History Main / HistoryRepeats

* ''WebVideo/LifeSMP'': On Day 5 on the third season, [[spoiler:Jimmy]] becomes the first to be KilledOffForReal on the server. Since his character was the first to permanently die during the prior two seasons as well, this is naturally lampshaded by everyone, including his content creator counterpart in the episode it happened. Six minutes into the ''fourth'' season, Grian [[DiscussedTrope makes a bet]] that the character in question will be the first to (permanently) die in ''this'' season as well. And sure enough, this eventually comes to pass on Day 7. The fifth season ends with [[spoiler:BreakingOldTrends, with Jimmy being the ''second'' to be KilledOffForReal instead at the end of Day 6]].

* ''Series/PowerRangersRPM''began with a [[spoiler: ChildProdigy (Doctor K) creating]] [[AIIsACrapshoot a sentient computer virus]] that destroyed almost 80% of the human population. Come ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'' episode "The Source Code", when another scientist (Nate Silva) tampered with Ranger technology with Morph-X and animal DNA. The real kicker? Said scientist used ''snake'' DNA plus Morph-X on a Cell Shift Morpher, the end result creating [[BigBad Evox]]. [[spoiler: Want another kicker? The [[WhamEpisode aforementioned episode]] reveals that Evox is in fact, '''Venjix!''' And that Cell Shift Morpher that Nate experimented on, he had no idea that Venjix was dormant at the time[[note]]as shown in the season finale of ''RPM''[[/note]], and his actions caused him to be reborn as Evox]].

** The plot of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' hinges on the military attempting to mold Raiden into a successor to Solid Snake, just like Snake was for Big Boss. This eventually leads to TheReveal that Raiden's mission on the Big Shell is actually [[spoiler:an elaborate recreation of [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid the Shadow Moses Incident]] staged by the Patriots to force Raiden to relive the major events of Snake's life, making it more likely that he would turn out just like him]]. Appropriately, the game ends with Raiden turning his back on the military after discovering that his superiors lied to him and treated him as a pawn--just like Snake and Big Boss before him.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', a {{prequel}} where the player takes on the role of a young Big Boss, takes the intergenerational theme a step further. It turns out that Big Boss turned his back on the military after his own mentor "The Boss" was betrayed by her superiors, who framed her for treason and forced her to [[TheScapegoat take the fall]] for a nuclear attack. Big Boss' discovery of this fact, which leads to his disillusionment with the military, foreshadows Snake's own disillusionment with the military after learning Big Boss' full story. For bonus points, we also learn that Snake inherited his code name from Big Boss: he was previously known as "Naked Snake" before rechristening himself.
** Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich is first introduced in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' as the Chief Engineer of Metal Gear REX, having been duped by the military into believing that REX is a purely defensive safeguard against nuclear warheads. Upon learning that it's actually a nuclear-armed battle tank, he's absolutely ''devastated''--since he's spent his entire life haunted by the fact that his own grandfather worked on the Manhattan Project, and he swore to use his scientific skills to help mankind because he was determined '''not''' to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', his stepsister Emma "E.E." Emmerich is similarly placed in charge of the AI system of Arsenal Gear, yet another incarnation of Metal Gear. And as we learn in the {{prequel}}s, Otacon's father Huey Emmerich was designing nuclear-armed superweapons long before he was: he helped develop REX's precursors Peace Walker, Metal Gear ZEKE, and Metal Gear Sahelanthropus. He lampshades this shortly after his introduction:

** As we learn in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', much of the series' plot was kicked off by the US military secretly cloning in-universe LivingLegend Big Boss to ensure that his knowledge and skills wouldn't be lost after his death. Saddled with the task of upholding his legacy, his "sons" end up retracing many of his steps of his life: Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake both hatch terrorist plots against the US government that mirror [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the original Outer Heaven uprising]], Solidus Snake coincidentally loses an eye just like his "father" did, and series protagonist Solid Snake turns his back on the military after discovering that his superiors lied to him and treated him as a pawn--mirroring Big Boss' original StartOfDarkness.
** The plot of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' hinges on the military attempting to mold Raiden into a successor to Solid Snake, just like Snake was for Big Boss. This eventually leads to TheReveal that Raiden's mission on the Big Shell was actually [[spoiler:an elaborate recreation of [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid the Shadow Moses Incident]] staged by the Patriots to force Raiden to relive the major events of Snake's life, making it more likely that he would turn out just like him]]. Appropriately, the game ends with Raiden turning his back on the military after discovering that his superiors lied to him and treated him as a pawn--just like Snake and Big Boss before him.

* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' games focus heavily on the enduring legacy of in-universe LivingLegend Big Boss by showing how his "sons" (actually his clones) end up retracing most of the major steps of his life: Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake both hatch terrorist plots against the US government that mirror the original Outer Heaven uprising, Solidus Snake coincidentally loses an eye just like his "father" did, and series protagonist Solid Snake turns his back on the military after discovering that he was betrayed by his superiors and treated as a pawn--mirroring Big Boss' original StartOfDarkness. Appropriately enough, the {{prequel}} ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' (in which the player takes on the role of Big Boss) reveals that Big Boss originally turned his back on the military after his own mentor "The Boss" was similarly betrayed by her superiors, who framed her for treason and forced her to [[TheScapegoat take the fall]] for a nuclear attack; Big Boss' discovery of this fact, which leads to his disillusionment with the military, foreshadows Solid Snake's own disillusionment with the military after learning Big Boss' full story.

** The DistantFinale of the final episode shows that one-thousand years after the events of the show, long after Ooo as we known it has disappeared, another adventurous duo will appear to

** ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'': In the [[VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon previous game]], following his release from prison, Kasuga found himself up a creek without a paddle, jobless (on account of the Tojo Clan's apparent disappearance) and homeless in Yokohama. In this game, Kasuga once again finds his life upended when internet slander costs him and his friends their jobs and they find themselves, once again, at rock bottom. The one silver lining this time around is that Kasuga at least has his own home in a cramped apartment, but aside from that, he's forced to rebuild his life from scratch.

