History Main / BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' are about a competition where 24 children have to kill each other until only one is left standing. Luckily for the main character, a group of kids who went into the game by choice rather than by force are painted in a very negative light and commit almost all of the unprovoked killings.

Also see ExitPursuedByABear, DesignatedEvil, PsychoSupporter, KickTheSonOfABitch, IndispensableScoundrel, SparingThemTheDirtyWork, SelfDisposingVillain (also spares the hero from killing them), and TokenEvilTeammate (the 'hero' inclined to play dirty pool in a team of good guys), and AdaptationalSelfDefense (keep the hero morally upright by making their unsavory actions into self-defense).

* ''Dead Man's Land'' by Robert Ryan. [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes Dr. Watson]] is unable to shoot the fleeing murderer InTheBack, but knows he can't let a man who's committed several cold-blooded murders escape. He decides to let the 'Gods of War' decide and fires off a flare, lighting up No Mans Land and revealing the murderer to a German sniper.

* In ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'', [[spoiler:Captain Gutt]] is implicitly devoured by [[OurSirensAreDifferent the sirens]].
-->'''Siren:''' (''emerging from a clamshell [[MasterOfIllusion in the form of]] [[spoiler:an ape mermaid]]'') Oh [[spoiler:Captain Gutt]]...\\
'''[[spoiler:Captain Gutt]]:''' That's me!\\
'''Siren:''' Let's rule the seas together!\\
'''[[spoiler:Captain Gutt]]:''' ''Aye-aye!''\\
'''Siren:''' (''flashes a terrifying SlasherSmile at him and drags him into her shell'')
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'': At the climax of the movie Iago, who was an outright villain in [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} the first movie]] and is [[HeelFaceTurn starting to turn]], is the one to [[spoiler:push Jafar's lamp into lava and kill the evil genie for good]].

* A similar scenario, combined with a BatmanGambit, plays out in ''Film/EnemyOfTheState''. The film opens with Dean negotiating with mobster Pintero over a compromising videotape that Dean had obtained, and which he gives Pintero in exchange for leaving Dean's clients alone. Later, Dean unknowingly obtains a recording that shows the assassination of a Congressman, which places him in the NSA's crosshairs. When he and Brill are captured by NSA bigwig Reynolds, he tells Reynolds that he will take them to the tape, leading them to Pintero instead. Dean remains vague enough when introducing them that Pintero assumes Reynolds is the man who made the mob tape coming to blackmail him, while Reynolds thinks that Dean gave the assassination tape to The Mafia, leading to a violent shootout where both Mafia and NSA forces wipe each other out.

Also see ExitPursuedByABear, DesignatedEvil, PoisonousFriend, KickTheSonOfABitch, IndispensableScoundrel, SparingThemTheDirtyWork, SelfDisposingVillain (also spares the hero from killing them), and TokenEvilTeammate (the 'hero' inclined to play dirty pool in a team of good guys), and AdaptationalSelfDefense (keep the hero morally upright by making their unsavory actions into self-defense).

Also see ExitPursuedByABear, DesignatedEvil, PoisonousFriend, KickTheSonOfABitch, IndispensableScoundrel, SparingThemTheDirtyWork, and TokenEvilTeammate (the 'hero' inclined to play dirty pool in a team of good guys), and AdaptationalSelfDefense (keep the hero morally upright by making their unsavory actions into self-defense).

* A majority of the villains in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', if it's not a case of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard their own]] [[SelfDisposingVillain hands]], then at the hands of villains. Two notable examples include [[spoiler:Lionheart, a traitor who helped contribute to the fall of Beacon, [[YouHaveFailedMe being killed by Salem]] and Jacques, Weiss's abusive father, meeting his end via Ironwood's {{BFG}}.]] There's tons to count that it's easier to count how many villains ''did'' die by RWBY's hand: [[spoiler:One: Adam Taurus]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'': At the climax of the movie Iago, who was an outright villain in [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} the first movie]] and is [[HeelFaceTurn starting to turn]], is the one to [[spoiler: push Jafar's lamp into lava and kill the evil genie for good]].

* The climax scene of ''Film/LetTheRightOneIn'' goes...this way, kind of. [[spoiler: As the kid's about to be drowned, Eli shows up and saves the day. But since she's a vampire, she kills three people doing so.]]

** Later, the Joker strands two ferries in the harbor, one filled with civilians, the other with convicts, and tells them that if one boat doesn't use the provided trigger to blow up the other boat within an hour, he'll blow up both. The guard with the trigger on the convicts' boat hems and haws about what to do, when a ScaryBlackMan convict comes up and offers to do it for him so that he can keep his hands clean. [[spoiler: And {{subverted}}, as the convict tosses the trigger out the window, having recognized that the moral thing to do is allow the civilians to live.]]
** Straight example in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': Batman's one rule keeps him from [[spoiler: killing Bane. But Catwoman has no such restriction.]]

** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': A BrainwashedAndCrazy [[spoiler: Wolverine]] slaughters all of Stryker's soldiers holding our heroes prisoner.

* In ''Film/{{Child 44}}'', [[spoiler: Leo finally catches up to the serial killer who's been gruesomely murdering children... and he proves to have a similar back-story to Leo himself, as well as being wracked by guilt about his horrific crimes, which he claims not to be able to control. As Leo hesitates over whether to shoot him as he intended to, [[TheDragon Vasili]] comes along and does it for him.]]

** In the extended cut of the film, what to do with [[spoiler: Saruman]] is a bit of a problem for Théoden and the Fellowship. He resists coming quietly to be questioned until Gríma backstabs him after being kicked around one too many times.
** The sudden presence of [[spoiler: Gollum]] at Mount Doom means that Sam doesn't have to [[spoiler: fight or even kill Frodo to complete the quest and destroy the Ring after Frodo succumbs to the Ring's temptation and refuses to destroy it himself]], since someone is already handling the fight for him.
* In ''Literature/{{Insurgent}}'', [[spoiler: Tori, one of Tris's friends, kills Jeanine near the end of the novel to avenge her brother]]. In its film adaptation, ''Film/TheDivergentSeriesInsurgent'', [[spoiler: it's Evelyn who does the job, likely to foreshadow the fact that she is much crueler than she appears to be]].

* In ''Film/TheHandmaiden'', [[spoiler: Kouzuki brings Fujiwara back to his estate after being tipped by Hideko as to his location, and then Fujiwara [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled kills himself]] [[TakingYouWithMe and Kouzuki]]. Sook-hee and Hideko are able to escape without needing to kill either of them directly.]]

* In Creator/BernardCornwell's book ''Agincourt'', the main character, Nick Hook, has made a vow to a priest not to kill the murderous rapists with who his family has been in a blood feud for generations. [[spoiler: His arch-enemy, father-in-law, and prisoner (it's complicated) made no such promise.]]

** ''Literature/GoingPostal'' also had this, in a way. It turns out that [[spoiler: the backlog of unsent letters at the Post Office are sentient and want to be delivered, and are powerful enough to cause telepathic hallucinations. Not only is this very dangerous given the number of Vetinari's men that got killed falling off of ledges that they couldn't see, but it is also flatly impossible to deliver some of them since they come from another universe's Post Office, and could cause a lot of upheaval if they accidentally got out. Conveniently, Reacher Gilt's [[TheDragon Dragon]] is an arsonist and burns the office down, letters and all, relieving Moist of the burden.]]
* In ''Literature/DragonBones'' a minor villain is killed by his boss because he didn't do a good enough job. Although the heroes are horrified at the cruel manner of execution, it is very convenient for them, as [[spoiler: the man in question betrayed his heroic older brother in order to become the one in charge of their estate. His brother loved him very much,]] and it would have been a real problem to determine what to do with him, had the villain not solved the problem for them.

** In the first book of the series, ''Leviathan Wakes'', [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace Outland-esque]] [[HardboiledDetective rent-a-cop]] Joe Miller is present when the heroes make their final move on the base of the [[EvilInc genius sociopath-staffed corporation]] responsible for setting loose a [[TheVirus bio-modifying hyper-advanced fractally programmed engineered virus]] on a space station filled with millions of people. When they capture the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive head researcher]], the de facto [[BigBad Big Bad]] of the novel, and they mean to interrogate him, he goes into a very well-planned [[VirtueIsWeakness justification speech]] that actually has a lot of legitimate reasoning, and leaves the protagonists kind of doubting their own motives. [[spoiler: Miller, recognizing that the man might actually walk, and already having been on a [[DeathSeeker despair bender]] for the majority of the book, decides to do what no one else seems to have the initiative to, and promptly shoots the man in the head. Three times, no less.]]

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the Pensieve reveals to Harry that [[spoiler: Snape]] felt he was subjected to this when he was told to kill [[spoiler: Dumbledore]] so that [[spoiler: Draco]] wouldn't have to cross the point of no return.

* Ruahkini in ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'' is an incredibly rude and borderline crazy RichBitch perpetually insulting Laeshana and patronizing Alaric, as well as being partially responsible for the destructive imbalance in Caederan's magic. Unfortunately, he's also the royal chancellor, so there's no conceivable way for the heroes to get rid of him. [[spoiler: Luckily, his AxeCrazy [[BlackMagic hoshek]] brother Gaithim shows up and kills him.]]

* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': In the ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'', Aly's god-ordered objective is to put one of two sisters on the throne of the Copper Isles as part of a revolution. Among the people they will be usurping are the five-year-old king and the girls' own three-year-old half-brother, whom Aly (and a number of the other {{Rebel Leader}}s) has personally cared for. Aly considers binding them with magical oaths to not try and retake the throne and exiling them with a bodyguard, but everyone knows that isn't a perfect solution and the boys could still be figureheads or martyrs for a counterrevolution. Then Aly mentions the problem to said god, he gets impatient over [[JerkAssGods such an "insignificant" problem]], and [[spoiler: whispers in the regents' ears until they decide to kill the boys ''themselves'' so they can have the throne]].

* When the Azn Bad Boys begin [[spoiler: a bombing spree]] in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', supervillains of the town team up to attack the ABB's bases in order to remove that chaotic element from the table -- and end up doing a lot more visible damage to the organization than the local superhero teams.
** It's growing into a major theme, stretching from taking down the ABB, to going toe-to-toe with several major threats, to [[VillainProtagonist Skitter]] keeping the peace in her territory safer than it had been for years. People noticed, too. [[spoiler: They noticed enough to shield her from an arresting band of "heroes".]]
** The one trope that best summarizes the theme of the story. [[spoiler: The Biggest, Damnedest Villains of all, Cauldron, exist for the purpose of saving as much of humanity as possible from an inevitable catastrophe, and even the ''[[{{Kaiju}} Endbringers]]'' pitch in to help when that catastrophe arrives.]]
* In ''[[Literature/{{Magic20}} An Unwelcome Quest]]'', the villain Todd wants to kill all the characters. After Jimmy (who was [[spoiler: the BigBad of book 1]]) is given his powers back, he leaves and then comes back to rescue everyone else. He then [[spoiler: erases Todd from the reality file, effectively killing him (well, not really at first, but he does it for real later when Todd refuses the option of going back to prison for life)]]. The others are in shock, but Jimmy points out that it had to happen to ensure their continued safety, and none of them would stoop to his level. Realizing they can never trust him again, he [[spoiler: pretends to erase himself to prove that he can be trusted, but in actuality decides to start a new life in modern-day Reno]].

* Pretty much the whole point of the Pact Primeval in the 3.5e+ D&D cosmology: good gods don't want their followers to become evil, but they don't want to punish them. What do they do? Leave the punishment up to [[Main/TheDevil Asmodeus]]. [[spoiler: This, of course, backfires on them spectacularly.]] In Asmodeus's own words: "We have blackened ourselves so that you can remain golden." [[spoiler: It should be noted that Asmodeus is the in-universe source of this information so may have a biased view on the issue. ]].

** It falls to sociopathic dictator Tarquin to kill [[spoiler: Nale]], who Elan had repeatedly refused to let die before. Being GenreSavvy he also points out that with this he freed the plot from yet another recurring villain, [[ItsAllAboutMe wanting himself to be the important villain]].

** A_J is quick to blame Egg when [[spoiler: the Doctor dies]], however.
* In WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee the crew of the USS Exit Strategy needs a bit more time to counterattack the villains, who are already locked on to them and might just win. Cue [[spoiler: Mechakara, whom those same villains betrayed at the end of the last episode, beating up the whole evil bridge]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania|2017}}'', the [[SinisterMinister Bishop]] serves as the ArcVillain of the first season, as his fanatical control of Wallachia is what caused Dracula's rampage in the first place (by killing his wife for supposed witchcraft), and leads to him persecuting the few people who can actually do something about it. But in the end, while Trevor and his allies fight the Bishop's men, they don't have to deal with him personally, as [[spoiler: Dracula's demons track him down and kill him in his own church]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/KongTheAnimatedSeries'', Ramone De La Porta is the main villain and constantly causes trouble for Jason, Kong, and the gang when he is trying to unlock powers of the Primal Stones, while often making threats and trying to kill Kong, yet they often save him whenever he is in danger (and he only returns the favor once, just so they're even). In the final episode, [[spoiler: Harpy sucks De La Porta's life force out as part of a ritual to awaken Chiros. De La Porta survives when his life force is returned to him later but is left in a permanent state of shock.]]

** Throughout season 2 the Inquisitors, Vaders personal QuirkyMiniBossSquad, had been a recurring threat to the heroes. However, they were so badly outclassed by the Jedi that the only reason they kept coming back was that they were allowed to retreat. Finally in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E19TwilightOfTheApprentice Twilight of]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E20TwilightOfTheApprenticePartII the Apprentice]] the heroes were forced into a brief EnemyMine with Maul, who slaughtered them all in short order and berated the heroes for refusing to do it themselves.

* The [[Literature/TheCulture Culture]] novel ''Matter'' has a SealedEvilInACan being released and in typical Banks fashion killing most of the main cast. While this is nearly all of the heroes, it also includes the EvilChancellor who had usurped a throne and his minions. Thus, the Culture are able to set up the surviving hero as the future prime minister, and unlike in other novels in the series, didn't actually have to act morally ambiguously and get rid of corrupt leaders themselves.

Different from a HeelFaceTurn because the villain isn't necessarily being heroic; the villain may be [[PragmaticVillainy entirely motivated out of self-interest]], such as [[EnemyMine fighting a common threat]] or because [[EvilerThanThou a competitor is challenging his place as nemesis]]. Another possibility is it [[MakesUsEven makes them even]] for a previous SaveTheVillain behavior. If they're on friendly terms with the heroes, they may take it upon themselves to get their hands dirty [[SpareThemTheDirtyWork specifically so that the good guys won't have to]]. It's possible for it to even be a complete coincidence. At any rate, in more philosophic works, the villain will be likely to subject the hero to some flavor of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, explaining that the hero can only afford to be so squeaky clean because of this trope. Sometimes, this role will fall to a SuperpoweredEvilSide of a protagonist if the protagonist has a SplitPersonalityTeam situation going on.

