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Sword over Head

650 statements
124 feature instances
60 referencing feature instances

Sword over Head	type	FeatureClass
Sword over Head	label	Sword over Head
Sword over Head	page	SwordOverHead
Sword over Head	comment	A goodie has captured the baddie and is holding a sword over their head. They really hate this baddie. He or she has killed their friends or family! There's a Dramatic Pause as the goodie mentally debates whether to kill the baddie. In the end, however, they will throw the sword away and let the bad guy be captured by the authorities (unless, of course, they're an Anti-Hero). Another variation has them throw the sword right next to the villain in a way that makes it clear that they could have killed them but didn't. Alternately, if the hero simply sheathes the sword instead of actually discarding it, the baddie inevitably rises up one more time once the hero's back is turned, only to get struck down in a single dramatic stroke. This trope can just as easily be done with firearms. Often by the hero firing a shot, only to have aimed away from villain at the last second. Bystanders may be provided to say either "If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!" or "Kill Him Already!" If the roles are reversed and the villain has the hero at his mercy, it can go either way. If he chooses to spare the hero, we might be looking at I Need You Stronger. Otherwise he'll decide to finish the hero off, but be prepared for a Thwarted Coup de GrÃ¢ce. Be prepared for a bit of Evil Gloating while the baddie apparently has the hero at their mercy. Compare with Sparing the Final Mook. If the hero chooses to show mercy to the bad guy only to regret it later because the bad guy causes more trouble, you have No Good Deed Goes Unpunished and Nice Job Breaking It, Hero. By contrast, if an arrogant villain gives a hero a second chance and it proves to be their undoing, it becomes Nice Job Fixing It, Villain. Warning note... there are plenty of spoilers here. Be ye warned. Oh, and there are supposedly a few types of sword actually designed to strike the killing blow with an overhead strike that splits the target's skull. It doesn't have to be that literal to count as this trope.
Sword over Head	fetched	2024-02-16T15:59:44Z
Sword over Head	parsed	2024-02-16T15:59:44Z
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to AnAesop: Not an Item - IGNORE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to AnArmAndALeg: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to AntiHero: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to AntiVillain: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to BigBad: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to DarkerAndEdgier: Not an Item - FEATURE
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Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to FighterMageThief: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to FinalBattle: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to GetItOverWith: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to OlderThanFeudalism: Not an Item - CAT
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to SaveTheVillain: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to Serenity2005: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to StarWars: Not an Item - CAT
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to TechnicalPacifist: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to TheLancer: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to TheWoobie: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to TreacherousAdvisor: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingComment	Dropped link to YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sword over Head	processingUnknown	Serenity (2005)
Sword over Head	isPartOf	DBTropes
Sword over Head / int_1054984c	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_1054984c	comment	In the John Rain book The Killer Ascendant, Hitman with a Heart Rain considers doing this with CIA Rogue Agent Jim Hilger (who had kidnapped and tortured his friend Dox) because he's considering changing his ways from being a cold-blooded killer. As a concession he allows Hilger to make a phone call to his sister as a Last Request, has a sudden thought that Hilger is using the call to activate a bomb remotely and kills him. Later Rain wonders if he allowed Hilger to make the call just so he'd have an excuse to kill him.
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John Rain	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_1054984c
Sword over Head / int_110d4471	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_110d4471	comment	Predator has a variation. Dutch does this over the fallen title monster, but using a large rock instead of a sword. He relents after noticing the Predator coughing up (green glowing) blood, showing that he's no longer a threat.
Sword over Head / int_110d4471	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_110d4471	featureConfidence	1.0
Predator	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_110d4471
Sword over Head / int_1360882c	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_1360882c	comment	Near the end of book 1 of the Gone series, Sam has just defeated Caine and could easily kill him with his superpowers. Caine tells Sam to "Go ahead and do it", but Sam just tells him to leave Perdido Beach. Might be a case of Thicker Than Water since they are also twin brothers.
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Sword over Head / int_1360882c	featureConfidence	1.0
Gone	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_1360882c
Sword over Head / int_136342f1	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_136342f1	comment	In the climax of Mort, the title character is in a position to seemingly kill Death but knows that doing so would just mean taking his place for the rest of Eternity. Death responds by kicking him in the groin.
Sword over Head / int_136342f1	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_136342f1	featureConfidence	1.0
Mort	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_136342f1
Sword over Head / int_13665790	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_13665790	comment	A different force is tugging at Vimes's base urge for vengeance in Thud!, and when it lets loose, he leaves a significant body count, but relents before he either strikes the Big Bad or rips apart from the stress of not doing so.
Sword over Head / int_13665790	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_13665790	featureConfidence	1.0
Thud!	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_13665790
Sword over Head / int_13d2c035	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_13d2c035	comment	The Adventures of Superboy: The episode "Mine Games" features a shovel-over-head moment. Lex Luthor and Superboy are trapped in a mine, and Luthor starts attacking Superboy with chunks of Kryptonite over Superboy's protests that they could both die. It ends with Superboy standing over Luthor, poised to kill him, and Luthor outright eggs on him as hammily as possible.
Sword over Head / int_13d2c035	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_13d2c035	featureConfidence	1.0
The Adventures of Superboy	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_13d2c035
Sword over Head / int_1869a077	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_1869a077	comment	In Samurai Jack, a katana-wielding robot does this, in a direct reference to the Star Wars example above, including the line "All too easy."
Sword over Head / int_1869a077	featureApplicability	1.0
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Samurai Jack	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_1869a077
Sword over Head / int_1b2dbfd0	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_1b2dbfd0	comment	In Corsair, Canale does this at the end of the fight with his brother. He does follow through in actually killing him.
Sword over Head / int_1b2dbfd0	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_1b2dbfd0	featureConfidence	1.0
Corsair	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_1b2dbfd0
Sword over Head / int_1bdeba5a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_1bdeba5a	comment	In X-Men, Jubilee faces this choice after she hunts down the men who killed her parents. In a slight variation, Wolverine — the only witness — tells her exactly how she could use her powers to make the deaths look like natural causes. She lets them live, of course.
Sword over Head / int_1bdeba5a	featureApplicability	1.0
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X-Men (Comic Book)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_1bdeba5a
Sword over Head / int_1c2dca78	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_1c2dca78	comment	Miraz in Prince Caspian. Three times in one movie, by two characters, twice in fairly rapid succession, and none of them in the original book.
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Prince Caspian	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_1c2dca78
Sword over Head / int_1e015a5d	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_1e015a5d	comment	In The Empire Strikes Back, Anakin, now Darth Vader, disarms Luke and has him at his mercy in the carbon-freezing chamber on Cloud City. He takes a swing at Luke, but doesn't really try to kill him because he wants Luke alive so he can become stronger and help overthrow Emperor Palpatine. Instead, he tries to herd Luke into the carbonite pit to turn him into a Human Popsicle, but Luke jumps out of it, retrieves his weapon and continues fighting.
Sword over Head / int_1e015a5d	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Empire Strikes Back	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_1e015a5d
Sword over Head / int_2212773a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_2212773a	comment	Angel: Subverted at the end of Angel's fight with Connor in "Home". After interrupting his trauma-ridden son's Suicide by Cop attempt, Angel ends up holding a knife over him. He promises to prove that he really does love Connor — and brings the knife down. Thanks to a deal with Wolfram & Hart, Connor is magically given a normal life. In "A Hole in the World", Gunn incapacitates Knox and holds a large object over his head, wanting to smash Knox's head in, but can't do it — probably because he knows that the team need to get as much info out of Knox as they can. (Wesley does him in later).
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Angel	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_2212773a
Sword over Head / int_22211d68	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_22211d68	comment	In Bones, Booth escapes Serial Killer Howard Epps by one hand as he dangles over a ledge and can't hold on. He later goes to psychological counseling for a different matter, where it comes up that he feels guilty because he isn't sure if he tried hard enough to keep Epps from falling to his death.
