History Main / FingerTwitchingRevival

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' first clip show, Homer is put into a coma because of Bart's prank. When Bart tearfully admits he pulled said prank, Homer starts to come to in this manner... only to go into outright absurdity as Homer seemingly revives because he's downright ''furious''. In the seconds before he woke up, his heart-monitor began to display Bart's outline;

* Subverted in ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'' with Super Shredder, who collapses a heavy pier onto himself as the Turtles he is trying to take with him escape. The Turtles emerge from the water to look upon the wreckage, only to find Super Shredder's hand emerging from the wreckage to their horror. Raph exclaims "NoOneCouldHaveSurvivedThat!" And then the hand falters and falls limp upon the ruins of the pier, never to rise again, signifying that yes, the Shredder is finally done for.
** But played straight near the start of the film where Shredder's hand can be seen slowly rising out of a pile of garbage to show that he survived the first movie after all.
** Later subverted ''again'' in the Fox TV series ''Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation'', which claims that yes, Super Shredder ''DID'' survive it and was somehow restored to a non-mutant form.
** Similarly done in ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'', with the Shredder again. Time will tell if this was playing the trope straight or subverting it.
* In ''Film/TheTerminator'', Reese shoots the T-800 several times with a sawed-off shotgun when it tries to move in on Sarah in [=TechNoir=]. Shortly after it hits the floor, its fingers twitch, offering the audience their first clue that the big scary guy isn't human.

** Sadly true in real life, since it's obvious that she's ''still'' being electrocuted at this point, which would cause muscle spasms.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' MadeForTVMovie has the Doctor doing this as he's WakingUpAtTheMorgue. The shot alternates with FrankensteinsMonster coming to life in the black-and-white movie the morgue attendant is watching. Yes, they tried to make the Doctor out to be quite spooky. Afterward, he escapes the morgue via BarrierBustingBlow, maintaining the spookiness factor, and then we see him looking confused and clutching his shroud tightly around himself and flinching when the morgue attendant screams and faints when he sees him.
** Happens twice in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Destiny of the Daleks]]".

* In ''Manga/HighSchoolOfTheDead'', this is an indicator of being infected by [[ZombieApocalypse ''them'']].

* Invoked in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' Part III. Jotaro needs to draw Dio off of a down and out Polnareff, but not reveal that he's conscious and PlayingPossum, so he decides to tap his fingers on the ground. Upon hearing the noise and realizing this trope might be in effect, Dio decides to MakeSureHesDead by shooting him ([[spoiler:Star Platinum catches the bullet just under Jotaro's skin]]), listening for his heartbeat from a safe distance ([[spoiler:Star Platinum temporarily stops his heart]]) and then grabbing a street sign to decapitate him as a final precaution ([[spoiler:which brings him within range for Star Platinum to shatter his skull]]).

* Happens in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' when Dante first [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice acquires]] Alastor. Again in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' when he first [[LimitBreak devil triggers]]. And ''again'' in ''Devil May Cry'' 3 after the first Vergil battle -- which is Vergil's cue to stab him ''[[OnceIsNotEnough again]]''.

* In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', Emil Blonsky indicates his impending revival by his fingers coming to staccato life as Gen. Ross is walking away from his hospital bed. Even though his fingers are almost fully wrapped up in bandages and his whole arm and hand are in a suspension cast. Now ''that'' is a commitment to this trope.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' 7x02: Sam and Dean's first fight with one of the season's brand-new monsters ends with them dropping a car on it. At the end of the episode, we see its hand sticking out from under the car, fingers twitching, and the pool of blood retreating back into its body. {{Justified}} in that the creatures are {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le.

* Ben in ''JurassicWorldCampCretaceous'' revives this way in season 2 after falling from the monorail in season 1.

* In the recent film of ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', Emil Blonsky indicates his impending revival by his fingers coming to staccato life as Gen. Ross is walking away from his hospital bed. Even though his fingers are almost fully wrapped up in bandages and his whole arm and hand are in a suspension cast. Now ''that'' is a commitment to this trope.

* Disney Channel movie Susie Q uses this trope in a surprisingly dark moment early in the film. The title character Susie is returning home from a dance when she and her date and involved in a serious wreck with a drunk driver on a bridge. The accident causes the car to be half on the bridge and half off; inside the car the couple seems to be unconscious or dead until Susie's hand feels out and grabs hold her date's hand. Then the car slips off the bridge, flips and falls into the river below causing the pair to drown. Yes, this really is a Disney movie and no, they don't show anymore.
* Happens in the Jet Li vanity vehicle ''Film/TheOne'' [[spoiler:when he is fighting himself, and he kicks his own ass, then gets up and kicks his own ass]].