Also see ExitPursuedByABear, DesignatedEvil, PoisonousFriend, KickTheSonOfABitch, IndispensableScoundrel, SpareThemTheDirtyWork, and TokenEvilTeammate (the 'hero' inclined to play dirty pool in a team of good guys), and AdaptationalSelfDefense (keep the hero morally upright by making their unsavory actions into self-defense).

Different from a HeelFaceTurn because the villain isn't necessarily being heroic; the villain may be [[PragmaticVillainy entirely motivated out of self-interest]], such as [[EnemyMine fighting a common threat]] or because [[EvilerThanThou a competitor is challenging his place as nemesis]]. Another possibility is it [[MakesUsEven makes them even]] for previous SaveTheVillain behavior. If they're on friendly terms with the heroes, they may take it upon themselves to get their hands dirty specifically so that the good guys won't have to. It's possible for it to even be a complete coincidence. At any rate, in more philosophic works, the villain will be likely to subject the hero to some flavor of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, explaining that the hero can only afford to be so squeaky clean because of this trope. Sometimes, this role will fall to a SuperpoweredEvilSide of a protagonist if the protagonist has a SplitPersonalityTeam situation going on.

Also see ExitPursuedByABear, DesignatedEvil, PoisonousFriend, KickTheSonOfABitch, IndispensableScoundrel, and TokenEvilTeammate (the 'hero' inclined to play dirty pool in a team of good guys), and AdaptationalSelfDefense (keep the hero morally upright by making their unsavory actions into self-defense).

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': This is why the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights of the Cross]] sometimes fight alongside [[AntiHero Harry]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Dresden]]. He's not evil, but he's willing to ShootTheDog and do morally questionable things if it averts a greater evil — freedom the Knights, who are truly [[AllLovingHero good]], [[FriendToAllLivingThings loving people]] — do not have.

SubTrope of NonProtagonistResolver; in this case, the "resolver" is the villain. Contrast VillainousRescue, where a villain pulls a Big Damn Heroes without committing any acts that were too reprehensible for the good guys in the process. If the villain saves the day by accident through doing something villainous, that's NiceJobFixingItVillain. Overlaps with TheDogBitesBack when the "dog" is a minion. See DisneyVillainDeath for when there is no other bad guy to do the work, so it is done by gravity. If the hero deliberately sets it up, this is a possible case of DoWithHimAsYouWill. Compare AlwaysABiggerFish, when a usually non-sapient monster saves the heroes from another monster. Contrast WontDoYourDirtyWork, where someone (usually either a TokenGoodTeammate or someone on the villain's team who is a lesser evil), gets ordered to do a morally questionable task and refuses.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': At the end of climax, [[spoiler:the Friends on the Other Side pull this off]] after Tiana [[spoiler:breaks Dr. Facilier's talisman, making it impossible for him to pay off his spiritual debt. They [[DraggedOffToHell take him to the Other Side]]]].

-->'''The Joker:''' [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou I don't want Mr. Reese spoiling everything]], but why should I have all the fun? Let's give someone else a chance. If Coleman Reese isn't dead in sixty minutes then I blow up a hospital.

** Subverted in ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Bruce is about to assassinate Joe Chill when [[spoiler: the mob assassinates him instead for becoming an informant]]. This is when Bruce realizes that crime has become so pervasive, killing one person won't resolve anything.

* This is the reasoning behind assembling the eponymous ''Film/SuicideSquad2016,'' though in this case, it's not about saving "good guys" (the US government) from having to do things they're morally opposed to. It's to allow them to make the "hard decisions" while maintaining their reputations, having villainous fall guys (and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Harley]]) to take the blame for their morally dubious acts. It still allows "heroic" characters to keep their hands clean. [[note]]That's the theory, anyway. The fact that they're escorted by uniformed military personnel on their first excursion sort of defeats the purpose.[[/note]]

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' Rachel starts out as TheBigGuy, but as the war goes on slips into TokenEvilTeammate. Upon realizing they may need to kill [[SixthRangerTraitor David]], Jake immediately thinks of getting her. She's torn between acknowledging she's the person for the job, and wondering what it says about her (and his opinion of her) that he knows that. Much later, she takes it upon herself to do a particularly morally dubious but necessary action, and when Cassie questions if she can really do it, angrily demands to know if Cassie can instead. She can't, which leaves Rachel. In the finale, [[spoiler:Jake sends her on a suicide mission to kill his brother, her cousin.]] She agrees, knowing she's the person for the job, and by this point is too broken by the war to do anything else. She also, at one point rationalizes the need for her to do these things, so the others don't as:

* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Ironically, Thrembode is the one who kills General Lukash, the leader of the Padmasan army invading Argonath in book three -- depriving it of leadership just when it is being curb-stomped by intervening Argonathi troops at Sprian's Ridge. Thrembode himself is offed by Relkin shortly afterwards, before he's even finished gloating

* The [[Literature/TheCulture Culture]] novel ''Matter'' has a SealedEvilInACan being released and in typical Banks fashion killing most of the main cast. While this is nearly all of the heroes, it also includes the EvilChancellor who had usurped a throne and his minions. Thus, the Culture are able to set-up the surviving hero as the future prime minister, and unlike in other novels in the series, didn't actually have to act morally ambiguously and get rid of corrupt leaders themselves.

* ''[[Literature/{{Deverry}} The Deverry Cycle]]'' has little Olaen. When the Deverrian civil war ends, five-year-old Olaen 'rules' the losing side. The choices to prevent future challenge are death, castration, or blinding, the later two involving turning him over to the priesthood to raise. [[spoiler:[[EvilChancellor Oggyn]] poisons the boy with 'Dwarven Salts'.[[note]]WordOfGod is the salts are arsenic.[[/note]]]]

** In the final book, ''Leviathan Falls'', Colonel Tanaka, Laconia's most [[OldSoldier experienced]], [[BloodKnight motivated]], and [[PsychoForHire bloodthirsty]] marine officer, is tasked with finding and recovering their self-made GodEmperor Duarte after he CameBackWrong and wandered off. When it is discovered that he has taken it upon himself to implement his own homebrewed AssimilationPlot, her mission changes from recovery to neutralization. At the eleventh hour, she finally finds him inside the {{Precursor}} artifact at the center of the ringspace, with James Holden and Theresa in tow. Neither Holden nor Theresa have the will, let alone the ability, to kill him with the station's LostTechnology at his command, so it falls to Tanaka. She rips him bodily apart with a brutality even she had not displayed before.

* Ruahkini in ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'' is an incredibly rude and borderline crazy RichBitch who is perpetually insulting Laeshana and patronizing Alaric, as well as being partially responsible for the destructive imbalance in Caederan's magic. Unfortunately, he's also the royal chancellor, so there's no conceivable way for the heroes to get rid of him. [[spoiler: Luckily, his AxeCrazy [[BlackMagic hoshek]] brother Gaithim shows up and kills him.]]

* Invoked and dissected in ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney''. Any criminal suspect who escapes conviction by Barok van Zieks mysteriously dies by other grisley means within months, while he himself has a SuspiciouslyCleanCriminalRecord and an ironclad alibi for each death. Everyone recognizes that ''something'' is going on, but since all the victims are [[AssholeVictim bastards]] done in by other bastards, most just chalk it up to karma. Barok himself expresses disinterest when pressed, but the feeling of guilt builds up enough over the years that he simply gives a KarmicNod when [[spoiler:he's falsely charged with all of their deaths]]. Then its revealed [[spoiler:Stronghart actively engineered this correlation, outside of van Zieks's knowledge, knowing the public would accept karmic justice far more readily than [[SecretPolice extrajudicial assassinations]]]]. Van Zieks is appalled, particularly at himself for tacitly endorsing the murders through his indifference.[[/folder]]

** In the prequel comic "[[EveryScarHasAStory How The Paladin Got His Scar]]", it falls to Miko (who while not outright villainous or the KnightTemplar she will become in the main comic, has definitely been antagonistic), to kill the Sapphire Guard's [[AxCrazy increasingly unhinged]] WarHawk leader Gin-Jun, whose actions and genocidal hatred for hobgoblins had nearly plunged the Azurites and the hobgoblins into a mutually destructive war. Meanwhile, the hobgoblin leadership, who are similarly eager for war and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood misinterpret the well meaning actions of O-Chul and Hinjo for weakness]], are taken out by one of their own, [[PragmaticVillainy who wants to avoid any chance of war destroying the settlement they've slowly and laboriously built up]].

* A majority of the villains in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', if it's not a case of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard their own]] [[SelfDisposingVillain hands]], then at the hands of villains. Two notable examples include [[spoiler:Lionheart, a traitor who helped contribute to the fall of Beacon, [[YouHaveFailedMe being killed by Salem]] and Jacques, Weiss's abusive father, meeting his end via Ironwood's {{BFG}}.]] There's tons to count that it's easier to count how many villains ''did'' die by RWBY's hand: [[spoiler:One, Adam Taurus]].

* Doomsday's first appearance in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. In the comics when Doomsday first appeared he killed Superman. (Superman soon got better). However in the Justice League cartoon he's not facing our Superman, but rather Supes' KnightTemplar counterpart from an AlternateUniverse, Justice Lord Superman, who is completely unburdened by moral constraints like ThouShaltNotKill. Not long after the fight has started and he's felt how strong and dangerous Doomsday is, Justice Lord Superman decides to skip out on a protracted battle with Doomsday and simply uses his eye lasers to ''lobotomize Doomsday'', bringing the fight to a swift end in a way that Superman never would have done. (Doomsday eventually got better and was mighty pissed, but that's another story/episode).

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' inverts this in a He-Man sketch where Skeletor leases out Snake Mountain to some College frat boys. Sick of the loud parties, Skeletor tricks his tennants into thinking Castle Grayskull is a rival frat talking shit about them, provoking the Frat into egging Castle Grayskull. [[DisproportionateRetribution This results in He-Man and his crew killing the frat and dumping their bodies in a river.]]

** More of a subversion, as the majority of the unit's data was neither preserved nor exported, and the United States considered what little data they did receive to be largely useless.

* In the first book of James S. Corey's ''Literature/TheExpanse'' series, ''Leviathan Wakes'', [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace Outland-esque]] [[HardboiledDetective rent-a-cop]] Joe Miller is present when the heroes make their final move on the base of the [[EvilInc genius sociopath-staffed corporation]] responsible for setting loose a [[TheVirus bio-modifying hyper-advanced fractally programmed engineered virus]] on a space station filled with millions of people. When they capture the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive head researcher]], the de facto [[BigBad Big Bad]] of the novel, and they mean to interrogate him, he goes into a very well-planned [[VirtueIsWeakness justification speech]] that actually has a lot of legitimate reasoning, and leaves the protagonists kind of doubting their own motives. [[spoiler: Miller, recognizing that the man might actually walk, and already having been on a [[DeathSeeker despair bender]] for the majority of the book, decides to do what no one else seems to have the initiative to, and promptly shoots the man in the head. Three times, no less.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Ilya [[spoiler:kills Shinji]] in the ''Fate'' route, saving Shirou from having to do it; [[spoiler:Sakura]] does the same in ''Heaven's Feel''. In ''Unlimited Blade Works'', [[spoiler:Shinji survives, but not before Gilgamesh puts him through an [[BodyHorror utterly horrific]] case of BreakTheHaughty, after which he seems to cease any villainous behavior]]. Also in ''Heaven's Feel'', [[spoiler:Sakura and Kotomine]] combined also kill off [[spoiler:Zouken]], who would probably have caused some moral quandaries since he's essentially defenseless on his own at that point even though his very existence is an abomination.

[[folder: Films -- Animated]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}} Rachel starts out as TheBigGuy, but as the war goes on slips into TokenEvilTeammate. Upon realizing they may need to kill [[SixthRangerTraitor David]], Jake immediately thinks of getting her. She's torn between acknowledging she's the person for the job, and wondering what it says about her (and his opinion of her) that he knows that. Much later, she takes it upon herself to do a particularly morally dubious but necessary action, and when Cassie questions if she can really do it, angrily demands to know if Cassie can instead. She can't, which leaves Rachel. In the finale, [[spoiler:Jake sends her on a suicide mission to kill his brother, her cousin.]] She agrees, knowing she's the person for the job, and by this point is too broken by the war to do anything else. She also, at one point rationalizes the need for her to do these things, so the others don't as:

* In the first book of James S. Corey's ''Literature/TheExpanse'' series, ''Leviathan Wakes'', [[RecycledInSpace Outland-esque]] [[HardboiledDetective rent-a-cop]] Joe Miller is present when the heroes make their final move on the base of the [[EvilInc genius sociopath-staffed corporation]] responsible for setting loose a [[TheVirus bio-modifying hyper-advanced fractally programmed engineered virus]] on a space station filled with millions of people. When they capture the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive head researcher]], the de facto [[BigBad Big Bad]] of the novel, and they mean to interrogate him, he goes into a very well-planned [[VirtueIsWeakness justification speech]] that actually has a lot of legitimate reasoning, and leaves the protagonists kind of doubting their own motives. [[spoiler: Miller, recognizing that the man might actually walk, and already having been on a [[DeathSeeker despair bender]] for the majority of the book, decides to do what no one else seems to have the initiative to, and promptly shoots the man in the head. Three times, no less.]]

Also see ExitPursuedByABear, DesignatedEvil, PoisonousFriend, KickTheSonOfABitch and TokenEvilTeammate (the 'hero' inclined to play dirty pool in a team of good guys), and AdaptationalSelfDefense (keep the hero morally upright by making their unsavory actions into self-defense).

