History Main / BackForTheDead

--->'''Kristine Sutherland''': I was not around much in the fourth season, which was my choice, and when I let them know that JossWhedon said, "Please, you must be around for the fifth season because I need to kill you".

** Similarly, the mini-episode "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3jrS-uhuo The Night of the Doctor]]" features the return of the [[Creator/PaulMcGann Eighth Doctor]]. He suffers fatal injuries in a spaceship crash trying to save a woman who refused him because he was a Time Lord. The ones who pull him from the wreckage bring him back long enough to be able to choose his next regeneration to enable him to end the Time War, which gives us the "[[Creator/JohnHurt War Doctor]]."

** The mini-episode "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3jrS-uhuo The Night of the Doctor]]" features the return of the [[Creator/PaulMcGann Eighth Doctor]]. He suffers fatal injuries in a spaceship crash trying to safe a woman who refused him because he was a Time Lord. The ones who pull him from the wreckage bring him back long enough to be able to choose his next regeneration to enable him to end the Time War, which gives us the "[[Creator/JohnHurt War Doctor]]."

** The most infamous example probably comes from Marvel's ComicBook/CivilWar crossover. Early advertising for the storyline implied that many beloved heroes would die. In reality, only one established hero died: Goliath, a character who hadn't done anything of note since the 1970's.

* A famous example is Max Fenig, a fan favorite from an episode of the first season of ''Series/{{The X-Files}}''. After being abducted at the episode's conclusion, he reappeared in the teaser at the beginning of a fourth season episode... as a dead body in the wreckage of an airplane. The rest of the two-parter dealt with reconstructing how this came to pass and dealing with its implications.

* In ''MetalGearSolid4'', Big Boss who was thought to be dead is revealed to be alive and then promptly dies after providing a truly epic 45 minute {{Infodump}}.

* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': Brad Vickers, brought back in ''3'' seemingly solely to [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome have a bridge dropped on him]]. Although this was a ContinuityNod to him being [[GuideDangIt a hidden zombie enemy]] in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''. Perhaps this was an opportunity for him to [[DyingAsYourself die as himself...]]
* Johnny Klebitz from ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned The Lost and Damned]]'' shows up in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' to argue with new protagonist Trevor over a woman. Trevor promptly kicks him to death.

** Played straight with Lenore, played by AmberBenson. She was a vampire from early on in the second season who avoided drinking blood from humans and ultimately wound up getting saved by the brothers. She then returns four and a half seasons later where all the recent demon activity has caused her thirst to become uncontrollable, so she asks Sam and Dean put her out of her misery. While they waffle about the morality of this, Cass does as she asked.

* TheOpening of ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' features Bond [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService visiting his wife's grave]] and then being captured by a bald man in a wheelchair who has a white cat. Bond eventually gains control of the helicopter, picks up the wheelchair man and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim throws him down an industrial smokestack]].

* TheOpening of ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' features Bond [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService visiting his wife's grave]] and then being captured by a bald man in a wheelchair who has a white cat. Bond eventually gains control of the helicopter, picks up the wheelchair man and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim throws him down an industrial smokestack]].

* In [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides]], Lt. Gillette, who unlike Lt. Groves did not appear in either of the first two sequels (despite having had a somewhat bigger role than Groves in ''Curse of the Black Pearl'') and had been assumed dead by many of the fans, returned only to be killed off rather unceremoniously in the final battle.

* One of SpiderMan's villains, the original Hobgoblin was absent from the main Spidey titles for more than a decade. The writers eventually bowed to fan demand and brought him back... just in time for him to be killed and his murderer to take his stuff and become the new Hobgoblin, subverted it turn out to be Daniel Kingsley brother of the first Hobgoblin that was killed the original Hobgoblin is still alive.

* During the infamously ''Comicbook/IronMan'' storyline ''The Crossing'', D-list former [[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]] Yellowjacket and Gilgamesh returned to the team just so that they could be killed off. This then started a subplot about {{Hawkeye}} being framed for their murders.

* During JuddWinicks run on ''[[BatmanAndTheOutsiders The Outsiders]]'', the old {{Shazam}} foe Sabbac (who hadn't been seen in ''years'') showed up just long enough for a Russian gangster to [[DyingToBeReplaced kill him and steal his powers]].

* Fans of ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' were thrilled when Maya was brought back to the show in the second season after being PutOnABus halfway through the first, only to be disappointed when her corpse is found in the season finale.

* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' has Frank Lundy, a lead character of season 2 who was PutOnABus at the end of said season. He returns in season 4 to hunt down [[SerialKiller Trinity]], only for him to be shot to death by [[spoiler: Trinity's estranged daughter.]]

* Dobby in the ''Film/HarryPotter'' films. As a result of his role in the fourth, fifth, and sixth books being cut, he appears in the second film and then doesn't show up again until ''DeathlyHallows Part 1'' so that he can die on schedule.

* You can make an argument for all the returning characters of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' in Book the Twelfth.

* Another ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' murder mystery storyline example was James Robinson's "Face to Face" storyline, in which various supervillains whom had fallen into obscurity were brought back to be murdered by a new serial killer (the Tally Man under Great White's orders). The victims, some of whom had appeared more recently than others, were The Ventriloquist I, Magpie, [=KGBeast=] and Orca.

* Another ''{{Batman}}'' murder mystery storyline example was James Robinson's "Face to Face" storyline, in which various supervillains whom had fallen into obscurity were brought back to be murdered by a new serial killer (the Tally Man under Great White's orders). The victims, some of whom had appeared more recently than others, were The Ventriloquist I, Magpie, [=KGBeast=] and Orca.

* The writing staff of ''AmarEnTiemposRevueltos'' seems to have as a personal goal doing this to whoever has ever been PutOnABus.

* Frieza was apparently killed by Goku at the end of the infamous Namek fight in ''Manga/DragonBall Z''. He returned to get his revenge a few episodes later. Then Trunks came in and [[KilledOffForReal proceeded to slice him up into little bits...]]