History Main / DuelToTheDeath

* ''ComicBook/WorldsFinest'': Issue #261 shows ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' challenging ComicBook/{{Batman}} to a duel to the death.

* The last recorded judicial duel in France was fought in 1386. Interestingly it was allowed, not because TheGovernment at the time thought it appropriate practice but simply because they hadn't bothered to take it off the books! A French noblewoman conceived while her husband was [[MyGirlBackHome away at war]]. She claimed it was rape by a political rival of her husband's. Her husband appeared as plaintiff and slew the defendant.

** In his first appearance, High Beringer challenges the murderer of Nicholas Faintree to one of these. Ostensibly it's a TrialByCombat, to let God favor the combatant who's telling the truth; privately, Hugh needs to kill the man without giving him the chance to testify because shameful information about the brother of Hugh's new LoveInterest will be revealed if the culprit speaks in his own defense.

* In ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', Akuma always fights to the death, though it's somewhat averted in that he never challenges anyone (he only takes challenges from worthy opponents), and ends up sparing loads of people anyway.

* ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'': The title of The Lord of Vampires can be obtained by killing its current holder in a duel to the death. Count Dracula gains it in the pages of ''ComicBook/DraculaLives'', and has to duel for it again near the end of the original run of ''The Tomb of Dracula'' after losing it due to being temporally turned into human.

** In the first appearance of the Morlocks, Callisto's battle with ComicBook/{{Storm|MarvelComics}} was supposed to be this. (Callisto even threw Storm a dagger so [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen they could do it right.]]) Storm ultimately won, Callisto surviving due to quick action by the Morlock's Healer, but this meant Storm was able to seize leadership of the Morlocks from her. ([[InNameOnly Technically;]] she would rarely enforce this, but it did end the crisis.)

* In ''Adventure Comics'' issue #412, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is forced to enter one when she's chosen by the ruler of planet Liquel II to be her champion. She doesn't want to kill anybody but Liquel II will be taken over by a tyrant if she loses. Kara manages to win the gladiatorial combat, but instead of finishing her opponent off, she talks the public out of choosing rulers via combats to the death.
* In ''ComicBook/TheAstoundingWolfMan'' Wolf-Man has two very climactic Duels To The Death.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'', Christopher Rudd gets into a duel in hell and manages to manipulate his demonic opponent into fighting him in human form. After the demon boasts that he is still stronger and faster than Christopher; Christopher shows him it is about SO much more than just speed and strength.

* ''World's Finest'' issue #261 shows ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' challenging Batman to a duel to the death.
* In ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'', the title of The Lord of Vampires can be obtained by killing its current holder in a duel to the death. Count Dracula gains it in the pages of ''Comicbook/DraculaLives'', and has to duel for it again near the end of the original run of ''Comicbook/TheTombOfDracula'' after losing it due to being temporally turned into human.
* In the first appearance of the Morlocks in ComicBook/XMen comics, Callisto's battle with ComicBook/{{Storm}} was supposed to be this. (Callisto even threw Storm a dagger so [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen they could do it right.]]) Storm ultimately won, Callisto surviving due to quick action by the Morlock's Healer, but this meant Storm was able to seize leadership of the Morlocks from her. ([[InNameOnly Technically;]] she would rarely enforce this, but it did end the crisis.)
* ComicBook/RedSonja believes this is her true superpower as revealed in ''The Art of Blood and Fire''. She's good with a sword, but the only way she can beat the ''best swordsman in the world'' is to challenge him in a duel to the death. With only honor on the line, the fight is ultimately empty to her and her motivation lags, but when everyone knows the stakes are lethal her steely nerves are unbeatable.
* In an early arc of ''Comicbook/Batgirl2000'', Comicbook/LadyShiva offered to restore Cassandra Cain's body reading abilities in return for facing her in a fight to the death in a year's time. Cassandra agreed, [[DeathSeeker fully intending to throw the match]].
* ''ComicBook/HuntersHellcats'': In ''Our Fighting Forces'' #116, Lt. Hunter is forced to fight a duel to the death with scimitars against an Afrika Korps captain by a sheik for control of the strategic oasis both sides require.

