Line #113 Main/BigGuyFatalitySyndrome


1	A specification of the HeroicSacrifice. Things are going really well for our heroic party: the infiltration in the BigBad's [[SupervillainLair evil fortress of doom]] is advancing steadily and without a problem. Then, suddenly, things take a turn for the worst: the villain turns some phlebotinum-powered device on the heroes, or a dangerous foe long thought dead has reappeared and is endangering not only the quest of our heroes but their very survival. What happens then? "Not to worry, you go ahead, [[TheRestShallPass I'll deal with this inconvenience]]!" Famous words... and usually the {{last\|Words}}. For some reason, TheBigGuy of the crew will usually be the one who does the sacrifice.
2
3	Whenever there are characters in a show, book, etc., the biggest/strongest/most massive one will be, against common sense, the first to die, usually saving the rest of the crew so they can go on and finish their epic quest.
4
5	Similar to TheWorfEffect, only in that trope a) it's the tough one who's affected (often TheLancer or a SixthRanger instead of TheBigGuy), b) Worf usually survives, and c) the Big Guy Fatality Syndrome normally goes at the end of a book, series, whatever, while TheWorfEffect goes at the beginning. If they're TheBigGuy in the FiveManBand, or female, or both, they're less likely to die. When this happens to a HuskyRusskie, it is a clear indication of RussianGuySuffersMost at work. Also can overlap with BlackDudeDiesFirst if the big guy is a ScaryBlackMan.
6
7	See also VasquezAlwaysDies, a related AlwaysFemale trope where the more badass of two leading female characters will always be the first to go. Since strength is associated with masculinity, compare MenAreTheExpendableGender. Often an early step in a DwindlingParty situation.
8
9	!!As this is a {{Death Trope\|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
10	----
11	!!Examples:
12
13	[[foldercontrol]]
14
15	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
16	* ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'': Nuriko is the physically strongest of the Suzaku warriors [[DudeLooksLikeALady despite]] [[StrongerThanTheyLook how he]] [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide looks]], and is [[AnyoneCanDie the first]] of them to die, after an intense battle and completes with SnowMeansDeath.
17	* ''Manga/GetterRobo'':
18	** It happens to Musashi Tomoe [[TheyKilledKennyAgain over and over again]].
19	** AND his sucessor, Benkei Kuruma. By the end of the manga, only Ryoma and Hayato amongst the original team survives, until Ryoma himself may or may not bite the dust as well.
20	* Hilariously spoofed in ''Anime/AngelBeats''.
21	* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': Ryu Jose combines this trope with BlackDudeDiesFirst. Or rather, AmbiguouslyBrown Dude Dies First.
22	* Hayato Kakizaki ([[Anime/{{Robotech}} Ben Dixon]]) from ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' was TheBigGuy on Hikaru/Rick's team and the only {{wingman}} he ever lost.
23	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Zoro tries this at the end of Thriller Bark, but [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat can't manage to die from mere lethal damage]].
24	* The towering, hulking Gold Saint [[GentleGiant Taurus Aldebaran]] of ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' is usually hit with the WorfEffect just to prove a point how serious the menace ''du jour'' is. But while he was revealed to have survived in the anime {{Filler}} ''Asgard'' Arc, he went and bought the big one in the ''Hades'' Saga. Though not without making his death a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome due to a time-delayed TakingYouWithMe for the opponent who did him in, and who didn't even realize he was already a corpse until it was pointed out to him that he ''hadn't'' survived Aldebaran's final attack.
25	* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
26	** Sailor Jupiter is the first Senshi to die at the end of the first season of TheNineties anime. Like all the others, she gets better.
27	** Inverted in Stars's initial mini-arc, where she was the second-to-last Senshi to go down and be captured by Nehelenia. She's later released by Sailor Moon.
28	* Ryoma from ''Manga/LegendOfHeavenlySphereShurato'' isn't ''the'' first character on the good guys's side to die, but he ''is'' the first member of the FiveManBand to kick it. He gets better, though.
29	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Pippin, by far the biggest member of the Band of the Hawk, is the first of the major Hawks to buy it when the Eclipse goes down and the demons start coming out of the woodwork. He goes down fighting, buying Judeau and Casca time to escape the initial attack, and it takes a multitude of demons to bring him down.
