History Main / DoomedByCanon

* ''[[{{ComicBook/Serenity}} All New Firefly]]'' tried hard to keep the death of Jayne a secret. But anyone who had read ''ComicBook/FireflyBrandNewVerse'' knew that it could only be Jayne or Mal dying as they were the two characters not present in that story.

* ''Fanfic/StarTrekPhoenix'' (''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' & ''Franchise/StarTrek''): In "Ensign Shimmer", Alma mentions that her brother Max moved to the colony of Ivor Prime. In ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', Ivor Prime [[spoiler:is overrun and assimilated by the Borg]]. Sure enough, when the story gets to that point in the timeline, [[spoiler:Ivor Prime falls and Max either dies or becomes assimilated]].

* ''Fanfic/SomebodyThatIUsedToKnow'': Tells an expanded and heavily re-imagined version of the backstory of [[spoiler:Juan Corrida, victim of the Farewell, My Turnabout, the fourth case of Justice For All. He does not actually die during the course of the fic, but the story leaves off the night before the events of the game are set to happen, so it's a fair assumption that he dies soon after. Similarly, Celeste Inpax dies about halfway through the story, as her death in the backstory of Farewell, My Turnabout was one of the keys to the entire case]].

* The former ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' story ''Red'' had a subplot of Sara Lance being in love with the protagonist Thea Queen. However, since it was later revealed in the show that [[spoiler:Sara was killed by a brainwashed Thea]], the story became highly inappropriate.

* ''Fanfic/FieldOfInnocence'' centers around Iroh's son, Lu Ten. You know he's not going to make it home from war, or be able to protect his cousins from [[AbusiveParents Ozai]].

* ''[[Fanfic/ChildhoodsEndBloodborne Childhood's End]]'' focuses on Eileen the Crow saving Father Gascoigne's daughters before they go through the chain of events that lead to their deaths in the original game. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, despite Djura's hopes, the same doesn't apply to Gascoigne himself. Or his wife for that matter.]]

* Played straight in ''Fanfic/DragonAgeTheCrownOfThorns'' by King Endrin Aeducan, Duncan and King Cailan Theirin, although the latter two get a DyingMomentOfAwesome and an arguable AlasPoorScrappy, respectively. Nevertheless, it is subverted more often than not. Not only do all potential player characters survive to become wardens, but Trian Aeducan lives and actually turns into a WisePrince later on.

* Go ahead and find a fanfic about the first generation characters in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''... there's a reason why most of those are short.

* In the ''[[Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon Abraxas]]'' prequel one-shot ''[[Fanfic/AbraxasEmptyFullness Damnatio Memoriae]]'', focusing on Ghidorah's StartOfDarkness, we know the basics of what's going to happen to Ichi, Ni and San because they were already recounted in the main fic in the present, and we also know what's going to happen to [[AbusivePrecursors the Makers]] and their Enemy; it's just the details that we don't know. [[spoiler:We know that Ichi, Ni and San are going to be captured by the Makers, they're going to be tortured into rage and hate by the Makers' brutal experimentation turning them into [[SiblingFusion Ghidorah]], they're going to be set loose by the Makers on their Enemy and exterminate them, and then they're going to [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters eradicate]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil the Makers]]. We also know that after the one-shot's ending, Ghidorah's heads are going to be tortured and corrupted further by the [[TerribleTicking Old Noise]] while destroying many more living worlds across the stars, until Ichi and Ni's good traits are completely gone and their relationship with San has turned completely harsh and abusive, leaving Ghidorah as the monster that we know it as in the main fic]].

* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] and played literally in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse''. It's established that every Spider-Hero across TheMultiverse will have certain points of their timeline that're destined to happen, the most common being [[ILetGwenStacyDie the unpreventable death of a loved one]]. These are referred to as "canon events" and [[RealityBreakingParadox breaking these events run the risk of destroying that particular universe]], thus Spider-Man 2099 formed the Spider-Society to make sure the canon events happen as destined. [[spoiler: This status quo is challenged by [[TheHero Miles Morales]], who not only disrupts a canon event in Spider-Man India's universe indirectly by saving a police captain who was fated to die, but seeks to deliberately disrupt one in his own universe when he learns [[BigBad the Spot]] plans to get RevengeByProxy on Miles by killing his dad, the latter of which recently became Police Captain.]] Ultimately it's proven that [[spoiler: destiny ''[[ScrewDestiny can]]'' be changed when the Captain George Stacy of Spider-Gwen's universe averts his predestined death by resigning from the force. This inspires Gwen to defect from the Spider-Society and assemble a Spider-Team of her own to defeat the Spot and save Miles, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight potential consequences be damned]].]]

** Han is killed in a car explosion in ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift Tokyo Drift]]'' but reemerges during the following two prequel films, ''Film/FastAndFurious'' and ''Film/FastFive''. The trope finally gets invoked in the stinger ending of ''Film/FastAndFurious6''. It does however cast completely new light on his death. Subverted in ''Film/{{F9}}'', which takes place after ''Tokyo Drift'', where it's revealed [[spoiler:Han actually didn't die in Tokyo and returns to help Dom and company]].
** This also seems to apply to Giselle, who is Han's girlfriend in the prequels but nowhere to be found in Tokyo. [[spoiler:She dies in ''Fast & Furious 6''. This is eventually subverted as Giselle is revealed to be alive in ''Film/FastX'']].

* In ''Film/HannibalRising'', Hannibal Lecter has to go insane, and survive the movie. In ''Film/RedDragon'', Hannibal has to stay in the asylum. (It's not really a prequel -- the original book was written and published before ''The Silence of the Lambs'' -- but most people see/read ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' first so the trope pretty much applies.)

** Legolas is practically invincible due to his inclusion in the sequels, and pulls off impossible maneuvers since he's SavedByCanon.

** The entire prequel trilogy (and by extension, nearly everything in the [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse EU]] set before ''Film/ANewHope'') is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Everyone that isn't in the original doesn't live through ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', and everyone that is does. So what does that tell us about [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars little Ahsoka?]] [[spoiler:Apparently, it tells us that she ''does'' survive, at least to the events of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''. However she'd left the Jedi before the events of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.]]
** The entire main cast of ''Film/RogueOne'', as well. These badass heroes of the Rebellion stole the plans to the Death Star and made the heroic victory in ''Film/ANewHope'' possible, so why aren't they around to celebrate Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie's victory? Because [[EverybodyDiesEnding not one of them made it off Scarif]]. Same goes for Blue Squadron, and the original Red Five (Luke's callsign in ANH) who all were shot down in the aerial assault on the planet.

** In ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', Charles Xavier, Magneto, Mystique, Beast, and Moira [=MacTaggert=] have to survive, and Magneto and Mystique [[FaceHeelTurn have to turn evil]], leave the X-Men and create the Brotherhood of Mutants. Xavier also has to become wheelchair bound (although he's also walking in ''Wolverine'' and the flashback in ''X-Men 3'').
** Possibly {{Double Subver|sion}}ted by ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''. On the one hand, the time travel plot of the film allows for the film continuity to be rewritten, enabling characters to avoid this trope [[spoiler:e.g. Cyclops, Jean Grey, possibly Mystique]]. On the other hand, [[spoiler:despite being given a 'second chance', most of the characters end up heading towards the same fates they originally did - for example, Magneto still becomes a mutant extremist at odds with Charles]]. Overlaps with YouCantFightFate.

*** Ultimately [=McNutt=] does not appear on-screen in the ''Endeavour'' series, however it is suggested in the final episode that Morse should become his sergeant now that [[spoiler:Thursday and his family have moved away]].

* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Quite aside from the fact that, being an adaptation, everyone who's read ''Literature/FireAndBlood'' knows what will happen, being a prequel to ''Series/GameOfThrones'' means that certain things are already set in stone within the TV series continuity as well. King Joffrey Baratheon describes Rhaenyra's fate to his fiance Margaery Tyrell during season 3 of that show, and it is frequently mentioned that prior to Cersei, there has never been a successful regnant Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Most of the war was also covered in ''[[AllThereInTheManual Histories & Lore]]'' "The Dance of Dragons" special released with Game of Thrones Season 5 BD.

* The main conflict of ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' is about averting this. The villains from the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' are pulled into the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse from before the climaxes of their respective movies. When they discover that some of them were originally supposed to die, the MCU Spider-Man decides to help cure them of their villainous transformations in hopes that this would prevent their deaths. [[spoiler:Ultimately, in spite of much tragedy and hardship, he manages to succeed in this endeavor]].

** Speaking of ''Strange New Worlds'', we know that Pike, Spock, Uhura, the Kirk brothers, Chapel and M'Benga make it through to their futures, leaving other characters up in the air. [[spoiler M'Benga's daughter and Chief Engineer Hemmer are removed by the first season's finale.]]

Does the prequel involve a dastardly plot to kill one of the heroes of the original story? Too bad for the one doing the plotting--[[SavedByCanon the readers already know that character will escape.]] Does the back story have a villain from the original story facing certain death in the face of failure? Great for him, he gets to stick around to at least make an appearance later on in the original. Does the prequel involve a brave group of rebels rising up against an oppressive government that is still standing in the original? The rebels will almost certainly be {{Doomed Moral Victor}}s who at most inspire the heroes of the original to follow in their footsteps. In the rare cases otherwise, their government [[FullCircleRevolution is guaranteed to collapse]] and be reconquered by TheRemnant.

* Several chapters of ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' depict Mikoto's attempt to stop the [[LevelGrinding Level 6 Shift Program]]. The reader already knows the program is only stopped by the grace of [[Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex Touma's intervention]], and that [[BreakTheCutie by the end]] Mikoto will be [[DespairEventHorizon driven so far]] as to be ready to give up her life to end the Sisters torment. This especially hits hard with the appearance of Misaka 9982, the Sister Mikoto originally meets and grows fond of during their time together. Readers of ''Index'' will also know that every clone before 10032 meets their end by Accelerator's hands, and sure enough 9982 dies, [[SacrificialLamb just as Mikoto shows up to the fight scene even]].
** Season 2 of Railgun also shows the horrificness of the project, and Mikoto's vain attempts to stop it. After seeing this, her rant to Touma in the Sister's arc of the first season of ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' becomes much more powerful.

* ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'' is a prequel to ''Videogame/Cyberpunk2077'', taking place about a year before the events of that game. In the latter, an update allowed you to buy a drink named after the protagonist in The Afterlife (something that only happens to people that die and make a name for themselves). [[spoiler:A later update that added some crossover content establishes that David is indeed dead by the time of 2077, with the series showing that he was ultimately killed by [[TheDreaded Adam Smasher]], who meets his own end at [[PlayerCharacter V]]'s hands in the game]].

* [[FallenHero Yomi]] from ''Anime/GaReiZero'', prequel to ''Manga/GaRei''. This is in contrast to [[TheWoobie Kagura]] who has PlotArmor as thick as wall of concrete.
** ''Anime/GaReiZero'' does this immediately and extremely, establishing a full cast of characters not present in the original manga, then killing them all off in the first episode. Then it rewinds back in time to tell the prequel story, leaving no doubts as to who is and isn't Doomed.

* Any of the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' {{Interquel}} or [[GaidenGame Sidestory]] manga and games are doomed to suffer from this. Because the continuity has been set in stone for thirty-some years, it's a ForegoneConclusion that, for example, Zeon will lose the One Year War in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamMSIGLOO'', or that the Titans will form in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Gundam 0083]]'', and that the major characters in whatever story will either die or fade into obscurity and whatever superweapon the enemy have will be destroyed.

* Messed around with in ''Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica'', which takes place before ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. Well, kind of. It's an AlternateTimeline that's part of the anime's GroundhogDayLoop, occurring before the anime's main timeline. Madoka's death is a ForegoneConclusion, but it's {{subverted|Trope}} for Mami, Kyouko, and Sayaka, all of whom survive - and Sayaka doesn't even contract. Yuma might also be a subversion [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse if we had any idea what happened to her in the anime's timeline.]] It's inverted with Kazuko, who survives in the anime, but actually dies in this timeline. Her death is [[NauseaFuel REALLY ugly]], too.

* ''Manga/ShouwaGenrokuRakugoShinjuu'': Sukeroku dies, Sukeroku will eventually have Konatsu (which is quite shocking considering his [[TheCasanova womanizing ways]]), Miyokichi will not become a proper {{Geisha}}, Yakumo the 7th dies. All this is in the canon, since the first cour is spent in a continuous flashback of Yakumo the 8th's life and it becomes integral to the second cour (where Yotaro [[spoiler:- having become the next Sukeroku -]] tries to grow out of the shadow of his predecessors).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'', a ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' webcomic, a cataclysm is constantly referred to, in which [[VideoGame/MegaManZero Zero]] is awakened early and kills off the main cast, explaining why almost none of the original Mega Man characters appear in the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' games. However, Wily learns of the cataclysm and does not activate Zero. But to avoid a temporal paradox, everyone fakes their deaths and moves to Acapulco.
** Also, in the adaptation of ''VideoGame/MegaMan6'', Wily is looking for a volunteer in the group to stop a rampaging Mega Man. When he asks Bass (called Bass Man, who did not really appear in ''6'') to slow down Mega Man, Bass says "Screw you, old man. I'm in the next game!" Making sure he survived until ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'', which was not adapted.

Does the prequel involve a dastardly plot to kill one of the heroes of the original story? Too bad for the one doing the plotting--[[SavedByCanon the readers already know that character will escape.]] Does the back story have a villain from the original story facing certain death in the face of failure? Great for him, he gets to stick around to at least make an appearance later on in the original. Does the prequel involve a brave group of rebels rising up against an oppressive government that is still standing in the original? The rebels will almost certainly be {{Doomed Moral Victor}}s who at most inspire the heroes of the original to follow in their footsteps.

[[AC:''[[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender / The Legend of Korra]]'']]
* ''Fanfic/FieldOfInnocence'' centers around Iroh's son, Lu Ten. You know he's not going to make it home from war, or be able to protect his cousins from [[AbusiveParents Ozai.]]

* ''Fanfic/ChildhoodsEndBloodborne'' focuses on Eileen the Crow saving Father Gascoigne's daughters before they go through the chain of events that lead to their deaths in the original game. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, despite Djura's hopes, the same doesn't apply to Gascoigne himself. Or his wife for that matter.]]