* ''ComicBook/BlazeOfGlory'': The nightriders force Caleb Hammer and Gunhawk to engage in one, but it is interrupted by Ghost Rider (no, not ''that'' ComicBook/GhostRider).
* In ''ComicBook/TraggAndTheSkyGods'' #6, Tragg and Lorn are captured by a tribe whose traditions dictate that any strangers entering the valley must be put to death. While the chief is debating whether to apply the tradition (Tragg had just saved his son), Keera arrives, [[GodGuise pretending to be a goddess]]. Following argument between Lorn and Keera, the chief offers them the opportunity to fight a duel, using traditional weapons, next to a pit filled with SpikesOfDoom. The winner must either force their opponent into the pit or kill them and throw their body into the pit.
* Ritualized in the form of the Crucible in ''ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge''. {{Depower}}ed mutants who want their powers restored by [[CameBackStrong dying and being revived]] can petition to face off against Apocalypse in a ceremonial duel that ends in their death. Whilst the Crucible disturbs many mutants, it was instigated as a way to provide some outlet for the large numbers of former-mutants [[IJustWantToBeSpecial desperate to have their powers back]], without interfering too much with the project to revive all of the mutants slain by human bigots before the founding of Krakoa.

* ''VideoGame/{{Arcaea}}'' has Hikari being forced into one of these when Tairitsu saw a vision of herself being killed by the former. [[spoiler:Hikari kills Tairitsu and wins, but quickly breaks down and goes insane out of guilt]]. Later on, [[spoiler:Lethe and Saya was caught in a similar situation where the former attempts to kill the latter due to Saya's affront against the memories Lethe collected.]]
* ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': The truth behind Chapter 4's killing is [[spoiler:a combination of this and a heavily implied SuicidePact. The chapter's motive is that it takes place in a ClosedCircle where the students are denied food until a murder takes place. Realizing that everyone is willing to starve to death rather than kill anyone, Gundham engineers a scenario where he and Nekomaru are alone, and they engage in a duel to the death, knowing that the winner will almost certainly be convicted of murder in the resulting class trial and be [[HangingJudge executed by Monokuma]], but [[SomeoneHasToDie also that their combined sacrifice will save everyone else]]]].

* In the backstory of ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'', Genshin Asogi offered one of these to his friend Klint van Zieks after [[spoiler:correctly identifying the latter as the SerialKiller known as "The Professor". He did it to allow Klint to leave the world with honor instead of being executed like a common criminal. As for Klint, he wrote his will directly before said duel and wrote that he did not deserve an honorable death like this anymore. The autopsy report of Klint notes the lack of wounds on his body aside from the fatal stab to the heart, so it is all but stated that Klint merely stood there and let himself be killed in a sort of SuicideByCop]].
* Some of the games in the ''VideoGame/GundamVsSeries'' use the concept of the Duel to the Death for Mission Mode stages. ''Alliance vs ZAFT 2 Plus'' has a literal duel with Andrew Waltfeld, where both he and the player start back-to-back with one hit point, meaning first blood wins. ''Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus'' has a particularly annoying variation where you and an ally fight two enemies at the same time, again so low on health that one hit means death... except both enemies have a "second chance" ability that sacrifices a nonessential limb for extra health, meaning whoever you kill last needs to be killed three times. And the whole fight takes place on a stone platform [[ConvectionSchmonvection in the middle of a volcano]], so if you miss your jump.
* ''VideoGame/Jak3'': Early in the game, Jak and Daxter are put through a series of gladiatorial trials to earn citizenship in Spargus City. They are quite surprised to come up against their old friend Sig at the last minute, in an arena whose only rule is "kill or be killed." Neither Jak nor Sig are willing to kill each other, which pisses off King Damas enough that he sends them on a deadly mission as penance.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has this with Ganondorf [[spoiler:as the battlefield is being flooded by the entire ocean.]]
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' has this as both the fight with Zant and the TrueFinalBoss.
* A memorable mission in ''VideoGame/MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries'' has the player square off with the leaders of a Clan Jade Falcon invasion force to settle the matter like true badasses. It's not one on one (the Clanners 'bid' a Binary (10 mechs), and the PC [[TrashTalk answers with an eight mech bid]] and tells them to bring it) but otherwise plays "pistols at dawn" very straight, taking place at first light on a deserted beach. The best part, of course, being that it ''isn't'' to the death (unless you lose, of course)- after winning the challenge you ''cite Clan law'' to force the enemy commander to become your bondsman and join your company with the callsign Falcon. She's one of the best pilots available too.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