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]
* This tends to apply frequently to the main characters of ''Manga/ApocalypseNoToride'', although ''most'' of their actions could be written off as {{Villainous Rescue}}s. One particular instance of this is Yoshioka stabbing another inmate through the hand and pinning him to a table to divert the zombies, giving them a chance to escape.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', the Central 46 are {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s of the worst kind. Good thing [[spoiler:[[BigBad Aizen]] [[BoardToDeath kills them all]].]] Although the person who killed them had been frequently acting in their names, manipulating, or outright impersonating them for a long time now (all the decisions relating to Rukia's sentence were carried out by [[spoiler: Aizen]] and his accomplices impersonating them), so it's hard to tell just how obstructive they ''really'' were...
* In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', Pisco knew of Haibara's true identity and there was no way the story could continue for Haibara if Pisco was still alive. But the heroes didn't even need to do anything about that as Gin suddenly killed Pisco for screwing up an assassination.
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', hardly anyone outside of Britannia likes the Imperial Family, which the main character claims to be a symbol of evil that looks down on others. They promote Social Darwinism, support militarism and genocide, and/or are pretty much a band of over-privileged parasites. The only exception all three of these is Euphemia [[spoiler: and Lelouch accidentally geasses her into starting a massacre, forcing him to ShootTheDog by killing her.]] As for the rest, [[spoiler: Prince Schneizel does the world a favor by annihilating most of them in one swoop, though this doesn't change the fact that he blows up the entire capital with all its inhabitants in the process.]]
* ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' has it in for [[spoiler: Bel killing off Leva and Gula after they got defeated by Precure for the last time, effectively giving the team not only free from the duo but also getting their darkness to use it on Ira and Marmo.]]
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Vegeta's entire purpose, story-wise, for being on Namek is to kill every single minor villain so the heroes (or at least Goku) don't have to. Cui, Dodoria, Zarbon, 4/5ths of the Ginyu Force (two while helpless!) and most of Freeza's mooks. Goku clearly doesn't want him doing this, and even calls him out after killing the two helpless Ginyu Force members. [[spoiler: Though Goku kills Freeza himself, or would have if King Cold didn't show up to revive him... only for ''both'' of them to be killed off by [[GenerationXerox Vegeta's]] KidFromTheFuture.]]
* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', after the eponymous guild is satisfied with just letting Grimoire Heart, the worst villains they faced so far who are clearly still evil, off with a scolding due to [[spoiler: their leader being the guild's former master]], Grimoire Heart leaves. As they lament their failure, Zeref, who they spent the entire series trying to get their hands on, approaches them. When they attempt to instigate their plan, he brushes them off, lets them know why he hates their guts, and makes their leader the third person in the series to be killed. Even functions as a KickTheDog moment: [[spoiler: Grimoire Heart spends years collecting the keys to "awaken" Zeref's true personality and unleash his true, genocidal self. But Zeref reveals he was never "sleeping"; that was simply a rumor spread to explain why he suddenly stopped killing, when in reality he stopped voluntarily.]]
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** After Shou Tucker merges his dog and daughter into a chimera [[MergingMistake that is in constant pain]], it really seems a MercyKill is the best that could be done. However, Ed and Al were likely unwilling to do so, and [[BigBrotherIsEmployingYou their own government]] were taking the chimera in for [[PlayingWithSyringes medical experimentation]]. Luckily, Scar was in the vicinity.
** In [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]], the brothers need to create the Philosopher Stone. Problem: By episode 40, [[spoiler: it became obvious that in order to do that, one needs to kill quite a lot of people. Solution: Scar did it. And died in the process.]]
* In the climax of ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'', The Frost Brothers betray everybody [[spoiler: and vaporize both the leaders of the New United Nations Earth and Space Revolutionary Army, i.e.: The assholes who started the Apocalyptic 7th Space War in the first place, and were trying to do it all over again.]] This leads to Gundam X being one of the few Gundam series' to have an unambigously happy ending.
* In ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' a young girl forced into slavery by the people who killed her parents has the opportunity to kill her tormentor but can't bring herself to take a human life. Qwenthur does it instead and tells the girl that this is merely proof she's a good person; it's up to people like Qwenthur, the bad people, to kill others.
* Played with in ''LightNovel/HowToBuildADungeonBookOfTheDemonKing''. The evil sorcerer Aur, the openly-evil VillainProtagonist, winds up catching a beautiful hero trying to slay him. As part of his attempt to corrupt her, he first displays the ways he helps villages that agree to serve him and then takes her to the village that had asked her to kill him. These villagers try to stone her out of rage over all the losses they suffered after Aur took away his aid. When hero Yunis breaks and tries to kill the villagers, Aur does the task for her claiming that it's a villain's job, not a hero's.
* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', [[spoiler: Due]] disposes of the TSAB High Council, which was responsible for [[spoiler: having Scaglietti created]], preventing any such mistakes in the future.
* Johan from ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' kicks off the plot by killing the corrupt doctors who screwed Tenma's career over. He also tends to kill any lesser villains who might be threatening Tenma or Nina.
* A recurring theme in ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'':
** In ''The Two Detectives'', William is the one who "cheats" and forces the killer to confess to his crimes when Sherlock's deductions come up just a bit short
** William and his brothers save Irene Adler's life when Sherlock can do nothing to help her against the British government
** William stops the Jack the Ripper murders while Sherlock doesn't even take the case
** William sends Bond and Patterson in to get the evidence needed to prove Chief Arterton's frame-ups, who passes the evidence along to Lestrade and Sherlock when they fail to get it themselves
** Sherlock uses the leverage gained by agreeing to stop William's crime spree to change Parliament
* ''Anime/MyHime'':
** One wonders what TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness group of old ladies who rule Japan (First Division) would have done to the cast had [[spoiler: Shizuru not gone crazy and killed them all]] after the cast ''kills their god.'' It's doubtful that they were [[spoiler: resurrected along with the rest of the cast.]] A scene with the Obsidian Lord indicates that he was planning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill them himself anyway]], but [[spoiler: Shizuru]] got to them first.
** In Mai's fight with Shiho, she's unable to go on the offensive, realizing that as both of them consider Yuuichi their most important person, either of their Childs being destroyed will result in his death (Shiho, being overcome with jealous rage, fails to realize this). Yuuichi, not wanting them to fight, orders Mai to destroy Shiho's Child ''while fully knowing that he'll kick it'', but she refuses. Then [[spoiler: a brainwashed Mikoto jumps in, having been conditioned to attack Mai's enemy, and destroys Shiho's child. Yuuichi thanks Mikoto for this before he passes away]].
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', [[RivalTurnedEvil Sasuke]] kills [[spoiler: Danzo]] when there no way for the good guys to get rid of him without a huge political mess [[spoiler: because he was their acting leader at the time]]. His action enables [[spoiler: Tsunade to resume leadership once she awakens from her coma]] without any complications such as a power struggle.
* At the very end of ''Manga/{{Pluto}}'', [[spoiler: Brau-1589, the first robot to kill a human being and a Hannibal Lector {{Expy}} who spent most of the manga giving {{BreakingSpeech}}es to his visitors in prison, breaks free and kills TheManBehindTheMan[=/=]BigBad.]]
* In one episode of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, the heroes arrive at a festival dedicated to the Pokemon Wobbuffet, and several party-crashers come and start destroying things. The festival people explain that since Wobbuffet can't hurt the enemy except by reflecting attacks, in honor of that they will not attack the party crashers. Ash & co know the guys must be stopped, but are unwilling to break the rules of the festival. [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Team Rocket]], on the other hand, have no such qualms. [[CurbStompBattle Ass kicking]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown ensues.]]
* Discussed, but subverted in ''Manga/RaveMaster''. After defeating Hardner and learning about his sad past the heroes and their allies of the week are wondering what to do with him when Lucia comes out of nowhere and stabs him in the back, claiming they should be grateful that he solved the problem for them. Due to quick action, Hardner is instead saved and becomes the only ''Rave Master'' villain not to suffer from RedemptionEqualsDeath.
* The big bads of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' kill off most of their own subordinates who fail them, which keep Sailor Moon and company from having to get their hands dirty. This courtesy does not, of course, extend to the BigBad themselves or often to their [[TheDragon Dragon]], who Sailor Moon will more often than not kill ''personally''. In [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]], they regularly kill most of their adversaries.
* In ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'', at the end of the Koryo arc, Syaoran talks Chunyan out of killing the ryanban, but he is conveniently taken care of by his own previously mind-controlled servant.

[[folder: Comic Books]]
* In the 1947 Franchise/{{Batman}} story that introduces Joe Chill, the [[DeathByOriginStory killer of Bruce Wayne's parents]], Batman confronts Chill and, in a fit of anger, reveals his SecretIdentity to him. Since this was back when recurring villains didn't get to learn such secrets, but Batman doesn't kill, Chill is instead killed by his own enraged men after he tells them he is responsible for creating Batman... and, naturally, dies before he can say just who's behind the mask.
** The story was later adapted for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', but tweaks it by having Chill die in a freak accident before Batman's enemies could get him -- which was heavily hinted to have been arranged by ComicBook/TheSpectre. It still qualifies as this trope, as the Spectre is considered a hero but one that's far, ''far'' less scrupulous than Batman.
** In Post-''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' continuity, Joe Chill would be killed off by psycho vigilante The Reaper just as Batman is struggling with the decision to kill him himself or not.
* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': In the last issues of Deadpool's first ongoing series, his friend and assistant Sandi is hospitalized after her boyfriend assaults her. When Deadpool and Taskmaster visit her, she makes Deadpool promise he'll only scare the [[AssholeVictim abusive boyfriend]] off, not kill him. Deadpool follows through with a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. Taskmaster [[KickTheSonOfABitch didn't make any promises]]. Cue GoryDiscretionShot.
* At the end of ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', [[BigBad Alexander Luthor]] has managed to escape the FinalBattle and is planning to start over. Unfortunately, he forgot that he had pissed off everyone's [[ComicBook/TheJoker favorite homicidal clown.]] Not content with the possibility that Luthor [[NotQuiteDead might]] [[GoryDiscretionShot return]], the writers have Mister J [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill burn him with acid, electrocute him and shoot him in the head.]]
-->''Now who's stupid?''
* The remnants of The Black Glove that tried to utterly destroy Batman (and utterly failed) in ''ComicBook/BatmanRIP'' could have caused problems in the future. It's probably for the best that [[spoiler: Joker as Oberon Sexton]] killed them all. Later on, the same thing happens to [[spoiler: Simon Hurt]].
** Similarly, when Batman finally goes after the leadership of the [[ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls Court of Owls]], he finds that they've all already been killed by [[spoiler: Lincoln March.]]
* In a later ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' comic, Shadow confronts Eggman and outright states he's going to kill him. Eggman tries to play the ThouShaltNotKill rule. He turns out to be WrongGenreSavvy, as Shadow points out: "Sonic holds such beliefs. But then, he's a hero... I'm not."
* ''Wayne Shelton'' exploits this trope: the BigBad is killed by another villain. Shelton confesses that he hoped him to do this, and call this a bargain with his own conscience.
* In an early ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' story (#14), the Thunderbolts have to kill an alien leader in order to get out of the dimension they're stuck in. Even though he understands the necessity of it, Abe (MACH-I) can't bring himself to, and Moonstone has to instead.
* In the ''ComicBook/XMen'' graphic novel ''ComicBook/GodLovesManKills'', the X-Men and their erstwhile ally ComicBook/{{Magneto}} have captured a few of the enemy "Purifiers." The heroes are desperate for information about the BigBad's plans, but the Purifier they question refuses to talk. Magneto, who at this point has yet to enter the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, does...something...to the man to force him to answer.
** Something comparable happens in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #269. Here Comicbook/{{Rogue}} and the personality she absorbed from ComicBook/MsMarvel come out of the Siege Perilous as two separate persons; unfortunately, there is only life force for one of them to survive, and therefore the Ms. Marvel revenant (a separate being from Carol Danvers, who was then in outer space as Binary) tries to kill Rogue. Rogue manages to defeat her, but can't bring herself to kill her even to survive, and so "Ms. Marvel" turns the tables again. She is about to kill Rogue when Magneto intervenes and kills the Ms. Marvel revenant. This could possibly be interpreted as Magneto being a CombatPragmatist, but the subsequent story (#274-275) shows him starting on the road to becoming a villain again.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} considers himself damned already because of his past, so he's willing to cross lines actual heroes shouldn't. He does not want anyone else, especially kids, following his example.
* Similarly, in Transformers ''ComicBook/MoreThanMeetsTheEye'' Whirl believes he's already a monster and knows that sometimes to keep people safe there are difficult decisions in which there is no winner. He is willing to make those choices so that good people aren't forced to do bad things.
** Rodimus can't bring himself to kill [[spoiler: Getaway]] while retaking the ''Lost Light'', going so far as to [[SaveTheVillain save him from a fire]]. Then the vicious scraplets [[AndroclesLion Whirl befriended]] get involved. [[spoiler: Getaway]] doesn't survive.
* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersPunishment'', Slug says that the Dinobots are the group that "does the things so that the heroes can keep being heroes." During the Great War and actually well before that, they functioned as a black ops group that specialized in missions where collateral damage was not a concern. Optimus Prime really clashes with them over their behavior.
* Happens a lot in ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers''. With the Incursions threatening all existence, the Illuminati reform to try and find a way to stop them. However, their first option doesn't work, and their next option they consider far too horrific to actually do it. So [[Comicbook/SubMariner Namor]] [[spoiler: reforms the Cabal, who for eight months handle the Incursions themselves, albeit with the wholesale slaughter of other universes thrown in for good measure. Elsewhere, Doctor Doom sets about analysis the Incursions, and learns far more about their mechanisms than the Illuminati ever did.]]
* Namor has a history of this. During the ''Emperor Doom'' graphic novel, he was the one who ultimately stopped ComicBook/DoctorDoom's mind control machine by killing the Purple Man.
* Creator/{{Christopher Priest|Comics}}'s ''ComicBook/{{Justice League|Of America}}'' run introduced a character called the Fan. As one of the technicians who helped build the Justice League's Watchtower HQ, the Fan had managed to spy on the team and uncover many of their secrets, leading to a situation that made it impossible to simply send him to prison. ComicBook/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} debated what to do with him, with the latter arguing that killing him would be the only way to ensure more people didn't get hurt, while the former argued that [[ThouShallNotKill heroes never kill]]. Ultimately, they never got to finish their debate, as ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} ended up shooting the Fan to death, thus taking care of the problem for them.
* In ''ComicBook/SecretSix'', someone once put out a hit on the Six, resulting in Scandal's beloved girlfriend Knockout being critically injured, and Scandal tracked down the would-be assassin and brought her back to their base. However, having tied the woman to a chair, she was unable to bring herself to finish her off. Her teammate Deadshot stepped in and shot the woman himself, sparing Scandal the trouble.
* In the final issue of ''[[ComicBook/RatMan1989 Rat-Man]]'', the title character struggles with the idea of killing Topin, even after his former apprentice nearly destroyed the world, [[spoiler: kidnapped his daughter and was revealed to have influenced him into not contacting her or her mother]]. Before Rat-Man can steel himself and do the deed, [[TokenEvilTeammate Valker stomps on Topin's head]].
** Valker was rescued from the Shadow specifically for this trope: being [[ReformedButNotTamed a sociopathic villain who just happened to have a reason to side with the heroes]], namely [[spoiler:[[PapaWolf remembering that Rat-Man is his son]]]], he's more than willing to murder any of the Shadow's minions, and, as [[HeroKiller his body count of superheroes]] can attest, extremely capable at it.
* In ''ComicBook/ThePunisher / ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' crossover ''Seventh Circle'', Matt Murdock arranges for the guilty-as-hell Antonov to be put on trial in Texas, as there's no way they can get an impartial jury in New York. Frank Castle (who doesn't know they're the same person) has a different theory: Murdock is setting up the trial in Texas as they still use the death penalty, ensuring Antonov dies legally rather than a sniper's bullet (Frank's plan). [[LetsYouAndHimFight Several people die because they can't agree on the ethics of the whole thing.]]
* In ''ComicBook/StreetFighterVsDarkstalkers'', [[spoiler: Jedah Domah is killed by Gill (his [[BigBadDuumvirate partner]] whom Jedah [[TheDogBitesBack betrayed]]) by pulling out his heart from his body and then Akuma (a decidedly grey character) delivers the killing blow by striking him with the Dylec sword. Granted, it's not like the heroes weren't trying, it's that Jedah was so powerful that it just so happened the ones to defeat him were bad guys. Ironically, Gill himself is defeated when he tries to claim victory for getting rid of the competition, as he is teleported back to Earth by his own cultists trying to resurrect him. Also the demonic fetus created by the villains is defeated when Morrigan and Lilith Aensland fuse together and delivir a powerful blast at the demonic child. An unusual only-adaptational case giving they are not evil in canon, but in the comic they are depicted as malevolent succubi that kill humans draining their souls.]]
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'': Reed is fully aware of the things that Van Damme did, including his part in all this, but his moral code does not allow him to kill him. So he blames himself that he's partially responsible, because his unwillingness to kill caused all this. He confided all this with Ben, who then took it to himself to do what Reed did not dare to do, and kill Van Damme.
** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': The Ultimates recruit Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, from the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. Nick Fury points that this is not the first that the security services made deals with terrorists.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Xavier loathes mutants taking advantage of their superior powers to impose their will of regular humans, no matter the circumstances. Wolverine, on the other hand, has no problem making a display of his powers to a mafia boss so he accepts to leave Colossus alone.

