Line #29 Main/LastVillainStand


1	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/antimonitor_7.jpg]]]]
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3	-> ''"You wanna play, huh? Okay, Sosa...you wanna '''fuck with me?!''' Okay. You little cockroaches... come on. You wanna play games? Okay, I play with you; come on. Okay. '''You wanna play rough?! Okay! Say hello to my little friend!'''"''
4	-->-- '''Tony Montana''', ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}''
5
6	A Last Villain Stand is where the villain [[MookDepletion has lost his army]] ([[OneManArmy if he had one]]), his plan has been ruined, and he decides to fight the heroes on his own. Usually, he uses AppliedPhlebotinum or a PlotCoupon to take on a OneWingedAngel form (or at least [[MakeMyMonsterGrow grow to]] [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant size]]) and becomes more powerful than ever before. In video games, this is usually where the FinalBoss battle goes down.
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8	Usually, this is a desperate play by the villain when he has nothing left to lose, has gone through a VillainousBreakdown, and all that he's driven by now is a mad thirst for {{revenge}} for the heroes thwarting his plans to rule [[TakeOverTheWorld the world]], [[GalacticConqueror the universe]], or [[VisionaryVillain whatever he was after.]] He may take things to such an extreme that he doesn't care what happens to him as long as he destroys the good guys. Also, he may be deluding himself with the thought that it's not all over and that he will win somehow and may even tell it to his enemies, even when it's impossible to see how the tide can turn now. It usually ends with the villain being destroyed and the heroes coming out alive.
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10	There are some cases where this trope is inverted when the villain is a OneManArmy, his one man stand is not so desperate and he's still able to carry out his diabolical plans on his own. If this is the case, the villain is usually defeated when [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands a miracle happens and the heroes gain the power needed to defeat him]]. This requires a certain amount of VillainousValor, and if played correctly, it may shift the audience's sympathy a bit more toward him.
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12	Unlike a LastBreathBullet, the villain is still very much alive. However, this can still lead to TakingYouWithMe. Compare with LastStand, where it's the heroes who are the ones making the desperate play. May be a form of VillainousValour if the villain could easily escape but instead chooses to [[NobleDemon be noble]] and fight to the last. Contrast with VillainExitStageLeft, where the villain flees instead of staying to fight to the end. For a post-mortem last stand, see VillainousPlanInertia, as the villain's plan still needs to be thwarted even though he's gone.
13	----
14	!!Examples:
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16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
19	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
20	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'': Once cornered by the heroes and his identity as Kosaku is exposed, Yoshikage Kira attempts one last opportunity to activate [[GroundhogDayLoop Bites The Dust]] to turn back time and prevent his defeat.
21	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'': Diavolo's last stance against Giorno. Having left Doppio for dead, his Elite Guards all wiped out, and obtaining the Stand Arrow thwarted, Diavolo almost considered making a tactical retreat until seeing the arrow in Giorno's hand causes his pride to get the best of him and attempts one last strike.
22	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Steel Ball Run]]'': Funny Valentine, after being repeatedly BuriedAlive by Johnny's Tusk Infinite Rotation, attempts to bargain with Johnny so that he could obtain the holy corpse. Once his negotiations failed, Valentine still managed to bring in one last opponent to eliminate Johnny before he was killed.
23	* Just about every villain in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' has one of these. In fact, the dub version of the episode where Piedmon, the literal MonsterClown, met his destruction was called "Piedmon's Last Jest". Of course, these examples could be considered inversions as they were able to successfully deal with the heroes only to be defeated when one of the members unlocked their digimon's newest evolution, thus giving them the strength to overpower the villains — in Piedmon's case, it was when Angemon was able to digivolve into his Ultimate form.
24	* [[Characters/DragonBallFrieza Frieza's]] last shot at Goku, in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', certainly counts. Frieza had lost all his minions, failed to obtain immortality, had been demonstrated as not being the strongest in the universe, had even been cut in half ([[HoistByHisOwnPetard by his own attack, no less]]), and was only alive because he begged his enemy to give him enough energy to survive his injuries. Instead of using that energy to try to escape Namek before it exploded, he tries to kill Goku one last time, only for Goku to blast that energy right back in his face. He recovers, though, albeit only for a time-traveling Trunks to effortlessly blast him and his father to pieces.
25	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': The FinalBattle eventually turns into this for [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaAllForOne All For One]]: all of his plans are in ruins, his Vestige inside Shigaraki is destroyed, all of his minions are defeated, defected, or never actually loyal to him in the first place, and All For One himself mortally wounded and living on borrowed time. All he can do is flail wildly at the heroes trying to pin him down, unable to accept his ultimate plan has been ruined no matter what he does.
26	* Sugou, the BigBad of the Alfheim arc in ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'', attempts one last chance to kill Kirito in the real world, after being defeated in Alfhiem Online causes him to suffer a complete breakdown and lose everything he had planned to achieve. He comes close to winning, but Kirito gradually beats the crap out of him and leaves him nothing but a broken wreck.
27	* Megatron at the end of ''Anime/TransformersCybertron''. After he loses the [[CosmicKeystone Omega Lock]], his minions have deserted him, and his plan to reshape the universe to his own desire is foiled, he decides to go all out and ruin the Autobots' plan to save the Jungle Planet for [[ForTheEvulz no logical reason]] while challenging Optimus Prime to a final battle.
28	* During the Battle of Narita in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Viceroy Cornelia is cornered by the [[LaResistance Black Knights]] and opts to pull one of these rather than surrender and be taken prisoner, complete with appropriate last words. [[spoiler:This is [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when Suzaku shows up in his [[SuperPrototype Lancelot]] just in time to pull an [[VillainousRescue Anti-Villainous Rescue]].]]
29	* During his final battle against [[spoiler:Ichigo]] in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', [[spoiler:Grimmjow is sliced twice in the torso and stabbed in the heart]], but refuses to go down until [[spoiler:he is sneak-attacked by Nnoitra]].
30	* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' has had more than a few of these:
31	** The ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' episode "Big Zam's Last Stand" serves as one for Dozle Zabi and the titular [[HumongousMecha Big Zam]]. With his forces defeated by the Federation, Dozle sorties in the Big Zam, a prototype mobile armour, buying his troops enough time to retreat before he is killed by Amuro Ray. [[DyingMomentOfAwesome In the process he kills about half the Federation fleet, and nearly takes the Gundam with him]].
32	*** And ''then'', after the Big Zam is crippled by the Gundam and about to explode, he walks out in space and [[DefiantToTheEnd shoots the Gundam with an assault rifle]]. Amuro sees his determination to fight to the end embodied by a demonic spirit, and not only nearly craps himself from the vision, but ''almost forgot to get the Gundam away from the imminent explosion''.
33	** The last five episodes of ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' serve as one of these for BigBad [[DarkMessiah Paptimus Scirocco]] and the [[StateSec Titans]]. Outlawed by the Earth Federation, hunted by the AEUG, with their leadership in tatters and superweapons totalled, the Titans ally themselves with Haman Karn (the BigBad of the next installment, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'') who is planning to use then discard them and throw themselves into one last battle with the pursuing AEUG. There is no question that, no matter the outcome of the battle, Scirocco and his followers are going down, whether at the hands of their enemies or their allies. The only question remaining is how many heroes are [[TakingYouWithMe going down with them]]? [[spoiler:Thanks to [[HeroKiller Yazan Gable]], the answer is "most of them."]]
34	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'', [[BigBad Ribbons Allmark]] is forced to make a final stand [[spoiler:against Celestial Being after losing his [[TheDragon number one hitman]], his [[TheBrute Innovator henchmen]], the [[StateSec A-LAWS]], ''and'' control of the VEDA Supercomputer]]. [[spoiler:Despite managing to incapacitate [[SuperSoldier Allelujah]], Ribbons winds up getting his Reborns Gundam destroyed by [[TheHero Setsuna]] and the titular 00 Gundam, though not before disabling the 00 and commandeering the old 0 Gundam he used years before the plot began. When Setsuna re-obtains his old Exia Gundam, Ribbons, in full VillainousBreakdown mode, [[VillainousValor fights Setsuna to the very end]] despite having no means to escape and renew his plans, much less respawn through VEDA. He dies in a final charge against Setsuna and Exia, being ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice on the Exia's GN Sword Kai.]]
