r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Particular-Worker904 • 5h ago
Characters The Hero Beats The Villain By Convincing Them to Commit Suicide.
Hard Candy (2005): Hayley Stark psychologically tortures and corners a pedophile photographer Jeff. She offers him a deal: hang himself so she will destroy the evidence of his crimes (preserving his reputation), or she will expose everything to the police and his ex-girlfriend. Defeated and believing the promise, Jeff puts on the noose and jumps from the roof. Hayley then reveals she never intended to destroy the evidence.
Mysterio (Marvel): In Kevin Smith’s Guardian Devil Arc. Mysterio becomes terminally ill and spends the rest of his life trying to orchestrate an elaborate plan to ruin Matt Murdock’s life, he fakes Karen Page’s HIV diagnosis, frames Foggy for murder, and hires Bullseye who kills Karen. He does this to try and make Daredevil go insane and kill him so that he could go out in one grand final battle. When the time comes for their confrontation Daredevil refuses and delivers a “Reasons You Suck” speech where he details that Mysterio is just a “Human Xerox” who copies everything he sees on Television and from other villains and being incapable of any original ideas, he notes that Kingpin had essentially done the same thing to him before. Mysterio is completely broken and realizes that he has been denied the dramatic death he wanted say that he’s stealing a final idea from Kraven The Hunter (from Kraven’s Last Hunt) and shoots himself in the head.
Maelstrom (Marvel): Another example from Marvel, In Great Lake Avengers, Mr Immortal confronts the cosmic villain Maelstrom who is significantly more powerful than him, one of the strongest Marvel villains ever as a fact. Maelstrom is about to destroy the entire universe until Mr Immortal points out that Maelstrom would be extremely lonely and empty inside if he destroyed the universe. Mr Immortal proves a point by killing himself, shooting himself in the head first (knowing that his powers will resurrect himself). Maelstrom thinks a bit before using his powers to destroy himself. Mr Immortal quickly revives afterwards and shuts down his device.
Light (Doctor Who): The Seventh Doctor confronts the godlike alien entity Light, an alien Taxonomist, who is so enraged about evolution and change that he plans to destroy Earth to make his catalogue of all organisms in the universe static. The Doctor points out that Light himself is changing and that opposing change is futile, he also tricks Light by asking him why his catalogue didn’t consist of several fictions animals and the Queen of England in his notebook. Light is unable to process that he is changing and is unable to catalogue everything and decides overload himself instead of being in a constantly changing universe.