Warning: As this is often a Death Trope, expect spoilers.
Those who remain Defiant to the End in Fan Works.
Crossovers
- In Amazing Fantasy, Sir Nighteye spends his final moments mocking Mysterio with his knowledge of his future defeat, as well as the crippled, cancer-ridden body he's tried so hard to hide.
- In Anderson Quest: Killing Vampires and Werewolves and Leprechauns, even after Anderson proves himself too much for the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, the latter still keeps trying to fight on despite his many injuries.
- In Avengers: Dagor Arnediad, during the confrontation with Thanos in Wakanda, Boromir in particular dies facing Thanos and rejecting his mad agenda, even when aware that Thanos will kill him.
- In The Broken Day, Johann Schmidt deserves a degree of credit for attempting to order Hela around even after he was badly injured by summoning her in the first place, trying to declare that she would serve Hydra up until she impaled him and affirmed that she would not serve any mortal.
- Child of the Storm:
- In Chapter 44, both Sif and Harry Dresden pull this on Gravemoss. The former spits in his face after having her heart ripped out and the latter gives him a shit-eating grin and a Pre-Asskicking One-Liner before his attempt at Taking You with Me — while it doesn't succeed, it is truly epic. Both get better, however.
- In Chapter 60, a teenage, powerless Carol Danvers, is exhausted, beaten to hell, barely conscious and half-frozen to death after a brutal fight with everything from supercharged werewolves to Slender Men and a killer robot based on the Destroyer and piloted by Baron Zemo, faces down a supercharged werewolf, picks up a rock and tells it to bring it on. When it pounces on her, she gives it the famous line from Dog Soldiers: "I hope I give you the shits." She survives, because of the Friend to All Children tendencies of the Winter Soldier, who breaks his brainwashing, executes a Heel–Face Turn and hands out a brutal shitstomping to the werewolf — which is, it should be noted, the size of a 4x4, or thereabouts — with his bare hands.
- In Chapter 12 of the sequel Ghosts of the Past, Russian President Volodya tries to shut down the Red Room and arrest General Lukin, after the latter pisses off Asgard by kidnapping and brainwashing Harry. But with the power of Red Son, Lukin wipes out Volodya's forces and prepares to execute him personally. Rather than beg, however, Volodya instead tells Lukin how his moronic nearsightedness is going to destroy Russia, and he's going to enjoy watching Lukin's downfall from Heaven.
- In Contest of Champions, after the Grandmaster forces various heroes of other worlds to fight each other, Steve Rogers resolves to keep fighting and tries to die on his feet even after the Grandmaster sends all five of his captured Supermen to attack Steve at once.
- Fallout: Equestria - Project Horizons:Сognitum as reborn Princess Luna: Will you deny me now?!
Blackjack: Of course not. There's no denying that you're a royal cunt. - The God Empress of Ponykind: With Nightmare Moon's Legions swarming over Manehattan, Dawn Sparkle is offered a chance to join the Traitors and spare the city. She responds by spitting in Nightmare Moon's face and dueling the Mad God in single combat. The scene cuts to the next day, where we learn that she lost and Nightmare Moon left Dawn Sparkle alive long enough to watch as Manehattan is razed and its citizens slaughtered.
- In Harry Potter and the Mystic Force, even when reduced to a powerless state in the "Dark Wish" reality, the Mystic Force Rangers refuse to give up on at least trying to fight against the Master's forces. This courage earns them the aid of the Tribunal, who not only restore the original timeline but enhance the Rangers' powers.
- In Imaginary Seas, Caenis refuses to surrender or beg for her life and instead keeps cursing Percy after he thoroughly trounces her in a fight. Granted, it doesn't come to that since Wodime shows up for the save.
- In The Last Son: Book Three, heroes and villains demonstrate this as they all refuse to back down when facing General Zod, even when fully aware that he can easily kill them all.