[[AC:CrossOver]]
* ''Fanfic/TheNutdealerExpandedUniverse'' (''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' & ''VideoGame/Undertale}}''): "Nut Leader" opens with a council of sapient nuts plotting Nathan's downfall. Since "[=TunaElder=]" had already shown his arrest for public exposure ruining his reputation, it was only a matter of how.
* ''Fanfic/StarTrekPhoenix'' (''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' & ''Franchise/StarTrek''): In "Ensign Shimmer", Alma mentions that her brother Max moved to the colony of Ivor Prime. In ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', Ivor Prime [[spoiler:is overrun and assimilated by the Borg]]. Sure enough, when the story gets to that point in the timeline, [[spoiler:Ivor Prime falls and Max either dies or becomes assimilated]].

[[AC:Franchise/TheDCU]]

* In the ''[[Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon Abraxas]]'' prequel one-shot "[[Fanfic/AbraxasEmptyFullness Damnatio Memoriae]]", focusing on Ghidorah's StartOfDarkness, we know the basics of what's going to happen to Ichi, Ni and San because they were already recounted in the main fic in the present, and we also know what's going to happen to [[AbusivePrecursors the Makers]] and their Enemy; it's just the details that we don't know. [[spoiler:We know that Ichi, Ni and San are going to be captured by the Makers, they're going to be tortured into rage and hate by the Makers' brutal experimentation turning them into [[SiblingFusion Ghidorah]], they're going to be set loose by the Makers on their Enemy and exterminate them, and then they're going to [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters eradicate]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil the Makers]]. We also know that after the one-shot's ending, Ghidorah's heads are going to be tortured and corrupted further by the [[TerribleTicking Old Noise]] while destroying many more living worlds across the stars, until Ichi and Ni's good traits are completely gone and their relationship with San has turned completely harsh and abusive, leaving Ghidorah as the monster that we know it as in the main fic]].

* ''Fanfic/TheVerySecretDiary'': Which is about [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Ginny's struggle against Tom Riddle's diary]], Ginny has to eventually succumb completely to the diary, since she's totally under its spell (and unconscious because it was draining her energy to make Tom Riddle more real) in the climax of the original book. This does at least give a DownerEnding a happy epilogue, since [[SavedByCanon we also know]] that Harry's going to destroy the book with a basilisk fang and save her.

[[AC:Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse]]

[[AC:Creator/MarvelComics]]

[[AC:Unsorted]]
* Subverted in ''Fanfic/{{Renegade}}'', where Nihlus survives due to timely intervention on Shepard's part; thanks to GDI's jetpack technology, she's able to get to him faster and shoot Saren before he can kill Nihlus.
* Played straight in ''Fanfic/DragonAgeTheCrownOfThorns'' by King Endrin Aeducan, Duncan and King Cailan Theirin, although the latter two get a DyingMomentOfAwesome and an arguable AlasPoorScrappy, respectively. Nevertheless, it is subverted more often than not. Not only do all potential player characters survive to become wardens, but Trian Aeducan lives and actually turns into a WisePrince later on.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23128741 Gonjiki Yasha – Meiji Onmyōji Tales]]'': Of course Yosano Tadayoshi ends up murdered and Hagiwara Sakura loses her lover, this being an adaptation of the game's main story mode, even when the former receives a slightly luckier fate than [[PosthumousCharacter in canon]] due to actually appearing alive on-screen once.

* ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfZeldaTheFallOfHyrule'': Thanks to not having the Triforce of Power due to a decision to swap them, Ganondorf ends up being a benevolent leader of the Gerudo. However, as the story is established to take place between Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, it is obvious this benevolence isn't going to last.
* {{Averted|Trope}} '''twice''' in ''Fanfic/MassEffectHumanRevolution''. Jenkins, the {{Redshirt}}, survives and becomes promoted to a MauveShirt. Secondly, ''[[PlayerCharacter Shepard]]'' herself is successfully assassinated on the Citadel.
* Averted then Double-Subverted in ''Fanfic/ProtocultureEffect'' (This happens a lot in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' crossovers, doesn't it?). Jenkins survives, as does another minor PosthumousCharacter, due to the toughness of Cyclones. Then the second character ends up dying in a later mission.
* The former ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' story 'Red' had a subplot of Sara Lance being in love with the protagonist Thea Queen. However since it was later in the show [[spoiler:Sara was killed by a brainwashed Thea]], the story became highly inappropriate.
* In ''[[Literature/TheHungerGames Hunger Games]]'' fanfics, characters can become Doomed by Canon in the following ways. Note that some of these may not apply if the fic is set in an AlternateContinuity where the Games have continued past the third Quarter Quell:
** Being a tribute in the same Games as one of the canon victors, such as Orion[[note]]Enobaria's first district partner[[/note]], Charlotte[[note]]Blight's first district partner[[/note]] and Loomer[[note]]Cecelia's first district partner[[/note]] in fics set in the same universe as ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject''. Since we already know who's going to win, it's not a question of if any of the other tributes are going to die, but when and how.
** For fanfics where the author has deliberately chosen to ignore the prequel (such as ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13888112/1/Bread-and-Circuses-The-Victors-Stories Bread And Circuses: The Victors' Stories]]''), being a District Twelve Victor other than Haymitch, Katniss, or Peeta. As Haymitch is the only surviving Victor as of the 74th Hunger Games, they will have to die prior to said Games.
** Being a female tribute or Victor from District 7 other than Johanna Mason, such as Vera O'Rourke, Charlie Lourdes, and Rowenna from ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject''. Johanna is her district's only surviving female victor at the time of the third Quarter Quell, which means any other girls from 7 who became tributes will, even if they survived their Games, have died some time prior to this.
* In ''Fanfic/NotAsSimpleAsAHappyEnding'', an ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' fanfiction, this applies to the fallen children as well as Gaster and his staff.

* The Italian movie "Il Primo Re" is based on the legendary tale of the founding of Rome, thus everyone knows Remus will die at the end, killed by his own brother. Much of the film's drama comes from [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain him being the protagonist and slowly becoming a man Romulus is forced to kill for everyone's good]].

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': As a prequel of ''Series/BreakingBad'', all of the major characters present in this series not present there must somehow be out of the picture by the time the events of that series happen. By the time of ''Breaking Bad'', Chuck, Howard, Nacho, and Lalo are all dead, while Kim has broken up with Jimmy and moved to Florida (although the two reconnect in the last episodes, which occur post-''Breaking Bad''). Several other associates of Los Pollos Hermanos and the Juarez Cartel which are not in ''Breaking Bad'' also end up biting it, such as Werner, Arturo, and Tiburón.
* The [[Series/FargoSeasonOne first season]] of ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' sees Lou Solverson as an aged widower. The [[Series/FargoSeasonTwo second season]], which serves as a {{Prequel}} and follows Lou as its central protagonist, sees him with his wife Betsy, who's been diagnosed with some form of cancer. Viewers know she doesn't live to see the events of the first season, but she ends up [[KilledOffscreen dying offscreen]].
* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Quite aside from the fact that, being an adaptation, everyone who's read ''Literature/FireAndBlood'' knows what will happen, being a prequel to ''Series/GameOfThrones'' means that certain things are already set in stone within the TV series continuity as well. King Joffrey Baratheon describes Rhaenyra's fate to his fiance Margaery Tyrell during season 3 of that show, and it is frequently mentioned that prior to Cersei, there has never been a successful regnant Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Most of the war was also covered in ''[[AllThereInTheManual Histories & Lore]]'' "The Dance of Dragons" special released with Game of Thrones Season 5 BD.
* Two examples from Season 5 of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', during the time-travel saga:
** Jin meets Danielle Rousseau's science expedition. You know, the same team we know all died?
** The time-shifting islanders come to join The Dharma Initiative when they're stranded in the 70s. We already know that there will be both an "Incident" and a Purge, the latter wiping out almost every remaining member of Dharma.

*** There’s always Jack Harkness/The Face of Boe…

* Everyone knows how things are ultimately going to end for the ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' characters, once they hit the legendary era. Lancelot returned from the dead briefly, but in the end, the inevitable did happen.
* In ''Series/HighAndLow'', the first half of season 2 focuses on how the Mugen gang came to be and their eventual fall. Since you already know Mugen was pretty much wiped off the map, you know things don't end pretty. You also quickly realize that Tatsuya isn't seen anywhere in season 1...

* When Captain Christopher Pike was introduced in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' season 2, fans of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' knew he was destined to be crippled by delta radiation, eventually choosing to live an illusory life on Talos IV instead of remaining paralysed, as per [[Recap/StarTrekS1E12TheMenageriePartII "The Menagerie"]]. The Discovery writers decided to lean into this however by having [[spoiler:Pike be given a vision of his future fate and his foreknowledge of that fate playing a big part of his character development, both on Discovery and on the later spinoff series ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'']].
** Speaking of ''Strange New Worlds'', we know that Pike, Spock, Uhura, the Kirk brothers, Chapel and M’Benga make it through to their futures, leaving other characters up in the air. [[spoiler: M’Benga’s daughter and Chief Engineer Hemmer are removed by the first season’s finale]].

* ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'' tells the story of the QuirkyMiniBossSquad you fight in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', starting several years before the events of said game and with the end of the comic coinciding with the game. Given that you killed the entire squad over the course of the game, their fate in the comic is a ForegoneConclusion. Not that this subtracted at all from the [[DownerEnding second to]] last page.
** Similar case in ''Webcomic/TheCobraDays'', given that all the characters will die in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 3|SnakeEater}}''.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' prequel ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'', several characters try to kill the [[TheUndead lich]] Xykon, including one who is hinted at having disappeared off the face of the earth in the main comic. Given that Xykon is the BigBad of the main story, their attempts necessarily failed. It's also a foregone conclusion that Redcloak will not betray Xykon and will continue working for him, Xykon will become a lich, and the Monster in the Darkness will be recruited by Xykon.

-->'''Doc Scratch''': What sort of story would this be, with our [human Hero of Breath / Knight and Seer] made to stay a cadaver(s)? Definitely not one the alpha timeline would allow.
* ''[[http://as.crowdedstreet.net/Something/ Burning Stickman Presents... Something!]]'', based on the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series, featured Iris, who gets {{killed off|ForReal}} in the fourth game of the series. One of the [[TrappedInTVLand genre savvy protagonists]], [[MediumAwareness knowing this is supposed to happen]], subverts this by taking steps to [[FixFic prevent it from happening]]. This led to a rare {{inver|tedTrope}}sion of LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt, as after that, the comic's readers kept ''expecting'' her to die for the timeline to "correct" itself.
* ''Webcomic/FinalFantasyVIITheSevening'': Aerith is of course going to die. This is acknowledged and {{lampshade|Hanging}}d from time to time.
* The ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'' side story ''Vienne of Seferpine'' stars a character who is [[PosthumousCharacter dead by the events of the main comic]], but opens with her trying and failing to sew Matty's stuffed animal Chitz. Chitz is complete in the present day, so we know she can't die until she finishes it. Her construct Uaid is also in a much earlier state than it is in the comic, so she has to survive long enough to complete those upgrades too. [[spoiler:The first requirement is eventually completed, but not the second. She actually survives to the end of the short story, despite what some readers might have been expecting.]]
* Since ''Webcomic/{{Prequel}}'' takes place one week before the events of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', it is safe to assume that every named character living in Kvatch that is not present in the game died when the Daedra attacked.

* ''Webcomic/BeyondTheEnd'': We're given some chapters dedicated to Eremiel and Abel, two characters who are long dead. Eremiel died when Lucifer revolted, being the first killed and a martyr among the angels; Abel was the first killed when his squad was wiped out by a fellow angel.

* Arguably, any character in Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos. The Slender Man can't be killed or harmed; the ''best'' result is delaying him long enough to go on the run and then staying on the run for the rest of your life, and most Runners still suffer horribly at his hands or eventually get caught. Pretty much as soon as the man shows up, insanity, enslavement, or death are on the cards--no exceptions.
* In ''Little Lenny Penguin And The Great Red Flood'', the entire ''Multiverse'' is pretty much screwed, as JIM is telling the story after the events of the vast majority of it. Although it ends up being a HappyEnding, JIM and the other characters coming back to life and killing the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with ThePowerOfFriendship.

%% Image Pickin' thread did not produce a pic: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=ialbhf5rlarv1cmu3tg4s2bt
%% Please start a new IP thread if you'd like to suggest a pic.

!!Example subpages

!Other examples:

* At some point in ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' the protagonists have to face [[spoiler:three former resurrected Number ones.]] We are given a flashback of the common backstory of two of them. But given that these soldiers are well...resurrected it is no surprise how this ends.

