History Main / HeroicSecondWind

* In chapter 17 of ''Fanfic/AceCombatTheEquestrianWar'', Fluttershy fights against [[TheBrute Night Raven]] and puts up a fair fight, before the griffon calls for Axe to immobilize Fluttershy. After a brutal beatdown, Night Raven reveals to Fluttershy that [[spoiler: he killed her friend, Blueberry]] earlier and how much he [[BloodKnight loves fighting]]. Before he gets a chance to finish Fluttershy off, [[spoiler: she is able to free herself and flies into UnstoppableRage, ultimately defeating Night Raven]].
* During the FinalBattle of the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeriesChaosVerse'', the BigBad [[spoiler: Nightmare Phobia]] has managed to overwhelm Discord and Fluttercruel, and is on the verge of victory. Fluttercruel is about to hit the DespairEventHorizon when she finds the letter Discord wrote for [[spoiler: the Princesses]] and entrusted to her... and which [[CrazyPrepared he knew she'd read]]. The message gives Fluttercruel the hope to keep fighting.

* At the end of ''Fanfic/UntilTheEndOfTime'', Goku is badly battered and nearly defeated by Adolf Hitler ([[CrackFic who had become a Super Saiyan]]), but then, due to ThePowerOfLove, suddenly becomes a [[AssPull "Super Ultra Power Saiyan"]] and destroys Hitler in the blink of an eye.
* In ''Fanfic/TheNorseHeroFenrir'', [[spoiler:just as All For One overwhelms Izuku in their fight with each other, All Might steps in to save Izuku. When All For One sucker punches All Might, it had given Izuku the brief respite enough to rejoin the fight and ultimately defeat him.]]
* ''Fanfic/BoldoresandBoomsticks'':
** Lux was stunned and drowning after a Sea Feilong tried to drown him by holding him underwater in its mouth, but his rage that it might have killed Yang lets him evolve and his stronger fire moves boiled the water and forced it to surface.
** Mal refuses to loose his first battle to Guzma's Scizor, who has a pincer clamped tight around his waist. It lets him evolve into Torracat and defeat Scizor before Guzma's next Pokémon takes him out.

** In the ExpansionPack for ''Bloodborne'', you'll come across a boss fight against Ludwig the Accursed, a noble [[HunterOfMonsters Hunter]] of the Healing Church now transformed into a feral, grotesque, horse-like AnimalisticAbomination. After his health depletes, he is seemingly defeated... only for the sight of his trusty WeaponOfChoice -- now glowing -- to spur him back into action with [[DyingAsYourself renewed sanity]].

* Common in ''Series/RetroGameMaster'', sometimes Arino has to take a break after struggling with a DifficultySpike and let assistants to carry him to the last death point. He will usually wear an anti-fever cooling pad on his forehead for the rest of the episode, after which he plays much better.

** ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Kouji Kabuto did this as soon as the second episode. [[FallingIntoTheCockpit He barely know how piloting his mecha]] and he was being soundly beaten by two mechas. Finally, he got knocked out and [[{{Robeast}} Mechanical Beast]] Doublas M2 proceeded to torch Mazinger with him inside. However, as he was unconscious, he saw or believed seeing his grandfather's spirit reminding him because he was fighting and what were the consequences of being defeated. Kouji came around, got up and started to trash both Mechanical Beasts using Mazinger's weapons.
** ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Shinji performs several comebacks but they are all due to his EVA going berserker in ways are more terrifying than awesome. And when Asuka tries the same thing it is subverted in the most mean-spirited way possible.

--->'''Rossiu''': It's bad, but it'll take a lot more then this to finish them!

* Pretty much every major fight in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' series features this one eventually. Probably the biggest example though is when Frieza is in the middle of drowning Goku, who has sudden visions of what will happen to his friends and family if he loses. Cue ass-whooping. Lampshaded by Freiza himself who calls Goku a "zombie" after one last second wind.

* A staple of every major fight in ''Manga/FairyTail'' is for Natsu to either get a special magic power boost or invoke friendship power after being trashed by the villain he's been working up to all arc. This is subverted in the tournament arc where he and Gajeel wipe the floor with Sting and Rogue, two former fans of theirs who have dreamed of surpassing them all their lives. The chapter ends with Sting and Rogue unsteadily getting back up, Sting declaring he needs to win for the sake of one of his companions, and both of them revealing they can enter ''Fairy Tail's'' equivalent of Super Saiyan mode.
* Kim Kapwhan in ''VideoGame/FatalFury'': The Motion Picture gets his rear handed to him until he hears the voice of his son cheering him on, upon which he curb stomps his opponent, taekwondo style.