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Bones	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_22211d68
Sword over Head / int_222c2051	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_222c2051	comment	Variations of this trope happen several times in Chuck: Sarah has Fulcrum operative Mauser at gunpoint after a particularly savage fight and prepares to arrest him. Mauser then begins to taunt her about knowing Chuck is the Intersect and how his compatriots will do everything in their power to free him. Sarah hesitates for a moment and lowers her gun, then subverts this by snapping her gun back up and shooting him dead. While under the effects of an experimental drug intended to suppress the emotions of agents in the field, (thus allowing the Intersect to function normally) Chuck lifts a mook into the air by the throat and begins to strangle him. He finally releases the man when Casey and Sarah arrive and he realizes what he very nearly did. After a short close-range fight, Shaw takes Sarah prisoner and holds Chuck at gunpoint, but allows Chuck to live since he holds no ill-will towards him. This gives Chuck the opportunity to come to Sarah's rescue and shoot Shaw. Later in that same season Chuck has Shaw by the throat in a death grip. Shaw attempts to provoke him into finishing the job, but Chuck comments he already did in a Call-Back to the above scene and releases him.
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Sword over Head / int_24e41891	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_24e41891	comment	In Dexter, when Dexter is about to kill Rudy by draining him of all his blood, he holds the knife above his neck... but he then kills him anyway, mid-sentence no less.
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Dexter	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_24e41891
Sword over Head / int_2bb4ae0f	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_2bb4ae0f	comment	An unusual choice occurs in the Heroes episode "Shades of Gray": Sylar finally confronts his father, Samson Grey, his motives for finding him having changed after realizing that he is responsible for killing his mother. A few interesting facts and one borderline Hannibal Lecture later, he gives Sylar a choice point-blank — kill him now... or kill the fuzzy bunny. Sylar hesitates, then kills the bunny and they keep talking.
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Heroes	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_2bb4ae0f
Sword over Head / int_2d316ba2	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_2d316ba2	comment	At the tail end of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)' "City at War" arc, Karai does this to one of the defeated Foot Elite. She takes the swing but refrains from cleaving his head, settling for destroying his hat instead.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_2d316ba2
Sword over Head / int_2e3e7ac2	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_2e3e7ac2	comment	In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Double Date", Huntress prepares to shoot Stephen Mandragora, the thoroughly despicable mob boss who killed her parents in front of her at a young age, and seems perfectly willing to put a crossbow bolt through him... until his son Edgar shows up behind him, and she finds she can't bring herself to inflict the same trauma on the boy.
Sword over Head / int_2e3e7ac2	featureApplicability	1.0
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Justice League	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_2e3e7ac2
Sword over Head / int_32c541e6	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_32c541e6	comment	Fullmetal Alchemist: This happens to Winry; she had just discovered that Scar killed her parents and levelled a gun at him. Fortunately, Ed convinces her that "If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!". Then we have Roy with his flame powers and Envy in his fetus form. He is convinced by Ed, Scar, and Riza to not go through with finishing Envy off. Envy dies anyway by committing suicide because Ed inadvertently makes him feel too insulted to live.
Sword over Head / int_32c541e6	featureApplicability	1.0
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Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_32c541e6
Sword over Head / int_32d026ec	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_32d026ec	comment	Rave Master: Subverted when Haru the sword over Shuda's head, drops it, and then Shuda picks it right back up, drops An Aesop, then falls to (not quite) his death. It happens again later when Haru goes berserk on Lucia. The later actually faints, and everyone starts pressing Haru to sever his head, but Haru still can't bring himself to take a life.
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Rave Master (Manga)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_32d026ec
Sword over Head / int_336a5711	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_336a5711	comment	In the first episode of Luther, the titular detective is chasing a Serial Killer through an industrial site when a gantry gives way and the latter is left dangling. Luther doesn't try to help him up; the guy falls and ends up in a coma.
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Luther	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_336a5711
Sword over Head / int_35af2104	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_35af2104	comment	This is a manifestation of one of his defining traits — the constant temptation to take the law into his own hands (by killing the villain), and his constant refusal to give in to that temptation. Even when he kills Wolfgang in The Fifth Elephant, he gives Wolfgang every warning and chance to surrender first. Wolfgang doesn't really believe "Mister Civilized" is capable of killing him. He's wrong.
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The Fifth Elephant	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_35af2104
Sword over Head / int_35bceb50	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_35bceb50	comment	Hamlet: As Claudius kneels to pray, Hamlet is given the perfect chance to slay him and avenge his father's murder. Unfortunately for everyone, Hamlet decides that killing Claudius in prayer would send him to Heaven, and he'd rather send him to Hell.note Made especially funny by the fact that during the course of his praying, Claudius admits that he knows what he did was evil, and does not feel regret for it — so had Hamlet killed Claudius, he most likely would've gone to Hell instead of Heaven. He spares Claudius for the time being, ultimately causing the tragic end to the play.
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Hamlet (Theatre)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_35bceb50
Sword over Head / int_39c20861	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_39c20861	comment	Highlander has a couple. Richie can't bring himself to kill Annie during his first duel as an immortal, and Duncan won't kill Kristen despite being betrayed by her twice in "Chivalry".
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Highlander	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_39c20861
Sword over Head / int_3ac755dd	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3ac755dd	comment	In the climax of Beauty and the Beast, Beast is holding Gaston by the neck over the ledge of the castle threatening to drop him to death. However, he can't go through with it and grudgingly spares Gaston giving him a firm Get Out!. However, Gaston responds by stabbing Beast in the back still trying to kill him, only to lose his balance and fall to his death.
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Beauty and the Beast	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3ac755dd
Sword over Head / int_3bc91429	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3bc91429	comment	In one of the Fifth Doctor stories in Doctor Who Magazine, a ruthless bounty hunter is attempting to kill the Doctor on orders from an evil industrialist. Things backfire somewhat, and he accidentally succeeds in badly wounding himself and mortally wounding the Doctor's companion, Gus. Tears in his eyes and a murderous expression on his face, the Doctor picks up the bounty hunter's gun, shoots several times...and we then find that he simply shot the hunter's helmet, whose headphones were ironically playing "We'll Meet Again". However, this is then promptly subverted as the industrialist's slimy henchman visits the hunter in hospital, calmly trashes his life-support systems ("No loose ends"), and walks out as the hunter chokes his last.
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Doctor Who Magazine (Magazine)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3bc91429
Sword over Head / int_3bce4381	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3bce4381	comment	Happens a lot with Vash in Trigun, especially once the Gung Ho Guns show up. He is ultimately forced to go through with it and kill The Dragon Legato Bluesummers. It didn't work out so well when Wolfwood did it, though.
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Trigun (Manga)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3bce4381
Sword over Head / int_3bfc220f	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3bfc220f	comment	Daredevil (2003): Daredevil has the Kingpin at his mercy and is about to deliver a skull-crushing blow with the Kingpin's own walking stick (which may have been used to kill Matt Murdock's father), but instead slams it on the floor and allows the police to arrest him.
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Daredevil (2003)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3bfc220f
Sword over Head / int_3c369743	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3c369743	comment	Subverted in Jamie Delano's run of Captain Britain. After sister Betsy replaces Brian Braddock as Captain Britain, Brian's old foe Slaymaster takes her on and beats her savagely before putting both of her eyes out. An appalled Brian arrives, and a titanic fight ensues, which ends with Slaymaster on his back and Brian holding a huge rock over his head. At the last moment, he seems to force himself to stop. Slaymaster, being a villain, can't stop himself from coming out with an I-Don't-Think-You've-Got-The-Grapes taunting speech. In a flash of fury, Brian sweeps the rock down on Slaymaster's head. SPLAT.
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Captain Britain (Comic Book)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3c369743
Sword over Head / int_3c6e7f9f	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3c6e7f9f	comment	In Episode 13 of Cross Ange, Ange, from inside her Villkiss, has her massive energy sword hanging over her traitorous brother Julio. This awful man was responsible for ruining her life by exposing her as a Norma, resulting in the loss of her rights and being conscripted into serving as Cannon Fodder. He also had their parents killed to take over the throne, corrupted their little sister Sylvia into hating Ange, goaded Sylvia into torturing Ange when they captured her via a Wounded Gazelle Gambit, and eventually attempted to have her and the rest of the Norma killed in a purge. Even though Julio has complied with Ange's demand to stop the massacre, Ange has decided the coward is not worth sparing, and despite his pleas for mercy, she slashes in his general direction... only to be stopped by Embryo, the Big Bad of the story. Embryo intervenes on the premises that she would "taint" herself by stooping so low to kill someone like Julio... or so he says. Either way, he politely offers to "bear that burden"... by blasting Julio's ship with his Hysterica, obliterating Julio and his entire fleet.