* The ''Anime/MyOtome'' prequel ''Sifr'' features a whole cast of main characters (Lena, Sifr, Bruce) who you know, as part of the backstory for the main series, will survive the current events but become corpsicles in 15 years.
* It's almost impossible to spoil ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' because you know from history that, say, the Axis Powers lose and America won the Revolution. On the other hand, plot points relating specifically to [[MoeAnthropomorphism character]] interactions aren't {{Foregone Conclusion}}s.
* ''[[Anime/FafnerInTheAzureDeadAggressor Right of Left]]'', anyone who doesn't die in the OVA dies in the first episode.
* ''Legends of the Dark King'', a prequel spinoff to ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', centers around Raoh's quest to achieve supremacy as the conqueror of the post-apocalyptic world. One of Raoh's rivals in the spinoff is the Holy Emperor of Nanto himself, Souther. Since Souther ends up being defeated by Kenshiro, and not Raoh, in the original manga and anime, Raoh does not get to defeat Souther in his own series, as their battle ends in a stalemate instead.
* Lelouch and Suzaku show up in ''Anime/CodeGeassAkitoTheExiled'', which takes place between Seasons 1 and 2 of the original ''Anime/CodeGeass''. Not only will they both survive, you also know they're [[spoiler:not going to fix their relationship before Season 2... though they get [[SleepCute surprisingly]] close]].
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
** ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' gave us two TV specials, ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGoku Bardock: Father of Goku]]'' and ''[[Anime/DragonBallZTheHistoryOfTrunks The History of Trunks]]''. Anyone who knows the storyline of [[Manga/DragonBall the original manga]] will know these specials do not have happy endings. Although, they do fall on the bittersweet side since they do end with a note of hope.
** In the 2011 WhatIf story ''Anime/DragonBallEpisodeOfBardock'', Bardock gets retconned to survive Freeza's finishing blow and ends up transported into the past. However, since the setting -- Planet Plant -- is the prehistoric Planet Vegeta, it's quite apparent that those cute and lovable Plantians will eventually go extinct when the humanoid Tsufurians and Saiyans populate the planet. ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'' reveals the time-warp was an accidental escape when Mira and Towa tried to capture him.
** The prequel to ''Dragon Ball'', ''Manga/JacoTheGalacticPatrolman'', reaches its climax when Jaco saves the people of East City. However, during the Saiyan Saga in ''Dragon Ball'', East City is destroyed by Nappa and all of its inhabitants are killed. It is also not revealed whether they are revived by the Dragon Balls or not. Also, when it's revealed that the alien pod heading to Earth contains Goku, it becomes obvious that Jaco will fail in his mission to intercept it.
* The first episode appearance of Beyond The Grave is no spoiler to anyone who played ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}''. But the show isn't about how Brandon Heat is doomed -- it's about how his friendship is doomed, his romance, his career and his relationship with his father figure boss are all doomed.
* In ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane'' the entire Shinsengumi is Doomed By History. Particularly heartbreaking in the case of [[{{Moe}} Okita Souji]] who historically dies of tuberculosis. So when he began coughing...
** Similarly, ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' invokes this in regards to the historical figures that get roles there. Particularly: Souzou Sagara fails in his rebellion and dies, with [[DecapitationPresentation his head being shown in public; Okubo is killed by Soujirou and then rebels claim that they did it; Kogoro Katsura loses his bid with the Ishinshishi; Shinsaku Takasugi, already in the last stages of tuberculosis, dies of it; Okita's own fate isn't revealed, but it's fair to assume he died of his illness too.]]
* [[FallenHero Yomi]] from ''Anime/GaReiZero'', prequel to ''Manga/GaRei''. This is in contrast to [[TheWoobie Kagura]] who has PlotArmor as thick as wall of concrete.
** ''Anime/GaReiZero'' does this immediately and extremely, establishing a full cast of characters not present in the original manga, then killing them all off in the first episode. Then it rewinds back in time to tell the prequel story, leaving no doubts as to who is and isn't Doomed.
* Messed around with in ''Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica'', which takes place before ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. Well, kind of. It's an AlternateTimeline that's part of the anime's GroundhogDayLoop, occurring before the anime's main timeline. Madoka's death is a ForegoneConclusion, but it's {{subverted|Trope}} for Mami, Kyouko, and Sayaka, all of whom survive - and Sayaka doesn't even contract. Yuma might also be a subversion [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse if we had any idea what happened to her in the anime's timeline.]] It's inverted with Kazuko, who survives in the anime, but actually dies in this timeline. Her death is [[NauseaFuel REALLY ugly]], too.
* Several chapters of ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' depict Mikoto's attempt to stop the [[LevelGrinding Level 6 Shift Program]]. The reader already knows the program is only stopped by the grace of [[Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex Touma's intervention]], and that [[BreakTheCutie by the end]] Mikoto will be [[DespairEventHorizon driven so far]] as to be ready to give up her life to end the Sisters torment. This especially hits hard with the appearance of Misaka 9982, the Sister Mikoto originally meets and grows fond of during their time together. Readers of ''Index'' will also know that every clone before 10032 meets their end by Accelerator's hands, and sure enough 9982 dies, [[SacrificialLamb just as Mikoto shows up to the fight scene even]].
** Season 2 of Railgun also shows the horrificness of the project, and Mikoto's vain attempts to stop it. After seeing this, her rant to Touma in the Sister's arc of the first season of ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' becomes much more powerful.
** During the Dream Ranker arc of ''Railgun'', there's a subarc where Saten Ruiko befriends Frenda Seivelun. Readers know that the friendship isn't going to last because Frenda is murdered during the events of the Battle Royale arc in ''Index''. In fact the subarc is in fact mostly a prelude to the events of the Battle Royale arc, with the exception of the subarc's ending, which takes place afterwards. The ending has Saten wondering why Frenda isn't coming over for dinner, not knowing of her death. As a kicker, Uiharu ends up showing up, with Uiharu having the injury she sustained from the Battle Royale arc.
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket''. You know from the beginning that [[OrphansOrdeal Tohru's parents eventually die and leave her an orphan]], but when you finally hear their backstory, you get attached to them anyway.
* ''Literature/FateZero'': It's a safe assumption any character not Plot Armored by appearance in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is as good as dead; this is especially certain with any Servant other than Saber or Gilgamesh. This makes Waver Velvet's [[AvertedTrope aversion]] [[ActionSurvivor so surprising]], as he seems the least likely to have come out of the War alive. [[spoiler:It turns out that Waver ''was'' Plot Armored by appearance in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''...[[MeaningfulRename he's just not called Waver Velvet anymore]].]]

* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'': As the Despair Arc is a prequel to the rest of the series, we already know who's going to die and who's going to [[spoiler:become Remnants of Despair]]. It just serves to fill us in on all the details. Exaggerated with the fate of [[spoiler:Yukizome]], who was just killed off at the end of the first episode of the Future Arc and whom posthumously comments on their doomed status in the intro to the Despair Arc.
* The prequel light novel to ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'', ''Literature/WashioSumiIsAHero'', features three Heroes: the titular Sumi Washio, Sonoko Nogi and Gin Minowa. Sumi and Sonoko both appear in the anime and have significant roles in the story. Gin, on the other hand, never appears in the series and is only referenced in passing by Sonoko, and not even by name. It doesn't take a lot on the part of the reader to work out that Gin's not going to make it to the end of the novel.

* ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'' is a prequel to ''Videogame/Cyberpunk2077'', taking place about a year before the events of that game. In the latter, an update allowed you to buy a drink named after the protagonist in The Afterlife (something that only happens to people that die and make a name for themselves). [[spoiler:A later update that added some crossover content establishes that David is indeed dead by the time of 2077, with the series showing that he was ultimately killed by [[TheDreaded Adam Smasher]], who meets his own end at [[PlayerCharacter V]]'s hands in the game]].

* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** The ''ComicBook/EmmaFrost'' solo series takes place prior to the character's turn to villainy, and one of the supporting characters was her boyfriend Troy. Since Troy was never seen in any of the prior ''ComicBook/XMen'' books, nobody was surprised when the poor lad caught a bullet to the head. Indeed, this served as a StartOfDarkness moment for Emma. However, this is not a true example, since the story could also have evolved with Emma breaking up with Troy and then forgetting about him. This is exactly what happened when ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' #161 introduced [[ComicBook/ProfessorX Charles Xavier]]'s former lover Gabrielle Haller in a story where Xavier remembers things that happened about two decades earlier. A couple of years later Creator/ChrisClaremont not only showed that Gaby Haller was still alive and well, but that she had given birth to Xavier's son David aka ComicBook/{{Legion|MarvelComics}}. On the other hand, another character introduced in the same story, Xavier's friend Daniel Shomron, who was still alive at the end of the flashback, was then revealed to have been killed in a terrorist attack in the course of the intervening years.
** Another example that shows that you can't generally apply this trope to new characters is the first appearance of the Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) in ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' #117. In a flashback set at a time before Storm's puberty, Charles Xavier fights against the evil Amahl Farouk and in the end kills him. However, years later it was revealed that Farouk had survived in discorporated form as the Shadow King and would return again and again to attack his old nemesis and his friends.
** There is a series called ''ComicBook/MagnetoTestament'' about a young man named Max. He is a likable Jewish child in Nazi Germany. Since it is published by Marvel, we all know that his entire family will be killed in concentration camps, and his mutant powers will later manifest, and he will become ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, always caught in the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor because although sometimes he'd ''like'' to live in peaceful coexistence with humans, he doesn't think it can happen.

* There have been a number of stories about Jor-El and Lara, the parents of ComicBook/{{Superman}}, some of which chronicle their attempts to save Krypton from its inevitable destruction. Unfortunately, anyone with a passing knowledge of Superman knows their efforts will all be for nothing in the end, as Krypton is destroyed and their son ends up being sent to Earth. Similarly, the Silver/Bronze Age ''{{ComicBook/Superboy}}'' series sees a similar fate for supporting characters Ma and Pa Kent, who're destined to die shortly after Clark's high school graduation (most Superboy stories were set during Clark's high school years).
** Another Superman example comes from the ''Superman: The Secret Years'' miniseries, which focuses on Clark Kent's college years and largely sidesteps the problem of knowing the likes of Lana Lang are safe. Not so for Clark's new-to-continuity roommate, Billy Cramer, who learns Clark's secret and becomes his best friend... just in time to perish in the third issue in a burning building, not knowing that his buddy Clark is on the other side of the planet at the time and can't hear his signal whistle.
* Played with in the ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' arc, "Emerald Knights", in which then-current GL Kyle Rayner meets a younger Hal Jordan. When Parallax shows up and confronts the younger Hal Jordan, Kyle realizes that the younger Hal has to become Parallax in order for ''The Final Night'' to happen.
* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}:
** In ''ComicBook/ManyHappyReturns'', ComicBook/TheSpectre informs the Pre-Crisis Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) that she has to return to her own timeline for the events of ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' to happen (namely, her HeroicSacrifice). Then-current Supergirl (Linda Danvers) tries to switch places with Kara, but fails, and Kara dies exactly the way she did in ''Crisis''.
** ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}'' subverted it right at the end. In ''Convergence: Adventures of Superman'', Silver Age Supergirl finds out (and accepts) that she is fated to fight the Anti-Monitor and die to save TheMultiverse. However, post-Flashpoint Superman--and [[ComicBook/LoisLane his]] [[Characters/SupermanJonathanSamuelKent family]]--and Parallax Hal Jordan join the battle and save her and Barry Allen's lives.
* Both ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/StarTrek'' had monthly comics published between movies. No matter what happened in the comics, all characters end up pretty much where they were at the end of the previous film and/or where they need to be for the start of the next. The Star Wars cast were never going to rescue Han Solo between ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' and ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Likewise the comics had Spock completely restored between III & IV. A storyline was created to wipe his mind and make the main cast fugitives and back on Vulcan. A prime example is the "Hope Dies" arc of the recent Marvel comics, which kills off every Rebel commander who appeared in ''Film/RogueOne'' and ''Film/ANewHope'' but was absent in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''.
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsKanan'': Depa Billaba is known to have been killed by her clone battalion when Order 66 was issued, so not only are the friendships developed between them and Kanan doomed their betrayl and murder of their general is shown in the second issue before they are developed further.

* ''[[ComicBook/LesLegendaires Les Legendaires Origines]]'' being a prequel to the main series, this is to be expected; So, [[TheHero Danael]] had an [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Childhood friend secretly in love with him]] who never got any mention in the main series where he already is in a relationship with [[TheHeart Jadina]]? Yep, she most likely won't make it until the end of the book. TheStarscream plans to overthrow the BigBad who we already know made it in the main series? Yeah, not gonna work. Even bigger case with the arcs that already got a mention in the main series (we all know very well Jadina will ''not'' marry [[RoyalBrat Halan]]).
* ''ComicBook/BeforeWatchmen: Minutemen'' focuses heavily on the badass lesbian vigilante Silhouette - who is long dead in the original ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. The miniseries does throw a nifty curveball regarding the supposedly disappeared Hooded Justice, though: turns out that Hollis Mason accidentally killed Justice, having been led by the Comedian into believing that Justice was the "Friend of the Children" serial killer. All that speculating that Mason does in his book about Justice's disappearance was his way of covering up his actions.

* The ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' comics are limited in what they can do by the canon of the sequel series, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. Katara, Zuko, and Toph can't die because they are still alive in ''Korra''; Aang and Sokka can't die either, because their deaths are set by ''Korra'''s timeline as taking place over half a century later. We also know that Aang and Katara will remain a couple and have three children; that the Earth Kingdom will remain a rickety monarchy; that industrialization will take off big-time... there's rather limited room for suspense in a story with so many constraints. That isn't to say there's no room though, as not everything was spelled out in ''Korra''. Azula is a major example. She does not appear nor is she mentioned in ''Legend of Korra'', but it's also [[spoiler:never stated that she's dead]], meaning that the writers can do what they want with her without worrying about canonicity. Likewise, we know that Zuko eventually has a daughter (who will eventually become Firelord), but it's never stated who her mother is.
* Since ''ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' is a prequel to the [[VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs game]], any characters who show up only in the comic are all but certain to be killed off.
** Subverted by Doctor Fate, who comes back in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'', [[spoiler:although ironically he is killed off as well.]]

* Somewhat the case in ''ComicBook/RoughRiders''. A majority of character deaths and survivals happen as they did in recorded history, but a fair amount are faked, occurred much less cleanly, or [[spoiler:were undone by mad science.]] Notably, the Spanish-American War that Theodore tries to prevent with his team happens anyway despite his best efforts.
* The DC YA graphic novel series ''House of El'' takes place on [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Krypton]] before its destruction.
* ''[[{{ComicBook/Serenity}} All New Firefly]]'' tried hard to keep the death of Jayne a secret. But anyone who had read ''ComicBook/FireflyBrandNewVerse'' knew that it could only be Jayne or Mal dying as they were the two characters not present in that story.

** Given that the older Morse has never been married (he having lost the love of his life when he was a student), any relationship he has in the prequel is doomed to fail. The ongoing ShipTease between him and Joan Thursday will, ultimately, never amount to anything. Joan's rejection of him (off-screen between Series 5 and [[note]] he asked her out at the end of Series 5, and her response was shown as a flashback in Series 6[[/note]]) follows this pre-ordained path, with Joan becoming the subject of a [[WMG/{{Endeavour}} fan theory]] that she will marry Strange, who has an [[UnseenCharacter unseen]] wife in the original series.

Does the prequel involve a dastardly plot to kill one of the heroes of the original story? Too bad for the one doing the plotting--[[SavedByCanon the readers already know that character will escape.]] Does the back story have a villain from the original story facing certain death in the face of failure? Great for him, he gets to stick around to at least make an appearance later on in the original.