** The DistantFinale of the final episode shows that one-thousand years after the events of the show, long after Ooo as we known it has disappeared, another adventurous duo will appear to take up the mantle of Finn and Jake, because ''[[MeaningfulEcho the fun will never end]]''.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': "Inqueling" is similar to "Ascension" because each episode features a villain being double-crossed by their own offspring; said offspring justifying this by how the villain treated them; and Batman telling the offspring not to be sure [[NeverFoundTheBody the villain is really dead]]. "Ascension" features Paxton Powers betraying his father Derek to become the new [=CEO=] of Wayne-Powers and "Inqueling" features Deanna killing her mother Inque to steal her money. [[spoiler:Inque survives but it's not known what happens to Deanna as a consequence of this.]]
* A rather serious version of this is revealed in the ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'' episode "Family Legacy"; every generation, the Greens' farmhouse faces some sort of disaster or faulty that results in it about to be sold, demolished, etc. To stop this, the kids have to convince their adult guardians to not give up on the place. They then place a key artifact into a suitcase buried in the backyard for their future members to find and gain hope to keep the farm's legacy alive. This becomes a major plot point in "Chipocalypse Now", where all of Elkins Street is being demolished by Chip Whistler and the Greens have to fight for what's right once more before they lose their legacy forever.
* ''WesternAnimation/CartoonPlanet''[='=]s original '90s incarnation was cancelled after 22 episodes. A modern version of ''Cartoon Planet'' was brought back early in the year of what would be Cartoon Network's [[MilestoneCelebration 20th anniversary]], only to once again be removed from the schedule after 22 episodes. However, it came back a month afterward, just in time for the actual month of the anniversary, and ran for another two years with a total of 124 episodes.
* As pointed out on the Fridge page of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory: WesternAnimation/EgoTrip'', the four Dexters are an excellent case of "those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it" ''in one person''. None of the older Dexters will ever remember that [[spoiler:Dee Dee]] was actually the one to save the world because their egos will not let them remember that, and will ''insist'' that they were the ones to save the world, thus dooming themselves into repeating the actions they did in the movie. The 'main' Dexter is excused because this is his first time experiencing it, and technically the oldest one can be excused on the grounds of [[ScatterbrainedSenior senility]].
* In 2004, Creator/CartoonNetwork premiered ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'', an animated show about a FreudianTrio commanding a HumongousMecha to protect the city they lived in from alien invaders. While it received positive reception, it was ultimately canceled after a little over 20 episodes and barely made a profit, with Cartoon Network then writing it off (meaning that they're no longer able to legally air it in any format outside of Video). Roughly five years later, the channel started airing ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'', another show where a FreudianTrio uses a giant robot to protect the city they live in from alien invaders...and while it also received acclaim, after it aired a little over twenty episodes, CN proceeded to screw it over in the exact same way they screwed over ''Megas''.
* This trope is a central theme of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', with the ArcWords of the first season being "This has all happened before." It's revealed that the current Mystery Incorporated are just the latest in a long line of mystery-solvers with an animal mascot, and every single one of their predecessors was driven mad by the ArtifactOfDoom that they're hunting.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Something You Can Do With Your Finger," Stan gets a nasty reaction from his father Randy when he and his friends decide to start a boy band, and Randy opposes it vehemently throughout the whole episode. It turns out Randy was afraid that this trope would happen--he has previously been in a boy band, and while they enjoyed success at first, his life, and those of his bandmates', spiraled into total despair when the fad for them had passed. Luckily, Stan and the others bailed out before anything bad could happen.
* The episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' that explained ComicBook/TheKingpin's StartOfDarkness showed how young Willie took the heat for his father's crimes, and, after amassing enough resources to become a powerful crime boss, killed his father out of vengeance. At the end of the episode, Wilson's own son takes the fall for his father's crimes, leaving him to wonder if history will repeat.
* The ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' Season 1 finale "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E10NoSmallParts No Small Parts]]" has the Cerritos crew deal with the same problems prior Starfleet crews have dealt with in the past -- [[Recap/StarTrekS1E21TheReturnOfTheArchons the Landru computer]] had once again taken control over Beta III, and [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E17SamaritanSnare the Pakleds]] have stolen even more dangerous technology than before. As Mariner pointed out, [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot none of this would have happened if Starfleet didn't just move on from their observations without occasionally checking back in on the cultures they helped]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'': When Adamai is horrified by Qilby's plan [[spoiler:to drain the World of Twelve of its wakfu to power up the Zinit for another trip to the cosmos]], Qilby is not surprised. He claims that Adamai and Yugo have not changed since their previous incarnations. As much as he wishes things would be different this time, his long immortal existence has taught him that history repeats endlessly.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]] just never learned from UsefulNotes/{{Napoleon|Bonaparte}}'s mistakes when he tried to conquer Russia. The Nazis ended up meeting the same outcome of this attempted invasion as did Napoleon's army.
** Before Napoleon, there was [[UsefulNotes/CarolusRex Charles XII of Sweden]]. Starting a land war in Russia is only a good idea if you can keep the supplies flowing, and every time the Russians defeated the invaders by doing the same thing: Salting the fields, torching the harvest, and retreating until the invading army outran their supply lines, which was invariably hastened by the coming of winter.
** Contrary to popular belief, invasions of Russia haven't always been unsuccessful; the Mongols conquered the first Russian state, and the Poles briefly ruled the country, taking advantage of a leadership vacuum, during the Time of Troubles. Similarly, Japan decisively beat Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 and Germany was able to impose humiliating terms in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
** The 1941 German invasion was also more of a mixed bag compared to Napoleon's one; the Soviets knew they could not simply retreat from their western provinces because of the industries that had been developed in those territories during the intervening years, and fought the Nazis continuously in an attempt to slow them down. The winter ironically ''helped'' the Germans because panzers are more maneuverable over frozen lands than muddy ones. The resulting stalemate by the end of the year meant the war would inevitably drag on for several more before the Russians could fully repel the invaders.
** Contrary to popular belief, the worst thing for logistics in Russia actually isn't winter (when most roads are frozen solid and passable for tracked vehicles or all-terrain trucks) but "Rasputitsya" or "mud season" during spring and autumn when all roads turn to, well, mud, making them virtually impassable.
** Hitler also ''hoped'' for history to repeat itself when Berlin was besieged by the Red Army. In 1762, Frederick the Great was saved from total defeat when the Russian Empress Elizabeth suddenly died and the invading coalition collapsed, giving him the edge for victory. On April 12, 1945, President [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt Roosevelt]] died and Hitler raised the hope that the invading Allies would soon collapse. Unfortunately for him, the Allied advance did not stop for one moment, and on April 30, he killed himself in his bunker.
* In 1871, after a crushing defeat at Sedan and a siege of Paris, [[UsefulNotes/FrancoPrussianWar France lost a war to Prussia]] in a [[CurbstompBattle short and one sided conflict]] that surprised outside observers who expected a long and protracted conflict. In 1940, the same situation would play out, right down to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sedan_(1940) Sedan becoming a battleground]], during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII when Nazi Germany overran France in a surprise victory.
* UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust serves as a staunch reminder that if we don't learn from tragedies like this one, history will be doomed to repeat itself. [[http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-korea-atrocities-strikingly-similar-to-nazi-era-un-says-1.2540021 Unfortunately, nobody seems to have seen fit to tell that to the DPRK]] (though it's probably because North Korea has nuclear weapons and is backed by China, and any attempt to rectify the situation could start WorldWarIII).
* Roughly forty years prior to UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany waged a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herero_and_Namaqua_genocide genocide against the Herero and Namaqua people]] of what is now UsefulNotes/{{Namibia}} that carried some disturbing similarities to the Nazi era killings. Both genocides were framed as an explicitly racial struggle, featured the usage of concentration camps, and inflicted deadly medical experiments on the victims. There exists debate as to what degree the killings of the Herero and Namaqua influenced Nazi treatment of those it deemed racially inferior.
* In 1904, Japan started [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar a war with Russia]] by launching a surprise attack on Russia's naval facilities in Port Arthur (now Dalian), without issuing a declaration of war. Almost forty years later, [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Japan would attack the naval base at Pearl Harbor without issuing a declaration of war first]]. Notably, however, the second part of the story, in which Japan fought a world power to a standstill, would ''[[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki not]]'' repeat.
* The UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar would also mirror the outcome of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI for Russia: in both cases Russia would go to war with a rising regional power on their home continents (Asia for Japan and Europe for Germany). The wars waged would feature harsh trench warfare and shocking military defeats for Russia, crippling its ability to continue. In both cases Russia would suffer violent revolutions (the second time around [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober deposing the government successfully]]) and would be handed humiliating peace treaties. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Both wars also started in a year that ended in the number four.]]
* A ''[[RuleOfThree trifecta]]'' related to UsefulNotes/{{Afghanistan}}:
** In 1979, [[UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan]], propping up its own officially installed government against a host of Islamic guerillas. After years of fighting unsuccessfully in the countryside, the Soviets conducted a withdrawal that was attacked by the mujahideen. The Soviet-aligned Afghan government crumbled without the support of its main backer and most of Afghanistan would become ruled by the Islamic fundamentalist group known as the Taliban. In 2001, [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror the United States invaded Afghanistan]], propping up its own government against a host of Islamic guerillas. After years of fighting unsuccessfully in the countryside, America conducted a withdrawal that was attacked by ISIS. The American-aligned Afghan government crumbled without the support of its main backer and most of Afghanistan would become ruled by the Taliban.
** Following the French defeat in Vietnam, America [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar would later intervene]] in the war torn nation. American involvement started out relatively small, but grew over time, becoming bogged down fighting a guerrilla war, pockmarked by scandals, and faced increasing opposition to continued engagement back on the home front. America would largely withdraw from the conflict after fighting for nearly 20 years, leading to the South Vietnamese government to be routed by North Vietnam and the hasty evacuation of Saigon. Following the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan, America would later intervene in the war-torn nation. [[HereWeGoAgain Second verse, same as the first]] ensued, ending roughly the same way when the Taliban routed the Afghan government and Kabul was messily evacuated.
** The First Anglo-Afghan War would begin and end largely the same way as the American-led war over a century and a half later; the standing government of Afghanistan would be deposed by the Western superpower of the era and the Western occupiers would face an insurgency that led to anti-war backlash and criticism at home. In both cases the occupying country would make a disorganized retreat from Kabul and [[ShootTheShaggyDog the original government of Afghanistan would be restored to power]].
* UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar would also have its own echoes in history:
** The most obvious and parallel to the US-led war would be the war immediately prior to it led by the French in an effort to maintain its colonial empire. Like the later war by the US, the French were steadily worn down through guerrilla warfare, poor morale, and inconsistent strategy made worse by unclear goals on their part, all of which would lead to a humiliating loss in both cases. The war was consumed by scandals and controversies, and led to political turmoil at home due to a sizable antiwar movement. Specific incidents like the My Trach Massacre and the leak of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generals%27_affair Revers Report]] would also be mirrored by events like the My Lai Massacre and the leaking of the Pentagon Papers.
** The French would fall victim to the same pattern almost immediately after their war in Vietnam had concluded when they fought in UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}} against guerrillas fighting for independence. Nearly the exact same controversies and problems that plagued their efforts in Vietnam would be repeated and as a result the outcome was nearly identical: a total defeat and hasty withdrawal.
* In 1971, Milton Obote, having been President of UsefulNotes/{{Uganda}} for five years, would be deposed in a coup led by a military officer named UsefulNotes/IdiAmin. Amin was overthrown ten years later, paving the way for [[FullCircleRevolution Obote to reclaim power]]. Obote would be overthrown ''again'', and similar to the first time it would occur after five years in office and would be led by a military officer.
* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush would follow in his father UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush's footsteps by building an international coalition and amassing a massive invasion force to attack Saddam ruled Iraq in the third year of his first term. This is where the similarities end however, as the UsefulNotes/GulfWar turned out the exact opposite way as the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Iraq War]] would.