30	* ''Manga/ShinMazingerZero'': This actually happens to '''[[Anime/MazingerZ Boss]]''', [[PluckyComicRelief of all people]].
31	* Subverted with Honda during [[LateArrivalSpoiler the pre-Duelist Kingdom arc]] Death-T in the ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga. Due to his jacket getting stuck in the falling blocks level, he can only help Yugi get out before uttering a resigned "it's too late for me..." and [[DisneyDeath getting blocked from his friends' (and the reader's) point of view]] by another falling block. While [[BigDamnHeroes he reappears at the very end]], this event serves to trigger Yugi's second breakdown of the arc and his reveal of the Other Yugi's existence to his friends.
32	* Double subverted during the final killing game in ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool''. Despite the abundance of Big Guys in the game, Chisa Yukizome was the first to die. However, once the rules of the game are properly explained by Monokuma and they start "playing", the trope comes in full effect with Daisaku Bandai dying of NG Code poisoning and Great Gozu getting murdered by the culprit, almost back to back. Interestingly enough, Juzo Sakakura managed to survive until after the game was shut down despite being a complete beefcake, and is thus not considered a casualty (even though he did pass away from his wounds afterwards).
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Comic Books]]
36	* Subverted when Hal Jordan goes on his mad rampage and kills Kilowog. Though he's the last Franchise/GreenLantern he slays, it marks Hal's point of no return.
37	* Thunderbird, one of the new ComicBook/XMen's two big guys along with Colossus, was killed on one of his first missions with the team, attempting to bring down the jet of [[GenericEthnicCrimeGang Maggia]] leader Count Nefario.[[note]]Thunderbird was chosen for this role because, having a similar personality to Wolverine and similar powers to Colossus, and visually less impressive than both of them, he was deemed redundant by the writing staff.[[/note]]
38	** Colossus later dies in more dramatic circumstances in self-sacrifice to cure the Legacy Virus.
39	** Strong Guy by the nature of his powers dies protecting the rest of his team from a bomb. He didn't die from the explosion but from the heart attack it induced.
40	* Omega Supreme is offlined in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise''. He's alive but the damage is so severe that he still isn't healed after the book changes over to ''ComicBook/OptimusPrime'', which is several years later both in and out of universe.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Fan Works]]
44	* The ''K.R.D. Chronicles'' trilogy are {{Continuation}}s of ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}''. As a result, the resident big guys of the cast die in Chapter 4:
45	** ''Fanfic/DanganronpaMementoMori'': Hirou is the victim, being killed by a shotgun BoobyTrap set up by Yukiharu, [[MurderByMistake intended for Souta]].
46	** ''Fanfic/DanganronpaKommSusserTod'': Tetsuo is the culprit, roping up Ukyo into helping him drug, electrocute and set on fire Iori [[VigilanteExecution out of revenge for Iori's own crimes]].
47	** ''Fanfic/DanganronpaParadiseLost'': Goh is also the culprit, [[TrickedToDeath misled into activating]] Kenji's DrowningPit and finishing off Sumire so that Kenji can save himself from execution.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
51	* In ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians'', it's [[CuteBruiser Sandman]], unquestionably the strongest character of the FiveManBand, who {{di\|sneyDeath}}es first, to establish the BigBad of the movie as real threat, and make things much harder for the rest of the team.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
55	* This trope is probably why they {{Dropped a Bridge on\|Him}} Dozer in ''Film/TheMatrix''.
56	* While he's not the first to die in the invasion of the Black Fortress during the climax of ''Film/{{Krull}}'', Rell the Cyclops is the first to die when they actually get inside the Fortress. He holds open a closing wall just long enough for his companions to get past, before it crushes him to death.
57	* Lewis Romero, a member of a school football team in ''Film/FinalDestination3'' is killed off after [[YourHeadAsplode his head is crushed]] by weights.
58	* Dagonet (Creator/RayStevenson's character) in ''Film/KingArthur2004''.
59	* The ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' finale movie featured the death of D'argo in a bit of a HoldTheLine moment.
60	* Buck the gorilla in ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' dies taking down a ''helicopter''.