35	* In ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'', for the final chapter, the BigBad takes on a whole legion of dogs. The entire chapter is nothing ''but'' the FinalBattle, and the guy [[DoNotGoGentle does not go gentle]].
36	* ''Manga/OnePiece'' does it relatively scarcely, since thwarting the BigBad's plan typically has Luffy pummeling them enough to kill a normal person… ten or a hundred times over. However, there have been cases:
37	** The first BigBad that actually does it is Gekko Moria of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (''Shichibukai'' in Japanese); Luffy and his crew have wrecked his base and have just defeated his most powerful monster, and he himself is rather the worse for wear. So, in order to avenge himself upon them, he assimilates the 1,000 shadows he has on the island into his own body, absorbing all of their power and growing into a giant monster. Even in spite of the reduction in speed it gives him, and the fact that it's hard for even him to control that many shadows, it's still an effective One-Winged Angel form considering that the Straw Hats were on the brink of exhaustion and he was just buying time for the sun to rise[[note]]Moria's Devil Fruit that allows him to steal the shadows of others also renders them unable to ever stand in direct sunlight again, or else they will disintegrate. By that point, he had stolen the shadows of four of the five top members of the crew, including Luffy, and previous actions had forced his massive ship Thriller Bark out of the giant fog that it normally operates in and into clear water. Moria's final gambit was to last long enough for the sun to rise and kill most of his remaining competition, automatically giving him the win[[/note]].
38	** It's scarce in canon thus far, but there's a non-canon example at the start of the Grand Line saga with DragonInChief Eric, user of the Kama Kama no Mi (Sickle-Sickle Fruit). He sought out Millennial Dragons in order to obtain dragonite, a substance made from their bones which created the elixir of immortality. When the Straw Hats find the dragons' nest, Eric is ready to reap his rewards, but Luffy ends his hopes by sending him flying as a TwinkleInTheSky. Later, as the pirates are climbing Reverse Mountain, Eric confronts them, having stowed away, and announces his intent to reap Luffy's bounty as compensation for what he had done. Subverted, however, in that before he can fight, Nami pulls a LookBehindYou and then knocks him overboard.
39	** Surprisingly, of all the antagonists, [[spoiler:Donquixote Doflamingo has one of these in the Dressrosa arc. His toy slaves have been freed, he's been outed as the fiend he truly is to his subjects and lost his stranglehold on Dressrosa, all his executives have either been defeated or pulled a HeelFaceTurn, and he's been thoroughly trounced by Luffy's new Gear Fourth mode. As such, he decides to terminate everyone on the island by having his birdcage [[TheWallsAreClosingIn shrink around the island and destroy everything in its path]] while fighting Luffy for the last time. Fortunately, Luffy defeats him and in doing so, brings down the birdcage before it was too late]].
40	* Pretty much each and every time in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' when Team Rocket's plans are uncovered, they'll attempt a Pokemon battle. The large majority of these are culminate in a ten second CurbstompBattle that sends them blasting off again, though even now and then they get in a NotSoHarmlessVillain offense....but still get sent blasting off again.
41	* In the finale of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', after losing the godly power he had been trying to claim for centuries, an enraged [[BigBad Father]] decides to confront his enemies the Elrics in one final battle alongside every one of their allies. Of course, even without the power of Truth, he was still extremely powerful, and nearly won in his one-Homunculus stand.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Comic Books]]
45	* The Anti-Monitor, multiple times during the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''. After his fortress and army get destroyed, he decides it's time to take on all the heroes by himself at the dawn of time. When this partially fails, he gets so angry that he essentially forgets his goal of multiversal conquest and concentrates solely on destroying Earth, slowly and painfully. And when ''that'' fails, and the heroes think him defeated, he clings to life through sheer force of will, multiple times, finally fighting a one-on-one duel in a weakened state with the original Franchise/{{Superman}}.
46	--> ''"SUPERMAN... I... WILL... NOT... DIE... UNTIL... YOU... DIE... WITH... ME..."''
47	* In the prologue of Crossgen's ''ComicBook/{{Sojourn}}'', EvilOverlord Mordath's armies and even his entire fortress have all fallen before the hero Ayden and his alliance. Mordath rises up from the rubble wielding his battleaxe demanding that Ayden face him. At this point, he knows he has no chance of winning anymore. He just wants to meet the person responsible for his downfall face to face so he can have one good crack at him.
48	* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': When Wismerhill finally betrays BigBad EvilSorcerer Haazheel Thorn, the latter arrives in the royal palace with his elite guard to punish Wismerhill. When his forces are all killed by Wismerhill's, [[VillainousBreakdown Haazheel snaps]] and [[OneWingedAngel transforms into a giant humanoid demon]]. He almost wins the battle singlehanded in this form, killing pretty much all of Wismerhill's allies before Wismerhill rips his heart out and destroys his former mentor for good.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Fan Works]]
52	* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': Tigerstar fights on even as it becomes clear his last-ditch effort to attack the Clans and install the leaders he wanted in charge has failed, and manages to put up an impressive fight in the process, seeming to be unstoppable as he plows through cats. This culminates in him killing Iceheart and taking one of Blackstar's lives. It all gets put to an end when Jayfeather gets [[TheCavalry StarClan]] to show up.
53	* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfTime'' has Professor Moriarty making one final play at hurting the heroes and being restored to normal aging. He has the heroine BoundAndGagged and viciously [[BreakThemByTalking breaks]] [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]] [[BreakThemByTalking by talking]]. [[spoiler:It ends in three bullets: one from Moriarty to Beth's arm, one from Watson to Moriarty's body, and one from Moriarty to his own brain.]]
54	* In ''FanFic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed'', during the Equestrian Civil War, Princess Luna, upon losing the bulk of her forces at the Battle of Canterlot and knowing the war was lost, pulls this tactic with her remaining forces in the Battle of the Everfree Fields; in order to take down as many of Celestia's ponies with her army as she can.
55	* The ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'' has this happen with [[GeneralRipper General-Admiral Makarov]]/[[spoiler:[[HumanoidAbomination The Shadow of Chernobull]]]], the BigBad of the Shining Armor Arc. Over the course of that arc's FinalBattle, all of Makarov's superweapons are destroyed, while his army starts being forced back by Equestria and its allies, all throwing his "[[RealityWarper script]]" off the rails. Finally, due to the interference of Shining Armor and his squad mates, he finds himself facing down [[ClockRoaches the Blank Wolf]], which seeks to [[RetGone erase him]]; this makes him [[VillainousBreakdown break completely]], and he ends up fighting like a cornered animal, desperate to stay alive. [[spoiler:He loses.]]
56	** The Changelings as a whole do this at the climax of the Wedding Arc. With their masquerade broken, most of their higher ups captured, and their brainwashed SlaveMooks/[[HumanShield Equine Shields]] freed, they barricade themselves in Canterlot castle to face down the rebellion started by the Mane Six.
57	* ''Fanfic/TheEquestrianWindMage'' does this at the end of Season 2: [[ArcVillain Ganondorf's]] armies are crushed by the allied pony forces at the Battle of the Crystal Empire, his power is sufficiently drained by his own personal battle with the Princesses, and by this point the Mane Six and their allies have regathered all of the stolen Elements of Harmony (except Magic, which he's kept on himself), defeating all his Boss-level monsters in the process. So, he flees back to [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs occupied Canterlot]] in an attempt to regain his strength, only to be hunted down and confronted for the FinalBattle.