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Cross Ange	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3c6e7f9f
Sword over Head / int_3e9c95a2	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3e9c95a2	comment	Sharpe: In Sharpe's Revenge, Richard Sharpe gets involved in a pistol duel at dawn. He lets his opponent shoot first, and miss. The opponent and the witness beg Sharpe to show mercy, and eventually, after much consideration, Sharpe does: he shoots his opponent in the arse instead. Things happen differently in the book — Sharpe aims for the other man's belly, hoping to give him a slow and painful death (bear in mind that this guy had left Sharpe and a handful of men to face certain death, and a lot of them didn't make it out). Unfortunately, the pistol pulls slightly to one side and instead pierces his buttocks.
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Sharpe	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3e9c95a2
Sword over Head / int_3e9f7421	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3e9f7421	comment	In Swordquest: Fireworld, Torr spares a pair of fire-goblins (who were previously attacking him) after they are backed into a corner and cowering for mercy.
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Swordquest (Comic Book)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3e9f7421
Sword over Head / int_3f01b5a4	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_3f01b5a4	comment	Power Rangers Samurai: Antonio has such a moment with Deker in "A Stroke of Fate". Deker is semiconscious after the previous episode and is key to Serrator's plan. It would be easy to stab him and thwart Serrator's plot then and there. But Antonio cannot bring himself to kill a defenseless opponent, and so sheathes his Barracuda Blade and walks away. But he's still guilty over leaving the threat of Serrator's plan out there, so he later tries to track Deker down; leading to a second instance of this trope as Deker basically dares him to attack. He still can't do it.
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Power Rangers Samurai	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_3f01b5a4
Sword over Head / int_41653a5	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_41653a5	comment	Subverted in the Paths of Darkness novel The Silent Blade. Drizzt and a nearly suicidal Artemis Entreri have just finished a fight to the not-quite-death. Drizzt sheaths his sword and walks away when Artemis charges him from behind. Drizzt gets his guard up, draws his blades, and stabs Artemis through the torso...but unbeknownst to either of them, a psionic barrier has been placed around Artemis' body by one of Jarlaxle's lieutenants, which channels the kinetic energy from Drizzt's strike into Entreri, who then uses it unconsciously to punch a hole barehanded through Drizzt's chest. Unbeknownst to Entreri, he gets better.
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Paths of Darkness	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_41653a5
Sword over Head / int_41ccaff5	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_41ccaff5	comment	Taisuke spends the whole of Alive: The Final Evolution coming to terms with the fact that his best friend (Hirose) is not only capable of murder but a mass murderer with no sense of guilt. Cue the final showdown between the two of them, when Taisuke overpowers Hirose and has him in a chokehold. Taisuke ends up trying to kill him twice before breaking down and letting go. This turns out to be the right decision, however, as it's only with Hirose's power that they manage to destroy the incoming Nuke.
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Sword over Head / int_41d79599	comment	Different variations are used a lot of times in the Dark Forces Saga. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II: After Kyle defeats the first of Jerec's Dark Jedi, Yun, he has him at his mercy but lets him live, leading to his extra-quick Redemption Equals Death later on in the Light Side story or another duel in the Dark Side one. With Maw, the situation is similar, but Kyle is being tempted by the Dark Side and simply cuts him down. In the Light Side ending, Kyle has disarmed Jerec but decides to give him another chance and give him back his lightsaber. Jerec lunges at him again, and... well, if you read the trope description, you'll know what happens. In Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, instead of literally threatening someone with a weapon, Kyle dangles Tavion in the air with Force Grip at the end of their duel and is about to kill her. He lets her go after she tells him she didn't really kill Jan Ors. Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy: After Jaden Korr defeats Rosh Penin, they seem to be about to enter a situation like this, but are interrupted by the arrival of Kyle Katarn and Tavion. They return to the setup when they next meet when Rosh is hardly much of a villain anymore, but Jaden is still angry at him. Whether the player chooses to attack Rosh next or not determines whether you get the Dark Side or Light Side ending. Towards the end in the Light Side story, Tavion is determined to avoid this fate after being beaten by Jaden, and as a result ends up possessed by the dead Sith Lord she has been worshipping. In the Dark Side version, she tells Jaden to Get It Over With, and they comply. Then have to fight Kyle Katarn instead.
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Sword over Head / int_442fe0ab	comment	Gemini Man: Henry Brogan and Clay Jr. know that Clay Varris will go on to create a Clone Army if left alive, but Henry stops Junior from killing his Parental Substitute, knowing the act will scar him for life. Henry takes the shotgun off Junior, and Varris smiles in triumph... only to be shot dead by Henry.
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Sword over Head / int_45599333	comment	Tower of God: When Ja Wangnan spared Kim Lurker. Ja's friend Nia had been set up to betray Ja and the team by the loan company Lurker was working for so that Lurker and his team could advance to the next floor. After the successful betrayal, Lurker killed Nia to be on the safe side, since he was betraying his employers as well and couldn't risk leaving any witnesses behind. When Lurker is defeated and Ja is about to activate the grenade jammed between his jaws, he realizes that the only thing he can do is forgive him, because he forgave Nia for betraying him just as Nia was betrayed, because the three of them were basically not so different in being coerced to stop others, causing their inevitable demisenote even Lurker had his reasons and because in a world of constant struggle, a pragmatic reason for killing somebody is way better than any ethical justification of revenge.
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Sword over Head / int_457b671e	comment	Done in season one of 24 when Jack catches an escaping Nina. The same scene is repeated in season three, except that on that occasion, Jack shoots her dead. The first time, he didn't know that she had just killed his wife.
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Sword over Head / int_468bebb0	comment	Discworld: In Men at Arms, when Vimes wants to kill a man (to be fair, he was under the influence of the gonne), Carrot eventually convinces him not to, saying "Personal isn't the same as important." Of course, when the man himself goes for the gun, Carrot kills him, running the man through as well as piercing the foot-thick granite column behind him. A different force is tugging at Vimes's base urge for vengeance in Thud!, and when it lets loose, he leaves a significant body count, but relents before he either strikes the Big Bad or rips apart from the stress of not doing so. This is a manifestation of one of his defining traits — the constant temptation to take the law into his own hands (by killing the villain), and his constant refusal to give in to that temptation. Even when he kills Wolfgang in The Fifth Elephant, he gives Wolfgang every warning and chance to surrender first. Wolfgang doesn't really believe "Mister Civilized" is capable of killing him. He's wrong. In the climax of Mort, the title character is in a position to seemingly kill Death but knows that doing so would just mean taking his place for the rest of Eternity. Death responds by kicking him in the groin.
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Sword over Head / int_4da11f30	comment	In Return of the Jedi, Luke finally defeats Vader and is about to kill him until he is encouraged by Palpatine, and Luke quickly realizes what he is extremely close to becoming in doing so. This convinces Luke to toss his lightsaber aside and show mercy instead of killing his own father, creating a sort of point of divergence between Luke and Anakin's histories. In the exact opposite of Anakin killing Dooku 23 years back, Luke spares Vader. This act of mercy is what ultimately causes Vader to return to the Light Side of the Force and become Anakin Skywalker once again.
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Sword over Head / int_4f091b42	comment	Tiger & Bunny: When Barnaby and Kotetsu defeat Jake, Barnaby ultimately decides to have him arrested, though Jake dies while trying to escape.
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Sword over Head / int_52837809	comment	Defied in Kamen Rider Drive with Professor Banno. He's at Gou's mercy, who he had played like a fiddle thanks to being his father. When Banno tries to have Gou spare him under the pretense of improving the world, Gou doesn't even listen and simply takes his dead friend's weapon and murders Banno for all the things the asshole's ever done.