61	** Three main gorillas also die in ''Film/WarForThePlanetOfTheApes'': Caesar's loyal sidekick Luca, who dies early on defending Caesar from human soldiers, Winter, who is accidentally suffocated by Caesar while trying to silence him in the human camp, and Red Donkey, a traitor fighting for the human forces who ultimately gets a RedemptionEqualsDeath.
62	* ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'':
63	** Ironhide, likely the most powerful Autobot on the team bar Optimus, is the first Autobot casualty of the film, leaving the Autobots without their signature heavy-hitter. It takes the three Wreckers to equal the amount of ass-kicking that Ironhide had.
64	** The Driller also dies quite early in the movie. Optimus easily kills it by flying through its head, snapping it off. Driller dies before any of the signature Decepticons such as Shockwave, Soundwave and Starscream.
65	* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', Groot performs a HeroicSacrifice by using himself to shield the rest of the team when the villain's ship crashes with them inside. Another, different Groot grows out of a twig left from his demise to replace him in future films.
66	* Averted in ''Film/TheGoonies'' when Sloth remains behind to hold up the boulder so the kids can escape, but then later makes it out (with his Ma, like a good son, even though she had been bad).
67	* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' being [[AnyoneCanDie Saving Private Ryan]], local HotBlooded contrarian Reiben fits the criteria. [[SubvertedTrope He's one of the only guys who lives]], despite nearly going AWOL at one point and being ironically the squad member with the biggest problem with the mission to save Ryan in the first place.
68	* In ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven2016'', it is the MountainMan Jack Horne who is the first out of the Seven to die.
69	* Inverted in ''Film/SevenSamurai'': Kyuzo and Kikuchiyo, who are both considered the muscle of the group in different ways, are killed last.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Literature]]
73	* Porthos, in ''Literature/TheVicomteDeBragelonne'': when a massively enormous rock threatens to crush the entire party, guess who's the one to hold it, sacrificing his own life in the process? Obviously, Big Guy Porthos. The writer goes one for about half a page then explaining how no other living human before or after could have managed such a feat.
74	* Subverted in ''Literature/TheCarpetPeople'': Glurk fully intends to [[LoadBearingHero sacrifice himself as the rest of the heroes escape a collapsing tunnel]], as that's his role as a hero in a proper story (and quite probably his fate in the initial version of the book). However, this proves too much of a cliche for Pismire to allow it.
75	* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: Literature/SpaceWolf'' novel ''Wolf's Honour'', it's Big Guy Haegr who takes the blunt of the Thousand Son's attack, obviously making a heroic sacrifice in the process.
76	* In ''Buttercup's Baby'', ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'''s second part (at least in theory), it's BigGuy Fezzik who throws himself over an enormous cliff to save Waverly, who is Buttercup and Westley's daughter.
77	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
78	** In ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Chewbacca dies fighting the Yuuzhan Vong. Although when they drop a MOON on you it might not really be this trope.
79	** In the ''Star Wars'' universe, do not be a chubby starfighter pilot, especially if your name is a [[PunnyName fat joke]] like "Porkins."
80	*** Subverted in the ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wraith Squadron]]'' series. Voort "Piggy" [=SaBinring=], a Gamorrean who was experimented upon to increase his intelligence to living tactical computer levels, is described as a large and somewhat portly pilot (and porcine besides), but in spite of his role as a GeniusBruiser, he manages to stop an assassin after taking a blaster shot to the gut... [[MadeOfIron and not dying like normal people should have.]] Notable for sharing a callsign with Jek Porkins, mentioned above.
81	*** Played straight with Runt, however. While short for a member of his species, he still barely fits in an X-Wing cockpit. He receives a MercyKill after an amphistaff bite during the Yuuzhan Vong War.
82	* In the Legend of Drizz't: Legacy, Wulfgar dies bringing the roof of a tunnel down on a monster that was attacking the group.
83	* ''Literature/TheSwordOfShannaraTrilogy'':
84	** ''Literature/TheSwordOfShannara'': Keltset the Troll, messiah of the Troll nation, and GeniusBruiser, dies holding up the roof while his best friend Panammon Creel, and [[TheHero Shea Ohmsford]] make their getaway.
