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Comic Books
We all thought she'd died. Certainly nothing even remotely human could have survived. Nothing remotely human did.
Lys Amata: (watching the place go up in flames) "How could anyone survive that—"
Maxima: (spotting two Kryptonians flying away) "Wait, look—!"
Maxima: (spotting two Kryptonians flying away) "Wait, look—!"
— Crucible
Amalak: "You see, I noticed that my star-cannon was about to self-destruct... Just before it did, I teleported here! Supergirl, however, was on board my ship when it was blasted into nothingness! She could not have survived!"
Later
Supergirl: "Amalak grossly overestimated the deadliness of his star cannon!"
Later
Supergirl: "Amalak grossly overestimated the deadliness of his star cannon!"
Fan Works
"Surprised? You thought I'd perished in the million-megaparsec blast radius of that supernova bomb!"
— Lonzak, Plan 7 of 9 from Outer Space
"Supervillains never die in bottomless pits. It's like an unwritten law or something."
— Psycho Yellow, Power Rangers Hidden War
"Come on, there's nothing alive in-" [hears a cackling noise and slowly turns his head to see a monster staring back at him] "AAAAAAH!" [runs away screaming]
Films — Animation
Croc: But we saw you fall to your death!
Oogway: No, you saw me fall.
Oogway: No, you saw me fall.
— Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters
"Nothing could have... that was like fifteen suns exploding in his face..."
— Coldcast on Superman, Superman vs. the Elite
Films — Live-Action
"I know one thing, Major. I drew down and fired straight at it. Capped off two hundred rounds in the minigun, full pack. Nothing... nothing on this earth could have lived. Not at that range."
— Mac on the Predator, Predator
Lenina Huxley: I thought your life force had been prematurely terminated!
John Spartan: Yeah, I thought I was history too. What the hell happened? All of a sudden, this car turned into a cannoli!
John Spartan: Yeah, I thought I was history too. What the hell happened? All of a sudden, this car turned into a cannoli!
Gang member: There's no way they survived.
Caleb: They're not dead until we find 'em dead. Or part of 'em, anyway.
Caleb: They're not dead until we find 'em dead. Or part of 'em, anyway.
— Dredd
"Come home, Hans. Nothing could be left alive in that furnace."
— Concerned wife about The Monster, Frankenstein (1931)
Spock: Search the enemy ship for signs of life.
Sulu: Sir, there's no way anyone survived!
Spock: He could.
Sulu: Sir, there's no way anyone survived!
Spock: He could.
Literature
Tonk Fah: You think he'll live?
Denth: He just fell out the third-story window, plummeting toward certain doom. Of course he'll live!
Denth: He just fell out the third-story window, plummeting toward certain doom. Of course he'll live!
Live-Action TV
Gunn-Sar: What's the tally of challenges?
Cato: Twenty-five dead and one missing, sir.
Gunn-Sar: Oh, come on, Cato. Don't quibble. Marquin fell backwards off the cliff.
Cato: Yes, sir.
Gunn-Sar: So he's dead. Like, you can't say someone's missing as such. Not when they've taken a dive into a bottomless gorge.
Cato: No sir.
Gunn-Sar: So, it's twenty-six dead.
Cato: The Council ruled it was twenty-five, sir, and one missing.
Gunn-Sar: (unperturbed) Twenty-five men lie dead who tried to stand against me. And one, if he's not still falling, is no more than a greasy spot on the rocks, right?
Cato: Twenty-five dead and one missing, sir.
Gunn-Sar: Oh, come on, Cato. Don't quibble. Marquin fell backwards off the cliff.
Cato: Yes, sir.
Gunn-Sar: So he's dead. Like, you can't say someone's missing as such. Not when they've taken a dive into a bottomless gorge.
Cato: No sir.
Gunn-Sar: So, it's twenty-six dead.
Cato: The Council ruled it was twenty-five, sir, and one missing.
Gunn-Sar: (unperturbed) Twenty-five men lie dead who tried to stand against me. And one, if he's not still falling, is no more than a greasy spot on the rocks, right?
— Blake's 7, "Power"
Tarrant: How did you get away from the Liberator?
Servalan: It was difficult.
Tarrant: It was impossible.
Servalan: Manifestly not.
Tarrant: So how?
Servalan: The teleport. A malfunction. A power surge. Suddenly I was back on a Federation world.
Tarrant: What a lucky little commissioner you are.
Servalan: It was difficult.
Tarrant: It was impossible.
Servalan: Manifestly not.
Tarrant: So how?
Servalan: The teleport. A malfunction. A power surge. Suddenly I was back on a Federation world.
Tarrant: What a lucky little commissioner you are.
— Blake's 7, "Sand"
Councilman: ...The ice cracked open and the Selkiemore shot out — Oh, you'll never see one, but it'll take down a ship with its cavernous mouth, full of devil's teeth! — and it swallowed that Witcher whole...
Jaskier: [taking notes] Ohh, this is brilliant. Oh, sorry, it's just Geralt's usually so stingy with the details. And then what happened?
Councilman: [choking up] He died.
Jaskier: Ehhh, he's fine.
Councilman: Look, I was there! I saw it with my own— [Geralt kicks the door open, drowned in fish guts]
Jaskier: [taking notes] Ohh, this is brilliant. Oh, sorry, it's just Geralt's usually so stingy with the details. And then what happened?
Councilman: [choking up] He died.
Jaskier: Ehhh, he's fine.
