History Main / DeathByRecognition

'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry: The BadEnding to the Eye-Opening Chapter (which actually has a lower main-cast body count than the True Ending of that arc) ends with someone approaching Keiichi at a park bench and saying hello. Keiichi exclaims, "You're-" and then the final scene shows Mion finding him dead on the park bench. Later TIPS establish that the person who killed Keiichi was Takano. The reason he exclaimed was probably because as far as he knew [[FakingTheDead Takano was supposed to have died at least a month earlier.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "And Then There Were Fewer", Jillian's husband, Derek, dies when he goes out to get a cell phone signal, but is cornered by the killer on a balcony. The trope is parodied when Derek refers to the killer as "the man or woman who's been killing everyone!". [[spoiler: It's Diane Simmons]]

* One (of several) fan theories about the FadeToBlack ending of ''Series/TheSopranos'' is that it's Tony having a heart attack as he sees who's entering the restaurant.

* ''Creator/AgathaChristie'' did this in works such as ''Literature/AMurderIsAnnounced'', ''Literature/SleepingMurder'' and the short story "Three Blind Mice". In all three cases, the unidentified murderer speaks to the victim before killing them, but this part is omitted from the TV and stage adaptations since they do not share the written medium's ability to have an unidentified person speak without their voice giving them away to the audience.

* ''Creator/AgathaChristie'' did this in works such as ''Literature/AMurderIsAnnounced'', ''Literature/SleepingMurder'' and the short story "Three Blind Mice". In all three cases, the unidentified murderer speaks to the victim before killing them, but this part is omitted in the TV and stage adaptations since they do not share the written medium's ability to have an unidentified person speak without their voice giving them away to the audience.

* ''Creator/AgathaChristie'' did this in works such as ''Literature/AMurderIsAnnounced'', ''Literature/SleepingMurder'' and the short story "Three Blind Mice". In all three cases, the unidentified murderer replies to the victim before killing them. This part is omitted in the TV and stage adaptations of course, since they do not share the literary medium's ability to have an unidentified person speak without giving away who they are to the audience.

* ''Creator/AgathaChristie'' did this in works such as ''Literature/AMurderIsAnnounced'', ''Literature/SleepingMurder'' and the short story "Three Blind Mice". In all three cases, the unidentified murderer replies to the victim before killing them. This part is omitted in the TV and stage adaptations of course, since they do not share the literary medium's ability to have an unidentified person speak without giving away who they are.

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

!!!Examples

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, this was how the Forsaken Asmodean was killed. Many books later, his killer still remains a mystery:

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The choir director's last words in ''Discworld/{{Maskerade}}'' are "What are you doing here?

This is a much used trope, to the point of being a cliché, in British TV mystery series of the more traditional kind, e.g., ''Series/MidsomerMurders'', ''Series/InspectorMorse'', or anything adapted from Creator/AgathaChristie. It's a way of letting the viewer see the murder without giving away who did it. We may also see the shot from the killer's viewpoint, in which case it's an overlap with ImpendingDoomPOV.

This is a much used trope, to the point of being a cliché, in British TV mystery series of the more traditional kind, e.g., ''Series/MidsomerMurders'', ''Series/InspectorMorse'', or anything adapted from Creator/AgathaChristie. It's a way of letting the viewer see the murder without giving away who did it.

[[folder: Animated Films ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit: WesternAnimation/AMatterOfLoafAndDeath'', the opening scene is shot from the serial killer's point of view, and the confused target lets out one of these before he gets cudgelled on the head with a rolling pin.

[[folder: Anime & Manga ]]

* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Kaji's last words are a casual "You're late".
* Happens to [[BrilliantButLazy Kyoraku]] in the second ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' movie. After a few seconds of scuffling with a mysterious ice-wielding enemy, he manages to cut off his opponent's mask and get a look at his face. He remarks "You're...!" Cue scene cut to Kyoraku in the hospital.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Happens to the ComicBook/MartianManhunter right before ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' (but not killed, as the main villain needed him alive).

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''Film/TheManWithTwoBrains'', Delores steps into an elevator, obviously recognizes the other occupant, smiles and says, "What are you doing here?" Then the other person (Merv Griffin) [[ItMakesSenseInContext injects window cleaner into her butt]]. It kills her... mostly.
* In the original ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'', this is how Steve Christy meets his end.
* In the 2010 film ''Film/{{Faster}}'', Driver (played by Dwayne Johnson) shoots and kills a man who immediately recognizes him upon his entrance. Later scenes reveal him as the Telemarketer, one of five men who assisted in killing Driver's brother Gary.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The choir director's last words in ''Discworld/{{Maskerade}}'' are "What are you doing here?
* At the start of ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'' Doctor Vetra sees and identifies the killer just before he dies.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* First episode of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' started this way, when a witch said, "What are you doing here?" and then gets stabbed to death.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'': Elliott Gould says this just before he's killed by the baddie of the week, as Lois is in his bathroom and sees the killer. Subverted, though, in that we actually see the killer, too; but it turns out he's a MasterOfDisguise, so seeing him doesn't help. The person Lois thought she saw kill Gould was at a conference delivering a speech at the time of the murder.

* In season 3, the Dean of Heart College in ''Series/VeronicaMars'' gives us a "What are you doing here?" The next time we see him, he's dead.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Metallo's "Oh it's you" in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies'', where after the aforementioned heroes engage him in heated battle and escape from an apparent defeat, Metallo checks the place and is approached by a shadowy figure resembling ComicBook/CaptainAtom or Major Force. A couple of hours later, at most, Metallo's murder is pinned on Superman.

* First episode of ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' started this way, when a witch said, "What are you doing here?" and then gets stabbed to death.

This is a much used trope, to the point of being a cliché, in British TV mystery series of the more traditional kind, e.g., ''Series/MidsomerMurders'', ''Series/InspectorMorse'', or anything adapted from Creator/AgathaChristie. It's a way of letting the viewer see the murder without giving away who did it.

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* In ''Franchise/WallaceAndGromit: WesternAnimation/AMatterOfLoafAndDeath'', the opening scene is shot from the serial killer's point of view, and the confused target lets out one of these before he gets cudgelled on the head with a rolling pin.

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