85	** In ''Literature/TheWishsongOfShannara'' it is Helt, the gigantic Borderman, who stays behind to raise the drawbridge after his companions. Justified, as Helt had already been poisoned in a battle against an earlier monster, and knew his time was short.
86	* The ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' books in general have a surprisingly high casualty rate on the good guys' side. The trope is played straightest by the death of the massive Northlander hare [[HeroicSacrifice Rockjaw]] [[SacrificialLion Grang]] in ''The Long Patrol'' holding off a band of vermin alone.
87	* In ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'', [[NonIndicativeName Small Paul]], a minor character who is described as being one of the biggest members of the Night's Watch, is the first and only person to be killed when an [[TheDreaded Other]] attacks Sam's group.
88	* Almost played straight in ''Literature/WatershipDown'', but ultimately averted. Richard Adams originally intended for Bigwig, the biggest and best fighter among the heroes, to die in his fight against [[BigBad General Woundwort]], but the [[SavedByTheFans author's daughters pleaded otherwise]].
89	* At the climax of the ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad Malloreon]]'', the GentleGiant Toth is killed by a {{Demon Lord\|s And Archdevils}}-[[DemonicPossession possessed]] dragon in a last-ditch effort by Zandramas to [[DisqualificationInducedVictory keep Belgarion away from the final confrontation between Light and Dark]]. It was also intended to leave his {{Platonic Life Partner\|s}} [[TheChooserOfTheOne Cyradis]] too emotionally vulnerable to arbitrate. [[spoiler:It fails miserably on both counts and Toth gets a crystal tomb for his trouble.]]
90	* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' novels, Spartan-II Blue Team goes through no less than THREE Big Guys - [[spoiler: Samuel, James, William]] - all while the other four members survive throughout.
91	* In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'', Ghastly Bespoke is forced to turn himself to stone to avoid death, and is out of the picture for several books.
92	** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for Tanith Low, the best candidate for TheBigGuy after Ghastly. In every book she faces some sort of near-death experience, but is never actually killed.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
96	* In ''Series/BlakesSeven'', the crew's resident GentleGiant Gan was the first to die.
97	* ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'':
98	** Happens twice in Season 3. Both times this trope also overlap with BlackDudeDiesFirst; first, the massive inmate Big Tiny is the first prisoner to die. The second time, T-Dog is the first member of the group to die.
99	** In the Season 7 premiere, it's revealed that Abraham was Negan's victim, making him the first living casualty of Season 7.
100	* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', the series's Big Guy D'Argo is the only regular character (regular at that point, that is: another former regular was brought BackForTheDead) to die in the GrandFinale.
101	* In the made-for-TV Star Wars movie ''[[Film/StarWarsEwokAdventures Caravan Of Courage]]'', the experienced warrior and woodsman Ewok Chukha-Trok is the only one on the mission to die.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Music]]
105	* "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean tells of a cave-in at a mine trapping all of the miners inside. As they are facing certain death, the biggest, toughest, most feared of them begins to forge an escape. He succeeds and holds the fragile opening in place long enough for everybody else to make it out safely. But then it collapses again and they are not able to save him.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:TabletopGames]]
109	* Invoked in the ''[[https://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=1687 Random Anime]]'' rulebook: [[LovableJock Football jock]] and iconic BigGuy Tank Doyobi is mortally wounded by the BigBad early in the fight, but survives long enough to [[TakingYouWithMe take the villain with him]].
110	* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' CollectibleCardGame, there's a card for "Security Sacrifice," which details the duty of [[RedShirt security personnel]] to die so that the crew can achieve their objectives.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Video Games]]
114	* Chopper in ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' is the only member of Wardog Squadron to die under Blaze's command. He dies in pure HeroicSacrifice fashion, buying time for the civilians of a crowded stadium to evacuate under enemy attack.
115	* Appears to happen to Brick (along with Mordecai) near the end of ''VideoGame/Borderlands2''. The pair arrive to provide fire support during part of the final level, until their transport is overwhelmed and destroyed. It's a clear case of NeverFoundTheBody, though, so few players are surprised to find them [[DisneyDeath alive and well after the mission]].
116	* In ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', Jorge, Noble Team's only [[SuperPrototype Spartan-II]], dies when he heroically activates the slipspace bomb in the Covenant supercarrier, after throwing the player down to Reach. [[spoiler: Although most of Noble Team is dead by the end anyway, so it's really more of an EveryoneDiesEnding scenario.]]