* There was an ''ComicBook/EmmaFrost'' solo series that took place prior to the character's turn to villainy, and one of the supporting characters was her boyfriend Troy. Since Troy was never seen in any of the prior ''ComicBook/XMen'' books, nobody was surprised when the poor lad caught a bullet to the head. Indeed, this served as a StartOfDarkness moment for Emma. However, this is not a true example, since the story could also have evolved with Emma breaking up with Troy and then forgetting about him. This is exactly what happened when ''Uncanny X-Men'' #161 introduced [[ComicBook/ProfessorX Charles Xavier]]'s former lover Gabrielle Haller in a story where Xavier remembers things that happened about two decades earlier. A couple of years later Creator/ChrisClaremont not only showed that Gaby Haller was still alive and well, but that she had given birth to Xavier's son David aka ComicBook/{{Legion|MarvelComics}}. On the other hand, another character introduced in the same story, Xavier's friend Daniel Shomron, who was still alive at the end of the flashback, was then revealed to have been killed in a terrorist attack in the course of the intervening years.
** Another example that shows that you can't generally apply this trope to new characters is the first appearance of the Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #117. In a flashback set at a time before Storm's puberty, Charles Xavier fights against the evil Amahl Farouk and in the end kills him. However, years later it was revealed that Farouk had survived in discorporated form as the Shadow King and would return again and again to attack his old nemesis and his friends.
* There is a series called ''Testament'' about a young man named Max. He is a likable Jewish child in Nazi Germany. Since it is published by Marvel, we all know that his entire family will be killed in concentration camps, and his mutant powers will later manifest, and he will become ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, always caught in the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor because although sometimes he'd ''like'' to live in peaceful coexistence with humans, he doesn't think it can happen.
* Before Mr. Magnus had Magneto's testament, a certain Latvarian Doctor had the title "Books of Doom" which told his story from the start. Whilst most of the story follows the general history of [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor von Doom]] with some extra padding on the sides which hadn't been explored, and some implications are made that the machine he built didn't even malfunction, it was... ahem, "the Demon" who blew it up, the part where he takes over Latvaria by forceful military conquest ''totally'' goes against the way he explained it in ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #2, where he wined and dined Sue Storm, the Invisible Girl. Given that the story is told by a [[ActuallyADoombot Doombot]] who thinks he's the real thing, however, UnreliableNarrator may apply.

* Creator/KurtBusiek's ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' series takes place during the first few years of original ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'' comic. Thus any characters and status quo from comic has to be kept during Untold Tales. For example, in one issue where Peter reveals that he's the one who takes Spider-Man photos for the Daily Bugle, an impressed Flash Thompson actually drops his dislike of Peter and actually wants to become friends with him. But since Peter and Flash didn't really become friends until after high school, you know this new relationship between the two isn't going to last long, and indeed by the end of the issue let's just say Flash goes back to disliking Peter.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Uncle Ben is the poster boy of "DeathByOriginStory". His death, an unexpected consequence of Peter being selfish and using his powers for personal gain, made him learn that "With great power ComesGreatResponsibility". That means that any adaptation of Spider-Man where Ben appears from the start (such as ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' or [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first Sam Raimi's film]]) will have him die very soon.

* Subverted in the [[Fanfic/UltimateSleepwalker Earth]]-[[Fanfic/UltimateSpiderWoman 2706]] universe when it comes to Spider-Man. The vast majority of adaptations follow the comics' formula of having Peter Parker's Uncle Ben being killed by the burglar, [[TheGwenStacy Gwen Stacy]] either being killed or otherwise replaced by Mary Jane Watson as Peter's love interest. In this version, however, Aunt May is the one who was killed by the burglar while Uncle Ben lives, Gwen Stacy is alive and well and still Peter's girlfriend, and Mary Jane is Peter's DistaffCounterpart with the two of them being more LikeBrotherAndSister rather than romantically interested in each other.

* ''Fanfic/AgeOfCalamity'' is a direct prequel to ''Fanfic/BreathOfTheWild'' in ''Fanfic/TheMythOfLinkAndZeldaSurvivorsofTheCalamity'', taking place during the buildup to the awakening of Calamity Ganon. Naturally, this means Ganon wins, the Champions die, and Link is placed into Stasis while Zelda ends up in a duel with Ganon.
* ''Fanfic/StarTrekPhoenix'': In "Ensign Shimmer", Alma mentions that her brother Max moved to the colony of Ivor Prime. In ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', Ivor Prime [[spoiler:is overrun and assimilated by the Borg]]. Sure enough, when the story gets to that point in the timeline, [[spoiler:Ivor Prime falls and Max either dies or becomes assimilated]].
* In ''Fanfic/TheVerySecretDiary'', which is about [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Ginny's struggle against Tom Riddle's diary]], Ginny has to eventually succumb completely to the diary, since she's totally under its spell (and unconscious because it was draining her energy to make Tom Riddle more real) in the climax of the original book. This does at least give a DownerEnding a happy epilogue, since [[SavedByCanon we also know]] that Harry's going to destroy the book with a basilisk fang and save her.
* Subverted in ''Fanfic/{{Renegade}}'', where Nihlus survives due to timely intervention on Shepard's part; thanks to GDI's jetpack technology, she's able to get to him faster and shoot Saren before he can kill Nihlus.
* Played straight in ''Fanfic/DragonAgeTheCrownOfThorns'' by King Endrin Aeducan, Duncan and King Cailan Theirin, although the latter two get a DyingMomentOfAwesome and an arguable AlasPoorScrappy, respectively. Nevertheless, it is subverted more often than not. Not only do all potential player characters survive to become wardens, but Trian Aeducan lives and actually turns into a WisePrince later on.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23128741 Gonjiki Yasha – Meiji Onmyōji Tales]]'': Of course Yosano Tadayoshi ends up murdered and Hagiwara Sakura loses her lover, this being an adaptation of the game's main story mode, even when the former receives a slightly luckier fate than [[PosthumousCharacter in canon]] due to actually appearing alive on-screen once.
* In ''Fanfic/TouhouTonari'' [[DrivenToSuicide you know what will happen]] to Yuyuko since it takes place in her past while she was still alive.
* Go ahead and find a fanfic about the first generation characters in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''... there's a reason why most of those are short.
* ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfZeldaTheFallOfHyrule'': Thanks to not having the Triforce of Power due to a decision to swap them, Ganondorf ends up being a benevolent leader of the Gerudo. However, as the story is established to take place between Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, it is obvious this benevolence isn't going to last.
* ''Fanfic/MassEffectInterregnum'' details what Garrus and his vigilante group did between Shepard's death and resurrection in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. As we know from the game, they're betrayed by one of their own, and he and Garrus are the only survivors.
* {{Averted|Trope}} '''twice''' in ''Fanfic/MassEffectHumanRevolution''. Jenkins, the {{Redshirt}}, survives and becomes promoted to a MauveShirt. Secondly, ''[[PlayerCharacter Shepard]]'' herself is successfully assassinated on the Citadel.
* Averted then Double-Subverted in ''Fanfic/ProtocultureEffect'' (This happens a lot in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' crossovers, doesn't it?). Jenkins survives, as does another minor PosthumousCharacter, due to the toughness of Cyclones. Then the second character ends up dying in a later mission.
* So, so many fics teaming up the original G1 Transformers and the characters of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' prior to the reveal at the end of Season Two. Many a fic writers had to scramble around and revise or retcon stories involving interaction, fights and especially romances between the two factions, when it was revealed the Beast Wars characters were merely a quarter of the size of their G1 counterparts. A fic that had Arcee cooing over Cheetor after it's revealed he only comes to her knee is especially HilariousInHindsight.

* Subverted in the [[Fanfic/UltimateSleepwalker Earth]]-[[Fanfic/UltimateSpiderWoman 2706]] universe when it comes to Spider-Man. The vast majority of adaptations follow the comics' formula of having Peter Parker's Uncle Ben being killed by the burglar, [[TheGwenStacy Gwen Stacy]] either being killed or otherwise replaced by Mary Jane Watson as Peter's love interest. In this version, however, Aunt May is the one who was killed by the burglar while Uncle Ben lives, Gwen Stacy is alive and well and still Peter's girlfriend, and Mary Jane is Peter's DistaffCounterpart with the two of them being more LikeBrotherAndSister rather than romantically interested in each other.
* The former ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' story 'Red' had a subplot of Sara Lance being in love with the protagonist Thea Queen. However since it was later in the show [[spoiler:Sara was killed by a brainwashed Thea]], the story became highly inappropriate.
* ''Webcomic/{{Guardian}}'' details Lulu's adventures before ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''... starting off with her pilgrimage as guardian of Lady Ginnem, who appears in the game as an Unsent. Later we see her burgeoning romance with Chappu, who is visited on the Farplane during the game.
* An ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' fanfic, ''Fanfic/SomebodyThatIUsedToKnow'' tells an expanded and heavily re-imagined version of the backstory of [[spoiler:Juan Corrida, victim of the Farewell, My Turnabout, the fourth case of Justice For All. He does not actually die during the course of the fic, but the story leaves off the night before the events of the game are set to happen, so it's a fair assumption that he dies soon after. Similarly, Celeste Inpax dies about halfway through the story, as her death in the backstory of Farewell, My Turnabout was one of the keys to the entire case]].

* In ''[[Literature/TheHungerGames Hunger Games]]'' fanfics, characters can become Doomed by Canon in the following ways. Note that some of these may not apply if the fic is set in an AlternateContinuity where the Games have continued past the third Quarter Quell:
** Being a tribute in the same Games as one of the canon victors, such as Orion[[note]]Enobaria's first district partner[[/note]], Charlotte[[note]]Blight's first district partner[[/note]] and Loomer[[note]]Cecelia's first district partner[[/note]] in fics set in the same universe as ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject''. Since we already know who's going to win, it's not a question of if any of the other tributes are going to die, but when and how.
** Being a tribute from District 12 other than Lucy Gray Baird[[note]]victor of the 10th Games[[/note]], Haymitch Abernathy[[note]]victor of the 50th Games[[/note]] or Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark[[note]]joint victors of the 74th Games[[/note]], such as Sage Blanken from ''Fanfic/TalesOfTheHungerGames''. It's clearly stated that Lucy Gray, Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta are the only victors District 12 produced, so any other tribute from that district is going to, at best, place second -- if they even make it to the latter stages.
** For fanfics that were published before ''Literature/TheBalladOfSongbirdsAndSnakes'' (such as ''Fanfic/{{The End of the World|FernWithy}}'') or where the author has deliberately chosen to ignore the prequel (such as ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13888112/1/Bread-and-Circuses-The-Victors-Stories Bread And Circuses: The Victors' Stories]]''), being a District Twelve Victor other than Haymitch, Katniss, or Peeta. As Haymitch is the only surviving Victor as of the 74th Hunger Games, they will have to die prior to said Games.
** Being a female tribute or Victor from District 7 other than Johanna Mason, such as Vera O'Rourke, Charlie Lourdes, and Rowenna from ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject''. Johanna is her district's only surviving female victor at the time of the third Quarter Quell, which means any other girls from 7 who became tributes will, even if they survived their Games, have died some time prior to this.
** Being a twelve- or thirteen-year-old tribute, such as Willow from ''WebVideo/WeepingWillow'' or Catalina and Iry from ''Fanfic/TheHungerGamesPrequelCollection''. Finnick Odair is said to have been "one of the youngest victors", if not the youngest, when he won the 65th Hunger Games at the age of fourteen. While this doesn't rule out the possibility that there were other fourteen-year-old victors, it means anyone who gets reaped below that age is not going to get out of the arena alive.
** Being a victor other than one of the seven[[note]]Enobaria, Beetee, Annie, Johanna, Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta[[/note]] who are still alive at the end of the second rebellion. Sixteen victors died prior to the announcement of the third Quarter Quell. Another eighteen perished in the arena. Most of the remaining forty-one victors were killed in the rebellion, targeted by the Capitol if they were thought to be allied with the rebels or by the rebels if they were thought to support the Capitol. Some fics subvert this [[LoopholeAbuse by claiming that additional victors were found following the initial meeting with President Coin]].
** Being a victor from District 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 or 11. Of the victors who survive the second rebellion, Enobaria is from District 2, Beetee from District 3, Annie from District 4, Johanna from District 7, and Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta from District 12. Therefore, any victor from one of the other seven districts must have died before the meeting between President Coin and the remaining victors takes place.
** Being the Victor of the 25th Hunger Games (First Quarter Quell), such as Josef Swan and Vercingetorix Carnby from ''Fanfic/{{Quell}}'' and ''Fanfic/CheatingDeathThoseThatLived'' respectively. In ''Literature/CatchingFire'', Effie gives Katniss and Peeta all the Hunger Games tapes of the ''living'' Victors to help prepare for the Third Quarter Quell. The tape of that Victor is not among them, meaning that they either died or disappeared before then.
** Being a pair of tributes attempting to become joint victors in their Games, such as Dove and Cabel in ''Fanfic/TheHungerGamesPrequelCollection''. Canonically, the only time there were two victors was at the 74th Games and that was after Katniss and Peeta forced the Capitol to choose between letting them both win and not having a victor at all. Therefore, if two tributes in any of the first seventy-three Games are counting on getting out of the arena together, there's no way they're going to succeed. At best, one of them might emerge as victor.
* Most of the cast of the ''VideoGame/PokemonRejuvenation'' prequel ''Where Love Lies'' ends up either estranged from each other or dead.
** Kenneth, the main character, is an idealistic and friendly man living with his wife Taelia and daughter Nora. In the main game, he lives alone and has separated himself from his emotions. It is obvious that his happiness won't last, and neither will his family.
** Deagan, his estranged brother, reconciles and promises to return to his family and be a better person. Considering how his daughter Amber despises her 'stupid dead father' who abandoned her in the present day, this could never happen.
* In ''Fanfic/NotAsSimpleAsAHappyEnding'', an ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' fanfiction, this applies to the fallen children as well as Gaster and his staff.