58	* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': At the end of "The Apokolips Agenda", ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s army has been routed, his universal domination ploy has been ruined, his fortress has been breached, and the heroes are closing in on him. So Darkseid decides to take all of them on. At once. And he almost ''succeeds''.
59	* ''Fanfic/ChasingDragons'': With his rebellion going down in flames, all the rest of the Iron Islands overrun by royalist forces and Pyke itself being besieged, Balon Greyjoy [[VillainousBreakdown goes completely mad]] and orders that every man, woman, and child on the island fight to the death. And true to form, he goes down fiercely himself when royal forces breach his throne room.
60	* ''Fanfic/ThereWasOnceAnAvengerFromKrypton'': During the climax of ''Changing of the Guard'', Vilgax has lost his ship and army, and is being overwhelmed by the Avengers and Alien Force, to the point that his HealingFactor can barely keep up. Despite this, he keeps going until [[spoiler: he's [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in Petrosapien crystal]] by Diamondhead]], even after Power Girl ''rips his arms off''.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
64	* An interesting case in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker''; after the Joker's KillSat control console is sabotaged, reprogrammed to destroy the lair where he and Terry (Batman II) were presently, he attempts a VillainExitStageLeft. Terry, however, doesn't allow it, and locks the door out to force him into one of these.
65	* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas'' has this with Maestro Forte, the court composer who was transformed into an OminousPipeOrgan with the enchantress's spell. His passion was gloomy music, which brought the Beast comfort after the curse took effect, making him a confidant and close friend to his Master. And he owed it all to the curse. In an effort to keep it unbroken, he tries to sabotage Beast's relationship with Belle, and he almost succeeds. But when love eventually overcomes the Beast's bitterness, Forte goes into a VillainousBreakdown and literally pulls out all the stops, [[spoiler:attempting to use the sound waves from his pipes to bring down the whole castle and kill Belle and Beast, stating, "They can't fall in love if they're DEAD!"]]
66	-->'''Forte''': So, Beast gets girl and it's a happy ending for everyone. Enchantment lifted, and Forte fades into the background. No longer important. No longer needed. '''I THINK NOT!'''
67	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': Scar is outed as the one who killed Mufasa at the end of the film, and begs Simba for mercy; when Simba opts to [[CruelMercy banish him]], Scar makes as if to leave... [[ISurrenderSuckers but then kicks burning embers into Simba's face and attacks him]].
68	* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' [[spoiler:Lord Shen has his entire army destroyed, has killed his own [[TheDragon Dragon]], and lost ''everything''. When Po finds him on the wreckage of his flagship in the middle of a VillainousBreakdown and offers him a LastSecondChance, Shen rejects it and does the one thing he'd been running from the entire film, fight Po himself in a final showdown. But as Shen attacks, he [[HoistByHisOwnPetard accidentally slashes the ropes holding up his destroyed cannon, causing it to fall and crush him to death]]. Despite his initial shock, however, [[FaceDeathWithDignity he simply closes his eyes and waits for it to drop]]]].
69	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', Shan Yu does this twice: after losing most of his army, he and a small band of his most badass henchmen [[XanatosSpeedChess come very close to victory anyway]], [[spoiler:and are prevented only by the [[CoolOldGuy Emperor's refusal to bow to him]] and Mulan's quick thinking.]] Following this, he tries to pull a TakingYouWithMe, and again comes very close to succeeding.
70	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'': BigBad Ratigan is utterly and completely defeated and OutGambitted - every single one of his options closed off by the heroes. He then resorts to attacking Basil head-on, with the singular intent of killing him.
71	* In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'', after the ants chase off his grasshoppers, Hopper decides to get revenge on Flik by kidnapping him as a rainstorm is starting, leading to him being pursued by Princess Atta and the circus bugs. After Atta saves Flik, Hopper pursues them, ultimately cornering Flik, saying that he hasn't won as he'll recruit a new army of grasshoppers to get his revenge on the ants, but not before he kills Flik. However, Hopper realizes too late that Flik [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath had led him to a bird's nest]].
72	* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', after the Incredibles have defeated the Omnidroid, his plan to be the world's greatest hero is ruined, and he's lost all his resources, Syndrome decides to invade the Incredibles' home and kidnap Jack Jack. Two factors that foiled it were Jack Jack's superpowers manifesting and Syndrome's [[WrongGenreSavvy genre savviness not including]] the concept of a CapeSnag.
73	* Occurs during the climax of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnoldTheJungleMovie'' with Lasombra [[spoiler:after being hit with a poison dart and falling over the cliff, he climbs back up, still infected with the poison, in a last effort to reclaim the Corazon. He then gets into a scuffle with Eduardo, which leads to the Corazon falling off of the cliff, much to his anger. Once it falls over, he makes one last attempt to take out the gang, before finally succumbing to the poison from the dart.]]
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
77	* The finale of ''Film/{{Sanjuro}}'' with the duel against tragic villain Muroto.
78	* Khan quotes [[Literature/MobyDick Captain Ahab]] at the end of ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''.
79	* ''Film/StreetFighter'': "What happened to the purity of unarmed combat?"
80	* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'': Colonel Miles Quaritch. After Eywa's intervention turns the tide against him, he escapes from his burning aircraft in his AMP Suit and goes straight for Jake's human body.
81	-->'''Jake''': Give it up, Quaritch! It's over.
82	-->'''Quaritch''': Nothing's over while I'm breathing!
83	* ''Film/JamesBond'':
84	** ''Film/DrNo'': Dr. Julius No forgoes fleeing his exploding lair and goes to confront Bond personally to kill him. When the fight extends to his base's cooling tank that starts boiling, No can't grip the metal structure of it and dies in the liquid.
85	** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'': SPECTRE Number One gives one last chance to Rosa Klebb to kill Bond and retrieve the Lektor. She tries killing Bond with a poisoned shoe blade after passing as a chambermaid and ends up killed with her own gun by Tatiana Romanova.
86	** ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'': Auric Goldfinger escapes the destruction of his base, corners Bond and Pussy Galore on a plane to the White House, holding them up with a literal golden gun, only to miss his target and shoot a window before being sucked out of the plane and [[DisneyVillainDeath falling to his death]].
87	** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'': Dr. Kananga tries to kill Bond with his knife. Both end up in the SharkPool. Bond makes Kananga swallow his helium gun bullet, which makes Kananga inflate like a balloon and explode on the ceiling.
88	** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': A special case since Francisco Scaramanga always wanted a DuelToTheDeath against Bond. He gets his wish, but not the desired outcome, obviously.
89	** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'': Karl Stromberg is cornered by Bond [[TableSpace at his table]] in the dinner room of his amphibious lair Atlantis. He makes one last attempt on Bond's life with a hidden gun that's as long as the table. Bond dodges and shoots him dead through the long gun's barrel.
90	** ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'': Even though Elliot Carver's stealth yacht was burning, he still had a backup plan. Unfortunately, after kicking Bond in the balls and holding him at gunpoint, he feels the need to explain this backup plan, giving Bond time to strike back and force him into the path of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own ship-sinking drill]].
91	--->'''Carver''': You're too late ''again'', Mister Bond. It's a bad habit of yours! There's nothing you can do. (…) The missile's fully programmed, it can't be stopped. In a matter of ''minutes'', my plan will succeed; and thanks largely to your efforts, the British Navy will destroy the evidence. And I'll be out of here, in a Carver News helicopter, covering the event. (''Bond, unknown to Carver, switches on the sea drill behind him'') It's going to be a ''fantastic'' show!
92	--->'''Bond''': [[PreAssKickingOneLiner I may have some]] ''[[PreAssKickingOneLiner breaking news]]'' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner for you, Elliot.]] (''punches and kicks Carver while he's distracted by the sea drill activating, and grabs him'') You forgot the first rule of mass media, Elliot! (''holds him up as it gets closer'') '''''[[PreMortemOneLiner GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!]]''''' (''lets go just '''seconds''' before the drill shreds Carver'')
93	** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'': Like Max Zorin before him, Dominic Greene forgoes leaving his own safety and confronts Bond with a fire axe. He doesn't die in the struggle, but [[AgonyOfTheFeet badly injures his foot]].