117	* Sergei from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' is shot down as he holds open a closing metal gate.
118	* An interesting case of this occurs at the end of ''VideoGame/StarcraftII''. It's [[TheUntwist "revealed"]] that Tychus was working for [[TheEmperor Arcturus Mensk]] all along as a [[TheMole mole]], and has been given the task of killing [[LoveInterests Sarah Kerrigan]]. Tychus, whose [[PoweredArmor Power Suit]] has been rigged to kill him on Mengsk's command if he fails, forces a SadisticChoice on [[TheHero Raynor]] between him and Kerrigan. Ultimately Raynor picks Kerrigan, blocks Tychus' shot at Kerrigan with the shoulder of his armor, and shoots Tychus before he can react.
119	* ''VideoGame/FearEffect'' plays with this trope. Deke gets killed off in the first game, and it was not even a HeroicSacrifice. (In the true ending, he gets better.)
120	* Deliberately averted, along with BlackGuyDiesFirst, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. The developers' original plan was to kill off Barrett, but they decided he was too obvious, so they changed the victim to... [[ItWasHisSled someone else]].
121	* Mareg's death in ''VideoGame/GrandiaII'' comes fast and hard. During the escape from Valmar's Moon, he uses his huge frame to [[YouShallNotPass block off a chokepoint]], buying his friends enough time to get back on the ship. An insectoid flies at Mareg from behind and impales him with its stinger. When one (beast)man stays behind to hold off a million demons, there's really only one way it can end.
122	* Dom crashes a truck into a tanker full of flammable fuel in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 3'' to destroy the Locust and Lambent surrounding the group.
123	** In ''Gears of War 2'', Tai (who has so far been built up to be MadeOfIron, able to shrug off being inside an exploding vehicle without a care in the world) is captured by the Locust. When you later rescue him, he is covered with cuts and has hooks dug into his back, having been heavily tortured. Marcus hands him a gun, assuming he would be eager to get back to fighting and get some revenge on the bastards, but the torture had broken him so completely that [[DrivenToSuicide he immediately turns the gun on himself instead]]. An issue of the comic book shows that he even manged to fulfill the HeroicSacrifice part of this trope, as he was captured while rescuing Dizzy from Skorge.
124	** In an early issue of the comic, Barrick has a DyingMomentOfAwesome when he allows the rest of Delta Squad to escape from a group of Beast Riders on Bloodmounts by rushing in and beating the crap out of them with his bare hands. Given that he would have died in a few months/years anyway due to [[IncurableCoughOfDeath rustlung]], choosing to go out like a badass was undeniably the correct choice.
125	* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series:
126	** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', Urdnot Wrex is a roughly seven-foot-tall 330 lb living tank and the party's main heavy hitter. He is also the first squadmate in the series who can potentially be KilledOffForReal if you can't talk him down during a dispute on Virmire.
127	** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Grunt [[YouShallNotPass stays behind]] to give [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] and their team time to escape from Reaperized Rachni, killing over a dozen of the walking alien tanks with his shotgun, fists and [[GrievousHarmWithABody alien limbs wrenched from their owners]] before tackling one final foe off of a cliff. A rare subversion in that if the player had gained his loyalty in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', he can live through sheer badassery, [[DisneyDeath limping out of the cave covered in gore and asking for food]].
128	* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
129	** Basilio of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' is killed by [[OneManArmy Walhart]] on the battlefield despite being warned ahead of time by someone from [[BadFuture the future]] that he would die there. [[spoiler:Actually subverted; it's later revealed that Basilio was PlayingPossum. He ''did'' die in the [[BadFuture original timeline]], but because of the warning, he knew to play dead this time around rather than give into his pride and fight to the death.]]
130	** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', this can happen to Dedue Molinaro in both the Blue Lions and the Black Eagles routes. In Blue Lions, during the timeskip, Dimitri gets caught and sentenced to death by Cornelia. However, Dedue manages to break Dimitri out of prison and take his place, and if you did not complete his paralogue before the timeskip, he dies here. In the Black Eagles route, during the battle on the Tailtean Plains, Dedue will reveal that he took the Crest Stones out of the vaults and gave them to a few of the other soldiers plus himself, hoping that the inevitable transformation into Crest Beasts they induce will be enough to turn the tides in favour of the Faerghus army. He doesn't technically have to be the ''first'' to die in this battle, but since the layout of the battlefield naturally draws you past him on your way to Dimitri, it's ''extremely'' likely.