* The ''FanFic/ForeverCaptain'' series: Might count as an in-universe example. Steve knows how Howard and Maria die in his previous version of the timeline, and it weighs heavily on him as he contemplates whether he can or even should be trying to change the progress of history.
* ''Fanfic/TheNutdealerExpandedUniverse'': "Nut Leader" opens with a council of sapient nuts plotting Nathan's downfall. Since "[=TunaElder=]" had already shown his arrest for public exposure ruining his reputation, it was only a matter of how.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Literature]]
* The last book in most Creator/VCAndrews series are prequels told by the heroine's mother or grandmother, fleshing out how the drama and doom said heroine endures comes about. [[SarcasmMode Thanks, Mom.]]
* ''Literature/AnimalFarm'' has to end with [[TheBadGuyWins Napoleon winning]] and [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie the pigs becoming indistinguishable from the humans]], since it was explicitly modeled on the [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober Russian Revolution]] and the Soviet Union, which, when the novel was written during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, was under [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin's]] iron rule.
* In the two prequels to Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', written after the series and its sequel, readers know that the duchy of Vo Wacune and (almost) the entire population of Maragor are gonna eat it at some point since Vo Wacune no longer exists in the main series and Maragor is filled with the ghosts of the dead.
* The ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' novelization details the attempts of Bill [=McDonagh=] and Roland Wallace to deal with/kill Ryan and escape Rapture with his family. As we find [=McDonagh's=] corpse during the game, and hear an Audio Diary of Wallace's death, we already know that this isn't going to work.
* ''Literature/ADayOfFallenNight'' is a prequel to ''Literature/ThePrioryOfTheOrangeTree'' and one of its central characters is Glorian III of Inys, who is known in history as Shieldheart for defending her kingdom during the Grief of Ages after her parents' untimely death. The story opens the year before, when she is fifteen, so we know that something terrible is going to happen to Queen Sabran and King Bardholt during the story. The map also contains a few countries that were ''not'' on the map for ''Priory'', which implies that they aren't long for the world either. [[spoiler:Carmentum is burned to the ground when the wyrms begin to hatch.]]
* In the ''Los Angeles BB Murder Cases'', a spinoff novel of the manga ''Manga/DeathNote'', we know from the beginning that Naomi and L will solve the case thanks to a comment made in the original series.
* The titular character of ''Whortle's Hope'', a prequel to the ''Literature/DeptfordMice'' trilogy, is one of the fieldmice who ended up murdered in ''The Crystal Prison'', the second of those books. As anyone reading ''Whortle's Hope'' likely has already read the main trilogy, they know full well that soon he'll be dead.
* Pretty much any ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' media featuring a past Doctor is constrained by this. Lawrence Miles did attempt to change this with his book ''Interference'', which had the Third Doctor die in a completely different way thanks to the meddling of Literature/FactionParadox, a TemporalParadox-obsessed {{cult}}. It was Miles' hope that other writers would follow his example and no longer hold the Doctor's past sacrosanct. However the alternate timeline was never explored (by editorial decree; it's not known if any writers aside from Miles had intended to write books set in it).
* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'': In ''[[Literature/LegendsOfDune The Great Schools of Dune]]'' trilogy (taking place eight decades after the [[RobotWar Butlerian Jihad]]), the main conflict is between the rabid anti-technology fanatics, whose movement was started by Rayna Butler during the Jihad and continued by her successor [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe Manford Torondo]], and the CorruptCorporateExecutive Josef Venport, whose MegaCorp Venport Holdings is striving to restore its monopoly on foldspace travel, as well as to ensure eternal technological and economic progress by eliminating any rival, including the Butlerian fanatics. Both sides are seen as extremes by Imperium at large and [[RoyalBlood House Corrino]] and are too powerful to be eliminated by the Emperor without consequences. However, since the Imperium has neither completely abandoned all technology nor become a cyber-paradise by the time the original ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' takes place ten millennia later, it can be surmised that neither side emerges victorious. Indeed, both extreme factions end up crippling one another, allowing Emperor Roderick to mop up the remains.
** In addition, an important faction in the ''Legends of Dune'' are the Sorceresses of Rossak, who possess psychic powers well in advance of what the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood will have thousands of years later. Something has to happen to get rid of the Sorceresses and allow the Sisterhood to rise in its place. Indeed, the plague spread by Omnius ends up hitting Rossak especially hard, killing many Sorceresses, and many also perform {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s during the Butlerian Jihad to kill cymeks (sending out psychic blasts that fry any living brain within a particular area, including their own). With birth rates already low, the Sorceresses are pretty much doomed to extinction by the time the Jihad ends. By the time of the ''The Great School of Dune'', only a few are left and they train the Sisters as their replacement (despite different powers). When the Emperor appears to shut down the the school and orders his men to shoot several Sorceresses in reprisal, the rest attack the Emperor in anguish and are quickly cut down by soldiers.
** Also, any attempt by Vorian Atreides to put an end to the Atreides-Harkonnon feud is doomed to fail, since they're still at it millennia later.
* ''Literature/EverythingsBetterWithElves'': Adrav has to die, because it was established in the first book that Sal only has one living sister.
* ''Literature/FateZero'' goes the "everyone who wasn't in the original is likely to die" route. The only surprise was an inversion Waver Velvet survived.
* Creator/SergeyLukyanenko's ''Dances on the Snow'' takes place about 100 prior to the events of ''Literature/{{Genome}}''. While none of the characters from the prequel are present in the first novel (the stories are simply set in the same 'verse), the main event that defines the prequel is an attempt by a coalition of planets to take over TheEmpire from within, and it appears to be succeeding rather well by brainwashing entire planetary populations. Since the Empire is alive and well in ''Genome'', it is easy to figure out that the BigBad's plan will fail. Additionally, the main character's childhood female friend laments that FasterThanLightTravel is lethal to women who are not in a HumanPopsicle state. This is never mentioned in ''Genome'', which is all about genetic engineering, meaning the problem will be resolved by the end of the prequel via gene therapy.
* In the first chapters of ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'', it is established that Wei Wuxian becomes a demonic cultivator and a pariah of the cultivation world, he causes the death of nearly all of the Jiang Sect, who raised him as one of them; he possesed an evil weapon called the Yin Tiger Seal, and is killed by destroying it. We also know that Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan do get married and have a kid, only to die because of Wei Wuxian's fault, which makes Jiang Chen hate Wei Ying; Wen Ning dies and is resurrected as a fierce corpse; and all of the Wen, including the innocent Dafan branch, die [[spoiler:with the exception of little Wen Yuan]].
* Outside of ''Literature/GrentsFall'', it's written that Osbert Grent's "dynasty" lasts all of seven years. The story takes place seven years after Osbert Grent's reign started.
* The outcome of the novel ''VideoGame/GuildWars: Edge of Destiny''. The protagonists plan to take down one of the [[EldritchAbomination Elder Dragons]]. But before the release of the books it was [[WordOfGod already stated]] that ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' (chronologically one year after the events of the book) will focus around killing the Elder Dragons, including the one they planned to attack. It leads to a DownerEnding.
* MauveShirt Andrej of the novel ''[[Literature/SpaceMarineBattles Helsreach]]'' subverts the trope. While it's CommonKnowledge in the Warhammer lore that Grimaldus is the SoleSurvivor of the final battle, Andrej ultimately manages to make it through the entire thing and is picked out of the rubble (along with a handful of other random survivors) alongside him. Andrej himself hangs somewhat of a lampshade on the situation; it's not actually that Grimaldus was the only survivor, it's that he was the only ''notable'' survivor and thus the only one people remember. The storm trooper is more than happy to keep quiet and let Grimaldus have his fame.
* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, the ''Last Herald-Mage'' trilogy tells the story of Herald-Mage Vanyel, and ''Brightly Burning'' tells the story of Lavan Firestorm. The deaths of both characters were first described in the very first book of the entire series, well before the books featuring them were published. (Additionally, the title "Last Herald-Mage" made the fate of all the ''other'' Herald-Mages in Vanyel's story pretty clear.)
** Similarly, in the ''Mage Wars'' trilogy, we already know that the Cataclysm happens, and to a certain extent why. We know that the Kaled'a'in split off into the Shin'a'in and Tayledras. If you've read ''Mage Winds'', you also know the fate of BigGood Urtho and BigBad Ma'ar.
* ''Literature/SavingCharlie'' is ''not'' going to work out the way Hiro wants, as anyone who has seen the end of the ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' episodes it's based on can tell you that Sylar kills her. A few seasons later, Hiro manages to save her from both Sylar ''and'' her blood clot, but then loses her ''again'' when a fellow time-traveler drops her off in the 40s and she decides taking TheSlowPath isn't for her and starts a family with a WWII vet.
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** The primary plot -- before it goes OffTheRails, anyway -- is ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' InSpace. There's several characters whose names are rather blatantly based on the real-life people of whom the characters in question are expies, especially Rob S. Pierre, who is, of course, an expy of Robespierre. Anyone who knows their history can see how the Havenite side of the plot is going to progress -- up until somebody nukes Napoleon and the entire plot veers rather startlingly OffTheRails.
** A new Doomed By Canon is forming around Oyster Bay, the in-universe equivalent of Pearl Harbor, despite side stories that promise the potential to stop it. All these plots fail because Oyster Bay is the catalyst for -- well, basically everything that's going to happen in the remainder of the series.
* One ''Midshipman'' story in ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' has him involved in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_France_(1795) Battle of Quiberon]], a push by Royalist French exiles to restore the monarchy. The expedition was a total failure and resulted in most of the Royalist troops being slaughtered.
* In the ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' novel ''Literature/{{Bloodlines|MagicTheGathering}}'', Davvol is given immortality and appointed as evincar of Rath. However, we know he won't survive the book because it's a prequel to ''Literature/RathAndStorm'', in which Rath has another ruler.
* ''Literature/{{Odtaa}}'' is set during a revolution in the fictional republic of Santa Barbara, and is a prequel to another novel which already established the outcome of the rebellion and the fates of the dictator, the rebel leader, the rebel leader's fiancée, and so on. However, the protagonist of ''Odtaa'' is a new character, and so is his love interest, so there is room for dramatic tension regarding how things will turn out for them personally.
* In the ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' book ''Martin the Warrior'', the titular character's love interest Rose has to die by the end because he is traveling alone in ''Mossflower'', which takes place later. It's also established, in ''Mariel of Redwall'', that Martin left no descendants. So, even if he and Rose had met after the events of ''Mossflower'', his line would still have died out within a couple of generations.
* Donna Tartt's ''Literature/TheSecretHistory'' opens with the murder of one of the characters, then proceeds to show how they got there.
* Any reader of Creator/IrvineWelsh's ''Literature/{{Skagboys}}'' who's already read ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'' will already know that Matty and Tommy both will die of AIDS, and Mark's older brother Billy will be killed in an IRA ambush while serving with the British Army in Northern Ireland.
* ''Literature/SpaceAcademy'' is set roughly eight hundred years before the events of ''Literature/LucifersStar'' where humanity lives in a [[CrapsackWorld Crapsack Universe]]. At some point in a few hundred years, Earth will be destroyed and humanity will enter a hundred year Dark Age due to its jumpspace systems being destroyed. AI will also be outlawed and bioroids will be reduced to the status of slaves. Interestingly, Vance is made aware of this and unsure if its possible to avert this future.
* From the Literature/StarTrekEnterpriseRelaunch: The TV Series included Coridan as a member of the fledgling Coalition of Planets. However, it had previously confirmed that the United Federation of Planets which grew out of the Coalition was founded by Humans, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites - no Coridanites. Hence, while the first novel in the relaunch has Coridan as part of the alliance, it also has them withdraw before the Coalition Compact is signed. This of course is no surprise to readers familiar with Trek lore. The Rigellians and Denobulans were also part of the initial Coalition talks, but their absence is explained as their having been frightened off by Terra Prime in the series' penultimate episode.
** To underline just how doomed Coridan's membership was, the very episode that introduced the Andorians and Tellarites to Star Trek centred around a conference about admitting Coridan to the Federation, with Coridan established as underpopulated. That episode took place over a century after the events of ''Enterprise''.
* In ''Literature/StarTrekStargazer'', the Ubarrak Primacy is shown as a powerful rival to the Federation and Cardassians (at least in one particular sector). However, their lack of appearance in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' or ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' means they obviously can't become the major power they're aiming to be.
* One ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' novel has an AlternateUniverse Jack Crusher discover that he is the only ''him'' in the multiverse, as he bites it in ''every'' other timeline. [[FreakOut He doesn't take it well.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** Prince Xizor plots to kill Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker during his first appearance in ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire''. Little is he aware that both characters are slated to appear in ''Return of the Jedi'', which occurs in the future. In this instance, Prince Xizor was doomed by canonicity to failure. It was inevitable.
** ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', first epic of the original ''Star Wars'' EU and taking place five years after ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', established several hundred things, including that the Empire's capital planet was called Imperial Center, then got captured by the New Republic and restored to its Old Republic name, Coruscant. The first books of the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', set three or four years after the movie, detail the New Republic's efforts to capture the Empire's capital world. Unexpected things certainly happen, of course, some of them very dramatic, but we know how it ends. Similarly, Creator/AaronAllston's run on that series deals with the New Republic's fight against Warlord Zsinj, who dies in ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia''. And ''Courtship'' itself was largely about Han competing with someone in wooing Leia, when from the ''Thrawn Trilogy'' we know that not only did Han and Leia marry, they had twins.
** Similarly, ''Literature/OutboundFlight'' is a prequel to the ''Thrawn Trilogy'', fleshing out events of Thrawn's first contact with the Old Republic and the future Emperor. It was already established elsewhere that the titular ship will be lost and the mission will fail. Thrawn will also leave the Chiss and serve the Emperor, becoming even more ruthless. Jorj Car'das will become a merciless criminal, before eventually dying and getting cloned. The book was also released two years after ''Survivor's Quest'', which had future Luke and Mara piecing together what happened from the wreck (although half the fun of ''Outbound Flight'' is finding out how much they got wrong).
** ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy'' has this in spades. About fifty pages away from the big finish, Han Solo has an (adoptive) son, an old girlfriend he reconnects with and a great reputation. It appears that this was the point where the author re-watched ''Film/ANewHope'', sighed and got the character scythe out of the tool shed.
** ''Literature/DarthPlagueis'', while exploring the Sith Lord's life, was informed by the only things know about him from ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''; he was a Sith, he had an apprentice, Palpatine was his apprentice, and said apprentice murdered Plagueis in his sleep. Guess how the story ends.
* ''Literature/ATaleOf'':
** ''A Tale of The Beast Within'' tells the background of the Beast from ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', expanding on how he was cursed. He initially has a relationship with Circe, who turns out to be the Enchantress who placed the curse on him, which is automatically doomed to fail and lead to him being cursed. When he later enters an engagement with princess Tulip, the reader ''again'' knows that nothing will come from it, as it is after he is cursed and Tulip is not Belle.
** In ''A Tale of the Wicked Queen'', the Queen has a wonderful husband, but he's never mentioned in ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. It's thus unsurprising that he dies in war partway through Snow White's childhood. Likewise, the Queen has a faithful lady-in-waiting that she treats like a sister. Verona is [[spoiler:banished from the land when the Queen grows jealous of her beauty]] near the end.
** Gothel never mentioned siblings in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' but she's a set of very close triplets in ''A Tale of the Old Witch''. Primrose and Hazel die of illness partway through the book, sending their remaining sister into a dark downward spiral.
* Fiona Patton's ''Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm'' is a historical fantasy series written in reverse chronological order; each book is set over a century before the previous one. This leads to some obvious foregone conclusions (historical events alluded to in previous books actually occurring) and some more subtle ones (Noble families clearly named for major characters in later books, a character vowing to uphold his faith but the previous book revealing his daughter converted).
* In Creator/StephenieMeyer's ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' novella ''The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner'', Bree has to stay with the vampire army, fight the Cullens at the end, and die by the hands of the Volturi. Although it's arguable as to whether or not it counts as canonical, she also has to fall in love and lose said love interest, since [[WordOfGod Meyer]] said before the book was published that Bree "found and lost love".
* The fifth volume of ''Literature/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'' is centered around Kyousuke's past with the White Queen. The basic outline of this was already revealed in the very first volume - Kyousuke summoned the White Queen into the world, she fell in love with him, and later killed countless people. It's therefore clear from the start that everyone who isn't Kyousuke, the White Queen or Biondetta (another character known to survive) is going to die.
* Those familiar with the comic know that Penny in ''Literature/TheWalkingDeadRiseOfTheGovernor'' is set to become a zombie.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
** The whole of the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' series, with the BackStory of the TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} universe.
*** In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''False Gods'', Magnus the Red is not going to persuade Horus not to betray the Emperor.
*** In Creator/BenCounter's ''Galaxy In Flames'', the loyalist Space Marines are not going to survive.
** Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''The Armour of Contempt'' takes place centuries before the "current day". As a consequence, we know that the Inquisition is not going to find the treatment against Chaos they think might be on Gereon: it would have changed history and acted as a GameBreaker.
** Similarly, Abnett's ''{{Literature/Eisenhorn}}'' has to end with Eisenhorn and Cherubael alive, although mostly the question is whether Eisenhorn will slip into heresy, rather than die. And it's only "whether" because it doesn't have to happen in this prequel. (Or in the ''Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' one, either. But it's coming, we know, because it's in the ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' series.)
** As several books of ''Literature/SpaceMarineBattles'' are retellings of stories established in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' canonicity, some of this is bound to happen.
*** Sergeant Namaan doesn't get out of ''Siege of Kallidus'' alive.
*** The Ultramarines eventually leave the Damnos to the Necron - it's even right in the title of ''Fall of Damnos''.
*** The Crimson Fists losing their Fortress Monastery to a faulty missile battery and nearly losing their home planet to the Orks has been part of their characterization nearly since their first appearance.
*** The Astral Knights sacrifice their entire Chapter to destroy the World Engine - the World Engine crisis is, in fact, the only time the Astral Knights are mentioned in canonicity.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** In the prequels, we never heard about characters like Snowfur, so they have to die.
** The leaders have to die so they can be replaced.
** Willowbreeze, a cat who the author explained would appear, be in an OfficialCouple with a main character, and then die.
* ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'':
** Elphaba [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz has to melt]] at the end of ''Literature/{{Wicked}}''. [[spoiler:This isn't the case in [[Theatre/{{Wicked}} the musical adaptation]], where she fakes her death]].
** As Elphaba's sister, Nessarose is destined to get hit by a house.
* ''Literature/YoungSherlockHolmes'': Anyone who has read Creator/ArthurConanDoyle's Literature/SherlockHolmes stories knows that nothing lasting can come of the relationship between Sherlock and Virginia.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' and ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'': a retroactive example from the substrate universe. With the release of the 4th edition of D&D it became canon that an event called "the Spellplague" happened in the Forgotten Realms (precisely in 1385 DR while the game starts in 1368 DR), causing magic to rift apart and almost every sorcerer and wizard to end up tragically insane if not painfully dying. This would mean that any spellcaster we meet in-game is very likely doomed to suffer from that in his/her future.