- Metal Gear: Green: In chapter 56, a captured MSF soldier is being tortured by HPSC members in a bid to find the MSF's base of operations. The torture ends up leading them nowhere when he tells them to kill him. Madam President obliges, expecting it to break him.Captured MSF Soldier: Ah’ll save ye a spot in hell.
- The Night Unfurls:
- Should any named character be under the mercy of the Black Dogs and their associates, they will make it absolutely clear that: one, those people won't prevail; two, those people will die horribly either by someone's or their own hand; and three, they are never going to give those people the satisfaction of doing whatever as they please. Hardly surprising, considering their vile deeds.
- Few supporters of the Black Dogs, as opposed to the majority of them who break, remain defiant towards Kyril during their interrogation.
- Chapter 8: Kyril approaches a mortally wounded mook, who calls him a monster. The Hunter wants to find Beasley's whereabouts, but he refuses to tell him anything. The mook continues cursing Kyril until his final moments, even when his face is being squeezed by Kyril's tendrils.
- Chapter 25: A captive clergyman curses Kyril, Celestine, and Olga right before getting shot in the face. His two compatriots begin begging and blubbering, for being "defiant" won't mean anything upon death.Unnamed captive: Demon filth. You've ruined everything our city and country stand for! You, the False Goddess and that Dark Elf harlot can all rot in hell!
(BLAM)
- Soren, as he faces against Mandeville and his five guards, all battered up with a broken arm. Outmatched, he prepares himself to go down swinging, after telling him and his mother to go screw themselves. Fortunately, he lasts long enough for Hugh to pull a Big Damn Heroes.
- Subverted for Sir John Mandeville, when he's locked up in the dungeons after his defeat. At first, he seems defiant as ever even when Kyril is giving him a Breaking Speech about his failures (i.e. how his house is being investigated for its crimes, together with how Chloe, his own daughter that he tormented, would be the one to determine his fate). Until Kyril bluntly states that all the fortunes of House Mandeville will be utilised for the reconstruction in the Western District of Ken, with the house itself disassembled along the way. Cue Villainous Breakdown.
- Of State: Dalibor Bludvist, Drago's son, has been beaten to a bloody pulp, had his home ransacked and burned down by Viking invaders, watched said Vikings take over his home city, and currently is on the executioner's block while having Snotlout reveal all of his father's crimes to the entire city. He responds by attempting to give the Uttlanders a Rousing Speech against the Vikings.
- Danganronpa: The Immersive Learning Program: The third culprit deals with their conviction by lunging right at Monokuma, chasing the Killer Teddy Bear out of the trial room. This prevents Monokuma from delivering his usual Catchphrase, as he's too busy running away... and leading the culprit to the site of their execution.
- Danganronpa: Komm Susser Tod: The fourth culprit openly declares that they will defy their death for as long as they can, almost manages to break the chain that drags them to their execution, and at the end of the execution, they send Monokuma into a Villainous Breakdown by dying on their feet.
- In the Grand Finale of Death Note: The Abridged Series (kpts4tv), upon learning of the Shinigami's plot to bring about hell on earth Light Yagami's final acts are to try and stop the Shinigami Invasion.
- Dragonball Z Abridged:
- Played With in Season 3. Tienshinhan keeps snarking at Vegeta. When asked why he does that when he knows Vegeta can kill him, he responds, "At this point, it's a game. If he gives in, I win. And he knows that."
- He later gets a more traditional example after pummeling Cell with his Shin Kikoho technique until he can't even stand.Cell: You know, if you want my personal opinion, 'Kikoho' is a pretty poor choice of last words. But then again, it's far from the worst decision you've made today.
Tien: Kiko-fuck yourself.
Cell: There, see? That's the spirit!
- Abraxas (Hrodvitnon): Apparently, Thor's son who was killed by Ghidorah in ancient times remained kept standing and fighting throughout his Rasputinian Death. During the Final Battle, there's one successful and heroic case of this trope involving Taking You with Me, and an attempt at this by a villain which ends in a Villainous Breakdown due to some Break Them by Talking.