131	* Attempted by [[TheBigGuy Rand]] in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII''. At the last moment his mother takes his spot.
132	* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', Jiao ends up being the first member of the Chimeriad to perish when he decides to stand alone against the Arknoah group to buy the others time to escape. He manages to wipe out their ground forces, but ends up being done in by a cannon shot from one of their airships.
133	* If the player sides with the Railroad in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', the Brotherhood will find out their hidden base and attack them at one point. Glory, a Railroad Heavy who is their strongest named member will be fatally wounded while trying to [[YouShallNotPass hold the Brotherhood soldiers off from the front entrance]]. This takes place in normal gameplay, but it's a scripted event so even if you manage to kill all the Brotherhood troops before they can get a shot off, she'll still spontaneously expire.
134	* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', out of all your party members, it's Vandham that bites the dust, after he defends the rest of the party (while yelling at them to run away) from Torna at the Olethro Ruins in Uraya.
135	* During the FinalBattle in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'', fellow cop [[ScaryBlackMan Daniel]] sees Aya struggling to cause any damage to the FinalBoss. Once he realizes that Medea was trying to give Aya bullets laced with her cells so that she could kill the monster, Daniel swipes it, jumps out of the helicopter, ''catches on fire'' (the Ultimate Being, like Eve before him, can set people alight if they are in close proximity), and throws Aya the magazines with the special bullets to her before he crashes into the icy winter ocean below. Averted in the ending, where it's shown Daniel is completely fine and didn't suffer any injuries.
136	* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': In the last chapter, Bowser is the first member of the party to be lost, as he holds up a collapsing ceiling after defeating [[TheBrute O'Chunks]] to allow the rest of the party to escape. It's {{subverted}} in the end, though, as he and O'Chunks both ended up falling through the floor and surviving.
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
140	* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
141	** In every main game, the obligatory Big Guy [[StrictlyFormula always dies in Chapter 4, their death is always for a noble reason, and they always play a part in the murder itself beyond simply being the victim or culprit]].
142	*** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'': Sakura commits suicide to both atone for being TheMole and fulfill her end of the deal she made with Monokuma (he threatened to demolish her family's dojo unless she agreed to both be his mole and kill someone if no murder had happened in a while, [[ExactWords but he never specified it had to be someone else]]).
143	*** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': Nekomaru fought and lost against Gundham in a DuelToTheDeath as part of a SuicidePact (the cast were trapped in a funhouse with no food until a murder occurred, and they both decided to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice themselves to save everyone else]]).
144	*** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': Gonta commits murder after learning about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the (albeit fictional) state of the outside world]], and was convinced by [[ManipulativeBastard Kokichi]] that killing everyone before they could learn that horrible truth would be a [[MercyKill an act of mercy]] (in reality, Kokichi had learned that Miu was planning to kill him, so he manipulated Gonta into killing her first in order to save his own ass).
145	** Also happens in fangames, such as the ''Danganronpa Another'' series.
146	*** Kakeru from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaAnother'' is killed off to prevent him from foiling the killer's murder plot, and to add insult to injury, unlike the canon big characters and his successor, he dies in Chapter 3.
147	*** Shinji from ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganronpaAnother2'' is subjected to multiple murder attempts, and eventually [[HeroicSuicide sets himself on fire]] to try and save his attackers from execution.
148	* Yudai in ''VisualNovel/RagingLoop'' is the first to die on both the ''Yomi'' and ''Wit'' routes of the novel. He also dies on the ''Darkness'' route, but makes it much farther before Haruaki kills him.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Web Animation]]
152	* ''WebAnimation/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicCinematicUniverse'': When the final battle onboard the Star Forge takes place in ''Episode III: The Circle of Fate'', Zaalbar the Wookiee dies while saving his best friend Mission Vao's life and becomes alongside [[MentorOccupationalHazard Jolee Bindo]] the only member of the original crew of the ''Ebon Hawk'' who dies [[DeathByAdaptation unlike in the canonical walkthough]] of [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic the game the story's based on]].
