presented as the only reason anyone would be stupid enough to work for the Joker: it's Russian Roulette mixed with traditional roulette.
** First played straight and then later there's a subversion in the first ''Robin'' miniseries. The villain of the piece kills two of his {{Mook}}s with his bare hands for failing him, then promotes a DragonLady named Lynx to the position of head Mook. When she inevitably fails as well, he ponders over the dilemma of leaving her unpunished and [[WouldntHitAGirl having to kill a woman]]. He then hands her to his [[TheDragon Dragon]] for a "not too dire, but memorable" punishment. Which, to the Dragon, meant [[EyeScream putting out her eye]].
** In the ''ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls'' arc, a few of the resurrected Talons have this in their backstory--whether out of sloppiness,[[note]]for all of their declared power over Gotham, the Owls ''really'' don't like the prospect of media scrutiny -- such as that caused by outright missing cops instead of dead cops[[/note]] "misguided honor,"[[note]]a colonial-era Talon armed his target and demanded that he fight for his life; this Talon ended up being spotted in the course of making this kill, and one of the witnesses he slew was an officer, leading to unwanted scrutiny for the Owls[[/note]] or failing to do a job properly, they were retired early. Often, part of the issue featuring them focuses on their attempts to atone for their mistakes, perceived or otherwise.
** ''ComicBook/CatwomanWhenInRome'': Louisa Falcone orders her nephew, The Blond, dead because he falls in love with Selina and couldn't kill her.
* ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} sometimes kills people who fail him -- he has to keep up appearances -- but since he uses his Omega Beams, he usually just resurrects them later when he needs them again.
* Subverted in ComicBook/{{Hourman}}. When a villain who presides over a hellish slave camp learns that one of the {{mooks}} screwed up, he finds the underling cowering in fear, certain that he's about to be killed for his failure. Instead, the villain pats him on the back, tells him to believe in himself, and gives him a couple of bucks to go buy himself a snack. It turns out their entire evil organization uses a series of self-help seminars as a front, and so they have a policy of only using positive reinforcement with the henchmen. ''And it works.''
* ''ComicBook/SimonDark'': When five of Dall Moss' cultists fail to kill Neal Jones when the driver survives being beaten, drugged and then put in a truck that's shoved off a cliff and blown up, Dall has them all killed and he and the rest of the cultists watch their deaths for entertainment.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 "Guess Who's About to Die!"]]'', a MadScientist's attempt to clone ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} results in six dwarf-sized copies. He sends them out to kill Supergirl but they fail, causing his enraged boss to crush his skull.
--->'''Drake:''' Th-The Chairman! Then it... It, ah... Is her-- er... SHE?!\\
'''Chairman:''' Supergirl! Who you swore to me would die before she could return here and interfere again! You realize what this means, Drake? Not only have your clones failed-- our entire operation has been put in dire jeopardy!\\
'''Drake:''' I... Ah, I...\\
'''Chairman:''' Say nothing! You failed me... And that I will not tolerate! You were given a chance-- and one is all I will allow!
** ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'': Empress Gandelo gets Harry Hokum executed as a punishment for being defeated by Supergirl and the Omega Men.
** ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'': After busting one of interfering with one operation of the titular crimelord, Supergirl gets Starfire's minion Rodney out of the place so his boss does not kill him in punishment for failing to kill the Girl of Steel.
--->'''Supergirl:''' It's no laughing matter! You failed Starfire! And for that-- your reward is death! Just like it was death for Derek-- Because he, too, failed-- failed to immobilize me!
** ''ComicBook/SupermanSupergirlMaelstrom'': Variant. Wanting to get rid of Maelstrom, Darkseid allows her to go and attempt to kill Superman, threatening to banish her from Apokolips forever if she fails…fully aware that she will never defeat a Kryptonian.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Zara and Hypnota berate and then try to behead Clarice Mystik when the frightened young woman fails successfully sell the highly conspicuous and reported stolen Amazonian Royal Gems they'd ordered her to liquidate. Diana and Etta save her.
** Circe has on at least one occasion cooked and eaten one of her Bestiamorphs when they failed an assignment. Her Bestiamorphs are humans, mostly men, who she has transformed into creatures to do her bidding usually without their consent.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Dr. Zeul, otherwise known as Giganta, manages to combine this with YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness when her assistant uploads her mind into a gorilla instead of a human body. She throws her hapless assistant from the roof while trying to escape the authorities, but they are rescued by ComicBook/WonderGirl (Cassie).

[[AC:Creator/MarvelComics]]
* ComicBook/DoctorDoom. Mostly with his robotic henchmen, though.
** In one instance during a battle with the ComicBook/FantasticFour, his head scientist had a flamethrower and the flames were getting dangerously close to a priceless painting he obtained, so he shot him with the gun the scientist built for him. He also kills that henchman's vengeful brother (also a henchman) who tried to trick Doom into a device that would kill him.
** Doom's tendency towards this was parodied in ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'', where the backstory of the [[{{MacGuffin}} Doom portrait]] involves him doing this to a random painter because he doesn't like how the commission turned out (and because Doom accidentally said some... unfortunate things while drunk in front of the guy). Since the guy is a decently well-known painter [[BlackComedy it causes his works to posthumously skyrocket in value]].
* Played with in ''ComicBook/Eternals2021''. Thanos tells Eternal scientist Domo that he’ll be killed if he fails. Rather than trying to trick him, Domo honestly tells Thanos that he failed. Thanos kills him, keeping his word - but then immediately has him resurrected (and acknowledges his honesty and loyalty).
* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, ComicBook/{{HYDRA}} has this as their standard policy. In fact, in the years when the organization was in disarray without the overall control of Baron Von Strucker, the various factions seemed to spend more time killing each other after each defeat than achieving anything.
* It's impossible to count how many gang mooks working for ComicBook/TheKingpin have gone into his office to report failure and never came out alive. For a specific example, one of the better variations on this trope in recent years was the ''Tangled Web of ComicBook/SpiderMan'' issue #4, "Severance Package", in which the Kingpin deals with an underling who botches an illegal arms job. The story is especially chilling because it's told from the point of view of the underling, who knows full well that he's about to die but refuses to run away, despite having a wife and children. Impressed by the man accepting his fate, the Kingpin kills him but does grant the underling's final favor, to allow his family to live.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}''
** Near the end of volume one, the Pride's main mole in the police, Lieutenant Flores, tries to capture the kids without telling the Pride in advance. The ensuing fight [[spoiler:destroys the Hostel]], nearly gets all his men killed and, more importantly to The Pride, endangers their children. His bosses are there when his men find him.
--->'''Flores:''' I thought I was dead.\\
'''Geoffrey Wilder:''' And for once, you were right. *shotgun*
** [[spoiler: [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Ironically]] this ends up being the fate of the Pride themselves; after the team ruins their EvilPlan, the Gibborim get fed up with their pathetic failures and behavior and kill them all.]]
* This is also done in ''ComicBook/ThePunisherWelcomeBackFrank'', Creator/GarthEnnis's opening ''Comicbook/ThePunisher'' mini-series. Ma Gnucci, after having her arms and legs torn off by a polar bear in the NY Zoo, berates her {{Mooks}} for failing to catch Castle and then orders one of them executed for asking her how she's feeling. The guy she orders to do it protests, so she orders him executed as well. She goes through about three underlings before she finds someone willing to shoot the previous executees.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':