[[folder: FanWorks]]
* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'': Just like in canon, the heroes ultimately do little to prevent Cinder from causing the Fall of Beacon and contribute nothing to her downfall. Instead, [[spoiler:Darth Nihilus]] is the one to foil Cinder's plans by [[spoiler:killing Roman before he can hijack control of Ironwood's army; causing Cinder's death, thus returning her half-Maiden powers back to Amber; absorbing the Wyvern before it can destroy all of Atlas' airships; and killing Adam just as he got the upper hand on Winter during their duel.]] Of course, none of this was intentional on his part and it was really more of a lucky side effect caused by him pulling an EvilerThanThou at just the right moment.
* ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'' features two examples:
** In ''Friends to the End'', [[spoiler: Hago kills Scar whilst his back is turned.]]
** In ''The Interceptor's Challenge'', the Interceptor [[spoiler: rips Shocker's head off, before burying him underneath the ground for all eternity.]]
* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'': When the heroes have [[spoiler:[[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]]]] cornered in the final battle, Queen Chrysalis arrives and has her Changelings [[spoiler:[[EatenAlive devour Jewelius]] as revenge for double-crossing them]], thus alleviating the heroes of having to dispose of him.
* ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'': So far, all of the villains killed off have met their ends at the hands of [[VillainProtagonist Jade]] or her minions.
* In ''Fanfic/TheEndOfEnds'', [[spoiler:Dr. Beljar makes it really easy for the Titans to not kill Beast Boy since he takes over control of the Dark Prognosticus, and it’s required that whoever controls the Prognosticus must die in order to close the void. This arguably ends up being a moot point, though, when Beast Boy dies anyway from injuries sustained in the battle.]]
* In ''Fanfic/PerfectionIsOverrated'', the First District is dealt with in a similar manner to canon, but this time by [[spoiler: The [[BigBad Usurper-possessed Obsidian Lord]] and his minions]].
* A bizarre example happens in ''Fanfic/ThePrayerWarriors''. After [[ArcVillain Dumbledore]] is killed, the heroes need to burn his body, and they apparently do not have any other means to set a fire, so they have Franchise/HarryPotter, their (recently BackFromTheDead) enemy, burn it with fire magic, because he's going to hell anyway.
* In the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10515746/1/Those-Silver-Eyes Those Silver Eyes]]'', Summer Rose refuses to kill Barbary, even though he's blatantly threatening to spark a second Faunus War to KillAllHumans. Even after he tries to kill her after she spared his life, she refuses to finish the job. Fortunately, he runs afoul of a pack of Ursa Majors, who have no such qualms.
* This is pretty standard procedure for Ulquiorra in ''Fanfic/AHollowInEquestria'' when something needs to be done that the ponies can't do themselves.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Webwork}}'', an [[UnstoppableRage enraged Tohru]] almost crosses the line by killing the new Squid Khan General [[spoiler: [[TheSociopath Simon Leston]]]]. Before he can, however, [[FallenHero Jade]] swoops in and handles it for him.
* ''Fanfic/EarthsAlienHistory'' has a couple of examples:
** When the Reapers invade the Alpha Quadrant, they do several things that inadvertently help out the rest of the galaxy, such as [[spoiler: killing the [[BigBadWannabe Mekon]]]] and breaking the power of the Orion Syndicate.
** When the Romulans help Blackfire take over Tamaran, they also take the time to destroy the Citadel Empire ([[OneSteveLimit not to be confused with the Citadel Council]]), which had been tormenting the Tamaraneans for years.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' fanfic ''Fanfic/UnbreakableRedSilkenThread'': The reason Heather is helping Gwen instead of Dawn or Jo. The latter is limited because of how the law works when it comes to using her authority in cases of domestic abuse while the former is constrained by her morals and ethics.
* ''Fanfic/IsseiTheGamingGear'': While Issei thinks he managed to kill Armârôs during his battle with her. She actually just fled to the abandoned church home to Raynare's group. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a fatal move on her part, as Azazel designated her a rogue agent, giving Raynare the excuse to shoot her.
* In ''Fanfic/CelestiasRocketAdventures'', while Twilight and Ash are certainly willing to fight, they aren't the sort of people who are going to [[MakeAnExampleOfThem make an example]] of fallen foes to terrify the rest into flight. But Giovanni is.

[[folder: Films -- Animated]]
* Simba from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' is too moral to give Scar the killing blow. However, the hyenas who Scar [[JustGivingOrders tried to blame for everything]] when things started looking bad... they have no such morals. And they haven't eaten in a while...
-->'''Scar:''' Ah! My friends!\\
'''Shenzi''': [[TheDogBitesBack "Friends?" I thought he said we were the]] ''[[BackstabBackfire enemy.]]''\\
'''Banzai''': Yeah, that's what I heard.\\
'''Shenzi and Banzai:''' Ed?\\
'''Ed''': [[EvilLaugh Eh, heh heh heh, heh heh heh heh...]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': At the end of climax, [[spoiler:the Friends on the Other Side pull this off]] after Tiana [[spoiler:breaks Dr. Facilier's talisman, making it impossible for him to pay off his spiritual debt. They [[DraggedOffToHell take him to the Other Side]]]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'', [[spoiler:Captain Gutt]] is implicitly devoured by [[OurSirensAreDifferent the sirens]].
-->'''Siren:''' (''emerging from a clamshell [[MasterOfIllusion in the form of]] [[spoiler:an ape mermaid]]'') Oh [[spoiler:Captain Gutt]]...\\
'''[[spoiler:Captain Gutt]]:''' That's me!\\
'''Siren:''' Let's rule the seas together!\\
'''[[spoiler:Captain Gutt]]:''' ''Aye-aye!''\\
'''Siren:''' (''flashes a terrifying SlasherSmile at him and drags him into her shell'')
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'': At the climax of the movie Iago, who was an outright villain in [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} the first movie]] and is [[HeelFaceTurn starting to turn]], is the one to [[spoiler: push Jafar's lamp into lava and kill the evil genie for good]].

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** The crew of the Dutchman in ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd At World's End]]'' in the wake of Norrington's HeroicSacrifice as Elizabeth's crew makes their getaway.
** Done in ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides On Stranger Tides]]'' by the Spanish navy with the intention to [[NoManShouldHaveThisPower ''destroy'' the Fountain of Youth]].
* ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' saga is based on taking this trope and making a franchise out of it.
* The climax scene of ''Film/LetTheRightOneIn'' goes...this way, kind of. [[spoiler: As the kid's about to be drowned, Eli shows up and saves the day. But since she's a vampire, she kills three people doing so.]]
* In ''Film/RedSun'', the villains are about to kill the heroes, only to be interrupted by an attack by murderous Comanches.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'':
** The Joker did this in his own twisted way in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', when a Wayne Enterprises accountant discovered Bruce's big secret and was about to reveal it to the world on live television (because the Joker had threatened a massive killing spree if Batman didn't reveal his identity). But leave it to the Joker to take something that would have been a favor to Batman, and to twist it to his own ends:
-->'''The Joker:''' [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou I don't want Mr. Reese spoiling everything]], but why should I have all the fun? Let's give someone else a chance. If Coleman Reese isn't dead in sixty minutes then I blow up a hospital.
** Later, the Joker strands two ferries in the harbor, one filled with civilians, the other with convicts, and tells them that if one boat doesn't use the provided trigger to blow up the other boat within an hour, he'll blow up both. The guard with the trigger on the convicts' boat hems and haws about what to do, when a ScaryBlackMan convict comes up and offers to do it for him so that he can keep his hands clean. [[spoiler: And {{subverted}}, as the convict tosses the trigger out the window, having recognized that the moral thing to do is allow the civilians to live.]]
** Straight example in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': Batman's one rule keeps him from [[spoiler: killing Bane. But Catwoman has no such restriction.]]
** Subverted in ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Bruce is about to assassinate Joe Chill when [[spoiler: the mob assassinates him instead for becoming an informant]]. This is when Bruce realizes that crime has become so pervasive, killing one person won't resolve anything.
* Film/JamesBond:
** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' has a rare case of the villain not dying at Bond's hands. Bond chooses to strand the film's main villain in the desert to fend for himself and it doesn't go well for him (he's later said to have been found with bullets in his neck).
** In ''Film/NoTimeToDie'', it's a MadScientist acting on behalf of the film's BigBad, Lyutsifer Safin, who rids the world of Spectre, by sabotaging a party of them that was intended to be for Bond's death, turning the {{nanomachines}}-[=based=] [[ThePlague virus]] they stole against themselves.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** ''Film/XMen1'': The Mutant Registration Act is defeated due to the Brotherhood unintentionally killing the Act's main supporter and [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Mystique]] replacing him later on.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': A BrainwashedAndCrazy [[spoiler: Wolverine]] slaughters all of Stryker's soldiers holding our heroes prisoner.
* Creator/ChrisPine's character in ''Film/{{Carriers}}'' where everyone is a CrazySurvivalist [[ShootTheDog shoots the dog]] many times in order to spare his more innocent brother from doing it himself. It rubs off on his brother though, who later finally gets his hands dirty by killing Pine when he is infected.
* Salim from ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire'' spends most of the movie playing TheCaretaker to Jamal, [[ShootTheDog shooting]] and [[KickTheDog kicking]] the dog alternately allowing them both to survive, but allowing Jamal to remain relatively untarnished.
* In ''Film/BadLieutenantPortOfCallNewOrleans'', the title character is being pursued by gangsters who want him to pay $50,000 for roughing up the son of a local real estate mogul. Rather than paying, he lures them to a place where he's meeting a drug kingpin that he's in business with. When the gangsters try to steal the kingpin's product in payment for what the protagonist owes, the kingpin and his men kill them all.
* A similar scenario, combined with a BatmanGambit, plays out in ''Film/EnemyOfTheState''. The film opens with Dean negotiating with mobster Pintero over a compromising videotape that Dean had obtained, and which he gives Pintero in exchange for leaving Dean's clients alone. Later, Dean unknowingly obtains a recording that shows the assassination of a Congressman, which places him in the NSA's crosshairs. When he and Brill are captured by NSA bigwig Reynolds, he tells Reynolds that he will take them to the tape, leading them to Pintero instead. Dean remains vague enough when introducing them that Pintero assumes Reynolds is the man who made the mob tape coming to blackmail him, while Reynolds thinks that Dean gave the assassination tape to The Mafia, leading to a violent shootout where both Mafia and NSA forces wipe each other out.
* In ''Film/{{Child 44}}'', [[spoiler: Leo finally catches up to the serial killer who's been gruesomely murdering children... and he proves to have a similar back-story to Leo himself, as well as being wracked by guilt about his horrific crimes, which he claims not to be able to control. As Leo hesitates over whether to shoot him as he intended to, [[TheDragon Vasili]] comes along and does it for him.]]
* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'':
** In the extended cut of the film, what to do with [[spoiler: Saruman]] is a bit of a problem for Théoden and the Fellowship. He resists coming quietly to be questioned until Gríma backstabs him after being kicked around one too many times.
** The sudden presence of [[spoiler: Gollum]] at Mount Doom means that Sam doesn't have to [[spoiler: fight or even kill Frodo to complete the quest and destroy the Ring after Frodo succumbs to the Ring's temptation and refuses to destroy it himself]], since someone is already handling the fight for him.
* In ''Literature/{{Insurgent}}'', [[spoiler: Tori, one of Tris's friends, kills Jeanine near the end of the novel to avenge her brother]]. In its film adaptation, ''Film/TheDivergentSeriesInsurgent'', [[spoiler: it's Evelyn who does the job, likely to foreshadow the fact that she is much crueler than she appears to be]].
* In ''Film/TheBigHeat'', Debby kills Mrs. Duncan and brings down the titular big heat on the mob — sparing the TechnicalPacifist hero from doing it.
* In ''Film/TheHandmaiden'', [[spoiler: Kouzuki brings Fujiwara back to his estate after being tipped by Hideko as to his location, and then Fujiwara [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled kills himself]] [[TakingYouWithMe and Kouzuki]]. Sook-hee and Hideko are able to escape without needing to kill either of them directly.]]
* ''Film/DevilInABlueDress'': Easy Rawlins discovers that a friend was involved in a woman's murder. He leaves the man to be guarded by his PsychoSidekick Mouse while he goes to save the DamselInDistress. When he comes back, his friend has been strangled by Mouse. When Easy gets upset, Mouse pointedly asks, "If you didn't want him dead, Easy, why did you leave him with ''me?''"
* Discussed but ultimately averted in ''Film/BestSeller'', in which a psychopathic ProfessionalKiller teams up with a detective turned novelist to write his story about his work for a CorruptCorporateExecutive. The novelist decides to publicly expose the executive instead of shooting him, causing the killer to quip that he ruined a perfect ending for the book.
* Downplayed examples in ''Film/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre''. Cody discovers Dobbs, Curtin, and Howard's secret prospecting operation, and tries to join their group for a share of the gold they dig up. Dobbs and the rest don't want to share, but they also fear Cody will expose them if they send him away. They vote (2-to-1) to murder Cody--but before they can act on this decision, {{bandito}}s attack their camp. Cody gets shot and killed in the ensuing gunfight, and the survivors feel guilt over the murder they planned but never carried out.
* This is the reasoning behind assembling the eponymous ''Film/SuicideSquad2016,'' though in this case, it's not about saving "good guys" (the US government) from having to do things they're morally opposed to. It's to allow them to make the "hard decisions" while maintaining their reputations, having villainous fall guys (and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Harley]]) to take the blame for their morally dubious acts. It still allows "heroic" characters to keep their hands clean. [[note]]That's the theory, anyway. The fact that they're escorted by uniformed military personnel on their first excursion sort of defeats the purpose.[[/note]]
* Ultimately subverted in ''Film/{{Exam}}''; as [[spoiler:White]] is going into a coma, [[spoiler:Brown]] tries to prevent him from getting his medicine. His plan doesn't work when [[spoiler:Blonde]] gets the pill anyway.
* In ''Film/TheShootist'', the sheriff wants to rid his town of the notorious gunslinger John Book so he releases an inmate who's looking to settle a score with Book.

