History Main / HeroicSecondWind

* In one of ''[[LetsPlay/{{Dream}} Dream's]]'' Minecraft Manhunts with George and Sapnap, [[FinalBattle Dream had to fight both of them while fighting the Ender Dragon.]] Eventually [[spoiler: they kick him off the edge and put out his water. [[DontCelebrateJustYet George and Sapnap are happy and triumphant]] when all of a sudden, George celebrates by killing Sapnap, dropping his inventory... which Dream uses to his advantage by finding some falling Ender Pearls and going ''slightly'' to the right to pick them up at the last second, then making a precise throw to the edge of the island to escape unscathed, killing George soon after. Keep in mind that Dream had ''no Ender Pearls before this.'']]

** ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'': Zigzagged. After Smith delivers a truly exemplary NietzscheWannabe speech, he asks the beaten Neo why the hell he even bothers to keep fighting. Neo stands and says, "Because I choose to." Cue asskicking, followed by Smith rejuvenating and beating Neo to a pulp again, only for Neo to get up ''again'', [[spoiler:THEN Smith manages to infect Neo, and finally Neo [[HeroicSacrifice uses his defeat]] to provide a link between Smith and the computer that created him, allowing it to simply delete him]].

** And once more in ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'' -- after Smith delivers a truly exemplary NietzscheWannabe speech, he asks the beaten Neo why the hell he even bothers to keep fighting. Neo stands and says, "Because I choose to." Cue asskicking, trope subversion as Smith rejuvenates and beats Neo to a pulp again, double subversion as Neo gets up ''again'', [[spoiler:triple subversion as Smith manages to infect Neo, and finally '''''[[ZigZagged quadruple]]''''' subversion as Neo [[HeroicSacrifice uses his defeat]] to provide a link between Smith and the computer that created him, allowing it to simply delete him]].

* The final chapter of the ''[[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa Zelda]]'' manga ''Oracle of Seasons''. After seeing his friend [[spoiler:Pyoko, a Cucco chick who has been his constant companion since the ''very first page'', killed by the BigBad]], Link goes into a berserk rage, complete with a visible aura of blazing flames of wrath.

*** [[RuleOfThree Later still]], Kaido seemingly ''kills'' Luffy due to the [[UnwantedAssistance interference]] of a [[SecretPolice [=CP0=] agent]]. Kaido declares himself the victor to the oppossing forces, but not only Luffy recovers, [[spoiler:Luffy's Devil Fruit [[OneWingedAngel awakens]]]], giving him the upper hand.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy, where the hero owned his [[FutureMeScaresMe evil future self]] by unleashing the Ghostly Wail with the lives of his family and friends as his ultimate gumption.
** A Ghostly Wail that his future self got only prior to the movie starting, makeing it that much more dramatic and badass.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy, where the hero owned his [[FutureMeScaresMe evil future self]] by unleashing the [[MakeMeWannaShout Ghostly Wail]] with the lives of his family and friends as his ultimate gumption.

* A staple for the final battles in the ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' films. After being slapped around and nearly defeated by the foe, Po will attain some sort of enlightenment on his current mental anguish, which gives him calmness and focus to use his skills to the fullest or to come up with an imaginative way of using the skills he already has.

** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': Luke Skywalker's big counter-offensive during his fight against Darth Vader.
** Anakin Skywalker gets his own in the same film. Mustering just enough energy left in him to hoist Palpatine and toss him to his death, at the cost of his life.

* ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'': Physicist Capa is wounded and terrified, but has no choice but to suit up (a process which usually cannot be completed without assistance), make his way to the physics package of his ship, and set it off. Worse, he knows the madman who wounded him is probably already there and must be defeated first. An example of #4 above, since failure to do so will eventually result in [[spoiler:the extinction of the human race.]]