* The final chapter of the ''[[Manga/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' manga ''Oracle of Seasons''. After seeing his friend[[spoiler: Pyoko, a cuccoo chick who has been his constant companion since the VERY FIRST PAGE, killed by the big bad]], Link goes into a berserk rage, complete with a visible aura of blazing flames of wrath.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': During the fight with [[spoiler:All For One]] All Might has exhausted his powers to the point of revealing his true emaciated form to the general public ''and'' has just entered a HeroicBSOD because of TheReveal that [[spoiler:All For One's protege, Shigaraki, is actually the grandson of All Might's beloved mentor]]... until he hears a nearby civilian, trapped in rubble, calling for help. This snaps him out of it, and he powers up his arm for an attack, preparing to kick some major supervillain ass while delivering a short but awesome ShutUpHannibal speech.

* 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 ''TabletopGame/{{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]] .

** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Kylo Ren has Rey dead to rights, backed up to a cliff, and chooses that moment to offer her training in the Force. This reminds Rey that she is Force-sensitive, and she taps into it to defeat him.

* ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', Act V, Scene II: "Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane!" spoken while a) stabbed (twice!), b) dying of poison, c) emotionally distraught at the deaths of ... [[KillEmAll well, everyone]].

* This happens with [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] a lot, due to the fact that both his strength and his rate of recovery speed up the more he's angered. When he's down and seemingly out for the count he'll usually get mad enough to get his second wind. In the 2008 movie, he has a few just from seeing Betty Ross in danger (or apparent danger).
* Played so straight it became the ultimate example in ''Marvel Two in One Annual'' #7. A Cosmically-powered warrior called simply "The Champion" beams the strongest heroes of earth up to his ship [[CombatByChampion to Box with him]]. The fate of the Earth is at stake naturally. The Thing is the last hero into the ring (the others being mopped-up in short order by a bored champion or not really understanding Boxing, and thus being "disqualified" and punted back to wherever they were yanked from -- there's an absolutely classic moment where Thor pops up, thoroughly confused, wearing boxing gloves and trunks... ''and his winged helmet and cape''. Of course, since Norse gods don't box much, he proceeds to wing Mjolnir at the Champion and gets kicked out). The Thing gives a good account of himself before being savagely beaten down. He gets back up and attacks again, managing to injure the Champion before being beaten to an utter pulp. He gets up and manages to land a few more blows before being beaten through the floor. As the Champion goes into his spiel about the fate of the Earth, the Thing drags himself up and grabs him by the ankles (weakly). At which point the Champion declares "I could break your body, but I could never destroy your spirit" and leaves for other planets and other challenges. The story is based on a story in which Daredevil takes on the Hulk, which is itself based on a much earlier story involving Daredevil against the Sub-mariner.

* In ''Film/Godzilla2014'', Godzilla manages to gather enough strength to get back up on his feet after suffering many severe injuries from a terribly long battle and being crushed by a skyscraper.

** The anime adds a truly epic example, as during Marineford Akianu using his MagmaMan powers is able to bring Yonko Whitebeard down to his knee, Akainu smirks in satisfaction. Then Whitebeard has flashbacks of Ace [[spoiler: whom Akainu has killed]] causing Whitebeard to suddenly reach out and grab Akainu (who has an excellent OhCrap look on his face) and [[NeckLift lifts him]] (while still burning) before subjecting him to a CurbStompBattle so brutal it breaks Marineford around them.
** In the Land of Wano Arc, Luffy is seemingly defeated in his rematch against Kaido due to the interference of a [=CP0=] agent. Kiado declares himself the victor to the oppossing forces, but not only Luffy recovers, Luffy's Devil Fruit awakens, giving him the upper hand.

* Subverted in ''Manga/OnePunchMan''. [[{{Muggle}} Licenseless Rider]] tries to fight the Sea King, who lays him out with a single attack. Licenseless Rider gets back on his feet and delivers a dramatic speech, complete with cheers from the audience, only for the Sea King to sigh and punch him again, this time knocking him out. Sort of signalled beforehand, because Licenseless Rider's "dramatic speech" is more of an explanation that he ''knows'' he hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell of doing anything of note, but [[DoomedMoralVictor as a superhero, he has to do]] ''[[DoomedMoralVictor something]]''. Even Saitama (who only arrives on time because Licenseless Rider distracted the Sea King) is impressed by his resolve.
** Played straight with the S-class hero Metal Bat, who gets stronger and faster the more damage he suffers. When fighting [[spoiler:[[BigBad Garou]]]], Metal Bat is being curbstompted at first and [[spoiler:Garou]] considers him no threat at all... until suddenly Metal Bat is fast enough to hit him. When asked how he can do this, Metal Bat says it's just "fightin' spirit."

* In ''Webcomic/WeakHero'', Wolf triggers Gray's BerserkButton after beating him down, but beats him down again in the ensuing fight. The onlooking Eugene and Rowan are convinced that not even Gray can recover from it. Then Gray leaps out of the dust with a container he uses to [[CombatPragmatist hit the pressure point in Wolf's foot]]. From that point on, the fight is his.

* In ''The Row'', Riley Cole is being held at knifepoint by the serial killer who has been tormenting and killing members of her new sorority because he blames the sorority for his older sister's suicide, as she literally burnt herself to death after a hazing ritual. When Riley's father tries to talk the man down by explaining how Riley's mother killed herself because she regretted that incident to, the killer reveals that actually ''he'' was the one who killed Riley's mother, giving Riley the strength to grab his knife in her hand and force it away long enough for her to get away so that her father can shoot the killer.