[[folder: Literature]]
* In Creator/BernardCornwell's book ''Agincourt'', the main character, Nick Hook, has made a vow to a priest not to kill the murderous rapists with who his family has been in a blood feud for generations. [[spoiler: His arch-enemy, father-in-law, and prisoner (it's complicated) made no such promise.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}} Rachel starts out as TheBigGuy, but as the war goes on slips into TokenEvilTeammate. Upon realizing they may need to kill [[SixthRangerTraitor David]], Jake immediately thinks of getting her. She's torn between acknowledging she's the person for the job, and wondering what it says about her (and his opinion of her) that he knows that. Much later, she takes it upon herself to do a particularly morally dubious but necessary action, and when Cassie questions if she can really do it, angrily demands to know if Cassie can instead. She can't, which leaves Rachel. In the finale, [[spoiler:Jake sends her on a suicide mission to kill his brother, her cousin.]] She agrees, knowing she's the person for the job, and by this point is too broken by the war to do anything else. She also, at one point rationalizes the need for her to do these things, so the others don't as:
-->"They needed me to be the bad guy. And I needed them to be the good guys. Because if they were good guys, and I was on their side, then that meant that I was a good guy too. Even if I was different."
* In the backstory of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', the princesses were married to Keifer Porter, an abusive rapist who was prone to temper tantrums. The elder princesses were madly in love with him because he was so pretty, and as it was the eldest sister's decision to divorce him, the younger sisters' only option to get rid of him would have been murder. Keifer conveniently dies in an attempt on the princesses' life, which sadly also claims the lives of many innocent people, among them half of the princesses. The dead sisters are mourned, Keifer is not.
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': In ''Literature/TheLastBattle'', Tash (i.e. Satan) gets rid of some of the bad guys - since they inadvertently summoned him for real, thinking he didn't exist.
* The [[Literature/TheCulture Culture]] novel ''Matter'' has a SealedEvilInACan being released and in typical Banks fashion killing most of the main cast. While this is nearly all of the heroes, it also includes the EvilChancellor who had usurped a throne and his minions. Thus, the Culture are able to set-up the surviving hero as the future prime minister, and unlike in other novels in the series, didn't actually have to act morally ambiguously and get rid of corrupt leaders themselves.
** In general in Culture novels, Special Circumstances plays this role for the rest of the Culture (and their non-Culture Citizen agents play this role to the rest of the organization). ''Literature/UseOfWeapons'' contains a particularly clear example of this with the amoral/immoral protagonist and his anti-hero handlers taking on a morally ambiguous mission that will help promote freedom and tolerance in general for a particular region, but cost a lot of innocent and not-so-innocent lives in the meantime.
* ''[[Literature/{{Deverry}} The Deverry Cycle]]'' has little Olaen. When the Deverrian civil war ends, five-year-old Olaen 'rules' the losing side. The choices to prevent future challenge are death, castration, or blinding, the later two involving turning him over to the priesthood to raise. [[spoiler:[[EvilChancellor Oggyn]] poisons the boy with 'Dwarven Salts'.[[note]]WordOfGod is the salts are arsenic.[[/note]]]]
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** In ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'', Vimes frees prisoners from the [[TortureCellar Cable Street watch house]]. In the process, he has to subdue a [[TortureTechnician torturer]], who he leaves tied to a chair and forgets about until someone reminds him. Since he gets reminded ''after'' he started burning the place down, he has to run back in, all the while trying to decide whether to kill the mook, cut him free, or cut just enough rope that he can maybe escape before he burns to death. Luckily, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Captain Swing]] shows up and kills the mook before Vimes has to make his choice.
** Vetinari: In his own words “history needs its butchers as well as its shepherds” or, in plainer language “{{Magnificent Bastard}}s do the dirty work.” Note Swing ''also'' used the phrase.
** "Stoneface" Vimes used more or less the same phrase, and executes the last king of Ankh in person, without any form of trial. To be fair, the king deserved it, and some of the comments about the event indicate that he ''tried'' for a trial, but there wasn't anyone willing to be the judge.
** ''Literature/GoingPostal'' also had this, in a way. It turns out that [[spoiler: the backlog of unsent letters at the Post Office are sentient and want to be delivered, and are powerful enough to cause telepathic hallucinations. Not only is this very dangerous given the number of Vetinari's men that got killed falling off of ledges that they couldn't see, but it is also flatly impossible to deliver some of them since they come from another universe's Post Office, and could cause a lot of upheaval if they accidentally got out. Conveniently, Reacher Gilt's [[TheDragon Dragon]] is an arsonist and burns the office down, letters and all, relieving Moist of the burden.]]
* In ''Literature/DragonBones'' a minor villain is killed by his boss because he didn't do a good enough job. Although the heroes are horrified at the cruel manner of execution, it is very convenient for them, as [[spoiler: the man in question betrayed his heroic older brother in order to become the one in charge of their estate. His brother loved him very much,]] and it would have been a real problem to determine what to do with him, had the villain not solved the problem for them.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': This is why the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights of the Cross]] sometimes fight alongside [[AntiHero Harry]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Dresden]]. He's not evil, but he's willing to ShootTheDog and do morally questionable things if it averts a greater evil — freedom the Knights, who are truly [[AllLovingHero good]], [[FriendToAllLivingThings loving people]] — do not have.
* In the Creator/DaleBrown novel ''Executive Intent'', the Chinese assault on and takeover of Mogadishu is likened to this InUniverse by one character, noting how China had solved the problem (Somali pirates, to be exact) most of the world probably secretly wanted to deal with but could not bring themselves to handle.
* In the first book of James S. Corey's ''Literature/TheExpanse'' series, ''Leviathan Wakes'', [[RecycledInSpace Outland-esque]] [[HardboiledDetective rent-a-cop]] Joe Miller is present when the heroes make their final move on the base of the [[EvilInc genius sociopath-staffed corporation]] responsible for setting loose a [[TheVirus bio-modifying hyper-advanced fractally programmed engineered virus]] on a space station filled with millions of people. When they capture the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive head researcher]], the de facto [[BigBad Big Bad]] of the novel, and they mean to interrogate him, he goes into a very well-planned [[VirtueIsWeakness justification speech]] that actually has a lot of legitimate reasoning, and leaves the protagonists kind of doubting their own motives. [[spoiler: Miller, recognizing that the man might actually walk, and already having been on a [[DeathSeeker despair bender]] for the majority of the book, decides to do what no one else seems to have the initiative to, and promptly shoots the man in the head. Three times, no less.]]
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the Pensieve reveals to Harry that [[spoiler: Snape]] felt he was subjected to this when he was told to kill [[spoiler: Dumbledore]] so that [[spoiler: Draco]] wouldn't have to cross the point of no return.
%% * Being a FallenHero, Kalona from ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'' has his moments, most notably in ''Awakened'' and ''Destined''.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' are about a competition where 24 children have to kill each other until only one is left standing. Luckily for the main character, a group of kids who went into the game by choice rather than by force are painted in a very negative light and commit almost all of the unprovoked killings.
* Wormtongue killing Saruman near the end of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* ''The Probability Broach'': It would be wrong to attack the Hamiltonians ''before'' they import a nuclear weapon, so they're killed off by a [[ChekhovsGun previously mentioned]] side effect of closing a broach when [[PortalCut something is halfway through it.]]
* Ruahkini in ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'' is an incredibly rude and borderline crazy RichBitch who is perpetually insulting Laeshana and patronizing Alaric, as well as being partially responsible for the destructive imbalance in Caederan's magic. Unfortunately, he's also the royal chancellor, so there's no conceivable way for the heroes to get rid of him. [[spoiler: Luckily, his AxeCrazy [[BlackMagic hoshek]] brother Gaithim shows up and kills him.]]
* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' [[TheAtoner Daylen]] cites this as the reason why he should be allowed to PayEvilUntoEvil, saving the innocent from having to experience such extreme violence.
* A chilling example in both the book and film version of ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'' combined with LaserGuidedKarma: After Boggs and the Sisters beat Andy "within an inch of his life", Boggs returns cockily to his cell after his spending his time in solitary, whereupon the brutal and corrupt Hadley and the other guards beat him nearly comatose...but the Sisters leave Andy alone after that.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' this is how Lannisters endeared themselves to Robert Baratheon. Robert's Rebellion was won except for the Targaryens' last holdout, King's Landing. Tywin Lannister, who had stayed out of the fight until it was all but decided, tricked the Targaryens into letting his army inside their city and then sacked it. Tywin's son Jaime Lannister instigated a BodyguardBetrayal on [[TheCaligula King Aerys]], while Tywin's bannermen assassinated the last of the Targaryen line still in the city. This deflected a lot of blame for the atrocities at King's Landing onto the Lannisters, sparing Robert's reputation and conscience. Tyrion would question the wisdom of this, citing that it made the entire realm despise the Lannisters when they could have let Robert take the blame. Tywin, however, felt that they had to do it to prove their allegiance, and Robert would be exceedingly grateful to them for doing the dirty work of killing off the royal bloodline, which simultaneously satisfied Robert's desire for revenge against the Targaryens and would prevent future uprisings by Targaryen loyalists.
--> We had come late to [[TheAlliance Robert's cause]]. It was necessary to demonstrate our loyalty. When I laid those bodies before the throne, no man could doubt that we had forsaken [[RoyalBlood House Targaryen]] forever. And Robert's relief was palpable. As stupid as he was, even ''he'' knew [[TheWisePrince Rhaegar's]] children had to die if his throne was ever to be secure. Yet he saw himself as a hero, and heroes do not kill children.
* On more than one occasion, ''{{Literature/Spenser}}'' has found himself forced into a position of murdering someone in cold blood but can't bring himself to do it. [[PsychoSidekick Hawk]], on the other hand, has no such scruples and cheerfully does the deed himself.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': In ''Soul of the Fire'', Kahlan falls pregnant. She was told by Shota that a child she will bear will be a male, and male Confessors tend to be AlwaysChaoticEvil (even if this one does not, Shota had promised to kill him or die trying just in case). She obtains a miscarriage-inducing potion, but since GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion, ultimately discards it... cue a bunch of thugs beating her nearly to death, causing a ConvenientMiscarriage.
* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': In the ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'', Aly's god-ordered objective is to put one of two sisters on the throne of the Copper Isles as part of a revolution. Among the people they will be usurping are the five-year-old king and the girls' own three-year-old half-brother, whom Aly (and a number of the other {{Rebel Leader}}s) has personally cared for. Aly considers binding them with magical oaths to not try and retake the throne and exiling them with a bodyguard, but everyone knows that isn't a perfect solution and the boys could still be figureheads or martyrs for a counterrevolution. Then Aly mentions the problem to said god, he gets impatient over [[JerkAssGods such an "insignificant" problem]], and [[spoiler: whispers in the regents' ears until they decide to kill the boys ''themselves'' so they can have the throne]].
* A weird meta example occurs in the first ''Literature/WarriorCats'' MythArc. [[TheHero Firestar]] had to defeat [[BigBad Tigerstar]], but being the classical TheHero he needed to beat Tigerstar with moral superiority. Unfortunately, Tigerstar's plan was actually beneficial to the forest, with its only problem being that someone crazy and evil was designing it. The problem was resolved in the last book of the arc ''The Darkest Hour'', when Tigerstar's ally [[PsychoForHire Scourge]] betrays him and becomes the BigBad, allowing Firestar to have an opponent he could kill by having greater morals.
* When the Azn Bad Boys begin [[spoiler: a bombing spree]] in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', supervillains of the town team up to attack the ABB's bases in order to remove that chaotic element from the table -- and end up doing a lot more visible damage to the organization than the local superhero teams.
** It's growing into a major theme, stretching from taking down the ABB, to going toe-to-toe with several major threats, to [[VillainProtagonist Skitter]] keeping the peace in her territory safer than it had been for years. People noticed, too. [[spoiler: They noticed enough to shield her from an arresting band of "heroes".]]
** The one trope that best summarizes the theme of the story. [[spoiler: The Biggest, Damnedest Villains of all, Cauldron, exist for the purpose of saving as much of humanity as possible from an inevitable catastrophe, and even the ''[[{{Kaiju}} Endbringers]]'' pitch in to help when that catastrophe arrives.]]
* In ''[[Literature/{{Magic20}} An Unwelcome Quest]]'', the villain Todd wants to kill all the characters. After Jimmy (who was [[spoiler: the BigBad of book 1]]) is given his powers back, he leaves and then comes back to rescue everyone else. He then [[spoiler: erases Todd from the reality file, effectively killing him (well, not really at first, but he does it for real later when Todd refuses the option of going back to prison for life)]]. The others are in shock, but Jimmy points out that it had to happen to ensure their continued safety, and none of them would stoop to his level. Realizing they can never trust him again, he [[spoiler: pretends to erase himself to prove that he can be trusted, but in actuality decides to start a new life in modern-day Reno]].