- In The Chosen Six, when Cedric Diggory comes face to face with Voldemort and realizes he's going to die, he decides to drop a Cluster F-Bomb on him. Voldemort replies by inflicting a Cruel and Unusual Death on the kid.
- Disrespect Authority
sees Snape kill Nagini after learning that she is key to Voldemort's survival, even knowing that virtually nobody in the Order will likely be aware of what he did and why he did it. When Voldemort asks why he did this, Snape summons his Patronus and resolves to die with his back straight like James did, accepting the relief of death with the final hope that Lily's son will be able to defeat her killer. - Harry Potter and the Ritual of Love's Memory: The last thing Hermione does in the Bad Future, when cornered by Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange, is snap the wand she previously stole from Bellatrix. As wands are very personal, and can't be repaired from that level of damage, Bellatrix is furious and kills her on the spot, just as Hermione expected she would — meaning that Hermione can't be interrogated.
- Ginny in The Very Secret Diary puts up one hell of a fight against Tom Riddle in the final chapters. Even when she's utterly powerless and she knows it, she continues to try and find opportunities to defy him, snark at him, and make things as difficult for him as possible, until he reveals his TRUE identity. Then she starts weeping and begging for her mom.
- Hellsing Ultimate Abridged:
- It is revealed in a flashback that this was how Alucard acted when he was defeated by Abraham Van Hellsing. When Abraham lists off his many, many atrocities, Alucard responds "The Aristocrats".
- Jan does this too—he goes out Flipping the Bird at everyone before vaporizing.
- Hivefled: Laneen, Gamzee's Spirit Advisor and half-sister was captured by the Condesce, raped, tortured, and forced into sex acts with her equally non-consenting father. She managed to render herself useless and provoke Condesce into killing her by clawing her own tongue out.
- The Ultimate Evil: During the climax, Shendu (who is empowered to a terrifying extend thanks to being bound to Valerie Payne, his Other and love interest) overpowers the entire J-Team during the confrontation over the Book of Ages. He then catches Jade is his grip and intends to kill her for coming close to snatching away the victory he gained by tampering with the Book. As Shendu squeezes her and there seems to be no way out, Jade still has it in her to defy Shendu and call him out of using his rewrites to lure Valerie into his clutches. Fortunately Valerie, filled with suspicions, arrives in time to hear Shendu and Jade's argument, and Shendu directs his attention from Jade to Valerie.
- In Torque (Jak and Daxter), knowing that Erol is going to kill her or take her to the Baron to be tortured, Keira decides she is going to fight to the bitter end and puts up a pretty good fight before she is overpowered. Luckily, Jak shows up and saves her.
- Cheat Code: Support Strategist: Even after being captured and stripped of their Quirk, Hero Killer Stain glares at their murderer while bleeding out.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- I Did Not Want to Die: The protagonist is shot at the beginning and spends the rest of the story making his Last Stand against Federal troops as he gradually bleeds to death. Not once does he surrender, plead, or try to run away.
- Pony POV Series: During the Final Battle between Shining Armor and General-Admiral Makarov (the Big Bad of his arc), Makarov wants the captive Shining to say "I surrender, Solomon." What Shining says is, "Go fuck yourself." He then proceeds to push himself past his limits and fight Makarov in an even match.
- Principal Celestia Hunts the Undead: After being defeated in the battle at the mall, Sombra, a lich, finds himself being revived, years ahead of normal schedule and as such abnormally frail, by a vampire holding onto his Soul Jar. The vampire offers him the choice to serve as her agent, gaining considerable power for himself but remaining ultimately subservient to her will, or, implicitly, die for good. The old, proud lich considers this, weighs the option of gaining tangible power against being essentially enslaved to someone who would literally hold his life in her hands, and chooses to reject the offer, roaring defiance, despite knowing that he will die for this.