* In ''VisualNovel/GrisaiaNoRakuen'' [[spoiler:after the climactic showdown on Heath Oslo's floating fortress which ended with blowing the whole thing up]] the camera is left with a wide view of the ocean and nothing but a single arm, which twitches feebly before cutting to the credits. [[spoiler:So, yes, Yuuji survived as shown in the afterstory, though they never explained how he survived the basically fatal wounds he already had let alone being right on top of a massive explosion and dropped in the ocean.]]

* Played with in ''{{Disney/Hercules}}'': Hercules appears to have successfully killed the Hydra but perished in the process. The hydra's fingers begin twitching and uncurling, making the onlookers fear that it isn't quite dead, until its hand fully opens to reveal Hercules very much alive inside it.

* This trope was used a few times in ''StarWars: Literature/GalaxyOfFear''. In ''City of the Dead'', whole body twitching marks people who've been killed and [[OurZombiesAreDifferent brought back]] with a serum. ''Ghost of the Jedi'' follows an EyeAwaken with this trope. In the obligatory TheEndOrIsIt ending of ''Army of Terror'', [[spoiler:Eppon's finger twitches on the final page, implying that Gog's ultimate weapon is not only alive, but survived [[YourHeadASplode having its head blown off with a cortex bomb]].]] However, the narration also says that perhaps it's the wind, and since [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse this is never heard from again]], perhaps it was.

* ''Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}}'': [[''It's alive . . . it's alive, it's alive! IT'S ALIVE!!'' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCBvu_kijo]]

* This situation occurred in ''Manga/IkkiTousen'', when one of the characters was stabbed in the spine. The doctors said that he may be permanently paralyzed and never wake up from his coma. Then, at the last few minutes of the show, said character [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome raises his hand into a fist]].

* On ''Series/TheXFiles'' this trope shows up in season 8's "Dead Alive" to show that Mulder was alive and ''not'' turned into a Super Soldier from TheVirus. The trope turns this moment into a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}, since before this episode, Mulder had been [[spoiler: dead for three months]] and abducted/missing for at least four months before that, leaving behind a very distraught Scully behind. The episode ends with Scully clinging anxiously to his hand, a FingerTwitchingRevival, an absolutely heartbreakingly relieved look on Scully's face, and a badly timed joke on Mulder's part.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'', the player is [[spoiler: lying (apparently) mortally wounded on the ground with a knife in your chest, when their fingers twitch. After furiously pressing a button, they then proceed to [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome pull the knife out of their own chest, and throw it into the Big Bad's eye.]]]]

* ''Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}}'': ''It's alive . . . it's alive, it's alive! IT'S ALIVE!!'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSCBvu_kijo]]

* Happens in ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'' when Dante first [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice acquires]] Alastor. Again in ''Franchise/DevilMayCry 3'' when he first [[LimitBreak devil triggers]]. And ''again'' in ''Devil May Cry'' 3 after the first Vergil battle -- which is Vergil's cue to stab him ''[[OnceIsNotEnough again]]''.

* This situation occurred in ''Manga/IkkiTousen'', when one of the characters was stabbed in the spine. The doctors said that he may be permanently paralyzed and never wake up from his coma. Then, at the last few minutes of the show, said character [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome raises his hand into a fist]].

* On ''Series/TheXFiles'' this trope shows up in season 8's "Dead Alive" to show that Mulder was alive and ''not'' turned into a Super Soldier from TheVirus. The trope turns this moment into a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming, since before this episode, Mulder had been [[spoiler: dead for three months]] and abducted/missing for at least four months before that, leaving behind a very distraught Scully behind. The episode ends with Scully clinging anxiously to his hand, a FingerTwitchingRevival, an absolutely heartbreakingly relieved look on Scully's face, and a badly timed joke on Mulder's part.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'', the player is [[spoiler: lying (apparently) mortally wounded on the ground with a knife in your chest, when their fingers twitch. After furiously pressing a button, they then proceed to [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome pull the knife out of their own chest, and throw it into the Big Bad's eye.]]]]