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* In the second season finale of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', Cal [[spoiler: kills Jiaying]] so that Skye doesn't have to.
* An interesting use occurs in the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[Recap/AngelS02E10Reunion Reunion]]" when the main character leaves most of the key employees of [[BigBad Wolfram and Hart]] in a cellar with Drusilla and Darla, whom the lawyers had been helping (mainly just to piss Angel off and get under his skin), knowing full well that the two will kill most or all of them. Unusually, this is played as Angel becoming evil, or at least turning into an UnscrupulousHero even though it's technically villains doing the dirty work.
* In the second season finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Brother Blood finds out Oliver Queen is The Arrow, and their last conversation implies that he's very likely to blackmail Oliver with this knowledge. Then suddenly, Ravager shows up for a YouHaveFailedMe.
* ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'': In the penultimate episode "Judgment Day," [[GreaterScopeVillain the Dark Ones]] show up during Ash's showdown with [[BigBadDuumvirate Ruby and Kaya]], and promptly kill them both. They even expel Kaya's soul from [[spoiler: Kelly]]'s body in the process, which Ash needed to be able to bring her BackFromTheDead. Ash takes advantage of the distraction to steal the body and the Necronomicon and make a break for it.
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'':
** It's obvious midway through "[[Recap/BattlestarGalactica2003S02E10Pegasus Pegasus]]" that [[InsaneAdmiral Admiral Cain]] is dangerous and has lost the plot, as she uses brutal and horribly immoral methods that are also often counterproductive, and thus she will need to be dealt with. Several episodes later both Cain and Adama are hatching plans to assassinate each other and assume total control of the fleet. Adama is ultimately too moral to go through with an assassination, and, to her credit, Cain declines (for now) to go through with assassinating Adama and was even helpful to the crew during a mission, but it's still obviously a matter of time before the two factions clash again, and Cain has the upper hand. Fortunately, [[spoiler: Baltar has let loose a Cylon with a grudge against Cain. The Cylon kills Cain and Adama is able to peacefully become commander of the combined fleet without the potentially devastating infighting that would otherwise happen]].
** In one episode, Roslin has Baltar in the brig and threatens to throw him out an airlock if he won't tell her what she wants. Baltar says that she wouldn't go through with it, so she brings in Col. Tigh. [[spoiler: Even that was a bluff, but nobody doubts that Tigh would have done it.]]
* The ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'' episode, "The Ape," ended with the Cartwrights joining a posse looking for a massive mentally disabled {{Manchild}}, Arnie, for murder. When Arnie tries to attack the posse, the Cartwrights are out of sight of the attack and the less sympathetic character are the ones who shoot him, to the Cartwrights' regret.
* In the final story arc of ''Series/BreakingBad'', Walter is [[spoiler: captured and arrested by his brother-in-law, who he refuses to kill because he's family]]. But then unexpectedly Jack Welker and his men show up and [[spoiler: kill Hank, allowing Walter to go free, although he's not too happy about it]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E6WildAtHeart Wild at Heart]]": The Scooby Gang don't kill werewolves, because they're human most of the time, but Oz's wolf side is amoral and thus free to kill Veruca.
** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E13TheZeppo The Zeppo]]", Xander defeats his [[spoiler: zombie]] VillainOfTheWeek with a BreakingSpeech, but lets him go. Moments after the departing baddie swears vengeance, he, too, is eaten by feral-werewolf-Oz.
** Buffy can't kill the Anointed One, partly because she's prophesied not to but mostly because he's a kid. Luckily, Spike does it for her in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E3SchoolHard School Hard]]".
** Borderline case because he's not a ''bad'' guy, though he has apparently had his moments: in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E22TheGift The Gift]]", Giles kills the hellgod Glory while Ben, the mortal human man with whom she shares a body, is the one on the surface, because Buffy won't kill a defenseless human being.
* This is Michael Weston's modus operandi in ''Series/BurnNotice''. Michael mostly abides by ThouShaltNotKill, [[spoiler: in part due to guilt over a past that includes having killed innocent people to get his target]], but, despite this, many a VillainOfTheWeek has wound up dying in incredibly horrible ways at the hands of their boss or criminal rivals due to Michael's actions. Seldom (if ever) has Michael or any other member of Team Weston batted an eye at this happening or expressed any moral qualms at indirectly causing the death of their target. As an example, Sam once goaded three criminals into a MexicanStandoff inside a house, then stood outside the house and fired his gun into the ground so that the three would [[BlastOut all pull the trigger at once and kill each other]]. Yipes.
** Note that none of the main characters ever expresses a moral objection to killing. (And frankly, considering their pasts in Special Forces, [Sam] various spy agencies, [Michael and Jessie] and as a [[IrishExplosivesExpert bomb maker for the IRA]], [Fiona] it would be surprising if any of them did have unresolved moral hangups on the subject.) Most of the early episodes have an obligatory scene where Fiona offers to murder the bad guys and Michael explains why that would cause more problems than it solves. They're all okay with bad guys being killed, it's just easier to accept them as the heroes if they don't to it themselves.
** It has more to do with pragmatism than anything else. Unexplained dead bodies attract police. If they let the bad guys kill each other, any investigation by the police will stop there.
* In the first episode of ''Series/CimarronStrip'', Marshal Crown is saved from death by two-bit alcoholic Screamer, who shoots the villain Ace Coffin [[InTheBack from behind]], even though he won't get a $10,000 prize for it. Not that Crown himself isn't above killing, even in self-defense.
* ''Da Ren Wu'' is a Chinese TV series based on a classic kung-fu novel set in medieval China. The heroes, as usual in wuxia literature, are staunch Confucianists: morally opposed to unwarranted violence and who don't approve of killing under any circumstances. At one point, Sisi, the main heroine, is tricked by some crooks who steal everything she owns and [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty give her to a Masqueraded School for whores]]. The boss and his cronies take great pleasure in tormenting defenseless girls and kill those who don't respond well to the training. Three characters come to Sisi's rescue, one after another: 1) Yang Fan is the first. He can't find Sisi in the School (the boss locked her in a hidden room), so he leaves convinced he made a mistake. 2) Qin Ge, a famous kung-fu master, is the second. He can't find Sisi either. He suspects something, but can't prove anything. He leaves as well. 3) The hunchback is the third. [[spoiler: He's a major bad guy. He needs Sisi for some nefarious plan. He waits till night, gets into the School, finds Sisi, and takes her with him. He pummels the cronies, and when the cross-dressing boss tries to stop him: the hunchback pulls a Fist of the North Star on him. After leaving the School with Sisi, the hunchback tracks the crooks who had tricked her. He finds them, makes them give back the stolen stuff and beg for mercy on their knees...and then kills them nevertheless, just because!]] They say the author was very surprised when the hunchback's popularity with the audience skyrocketed after this story arc.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', end of season two. [[spoiler: Sgt Doakes can prove that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher, so Dexter locks him up in a lonely cabin until he can decide what to do. Dexter won't kill Doakes because he's a good guy. Lila, who is as psychopathic as Dexter but with no such code, finds the cabin and blows it up.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]], the Master has been captured by the Cybermen and is initially being forced to do their bidding. [[spoiler: He ends up turning the tables and wiping the whole lot of them out by skipping through a trap he's figured out the solution to, but conveniently forgets to tell his captors about.]]
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]]: The Master forces [[spoiler: Rassilon]] back behind the [[spoiler: time lock on the Time War, and won't let him take the Doctor with him, either.]]
** Subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens "The Pandorica Opens"]]. [[spoiler: A good number of the Doctor's foes all band together to save the universe... from the Doctor, who they've been tricked into believing will destroy it, when in fact he's the only one who can stop the explosion that will destroy the universe.]]
* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'': Elana March orders an attempt on Joan from prison, and there doesn't seem to be much the police can do to stop her - even from solitary confinement, she sends threatening letters that she will succeed next time. [[spoiler: [[GreaterScopeVillain Jamie Moriarty]], however, won't have a [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou lesser villain]] interfere with her WorthyOpponent, and has Elana killed.]]
* Slightly downplayed example in ''Series/TheExpanse'': halfway through the third season Prax, a [[GuestStarPartyMember temporary new addition to the crew]] and the only one that is morally uncompromised, comes face to face with [[spoiler:[[MadScientist the doctor]] who kidnapped his young daughter Mei to use her in [[XenoNucleicAcid protomolecule experiments]], a process which would have certainly either killed Mei or destroyed her mind.]] Prax tries to work himself up to kill the evil doctor, but never having had to kill before, let alone in cold blood, ([[NonActionGuy Prax is a botanist]], not a former soldier, revolutionary, or criminal like the rest of the crew) he's having a difficult time. As Prax is struggling to pull the trigger, TokenEvilTeammate and [[MoralSociopathy quasi-sociopath]] Amos stops Prax and has him leave the room. He then turns and blows the doctor's brains out with absolutely no fanfare or hesitation whatsoever.
-->'''Amos:''' ''[whispering to Prax]'' You're not that guy. You're not that guy. ''[A tearful Prax leaves the room]''\\
[[spoiler:'''Doctor Strickland:''']] Oh thank you. Oh... thank you. ''[OhCrap face as Amos turns to him with a [[TranquilFury calm]] DeathGlare]''\\
'''Amos:''' I ''am'' that guy. ''[gunshot]''
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': In the episode "Prayer", it's ambiguous whether or not John knew Scorpius was going to [[spoiler: kill the merged Chiana-Aeryn]] when he brought him along to the alternate universe, but it's [[ShootTheDog what had to be done]]. See page quote.
** In an earlier episode, Moya is in orbit around a planet with notoriously sexist laws, and accepts a visit from a mechanic- accompanied by an armed security guard. Things go well, up until Chiana discovers that the mechanic is actually a woman, rebelling against the government by doing a SweetPollyOliver; just when it looks like they're becoming friends, the security guard shows up and, infuriated that he's had a woman under his nose all this time, holds both of them at gunpoint. Given that there's almost nobody else aboard the ship at the time, it looks as though the two of them are going to die...right up until Scorpius calmly drifts past and snap the man's neck. All the more impactful because [[AffablyEvil Scorpius had been having a friendly chat with the guard before then]].
* In an episode of ''Series/{{The Flash 1990}}'' where a baddie had discovered his SecretIdentity and blackmailed him (with even a TheydCutYouUp threat). He ended up killed by other baddies, with a [[ExternalCombustion Car Starter Bomb]].
* In ''Series/TheFlash2014'', Dr. Harrison Wells ([[spoiler: AKA the Reverse-Flash]]) is determined to keep Barry's secret safe at all costs, including getting rid of those who would exploit him for his abilities. To this extent, [[spoiler: he kills Simon Stagg and delivers General Eiling to Grodd]].
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', being a Franchise/{{Batman}} origin story, can't allow young Bruce Wayne to take a life. Young [[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} Selina Kyle]], on the other hand, is not so restricted.
** Later in the series, Bruce has found the identity of the man who killed his parents, and he needs Alfred's help to track him down. In return, Alfred demands that he be the one to kill the guy, instead of Bruce. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work out that way...[[spoiler: Alfred is hospitalized and Bruce finds the killer on his own. He intends to kill him, and the man even [[DeathSeeker begs him to]], but he can't bring himself to do it, so the killer [[AteHisGun eats the gun]] after Bruce leaves the room.]]
** The series does this ALL THE TIME considering how many villains die from the hand of other villains-often for all the wrong reasons. ComicBook/ThePenguin does this most often thanks to his tenuous, but not quite antagonistic so far, relationship with Jim, compared with the other criminals.
*** The most awesome example comes towards the end of season 2, when Theo Galavan[[spoiler:, resurrected in the form of Azrael,]] is about to kill Alfred, Bruce, and Jim. Cue his mortal enemy Penguin showing up... '''''with a [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill ROCKET LAUNCHER.]]'''''
---->'''Butch:''' Goodnight, fellas!
* In Chris Carter's short-lived ''Series/HarshRealm'' the Three Percenters are a population of virtual zombies caused by [[AIIsACrapshoot a glitch in the program]]. They can convert just about anyone playing the game, and nearly do so to Hobbes and Pinocchio. [[TheDragon Mel Waters]] sees through them immediately and he's the one who eliminates the threat.
* In the third season of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', [[spoiler:a [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]] Peter heads off with [[AntiMagic the Haitian]] to kill his father Arthur Petrelli and destroy [[SuperSerum the Formula]]. Just as Peter shoots him, Sylar shows up, complete with recently stolen lie detection power, to ask Arthur if he's really a Petrelli. Naturally, Arthur lies, thus causing Sylar to allow the bullet he had paused in thin air to kill Arthur stone dead permanently.]] Sylar actually lampshades the fact that he's preventing Peter from becoming a murderer.
* For most ''Franchise/KamenRider'' shows, the monsters are often monsters taking the guises of humans. [[Series/KamenRiderDouble Double]] and [[Series/KamenRiderFourze Fourze]], however, do the opposite: humans who take the guise of monsters. While taking them out is a breeze (all that's needed is to break their TransformationTrinket and they will no longer be able to transform), taking out the higher-ranked members, some of which are {{Anti Villain}}s, might be a hassle, especially with Double being a detective who helps the police nab criminals and Fourze being the AllLovingHero. Leave it to the resident bad guys or self-dooming inflictions to do those villains in. Though Double and Fourze have their share of defeating the higher-ups, rarely killing them in the process (or putting one in a coma for one case).
** ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' has a ThereCanBeOnlyOne approach and the protagonist is unwilling to kill anyone. Leave it to his badass partner to do the work for him. Though even ''he'' has hesitations to kill. Cue the Rider who's job prior to being a Rider was [[SerialKiller nothing BUT killing]].
*** Likewise in ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'', though the protagonist ''did'' end up [[NeverSayDie sending a Rider]] to the [[FateWorseThanDeath Advent Void]].
** In ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'', the main hero is all about being the HopeBringer. Though the BigBad's hope is to [[spoiler:[[{{Necromantic}} revive his daughter]]]]. Well, [[AntiVillain noble goal]], right? Well, his means involve [[spoiler: sacrificing tons of people and convert them into monsters so as to power up a spell to revive her]]. What's a HopeBringer like Haruto to do in a situation like that, especially since he was going to do this all over again? [[spoiler: Cue TheDragon to come and run the BigBad through with his own sword. Although, [[KickTheSonOfABitch because this action might cause people to think this Dragon is a hero]], [[MoralEventHorizon he kills the Big Bad's daughter next]]]].
*** [[spoiler: It would be good to note that said HopeBringer has GoodIsNotNice tendencies and killed TheDragon, disregarding his wish to become human again. He was a monster even when he was still human so there was not much to pity.]]
** In ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', this was done not so much as to spare the hero from killing someone, but to make it so the person doing the dirty work [[MoralEventHorizon crosses the line in doing so]] and becomes the local HateSink. Want context? Well, [[spoiler: Kouta is hesitant to fight a human that he saw transform into an Inves before his eyes and is dead set on trying to have him be human again. He gets to his breaking point and at that time, Sigurd arrives, easily kills the human, then rubs it in Kouta's face by claiming it as a heroic feat.]] A similar thing happens late in the series, when [[spoiler: MadScientist Ryoma has just vivisected Mai in his quest for the power that she now holds, killing her in the process and also [[BreakTheHaughty reducing another villain to tears in the process]]. Kouta might be too nice to kill him (and had been in a bad situation of nearly dying), but ''Kaito'' isn't; brutally beating Ryoma and driving him to suicide cemented himself as the series' final antagonist.]]
** [[spoiler: Gaim's finale subverts this as while Kouta had to kill Kaito or let him destroy the world so he could remake in his image.]]
** ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'' pulls this off a bit differently. Throughout the series, the Roidmudes are presented as cruel and vicious towards the human race, to which the heroes must stop them. However, over time, Roidmudes who are actually ''good'' towards humans get slowly revealed. One such example is a Roidmude who befriends the cast and another is a Roidmude commander who considers every other Roidmude to be his friend. To spare the dilemma of killing off the former Roidmude, [[spoiler: one of the other commanders is revealed to be a genocidal {{yandere}} who murders said Roidmude to quell the number of Roidmudes not acting according to their programming.]] However, eventually even ''that'' commander is revealed to be an AntiVillain. The solution? [[spoiler: Bring in their inventor, who proves to be EvilerThanThou. The moment he is revealed to be the BigBad, every Roidmude death afterwards was either caused (in)directly by him or if it's by the hero's hands, have said Roidmude be BrainwashedAndCrazy]].
** ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': Played straight and enforced as no matter how much the events had [[GoodIsNotSoft hardened]] [[AllLovingHero Emu]] he would never stop trying to save the villains. So obviously someone or something had to come in and fix it. [[spoiler: The first HateSink, Kuroto Dan was killed by [[TheDogBitesBack Parado]] and second HateSink, Masamune Dan, killed himself ''twice'' just to screw everyone over. Parado himself, on the hand, had been redeemed by Emu.]]
** This gets exaggerated with ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'', as the show slowly reveals that [[spoiler:Blood Stalk, later revealed to be Evolt]] was responsible for every single bad thing that happened to the protagonists, even removing [[TheAtoner Gentoku]] from the responsibilty of plunging Japan into war and killing Ryuga's girlfriend via [[spoiler:members of Evolt's race reveal that they talked him into doing that.]] Another thing to note is that [[spoiler:Evolt is the one that removes the major powers from conflict: using Faust as a stepping stone and ditching it when it no longer served a purpose, putting Hokuto in a military coup, killing Seito's Prime Minister, and decimating Namba's forces]].
** ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' has a minor example in regards to a MonsterOfTheWeek. In most cases, they're often the VictimOfTheWeek as well, being manipulated by the Time Jackers to become their puppet. Then we get to Yuko, who is an outright {{yandere}} who murdered someone before she even received her powers. After she's defeated, one of the Time Jackers, Ora, kills her due to [[DoNotTauntCthulhu her earlier fooling around with them]]. She would have otherwise walked away with nary a scratch.
* In the ''Series/LALaw'' episode "Beauty and Obese," Grace Van Owen has just joined a two-man law firm which is, unbeknownst to her, championed by a mobster named Frank Vincent. Vincent asks her to represent his nephew, who's charged with murder. Grace declines. Vincent takes her to lunch and makes it clear he's not politely asking anymore, and that people who go against his wishes sometimes get hurt. Grace still refuses and raises Vincent's ire; at that point [[spoiler: a gunman disguised as a waiter walks up and puts a bullet in Vincent's head.]] Later on in the series, Grace tells Frank Kittredge about this incident, saying, "I was relieved. Got him out of my life. Once these people have you, they don't let go."
* Inverted in ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': When Rip Hunter thinks that they may need to kill their own teammate Martin Stein to keep the secret of the Firestorm matrix from falling into the hands of Vandal Savage, he turns to Sara Lance, the White Canary, rather than to hardened criminal Leonard Snart, Captain Cold. Lance, it is true, is a trained assassin, but she is not evil, and has never been one of the bad guys. Snart was a villain on ''Series/TheFlash2014'' before being recruited by Hunter, and remains a cold-blooded criminal even in Hunter's service. Snart even [[WhatTheHellHero calls Lance out]] on this, pointing out that in all the jobs he pulled, no matter how bad things got, he never killed one of his own accomplices. Lance responds that if killing Stein is the only way to stop Savage and save the world, then she will [[IDidWhatIHadToDo do what she has to do]].
* This is one of the main ideas of ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. Sometimes bad guys make the best good guys.
** When Nate goes for revenge on the two men behind [[spoiler: his father's murder]], Elliot warns him that straight up murder carries a much higher moral cost than their usual method of destroying a bad guy's life. In the end, Nate plays the two against each other (getting each of them to point out why they should want the other dead) then leaves them to fight over a gun with a single bullet. [[spoiler: They ''both'' fall off the nearby cliff while fighting over the weapon.]]
* Many episodes of ''Series/MissionImpossible'' involved manipulating characters associated with the target into killing them.
* In the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Iced" a low-level hood killed his gang's leader and then used text messages supposedly from said leader to take control of the gang. The team doesn't have enough evidence to get a conviction, so instead they hold the hood in interrogation while showing the gang's senior members exactly how they've been duped. The hood is dropped off at his gang's hideout and is found dead the next morning, executed gangland style and left in a dumpster.
* At the climax of ''Series/TheNightManager'', the heroes are able to screw up Richard Roper's arms deal and get him arrested, but he smugly predicts that his connections will prevent any actual jail time. [[spoiler: Then his very angry business partners show up and take him away from the police, clearly intending to kill him.]]
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'':
** In third season, [[AdaptationalVillainy Peter Pan]] and his Lost Boys kill previous {{Big Bad}}s Tamara and Greg, after they've [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness become no longer necessary]].
** In "Good Form", Regina mentions that she could [[BeatStillMyHeart tear out the lost boy's heart]] and use that to control him to deliver the message to Henry. Snow White freaks out, but Emma tells her to do it. Later she says something to this effect when Snow White says she doesn't want Emma to have to do those things.
-->'''Regina:''' She didn't, ''I'' did. [[DirtyBusiness That's what I'm here for.]]
* Inverted in ''Series/{{Oz}}''. [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Schillinger]] and [[ManipulativeBastard O'Reily]]'s separate efforts to stop Adebisi's takeover of Em City fail miserably; instead, the noble and principled Saïd is the one who ultimately brings him down.
* The chief way ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' writes off its larger villains, who often can't simply be arrested legally. Even an existing legal avenue isn't a guarantee this won't occur: when Reese attempts to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Simmons for [[spoiler:killing Carter]], it is actually Fusco who tracks Simmons down, and hands him over to the FBI. However, in the clearest example of this trope, Simmons never makes it to jail, as mob boss Elias brings in his own goon to strangle Simmons while he watches.
** By Season 5, the ethics of our heroes are starting to slip. When Elias uses a carbomb to blow up the VillainOfTheWeek, he suggests that Finch brought him along just to invoke this trope. Finch doesn't contest the idea.
* Series/PowerRangersInSpace has this happen in the finale when [[TheStarscream Darkonda]] destroys [[GreaterScopeVillain Dark Specter]] with a planet-destroying missile, and Dark Specter [[TakingYouWithMe returns the favor by destroying Darkonda with his last breath]]. All of this greatly simplifies the mission of the Rangers to simply having to stop [[BigBad Astronema]] and [[TheDragon Ecliptor]] from taking over the world.
* This has happened tons of times in ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.
** Clark has to face people with dangerous superpowers, and while he can beat them readily enough, he can't very well run a super-jail or convince them to lead an honest life because, well, Kryptonite gives most people a god complex, and most krypto-freaks aren't stable/good to begin with. Having Clark kill or permanently disable them is far too {{squick}}y for a proto-Superman to do, so the preferred solution is to have them depowered or [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoist by their own petard]]. The other solutions that pertain to this trope are to have them be killed by evil infighting among themselves, or having Lionel (and later Lex) deal with them.
** A big one in season nine. Both the Justice League and Zod have a bone to pick with [[GovernmentConspiracy Checkmate]]. [[spoiler:Oliver and John get captured at different points, although they managed to escape. Chloe is also kidnapped and almost killed in an attempt to blackmail Clark into revealing more about their team.]] Zod, on the other hand? [[spoiler:He comes over to visit and burns down their entire castle base with [[EyeBeams heat vision]]. [[PunyEarthlings Zod will not tolerate human nonsense]]. KneelBeforeZod.]]
* Garak from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' often falls into this trope, since his morality is almost always teetering on the line between gray and black. Probably the best example is from "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E19InThePaleMoonlight In the Pale Moonlight]]", where he [[spoiler: lies, extorts, and murders at least six people (a criminal, a Romulan senator, and his four aides) to bring Romulus into the Dominion War on the Federation's side. He notes at the end that that's exactly why Sisko sought his help, because he was capable of doing the dirty work Sisko wasn't willing to do.]]