Contrast HopeSpot (when this is subverted). Compare and contrast IAmNotLeftHanded, for when the hero does this before being beaten too severely or is faking the severity of the beating they have taken. If you are looking for [[Administrivia/LaunchDisplacement the original (but unrelated) name of this trope]], see MyNameIsInigoMontoya. In works where there is a TragicVillain or AntiVillain, it is possible for this trope to flip, albeit said villain will likely still fail for any number of reasons and the hero will still be justified in fighting them (with said villain likely [[SelfDisposingVillain taking themself out)]].

** Topping all of the above is the one Pikachu gets in [=JN132=]: after collapsing and falling unconscious, Pikachu sees a vision of every Pokémon Ash has ever owned mentally cheering him on (alongside Ash himself), and proceeds to get up, raring to go. [[spoiler:It's at this point that [[ThemeSongPowerUp "Mezase Pokémon Master"]], the very first anime opening begins playing as Pikachu as it clashses with Leon's Charizard one final time... and emerges victorious, making Ash the World Champion. It is ''THE'' SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Pikachu to end them all.]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'':
** In episode 26, Kazumi takes one hell of a beating during his duel and it looked like he wasn’t going to win his fight, but he somehow managed to turn things around and won against Engine Bros with a Scrap Finish and Twin Finish.
** In episode 40, after being downed by Utsumi's Evoltech Attack and effectively bleeding out, Kazumi manages to pull himself together when Sento starts his rhetoric on how the Kamen Riders fight for love and peace. Kazumi's spur of the moment usage of the Dragon Sclashjelly then allows him to power up properly and give him another Twin Breaker to fight with, and the resulting level up is enough to fight Utsumi as Mad Rogue on equal footing.
** Both Sento and Gentoku in episode 42 strengthen their resolve after getting their butts kicked by Mad Rogue in the last third of the episode, allowing them to turn the table.

* ''Animation/BoBoiBoyTheMovie'': It seems that the cast is about to be defeated, as Bora Ra aims his giant hammer at [=BoBoiBoy=] [[spoiler:while he mourns for Ochobot]] and his other allies also face impending peril. Then Ochobot grants the heroes some [[EleventhHourSuperpower last-minute power upgrades]] to fight back against the Tengkotak.

** ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' also has a direct homage of [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko the classic Lee/Ditko]] of Spidey being defeated and buried in rubble, but managing to summon the strength to free himself out of sheer willpower.

** Luke Skywalker's big counter-offensive in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

** Topping all of the above is the one Pikachu gets in [=JN132=]: after collapsing and falling unconscious, Pikachu sees a vision of every Pokémon Ash has ever owned mentally cheering him on (alongside Ash himself), and proceeds to get up, raring to go. [[spoiler:It's at this point that [[ThemeSongPowerUp "Mezase Pokémon Master"]], the very first anime opening begins playing as Pikachu as it clashses with Leon's Charizard one final time... and emerges victorious, making Ash the World Champion. It is ''THE'' CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Pikachu to end them all.]]

* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': This happens every time Kaladin speaks a new Oath. In [[Literature/TheWayOfKings the first book]] he is in shock from overusing Stormlight, but manages to [[spoiler:run across a bridge, jump a chasm, land in the middle of an enemy army, and take ''their'' Stormlight]]. In [[Literature/WordsOfRadiance the second book]], [[spoiler:he has a bum leg, multiple internal injuries, and a stab in the side. He is facing two men wearing [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] and bearing [[SoulCuttingBlade Shardblades]]. Speaking the Words draws in enough Stormlight to heal his wounds, and Sylphrena is revived [[EquippableAlly as a Shardblade]]]].

* Games that reward players for accepting setbacks with plot points/tokens/whatever which can then in turn be cashed in for (usually temporary) action bonuses or other benefits when needed lend themselves to this trope -- the player character(s) may well endure a beatdown, but in the process harvest enough points to then turn the tables and stage a dramatic comeback. Examples include anything ''UsefulNotes/{{FATE}}''-powered like ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfTheCentury'' or ''TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles'', but also ''[[TabletopGame/{{Mutants And Masterminds}} Mutants & Masterminds]]'' and ''TabletopGame/MarvelHeroicRoleplaying'', and the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/DivineBloodNovels Divine Blood RPG]] .