94	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
95	** ''Film/IronMan1'': Pepper manages to obtain evidence of Obadiah's villainy and get it to the authorities. Realizing he's screwed, Obadiah snaps and enters the Iron Monger suit in a desperate bid to kill everyone involved. Pepper outright says that he's gone insane.
96	** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': [[spoiler:After Loki summons Surtur on Thor's orders,]] there is no way left for Hela to win. She still fights [[spoiler:Surtur]] to the end.
97	* In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Zod does this when [[spoiler:his entire army is sealed in the Phantom Zone with his ship and all of his weapons. He even masters a full set of Kryptonian powers for the fight.]]
98	* In the climax of ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'', the Shredder, defeated and humiliated for the second time, drinks the last vial of mutagen, mutating himself into what Donatello calls a "Super-Shredder", an ogre-sized monster blinded by rage. Determined to crush his foes [[TakingYouWithMe even if he goes with them]] he tears the entire pier they're under apart until it collapses; fortunately, the Turtles are able to survive by leaping into the river, [[spoiler:and while it looks like the Shredder [[RaisedHandOfSurvival might make it out too at the end]], [[DeadHandShot he does not]].]]
99	* At the end of ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', the Operative didn't really need to come after Mal on his own, even if his Alliance support had their hands full fighting the Reavers. And yet, after failing to blow Serenity out of the sky due to said Reavers' arrival, he insisted on following Mal through an obstacle course with his sword.
100	* In ''Film/TheWolverine'', Shingen’s battle with Logan could be interpreted as this, as he has lost everything by that point, and he just throws himself into a battle he can't win.
101	* Interestingly, ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' ''starts'' with one, when, in the backstory, Sauron steps forward to oppose the Alliance army, after his orcs have seemingly all been vanquished. As covered by the second variety of the trope, he's [[OneManArmy quite]] capable of opposing them.
102	* In the climax of ''Film/ErnestScaredStupid'', after Ernest and Kenny wipe out his entire troll army which he had spent the entire movie raising, Trantor calls upon all the dark spirits within the tree to take on a OneWingedAngel form (becoming strong enough [[RemovedAchillesHeel to overcome]] [[WeaksauceWeakness his weakness to milk]]) for a final showdown with Ernest.
103	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome when the BigBad of ''Film/ErnestGoesToCamp'' tries this. Sherman Krader's construction company has been defeated by Ernest and his RagtagBunchOfMisfits and Krader is ''pissed''. Rather than simply go to the police (as his lawyer Blatz urged him to do: he legally owned the land the camp was on) he grabs his rifle and opts for this instead. Also a case of HoistByHisOwnPetard as doing this is the last straw for Blatz who pulls a MookFaceTurn and turns in Krader for getting the land illegally, leaving the man with nothing to show for his "stand" but charges of attempted murder and fraud.
104	* Takes place off-camera and with the villain taken captive in ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'', where as the wind starts blowing against the [[EvilOldFolks old night guards]], there's a moment where Reginald brandishes his ''cane'' at one of the exhibits as a weapon, offering that they can do this "the easy way or the hard way", and when he sees a sword leveled he just says, "Guess it's the hard way..."
105	* Inverted in the final act of ''Film/Gremlins1984'', as even though all the other [[GripingAboutGremlins gremlins]] had been wiped out except [[BigBad Stripe]], the head gremlin is not in a desperate situation, as he not only had [[TheHero Billy]] at his mercy a couple of times, but he just needed to get to water in order to [[ExplosiveBreeder recreate his army]], which made the situation into a RaceAgainstTheClock.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Literature]]
109	* The ''Literature/AlexRider'' series:
110	** Herod Sayle of ''Stormbreaker'' does this at the end of the book: his plans have been sabotaged, his CoDragons have been killed, and he's been publicly outed as evil. He plans to retreat far away and slowly build himself back up to power, but not before taking Alex's life. He fails in this because [[spoiler:the criminal organization that he was allied with now saw him as a liability, and had him killed right before he would have shot Alex.]]
111	** Also happens in ''Point Blank.'' Dr. Grief's plan has been exposed and consequently ruined, and he and his Dragon are killed by [=MI6=]. So, how does he pull this trope? [[spoiler:Julius Grief, his last clone who had been surgically altered into a doppelgänger of Alex, tricks him into meeting him alone. Then he tries to kill him, pulling YouKilledMyFather as his motive.]] After a struggle, the villain is barely defeated.
112	*** One could also count the Dragon, Eva Stellenbosch. She meets Alex during [=MI6=]'s invasion of the academy, and knowing that their plans were ruined, she decides to take what little vengeance she can by killing Alex.
113	** A genuine example in ''Crocodile Tears'': Desmond [=McCain=] confronts Alex after his attempt to become filthy rich at the cost of millions of lives is foiled, his Dragon and fiancée is killed, and he's left with absolutely no hope of ever being able to rebuild his life. He confronts Alex in a way that screams VillainousBreakdown, demanding him to kneel before him so that he can kill him. Alex survives [[spoiler:thanks to his last gadget, an explosive pen that he attaches to an oil drum, which he then sends rolling over to [=McCain=]. They have enough time for one last exchange before the drum explodes and kills him.]]
114	-->'''[=McCain=]''': Goodbye, Alex. You're going on a slow journey to Hell.
115	-->'''Alex''': [[PreMortemOneLiner Let me know what it's like.]]
116	* This is [[BigBad Voldemort's]] situation in the climax of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. [[spoiler: His [[SoulJar horcruxes]] have all been destroyed, his best {{mooks}} are either dead or on the run, and the boy he thought he'd just killed is still alive and telling him that no matter what he does next, he's already lost. Naturally, he makes one last attempt to kill Harry -- which backfires, leaving him KilledOffForReal.]]
117	* In Middle-Earth:
118	** Saruman in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' does this in the chapter "The Scouring Of The Shire", at the end of the third book. [[spoiler:Sauron is dead, the One Ring is destroyed, Mordor has fallen, the Orcs are in retreat, and the kingdoms of Man are being rebuilt. Even so, Saruman makes one more last ditch attempt to kill the Hobbits by having what's left of his army invade the Shire. At this point, there's really nothing to be gained from it but taking vengeance on them, since nothing Saruman does to the hobbits will let him claim victory. Even so, Saruman and his forces end up routed, leaving him in an even worse off place than before.]]
119	** Sauron at the end of the War of the Last Alliance; after losing most of his forces, he came out himself and faced ''both'' opposing leaders (Gil-Galad and Elendil) in a duel. He killed both of them, only to die himself (temporarily) when Elendil's son Isildur cut the One Ring off his hand. Subverted the previous time someone assaulted Sauron's fortress- when he realized that the [[TheEmpire Númenórean]] forces were too powerful for him to defeat, he came out to ''talk'', not fight- and he ended up [[MagnificentBastard wrapping them around his little finger]].
120	* Almost every villain in ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' has already lost the battle before their final fight with the hero of the book.
121	* Hagen in the ending of the ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'', because given that among other things he murdered Siegfried and Kriemhild's and Etzel's infant son, there should be no question that he is a villain.
122	* The first ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' book has this, of the OneManArmy variety. Throughout the book, killing the Lord Ruler is treated as the most insane objective of an already impossible-seeming plan to overthrow TheEmpire. When the final stage of the plan is put into action, Vin meets the Lord Ruler face to face and realizes that yes, he can indeed still kick all their asses singlehandedly. The garrison is mostly absent; what's left has either defected or been defeated; the nobles are all hiding in their keeps if they haven't outright surrendered; and the order of [[TheDragon dragons]] has been destroyed from within. But even as the resistance army [[ZergRush Zerg Rushes]] the palace, the Lord Ruler decries them as [[OhCrap beneath his notice]]. Somehow, Vin has to figure out how to kill him. Cue FinalBoss battle.