** In the backstory of the ActionAdventure spin-off game ''Redguard'', the hero, Cyrus, slew his brother-in-law, Hakan, in a duel after Hakan drunkenly struck Cyrus' sister Iszara. Though such duels are a perfectly legitimate means to settle disputes in [[MasterSwordsman Redguard]] society, Cyrus is the son of a prominent Crown (a conservative Redguard political party with ties to old [[{{Precursors}} Yokudan]] nobility) while Hakan is one of the leaders of the Forebears (a more progressive Redguard political party with ties to the "[[BadassArmy Warrior Wave]]" of Redguards who first settled Hammerfell and made it safe for the rest of the Yokudans to settle there). The Crowns and Forebears are violently opposed, and Hakan marrying Iszara was an ArrangedMarriage to hopefully bring peace. Thus, Cyrus was forced to flee, becoming a pirate.

* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the player character can be challenged to a one-on-one duel by a knight who believes they are responsible for the death of the king. The player can agree to fight him fairly, send their entire party after him, talk him out of the fight, or force the fight to a draw by retreating into the market, causing the knight to call off the fight and swear vengeance later. You also get to fight [[spoiler:Loghain]] in a duel to the death, though you can choose a champion in that duel.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', if you have Fenris in your party and/or if Isabela comes back at the end of chapter 2 you get the option to resolve the qunari uprising by fighting the Arishok alone in a duel to the death. (Whether or not you'll ''want'' to is another question entirely.)
* Towards the end of the level "The Ark" of ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', the Master Chief runs into a pack of brutes, led by a hammer-wielding [[RankScalesWithAsskicking Chieftain]]. Unlike most engagements with Brutes, where the player has to contend with the mooks first, in this encounter, the bodyguards form a semicircle while the Chief engages the Chieftain.