Councilman: Look, I was there! I saw it with my own— [Geralt kicks the door open, drowned in fish guts]
'"Last time I saw him, he tried to murder me. But when you kill someone by chopping off their head, rolling them up in a carpet and burning it, you better make sure they're dead."
— Colin Mochrie, Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Radio
"It'd be a miracle for anybody to survive a fall from that height!"
Video Games
Phineas: Whoa! You think he's okay?
Ferb: I'm sure he is. Villains always come back in the sequel.
Ferb: I'm sure he is. Villains always come back in the sequel.
Webcomics
Red Mage: The point is that we defeated him. He's gone. He shall never trouble us. Ever again.
[cut to Hell]
Lich: Time is a window. Death, a doorway. I'll be back.
[cut to Hell]
Lich: Time is a window. Death, a doorway. I'll be back.
Thief: Did the plan work?
Red Mage: No one could have survived that, Thief.
Black Mage: Point of order: us.
Red Mage: We're statistical outliers on the survivability curve.
Black Mage: It's four for four! That's 100%! How is that an outlier?
Red Mage: No one could have survived that, Thief.
Black Mage: Point of order: us.
Red Mage: We're statistical outliers on the survivability curve.
Black Mage: It's four for four! That's 100%! How is that an outlier?
Lovely: Nice shot, Sweetheart!
Sweetheart: You really think so, Lovely? Because I think I went overboard! I-is he dead? There's no way he could have survived that!
Lovely: Oh, he's alive alright! He's getting up!
Sweetheart: Seriously!?
Lovely: Brace yourself, sugar!
Sweetheart: You really think so, Lovely? Because I think I went overboard! I-is he dead? There's no way he could have survived that!
Lovely: Oh, he's alive alright! He's getting up!
Sweetheart: Seriously!?
Lovely: Brace yourself, sugar!
"I am Sniper Wolf, and somehow I can survive, like, eight bullets in the face. Look at my boobs!"
Jenn: How is he still alive? That is just not possible. Maybe it's not really him; just someone pretending to be him to catch us off guard.
Cotton: Well, we never did check for a pulse. We just assumed.
Jenn: Yes, because you don't usually survive being SHOT IN THE FUCKING HEAD!!
Cotton: Well, we never did check for a pulse. We just assumed.
Jenn: Yes, because you don't usually survive being SHOT IN THE FUCKING HEAD!!
— No End
Web Original
Cooler: So. Who thinks he's dead?
Sauza: Dead.
Neiz: Krii!
Doore: That boy is dead as mud.
Cooler: Too bad, I sign your paychecks. Search the forest.
Sauza: Qu'est-ce que fuck.
Sauza: Dead.
Neiz: Krii!
Doore: That boy is dead as mud.
Cooler: Too bad, I sign your paychecks. Search the forest.
Sauza: Qu'est-ce que fuck.
— Dragon Ball Z Abridged, "Revenge of Cooler"
Naraku: Oops, killed your girlfriend again, Inuyasha.
Inuyasha: Bullshit, do you know how many cliffs Kikyo has fallen off? She'll be fine. Hell, I threw her off one last week.
Inuyasha: Bullshit, do you know how many cliffs Kikyo has fallen off? She'll be fine. Hell, I threw her off one last week.
— Inuyasha: Episode Infinity
"I buried you alive and I put a rock on what was going to be your grave... how could you get out of that?"
— Venomstripe to Pulse, Feralfront
Mook 1: There's no way he could have survived that fall.
Seto Kaiba: (off-camera) Actually, I seem to be okay.
Mook 2: Nope, he's definitely dead.
Seto Kaiba: (off-camera) You guys are idiots.
Mook 1: At least we're not dead, like you.
Seto Kaiba: (off-camera) Actually, I seem to be okay.
Mook 2: Nope, he's definitely dead.
Seto Kaiba: (off-camera) You guys are idiots.
Mook 1: At least we're not dead, like you.
"He/She/They/(Name of character) survives this."
"I threw you in lava in Spyro 2! HOW THE HELLLL...''
— Caddicarus, in angered befuddlement upon seeing Ripto as the Big Bad of Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly.
Western Animation
"Please, Zuko. What ulterior motive could I have? What could I possibly gain by letting you get all the glory for defeating the Avatar? Unless somehow, the Avatar was actually alive. All that glory would suddenly turn to shame and foolishness. But you said yourself that was impossible."
"She's not gonna make it!" [Azula manages to stop her fall] "...of course she did."
— Zuko, Avatar: The Last Airbender
"Wow. Gangrene, gonorrhea, staph, MRSA, Hepatitis A, B, and C? It's amazing these two are even alive."
— Doctor after the boys are bitten by an STD-ridden hobo, Beavis and Butt-Head ("Werewolves of Highland")
Batman: Nothing could have survived that. Not even Darkseid.
Superman: You know something, Bruce? You're not always right.
Superman: You know something, Bruce? You're not always right.
— Justice League, "Twilight"
Martian Manhunter: In many ways, Lex Luthor represents the worst mankind has to offer.
Superman: But he died saving us all.
Batman: I doubt that either of them died.
Superman: We saw it this time...
Flash: You saw it last time, too.
Green Lantern: What's the old saying? Believe half of what you see-
Hawkgirl: And none of what you hear. They'll be back.
Superman: But he died saving us all.
Batman: I doubt that either of them died.
Superman: We saw it this time...
Flash: You saw it last time, too.
Green Lantern: What's the old saying? Believe half of what you see-
Hawkgirl: And none of what you hear. They'll be back.
— Justice League, "Destroyer"