123	* ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'': [[spoiler:Merrin Meredith's]] fight against Septimus in the river in ''Darke'' can be seen as this, since he's just lost his dragon and the control over the Darke Domaine and has barely anything to lose.
124	* Several ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' villains do this, because most ''Discworld'' heroes try to foil the villain's EvilPlan first or break the villain's power in non-fighting ways: The actual physical showdown then comes afterwards when the villain's danger level has gone from 'dangerous to the world' to 'dangerous to the heroes personally' and [[AndYourLittleDogToo are looking for payback for their ruined plan]]. For an incomplete list, this is pulled by villains in ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', ''Literature/MenAtArms'', ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'', ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'', ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', ''Literature/{{Night Watch\|Discworld}}'' and ''Literature/MakingMoney''. One early example is ''Literature/WyrdSisters'', where Lady Felmet chooses to charge the manifestation of [[GeniusLoci Lancre's spirit]], a horde of assorted woodland critters acting with one mind and purpose, despite being outnumbered, unarmored, and wielding only a knife. She is implicitly DevouredByTheHorde. The villains of ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'' and ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' actually have this trope defied on them when someone else decides to ShootTheDog instead of letting them come back to haunt the heroes.
125	* At the end of ''Literature/WatershipDown,'' General Woundwort has been faced down by the heroes' BigGuy and his troops utterly demoralized by the WaifProphet. Then the Down rabbits' ''real'' plan comes into play - turning a large dog loose against the Efrafans. Even now, Woundwort ''will not'' seek sanctuary with his enemies. He dies fighting.
126	* In "The Final Problem", Literature/SherlockHolmes spends most of the story dodging Professor Moriarty's attempts to do away with him, even going so far as to flee England to the continent. He does this because his plan is to wrap up Moriarty's entire operation at a single stroke, but to his frustration Moriarty himself escapes. When Watson is tricked into leaving Holmes alone at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, Moriarty arrives to avenge himself (but not before giving Holmes a few minutes to write a farewell note). The resulting struggle sends both men off the cliffs into the Falls... or so it seemed.
127	* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends: Literature/NewJediOrder'': Supreme Overlord Shimmra's epic final duel with Luke as [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Yuuzhan Vong]] army suffers a final, crippling defeat ''seems'' like this trope, [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope but in reality]], Shimmra is the mind-controlled PuppetKing of [[TheManBehindTheMan Onimi]], and the dramatic last stand is actually just the real BigBad leaving his pawn to die as a distraction while he pulls a VillainExitStageLeft.]]
128	* ''Literature/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'': In Volume 19, [[BigBad Fugil]] is left with a damaged Bahamut copy and Ouroboros's main body is destroyed, cutting him off from his most powerful abilities. On top of that, Lux and the AI version of Arshalia tell him that his [[WellIntentionedExtremist mission]] is impossible because Sacred Eclipse's inherently flawed design prevents it from being properly controlled. He still continues fighting Lux until he dies because he can't think of any other solution to balance the world and because he doesn't think Lux is qualified to be a hero.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
132	* ''Series/Akumaizer3'': After the Akuma Clan invasion is stopped an episode before, the BigBad equips TheBrute with a weapon that makes him [[TheJuggernaut virtually invincible]] and sends him out on a rampage in the final episode as a final attempt to defeat the Akumaizer 3. [[spoiler:He succeeds, allowing him to have another go at taking over the world in the SequelSeries.]]
133	* The ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' series has several examples of this:
134	** In ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'', after Trakeena [[MookDepletion loses her entire army]] (though that was because she had them [[SuicideAttack perform kamikaze tactics]]), her ship is destroyed, and all her minions are gone, she enters the cocoon her father made for her to take on the OneWingedAngel form she was destined for and in an act of pure desperation, powers up the remains of the Terra Venture and attempts to crash it into the planet Mirinoi where the colony had flown to in an attempt to destroy them and the Power Rangers. Either she overlooked the fact that she would die too if she succeeded, she felt she was powerful enough to survive the crash, or she was just trying to pull a TakingYouWithMe.
135	** ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' has Ransik taking a last stand as well. [[spoiler:It is inverted when he nearly wipes out the Rangers single-handed - he gets his visor blown off, but it ends up with just him and a demorphed, barely-standing Jen. He's only "defeated" when he attacks his own daughter by mistake, at which point he realizes that being so obsessed with his hatred almost cost him the only one he loved. After that, he surrenders.]]
136	** An inverted version of the trope appears at the end of ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce''. Even though the [[SupervillainLair Nexus]] is destroyed, he has no more monsters, and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere his Co-Dragons have walked out on him]], Master Org's final form after completing his transformation using the Org Heart is that of a OneWingedAngel so powerful that he singlehandedly brings the rangers the closest they've been to being defeated by destroying all of their Wild Zords, stripping them of their powers, and causing the Animarium to fall out of the sky. He very nearly won [[DeusExMachina until the Wild Zords miraculously returned with all the lost Wild Zords, giving the rangers more power than ever, enabling them to destroy Master Org once and for all]].
137	** ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' has this as well with BigBad Mesogog: His minions are gone, his base is destroyed, his plans are ruined, and his [[TheDragon Dragon]]-turned-[[TheStarscream Starscream]]'s massive Zord failed to defeat the rangers. Mesogog then confronts the rangers, and states that he managed to absorb enough power from their Dino Gems to complete his transfiguration. After saying the line below, [[spoiler:he [[OneWingedAngel evolves into Mesomonster]], a [[SelfDuplication self-replicating]] and nearly invincible beast. It takes literally everything the rangers have to destroy him.]]
138	-->'''Mesogog''': Witness the face of...your final battle!
139	** In ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'', Emperor Gruumm ultimately takes a last stand as well. [[spoiler:After his army is destroyed and Omni has fallen, Gruumm erupts from the rubble of Omni's mechanical body and challenges his nemesis Doggie Cruger to one last battle. When Doggie wins, Gruumm orders him to end it, but Doggie refuses, instead cutting his other horn off and arresting him.]]
140	** In ''[[Series/PowerRangersMegaforce Power Rangers Super Megaforce]]'', it's not the overall leader of the Armada, Emperor Mavro, who makes the last stand -- [[spoiler:as he was killed beforehand at the hands of the rangers. The remnants of the Armada, who are a colossal army of X-Borgs, do; making this a subversion of the DecapitatedArmy trope. It takes the efforts of every Power Ranger in existence to finish off the remnants]].
141	* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':
142	** ''Series/ChoujuuSentaiLiveman'': After Yusuke stops the [[ImmortalityImmorality Giga Brain Wave]], [[BigBad Great Professor Bias]] is forced to de-age himself to a child in order to stay alive. With his MassHypnosis plan having gone kaput and now stuck as an [[BrattyHalfPint impulsive kid]], the Great Professor opts to go on one last rampage with the [[SpaceBase Brain Base]] and eat dinner while enjoying the chaos. [[spoiler:Which is cut short when the rest of the Livemen knock the Brain Base and the students Bias sacrificed for the Brain Wave rebel against him, causing him to revert to his true age as a senile old man. The best Bias can do after that is have [[TheDragon Guardnoid Gash]] send a MonsterOfTheWeek to hold off the Livemen and bring him to safety, where his old age ultimately does him in.]]
143	** ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'': Even though the Gokaigers blow up his flagship and destroy the Zangyack Empire fleet, [[BigBad Emperor Akudos Gill]] survives it no worse for the wear and fights the Gokaigers in a final battle, and ''boy'' does he prove to be a tough opponent to take down. An attack from the Gokaigers using the powers of all 35 Sentai teams and multiple finishing attacks are required just to break ''his sword''. It ultimately takes a point blank cannon blast to finish him off.