* The UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STEM_School_Highlands_Ranch_shooting STEM school shooting]] carried parallels in that both attacks featured a pair of gunmen instead of lone attackers, in both cases the perpetrators would claim (however dubiously) revenge for bullying was a factor, the attacks took place barely over 20 years apart, and the locations of the shootings are less then ten miles apart from each other.
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_riots Watts Riots]] occurred in Los Angeles after an African-American motorist out on parole for robbery was pulled over for speeding and was subsequently the victim of PoliceBrutality. 27 years later, the exact same scene would play out, causing the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots Rodney King riots]].
* Some historical and philosophical schools follow this line of thought, in contrast to those stating the case for some form of progress.
** Giambattista Vico argued that human history moves through cycles flowing from a Theocratic Age (where religion is an active presence in society and politics) to an Aristocratic Age (where kingdoms are an active presence in society and politics) to a Democratic Age, before returning back to Chaos. He noted that the main reason history repeats is because people refuse to consider how different the past is from the present, unironically accepting Roman civilization as an inspiration while ignoring all its flaws and defects.
** The other school of thought that came in the 20th Century is the "longue durée" and the overlapping but separate discipline of structuralism which argues that history is not actually made by "great men" and great events but underlying structures and environmental factors. History seems to repeat when we focus on individual cycles of Kings and Wars because the structures in which they operate only allow a few set of scenarios to play out. Real non-repeating history happens when that structure is changed and altered forcefully.
** The school of traditionalism states the same as they adopt the cyclical view of Hinduism. Sometimes, this is seen as a form of war of forces behind the scenes and all possible Ages are basically one side of this war gaining the upper hand.
* In a strange way, all six of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII's wives fall into this category:
** '''Divorced:''' UsefulNotes/CatherineOfAragon and Anne of Cleves, the two wives that Henry divorced, were the only two wives who had titles of their own anyway, and both eventually died of cancer. Also, they lived to the oldest ages out of the six; Catherine was 50, and Anne was 41 when they died. Making the similarity even more bizarre, both spent the final years of their lives with Henry classifying them as sisters of a sort; Catherine had been married to Henry's brother Arthur before Arthur's death, so Henry classified her as his widowed sister-in-law, and Anne was treated as an honorary sister due to the agreement she had made with Henry when the marriage was dissolved (though the latter lived out her days in better conditions due to her acceptance of the separation).
** '''Beheaded:''' UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn and Catherine Howard were cousins who both lost their lives on adultery and treason charges.
** '''Died/Survived:''' UsefulNotes/{{Jane Seymour|Royalty}} and UsefulNotes/CatherineParr, respectively. Jane was Queen for over a year before she died from puerperal fever, and Catherine only survived Henry for over a year before she too died from the same fever. It's even stranger when you realise that their children did not live to adulthood; Edward VI died in his teens, and it is generally agreed that Mary Seymour did not live past the age of two.
* In 1972, Benjamin Bradlee was the editor-in-chief of ''The Washington Post'', and oversaw the investigative reporting by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein into the Watergate burglary, triggering the biggest scandal in American history. Thirty years later, his son, Ben Bradlee Jr., was an editor at ''The Boston Globe'' and oversaw the investigation into another major American scandal: that of sexual abuse by the Catholic Church. Both stories got Oscar-winning film adaptations, too: Watergate got ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen'', and the Catholic sex abuse scandal got ''Film/{{Spotlight}}''.
* The page quote is from Marx' work "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon", which invokes this trope in the description of the coup d'etát of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (later Emperor Napoléon III) against the weak and unpopular French Second Republic.
** To clarify: The French had a revolution, overthrew their monarchy, and declared a republic. They then allowed Napoleon to take over, and he declared himself Emperor. Napoleon ruled France for well over a decade, before the Prussians invaded and forced him to abdicate. All of these things happened ''twice'', with the abdications in 1814 and 1870.
* When the first ''Franchise/StarWars'' film, ''Film/ANewHope'', was shooting in Tunisia, the crew experienced severe rainstorms in a sub-Saharan region where it rarely rains. More than 20 years later, when they returned to Tunisia to film ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', they faced severe rainstorms once again.
* When Music/JohnLennon saw for the first time a picture of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuda_Zenjirō Yasuda Zenjirō]], who was Music/YokoOno's great-grandfather, he supposedly said "[[{{Reincarnation}} that's me in a former life]]", to which she responded "don't say that. He was assassinated". Come 1980, and what would the tragic fate of John Lennon be?
* Many a generation, when it grows old, complains about the next generation, how easier they have it and claim things were better in the good old days. This is known as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD0x7ho_IYc Juvenoia]]. This is followed with the RunningGag of that generation complaining how they started to sound like their parents.
* The French Revolution of 1832 (the one that ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' revolves around). Many of the revolutionaries were looking back at recent French history, and the sequence of events involved: To begin with, an all-powerful King. An attempt is made to limit his power but this gets radicalised to the extent that they commit regicide and proclaim a republic. The republic is unable to settle on a stable system of government until a leading military figure stages a coup and seizes power. After initial success, this regime also collapses and the monarchy is restored. The new king rules with success but is succeeded by a brother who badly mishandles his inheritance, which was the situation in 1832. The solution, the revolutionaries decided, was to overthrow the new king and replace him with another from a cadet branch of the royal family. Why? Well, at least in part, because this was what the English had done in 1688, at the end of exactly the same sequence of events.
* In 2001, the Pepsi 400, Daytona's summer night race, was the first race in the NBC half of the UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} season, in the first year of a five year broadcast deal that split coverage between Fox and NBC [[note]]under this deal, Fox covered the first half of the NASCAR season, and NBC covered the second half. When it came to the Daytona races, Fox hosted the Daytona 500 in odd-numbered years and NBC in even-numbered years, and the inverse for the Pepsi 400[[/note]]. The race was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with his DEI teammate Michael Waltrip finishing second in what was considered an emotional victory for their team as it was the first race at Daytona since Dale Earnhardt's death in the Daytona 500 that February.[[note]]The 2001 Daytona 500 marked the start of a three year period where DEI dominated the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega, with Michael Waltrip getting his only four Cup wins (two Daytona 500s (one of which was the 2001 race with Junior finishing second), a Pepsi 400, and the fall 2003 Talladega race) while Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 2001 Pepsi 400 as well as five races at Talladega including four consecutive from fall 2001 to spring 2003).[[/note]] 14 years later, the 2015 season saw an almost repeat of this situation: the Coke Zero 400 was the first race on the NBC portion of the season in a new broadcast contract that divided coverage between Fox and NBC[[note]]this time, though, Fox exclusively gets the Daytona 500, and NBC exclusively gets the Coke Zero Sugar 400[[/note]]. Once again, NBC coverage of the season started with the Daytona night race, and once again, it was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson finishing second [[note]]Jimmie was classified second because Denny Hamlin, who he was racing for the position, was sideways in sparking a Big One that notably sent Austin Dillon (using Dale Sr.'s old number 3) into the catchfence[[/note]].
* UsefulNotes/TheChechnyaWars trace their foundations back to the 18th Century when the region was conquered by UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia and it turned into an Old West-like lawless hellhole rife with bandits and the local resistance was a theocracy ran by an iman named Shamil just before the Russians conquered it. Fast-forward to the fall of the Soviet Union, Chechnya was one of the first republics to declare independence, but it wasn't recognized by [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia Russian Federation]]. War breaks out, terrorists swarm the land under the leadership of an Islamist militant named Shamil Basayev aiming to create an independent Caucasian Emirate. Chechnya would eventually come back into the Russian fold after Shamil's death.
%%* In 2009, Japanese voice actress Noriko Sakai was busted for use of drugs, and a ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon]]'' [[Recap/PokemonPK7PikachuAndPichu short]] was banned. Ten years later, Pierre Taki also got busted for drug abuse, affecting two video games he was involved in, with ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' being edited in subsequent releases to remove his model and voice, and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' patching his role with a different voice actor.
* A particularly tragic example: on February 11, 2012, Music/WhitneyHouston died when a mix of heart disease and cocaine use made her pass out in a full bathtub and drown. Almost exactly three years later, on January 31, 2015, her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown was found unconscious and underwater in her own bathtub, also apparently from drug use; while she didn't die then, she suffered brain damage that left her comatose until she was taken off life support six months later.
* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] example. During the period between the primaries and the Democratic National Convention in 1988, Massachusetts Governor and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis attempted in [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this with his choice of Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate to challenge the Republican nominee, incumbent Vice-President UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush while trying to make a connection (as was referenced in both Dukakis' and Bentsen's speeches) with the 1960 campaign when Massachusetts Senator UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy chose a running mate from Texas (Senate Majority Leader UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson) who - like Bentsen - was also up for re-election to the Senate to go up against the incumbent Republican Vice-President (in that case, UsefulNotes/RichardNixon); eventually becoming victorious over Nixon. 1988 matched 1960 in terms of the Republican nominee's office, the states of the Democratic ticket and even the Texas Senator being re-elected except for the outcome of the Presidential election, which saw Bush blow out Dukakis by 8 points in the popular vote to go with a 426-111[[note]]one faithless elector in West Virginia reversed the order of the ticket so that Bentsen was at the top[[/note]] [[LandslideElection Electoral College landslide]].
* Another tragic example: on March 5, 1982, former ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' cast member Creator/JohnBelushi died at the age of 33 of a drug overdose of cocaine and heroin, and his death impacted production of certain movies, like ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'', where his SNL castmate Creator/BillMurray took his place as Dr. Peter Venkman. 15 years later, on December 18, 1997, another former SNL cast member, Creator/ChrisFarley, also died at the age of 33 from a drug overdose, this time of cocaine and morphine. Farley's death also impacted production of certain movies, like ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', where his SNL castmate Creator/MikeMyers took his place in the title role.
* In 2009, Creator/WarnerBros reissued ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' in theaters so the DC Comics adaptation could get the final millions that would make the total gross break a billion dollars. In 2019, Disney reissued ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' in theaters so the Marvel Comics adaptation could get the final millions that would make the total gross break the $2,788 billion made by ''Film/{{Avatar}}''.
* Heavy ExecutiveMeddling from a movie studio (including bringing in a new director to reshoot large parts of it) resulting in a drastically altered film featuring Franchise/{{Superman}} being released in theaters, and a [[ReCut director's cut]] from the original director being released outside theaters later on. That happened with ''Film/SupermanII'' (which got its approximate Creator/RichardDonner cut released on home video over three decades later) and ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' (with Creator/ZackSnyder's [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague director's cut]] going to Creator/HBOMax three years and a half after the theatrical release).
* Music/VanHalen's last album before Music/DavidLeeRoth left, ''1984'', peaked at #2 in the United States, held off by the Music/MichaelJackson's ''Music/{{Thriller}}'' and its record 37 weeks at number one. Nearly 30 years later, the band did another album with Roth, ''A Different Kind of Truth'', and again it was only #2 behind a record run, namely the 24 weeks of Music/{{Adele}}'s ''21'' (the best ever for a female artist).
* United States president UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump would experience many of the same scandals as fellow Republican president UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush nearly 30 years earlier. The most notable ones for both presidents involved controversial Supreme Court appointments and reactions to PoliceBrutality protests. Both would end up losing re-election with Trump becoming the first one-term president since Bush himself.