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Sword over Head / int_554af9e1	comment	Occurs complete with actual sword over actual head when Rogue defeats Vargas in a swordfight at the end of the X-Treme X-Men arc "Invasion". Vargas encourages her to kill him as predicted by Destiny's diaries, and the ultimate result is deliberately not shown, but Rogue's reactions both during and after the incident make it fairly clear that she didn't go through with it.
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Sword over Head / int_5755b96a	comment	The Order of the Stick: Near the start of the comic, Elan must decide whether or not to let his brother Nale fall over a cliff to his death. He pulls him up. Subverted much, much later in the story, when Elan finds himself in a similar situation with his father Tarquin. This time, he lets him fall, but only because he knows that as a high-level character, Tarquin has enough hit points to survive the fall, and because it was one of the few ways to deny giving Tarquin anything he wanted in that situation.
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Sword over Head / int_58808436	comment	Played almost perfectly straight in Higurashi: When They Cry, during the climactic duel between Keiichi and Rena, when Rena is holding her hatchet over her head.
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Sword over Head / int_5936cb87	comment	Fearless (2006): The unarmed variation. Jet Li's character Huo Yuanjia knows a Dangerous Forbidden Technique that causes his opponent's heart to explode. He himself is dying from poison and the only way he can win the match is to use it. Right before he dies, he shows his opponent that he could pull it off, but chooses not to, having gone through a movie's worth of Character Development to realize that pride, even for one's own nation, is not worth murdering somebody over.
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Sword over Head / int_5e91c7f	comment	Resident Evil 6 is an odd case of this being between two heroes, namely series veteran Chris Redfield and newcomer Jake Muller, the son of series villain Albert Wesker. When it's revealed in the final chapter of both their routes that Chris is the one who killed Wesker before the events of this game, Jake grows enraged and draws his gun on Chris, intending on shooting him in the face. He pulls slightly to the side at the last second, grazing the side of Chris's face.
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Sword over Head / int_62570927	comment	Marvel Universe: Subverted in Jamie Delano's run of Captain Britain. After sister Betsy replaces Brian Braddock as Captain Britain, Brian's old foe Slaymaster takes her on and beats her savagely before putting both of her eyes out. An appalled Brian arrives, and a titanic fight ensues, which ends with Slaymaster on his back and Brian holding a huge rock over his head. At the last moment, he seems to force himself to stop. Slaymaster, being a villain, can't stop himself from coming out with an I-Don't-Think-You've-Got-The-Grapes taunting speech. In a flash of fury, Brian sweeps the rock down on Slaymaster's head. SPLAT. In Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices, Echo handily beats Saarl and holds a spear over his face, but decides not to kill him because there has been enough violence. In What If? volume 2 issue #43, "What if Wolverine had married Mariko?", Mariko is eventually killed by her brother, Harada Yashida a.k.a. Silver Samurai, in a plot with the Kingpin. Wolverine is enraged by this and after beating Harada within an inch of his life, Wolverine has a sword of honour held over his head. He swings it... and deliberately misses. Harada breathes a sigh of relief... until Wolverine shoves his fist under Harada's chin, growling "Just decided the honor sword's too good for you. It shouldn't be stained with a traitor's blood. Me? I'm not so fussy." Since this is Wolverine we're talking about, the very next panel we see is blacked out with a very telling SNIKT sound effect overlaid on it. In X-Men, Jubilee faces this choice after she hunts down the men who killed her parents. In a slight variation, Wolverine — the only witness — tells her exactly how she could use her powers to make the deaths look like natural causes. She lets them live, of course. Occurs complete with actual sword over actual head when Rogue defeats Vargas in a swordfight at the end of the X-Treme X-Men arc "Invasion". Vargas encourages her to kill him as predicted by Destiny's diaries, and the ultimate result is deliberately not shown, but Rogue's reactions both during and after the incident make it fairly clear that she didn't go through with it.
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Sword over Head / int_66b7b92d	comment	In Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, instead of literally threatening someone with a weapon, Kyle dangles Tavion in the air with Force Grip at the end of their duel and is about to kill her. He lets her go after she tells him she didn't really kill Jan Ors.
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Sword over Head / int_6c47db4e	comment	Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors: This happens constantly in the series, especially in cutscenes thanks to scripted deaths (beating the prior to the time you should, personally, just makes them run away and say a snarky comment or berate themselves), though sometimes accomplishing totally unrelated missions will allow you to dispatch a few of them early. In Dynasty Warriors 6: Special, Cao Pi has a moment of this having captured Sima Yi after the latter failed coup d'etat. He spares his life, and the scene fades to black with Sima Yi mocking the entire Cao family.
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Sword over Head / int_6c5a9849	comment	Occurs near the end of Shadow of the Conqueror when Ahrek, after managing to beat Daylen in their Trial by Combat, struggles with their similarities and his years of empty hatred while Daylen urges him to do it. To Daylen's utter surprise, Ahrek instead chooses to forgive him, and the sword doesn't fall.
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Sword over Head / int_72262aee	comment	Avatar: The Last Airbender: In "The Southern Air Temple", Prince Zuko leaves his arch-rival Commander Zhao unscathed when he's perfectly poised to kill him after defeating him in a Firebending duel. Zhao does rise up to deliver a flaming kick to the head from behind but is effortlessly deflected by Zuko's mentor, his uncle Iroh. Zuko appears more than ready to finish the fight after this action but is instructed by Iroh not to taint his victory and honor. In "The Southern Raiders", Katara hunts down the man who murdered her mother when she was a young girl. When she has the now pathetic old man cornered and helpless she abruptly stops herself from going through with a fatal strike at the very last moment. Even she seems unsure if it was because she didn't want to kill someone who was helpless in cold blood, if leaving him to continue living his miserable life was the best possible punishment for him, or if seeing how empty and pathetic he was made her decide there would be no satisfaction in it. In the Final Battle, Aang passes up two opportunities to kill Ozai, including a Finishing Move when he is trapped and helpless. Instead, he takes away his Firebending.
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Sword over Head / int_7337d81c	comment	Near the end of Maverick, Marshall Zane Cooper knocks the unarmed Commodore Duvall (who had just double-crossed him) to the ground. Coop picks up a heavy branch and is about to smash his head in:
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Sword over Head / int_73d7930f	comment	In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath", Dax balks at killing the Albino, despite having sworn a blood oath to do so. Ironically this is mistaken for Only I Can Kill Him by Klingon warrior Kang, who stabs the Albino In the Back while he's mocking Dax's lack of resolve. Kang then thanks Dax for allowing him to strike the death blow.
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Sword over Head / int_792239e5	comment	Happens in Tales of Symphonia shortly after The Reveal, with Kratos raising his sword to deal the finishing blow to Lloyd. He can't do it, because Lloyd is his son. The Big Bad shows up a moment later to kick the party around more and then do it himself, which provides La RÃ©sistance enough time to mount a rescue. If you do actually win the battle, the situation is reversed; Lloyd is about to finish off Kratos when the Big Bad arrives.
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Sword over Head / int_7dc73376	comment	Used in both endings of The Force Unleashed. In the "Dark Side" ending, Emperor Palpatine tells Starkiller to prove his loyalty by killing Kota, a Jedi. After a moment's hesitation, he turns and attacks Palpatine. It doesn't end well. By contrast, the "Light Side" ending has Palpatine not only at his mercy, but demanding that Starkiller strike him down. Starkiller nearly goes ahead and does it, but is talked into not giving into his anger and spares him. This turns out to be exactly as bad an idea as it sounds when a moment later, Stormtroopers flood in while Palpatine catches his breath, gets back up, takes another shot at Starkiller and successfully kills him in a rematch. Whoops.
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Sword over Head / int_7dfd06c	comment	A version of this trope without any weapons happens twice in The Karate Kid Part II. At the very start of the film, Mr. Miyagi sees the bad guy teacher from the first movie physically abusing his own students and decides to put a stop to it. After some Deadly Dodging, when he has the Evil Teacher at his mercy, Miyagi repeats that teacher's own motto that mercy is for the weak, winds up for a major blow... then harmlessly tweaks his nose. At the very end, Daniel holds his opponent's life in his hands and asks him, "Live or die, man?" When his opponent says "Die!", Daniel instead copies his mentor and just gives his opponent's nose a tweak.