144	* ''Franchise/KamenRider''
145	** Very common in the original ''Series/KamenRider'' series and ''Series/KamenRiderV3''. Each of the Shocker and Destron executives face down their Kamen Rider after he's defeated their armies of monsters and thwarted their plans enough, transform into a monstrous form with incredible power behind it, and fight him one on one.
146	** In ''Series/KamenRiderAmazon'', even after Amazon has claimed the [=GaGa=] Armlet, the BigBad still tries to have one last go at him.
147	** Happens by default in ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', since [[spoiler:Jun Kazu[=/=]Utopia Dopant didn't actually have any minions or allies, and he's all that's left standing after [[BigBad Ryubee Sonozaki]] was defeated a couple of episodes before]].
148	** ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': After depowering [[BigBad Kamen Rider Cronus]] from his [[OneWingedAngel Gamedeus form]] and stymying his plan to control everyone, the Doctor Riders still have to give him one last beatdown in order to defeat him.
149	** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'': Even though his endgame was thwarted in the penultimate episode and he's rapidly losing power in the finale, [[BigBad Evolt]] remains convinced he can pull out a win and fights one last battle against Sento.
150	* On ''Series/{{Angel}}'' after her brainwashing powers are lost, Jasmine declares that if she can't rule the world she's going to destroy it. She shrugs off everything Angel tries to throw at her, but we don't get to see how she actually intends to accomplish her new goal because [[spoiler:Connor, whose [[NotBrainwashed immunity to her powers]] apparently stretched to ignoring her invulnerability, shows up and kills her]].
151	** In the season 3 premiere, kills a vampire who he then realizes was Elisabeth, who, with her boyfriend James, were friends with Angelus and Darla for a time. James decides he has nothing left to live for other than revenge against Angel and undergoes an operation in which his heart is removed, guaranteeing he will die in 24 hours, but rendering him invulnerable until then.
152	* The 9th season finale of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' has Preacher Justin Mills do this against the FBI and the local police. [[spoiler:It's actually invoked by the DirtyCops in order to set him up as the killer, but by this point, the BAU has deduced he's being set up.]]
153	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
154	** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen "The Tomb of the Cybermen"]], after the Cybermen have either been sealed back in their Tombs or destroyed, the Cyber Controller makes a last attempt to leave the Tombs. This is stopped by the HeroicSacrifice of Toberman, who [[YouShallNotPass closes the doors]] giving them both an electric shock. Although it is revealed in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E1AttackOfTheCybermen "Attack of the Cybermen"]] that the Controller survived.
155	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E6TheAgeOfSteel The Age of Steel]]", after the heroes disable John Lumic's Cybermen and escape from the factory on an airship, their flight is momentarily halted when Lumic himself chases after the heroes and tries to climb on board. He is put down for good when Pete uses the Doctor's screwdriver to cut the rope ladder, sending Lumic falling back down into the exploding factory below.
156	* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': At the end of "The Boy Who Knew Her Secret", [[spoiler:a shape-changing alien criminal has been cornered by Wonder Woman after his elaborate plan has failed]]. Desperate and outraged, he [[spoiler:changes his form into one that can rival Wonder Woman in power]].
157	--> '''Wonder Woman:''' You see, you didn't get rid of me after all. You slipped up. That's what usually happens at the beginning of the end.
158	--> '''Alien:''' Beginning of the end for whom, Wonder Woman?
159	* ''Series/ChouseishinSeries'':
160	** ''Series/ChouseishinGransazer'': Even after his conspiracy has been exposed, [[spoiler:Belzeus]] still tries to take out the Gransazers one last time with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Cabryon]]. [[spoiler:Who gets obliterated in less than a minute by a fully-formed and supercharged [[CombiningMecha Dai-Sazer]].]]
161	** ''Series/GenseishinJustiriser'': The Justirisers defeat the massive GiantMook army the villains sent and blow up the [[TheBattlestar Diglos]], but their mecha are trashed and [[spoiler:they (seemingly) lost two of their own in the process. Which results in an [[VillainousValor undaunted]] Kurogane deciding to finish the rest of the heroes off.]]
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:Theater]]
165	* OlderThanSteam: Shakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'':
166	-->''I will not yield,''
167	-->''To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,''
168	-->''And to be baited with the rabble's curse.''
169	-->''Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane,''
170	-->''And thou opposed, being of no woman born,''
171	-->''Yet I will try the last. Before my body''
172	-->''I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff,''
173	-->''And damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'''
174	* Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RichardIII'', who refuses a chance to escape so he can keep fighting. The play is one of the best examples of HistoricalVillainUpgrade but this is very much TruthInTelevision. Richard III died in battle, leading a cavalry charge that nearly killed Henry VII.
175	[[/folder]]
176
177	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
178	* This occurs in the finale of the former ''Ride/JimmyNeutronsNicktoonBlast'' ride at [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal Studios Florida]], when King Goobot, after having his plans completely ruined, comes down to earth on his own to exact his vengeance against the heroes.
179	[[/folder]]
180
181	[[folder:Video Games]]
182	* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': C, after Ann has fully prevented his scheme of obtaining the [[ArtifactOfDoom Dypheus' Breath]] and is now surrounded, leaves him with the only option of eliminating everyone in his way until he can start his plan over again.
183	* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
184	** While every Mega Man boss is willing to hop in a mech or whip out a new battle body when you finally confront them, Epsilon of ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' is a little different in that he's fueled not by desperation, but by belief in his ideals and goal. [[spoiler:He's also a little different in that he's not the FinalBoss.]]
185	-->"I can see you are determined. But [[TheDragon Scarface]]...I will not run from this fight. For I know that this bridge must be crossed to achieve our ideal. They will tremble before the power of...Epsilon!"
186	** ''VideoGame/MegaManX6'' is an odd example, with the FinalBoss being, of course, Sigma. Only Sigma wasn't involved at all in the plot of the game, only being around because BigBad Gate brought him back to life for some reason, and [[HijackedByGanon kills him when he tries to use him as]] ''his'' last resort. He's also in awful shape, [[CameBackWrong having been brought back before he fully recovered from his defeat in the last game]], and looks like a shambling zombie. The only reason he bothers to fight at all is because X and Zero sought him out, hoping to put him down again before he can regain his strength.
187	** Late in ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' you've blown up literally everything [[SkyPirate the Bonnes]] have thrown at you, foiled all of their plans, and shot down their flagship ''The Gesellschaft'' (which, if you played ''The Misadventures of Tron Bonne'' you'd know is a massively crushing blow to them), and all they have left is what amounts to an escape mech with a basic machine gun and missile launcher for weapons. Rather than flee or regroup they are ''pissed'' and bring it around for one final attack. Even when you're clearly more than a match for them they keep coming at you until all they have left is blown out of the sky along with them. [[spoiler:[[JokerImmunity Or so you think]].]]
188	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
189	** At the end of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina Of Time]]'', Ganondorf, after all his temple bosses are destroyed, his soldiers have all been eliminated, and even [[CollapsingLair his castle is demolished]], flies into a VillainousBreakdown fueled rage and uses the [[CosmicKeystone Triforce of Power]] to transform into Ganon for one last battle with Link.
190	** Minus the transformation (he did that earlier with some puppets), Ganondorf does the same thing at the end of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' as the heavens [[spoiler:actually the OCEANS]] rain down around them and Hyrule is lost to him forever.
191	** And in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', after the Twilight has been purged from Hyrule and is unlikely to return, Zelda has been freed, and Hyrule Castle destroyed, Ganondorf does it again, first on horseback and then on foot.
192	** At the end of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', Chancellor Cole's evil plan is thwarted when Link manages to free Zelda's body from the possession of Malladus, who goes on to [[DevourTheDragon possess Cole instead]]. Malladus's spirit starts fading due to Cole's body being incompatible, but he nevertheless tries to cause as much destruction as possible with the time he has left, which leads to the final battle.