** In 1991, Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court as a replacement for outgoing justice Thurgood Marshall. Thomas would be a controversial pick from the start due to his conservative political views and would become even more controversial after being accused of sexual misconduct by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Hill a coworker]]. However, the accusations would end up falling flat outside of liberal circles due to a perceived lack of sufficient evidence and Thomas became a Supreme Court justice anyway after a narrow 52-48 vote. Despite this, the fiasco surrounding Thomas would put a big dent in President Bush's reputation, with critics viewing him as apathetic at best towards women's rights and the GOP suffering a major defeat in the next election, with Bush himself losing his bid for re-election. In 2018, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court as a replacement for outgoing justice Anthony Kennedy. Kavanaugh would be a controversial pick from the start due to his conservative political views and would become even more controversial after being accused of sexual misconduct by a high school classmate. However, Kavanaugh would end up becoming a Supreme Court justice anyway after a narrow 50-48 vote.[[note]]While public opinion was far less favorable toward Kavanaugh than it was for Thomas, the make-up of the Senate, which was Republican-controlled as opposed to the Democratic-controlled Senate Thomas faced, gave him a lifeline.[[/note]] Despite this, the fiasco surrounding Kavanaugh would put a big dent in President Trump's reputation, with critics viewing him as apathetic at best towards women's rights and the GOP suffering a major defeat in the next election, losing the House of Representatives and inadvertently aiding in his 2019 impeachment, though [[SubvertedTrope this was subverted somewhat]] in the Senate, with the Republicans getting a net gain of 2 seats due to the fact that Democrats were defending a large number of seats in red states that year. Trump himself would lose his bid for re-election. Furthering the similarity, Thomas' accuser openly compared her situation to that of Kavanaugh's accuser in a 2018 op-ed.
** During the last year of Bush's first term, civil unrest broke out when the LAPD assaulted an unarmed African-American man, Rodney King. While Bush condemned the police beating of King, he spent more time criticizing rioters and calling for law and order instead of trying to understand the underlying socioeconomic causes of the unrest, making him seem insensitive towards the racial injustice experienced by African-Americans. During the last year of Trump's first term, civil unrest broke out when the Minneapolis Police killed an unarmed African-American man, George Floyd. While Trump condemned the police killing of George Floyd, he spent more time criticizing protestors and calling for law and order instead of trying to understand the underlying socioeconomic causes of the unrest, making him seem insensitive towards the racial injustice experienced by African-Americans. Furthering the similarity, Bill Barr served as Attorney General for both presidents and was criticized for using the same hardline approach in both protests. Though somewhat subverted in that while two of the LAPD officers that assaulted Rodney King were acquitted, all Minneapolis officers involved in George Floyd's death were convicted and sentenced.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long,_hot_summer_of_1967 The summer of 1967]] saw civil unrest and race riots across the US in response to systemic discrimination against African Americans. 53 years later, the same thing happened again during [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd_protests the summer of 2020]].
* Both the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184-205 and the Taiping Rebellion of 1850-64 were incredibly bloody Chinese civil wars started by disgruntled young intellectuals who became religious cult leaders after failing their civil service exams and lead to the fall of corrupt and decadent imperial dynasties (in the case of the Taiping Rebellion [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors for the very last time]]). The current Chinese government's viciously aggressive, often outright genocidal attitude toward religious minorities and political dissidents is at least partly due to being GenreSavvy about this.
* UsefulNotes/BarackObama draws many parallels to his fellow Democratic presidents UsefulNotes/BillClinton and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy in both image and presidency.
** A young, hip Democrat was elected into office following the unpopularity of a president named George Bush. Despite winning re-election, he was continuously obstructed by a gradual Republican takeover of Congress. One member of his Oval Office tries to succeed him by running for president, but is narrowly defeated by an inexperienced Republican opponent despite winning the popular vote (see Bill Clinton). For added irony, the Obama cabinet member who attempted to succeed him was none other than Bill's wife, Hillary.
** A young upstart senator became the first president from his generation and the first from a large ethnic group, who is notable for his lofty rhetoric, boundless optimism and ability to inspire. He also selects a long-serving senator from the older generation as his running mate who would later become president himself albeit thankfully [[WhoShotJFK without involving an assassination]] (see John F. Kennedy).
* In 1984, [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan the incumbent Republican U.S. president]] faced off against [[UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter the previous Democratic president's]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mondale vice president]]. In 2020, [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump the incumbent Republican president]] faced off against [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama the previous Democratic president's]] [[UsefulNotes/JoeBiden vice president]]. The outcomes were wildly different. Walter Mondale lost by a landslide to Reagan in 1984, winning only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Joe Biden won the 2020 election, one of the few presidential candidates to defeat an incumbent and won the largest number of popular votes in the history of the country.
* The 2020 U.S. presidential election had some other parallels:
** In 1932, UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover, the incumbent Republican president, was defeated for reelection amid an economic downturn. In 1992, UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush, the incumbent Republican president, was defeated for reelection amid an economic downturn. In 2020, UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, the incumbent Republican president, was defeated for reelection amid an economic downturn.
** In 1980, UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter, the unpopular incumbent president, was defeated for reelection due to simultaneous mounting crises. In 2020, UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, the unpopular incumbent president, was defeated for reelection due to simultaneous mounting crises.
** In 1968, UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, a previous president's vice president, was elected president. In 1988, UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush, a previous president's vice president, was elected president. In 2020, UsefulNotes/JoeBiden, a previous president's vice president, was elected president.
** In 1960, an [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy Irish Catholic]] hailing from the northeastern part of the country was elected president in the first year of the decade. In 2020, an [[UsefulNotes/JoeBiden Irish Catholic]] hailing from the northeastern part of the country was elected president in the first year of the decade.
* During the 1960s, [[UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson a US president from Texas]] became involved in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar an unpopular war]] that devolved into a quagmire and ended up overshadowing his presidency. In the 2000s, [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush another US president from Texas]] became involved in [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror another unpopular war]] that devolved into a quagmire and ended up overshadowing his presidency.
* In 2008, Republican U.S. congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico's 2nd congressional district retired to run for an open U.S. Senate seat, and the blue wave that followed swept Democrat Harry Teague into the seat. 2010 proved to be a much more favorable year for Republicans across the country, and Teague lost his seat to a returning Pearce. In 2018, Pearce retired once again to run for the open Governor's seat, and the blue wave that followed swept Democrat Xochitl Torres Small into the seat. 2020 proved to be a much more favorable year for Republicans across the country, and Small lost her seat to Republican Yvette Herrell.
* 2008 and 2018 both saw Democratic congressmen unexpectedly winning congressional seats based in heavily Republican Staten Island (Michael [=McMahon=] and Max Rose, respectively). 2010 and 2020 both saw them getting kicked out after one term.
* Stop if you've heard this one before. A U.S. senator sits in a closely divided swing state and is challenged by the popular governor of the opposite party. While the senator has the incumbency advantage and the historical lean of the seat in their favor, the governor's party was at that point the more dominant of the two in statewide politics. The race comes down to the wire, and, by a very narrow margin, the governor wins. Are we talking about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_Senate_election_in_New_Hampshire New Hampshire in 2016]] or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_Senate_election_in_Florida Florida in 2018]]?
* The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic bears a scarily striking similarity with UsefulNotes/TheSpanishFlu. Not only did both spread around the world at an alarming rate, the government and the public's response to the pandemics were apathetic at best (pretended it didn't exist, continued going on with their daily routines, etc.) and grossly negligent at worst (large gatherings, protested the use of masks, etc.). Conspiracy theories on how the pandemics began and who was responsible for them were also common in both pandemics. There was also pressure from people to reopen businesses and cities in spite of the pandemics, which caused a second wave of outbreaks to occur and one that had hit much harder than the first wave. Both events also saw the rise of snake oil products being peddled as the cure to the disease.
* September 9, 1965 saw the city of New Orleans receive catastrophic damage from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Betsy Hurricane Betsy]]. Nearly 40 years later; August 29, 2005 saw the city receive catastrophic damage from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina Hurricane Katrina]]. Exactly 16 years later; August 29, 2021 saw the city receive catastrophic damage from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ida Hurricane Ida]]. This will almost certainly continue to repeat because much of the city is below sea level and the city is located on the Gulf of Mexico, a warm shallow ocean body prone to generate and/or energize strong tropical storms.
* World War II had this happen during the same war. At the start of the Battle of France, British and French commanders were sure that the Germans would have to strike into France through the Maginot Line, a line of French defenses specifically intended to stop a German invasion cold. The only place on the French border they didn't guard was the Ardenne Forest, which they believed was impassible to tanks. The Germans would proceed to strike through the Ardennes, outflank the Allies, and conquer France in a matter of weeks. Years later, the Germans would do the same ''again'' in the winter of 1944, attacking the Allies through the Ardennes which had been believed to be impassable to tanks, sparking the Battle of the Bulge. Thankfully this time, the Allies were able to get their act together and Germany's shortages of resources and manpower ground the offensive to halt.
* Both the [[UsefulNotes/{{Heike}} Genpei War]] of the late 1100s and UsefulNotes/TheWarsOfTheRoses of the late 1400s were major civil wars between rival noble houses in island kingdoms whose factions used red and white banners.
* [[UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria Queen Victoria]] and her descendant [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethII Queen Elizabeth II]] lives shares a lot of similarities. They were the heirs of their childless uncles and were crowned queen of United Kingdom at a very young age (18 and 25). [[SingleTargetSexuality They loved only one man]], an handsome [[KissingCousins cousin]], and a foreigner prince. That's why the queens's parents were not very fond of them and had rather Victoria and Elizabeth marrying an English aristocrat, but they held on and married respectively Albert and Philip. Both felt useless after the wedding so their wives granted them more responsibilities and the title of prince consort. The two queens were dogs persons, and good friends of French leaders ([[UsefulNotes/LetatCestMoi Louis-Philippe, then Napoleon III]]; and [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance Valery Giscard-D'Estaing, then Francois Mitterrand]]). They had the reputation of being (mostly) kind ladies, trying to put at ease their interlocutors. Victoria once drank her fingerbowl after an Indian prince, at her table, made the mistake of thinking it was a drink. When [[UsefulNotes/YuriGagarin Yuri Gagarin]] told Elizabeth he had no idea which of [[FormalFullArrayOfCutlery the enormous cutlery array to use for what]], she answered that she tended to have the same problem herself. They were both widowed and devastated of this, enough to either wear black for the rest of her life (Victoria) or die only a year after (Elizabeth). They died old (81 and 96) and had the longest reign ever observed at the time in Great Britain (63 and 70 years). Their eldest sons acceded to the throne, being among the oldest English kings of the time (59 and 73).
* Speaking of the two aforementioned kings: Alice Keppel was the mistress of king Edward VII. 70 years later her great granddaughter, Camilla Parker Bowles, became the mistress of Edward great great grandson, UsefulNotes/CharlesIII. She even introduced herself to Charles by reminding him of their ancestors's common history. The difference lies in the fact that Edward stayed married to his wife Alexandra, while Charles, due to customs evolution, divorced his first wife, then remarried Camilla.
* Scholars William Strauss and Neil Howe argue that there is a repeating generational cycle with historical events associated with recurring generational personas (archetypes). Each generational persona unleashes a new era (called a turning) lasting around 20–25 years, in which a new social, political, and economic climate (mood) exists. They are part of a larger cyclical "saeculum" (a long human life, which usually spans between 80 and 100 years, although some saecula have lasted longer). The theory states that a crisis recurs in American history after every saeculum, which is followed by a recovery (high). During this recovery, institutions and communitarian values are strong. Ultimately, succeeding generational archetypes attack and weaken institutions in the name of autonomy and individualism, which eventually creates a tumultuous political environment that ripens conditions for another crisis.
* After Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, he cried foul and said it was stolen. This eventually culminated into his supporters storming the Capitol building on January 6th, 2021 in an attempt to stop the certification of the election. A year later, the presidential election in Brazil became similarly contested, with incumbent Jair Bolsonaro using similar language against his opponent Lula, who would ultimately win. On January 8th, 2023, Bolsonaro's supporters stormed the National Congress and Presidential Palace. Fortunately, while the rioters did cause a lot of damage, the Congress wasn't actually in session.
* A musical ChildProdigy who has a complex and troubled relationship with his [[StageMom stage dad]] starts performing at an early age, often with his siblings. He grows even more successful as an adult but develops a reputation as a strange ManChild who doesn't know how to properly act in public, all while getting up to his eyeballs in debt. He dies at a fairly young age under somewhat suspicious circumstances, leaving behind a reputation as one of the greatest musicians of his era. This describes Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart and Music/MichaelJackson equally well.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In 2020, Wrestling/CMPunk had a massive falling out with Wrestling/{{WWE}} which culminated in him leaving to Wrestling/{{AEW}}. In 2023, CM Punk had a massive falling out with AEW which culminated in him leaving... back to WWE.