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Webcomics]]
156	* In ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'', Pauline was more or less considered the main [[TheBigGuy Big Guy]] in the adventuring group, despite being female. She dies at the end of 'The First Book' and since she's female and the biggest badass female of the group she also qualifies for VasquezAlwaysDies.
157	* ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'': Krunch is killed when fighting against King Tavor.
158	* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', K'seliss is [[ImMelting liquefied]] by an [[TheUndead undead]] [[EldritchAbomination horror]]. ([[DyingMomentOfAwesome In his last moments]], he ''[[TakingYouWithMe bites its head off]]''.)
159	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' - Played straight for the PrecursorHeroes, who permanently disbanded after their muscle (Kraagor) died sealing the last rift. Played with for the Order themselves - their leader has already died and been revived, but the two most obvious "Big Guys" both have ominous prophecies over their heads. Belkar is scheduled to take his last breath before the in-universe year ends, while Durkon can only return home posthumously. [[spoiler: Then Durkon dies protecting Belkar and is brought back as a vampire.]]
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Web Original]]
163	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': While she doesn't die, Yang becomes the first member of Team RWBY to suffer a life-threatening injury when her right arm is sliced off above the elbow by Adam during the Battle of Vale. Also, Yang has the dubious honour of being the first member of Team RWBY to decisively lose a fight against an antagonist, which in her case would be Neo (and said case very nearly proved to be fatal for the poor girl too).
164	* Tetsuo Shingen of ''Roleplay/RouletteRampage'' is the largest and heaviest of the cast, and he bites it in Chapter 2 as a last minute target for that Chapter's killer. As it wont for a fanwork based off of ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}''.
165	* In the "sequel" to the [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong64 DK Rap]] by Music/BrentalFloss, Chunky Kong is dead, having passed away of unspecified causes in the time since the game came out.
166	[[/folder]]
167
168	[[folder:Western Animation]]
169	* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': Grundy, from the [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Most Definitely Not]] ComicBook/TheDefenders group, in "The Terror Beyond."
170	* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'': Spuds dies falling off his ridiculously high balcony while partying.
171	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'':
172	** [[TheBrute Breakdown]] is the first of the recurring cast to bite the dust. Made much crueler by virtue of the fact that Airachnid, who Breakdown admitted to having a crush on, is the one to kill him.
173	** The "big, heavy hitting guy" role in the Decepticon side seems to have the most lethal position in the Decepticon Army next to "mook Vehicon". Prior to Breakdown, Skyquake showed up and was killed off ''in his debut episode'', though he managed to hold his own against Optimus Prime and Bumblebee for a time. Later, Hardshell ends up getting killed in his second episode; though his actions in his first are ''another'' example of this trope.
174	*** And then Dreadwing bit the dust, though admittedly he was more a composite of TheBrute and TheDragon during Season 2.
175	*** While not dead, Predaking was made into a [[HumanPopsicle Robot Popsicle]] one episode after his introduction. It doesn't last.
176	** [[TheBigGuy Bulkhead]] is grievously injured in the finale of the mid-season arc, shot in the back by the Insecticon Hardshell. Ratchet managed to stabilize him, however, it appears the damage that Hardshell did to his chassis may be permanent; leaving whether or not Bulkhead will return to action an Open question.
177	*** He did return to action, but his recovery still took time before completion... For another example, Cliffjumper in the first episode was also a [[TheBigGuy Big Guy]], and he was the SacrificialLamb of the series.
178	* Though he didn't die, the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' version of Bulkhead is definitely aware of whose job it is to take the heavy hits.
179	--> '''Bulkhead''': [Charging forward] I'll keep him distracted. He always shoots at me first.
180	--> '''Blitzwing''': Let's see how tough you are without your big bolt-brained bruiser! [Fires shoulder cannons. Bulkhead is blown back, leaving a giant groove in the pavement.]
181	--> '''Bulkhead''': [weakly] Called it.
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Real Life]]
185	* OlderThanPrint: Saito UsefulNotes/MusashiboBenkei met his end buying Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his young wife time to kill themselves.
186	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BigGuyFatalitySyndrome