History Main / HisStoryRepeatsItself

* ''TopGun'': The main character's co-pilot is killed in a freak accident after their plane stalls because they flew through another plane's "jet wash." In the final battle, the same thing happens, with a number of implications played out (Maverick keeps his plane in the air this time, but loses his nerve, and starts to flee before having an Underdog Comeback moment and saving the day).

* ''{{Avatar the Last Airbender}}'': Happened over and over again with Zuko. Most notably was his final showdown with his father where he was about to get burned once more, but instead [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome deflected his father's lightning]]

* Shadow from ''[[SonicTheHedgehog Sonic Adventure 2]]'' is shocked into [[FakeMemories realizing his past]] after Amy Rose coincidentally uses the same phrase that the late Maria Robotnik did, and thus decides that, to make it up to Maria for the damage he's done, he'll stop the [[ColonyDrop Space Colony ARK from hitting the Earth]].
** Though it probably wasn't real, ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' featured a level where Shadow could have the choice to stop the G.U.N. soldiers from killing Maria.

* The ''MetalGearSolid'' series deserves its own section.
** ''MetalGearSolid'': Snake's inability to [[ShootTheDog kill Fox to ensure an easy victory]], because he had learned from his mistakes of killing Fox and Big Boss in ''MetalGear 2''.
** ''MetalGearSolid 2'': Subtle one. Otacon loses his father - and almost his sister - due to a drowning suicide by the former. If he had been there, he would have been able to save them - but he was in his room [[{{Squick}} having sex with his stepmother]] at the time, and therefore didn't respond to his sister's cries for help. At the end of the Tanker chapter, Snake calls for Otacon to save him from drowning. This time Otacon saves him by ''riding a boat out onto the sea in a thunderstorm'' just to pull him out of the water.
** ''MetalGearSolid: Portable Ops'': Big Boss assassinated The Boss, but, when his old friend Python begs for him to finish him off the same way The Boss did, he tries to save him instead.
** ''MetalGearSolid 4'': [[spoiler: Naomi]] dies in similar circumstances to Sniper Wolf (even the music is the same), and Otacon is overwhelmed. However, instead of grieving, he quotes the line ''Snake'' uttered after Wolf's death ("I don't have any tears left to shed"), and shakily gets on with life.

* ''{{Birds of Prey}}'' did it with BlackCanary, recreating her traumatic kidnapping in order to allow her to come out ahead and prove to herself that she was stronger. Or something.

* The ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Obsession", where Captain Kirk couldn't save people from a monster.

* In ''KungFuPanda'', Master Shifu fights a rematch against Tai Lung, his old apprentice-turned-evil, but loses again.

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* ''DevilMayCry'': Dante - who lost his his mother as a child - nearly lost Trish as well, who basically is a demonic clone of her. He lost her again, had a {{Narm}} and [[IGotBetter she got better]].

* In ''{{Hook}}'', Hook gets eaten by the (apparently not dead) crocodile that bit his hand off.

* For some students of the Afterlife High School in ''AngelBeats'', one of the reason you are there is to repeat your life's story, and making the right choice this time around. That, or simply having a good enough time.

* ''DaphneInTheBrilliantBlue'' ends with Maia applying for the Oceans Academy again, like in the first episode (in which she failed)... [[OrIsIt Or Does It]]?

* {{MAG ISA}} -- the entire comic is all about the recurring theme of being alone. Both among the protagonists and antagonists.

* In ''{{James and the Giant Peach}}'', James' parents were killed by a runaway rhinoceros. Sure enough, in the movie version, the rhino reappeared.
* DevilMayCry: Dante - who lost his his mother as a child - nearly lost Trish as well, who basically is a demonic clone of her. He lost her again, had a {{Narm}} and [[IGotBetter she got better]].