** Sisko himself pulls this gambit in order to capture the renegade Maquis operative Eddington, by using (and threatening to continue using) a biogenic weapon to make a Maquis colony uninhabitable. For anyone else in the Federation, this would be far too heinous of an action - but for Sisko, ItsPersonal.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. Subverted in "Redemption". Chancellor Gowron offers Worf the chance to execute Toral, PuppetKing of the Duras family who've done Worf so much harm. Worf refuses. So Gowron just orders Kurn to do the deed, but Worf stops this too, pointing out that Gowron has granted Toral's life to Worf, and he's chosen to spare it.
* In an episode of ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', Elaine visits a trendy hair stylist(played by Ted Danson) and comes away with an atrocious hairdo. She, Alex and Louie pay the stylist a visit to demand an apology and he rebuffs them. Elaine considers dumping a bowlful of hair dye on the stylist's head but decides not to, declaring "I'm better than you." Before they leave, Louie casually dumps the hair dye over the stylist and says, "She might be better than you, ({{beat}})...but I ain't!"
* ''Series/{{Teen Wolf}}'' has both Peter and Deucalion kill the third season Big Bad.
** Gerard also killed the Kanima's master a season earlier.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': The trope gets played with. Captain Jack Harkness fills the role of the trope, despite not actually being villainous. Torture, murder, kidnapping, or any other action that would normally fall under this trope and require a villain to perform it gets performed by Captain Jack at the protest of the other characters.
* In [[Recap/TheWireS05E10Thirty the finale]] of ''Series/TheWire'', the police department needs to explain several apparent murders (which Jimmy [=McNulty=], one of the series' protagonists) had faked at the scene(s) to look like the work of a serial killer that did not really exist). Rather than admitting that they were faked, the mayor wants to blame them on a mentally ill homeless person the police had recently picked up. [=McNulty=] objects to putting the blame on the mentally ill man; deputy of operations Bill Rawls (one of the series' antagonists), however, does so anyway, and it keeps [=McNulty=] from facing any legal consequences.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 3rd Edition book, ''Oriental Adventures'', suggested that even if the players wanted to play samurai or other members of a noble caste in an Asia-themed game, the players would still probably want at least one dishonorable or lower-caste party member to do the dirty work - sometimes ''literal'' dirty work, such as searching enemy corpses.
* Pretty much the whole point of the Pact Primeval in the 3.5e+ D&D cosmology: good gods don't want their followers to become evil, but they don't want to punish them. What do they do? Leave the punishment up to [[Main/TheDevil Asmodeus]]. [[spoiler: This, of course, backfires on them spectacularly.]] In Asmodeus's own words: "We have blackened ourselves so that you can remain golden." [[spoiler: It should be noted that Asmodeus is the in-universe source of this information so may have a biased view on the issue. ]].
* The whole sacred purpose of the Guardians of the Veil in ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', along with other ways of keeping other Mages on the straight-and-narrow. They also believe this makes them ritually and spiritually unclean, and members vary between NoPlaceForMeThere and hoping the Hieromagus (who will, notably, '''not'' be a Guardian, as they will be pure and righteous) will redeem them for the good they've done through bad means.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* The Witch ''offers'' to do this in ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'', when the Giantess demands that the other characters hand over Jack. She points out that they seem to be more motivated by being "nice" rather than "good", whereas she has no such qualms, and she will gladly be labeled a villain if it means ending the threat.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars Dual Strike'', the BigBad is defeated and at the player's mercy. But the machine he hooked himself up to is still draining the planet, and he needs to be killed. Von Bolt taunts Jake, asking if he can really shoot a defenseless old man. The player is offered a choice of whether to shoot him or not and if you don't, [[spoiler: Hawke shows up and does it for you.]] The odd thing about this is that [[spoiler:''either way'', the shooter just destroys Von Bolt's machine itself.]]
* Reaver's job in ''VideoGame/FableIII'' is to do this. He stands in court to argue in favor of the evil option when making decisions as king. While these options are generally quite despicable and having an orphanage would be a fine and dandy in the long run, you could really do with the 1,250,000 you would make from opening a brothel right now to [[spoiler:fight back the EldritchAbomination that threatens to destroy Albion]].
** He also does this in the [[VideoGame/FableII previous game]]. If the player does not kill Lucien in the middle of his MotiveRant, Reaver will take the chance to shoot him.
* Gaius from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' is a thief and general scoundrel. As he explains to BadassPreacher Libra, he considers it his duty to do the army's dirty work so that TheGoodKing Chrom doesn't have to.
** Likewise SociopathicHero Henry from the same game. PlayerCharacter Robin takes issue with killing unless it is in self-defense. Henry has no such reservations and will do whatever it takes to end the war, even summoning an army of zombies that he has no idea how to control. If they overrun a few villages, oh well!
* In ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'', if you're taking the pacifist path, [[spoiler: two of the bosses get backstabbed by their underlings; conveniently meaning you don't have to kill them.]] This was actually added in since earlier versions meant a completely innocent run was impossible.
* In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime 3: Corruption'', Dark Samus kills [[spoiler:the corrupted Hunters]] after [[YouHaveFailedMe you defeat them]]. Samus probably couldn't bring herself to ShootTheDog, making Dark Samus quite convenient in a twisted, twisted way.
* A borderline example between this and VillainousRescue occurs in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars3''. Anavel Gato's claim to fame in his [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory show of origin]] is ''launching a stolen nuke at a peace conference''. He reenacts this scene in the game, but this time the "peace conference" is between [[VillainTeamUp two villainous factions]]. What makes this a borderline example is the fact that the heroes congratulate him on this and gladly accept his HeelFaceTurn application, suggesting that they may have done the same thing if they had a nuke lying around.
* Invoked by AntiHero Booker [=DeWitt=] in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'': After Elizabeth [[spoiler:is tortured by Comstock's men,]] she insists that they find and kill Comstock rather than escaping the city as they had planned. Booker does not want her to become like him.
-->'''Booker''': I'm not gonna let you kill him.\\
''(Elizabeth summons tornado)''\\
'''Elizabeth''': Really, Booker? What are you going to do to stop me?\\
'''Booker''': Not a damn thing. Because I'm gonna do it for you.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}} 2'', it transpires that one of the pact knights that keeps the Goddess Seal intact is [[spoiler:[[DeathSeeker Ulrich]], a party member and Nowe's BigBrotherMentor]], and must be killed to break the seal. Despite wanting to destroy the seal, Nowe can't bring himself to do it. Fortunately, [[RogueProtagonist Caim]] happens to be in the area and is [[KillAllHumans more than happy]] to oblige, even it means having to go through Nowe to do it. ''Especially'' if he has to go through Nowe to do it, really...
* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' is pretty devoted to this trope.
** Selvaria's going to crush the militia! What do we do? [[spoiler: Have Faldio shoot Alicia and awaken her Valkyria powers so she doesn't have to accept responsibility for becoming one herself.]]
** You also have Georgios Geld in a side chapter. A notorious war criminal who tortured and killed [[spoiler: Eleanor Varrot's lover]], he is nonetheless released in an IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim moment. Naturally, someone this bad can't be allowed to get off scot-free, so he flees back to the Imperial headquarters... [[spoiler: only to be court-martialed and executed ''by his own side''!]] Also doubles as EvenEvilHasStandards. It also sorta falls flat because Geld's superiors knew all about his war crimes, [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality they just didn't care until they noticed a protagonist wasn't cool with it, apparently.]]
** General Damon is an asshole with no apparent positive qualities, and he spends the entire game sending Squad 7 out on suicide missions in order to keep his success record looking good. When Squad 7 finally manages to capture Selvaria alive, he immediately leaps in to take all the credit for it. [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality Welkin and Alicia get upset at Damon for not being nice to her (apparently they've forgotten how she's been killing thousands of Gallians, some of which might be Squad 7 members depending on how you play)]] but he's the top brass, so they can't stop him and are assigned to escort the Imperial soldiers away from the battleground at Selvaria's request. [[spoiler: And then Selvaria fries the entire army with a SuicideAttack, so Damon gets his comeuppance, Varrot becomes the only authority Squad 7 answers to, Selvaria is no longer an obstacle, and the good guys don't get a single drop of blood on their hands.]]
** Maximillian's on the ropes and the land battleship is about to explode; it's too dangerous to approach and Welkin and Alicia can't capture him alive! How do we solve this? [[spoiler: Have Faldio show up out of nowhere, grab Max, and pitch himself into the exploding inner workings of the machine, killing them both.]] Again, the villains get their punishment, and our heroes are utterly unconcerned.
* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'', after defeating the FinalBoss [[spoiler: Lazarevic]] in a blatant example of GetItOverWith, [[spoiler: Lazarevic dares the protagonist to shoot him and end it. True to character, Nathan is not the one that has to end it. The Guardians, originally mini-bosses, arrive to finish the job for you.]]
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', Ezio promises Suleiman that he will spare the Templar Leader, [[spoiler:Suleiman's uncle, Ahmet]] if he can. [[spoiler:During the confrontation, Selim, Suleiman's father and Ahmet's brother, interrupts, strangles Ahmet, and throws him to a DisneyVillainDeath.]]
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'':
** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' The Joker murders Gillian Loeb to sow chaos and dethrones Roman Sionis and usurps his empire. Loeb was a politically corrupt douchebag who was as untouchable as he was corrupt, and Sionis was the top crime boss in town. So while the Joker's intentions weren't pure, he perversely got rid of two of the biggest sources of rot within Gotham. [[VillainHasAPoint Joker later gloats to Batman that he has "done more in two nights than [Batman has] done in two years"]].
** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', Talia kills the Joker during the climax because she knows Batman won’t do it. However, it’s [[spoiler: not the real Joker. He kills her but ends up dying after the next boss fight from his illness.]]
* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' by Sialeeds. She performs a FaceHeelTurn to the Godwins' side in part because, if the Prince's faction won the war cleanly after the New Queen's Campaign, he would be forced to spare corrupt nobles like Salum Barows and leave the system of nobility in place, and that would risk starting the whole circus up again a generation down the line. Instead, she joins the Godwins to prolong the war a bit and [[ThePurge Purge]] Salum and the remaining Nether Gate assassins, knowing full well that [[ThanatosGambit she will be killed in action]]. When the war is finally over, nobody is left alive to oppose Queen Lymsleia's reforms, and she and the Prince have clean hands to do it with.
* ''VideoGame/Injustice2'': In the Arcade Ladder mode, almost all character endings for supervillains, anti-heroes and [[FallenHero Regime members]] have [[BigBad Brainiac]] killed often in brutal and cruel ways, while he survives in most superhero endings where he is jailed instead. The only heroes to explicitly kill him are [[Franchise/MortalKombat Sub-Zero and Raiden]], who by DC standards could qualify as anti-heroes but are actually two of the greatest champions of good in their setting. In the story mode, this trope becomes a plot-point when [[spoiler:at the end, the Regime elects to kill him since he is considered TooPowerfulToLive, but Batman and his allies disagree and a fight breaks out between the two factions, with the player deciding who is right]].
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has a rather bizarre version where YOU are the bad guy/antihero. A quest in Borean Tundra has the Kirin Tor capturing a Beryl Sorcerer that needs to be interrogated. The Kirin Tor laws prohibit them from using torture on their prisioners. YOU, however, have made no oaths and they'll give you an electrical device so you can get the information they need while they look the other way.
* A staple of the ''Yakuza'' franchise.
** In ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'', [[AmbitionIsEvil Akira Nishikiyama]] kills [[CorruptPolitician Kyohei Jingu]].
** ''Videogame/Yakuza2'' has [[BloodKnight Ryuji Goda]] killing [[BigBadWannabe Toranosuke Sengoku]] and [[TheChessmaster Ryo Takashima]].
** Happens again in ''Videogame/Yakuza3'' with [[WellIntentionedExtremist Mine]] jumping off a roof and taking [[CIAEvilFBIGood Richardson]] with him.
** The prequel ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' has Makoto's guardian figure try to protect Makoto by creating a dead BodyDouble. Majima refuses to do it, but in leaving the plan's ingredients in the trash, he inadvertently allows another yakuza to complete the plan himself, which puts Majima under a microscope with his current boss, a Shimano officer who wants Makoto dead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Ilya [[spoiler:kills Shinji]] in the ''Fate'' route, saving Shirou from having to do it; [[spoiler:Sakura]] does the same in ''Heaven's Feel''. In ''Unlimited Blade Works'', [[spoiler:Shinji survives, but not before Gilgamesh puts him through an [[BodyHorror utterly horrific]] case of BreakTheHaughty, after which he seems to cease any villainous behavior]]. Also in ''Heaven's Feel'', [[spoiler:Sakura and Kotomine]] combined also kill off [[spoiler:Zouken]], who would probably have caused some moral quandaries since he's essentially defenseless on his own at that point even though his very existence is an abomination.
* Near the end of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', the BigBad Momokuma/[[spoiler:Junko Enoshima]] invites the remaining students to vote for execution for putting everyone through the Killing School Life. Having survived this long without doing so, none of them are willing to pull the trigger and break out, especially since it just plays into the villain's hands. [[spoiler:So she pushes the execution button herself, happily following the Monokumas as they lead her to her doom.]]
* Invoked and dissected in ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney''. Any criminal suspect who escapes conviction by Barok van Zieks mysteriously dies by other grisley means within months, while he himself has a SuspiciouslyCleanCriminalRecord and an ironclad alibi for each death. Everyone recognizes that ''something'' is going on, but since all the victims are [[AssholeVictim bastards]] done in by other bastards, most just chalk it up to karma. Barok himself expresses disinterest when pressed, but the feeling of guilt builds up enough over the years that he simply gives a KarmicNod when [[spoiler:he's falsely charged with all of their deaths]]. Then its revealed [[spoiler:Stronghart actively engineered this correlation, outside of van Zieks's knowledge, knowing the public would accept karmic justice far more readily than [[SecretPolice extrajudicial assassinations]]]]. Van Zieks is appalled, particularly at himself for tacitly endorsing the murders through his indifference.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}' Argent:'' [[http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/20040327.html While that may not have been necessary if you know the backstory it's hard to blame him.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': During and after "Game Over", there is a MeleeATrois between [[spoiler:the good guys, the Condesce, and Aranea, who is unkillable due to having the Ring of Life. After Aranea kills three heroes and grievously injures a fourth, the Condesce is the one to kill her, first by removing the Ring of Life (and thus, her immortality), then by snapping her neck and throwing her into a fire]].
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** It falls to sociopathic dictator Tarquin to kill [[spoiler: Nale]], who Elan had repeatedly refused to let die before. Being GenreSavvy he also points out that with this he freed the plot from yet another recurring villain, [[ItsAllAboutMe wanting himself to be the important villain]].
** In the prequel comic "[[EveryScarHasAStory How The Paladin Got His Scar]]", it falls to Miko (who while not outright villainous or the KnightTemplar she will become in the main comic, has definitely been antagonistic), to kill the Sapphire Guard's [[AxCrazy increasingly unhinged]] WarHawk leader Gin-Jun, whose actions and genocidal hatred for hobgoblins had nearly plunged the Azurites and the hobgoblins into a mutually destructive war. Meanwhile, the hobgoblin leadership, who are similarly eager for war and [[EvilCannotComprehendGood misinterpret the well meaning actions of O-Chul and Hinjo for weakness]], are taken out by one of their own, [[PragmaticVillainy who wants to avoid any chance of war destroying the settlement they've slowly and laboriously built up]].
* Being the only member of the gang who used to be an antagonist, Teddy from ''Webcomic/WeakHero'' is willing to stoop to the bad guy's level and dole out a beating where the others would not. Not just because he enjoys being a little evil, but because he thinks the others are too nice to get their hands stained in his brand of dirty business.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Both inverted and played straight in the same example in ''Roleplay/{{AJCO}}'' when A_J requests that she and Pi be put through the re-education process. Inverted when Egg, arguably the only 'true' good guy (or at the very least [[KnightTemplar the only one without centuries of blood on her hands]]), is forced to make the decision - then played straight when Req, the most amoral of the four, is the one to push the button.
** A_J is quick to blame Egg when [[spoiler: the Doctor dies]], however.
* In WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee the crew of the USS Exit Strategy needs a bit more time to counterattack the villains, who are already locked on to them and might just win. Cue [[spoiler: Mechakara, whom those same villains betrayed at the end of the last episode, beating up the whole evil bridge]].
* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', a religious cult attempts to blackmail a student at the titular AcademyOfAdventure by threatening her friends' families. So the Headmaster calls the alumni association and suddenly all of the superhero alumni are looking the other way while the supervillains take action.
* A majority of the villains in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', if it's not a case of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard their own]] [[SelfDisposingVillain hands]], then at the hands of villains. Two notable examples include [[spoiler:Lionheart, a traitor who helped contribute to the fall of Beacon, [[YouHaveFailedMe being killed by Salem]] and Jacques, Weiss's abusive father, meeting his end via Ironwood's {{BFG}}.]] There's tons to count that it's easier to count how many villains ''did'' die by RWBY's hand: [[spoiler:One, Adam Taurus]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'', in the episode "The Citadel", Aladdin threatens to turn a magic-eating monster loose on Mozenrath, who taunts him by pointing out that he's not ruthless enough to do that. "You're right. I'm not." Then Aladdin points at Iago, who is already poised to remove Mozenrath's control collar from the beast. "But he is!" And Iago proves it.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', Wrath and Scorn have figured out Batman and Robin's identity. Even though they are arrested, Batman really can't do anything to keep them from revealing this to everyone. [[spoiler:Luckily, the Joker (much like in ''The Dark Knight'') [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou didn't want someone else causing the end of Batman]] and gassed them while they were in the police van.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania|2017}}'', the [[SinisterMinister Bishop]] serves as the ArcVillain of the first season, as his fanatical control of Wallachia is what caused Dracula's rampage in the first place (by killing his wife for supposed witchcraft), and leads to him persecuting the few people who can actually do something about it. But in the end, while Trevor and his allies fight the Bishop's men, they don't have to deal with him personally, as [[spoiler: Dracula's demons track him down and kill him in his own church]].
* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls.'' Kara (Supergirl) and Harley (Quinn) are paired up for an EggSitting assignment, only they lost their egg. They decide the only way to avoid summer school is to steal an intact egg from one of the other groups. Kara reaches to take an egg, but her conscious stops her.
--> '''Kara:''' "There has to be another way." ''*pulls Harley in front of her*'' "Like you doing it!"
--> '''Harley:''' "Okay!"
* ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle'': Tom Slick once raced against a cheater who, after being defeated, was told by Marigold he would get his comeuppance. He said good guys like Tom Slick don't get even. Then he got his comeuppance from another racer wronged by his cheating.
* Doomsday's first appearance in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. In the comics when Doomsday first appeared he killed Superman. (Superman soon got better). However in the Justice League cartoon he's not facing our Superman, but rather Supes' KnightTemplar counterpart from an AlternateUniverse, Justice Lord Superman, who is completely unburdened by moral constraints like ThouShaltNotKill. Not long after the fight has started and he's felt how strong and dangerous Doomsday is, Justice Lord Superman decides to skip out on a protracted battle with Doomsday and simply uses his eye lasers to ''lobotomize Doomsday'', bringing the fight to a swift end in a way that Superman never would have done. (Doomsday eventually got better and was mighty pissed, but that's another story/episode).
* In ''WesternAnimation/KongTheAnimatedSeries'', Ramone De La Porta is the main villain and constantly causes trouble for Jason, Kong, and the gang when he is trying to unlock powers of the Primal Stones, while often making threats and trying to kill Kong, yet they often save him whenever he is in danger (and he only returns the favor once, just so they're even). In the final episode, [[spoiler: Harpy sucks De La Porta's life force out as part of a ritual to awaken Chiros. De La Porta survives when his life force is returned to him later but is left in a permanent state of shock.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'':
** [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS2E13VoyageOfTemptation "Voyage of Temptation"]]: The traitorous Tal Merrik has Obi-Wan's OldFlame Satine Kryze at gunpoint, while also holding a detonator that will blow up the ship they're on if he's let go. Cue a lightsaber blade through the chest, courtesy of Anakin Skywalker, who's [[CallForward rather suspiciously comfortable with murdering someone in cold blood]]...
** In the Umbara Arc, General Pong Krell is a very dangerous combination of [[GeneralRipper ruthless]] and [[GeneralFailure incompetent]], but unfortunately for the clone troopers under his command, he's their ''commanding officer'' and they're in a cartoon, so UnfriendlyFire is not really an option. [[spoiler:Even [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS4E10CarnageOfKrell after]] he's revealed to be EvilAllAlong, Rex can't quite bring himself to execute an unarmed and kneeling man. Dogma, who was previously [[BrokenPedestal Krell's most loyal supporter]], isn't quite so ready to forgive, and kills him with Fives' blaster.]]
** [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS4E13EscapeFromKadavo "Escape from Kadavo"]]: While she's a cruel and arrogant slavedriver and tyrant, Queen Miraj Scintel poses no physical threat to the heroes, and as such the Jedi, being heroes, can't really just use the Force to choke her to death. Count Dooku, on the other hand, has no such qualms.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' did this too.
** Throughout season 2 the Inquisitors, Vaders personal QuirkyMiniBossSquad, had been a recurring threat to the heroes. However, they were so badly outclassed by the Jedi that the only reason they kept coming back was that they were allowed to retreat. Finally in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E19TwilightOfTheApprentice Twilight of]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E20TwilightOfTheApprenticePartII the Apprentice]] the heroes were forced into a brief EnemyMine with Maul, who slaughtered them all in short order and berated the heroes for refusing to do it themselves.
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' inverts this in a He-Man sketch where Skeletor leases out Snake Mountain to some College frat boys. Sick of the loud parties, Skeletor tricks his tennants into thinking Castle Grayskull is a rival frat talking shit about them, provoking the Frat into egging Castle Grayskull. [[DisproportionateRetribution This results in He-Man and his crew killing the frat and dumping their bodies in a river.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* Scientific variant. [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731 Unit 731]] did tons of illegal, unethical human experimentation during the war. But considering such an experiment could not be conducted legally in the first place and how their data were legitimately reliable and useful, Unit 731 was given immunity from war crime prosecution as long as they hand over their research data.
** More of a subversion, as the majority of the unit's data was neither preserved nor exported, and the United States considered what little data they did receive to be largely useless.
[[/folder]]