** The Spellplague outright [[https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/19135/4th-edition-screws-over-the-throne-of-bhaal-endings contrasts and contradicts]] the character epilogues at the ending of ''Throne of Bhaal'', entering the territory of retcon.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateSiegeOfDragonspear'': certain recurring characters from the original game (specifically [[spoiler:Khalid and Dynaheir]] were stated to be killed in between the transition to the sequel. Siege of Dragonspear is a midquel, so we can meet these people, but after the end of the campaign we know that they are going to die anyway no matter what.
** Your main character too is doomed to taste some bitterness in the end, since the intro from Baldur's Gate II revealed that he/she fled in dark circumstances after the inhabitants of the titular city started to suspect him as dangerous and before being kidnapped.
* ''VideoGame/HomeworldDesertsOfKharak'': we know from the original Homeworld that [[spoiler:the titular desertic planet is going to be destroyed in a firestorm caused by a massive orbital bombardment by the Taiidan Empire aimed at genociding the Kushan]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Extrapower}}'': Second game in the series ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance'' focuses on Dark Force's invasion of the Shakun star and the efforts of Sharkungo, Forcestar and others to push back and stop the invasion. Unfortunately it takes place a day before the first game, ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce'', which ''opens'' with the conquest of Shakun and the defeat of the Star Lore Superstars as Dark Force and his two right hands Mensouma and Undata gloat over them, prompting Sharkungo to flee to the Earth and warn the humans that their planet is next. At least you've put up a good fight!
* ''VideoGame/{{Nosgoth}}'' is a multiplayer arena battle game in the ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series. One of the playable classes is the flying Sentinel. Those familiar with the Legacy of Kain series will note the bitterness of playing this class as, as per games set later in the series' timeline, the entire clan making up the Sentinel class has been slaughtered and indeed is never even seen in the rest of the series at all.
* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series: ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' begins on a ship which fled the complete annihilation of the planet Reach and the destruction of almost the entire remaining human fleet, which almost seals the inevitable defeat of the human race in the nearly 30-year-long war against the Covenant. Throughout the series, the Fall of Reach is treated as one of the darkest moments of human history. The later prequel ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' takes place on said planet, so it's a foregone conclusion that almost none of the characters will survive. And throughout the entire game, most players would have been aware that any attempt at defending the planet and each minor victory would be completely irrelevant in the end. [[spoiler:The only character introduced in ''Reach'' who survives is MauveShirt Jun.]]
* The DS remake of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' adds an extra ending where the party and AntiVillain try to rescue [[UrbanLegendOfZelda Schala]] from the [[BigBad Devourer]]. The sequel, ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', is also about a different party trying to rescue Schala from the Devourer, so obviously Crono and the party didn't succeed. But that's the only ending doomed to failure thanks to the use of parallel worlds in Chrono Cross all the endings can be considered canonical. For instance, the future from the ending where humans were replaced by dinosaur people is where and when the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Terra Tower]] comes from.
* Zigzagged by ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'', which is a prequel to ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''. There's a DiscOneFinalDungeon that [[TheChosenOne Maxim]] makes it through unscathed... but the first scene of ''Lufia I'', in which we see some legendary and ancient hero named "Maxim" making a HeroicSacrifice, turns out to also be the closing scene of ''Lufia II''.
** The DiscOneFinalDungeon is arguably an example as well. Maxim is going to live because he has not married Selan yet and had a child (the Hero of Lufia and the Fortress of Doom is Maxim's descendant). [[spoiler:Though this can be defied in a New Game+ of the remake ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals''.]]
* ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' is an {{Interquel}} between ''VideoGame/Borderlands1'' and ''VideoGame/Borderlands2''. As such, the fate of the game's villain Col. Tungsteena Zarpedon is obvious from the get-go. Most of the other characters introduced however presumably survive due to the fact that the game takes place on Pandora's moon rather than Pandora itself.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: VideoGame/CrisisCore'' has the difficult task of working Zack, Aerith and Sephiroth into an interesting plot despite the player knowing how it has to end. It does pretty well. The developers commented that writing the story was similar to writing an adaptation of a historical event, because these doomed side characters did not have the sort of storylines that you would normally tell a game story with, but could not be contradicted.
*** Likewise, ''VideoGame/BeforeCrisis'' introduces a large team of unnamed Turks as the player characters. All but Shuriken Female aren't seen in other media and the end of the game has all Turks except the big 4 (Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng) go into hiding. The one member who does appear in other media? Cissnei who appears in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', which is in the MIDDLE of ''VideoGame/BeforeCrisis''.
** Considering the above examples, by now it seems that Creator/SquareEnix has learnt the "don't-make-handheld-prequels-if-they-don't-end-well" lesson with ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia Duodecim 012 Final Fantasy]]'', where, while narrating the second-to-last war cycle prior to the first Dissidia and therefore being somewhat of a ForegoneConclusion, after completing that war cycle there's another - namely, the 13th seen in the first Dissidia, [[EmbeddedPrecursor as a redone version]], promptly subverting the DownerEnding.
* Ditto ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', which stars the BigBad group Organization XIII. About half of their members die offscreen about a couple hours in due to events seen in [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories another game occurring at the same time]], while the other half dies by the end of [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII the next chronological game]], both of which preceded ''358/2 Days'' in release order.
** You never heard of Xion during Roxas' flashbacks in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', despite her important role. So that helps guessing she was RetGone.
*** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' has the same thing. Ven, Terra and Aqua aren't around in previous games so obviously it won't turn out well. It actually doesn't end that badly, but Terra's body is [[GrandTheftMe stolen and turned into Xehanort]] while [[AnimatedArmor his soul is forced to inhabit his empty armor]], Ven's heart is sealed into Sora's while his body is left to recover in a secret room within Castle Oblivion, and Aqua is thrown into the Realm of Darkness, to wander there alone without her friends for at least a decade. However the secret ending reveals there's still hope that they may one day see each other again.
** Most likely almost everyone in Daybreak town in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'' as the events of the game happened before the First Keyblade War which wrecked the universe.
*** Did you know that Xehanort had classmates when he was still leaning to wield the keyblade? Given only Eraqus is around when Birth By Sleep happens, it's hardly a surprise that all the others die in Kingdom Hearts Dark Road.
* ''VideoGame/DragonballZDokkanBattle'' has a story event called "Low-Class Warrior: Raditz's Pride", in which Raditz, motivated by Bardock's spirit, trains to become stronger just to be seen as someone worthwhile in Vegeta's and Nappa's eyes. He succeeds, but unfortunately for him, this event takes place before the Saiyan Saga...
* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'', there's the flashback mission with Captain Price where the objective is to assassinate the BigBad Zakhaev. Naturally, you fail; you "only" take his arm off.
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': All of the flashback cases in some way or another have this by virtue of what characters are involved.
** In case 3-1, college-age Phoenix has a girlfriend. In the present-day, not only is Phoenix single, but said girlfriend is never even mentioned, so no matter who survives the case, their relationship won't. [[spoiler: His girlfriend, Dahlia, is the murderer and was using Phoenix as an unwitting accomplice and FallGuy, so it's no wonder Phoenix doesn't like talking about her.]]
** ''Trials and Tribulations'' case 4 has this several ways: We know from case 1 that this case traumatized Mia so badly she didn't take another case for a year (that case being case 1), we see Dahlia in both cases as a witness, and the first game states that Edgeworth (the prosecutor for the case) had never lost a court case until Phoenix got Maya aquitted. So no matter what Mia does, she can't get Terry Fawles declared Not Guilty, and Dahlia can't die or be arrested. [[spoiler: Dahlia is ''almost'' exposed as the true culprit, but before Mia can close the case, she manipulates Terry into suicide, setting up Mia's hatred of her in case 3-1.]]
** Case 3 of Investigations 2 is a big offender. You know that no matter how hard Gregory tries, he can't get a Not Guilty verdict for Tenkai, because Manfred von Karma is the prosecutor and his record remained unbroken until 1-4. And that exposing von Karma's forgery isn't going to end well for him... Fortunately, you get to solve the case for real as Miles in the present.
** ''Apollo Justice'' is especially cruel about this. You, as the player, are forced to make Phoenix present evidence that you know will ruin his career.
* ''VideoGame/TheScorpionKingRiseOfTheAkkadian'' is a prequel to ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' and both Mathayus' mentor King Urhmet and his enemy [[OmnicidalManiac Magus]] die at this point.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', as the prequel to ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', has multiple characters that are either depicted this way or implied to turn out that way given that only a handful of the ''Blazing Blade'' playable cast even shows up in the previous title. Since ''Binding Blade'' was never officially released [[NoExportForYou outside of Japan]], however, many players don't actually realize this and the deaths have less impact.
** Canas the Shaman is clearly intended to be the father of Hugh and son of Niime, given that he looks like both of them. Regardless of supports, Canas' epilogue notes that he and his wife die in a blizzard between games, hence why Hugh is being raised by his grandmother by the time of ''Binding Blade.''
** Hector, despite being easily the most powerful unit in ''Blazing Blade'', is killed within the first chapters of ''Binding Blade'' as a much older man. One of the support chats in ''Blazing Blade'' notes that he had a premonition of his death, though he misreads the circumstances. He also eventually wields a weapon that comes with a curse that its wielder will die in battle, a clear reference to his death in ''Binding Blade''. Additionally, as Lilina's mother is dead by the time of ''Binding Blade'', any of the women Hector gets an A support with and marries in the epilogue are also doomed to die between games.
** Similarly to Hector, Roy's mother is dead by the time of ''Binding Blade'', which dooms all of his father Eliwood's potential brides to the same fate.
** The Black Fang do not appear in ''Binding Blade'', which is a pretty clear clue that they will not survive the events of their game.
** Nino, the mother of ''Binding Blade'' mages Raigh and Lugh, appears in ''Blazing Blade''. The player recruits them in an orphanage in ''Binding Blade''. All of her endings have her disappearing to protect her family from bounty hunters who are after the remnants of the Black Fang. Jafar, one of her marriage options, is also likely to end up the same.
** Erk turns into this if he gets A support with Nino, though his other two marriage options would canonically allow him to live happily ever after (even if [[{{Tsundere}} he'd never admit such a thing if he marries Serra]]).
** Lucius is mentioned to have opened an orphanage in Araphen in his ending. Lugh, Raigh, and Chad, who were raised in an orphanage in Araphen, inform the player that the priest who raised them was killed by invading Bernese soldiers.
** It's not stated what happened to Rebecca, but her son Wolt never mentions her, so this may have caught up to her as well.
** If Lyndis married Eliwood or Hector in her ending, she gets this by default. One of her endings also puts her as the mother of Sue in ''Binding Blade'', though neither of Sue's parents actually appears in that game, so she may ''still'' be doomed.
** Karla is the mother of Fir in ''Binding Blade'', who explicitly became a sword fighter in honor of her dead mother.
** Athos and Brammimond, the final two Legendary Heroes. The Legendary Heroes are all deceased by ''Binding Blade.'' Athos kicks the bucket on camera and his death also implies Brammimond died as well.
** It is ''assumed'' Hawkeye died between games as his daughter is doing his job in ''Binding Blade''. it's never stated, however.
* ''[[VideoGame/RaySeries RayCrisis]]'', the prequel to ''[=RayForce=]''. Despite your efforts, Con-Human succeeds in taking over the planet, according to the story of the first game. Makes the prequel a ShootTheShaggyDog story too.
* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'':
** ''VideoGame/PortalPrelude'', an unofficial 3rd party mod, shows the moment [=GLaDOS=] goes berserk and kills everyone in the Enrichment Center. Mike and Abby ''may'' have survived, but even if they did, they hastily abandoned Aperture.
** During the Old Aperture segments of ''VideoGame/Portal2'' you can hear recordings of Cave Johnson throughout the different eras of Aperture Science, from its bright and golden beginning to eventually what happens to it in the present day. Since the only individuals still left in Aperture during the original ''Portal'' are Chell and [=GLaDOS=], Cave's death preceding that game's events is a given.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', a prequel to the entire VideoGame/MetalGear series, having Snake or Ocelot killed will result in a Time Paradox since they were important characters in the previous games. Likewise, killing off EVA will result in a game over too, since her presence is needed for the game to progress. On the other hand, the game forces the player to kill off The Boss after defeating her, since her death is necessary for Big Boss' [[StartOfDarkness descent into villainy]]. If the player doesn't pull the trigger when prompted after a while, Snake will do it automatically anyway.
** Also, Naked Snake is none other than Big Boss himself, who in the other games appeared as an old man with an eyepatch. So his eye had to go, and he indeed loses it saving EVA.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', we're introduced to [[GadgeteerGenius Huey]] (Otacon's father) and [[TheLancer Kaz]] (aka Master Miller), both minor but rather pivotal background characters in Solid Snake's timeline. Both of them are doomed to die in the chronological later games; Huey kills himself and attempts to take his step-daughter with him sometime when Otacon was still a teenager (as we find out in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'')[[note]]Since this trope usually induces sadness in the player, to make players not feel too bad about it, in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain the next canonical game]], Huey is turned into a MoralEventHorizon-crossing HateSink[[/note]], while Miller is murdered and has his identity stolen by Liquid Snake in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', Khamsin is introduced in the "Bladewolf" DLC as a member of the Winds of Destruction. Considering that said DLC is a prequel to the main game and Khamsin never shows up in Raiden's campaign, he's fated to die by the claws of Bladewolf.
* The ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} prequel ''VideoGame/DeadSpaceExtraction''. Anyone who has seen just the first ten minutes of the original should know what to expect...So yeah...
** Along with ''WesternAnimation/DeadSpaceDownfall'', and the two comics series (made to hype both games), [[DownerEnding the results are pretty much a forgone conclusion]].
** Anyone who's played ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' will already figure out that in ''Literature/DeadSpaceMartyr'' Altman is going to end up dead by the end, since his death is a major part of Unitology's history. The only surprise comes in the form of the circumstances surrounding his fate.
* The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' series started out as a prequel to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII''. Because Guile's RoaringRampageOfRevenge in ''II'' depends on Charlie being killed off sometime before the World Warrior tournament, Charlie ends up being killed off in both of his endings in the first two games. In the original ''Alpha'', he ends up being taken by surprise and stabbed in the back by Bison while contacting his base, while in ''Alpha 2'' Charlie is shot in the back by his own backup. However, ''Alpha 3'' deviates from this pattern by having Charlie not only survive his encounter with Bison, but he ends up being the one who destroys Bison and his base at the end. The console ports brought back the tradition of killing off Charlie with the addition of Guile to the playable roster by having Charlie die in a HeroicSacrifice in Guile's ending instead.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' has a TenMinuteRetirement at the beginning of ''X7'', getting tired of the more unscrupulous methods of the Maverick Hunters and trying to find a better solution to peace... and the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series, set [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture a hundred years later]], shows that the war ''never'' even ended; in fact, the situation had gotten even ''worse''!
** Well, not exactly. The war they were fighting ended. Then a new war that nearly wiped out all life began. Then, when that was done, ''another'' war began, this time because of scapegoating due to an energy crisis. At least after the Zero series, the wars actually stop. [[VideoGame/MegaManZX For a while.]] With ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Legends]]'' being in the main canon, you can only wonder what the hell went wrong even later when you learn certain details about the world...
** There's also the ''Day of Sigma'' OVA that's part of ''VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX''. Justified since it's a prequel.
** Considering [[VideoGame/MegaManX7 Axl]] is never even referenced in the Zero series, there's a Biometal based on him in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZX Mega Man ZX Advent]]'' ([[spoiler:even if it's not actually him]]) and [[spoiler:Lumine implants him with... something, leaving him comatose at the end of ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'']], it's safe to say he's a dead Reploid walking.
* ''VideoGame/MightyNo9''[='=]s RAY and her DLC appearance in ''[[VideoGame/MightyGunvolt Mighty Gunvolt Burst]]'', which involves her trying to find her creator Professor White and the answers behind her perpetual xel deterioration in the former, which unfortunately did not go well as she nearly broke down for good thanks to her faulty xel core programming at the end of her DLC campaign, but was resuscitated by Beck after Professor White found her, ashamed of his past failed creation, and was taken for examination to the lab at Sanda Technologies only for RAY to eventually lost control of herself and thrashed her way out of the escort vehicle, roaming rampantly as the Vermilion Destroyer. Her ''Mighty Gunvolt Burst'' appearance sees RAY trying to make one last-ditch effort to stay sane as she was being taken to Sanda Technologies and find the missing pieces of her past through cyberspace, but it was already too late for her by the end her campaign.
* In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar [[SuperTitle64Advance Portable]]'' (which takes place between the first ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' game and ''Ambition of the Illuminus,'' Vivienne is introduced as a new type of [=CAST=] who ends up performing a heroic sacrifice. She doesn't make any future appearances within the time line, thus making her fate somewhat of a ForegoneConclusion. ...That is [[SubvertedTrope until the last chapter of Episode 3]], where she remembers the player character (after, as a side story indicated, her memory of you would be erased) when she possesses Lou's body. But even then [[DoubleSubversion it's implied that she'll forget the player character afterward.]]
* The goal of ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'' is to kill the Valkyrie Lenneth. This is a prequel to the original ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'', which ''starred'' Lenneth. The best you can do is not get anyone sent to hell who wasn't already from it. However, strictly speaking, it doesn't state anywhere in the opening that it's a prequel, so it's not a foregone conclusion when you start... although FridgeLogic states that it couldn't very well be a sequel, now could it?
** ''Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria'' is -also- set up as a prequel to the first game but averts this trope anyway. Due to time travelling shenanigans, it ends entirely differently.
* ''VideoGame/NinjaGaidenIIITheAncientShipOfDoom'' is actually an {{interquel}} set after the events of the [[VideoGame/NinjaGaidenNES first game]], but before ''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaidenIITheDarkSwordOfChaos II]]''. This fact is vaguely implied in the instruction manual, but not outright stated, which helps hide the fact that Irene Lew, who is supposedly killed in the intro, isn't really dead at all since she returns in ''II''. One big giveaway that ''III'' is set before ''II'' is the fact that Ryu still has the Dragon Sword, which he loses at the end of ''II''.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/FearEffect 2''. This game is a prequel to the original and introduces Rain, Hana's love interest. She's in danger a lot and you'd think she'd be killed since she isn't in the original game. She's not killed and apparently was just off-screen then.
* In a Multimedia example, [[VideoGame/CityOfHeroes ''The Web of Arachnos'']] tells the story of Marcus Cole and Stefan Richter; best friends who grew up in the same household and later became soldiers of fortune. Marcus's brother Ezra and Stefan's sister Monica also make appearances. Anyone who has actually played the game (or [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil looked at the cover of the book]]) knows that Marcus Cole becomes [[TheCape Statesman]] and Stefan Richter becomes [[EvilOverlord Lord Recluse]] after achieving their goal of reaching the Well of the Furies. Monica goes on to marry Marcus, but Ezra was never mentioned before the novel's release.