* Much of the circumstances surrounding the release and reception of 2011's ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'' would end up paralleling that of 1999's ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. Both games were long-awaited sequels to [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger beloved]] [[VideoGame/{{Okami}} games]] that were released late into their [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem respective]] [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 systems']] lifespans and commercially underperformed; both sequels were also released on record-breakingly popular systems themselves, with ''Chrono Cross'' coming out on [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation the highest-selling home console of its time]] and ''Ōkamiden'' coming out on [[UsefulNotes/NintendoDS the highest-selling handheld system of all time]] (which is also currently the second-best-selling game system overall). Both ''Ōkamiden'' and ''Chrono Cross'' were critically acclaimed and are considered good games in their own right, but whether or not they were good ''sequels'' remains a [[ContestedSequel controversial]] topic among fans, both due to their predecessors being [[ToughActToFollow tough acts to follow]] and because their attempts to connect themselves to said predecessors were perceived by many as overreaching to the point of invalidating much of the accomplishments made in the first games.

** {{Discussed}} at a key plot point in ''VideoGame/LikeADragonInfiniteWealth'': [[spoiler: Lani is a poor girl who is being hunted by the criminal underworld in Hawaii, just like how [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 Haruka was hunted by the criminal underworld in Kamurocho]]. Because of the similarities between the two, Kiryu is driven to save Lani, even has he pushes himself to the breaking point while struggling with cancer. It takes a near-death experience for Kiryu to finally concede that he should step back and let Kasuga handle the matter of saving Lani.]]

* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'': In [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 the first game]], Kiryu [[TakingTheHeat takes the heat]] for a murder he didn't commit, coming out of prison ten years later to find most of his friends and colleagues from the past have moved on or are now openly hostile to him. In [[VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon the seventh game]], Kasuga Ichiban takes the heat for a murder he didn't commit, coming out of prison eighteen years later to find most of his friends and colleagues from the past have moved on or are now openly hostile to him. [[spoiler:Bonus points: both of the real culprits were men the two heroes considered [[SwornBrothers blood brothers]], though Ichiban didn't learn that Masato was the killer until well after the fact while Kiryu knew from the start Nishiki killed Dojima.]]

* ''WebVideo/LifeSMP'': On Day 5 on the third season, [[spoiler:Jimmy]] becomes the first to be KilledOffForReal on the server. Since his character was the first to permanently die during the prior two seasons as well, this is naturally lampshaded by everyone, including his content creator counterpart in the episode it happened. Six minutes into the ''fourth'' season, Grian [[DiscussedTrope makes a bet]] that the character in question will be the first to (permanently) die in ''this'' season as well. And sure enough, this eventually comes to pass on Day 7. The fifth season ends with [[spoiler:BreakingOldTrends, with Jimmy being the ''second'' to be KilledOffForReal instead]].