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Sword over Head / int_7fc78282	comment	The Lord of the Rings: In addition to the examples of Gollum and Wormtongue, noted above under the Films entry, Frodo does this to Saruman at the end. After Saruman has all but destroyed the Shire out of spite, he then tries to personally kill Frodo (to no avail thanks to Frodo's hidden mithril-mail shirt). The other hobbits are just about to kill Saruman when Frodo to stop them, partly because he wants no more killing at all, and partly out of respect for Saruman's former status and nature. Saruman starts to leave, apparently honestly this time, only to mistreat Wormtongue for the last time...
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Sword over Head / int_81692f99	comment	Star Trek: Star Trek: The Original Series: A variation in "Where No Man Has Gone Before". After beating up Gary Mitchell, Kirk holds a large rock over his head, threatening him, but hesitates over killing his friend. He loses his chance when Mitchell regains his power. Similarly, in "Arena", Kirk has the Gorn captain at his mercy, then throws his weapon aside and declares that he refuses to kill him. This turns out to be how he passes a Secret Test of Character. Subverted in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Reunion" — Duras kills K'Ehleyr, so Worf goes over to his ship to fight him and knocks Duras down onto his back. At this point, Riker and Data arrive — Riker calls out to Worf, but is completely ignored, and Worf kills Duras. In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath", Dax balks at killing the Albino, despite having sworn a blood oath to do so. Ironically this is mistaken for Only I Can Kill Him by Klingon warrior Kang, who stabs the Albino In the Back while he's mocking Dax's lack of resolve. Kang then thanks Dax for allowing him to strike the death blow.
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Sword over Head / int_8197ebd8	comment	In the General Protection Fault arc "To Thine Own Self", Nega-Trudy ponders killing Nega-Nick, but Nick-Prime convinces her not to do it by saying that having been around his Evil Counterpart, what he could potentially have been, and that Nega-Trudy could, by doing so, become what she hated most.
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Sword over Head / int_85a5a3b9	comment	Transformers: Prime: Subverted when Arcee is about to kill Megatron (who is badly damaged and on life support), but is convinced to stand down because Megatron has information the Autobots need. As soon as they get it, Arcee cuts Megatron's life support. Megatron survives this, but only because Arcee was in too much of a hurry to make sure she succeeded. Played straight twice later with Optimus and Megatron. In another episode, the Decepticon Starscream finds himself hammered into submission with Arcee's blade against his neck. Having promised to defect to her side, boasted about killing her partner without thinking, tried to snivel his way out of a fight to the death and nearly killed her himself when she started to show mercy, he's certain that begging for his life won't do him any good at this stage, so (seemingly recognizing the routine) he pleads with her, with wide eyes, to finish him herself and get it over with.
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Sword over Head / int_869c1356	comment	In Bad Boys (1995), Mike does this at the end with the drug kingpin who murdered the woman he kinda loved. He doesn't fire. Then the baddie pulls a gun from behind his back, giving Mike all the excuse he needs to empty his gun's clip into his body.
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Sword over Head / int_86c3beca	comment	Girl Genius: Jenka has Othar disarmed and has her sword to his throat, but threatens him rather than kill him, possibly because she was hoping to learn what he'd done with Da Boyz. Da Boyz interrupt by pseudo-fighting her which throws her for a loop, and she tosses Othar aside even though she could have easily removed his head at any point.
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Sword over Head / int_894619be	comment	Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II: After Kyle defeats the first of Jerec's Dark Jedi, Yun, he has him at his mercy but lets him live, leading to his extra-quick Redemption Equals Death later on in the Light Side story or another duel in the Dark Side one. With Maw, the situation is similar, but Kyle is being tempted by the Dark Side and simply cuts him down. In the Light Side ending, Kyle has disarmed Jerec but decides to give him another chance and give him back his lightsaber. Jerec lunges at him again, and... well, if you read the trope description, you'll know what happens.
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Sword over Head / int_89b7cf47	comment	Rizzoli & Isles: Jane Rizzoli has Hoyt, "The Surgeon", in this situation, though with a scalpel instead of a sword (incidentally, a scalpel he had just cut her and Dr. Isles with). Unlike most of the trope examples, she follows through.
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Sword over Head / int_8d670920	comment	Lock Up: A variation is used since swords aren't exactly common in prison. After Frank wins a fight against a gang leader who made it personal by killing First Base, Frank places him on a bench press and holds the weights over his head, ready to drop it. Despite much prompting from the prisoners and even a distant Warden who's looking on from his office window, Frank realizes that killing the man will put him away for life and relents. He gets shivved for his troubles.
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Sword over Head / int_8ec33a86	comment	At the climax of Xenoblade Chronicles 1, Shulk is preparing to strike down Egil, the engineer of the Mechon and mastermind behind the attacks on the Bionis, but Shulk hesitates, even as Zanza yells at him to go through with it already. While Shulk takes the swing, he refuses to go through with killing Egil, as he realizes that the two aren't so different, and seeks to reach a mutual understanding.
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Sword over Head / int_909ca4b1	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_909ca4b1	comment	ReBoot: After an intense showdown, Matrix has Megabyte in this situation but with a trident instead of a sword, Matrix says how Megabyte has ruined his life and brings the trident down... just an inch from his and then says: "Surprised? Don't be. You're not worth it. Mainframe will always endure. Remember this defeat, this humiliation! Remember that you can never win!
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Sword over Head / int_93e3f14e	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_93e3f14e	comment	In Tarzan, Tarzan has Clayton at his mercy, aims Clayton's gun at his throat, and imitates the sound of a gunshot. He then destroys the gun. Clayton tries to attack Tarzan afterward but inadvertently hangs himself, despite Tarzan attempting to warn him that he's doing so.
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Sword over Head / int_944f5d5a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_944f5d5a	comment	The Man with the Terrible Eyes: A variant with electrical powers rather than a physical weapon. After he's won their fight and has the Supervisor on the ground at his mercy, the Man stands over him and is torn between the desire to kill him after all he'd done to him and his disgust at the thought of murdering him in cold blood. He eventually decides to let him live.
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Sword over Head / int_971602	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_971602	comment	Kaamelott: Premier Volet: At the end, King Arthur readies Excalibur to deliver the Coup de GrÃ¢ce to a disarmed Lancelot who's laying on the ground... but ultimately doesn't kill him and lets him flee, after having a tragic flashback of his youth in the Roman army.
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Kaamelott: Premier Volet	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_971602
Sword over Head / int_97bb943d	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_97bb943d	comment	In Gladiator, this seems to be the standard end to a matchup when one gladiator is disarmed. Caesar is supposed to decide what happens, but Maximus lets his opponent live anyway.
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Sword over Head / int_986f25e0	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_986f25e0	comment	Murder in the Alps: In the conclusion of The Dada Killer, the eponymous Serial Killer is injured and held at gunpoint by Anna while her police friend calls for help. Wanting to go down in history as an artistic genius, the murderer attempts to make Anna shoot him by bragging that all the murders he committed gave the Intrepid Reporter juicy content for her article. Enraged and deeply affected by Judit's murder, Anna points her gun at the Dada Killer for several intense seconds until she lowers the gun and states that she refuses to give him the satisfaction.
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Sword over Head / int_9888e7c2	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9888e7c2	comment	The Dan Vs. episode "Dan Vs. Chris" culminates in an "Amok Time"-esque battle in the rain over a piece of sci-fi memorabilia, ending with Chris at the edge of a cliff, Dan apparently considering it... but a montage of memories seems to convince him otherwise. A minute later, spoofing the formula, Dan gives us the following dialogue:
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Sword over Head / int_9910cc85	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9910cc85	comment	In Mulan, when the protagonist is revealed to have been a woman, Shang is about to kill her... but then decides not to as she did just save the entire army. And his life during the avalanche.
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Sword over Head / int_9932d505	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9932d505	comment	In All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, Batman brings Dick Grayson the man who killed his parents, gagged and tied up. He then offers Dick a battleaxe and tells him to 'Choose. Avenger or detective.' Dick raises the axe over his head and brings it down... right next to the thug's face, slashing open the gag and one of his cheeks, but not his skull. The thug spills the beans.