** MMO time creates some wacky examples in ''City of Heroes''. Any arc where the goal is to prevent the Second Rikti Invasion is doomed to fail, because that storyline has to begin when you reach level 35. Praetor Duncan's plan to kill Diabolique fails because Diabolique's OneWingedAngel form from her Incarnate Trial was used in the promotional material for the issue that arc appeared in. Most importantly, no matter what you do in Praetoria Tyrant will still blow up it's capital out of spite.
* In ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', a prequel to ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', Adam has to die (as [[BrainUploading he becomes Samus' computer guide]]) and two bosses, Ridley and Nightmare, will at least leave corpses which will be brought to the BSL and copied by the X Parasites.
* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark Zero'''s plot involves the death of Dr. Carroll, who [[BrainUploading uploaded his mind]] before death and appears as a floating laptop computer in the first game.
* Starkiller, in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. A [[OneManArmy powerful]] Sith apprentice just running around pell-mell, slaughtering stormtroopers and rebel soldiers alike, before ''A New Hope''? There was never any doubt that he was going to kick it.
* The [=GameCube=] version of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' added the option to rescue Richard Aiken by healing his poisonous snake wound on time. However, since the sequels require the deaths of all the Bravo Team members (except for Rebecca) for the storyline to make sense, Richard will simply die at a later point of the game.
** A new facet of the plot in the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'' [[spoiler:involving Jill and Carlos trying to prevent the destruction of Raccoon City by giving the US goverment a cure for the T-Virus will obviously fail, as the destruction of Raccoon City is one of the pivotal events in the universe's timeline. Sure enough, Nicholai destroys the only sample of the cure {{for the evulz}}.]]
* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'':
** The Sacrifice DLC. Since Bill was already dead in The Passing, you know that he will always be the one to die by canonicity, even if the player sacrifices a different survivor in The Sacrifice.
** Similarly, in the tie-in comic (which chronicled the events from Blood Harvest till the end of The Sacrifice) didn't even bother trying to hide it, by opening in media res to show Bill's final moments, before starting the story proper.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'': When Amaterasu and Issun wind up in Kamiki Village 100 years ago, they find themselves having to re-enact the very battle with Orochi as told in legend. Issun, remembering how this one ended with "Shiranui" dying, is ''very'' nervous about it. [[spoiler: They defeat Orochi without incident but Shiranui appears in time to save Nagi from a falling boulder -- and Shiranui, as we find out later, is ''already dying'' from a mortal wound inflicted elsewhere.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'': Like its predecessor, the game features TimeTravel. The instant you go back in time, you realize that [[GravityIsAHarshMistress you're in mid-air over an ocean.]] Luckily, a ship called the Goryeo comes and its friendly crew take you on board. You explore the ship, and find that it's the sunken ship from the first game. The one loaded with evil and bad stuff.
* You may not know this the ''first'' time you play through ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre The Knight of Lodis'', but you have two routes to take in the game. The canonical option is Path "A", wherein Alphonse kills his best friend and commander, Rictor, as well as his second in command Orson, and his love interest Eleanor sacrifices herself, making them examples of this trope, and the official ending is the DownerEnding / BittersweetEnding
* Say, you know those two from ''VideoGame/OgreBattle''? Holy knight Lans and Warren? They make it to episode seven, along with Canopus, except They don't wind up making it out - Warren sacrifices himself to save everyone from being sucked into a Chaos gate, whereas Lans was driven insane by torture. The remake implies otherwise though.
* The prequel to ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', ''Literature/TheStolenThrone'', is absolutely ''loaded'' with this. Like the anti-heroic badass Loghain Mac Tir? He's the [[AntiVillain villain]] of the main game. Boy, Maric really came into his own as King! His rule is pretty darn short. Look at adorable little Prince Cailan in the epilogue! Aww! He dies young at the beginning of the game, and is hinted to be a mediocre king at best. ''Franchise/DragonAge'' taking place in a CrapsackWorld, this isn't entirely unexpected.
** Played in-universe in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', however. The game is a story-within-a-story concerning [[PlayerCharacter Hawke's]] rise to power, and his/her role in events that have torn [[TheChurch the Chantry]] apart and flung Thedas (the setting) into war. Played with in that the storyteller and listener know the ultimate outcome, but the player has a lot less information.
** Also, ''Literature/TheCalling'' prequel. The few people who will definitely survive will be King Maric, Duncan (he dies pretty early in the first game), Fiona, Utha and the Architect.
* In the ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ Second Super Robot Wars Z: Hakai-hen]]'', there's nothing players can do to prevent the deaths of [[Anime/CodeGeass Euphemia li Britannia]], [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Neil "Lockon Stratos" Dylandy]] or [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina]], in defiance of franchise tradition of usually [[FixFic letting the player prevent plotline deaths]]. However, this is a special case, as these characters' deaths are arguably so plot-critical to their home series, they ''have'' to happen. In fact, the sequel ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ Second Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen]]'' plays with this: Neil and Kamina remain dead, but Euphemia becomes NotQuiteDead, [[GuideDangIt provided certain requirements are met]]. Ultimately subverted in the ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ Third Super Robot Wars Z: Jigoku-hen]]'', where events state Euphemia is KilledOffForReal.
* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series:
** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', if you had Georg Prime investigated, you would find out that he killed the queen of Falena, Queen Arshtat. ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', set a few years before ''II'', explains the circumstances behind it: Georg had to kill the queen before she could roast the entirety of Falena with her absurdly powerful Sun Rune.
** Inversely, in ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', a pair of recruits are the chef family Retso and Shun Min. They were depicted as a normal and stable family. Yet, players of ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' will know that their happy times will not last forever.[[labelnote:Click for the story of how they won't end happy]]Retso is one of the opponents of the cooking mini game sidequest by ''II''[='=]s resident chef Hai Yo. He appears there as a bitter man because Shun Min has been killed and blames Hai Yo for her death. But the truth of the whole story is that Shun Min detected that Retso came in contact with Jinkai whose grand plans to make everyone happy with his new Moon Bird recipe was [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist actually a cover for his own nefarious plan to rule the world with cooking.]] She stole the recipe and gave it to Hai Yo for safekeeping, then Jinkai's thugs killed her. Hai Yo had to hide in the castle at ''II'' while taking up a job as the castle chef, until Jinkai's men (and Retso) come knocking.[[/labelnote]]
* Considering the state VideoGame/MaxPayne is in in the trailers for the third game, the alternate ending in which Mona lives is not canonical.
* ''VideoGame/Persona3: [[UpdatedRerelease FES]]'' contains a sidequest that lets you save Chidori, but "The Answer," a canonical epilogue added to the FES version, mentions the character's PlotlineDeath.
** There's also a ''massive'' amount of argument over whether this applies to Shinjiro.
** In ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', this is actually a source of angst for Margaret; being from two years in the Persona 3 cast's future, she knows that the protagonist of Persona 3 will be dead/comatose in 6 months, and most likely also knows that Shinjiro only has two weeks left.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' does this in a particular way. Considering that the events of the game happens centuries before the ones of the main games, you know from start that every character will die and that some of their descendants will become criminals. [[spoiler:Except for [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Ingo]], who is revealed to have been [[FishOutOfTemporalWater sent back to the past]] at some point prior to the events of the game. His fate however after the events of the game and if he ever made it back to the present is unknown.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheQuestOfKi'', the prequel to ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga'', Ki climbs the tower to the 60th floor, finds the Blue Crystal Rod... and then Druaga appears and [[TakenForGranite turns her to stone]], which is why Gilgamesh had to [[SaveThePrincess rescue her]] in the original game.
* In ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos Origins'', if you've played more than ten minutes of ''Eternal Wings'', you can probably guess [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Verus]] and [[BigBad Baelheit]] are going to be killed off, simply based on the fact that Geldoblame is in power in ''Eternal Wings'', twenty years later. Sharp-eyed players will pick up on a few others.
* In ''VisualNovel/CorpseParty: Book of Shadows'' (a sequel of sorts to ''Blood Covered''), we are introduced to Kai Shimada and Naho Saenoki's friend Sayaka Ooue. Shimada is part of the same group of friends at Byakudan High School, where he has a one-sided rivalry with Yuuya Kizami, and Sayaka is mentioned in Naho's Notes. You find their bodies in Chapters 2 and 5 of ''Blood Covered'', respectively.
* In ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'', Merlina plans a {{Face Heel Turn}} in order to prevent Camelot's fall, to keep it alive eternally. Sonic doesn't like the idea of an entire kingdom being trapped and frozen in time and knows Camelot must fall, thus he has to smack her around to get her back to normal and see the folly in her plan.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** While the franchise had been going on for twenty-five years by that point, we've never known of Fi's existence outside of the [[AnachronicOrder chronologically first]] game, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', despite her being the spirit of the series' iconic weapon, the Master Sword. You can probably fill in the blanks for yourself. [[spoiler:Which is why it's a bit of a shock when she briefly reappears in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]''.]]
** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' takes place 100 years before ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', when the Champions and the King of Hyrule were still alive and just before Hyrule was essentially destroyed by Calamity Ganon. It's a given that none of these characters survive the story, since they were all killed when Calamity Ganon took over. [[spoiler:Subverted when intervention from time-travelers creates an AlternateTimeline where EverybodyLives.]]
* ''VideoGame/IMissTheSunrise'' actually ''inverts'' this in a few cases -- Marie, Rami, and Mahk are all alive and well in ''VideoGame/TheReconstruction'', so they can't die (though something does have to happen to Mahk to make the crew believe he died). Played straight with Tezkhra, however.
* ''VideoGame/ElShaddaiAscensionOfTheMetatron'': Lucifel. Pretty obvious [[{{Satan}} who he'll become someday]]. [[TheEndOrIsIt Then again]], [[AlternateHistory Enoch averted the Great Flood]], so who knows?
* Vic Vance, the protagonist of prequel game ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories'', is unceremoniously gunned down in the introduction of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', set two years later. He is one of only two playable protagonists (the other being [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned Johnny]]) to canonically die during the series, unless you count Endings A or B in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''.
* ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising'' has the main hero, Bahamut. He's the BigBad in ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Hard Corps'', who you have to kill in three of the five endings. [[WordOfGod The producers, however, have stated that]] he could be someone else entirely, only sharing the same name.
* Followed in an odd yet internally consistent way in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors.'' The main feature of the games is the 'story mode' which tells the tale of whichever of the characters you happen to select. While Koei takes some liberties with the history, iterations such as 5 and 7 in particular are surprisingly true to the source material, ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms''. This means that some games with prequel missions which feature certain characters already tell you how they're going to end due to the presence of later stages. For instance, in the ExpansionPack for 5, a mission is introduced with the imperial guardian He Jin as an important NPC, against a rebel cadre of eunuchs. No matter how you do in this prequel stage, though, He Jin must die either in the course of gameplay or shortly after, as both [[FatBastard Dong Zhuo]] and [[UpperClassTwit Yuan Shao]] are shown ascending to power in the early stages of 5, after He Jin's death at the hands of the eunuchs' conspiracy (as the actual facts of history tell).
* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series has two spin offs on UsefulNotes/{{P|laystationPortable}}SP: ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarChainsOfOlympus Chains of Olympus]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarGhostOfSparta Ghost of Sparta]]''. The former is a prequel to the original game and the latter is set between the first and the second. The plots of both games are predictable due to this trope. [[SarcasmMode I wonder if Kratos will succeed in saving his brother..]]
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'' video game has you meet a young man named Shawn Greene and his father, Herschel, both of whom live on a farm. Anyone who watches the show and/or reads the comics obviously knows Shawn is toast, no matter what decision the player makes.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' players could be forgiven for being unaware that everything they do in the game, even if they go for HundredPercentCompletion, will be undone in the end, since while some of that is a given due to [[spoiler:him returning to England with riches enough for land, finery, and title]] as per the ending, ''Literature/AssassinsCreedForsaken'' already revealed -- hence why his own Database entry in ''IV'' does -- that [[spoiler:Edward dies in 1735]], [[spoiler:his daughter is still estranged from him]], and shows that [[spoiler:his son Haytham goes on to become a Templar Grand Master]]... who in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' [[spoiler:will be killed by his son, Edward's grandson, Ratonhnhaké:ton aka Connor Kenway]].
* Because ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' is a prequel to the two previous games, characters carried over from the older games (who are mostly children and teens in this version) more or less have their lives mapped out for them right up until they die of old age (or otherwise). Of course, since it's an open-ended simulation game, it's entirely up to the player whether they [[PlayingWithATrope play this straight]] or {{avert|edTrope}} it in game-play, though this doesn't affect the characters' official canonical fates.
* Players won't realize that this happens in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2'' until near the end when they find out [[spoiler:it's a [[StealthSequel prequel]] to ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys''. The old robots were being decommissioned because they were old, not because of their murderous rampage in the original game. The new robots were the ones who malfunctioned and thus destroyed, while the old robots (who were haunted) were rebuilt so the restaurant could reopen]].
** Also, on Night 6, Phone Guy says that when the place reopens, he'll take the night shift himself. Anyone who's played the first game knows [[CruelAndUnusualDeath it didn't work out as planned...]]
* ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: [[ExpansionPack Dragonfall]]'' is set in a 2053 [[AnarchyIsChaos Anarchist free state]] Berlin in a game whose [[AllThereInTheManual source material]] ran forward to 2073 at that point. Anyone with knowledge of the TabletopGame knew [[spoiler:there was no way to save the F-state since it was canonically dissolved in 2055 by the German government]].
* The Selvaria DLC of ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' follows an Imperial Engineer by the name of Johann who by the end of the campaign is promoted into Oswald the Iron, one of the named EliteMooks of the main storyline.
** Speaking of her, in ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesIII'', one of the protagonists, Imca, desired revenge towards Selvaria (Being the top brass of the opposing forces that're of Valkyrian blood) for the destruction of her home. Except [[spoiler:longtime players know of Selvaria's death in the first game happened, therefore there was no possible way for Imca to beat her and was beaten up like a ragdoll in her DuelToTheDeath.]]
* ''VideoGame/EndlessLegend'', the prequel ScienceFantasy spinoff to ''VideoGame/EndlessSpace'', eight separate empires are fighting to get off of the dying world Auriga before it is plunged into an [[EndlessWinter eternal winter]]. Come ''Endless Space'', the only faction that makes it off the planet wholesale are the Vaulters, a human empire that remembered their origins in space. However, there are a few survivors from other races, including a Broken Lord hero that appeared in ''Endless Space'' [[ProductionForeshadowing before]] ''VideoGame/EndlessLegend'' [[ProductionForeshadowing was even announced]].
* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight Specter of Torment'' is a prequel featuring Specter Knight as the protagonist, on a quest to regain his humanity. Sadly for him, he's still undead in the game modes taking place in the present.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hiveswap}}'' is a prequel to ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', partially taking place an unknown amount of time earlier on the alien planet [[CrapsackWorld Alternia]]. Trizza's plans to usurp [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen the Condesce]] and Dammek and Xefros' rebellion against the TheEmpire and its FantasticCasteSystem are thus both doomed to failure, as Alternia is ruled by Condy and heavily divided by caste when the setting is introduced in the comic.
* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'' is about main characters Talion and Celebrimbor trying to conquer {{Mordor}} and overthrow EvilOverlord Sauron. Since the game is a prequel to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and Sauron is the creator of the most famous SoulJar in fiction, the chances of Talion and Celebrimbor succeeding are terrible. [[spoiler:In short, Celebrimbor loses his battle with the Dark Lord and fuses with Sauron to become the Great Eye that hovers above his tower in Mordor, while Talion is corrupted by a Ring of Power taken from the Nazgul, becoming one himself until Sauron's eventual defeat in the original story sets them both free.]]
* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' is a mixed case. It's a prequel to the [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption original game]] that follows the gang that John Marston was in, and introduces multiple new gang members who were never mentioned in the original game. Since the first game's plot requires you to hunt down John's old gang, most of these guys are gonna have to bite it before then, right? Well, it's a mixed bag. Some, [[spoiler: like [[TheHeroDies protagonist Arthur Morgan]] (who gets tuberculosis during the game)]] do die. Others [[spoiler:leave the gang as Dutch becomes less and less stable]] and go straight, with the epilogue implying that they ended up living peaceful lives and never becoming targets, with the gang members from the original game being the ones who couldn't go straight [[spoiler:after the gang dissolves]].
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' gives you an extended tour of the beautiful planet Alderaan, with its appealing FeudalFuture vibe and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJOERDcQd8w gorgeous music]]. You help sort out a nasty succession crisis. Of course, anyone who's remotely familiar with [[Film/ANewHope the first movie]] will know [[EarthShatteringKaboom what happens to it 3600 years later]].
* ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'', a major background event is the murder of a student, who would haunt one of the school bathrooms as the Phantom Girl. It's also established that Ryoba did it because the girl was a rival. In 1980s Mode, which focus on Ryoba's {{Yandere}} adventures, the Phantom Girl, Sumire Saitozaki, is thus killed off as the tutorial. Along with that, no matter how Ryoba chooses to eliminate the rest of the rivals, she will be arrested and put on trial for Sumire's murder, will get away with it (unless someone's deliberately trying for the non-canon F Rank), and, having been thwarted in confessing her love to Jokichi, will simply kidnap him to make him hers.
* In ''VideoGame/YsOrigin'', the demons can't be defeated permanently. We know this because Adol did that in ''VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter'', which takes place 700 years later.
* As ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'' is a prequel set 3 years before ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'', most of the things are pretty much fixed in all of the MultipleEndings. Anything you can actually influence with your choices are necessarily about characters not appearing in the original game. More specifically:
** [[spoiler:Rachel will die. The game itself ends on a high note, but her ultimate fate is shown in TheStinger.]]
** You can make choices where Chloe apparently tries to reconcile with her stepfather David. Given their relationship in the original game, it won't happen no matter how hard you might try.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' frequently mentions the long-ago [[GreatOffscreenWar Aegis War]], which is chronicled in the prequel ''Torna ~ The Golden Country''. This game has the party establishing bonds and connections with people all across Torna, which is rather painful when the main game established that [[spoiler:the entirety of Torna gets destroyed during the final battle of the Aegis War, with very few survivors]]. Additionally, a flashback in the main game showed that [[TheHero Lora]] was killed shortly after the Aegis War, which led to Jin's FaceHeelTurn, and indeed the epilogue for ''Torna'' cuts off just before the flashback would begin.
[[/folder]]