* On Day 5 on the third season of the ''WebVideo/LifeSMP'', [[spoiler:Jimmy]] becomes the first to be KilledOffForReal on the server. Since his character was the first to permanently die during the prior two seasons as well, this is naturally lampshaded by everyone, including his content creator counterpart in the episode it happened. Six minutes into the ''fourth'' season, Grian [[DiscussedTrope makes a bet]] that the character in question will be the first to (permanently) die in ''this'' season as well. And sure enough, this eventually comes to pass on Day 7.

* Post-''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'' Marvel tried to replicate the old ComicBook/ProfessorX[=/=]ComicBook/{{Magneto}} dynamic with ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, with "Professor Wolverine" running a school for mutants, and Scott as a WellIntentionedExtremist supervillain. Fans did not respond to the new status quo due in large part to fans largely agreeing with Scott or just finding him to be far less villainous than Marvel were saying he is, and eventually, the pair were killed off and resurrected to wipe the slate clean.
** Mutants are dying en-masse due to a cataclysmic event that puts them at risk of extinction. The first time it was the Legacy Virus, which wiped through mutant populations with deadly efficiency until a cure was developed. The second time, it was Decimation after ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', depowering most mutants and leaving the 300 remaining targets for the now emboldened FantasticRacism motivated hate groups. The ''third'' time was after ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' which saw the Terrigen Mist of the Inhumans cause an "M-Pox" among mutants, painfully gassing them to death and sterilising those who survived while slowly rendering the earth inhospitable to mutants. ''Then'' it happened ''again'' after ''Disassembled'' during ''ComicBook/AgeOfX'', as a vaccine is developed that will prevent mutant births and, with the X-Men seemingly dead after being trapped in a Pocket Dimension, the few remaining are trying to protect mutants from being rounded up and killed en-masse. The similarities of all these events are strangely not brought up, even though ''X-Men Disassembled'' directly follows on from plot points introduced at the end of the ''Decimation'' period.
* In ''ComicBook/BatmanCurseOfTheWhiteKnight'', it is revealed that ComicBook/TheJoker was inspired by Lafayette "Laffy" Arkham (who the Joker actually bears a resemblance to), who has a long-standing conflict and was killed by Bruce's ancestor Edmond Wayne who wielded a whip ''made from bat-leather''.
* When first introduced into the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' books, [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Todd']][[ComicBook/{{Robin}} s pre-crisis backstory was the same as]] [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson's]]: an acrobat who parents are killed by a criminal (in this case, Killer Croc).
* Geo-Force tries this gambit against ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis: Last Will and Testament'' by luring him to the location where Deathstroke's son had his throat slit. [[spoiler:Deathstroke claims that Brion isn't the first one to try this, but Brion is the first to slit his own throat for full effect.]]