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Sword over Head / int_998cbda3	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_998cbda3	comment	In the series finale of Daredevil (2015), Matt Murdock has Wilson Fisk dead to rights, beaten to a pulp, and is sorely, sorely tempted to snap the villain's neck with his bare hands; Fisk even dares him to do so, with Matt's hands in place on his jaw and skull. Matt instead roars in fury, screaming a blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech in Fisk's face; Matt leaves Fisk to be arrested, warning him that if Fisk tries to seek retribution on Matt's friends, Matt will ensure that Fisk's wife is also sent to prison for ordering the murder of Ray Nadeem.
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Sword over Head / int_9a7088bc	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9a7088bc	comment	Star Trek: The Original Series: A variation in "Where No Man Has Gone Before". After beating up Gary Mitchell, Kirk holds a large rock over his head, threatening him, but hesitates over killing his friend. He loses his chance when Mitchell regains his power. Similarly, in "Arena", Kirk has the Gorn captain at his mercy, then throws his weapon aside and declares that he refuses to kill him. This turns out to be how he passes a Secret Test of Character.
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Sword over Head / int_9aac0273	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9aac0273	comment	In Men at Arms, when Vimes wants to kill a man (to be fair, he was under the influence of the gonne), Carrot eventually convinces him not to, saying "Personal isn't the same as important." Of course, when the man himself goes for the gun, Carrot kills him, running the man through as well as piercing the foot-thick granite column behind him.
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Men at Arms	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_9aac0273
Sword over Head / int_9bb5aad4	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9bb5aad4	comment	Subverted in an odd variation in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX when Austin O'Brien duels the Masked Knight of Laughter. O'Brien plays a combo that, if executed properly, will win him the duel on his first turn. The Knight begs for a chance to play a little more, so O'Brien interrupts the combo and lets the Knight take his turn... before he realizes that O'Brien is walking away as his last card activates, wiping out his remaining life points anyway.
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Sword over Head / int_9c7f8cdd	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9c7f8cdd	comment	In The Lion in Winter, King Henry II lifts his sword over his head to execute his son Richard, but can't bring himself to go through with it.
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Sword over Head / int_9edf7c1d	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_9edf7c1d	comment	In What If? volume 2 issue #43, "What if Wolverine had married Mariko?", Mariko is eventually killed by her brother, Harada Yashida a.k.a. Silver Samurai, in a plot with the Kingpin. Wolverine is enraged by this and after beating Harada within an inch of his life, Wolverine has a sword of honour held over his head. He swings it... and deliberately misses. Harada breathes a sigh of relief... until Wolverine shoves his fist under Harada's chin, growling "Just decided the honor sword's too good for you. It shouldn't be stained with a traitor's blood. Me? I'm not so fussy." Since this is Wolverine we're talking about, the very next panel we see is blacked out with a very telling SNIKT sound effect overlaid on it.
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Sword over Head / int_a346e791	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_a346e791	comment	In NUMB3RS, the guy helping the cops has killed several people, but has the real baddie's money. The baddie kills his dad and holds the sister hostage, and after a complex series of actions, ends up with the Big Bad's gun with a SWAT team pointing guns at them. Since he vowed to confess to his earlier crimes if they rescued his sister (they had), he says he has nothing to live for. Don convinces to lower the gun.
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Sword over Head / int_a5d35fda	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_a5d35fda	comment	Occurs twice in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Frodo captures Gollum and holds him at swordpoint, but decides to spare him out of pity. It pays off in the end. After Gandalf breaks Evil Chancellor Wormtongue's hold over Theoden King of Rohan, Aragorn says that Wormtongue should be allowed to live, because he's so pathetic and seemingly harmless. This is a very nice job of breaking it since Wormtongue goes to tell Saruman that the people of Rohan are going to Helm's Deep, and how the fortress can be attacked.
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Sword over Head / int_a90c872c	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_a90c872c	comment	This happens at the beginning of How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Hiccup has always wanted to make a name for himself by killing a dragon, and has finally succeeded, catching the most feared Night Fury in a net. Now all he has to do is to strike at the defenseless creature. Hiccup stands resolute, dagger overhead... then realises that he can't do it, and frees the dragon instead. Then the trope gets an instant role reversal, as the dragon (who will eventually become his friend Toothless) pins Hiccup to a rock, seems to prepare a killing breath of fire... then just roars in his face and flies off.
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Sword over Head / int_ac9f81ac	comment	Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy: After Jaden Korr defeats Rosh Penin, they seem to be about to enter a situation like this, but are interrupted by the arrival of Kyle Katarn and Tavion. They return to the setup when they next meet when Rosh is hardly much of a villain anymore, but Jaden is still angry at him. Whether the player chooses to attack Rosh next or not determines whether you get the Dark Side or Light Side ending. Towards the end in the Light Side story, Tavion is determined to avoid this fate after being beaten by Jaden, and as a result ends up possessed by the dead Sith Lord she has been worshipping. In the Dark Side version, she tells Jaden to Get It Over With, and they comply. Then have to fight Kyle Katarn instead.
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Sword over Head / int_accb04fd	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_accb04fd	comment	In The Matrix: Path of Neo if you have a katana or nearly any sword and do a fully charged killing blow, after the enemy is knocked into a kneeling position, Neo raises the sword above his head before bringing it down.
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Sword over Head / int_ae285944	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_ae285944	comment	Variant in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. After Robin defeats the Sheriff of Rottingham, he turns away, compliments his sword, and makes to sheathe it... and accidentally runs the Sheriff through as he tries to backstab Robin.
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Sword over Head / int_b36b839d	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_b36b839d	comment	In Hook, Peter Pan does this with Captain Hook at his mercy, only to have Hook lunge at him and claw his arm instead.
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Hook	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_b36b839d
Sword over Head / int_b53b86fa	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_b53b86fa	comment	The Princess Bride: After the Man in Black defeats Inigo, Inigo begs for a quick death... but is knocked out with the hilt of the sword.
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The Princess Bride	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_b53b86fa
Sword over Head / int_bb1b8e8c	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_bb1b8e8c	comment	Critical Role: When Trent Ikithon is defeated by the Mighty Nein after his attack on the Blooming Grove, he is quickly surrounded and pinned down. Essek paralyzes him with Hold Person, Beau sits on his chest with her first reared back should he try anything, Fjord holds a blade to his neck, Veth aims a charged crossbow bolt at him, Yasha steps on his groin while jabbing her gigantic greatsword into his sternum, just deep enough to draw blood, and Astrid is ultimately the one to trigger the Collar of Silence, shutting him up for good. All of them want him dead, but Beau and Caleb ultimately stop Astrid from finishing the job, not because they don't think it would be the right thing to do, but because they want Trent and the institutions that enabled him to be held accountable.
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Sword over Head / int_bcdcf629	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_bcdcf629	comment	Transformers: Animated: In "Endgame", Optimus Prime has Megatron at his mercy and is filled with vengeance after learning that Prowl has been Killed Off for Real. He swings the mighty Magnus Hammer to deliver the final blow, only to strike his fusion cannon and merely cuff Megatron instead. (Since the Magnus Hammer needs a few moments to charge for a full-powered lightning strike, it's possible that Optimus only hesitated to charge rather than the moral dilemma of letting Megatron live.)
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Sword over Head / int_bd310eaa	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_bd310eaa	comment	In El Goonish Shive, Raven has Abraham at his mercy after their sword fight and asks him to surrender so he doesn't have to kill him.
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Sword over Head / int_c1398918	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_c1398918	comment	In Witchblade, Sara holds the point of the titular Witchblade against the throat of the man who killed her father, best friend, and partner. In the end, she chooses to arrest him.