SubTrope of NonProtagonistResolver; in this case, the "resolver" is the villain. Contrast VillainousRescue, where a villain pulls a Big Damn Heroes without committing any acts that were too reprehensible for the good guys in the process. If the villain saves the day by accident through doing something villainous, that's NiceJobFixingItVillain. Overlaps with TheDogBitesBack when the "dog" is a minion. See DisneyVillainDeath for when there is no other bad guy to do the work, so it is done by gravity. If the hero deliberately sets it up, this is a possible case of DoWithHimAsYouWill. Compare AlwaysABiggerFish, when a usually non-sapient monster saves the heroes from another monster.

** Valker was rescued from the Shadow specifically for this trope: being a [[ReformedButNotTamed a sociopathic villain who just happened to have a reason to side with the heroes]], namely [[spoiler:[[PapaWolf remembering that Rat-Man is his son]]]], he's more than willing to murder any of the Shadow's minions, and, as [[HeroKiller his body count of superheroes]] can attest, extremely capable at it.

** "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E6WildAtHeart Wild at Heart]]": We don't kill werewolves, because they're human most of the time, but Oz's wolf side is amoral and thus free to kill Veruca.

[[/folder]]

** ''Videogame/Yakuza2'' has [[BloodKnight Ryuji Goda]] killing [[TheChessmaster Ryo Takashima]].