193	** Regardless of the above pattern, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' provides an inversion, as the whole point of rescuing the maidens in the Dark World was to get Link into a position where he could kill Ganon before the latter could escape into the Light World. If the last fight was lost, Ganon would theoretically [[NothingCanStopMeNow have been able to proceed with his plan]].
194	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', Princess Zelda says that [[spoiler:Calamity Ganon's final transformation into Dark Beast Ganon is a last ditch effort to kill Link and destroy Hyrule]].
195	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'', [[spoiler:Ganondorf is so desperate to win his fight against Link that he swallows his secret stone, turning himself into the Demon Dragon.]]
196	* Desann in ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast'' still chooses to duke it out with Katarn, despite losing his entire fleet and most of his strike troops having been wiped out by the Jedi. Admittedly he doesn't even know the attack has failed until Kyle tells him just before the fight, and the entire thing was a diversion to get him to the Academy basement where the fight takes place anyway.
197	* [[spoiler:The Elder]] Princess Shroob in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', after the Shroobs are defeated and [[PostClimaxConfrontation the game is seemingly over]], fuses with Bowser in a last-ditch attempt to kill the Mario Bros. and their baby selves.
198	* By the time you reach Colonel Autumn in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', the Enclave has been utterly annihilated by your indestructible 40-foot tall super-robot, and all that's left of Autumn's army is him and his 2 bodyguards. Despite this, he proclaims that "the Enclave is at the height of its power!" and seems [[SuicidalOverconfidence suicidally overconfident]] that he can take you, despite being a massively underpowered ZeroEffortBoss.
199	* Mook example: Behemoth Kings in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' start off pretty strong, and when their HP gets down to half, they [[TurnsRed stand up.]] But it's when they're at under 10% HP that they're at their most dangerous: they'll start spamming [[ThatOneAttack Sunder]] ''every few seconds''! If you're not prepared for it, this ''will'' kill you then and there. (At this point it's easy enough to one-shot your Medic, and the battle is pretty much Unwinnable from there.)
200	* [[TheDragon Araman]] pulls this in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' after [[spoiler:you win your Crusade against the Fugue Plane]]. Considering [[spoiler:you've killed him once already]], and your party likely consists of four [=30th=]-level characters, this qualifies him as TooDumbToLive.
201	* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
202	** Liquid Ocelot in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''. Even after having most of his forces wiped out, from his Metal Gears being destroyed to his elite soldiers being essentially lobotomized after the destruction of the Patriots ([[ItMakesSenseInContext long story]]), he still faces Snake in one final, climactic boss battle atop Outer Haven. This is actually a rather interesting example, because at this point he's actually won. He chooses a Last Villain Stand because his mission is complete and he's now just an old soldier, looking for a worthy final battle (and believes the same is true for Snake).
203	** Liquid in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is another great example. After losing his standing army, all his allies, and Metal Gear, with no hope of attaining any of his initial objectives, he survives a missile to the face (the very same missile that ruined his superweapon). Assuming they are going to be hit by an air strike and die anyway, he decides to take out his frustration on Snake. He sets up a one-on-one duel with Snake, with a suitcase-nuke set to go off in three minutes on top of the destroyed superweapon with Snake to prove his superiority (even though, as previously stated, he took a missile to the face, said missile was also strong enough to knock out Snake; the one who fired it). After Snake defeats him, he seemingly falls to his death, yet still manages to chase them in a machine gun car fight. Then, after surviving a car crash, he still crawls after Snake, ready for murder. Only then does he finally die from a virus he received upon first coming into contact with Snake, meaning his entire encounter was one last stand even before losing everything else.
204	** Solidus in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' as well. [[GreaterScopeVillain The Patriots]] reveal right before the final battle that they have [[OutGambitted manipulated Solidus every single step of the way into doing their bidding]], rendering his entire [[WellIntentionedExtremist plan to stop them]] pointless. He still fights Raiden to the death anyway, with the implication that he didn’t entirely care who won or lost anymore as long as the winner continued fighting the Patriots. Ultimately he chooses to go out in a blaze of glory fighting his former protege after losing everything else.
205	* Dahau in ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesIII''. He refuses to obey the peace treaty, and with what remains of his troops, he activates a Valkyrian superweapon. In fact, in this battle, he ''can't'' die, even if you sic your Valkyria at him; you must deactivate the superweapon.
206	** The FinalBoss battle with Maximillian from the original ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles''. [[spoiler: The Valkof, the whole reason he invaded Gallia to begin with, is destroyed, the Marmota, while still operational, is severely damaged, and Faldio is off setting it to self-destruct, and while Maxmillian still has his artificial Valkyria setup, it only works as long as he's on the Marmota. Him showing up to kill Squad 7 is really just a last desperate bid to regain control of the situation.]]
207	* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games like this trope:
208	** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'': Jarod, the ClimaxBoss of Part 1, is a scary example of what a villain in this situation is capable of. Towards the end of Part 1, he is scapegoated for the Begnion occupation army's tyranny over Daein by his superiors. He receives orders from the Apostle to stand down and await the Apostle's inspection team, which would all but certainly end with his execution for the crimes committed against the people of Daein. Knowing that he's a dead man walking, he tries to assassinate Micaiah but is stopped by none other than [[TheDreaded the Black Knight himself]]. With his back to the wall and nowhere to run, he decides that, rather than wait for his inevitable execution, he'll lead his troops in one last blaze of glory against Micaiah. He [[ShootTheMessenger kills the Apostle's emissary]], [[DeathFromAbove pretty much destroys the Daein capital with catapults]], and gives a pretty damn good RousingSpeech to his men before engaging Micaiah's army for TheLastDance.
209	** Happens in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. After most of his forces are either decimated or mass deserted and even the ReligionOfEvil, the Grimleal had abandoned him, Gangrel, the king of Plegia, makes his last stand in a wasteland with only the few troops left that are loyal to him. ''OminousLatinChanting'' is playing in the background.
210	** Happens at least once on each of the routes in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
211	*** On Azure Moon, Verdant Wind, and Silver Snow, it comes with the final confrontation with [[spoiler:Emperor Edelgard of Adrestia. Her OneWingedAngel form even makes an appearance in Azure Moon, which is the same route where Edelgard is the FinalBoss.]] In the final confrontation, the player character's army batters down all available defenses until it comes down to close-quarters fighting in [[CapitalOffensive the city]], [[StormingTheCastle the palace]], and eventually [[ThroneRoomThrowdown the actual throne room]]. The map is even a [[PointOfNoReturn two-part event with no break in-between]], because there's no time to be wasted between taking the city and the castle itself. Afterward, the nation on the losing end ceases to be a politically significant entity.
212	*** In Verdant Wind and Silver Snow, [[spoiler:those who slither in the dark are reduced to this after the loss of Edelgard and the Adrestian Empire and the discovery of their ElaborateUndergroundBase. Their leader, Thales, goes out in an attempt at TakingYouWithMe with [=ICBMs=]. Only in Verdant Wind does [[FinalBoss Nemesis]] come into play afterward.]]
213	*** On Crimson Flower, [[spoiler:Rhea/Seiros, now well and truly insane]] deliberately invokes this during the final battle when the villain gives the order [[BattleAmongstTheFlames to set fire to the entire city]] in a last-ditch effort to kill the player character's army and refusing to let any of the civilians leave. The heroes are forced to engage [[TheRemnant the last remnants]] of the enemy's army in the burning city before facing the villain [[spoiler:in her full OneWingedAngel glory, angrily ranting about how she's been betrayed.]]
214	* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', Albert Wesker has lost practically everything by the end. He's killed off and betrayed all of his allies, his resources are gone, and the heroes have just managed to crash his plane robbing him of his only chance to unleash his bioweapon upon the world. All he has left is a single canister of the bioweapon. Wesker refuses to surrender and [[OneWingedAngel exposes himself to the bioweapon]] (which WordOfGod confirms would have eventually consumed him). All for one last chance to finally kill his hated ArchEnemy Chris Redfield.