** Considering the above examples, by now it seems that Creator/SquareEnix has learnt the "don't-make-handheld-prequels-if-they-don't-end-well" lesson with ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy "Dissidia Duodecim 012 Final Fantasy"]]'', where, while narrating the second-to-last war cycle prior to the first Dissidia and therefore being somewhat of a ForegoneConclusion, after completing that war cycle there's another - namely, the 13th seen in the first Dissidia, [[EmbeddedPrecursor as a redone version]], promptly subverting the DownerEnding.

* Several chapters of ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' depict Mikoto's attempt to stop the [[LevelGrinding Level 6 Shift Program]]. The reader already knows the program is only stopped by the grace of [[Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex Touma's intervention]], and that [[BreakTheCutie by the end]] Mikoto will be [[DespairEventHorizon driven so far]] as to be ready to give up her life to end the [[CloningBlues Sisters]] torment. This especially hits hard with the appearance of Misaka 9982, the Sister Mikoto originally meets and grows fond of during their time together. Readers of ''Index'' will also know that every clone before 10032 meets their end by Accelerator's hands, and sure enough 9982 dies, [[SacrificialLamb just as Mikoto shows up to the fight scene even]].

** Anario will become one of the leaders of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men in the war to defeat Sauron, and is crushed by a stone flung from Barad-dûr during the siege.

** Tolkien's Celembrimbor is killed during Sauron's destruction of Eregion.

* In ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]'', Merlina plans a {{Face Heel Turn}} in order to prevent Camelot's fall, to keep it alive eternally. Sonic doesn't like the idea of an entire kingdom being trapped and frozen in time and knows Camelot must fall, thus he has to smack her around to get her back to normal and see the folly in her plan.