These examples have problems with Handling Spoilers and Example Indentation. Avoid excessive spoilertext — see the Handling Spoilers article for more. Avoid having the example argue against itself, see Natter. Two or more sub-examples means we use double stars. Otherwise use the paragraph break markup.
Babies Ever After: Played straight for Marsbound, but Ret Coned in the sequel. This trope still technically applies, but Carmen's twins aren't actually grown in her own womb, since the Martians have a type of disease/condition that somehow affects humans while they're young, and kills many children right after they're born. They're also given to the care of the entire colony, so she has more of a detached role in their development — She might as well be their aunt.
Heroic Sacrifice: Textbook subversion. Paul totally expected to die while flying Red to the far side of the moon, so that when he exploded it wouldn't render the Earth temporarily uninhabitable and kill off most, if not all of the human race. He even loses radio contact as he passes over the horizon, and everyone expects him to be a goner (Carmen's already mourning him as dead). Some quick thinking by Red, however, and after the brilliant fireworks display he's back and everybody's happy! Cue The End, and Babies Ever After.
Then again, maybe not-so-subverted. Since Red had to give his life in order to save the human race. He would have died anyway, but at least in this way he didn't take everyone else with him. That has to count for something!
These examples have problems with Handling Spoilers and Example Indentation. Avoid excessive spoilertext — see the Handling Spoilers article for more. Avoid having the example argue against itself, see Natter. Two or more sub-examples means we use double stars. Otherwise use the paragraph break markup.
- Babies Ever After: Played straight for Marsbound, but Ret Coned in the sequel. This trope still technically applies, but Carmen's twins aren't actually grown in her own womb, since the Martians have a type of disease/condition that somehow affects humans while they're young, and kills many children right after they're born. They're also given to the care of the entire colony, so she has more of a detached role in their development — She might as well be their aunt.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Textbook subversion. Paul totally expected to die while flying Red to the far side of the moon, so that when he exploded it wouldn't render the Earth temporarily uninhabitable and kill off most, if not all of the human race. He even loses radio contact as he passes over the horizon, and everyone expects him to be a goner (Carmen's already mourning him as dead). Some quick thinking by Red, however, and after the brilliant fireworks display he's back and everybody's happy! Cue The End, and Babies Ever After.
- Then again, maybe not-so-subverted. Since Red had to give his life in order to save the human race. He would have died anyway, but at least in this way he didn't take everyone else with him. That has to count for something!
- Lazlo Motkin (see What Happened to the Mouse?) very strongly suggests that the crew of the Ad Astra do this by turning their ship into a giant ball of ice moving at 99% the speed of light... and smashing it right into the Others' homeworld. The crew decides to ignore him.
Edited by Camacan