* In ''Film/{{Pixels}}'', Sam is close to giving up during the Donkey Kong sequence, as there's no pattern in Kong's actions, he has no idea how to win and the last time he played the game, he lost miserably. Matty's revelation that [[spoiler:Eddie was cheating during the Championship and Sam ''is'' the world master of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'']] gets him back on his feet.

** Elaborated further in the extended version. Sephiroth impales Cloud through the chest in mid-air, grows a wing, throws him high into the air, flies after him and pokes holes in him and finally throws him to the ground, bleeding and barely able to get back on his feet. Sephiroth remains aloft and speaks the above line while making a godlike dramatic pose in the air before swooping down for the kill. Cloud has the flashback, but it ends up with his zoning out to get a prep speech from his dead friend Zack. When he comes back, Sephiroth is still just about to descend onto him. Cue even bigger Omnislash. To clarify, Complete has Cloud use Omnislash only for Sephiroth to block the attack and turn it against him, so he has to come up with a [[UpToEleven completely new "Version 6"]] to beat him. The 6 just signifies that it was the 6th version designed for potential use in the movie, but it's still impressive.

** ''ComicBook/RenewYourVows'': Regent threatening Annie gives a beaten Spidey the extra motivation he needs to break out of Regent's power-absorbing chamber. No other super hero was able to break out of them until he did.

* ''Anime/InazumaEleven'' anime uses this a lot, especially the second season where they're fighting aliens. Basically, the heroes are overwhelmed by everything the bad guys have. But with a bit of PowerOfFriendship, they suddenly [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands gain new techniques]], dribble across a field full of overpowered opponents within a minute, and score a tieing or winning goal.

* In ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'', Godzilla manages to gather enough strength to get back up on his feet after suffering many severe injuries from a terribly long battle and being crushed by a skyscraper.

* ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'' has Bowser himself do a minor one against the end boss: [[spoiler:Barely resisting being blown away, Bowser is given a YouAreNotAlone speech by [[ExpositionFairy Starlow]], who tells him that Mario & Luigi are cheering him on from inside his body. Of course, he doesn't hear it and regains footing by himself, [[ArsonMurderAndAdmiration complimenting]] [[EvilCounterpart Dark Bowser]] on the use of the AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield]] and declares:

* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 3'', when you reach zero health, if you have a bottle of painkillers, you enter Last Man Standing mode: kill the man that just killed you to be the last man standing. If you succeed, Max recovers health as if he had just taken the painkillers normally, and can stand up and continue fighting. This can be ''weaponized'': enemies with armor normally take multiple hits to the armor to kill, but Last Man Standing is ''guaranteed'' to kill them[[note]]with two exceptions: there are two heavy machine gunners in the game that are wearing very strong armor, and can't be killed by a Last Man Standing attack, though it does stagger them significantly and makes them ''easier'' to kill[[/note]].

* In ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones'' Episode 3, you have the choice to literally get a second wind and stand up. You are encountered by Gryff Whitehill who at one point continuously throws your crippled self into the dirt, you have the choice to stand up every time he does it and at the end, if you stand up he basically shits his pants and runs off like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

* In ''TabletopGames/ResidentEvilTheBoardGame'' , both Advanced Leon and Jill are capable of automatically reviving themselves the first time they go unconcious during a scenario.

* ''Manga/SuperGals'': "Fall down seven times, get up eight times." One of the "Iron-clad rules" for Gals.

* In the 1986 animated ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'', when Optimus Prime is lying like a crumpled wreck at Megatron's feet, and Megatron gloats "It's over, Prime." (Prime's response? '''''"NEVER!"''''', co-delivered with a two-handed haymaker. He was still badly injured afterward, though.)

* In ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}'''s climactic battle, Frank Dux has the upper hand, so the deceitful Chong Li throws poweder in his eyes and blinds him. Though initially incapacitated and completely unable to hit Chong Li, a flashback involving his friends and old master reminds him why he is fighting, and after calming his mind, he recalls his blind fighting training. He then receives a ThemeMusicPowerUp and defeats Chong Li soundly.

* ''Fanfic/BoldoresandBoomsticks'': Mal refuses to loose his first battle to Guzma's Scizor, who has a pincer clamped tight around his waist. It lets him evolve into Torracat and defeat Scizor before Guzma's next Pokémon takes him out.

* Noticeably averted in ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' and ''Film/{{Ultraviolet}}'', where the hero kills the Big Bad without breaking a sweat, and the only concession to show that the Big Bad is a credible threat is that he doesn't die instantly, unlike everyone else that came before. In the commentary for ''Equilibrium''. the director even mentions this trope and states he thinks it's stupid and unnecessary for the hero to lose to the Big Bad in round 1 because the audience already knows the hero is going to win anyway.