** During ''War Crimes,'' which chronicles Garrosh Hellscream's trial after he goes off the deep end and is subsequently defeated by the Alliance and a Horde uprising, Saurfang, a [[OldSoldier seasoned orc veteran]], expresses distaste that Hellscream is being tried by foreigners in a foreign land and that if it were up to him, he would have challenged Hellscream to a mak'gora. Saurfang, despite his age, would most likely have won this duel easily.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWar'':
** In ''VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar'', a Western faction's gentleman character can challenge or be challenged to duel another character (not necessarily another gentleman). The cutscene shows a duel either using swords or pistols. Interestingly, the duel is not always lethal, meaning both characters can survive with their honor satisfied. The cutscene will then show both characters walking past each other (one of them bandaged), nodding in respect.
** The intro to ''VideoGame/TotalWarShogun2'' shows a CombatByChampion between a samurai from an army besieging a city with the city's champion. The invading samurai wins. As he walks away towards his general triumphantly, he falls dead revealing that his back is now a pincushion from arrows fired by the city's defenders. Cue his general sounding a charge to the walls in anger.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' Most games in general end with a one-on-one duel. In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', Gray Fox challenges Snake to a fistfight in a minefield to determine which of them is the superior soldier.
* ''VideoGame/FableI'': The Arena quest is mostly a MonsterArena with your {{Friendly Rival|ry}} Whisper fighting alongside you, but the surprise final bout is announced to be a duel to the death between the two of you. You need to defeat her to complete the level, but can [[DefiedTrope Defy the trope]] and walk away after that, unless you want the cash bonus and huge hit to the KarmaMeter that comes from cutting her down in cold blood.
* Sword duels are a standard piece of ''VideoGame/ImperiumNova'', over insults or for money. Whether the loser survives or merely suffers injuries depends on their skill and fighting style.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', the "Seven Rivalries" require the pilots of the seven [[SuperRobot Divine Knights]] to duel with each other until only one Divine Knight remains. Normally it doesn't involve the pilot dying but it ends up becoming this trope if the pilot previously died and is only being kept alive by the Divine Knight. By the end of the rivalries, [[spoiler:Rutger, Arianrhod, and Osborne die by the end of the game while Crow, who died in ''Cold Steel II'', lived on because of the powers of the seven Divine Knights.]]
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' features several duels, especially in the Sith storylines (given the Siths' MightMakesRight attitude).
** The Sith Warrior engages in formal or ad hoc duels with several opponents, starting with their Sith Academy rival Vemrin, whom they defeat in the tomb of an ancient Sith Lord and then CoupDeGrace.
** The climax of the Sith Inquisitor character arc has them duel Darth Thanaton twice in a row: first when he challenges them to a ritualistic AllowedInternalWar called a Kaggath on Corellia, then [[spoiler:on the floor of the Dark Council chamber when [[DirtyCoward he runs to them for help after being overpowered in the first duel]]. The PC soundly thrashes and disables him, and Darth Mortis finishes him off with a contemptuous NeckSnap and [[KlingonPromotion gives them his Council seat]].]]
* One level in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' has the main character infiltrate a high-class masquerade ball. While there, an optional mission involves handing a letter from an UpperClassTwit ally of the main character to one of the nobles present. Said noble, upon reading the letter, calls the sender out as a gutless coward and reveals that the letter states that the main character will take the sender's place in a duel to the death, which the player is then made to participate in. Despite the duel opening with each participant being given a pistol, the player is free to use other weapons if they so choose, including [[InstantSedation sleep darts]] for a NonLethalKO.
* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': In the nation of Inazuma in, one can challenge another to a 'Duel Before the Throne', a duel overseen by the local GodEmperor, Raiden Shogun. If the Shogun agrees, status, political power or even [[DiplomaticImpunity being a foreign dignitary]] are no barrier, and the loser will be executed, no questions asked. [[PlayerCharacter The Traveler]] invokes this against [[spoiler:Signora]] to make them answer for their crimes, and is notably one of the rare times The Traveler audibly speaks in cutscenes.
-->'''The Traveler:''' I challenge you... to a Duel Before the Throne!
* In ''VideoGame/KingOfTheCastle'', the code of the duel is an integral part of the culture of the Grandees of the South, and several story events see various Grandees getting into duels on matters of honour with nobles from other regions. If the King sanctions the duels, they risk the practice getting out of control and leading to many deaths, but if the King bans duelling altogether, the Grandees' Defiance will spike, as they regard it as an attack on their traditions.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/Archipelago'': One character challenged a tribal chieftain for leadership of his tribe. He won, and soon learned that instead of just leadership, he had won ''everything'' the old chieftain had, including three "Eerily delighted widows".
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' features Roy versus Thog in the Empire of Blood's arena. Roy didn't initially intend on the "to the death" part-- he expected the fight to be called after he knocked Thog down. Unfortunately, he had [[BerserkButton broken Thog's tooth]], which gave the barbarian a rage-enhanced second wind, allowing him to get back up and eventually get the upper hand. Roy tried again to avert this trope, this time by surrendering, but Thog [[TalkToTheFist wasn't having it]] and continued to wail on Roy with obviously lethal intent. Roy eventually won by tricking Thog into collapsing the entire arena on top of himself, resulting in his death. [[note]]Technically we never saw Thog's body, but he hasn't shown up since, and the story has since progressed well past the point where his return would make sense, so it's pretty likely his death was genuine.[[/note]]
* In ''Webcomic/EscapeFromTerra'', duels are legal on anarcho-capitalist Ceres, but most of the residents are sensible enough not to do them. Unfortunately when Guy's Napoleon-obsessed cousin Pierre arrives on the asteroid he challenges someone who gropes his butt at a gay bar. Guy and the other guy's second conspire to set up [[http://www.bigheadpress.com/eft?page=815 a series]] [[http://www.bigheadpress.com/eft?page=818 of conditions]] to make Pierre withdraw.

[[folder:Web Original]]