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Sword over Head / int_c43df4d8	comment	Doctor Who: A lot of times in the Classic series, the Doctor plays this straight. Even in the Darker and Edgier New Who series, it's played straight with the Master, whom the Doctor is reluctant to kill despite having every reason to do so. In "The Christmas Invasion", after the Doctor has defeated the Sycorax Leader in a swordfight while maintaining a running monologue about what sort of person his new incarnation is, he accepts the alien's surrender and walks off. When the Sycorax gets up and charges at him, he uses a satsuma to knock him off the ship, without breaking stride. "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man." In "The Doctor's Daughter", after the nearly happy ending, the baddie kills the Doctor's daughter (Opposite-Sex Clone) out of spite. The Doctor takes his gun and points it at his head, breathing fast and heavy for several seconds before throwing it away and saying "I never would", finally encouraging those around him to forge their society on the principles of the man who "never would". It should be noted his daughter came back to life, though she didn't regenerate. Having two hearts sure comes in handy.
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Sword over Head / int_c67be877	comment	Akin to the Hornblower example below, the first Flashman novel has a variant with the pistol duel — after his opponent has shot his ball and missed, Flashman spends some time trying to make him squirm, before dramatically pointing his pistol to one side and firing without looking. By sheer fluke, Flash's shot takes the top off a wine bottle on a nearby table, giving him an unwarranted reputation as a crack shot...
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Sword over Head / int_c6f7e804	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_c6f7e804	comment	Blake's 7: This happens several times in the first two seasons, as Travis (and sometimes Servalan) has Plot Armor, since he has to survive to serve as Blake's Arch-Enemy. The reasons given include Blake knowing that the Federation would just send someone else (and he's convinced he can always beat Travis), because he's worried he'd enjoy it, or as a Cruel Mercy (because Travis will be punished for failing, or because he's lost everything after going Rogue Agent). When Anti-Hero Avon becomes the leader, he's not burdened by such qualms, so Servalan usually arranges a Mexican Standoff or Villain: Exit, Stage Left However, Avon (and Tarrant in "Sand", despite Servalan arranging the death of his brother) seem equally reluctant to kill her as Blake was to kill Travis.
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Sword over Head / int_c717e9ce	comment	In The 10th Kingdom, the heroes have the evil Huntsman at their mercy and Wolf is preparing to kill him when Virginia stops him. Wolf correctly points out that this will only leave him to follow them and that she would regret the decision. This leads to pretty much every reversal the heroes face for the rest of the story.
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Sword over Head / int_c7fbcf5f	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_c7fbcf5f	comment	Horatio Hornblower: In "The Duel", Midshipman Hornblower fights a duel with Midshipman Simpson. Simpson fires early and causes only superficial injury before begging for his life, and Hornblower points his pistol up into the air and fires, refusing to kill Simpson purely out of spite. This psychs out Simpson who tries to stab Hornblower In the Back with a knife and is killed by Captain Pellew, their commanding officer.
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Sword over Head / int_cb339e98	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_cb339e98	comment	The Horse and His Boy: The nature of this trope, particularly the alternate ending (namely, that killing in self-defense is acceptable, but killing in cold blood is not), is explored towards the end.
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Sword over Head / int_cbad9b62	comment	In Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the Battle of Vermillion ends with Yang having Reinhart's flagship — and Reinhart with it — dead to rights and defenseless and only an order away from killing him. While the cast begins discussing amongst themselves whether to finish him off or not, Reuental and Mittenmeyer conquer The Federation's headquarters, and the politicians surrender and order Yang to stand down. He does.
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Sword over Head / int_d14bb14a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_d14bb14a	comment	Later in that same season Chuck has Shaw by the throat in a death grip. Shaw attempts to provoke him into finishing the job, but Chuck comments he already did in a Call-Back to the above scene and releases him.
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Sword over Head / int_d62bbf7a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_d62bbf7a	comment	At the end of Assassin's Creed II, Ezio kneels beside Rodrigo Borgia in the same Animus back room used for every major assassination in the series. Then, he retracts his blade and walks away.
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Sword over Head / int_d68614d9	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_d68614d9	comment	In Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices, Echo handily beats Saarl and holds a spear over his face, but decides not to kill him because there has been enough violence.
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Sword over Head / int_d7626bdd	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_d7626bdd	comment	In Deadpool (2016), the titular hero has the Big Bad who tortured him nonstop to activate his mutant genes, ruined his body and kidnapped his girlfriend under a gun and helpless. Colossus attempts to intervene with a heartwarming speech about what it means to be a 'hero', encouraging Deadpool to relent in his anger and be the better man. Deadpool, being Deadpool, responds by blowing the big bad's brains out.
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Deadpool (2016)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_d7626bdd
Sword over Head / int_d9c602eb	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_d9c602eb	comment	Subverted in the South Park episode "Red Sleigh Down" when after being freed from his torture, Santa takes a gun and shoots the person who tortured him. It looks and sounds like he shot to the side but then we see the victim and Santa says "I just couldn't do it, I just couldn't let him live. He shocked Santa's balls." It's probably a reference to a scene from the movie Three Kings, in which after saving Barlow from his Iraqi torturers Major Gates hands Barlow his pistol. Barlow stares at the pistol, then at his interrogator, who wasn't so different, and finally points it to the side at the last minute and empties the clip into the wall.
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Sword over Head / int_dbbf2001	comment	In the third book of the Prince Roger series, Roger does exactly this to his traitorous father, and is only talked down by his fiancÃ©.
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Prince Roger	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_dbbf2001
Sword over Head / int_e078fbfc	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_e078fbfc	comment	Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2: Raziel holds the Soul Reaver over his head in order to execute Kain, only to spare him in the last second, changing his destiny and the course of history forever.
Sword over Head / int_e078fbfc	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_e078fbfc	featureConfidence	1.0
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 (Video Game)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_e078fbfc
Sword over Head / int_e26a4546	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_e26a4546	comment	In Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins, Lord Gohda is engaged in a swordfight with his uncle, who has led a revolt against him, and ends up knocking his uncle's sword away. Of course, being the good and noble lord, Gohda hesitates and lowers his weapon. His uncle then repays this kindness by pulling out a gun and shooting him. It is then that the player-controlled Rikimaru steps in, cuing a boss fight. After the fight, the trope occurs again, with Rikumaru poised over the uncle. Of course, being a ninja, Rikimaru slashes, but Gohda leaps in and takes the slash to his back. The uncle, touched by this, proceeds to scamper off and kill Gohda's wife and kidnap his daughter. Nice guy.
Sword over Head / int_e26a4546	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_e26a4546	featureConfidence	1.0
Tenchu (Video Game)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_e26a4546
Sword over Head / int_e293455a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_e293455a	comment	Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In "Angel", the eponymous hero attempts Suicide by Cop by provoking Buffy into killing him. Eventually, Buffy gets Angel in her crossbow sights; to Angel's surprise, the Slayer intentionally shoots wide and her bolt thunks into the wall beside his head. Buffy nearly overpowers Angelus in their first encounter ("Innocence") but can't bring herself to finish him, so she settles for a kick to the groin instead.
Sword over Head / int_e293455a	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_e293455a	featureConfidence	1.0
Buffy the Vampire Slayer	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_e293455a
Sword over Head / int_e3f1e9f4	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_e3f1e9f4	comment	In Operation: Mindcrime II, the protagonist has the Big Bad Dr. X at gunpoint for a song, debating whether or not to do him in. On the last line, he pulls the trigger.
Sword over Head / int_e3f1e9f4	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_e3f1e9f4	featureConfidence	1.0
Operation: Mindcrime (Music)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_e3f1e9f4
Sword over Head / int_e6267766	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_e6267766	comment	In a non-canon Star Wars Legends comic, a Not Quite Dead Darth Maul tracks Obi-Wan Kenobi down to Tatooine and engages in a short but vicious fight with him that ends with Obi-Wan's deactivated lightsaber against Maul's forehead. Thumb hovering over the activation stud, Obi-Wan wavers indecisively until a badly injured and pissed-off Owen Lars blows Maul's head off.
Sword over Head / int_e6267766	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_e6267766	featureConfidence	1.0
Star Wars Legends (Franchise)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_e6267766
Sword over Head / int_e7e37776	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_e7e37776	comment	Firefly has Malcolm Reynolds holding his opponent at swordpoint at the end of a duel to the death.