- Androgyninja's A Drop of Poison: During the Konoha Crush attempt, Sakura helps Shikamaru deal with the Oto-nin who were pursuing them by slashing the throats of all but one member while he holds them in place with the kagemane. While their reactions vary, with one maintaining eye contact with her the whole time and another sobbing desperately, the last one to die remains defiant and curses her out until she finishes the job.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide:
- As Kluge prepares to shoot her, Ritsuko tells him that even if she is to die here, she has made sure that Unit 01 and 02 will be able to fight back against the JSSDF invasion, and her last words are just calmly saying "Fuck you."
- A villainous version with the Emerald Tablet. It refuses to be afraid as Unit-01 and Shinji is about to finally finish it off, and even gloats that with its slaying of Unit-02 and Asuka, it has ensured that Shinji will not gain any solace from this victory.The Emerald Tablet: Do you expect me to be afraid? Shinji Ikari. There are worse things to be afraid of. Because even if you win, you will still be human. You wish so desperately to live that you would sacrifice transcendence beyond all bounds. I have ruined the one you love. Live with that.
- This Bites!:
- Even after enduring countless shocks and staring down Eneru's 100,000,000 Volt Vari, Cross does not back down, and his last effort is to spit in his face.
- Bartolomeo and his crew intend to make Boa Hancock remember them for the rest of her life when they see her ship heading straight for them.
- When Shiki announces to the world his intent to wipe out the East Blue, we're shown scenes of virtually every known character living there preparing for the attack, all of them determined to go down fighting.
- In Pokemon: Shadow of Time, even when dying of poison, Koga is skilled enough to defeat Rocket Admin Proton in a fight despite Proton having a gun, Koga evading many of the bullets fired at him.
- In Crimson Rising, when Trey of Triforia is captured and about to be executed by the forces of the returned Ivan Ooze, he confidently affirms that Ooze's forces will fall before he has his head cut off.
- In Emergence, Yang Xiao Long wakes up in the middle of the Syrian war zone. She grabs an ISIS terrorist and demands to know where she is and what is going on. The man refuses to stop cursing her and calling her a whore, even when she breaks his ribs.
- In By the Fire's Light, even as the world falls apart around them, Detective Carl Rourke and Mira Grolinsky refuse to give in to the Slender Man.
- Chasing Dragons:
- Oberyn Martell reportedly plays this straight at his execution following the failure of his rebellion.
- Brus Buckler is taken prisoner by the Dothraki when they overrun Campora and offered the chance to live if he orders the remaining defenders to surrender. He refuses, insulting Khal Pobo to his face until the latter kills him in a rage.
- With Balon Greyjoy about to execute him for daring to deliver Stannis' surrender terms (and inspiring Urrigon to flee the islands with Asha), Rodrik Harlaw refuses to show fear. Instead, he snarks his way through the whole production, calls out Balon for the stupidity of his actions, and finally tells him to just Get It Over With.
- Salladhor Saan at the Battle of Bloodstone. He realizes that his side can't win, but also that he'll be executed for failure if he retreats, so he decides to go down fighting, leading a boarding party that ends with him being killed by in a duel by Ivar Drumm.
- Aen'rhien Vailiuri: A villainous example from Third Maje Tillih of the Kazon-Tarrik while Morgan is Neck Lifting him:Tillih: Die ... in a fire. (Morgan breaks his neck.)
- In Episode 9 of Sword Art Online Abridged, Kirito realizes that Kuradeel is a Laughing Coffin fanboy who is killing him over ruining the aforementioned player-killer guild; he then starts mocking Kuradeel with the explicitly stated intent of making sure Kuradeel doesn't enjoy killing him. Then Asuna shows up.
- The Heart Trilogy: In Heart of Fire, the mortally wounded Tauriel continues to defy Smaug while being held in the dragon's grasp, up until he pierces the elf's body with his talon.Tauriel: Lle naa haran e' nausalle.note
- In Game as Ned Kelly, Ellie Linton is Shot at Dawn, and goes out unrepentant, unblindfolded, and defiant to the end.