215	* The ending of ''Videogame/BaldursGate'' features this. Unmasked before the public as the mastermind of the entire iron shortage and attempted war with Amn, Sarevok flees into some caves underneath the city with his most loyal subordinates so he can go down fighting all the interest groups (the Iron Throne, the Flaming Fist, the PlayerCharacter) now out for his head.
216	* ''VideoGame/FullThrottle'' has Ripburger pulling this after Ben exposes him as Malcolm's killer, ruining his plans to take over Corley Motors. He chases after Mo and Ben in a stolen semi, and his plan is to pull a TakingYouWithMe by driving them off of Poyahoga Gorge.
217	* At the end of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', after the Kongs deactivate the [[WaveMotionGun Blast-]][[ThingOMatic o-Matic]] before it can destroy Kong Island and [[MookFaceTurn K.Lumsy]] thwarts [[VillainExitStageLeft his escape attempt]], [[BigBad K.Rool]] has a FinalBattle with the Kongs in a fixed boxing match.
218	* In ''Videogame/ForHonor'', this is how Seijuro plans to go out during the Samurai campaign, exhorting to his few followers that they will die like warriors when Ayu and her army shows up to take the Imperial Palace, which is the final obstacle to reuniting the Dawn Empire after a brief civil war erupts over the previous Emperor's death. Ultimately, it is [[spoiler:averted; while Seijuro's guards are defeated by Ayu and [[PlayerCharacter the Orochi]], the Orochi ends up sparing Seijuro because [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou his skills as a general are needed for the war with the Blackstone Legion]].]]
219	** The game's BigBad, Apollyon, ends up in one of these when the reformed Iron Legion and the Dawn Empire lay siege to her fortress. Ultimately, she ends up in a protracted, brutal final duel with the Orochi, which ends with her [[MotiveRant explaining her motivations as she is dying]], and the Orochi [[WorthyOpponent allowing her the time to say her final words before her death]].
220	* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
221	** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', FinalBoss Marluxia and his [[TheDragon dragon]] Larxene, [[TheStarscream powerful Organization XIII members who intended to overthrow the current leader Xemnas]], had their entire plan destroyed by [[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent Axel]] at the end of the game. Marluxia and Larxene planned to manipulate Sora into doing their bidding by using Namine’s powers. But since Axel released her from their control and Namine became able to reveal the scheme, making Sora able to go against their plan and [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves probably preventing them from returning to the Organization at this point as well]], they each resorted to just trying to kill Sora in a last-ditch effort for their lives instead.
222	** Xemnas himself ends up in this situation in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. His entire plan was to [[GodhoodSeeker build his own Kingdom Hearts and fuse with it to become a god.]] But once his former mentor, Ansem the Wise, destroys this fake Kingdom Hearts with his machine, Xemnas is left with a broken shell of what he was going to have, his entire organization already destroyed by Sora and no more Keyblade wielders willing to help him rebuild it (better yet, focused on killing him instead). He laments that "(his) Kingdom Hearts is ruined" before going mano a mano with Sora...and after he loses, fuses with the destroyed version anyway in a last attempt to kill the heroes.
223	* [[spoiler:Ortas]] in ''VideoGame/LastScenario'' spends most of the story as TheChessmaster, manipulating events from afar. After his [[InTheBack literal backstab]] by [[spoiler:Castor]], he attacks the heroes in a grief-fueled rage, lamenting the ruination of his plans.
224	* In ''[[VideoGame/MakeAGoodMegaManLevelContest Make a Good 48 Hour Mega Man Level]]'', when Box Cartel leader and BigBad Don Atetemino finally comes face-to-face with Mega Man, [[spoiler:it's all but said he ''knows'' he doesn't stand a chance against him. Doesn't stop him from staying behind in the Cartel Hideout for a final showdown, urging his [[CriminalFoundFamily fellow Cartel members]] to escape while they can. And had they not been loyal enough to stick around, Don Atetemino would have been content handing himself over to the authorities.]]
225	* In ''VideoGame/Shantae2002'', after Shantae destroys the doomsday weapon that Risky Boots spent the whole game assembling, Risky attacks Shantae in a final act of revenge, triggering the final battle.
226	[[/folder]]
227
228	[[folder:Web Animation]]
229	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Adam starts out as a powerful character who [[PsychoExBoyfriend dominates Blake's thoughts]] even after she's escaped him. At the height of his power, he controls the entire [[WesternTerrorists White Fang]], has helped bring down [[ExtranormalInstitute Beacon Academy]] and is on the verge of bringing down [[ExtranormalInstitute Haven Academy]]. [[spoiler:However, his [[SanitySlippage deteriorating mental state]] and increasing [[FatalFlaw obsession]] with reclaiming Blake causes him to unravel until both Menagerie, led by Blake, and the White Fang [[TheNeidermeyer turn on him]], forever destroying his dream of [[ANaziByAnyOtherName creating a world]] where [[MasterRace Faunus]] subjugate [[SlaveRace humanity]]. Abandoned and alone, Adam hunts down Blake for a fight to the death, [[NeverMyFault blaming her]] for everything he's lost.]]
230	[[/folder]]
231
232	[[folder:Western Animation]]
233	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In the GrandFinale, [[MindHive The Core]]'s "final gambit" against the heroes is that if it can't have what it wants after the invasion of Earth was stopped, then it resorts to destroying all life on Amphibia [[ColonyDrop via ramming the moon into the planet]]. Sasha outright calls it a SoreLoser, which Andrias agrees with.
234	* An inversion appears in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien''. Despite no longer having his army of MechaMooks, the newest BigBad, Aggregor, doesn't need them or anyone else since his OneWingedAngel [[OneManArmy transformation]]. [[spoiler:He had a tendency to do everything on his own anyway]].
235	* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' has the final fight in the second-to-last episode of the series. [[BigBad XANA]], after losing William, an incredibly powerful asset, goes all out in order to prevent [[spoiler: Franz Hopper from sending Jeremy the data necessary to destroy him]] by promptly sending the Kolossus, his most powerful monster created through combinining the energy of ''hundreds'' of supercomputers, along with possessing William in the real world one last time to take care of the heroes.
236	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Even after the Day of Unity fails, his intent to commit genocide on witchkind is exposed to the populace, and he's nearly destroyed, [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]] refuses to give up, intent to finish his work by manipulating The Collector into fulfilling his desires. [[spoiler:It then gets taken further in the GrandFinale where, upon realizing the Titan's heart was in his very throne room, he merges with it, allowing him spread his MeatMoss across the Boiling Isles and take on a DraconicAbomination form, giving him the power to carry out his "purging" personally]].
237	* In ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', near Valtor's end, he is humiliated by the Winx, loses most of the spells he stole, is abandoned by the Trix, and is nearly crushed by all the water of Lake Roccaluce. He survives and kidnaps the Specialists in order to lure the Winx to Andros and kill them with his last stolen spell, [[ElementalPowers the Spell of the Elements]]. He ends up losing that and then loses control of his body to the Ancestral Witches before Bloom finishes him off.
238	* Megatron of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' pulls one after the initial test run of his superweapons fails and decides to just give up on conquering Cybertron in favor of destroying Detroit and the Autobots who have opposed him over the course of the series.
239	* Said word-for-word by Megatron in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' at the end of the penultimate episode of the series.
240	* Kuvira in the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' (which is appropriately titled "The Last Stand"). She keeps fighting even after losing her [[spoiler:HumongousMecha]], and only relents after [[spoiler:Korra saves her life.]]
241	* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'', during the Turtles' third showdown with the Shredder at the TCRI building, the Shredder, enraged that the Turtles allowed the Utroms to escape, vows to not let them leave alive, not caring about his implosion device that will take him with it. The Turtles manage to overwhelm him [[spoiler:learning his true identity as an Utrom in the process]] before escaping the building before it implodes, taking Shredder with it, [[JokerImmunity supposedly destroying him for good this time]].
242	[[/folder]]

Context Main / LastVillainStand