Sword over Head / int_e7e37776	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_e7e37776	featureConfidence	1.0
Firefly	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_e7e37776
Sword over Head / int_ea4158ee	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_ea4158ee	comment	Late in Blood Meridian, the kid (well, he's a teenager) and the ex-priest Tobin find the monstrous Judge Holden trapped and at their mercy, and Tobin actually tells the kid to take his gun and do it, kill him now, but the kid — even though the alternative is to let him die of thirst — chooses not to. The judge gets out, later, and nothing good comes of it.
Sword over Head / int_ea4158ee	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_ea4158ee	featureConfidence	1.0
Blood Meridian	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_ea4158ee
Sword over Head / int_eb46e06a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_eb46e06a	comment	Inverted at the end of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, which finishes with Max surrounded by Auntie Entity and her armed goons. She lets him go:
Sword over Head / int_eb46e06a	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_eb46e06a	featureConfidence	1.0
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_eb46e06a
Sword over Head / int_ec28245c	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_ec28245c	comment	Dragon Ball Z: Vegeta, after a ridiculously long, grueling battle, lays nearly crippled on the ground at the mercy of Krillin, who is holding Yajirobe's sword to his neck. After Goku pleads with Krillin for several minutes to let Vegeta go, he throws the sword away against his better judgment and allows the half-dead antagonist to escape. Which totally saves their collective asses during the Frieza and Cell sagas. Vegeta's The Lancer for a reason. Then Goku tried it again after defeating Frieza after his legs and arm had been cut off, and actually gave him what he figured was enough power for him to live and escape the about-to-explode planet. But apparently this time Goku forgot that Frieza had committed genocide on at least two different occasions, and as soon as he flew off, Frieza used the energy he received to take one last shot at him. And then Goku demonstrated just WHY he could take that chance; because when Frieza tried shooting him, he responded by turning around and shooting an energy beam at Frieza, killing him. Or... not, as later episodes show.
Sword over Head / int_ec28245c	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_ec28245c	featureConfidence	1.0
Dragon Ball Z	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_ec28245c
Sword over Head / int_ed535562	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_ed535562	comment	When heroic Justin and wicked Jenner engage in a swordfight in The Secret of NIMH, Jenner raises his sword for an overhead stroke. Justin uses the opportunity to deliver a simple jab that pierces Jenner's left lung. Jenner cries in pain, drops his crooked sword and reels backward, clutching his wound. Justin, having no desire to hack at a wounded adversary, drops his sword to extol his fellow rats to complete the exodus that the slain Nicodemus planned. Jenner, however, recovers his sword and makes another attempt to cleave Justin. Jenner's cohort Sullivan, in a Heelâ€“Face Turn, throws a dagger that fells Jenner before he can strike.
Sword over Head / int_ed535562	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_ed535562	featureConfidence	1.0
The Secret of NIMH	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_ed535562
Sword over Head / int_eef5470a	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_eef5470a	comment	Rurouni Kenshin: Subverted with Eiji is stopped from killing a helpless Senkaku by the Anti-Hero Saitou, but only because there is a law against revenge killing, and Saitou needs the criminal for interrogation, where a grislier fate awaits Senkaku in the form of torture and the death penalty. Kenshin, however, appeases the vengeful youth by appealing to his better nature. See also Kenshin with Kurogasa/Jin-e, who kills himself rather than be disgraced and useless.
Sword over Head / int_eef5470a	featureApplicability	-0.3
Sword over Head / int_eef5470a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rurouni Kenshin (Manga)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_eef5470a
Sword over Head / int_ef9ba9b4	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_ef9ba9b4	comment	Revenge of the Sith: Anakin disarms Count Dooku and finds himself in a position where he can decide Dooku's fate. Palpatine tells Anakin to kill Dooku. Though reluctant, he actually goes through with it and scissors Dooku's head off (at Palpatine's encouragement). When Mace Windu attempts to arrest Palpatine after finding out he's the Sith Lord behind the Clone Wars and has him disarmed and at swordpoint. Anakin shows up despite being warned not to get involved and pleads with Mace not to kill Palpatine, while Mace himself mentally debates whether he should kill him (which would be better for the galaxy but goes against the Jedi's morals) or leave him alive (which would be morally right but extremely risky). There is plenty of Dramatic Irony since Anakin found himself in the exact same situation before with Count Dooku but still executed him even though he knew it was wrong. At the Battle of Mustafar, Obi-Wan prepares to finish off Anakin in an overhead downward swing, only for his efforts to be blocked. Strangely, the maneuver seemed more appropriate for Anakin's aggressive fighting style, rather than Obi-Wan's defensive style.
Sword over Head / int_ef9ba9b4	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_ef9ba9b4	featureConfidence	1.0
Revenge of the Sith	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_ef9ba9b4
Sword over Head / int_f0c816fb	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_f0c816fb	comment	Breaking Bad: An early episode has Walt debating whether or not to kill the captive Krazy-8, even going so far as to write up a pros and cons list. He eventually realizes that Krazy-8 is too dangerous to let live and strangles him to death.
Sword over Head / int_f0c816fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_f0c816fb	featureConfidence	1.0
Breaking Bad	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_f0c816fb
Sword over Head / int_f3e1f424	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_f3e1f424	comment	In Merlin (2008), Arthur has several of these moments: with Olaf in series 2 (though he's not exactly a villain), with Derian in series 4, and with Odin in series 5.
Sword over Head / int_f3e1f424	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_f3e1f424	featureConfidence	1.0
Merlin (2008)	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_f3e1f424
Sword over Head / int_fc612179	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_fc612179	comment	This happens twice in the Skylark Series. Twice the arch-enemy gets in so far over his head that he's forced to call on the hero to rescue him, and incidentally wipe out a threat to human civilization.
Sword over Head / int_fc612179	featureApplicability	1.0
Sword over Head / int_fc612179	featureConfidence	1.0
Skylark Series	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_fc612179
Sword over Head / int_ff9ab17f	type	Sword over Head
Sword over Head / int_ff9ab17f	comment	Subverted in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Reunion" — Duras kills K'Ehleyr, so Worf goes over to his ship to fight him and knocks Duras down onto his back. At this point, Riker and Data arrive — Riker calls out to Worf, but is completely ignored, and Worf kills Duras.
Sword over Head / int_ff9ab17f	featureApplicability	-0.3
Sword over Head / int_ff9ab17f	featureConfidence	1.0
Star Trek: The Next Generation	hasFeature	Sword over Head / int_ff9ab17f

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Sword over Head	processingCategory2	Action/Adventure Tropes
Sword over Head	processingCategory2	Weapons and Wielding Tropes
Berserk (2016) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Hack/Slash (Comic Book) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Marvel's Voices (Comic Book) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Question (Comic Book) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
What If? (Comic Book) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Legend of Spyro: A New Dawn / Fan Fic / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Mossflower Odyssey 3 (Fanfic) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Shadows Over Hell (Fanfic) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Silent Partner, Unfinished Business (Fanfic) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The North Remembers (Fanfic) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Rise Of Golus (Fanfic) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Bad Boys (1995) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Kaamelott: Premier Volet / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Lock Up / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Maverick / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Passengers (2016) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Return of the Jedi / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Riddick / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Road House (1989) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Robin Hood: Men in Tights / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Omen (1976) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Piano / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Corsair / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Dragon Calling / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
L.A. Confidential / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Shadow of the Conqueror / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Aeneid / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Wars of the Realm / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
IfYouKillHimYouWIllBeJustLikeHim	seeAlso	Sword over Head
SwordChucks	seeAlso	Sword over Head
Alive: The Final Evolution (Manga) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Rave Master (Manga) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Operation: Mindcrime (Music) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Earthsearch (Radio) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Blake's 7 / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Chinese Paladin 3 / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Chuck / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Horatio Hornblower / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Witchblade / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Hamlet (Theatre) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Lion in Winter (Theatre) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Grandia II (Video Game) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Murder in the Alps (Video Game) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
The Matrix: Path of Neo (Video Game) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Xenoblade (Video Game) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Xenoblade Chronicles 1 (Video Game) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Summer Rose Court (Visual Novel) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
A Dreamer Reborn (Webcomic) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Ben 10 / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Transformers: Animated / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Swordquest (Comic Book) / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head
Aeon Legion: Labyrinth / int_24008c2c	type	Sword over Head

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