[[folder:Unsorted Examples]]
* ''DaphneInTheBrilliantBlue'' ends with Maia applying for the Oceans Academy again, like in the first episode (in which she failed)... [[OrIsIt Or Does It]]?
* For some students of the Afterlife High School in AngelBeats, one of the reason you are there is to repeat your life's story, and making the right choice this time around. That, or simply having a good enough time.
* At the very beginning of ''[[WarchildSeries Warchild]]'', Jos is abducted by pirates and abused by their captain Falcone. He escapes. Much of the rest of the book is spent showing him coping with that experience and the difficulties he has in trusting people because of it. But you know [[BigBad Falcone]] will be showing up again. Sure enough, in the climax, [[spoiler: he captures Jos yet again and repeats the same pattern of abuse. And this time Jos can't even repress the memory. Unusually, Jos isn't able to face his demon or die by them. He's rescued. Not that it stops him from killing Falcone the third time they meet, when it's Falcone who's been captured.]]
* Archer's backstory in ''FateStayNight'' works this way, putting him in his current position at the game's beginning. As a human, Archer [[spoiler: when he was called Shirou]] was unable to save people from a disaster, which eventually led to his making a [[DealWithTheDevil contract with the world]] to prevent the same thing happening in his adulthood.
* In ''BlazeUnion'', Gulcasa loses a number of people important to him through death and betrayal. He blames this on his own personal weakness (although every circumstance was pretty much out of his control) and vows to gain the power that he needs to really protect his loved ones. Three years later, another large-scale conflict starts; whether or not Gulcasa is capable of protecting his allies depends entirely on whether you're playing ''YggdraUnion'' ([[spoiler:he can't]]) or ''YggdraUnison'' ([[spoiler:he does]]).
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* In ''{{Hook}}'', Hook gets eaten by the (apparently not dead) crocodile that bit his hand off.
* ''TopGun'': The main character's co-pilot is killed in a freak accident after their plane stalls because they flew through another plane's "jet wash." In the final battle, the same thing happens, with a number of implications played out (Maverick keeps his plane in the air this time, but loses his nerve, and starts to flee before having an Underdog Comeback moment and saving the day).
* The ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Obsession", where Captain Kirk couldn't save people from a monster.
* ''{{Birds of Prey}}'' did it with BlackCanary, recreating her traumatic kidnapping in order to allow her to come out ahead and prove to herself that she was stronger. Or something.
* ''DaphneInTheBrilliantBlue'' ends with Maia applying for the Oceans Academy again, like in the first episode (in which she failed)... [[OrIsIt Or Does It]]?
* Juri in ''RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' has in her backstory been in a romantic triangle with Shiori and another nameless boy from the duelling club. The boy was interested in her, Juri was in love with Shiori, and but Shiori convinced the boy to go out with her instead. During the Akio Ohtori Arc, Rukia, the former captain of the Duellist club reappear, and starts going out with Shiori, although he's really interested in Juri and is trying to make Juri forget her infatuation with Shiori.

* In ''KungFuPanda'', Master Shifu fights a rematch against Tai Lung, his old apprentice-turned-evil, but loses again.
** You could also say Tai Lung's story repeats itself too--after being denied the Dragon Scroll, he is defeated, paralyzed, and imprisoned; twenty years later he escapes, tries to claim it again, and is again defeated, even when he attempts to use on Po the same move which had defeated him the first time.
** Perhaps more importantly, the parallels between Tai Lung's and Tigress' training, and Shifu's differing reactions.
* For some students of the Afterlife High School in AngelBeats, one of the reason you are there is to repeat your life's story, and making the right choice this time around. That, or simply having a good enough time.
* At the very beginning of ''[[WarchildSeries Warchild]]'', Jos is abducted by pirates and abused by their captain Falcone. He escapes. Much of the rest of the book is spent showing him coping with that experience and the difficulties he has in trusting people because of it. But you know [[BigBad Falcone]] will be showing up again. Sure enough, in the climax, [[spoiler: he captures Jos yet again and repeats the same pattern of abuse. And this time Jos can't even repress the memory. Unusually, Jos isn't able to face his demon or die by them. He's rescued. Not that it stops him from killing Falcone the third time they meet, when it's Falcone who's been captured.]]
* Archer's backstory in ''FateStayNight'' works this way, putting him in his current position at the game's beginning. As a human, Archer [[spoiler: when he was called Shirou]] was unable to save people from a disaster, which eventually led to his making a [[DealWithTheDevil contract with the world]] to prevent the same thing happening in his adulthood.
* This is often used in ''HighlanderTheSeries''. In the past an Immortal enemy killed someone Duncan cared about. In the present Duncan must face him again and this time stop him from killing Duncan's friends and/or lover.

* {{MAG ISA}} -- the entire comic is all about the recurring theme of being alone. Both among the protagonists and antagonists. [[http://www.drunkduck.com/MAG_ISA/index.php?p=307233 1]] [[http://www.drunkduck.com/MAG_ISA/index.php?p=609087 2]]

* In ''James and the Giant Peach'', James' parents were killed by a runaway rhinoceros. Sure enough, in the movie version, the rhino reappeared.
* DevilMayCry: Dante who lost his his mother as a child nearly lost Trish as well, who basically is a demonic clone of her. He lost her again, had a {{Narm}} and [[IGotBetter she got better]].
* In ''Hook'', Hook gets eaten by the (apparently not dead) crocodile that bit his hand off.

* The ''Star Trek'' episode "Obsession", where Captain Kirk couldn't save people from a monster.
* ''[[TheDCU Birds of Prey]]'' did it with Black Canary, recreating her traumatic kidnapping in order to allow her to come out ahead and prove to herself that she was stronger. Or something.

* In ''Kung Fu Panda'', Master Shifu fights a rematch against Tai Lung, his old apprentice-turned-evil, but loses again.

** Perhaps more importantly, the parralels between Tai Lung's and Tigress' training, and Shifu's differing reactions.

* "{{Avatar the last Airbender}}": Happened over and over again with Zuko. Most notably was his final showdown with his father where he was about to get burned once more, but instead [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome deflects his father's lightning]]

Compare with {{Bookends}}.