History Main / CollapsingLair

** At the end of ''Dead Money'', the Sierra Madre's vault starts exploding after Elijah's death. As if that weren't enough, it also triggers a countdown timer on the player's ExplosiveLeash.

* Happens in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', to ''the Vatican'', no less -- after Father Maxi blows his top at the complete idiocy and uncaringness of the Vatican officials and others who not only [[PaedoHunt molest children]], but [[ItMakesSenseInContext also worship a "queen spider"]], he tears the ancient "Holy Document of Vatican Law" (which he'd spent part of the episode tracking down) in two; somehow, this causes St. Peter's Basilica to collapse, killing much of the PedophilePriests in the room.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII'': The ending cinematic shows the Trayus Core starting to collapse and fall into a bottomless chasm (presumably leading to the planet core) before you're rescued just in time by your ship.

* Every endgame location in every ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' ever made. Sometimes this even happens twice, as in ''Code Veronica''. It's mostly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since said locales typically contain laboratories crawling with viral abominations and are armed with fail-safe [[SelfDestructSequence self-destruct mechanisms]]. As of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' we've stopped seeing them.

* This trope turns nasty in ''Guard Against Dishonor'', from Creator/SimonRGreen's Literature/HawkAndFisher series. As per tradition, the pocket dimension in which a deadly new drug is being prepared fails when the sorcerer that created it is killed by the Watch; untraditionally, this has worse consequences than just a dramatic race for the exit, as the pocket's collapse takes a crowded city tenement down with it, causing hundreds of civilian casualties. [[spoiler: This was deliberately planned by the drug lord who'd had the pocket dimension created, to discredit the Watch and make it easier to escape with the drugs in the midst of a disaster.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': [[spoiler: [[BigBad Obake]]]] goes down with his lair during the [[Recap/BigHero6TheSeries Season 1 finale]], which is falling apart due to the massive shockwave caused by Big Hero 6's plan to stop ''his'' plan. Baymax offers to save him. [[DrivenToSuicide He declines]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Onirism}}'': After beating the boss of Emily's Brewery and unlocking a new path, you find it ends with a destructible piece of machinery. Breaking it is the only way out and sets off a Catastrophic Countdown and escape sequence.

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', after Negi's group is [[spoiler: scattered across the Magic World]], we first see Nodoka escaping from one of these while treasure hunting.
-->'''Kristian Danchecker:''' [[LampshadeHanging I can't believe there's such a clichéd trap at the end!]]

* The abandoned oil rig that served as the base for the [[TheRemnant Foreigners of Grief]] in ''VisualNovel/ShinkyokuSoukaiPolyphonica Crimson S'' sank into the sea at the climax of the final fight. Notable in that the bad guys, after having been given a series of speeches thoroughly deconstructing their UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans mentality, [[DrivenToSuicide willingly stayed in their base as it collapsed around them]].

* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}:
** In the ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1972}} first self-named book]]'' featuring the eponymous heroine, Supergirl and Comicbook/{{Zatanna}} face up to a demonic sorcerer called Orgox. Once they defeat his traps and find him, he brings his mountainous lair crashing down.
** ''Comicbook/DemonSpawn'': Once Supergirl defeats Nightflame and her minions, the [[AlternateDimension Innerverse]] collapses. Justified, since that world was the psychic manifestation of Supergirl's dark side, so it was destroyed when Kara beat her inner demons.

* ''FanFic/JewelOfDarkness'': When Midnight is defeated by the Titans at the end of the Jump City arc, [[spoiler: Slade rescues her]] and triggers the base's self-destruct in order to cover their escape.
* ''FanFic/TheImmortalGame'': After [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nihilus]] is destroyed by the Elements of Harmony, her [[OminousFloatingCastle floating citadel]] falls apart and disintegrates.

* In a variant, the house from ''Film/{{Poltergeist}}'' collapses in on itself, and is apparently sucked into another dimension, at the end. The resident ghosts weren't actually destroyed, but were "defeated" in the sense that the whole family escaped alive, despite everything the evil presence could throw at them.

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' loves this trope. When the remaining mebers of the Fellowship are escaping from Moria after Gandalf apparently dies fighting the Balrog, they are one step ahead of a narrow bridge over a chasm collapsing behind them; miraculously the stones of the bridge collapse ''just'' behind them all the time with none of the fellowship being caught on them. and when Frodo and sam are escaping from Mount Doom after the destruction of the ring, the collapse of the road behind them never quite catches up with them, nor does the flow of molten lava overtop the place where they seek refuge.

* In ''VideoGame/SonicSpinball'', this is the basis of the final level, "Showdown". After Sonic destroys Robotnik's [[UnwillingRoboticization Veg-O-Machine]], his volcanic lair begins to sink into the ocean, and he [[VillainExitStageLeft decides to flee]]. Naturally, Sonic isn't having any of that and sends him back into the volcano as it sinks into the ocean completely.

Often occurs after defeating the MonsterOfTheWeek or after setting a CatastrophicCountdown. See also RaceAgainstTime if the hero has a set amount of time to get out before the thing completely caves in.

* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' - It's even Lampshaded in the first add on pack.

* In the final episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Sunnydale itself is a Collapsing Lair.
* And so is the Wolfram & Hart office building in the final episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}''.
** As well as the following home bases: The school library (Buffy season 3), Angel's office (Angel S1), the magic shop (Buffy S6). And for the villains: the factory (Buffy S2), the Initiative (Buffy S4), and the original Wolfram & Hart building (Angel S4).

* Standard for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'''s [[TwoLinesNoWaiting B-Story]] involving Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Platypus.

* Standard for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'''s BStory involving Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Platypus.

* Taken to extremes in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' in which not only the Dark Tower and Black gate but a huge portion of Mordor in general just caves in, taking much of Sauron's army with it. [[note]]This may be a visual metaphor for what the film can't show: with Sauron's fall and the loss of his constant telepathic domination, his armies largely lost their will to fight.[[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/SonicSpinball'', this is the basis of the final level, "Showdown". After Sonic destroys Robotnik's [[UnwillingRoboticization Veg-O-Machine]], his volcanic lair begins to sink into the ocean and he [[VillainExitStageLeft decides to flee]]. Naturally, Sonic isn't having any of that and sends him back into the volcano as it sinks into the ocean completely.