** ComicBook/WallyWest got his powers from a repeat of the Flash's FreakLabAccident. Wally's uncle Barry arranged the chemicals that empowered him in the shelf as a demonstration for Wally, but there also happens to be a lightning storm outside, so... Later, when the Speed Force concept is introduced, it is all but outright said Barry had unconsciously called upon that bolt of lightning due to having wanted a companion in his super speed.
* In ''[[ComicBook/Marvel2099 2099: Manifest Destiny]]'', we find out [[spoiler: ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's fate: he once again ended up in a block of ice at the end of the Heroic Age as he'd done at the end of World War II and is revived in the 2099 time period. Amusingly, during the "One Nation Under Doom" event, a clone of Steve Rogers created to be a puppet had this as a cover story. Hell, it happens a ''third'' time in ''Manifest Destiny'' as the conflict in that story sees Steve go into suspended animation yet again and revive to see an old Miguel in the year 3099]]!
** Creator/MarkWaid's 2010s Captain America run also featured this, with Steve being frozen by a RightWingMilitiaFanatic group in order to keep him out of the way so they could nuke the planet and rule over what remains. Steve is thawed out and leads the resistance against them, but despite their defeat, he's unable to do anything to fix their damage, despite trying to rebuild society. So, time travel is used to send Steve back in time so he can pull off a HeroicSacrifice to stop them from freezing him in the first place ''and'' defeat them before they can rise.

* ''Creator/MarvelKnights: ComicBook/SpiderMan'' has this with the [[spoiler:Green Goblin]] bringing [[spoiler:Mary Jane to [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied the same bridge where Gwen Stacy died]]]].
* ''ComicBook/SupermanTruth'' in the ''ComicBook/New52'' has Clark Kent's SecretIdentity revealed to the world, which received widespread attention across comic book news media. A few years later (during which Superman was killed and replaced with his much preferred previous timeline incarnation, who then got merged with the history of his New 52 self, thus regaining his SecretIdentity), Creator/BrianMichaelBendis took over ''ComicBook/SupermanBrianMichaelBendis'' and had a story where Clark...has his Secret Identity exposed. ''Willingly'' this time, though. This received similar widespread attention across comic book news media who hyped it up as "for the first time ever" despite it being less than five years since ''Truth''. Both storylines are largely disliked by the fandom, for what it's worth.
* At the end of the Gold Key ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' story "The Star Spangled Spectre" (issue #27), Fred is at an archivist office in New Lichfield, Massachusetts trying to find some information about his ancestors. The clerk tells that Fred is related to the town hero Jacob Richfield.

* This trope is illustrated beautifully by ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'', or more specifically, by her ''costume.'' The famous sling bikini was created by artist Trina Robbins, a vocal feminist, as an example of open female sexuality without shame, and was criticised as being overly sexualized. Then in 2017, when the comic entered its fourth relaunch, writer Black Northcott, a vocal feminist, brought back the sling bikini (the earlier, and less successful, 2016 volume has the character in a more conservative outfit) as an example of open female sexuality without shame...and was criticized as being overly sexualized. Vampy can't win, it seems.

* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'': In [[VideoGame/Yakuza1 the first game]], Kiryu [[TakingTheHeat takes the heat]] for a murder he didn't commit, coming out of prison ten years later to find most of his friends and colleagues from the past have moved on or are now openly hostile to him. In [[VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon the seventh game]], Kasuga Ichiban takes the heat for a murder he didn't commit, coming out of prison eighteen years later to find most of his friends and colleagues from the past have moved on or are now openly hostile to him. [[spoiler:Bonus points: both of the real culprits were men the two heroes considered BloodBrothers, though Ichiban didn't learn that Masato was the killer until well after the fact while Kiryu knew from the start Nishiki killed Dojima.]]

* [[UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria Queen Victoria]] and her descendant [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethII Queen Elizabeth II]] lives shares a lot of similarities. They were the heirs of their childless uncles and were crowned queen of United Kingdom at a very young age (18 and 25). They loved only one man, an handsome [[KissingCousins cousin]], and a foreigner prince. That's why the queens's parents were not very fond of them and had rather Victoria and Elizabeth marrying an English aristocrat, but they held on and married respectively Albert and Philip. Both felt useless after the wedding so their wives granted them more responsibilities and the title of prince consort. The two queens were dogs persons, and good friends of French leaders ([[UsefulNotes/LetatCestMoi Louis-Philippe, then Napoleon III]]; and [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance Valery Giscard-D'Estaing, then Francois Mitterrand]]). They had the reputation of being (mostly) kind ladies, trying to put at ease their interlocutors. Victoria once drank her fingerbowl after an Indian prince, at her table, made the mistake of thinking it was a drink. When [[UsefulNotes/YuriGagarin Yuri Gagarin]] told Elizabeth he had no idea which of [[FormalFullArrayOfCutlery the enormous cutlery array to use for what]], she answered that she tended to have the same problem herself. They were both widowed and devastated of this, enough to either wear black for the rest of her life (Victoria) or die only a year after (Elizabeth). They died old (81 and 96) and had the longest reign ever observed at the time in Great Britain (63 and 70 years). Their eldest sons acceded to the throne, being among the oldest English kings of the time (59 and 73).

* As pointed out on the Fridge page of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory: WesternAnimation/EgoTrip'', the four Dexters are an excellent case of "those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it" ''in one person''. None of the older Dexters will ever remember that [[spoiler:Dee Dee]] was actually the one to save the world because their egos will not let them remember that, and will ''insist'' that they were the ones to save the world, thus dooming themselves into repeating the actions they did in the movie. The 'main' Dexter is excused because this is his first time experiencing it, and technically the oldest one can be excused on the grounds of senility.

* UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust serves as a staunch reminder that if we don't learn from tragedies like this one, history will be doomed to repeat itself. [[http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-korea-atrocities-strikingly-similar-to-nazi-era-un-says-1.2540021 Unfortunately, nobody seems to have seen fit to tell that to the DPRK]] (though it's probably because North Korea is backed by China, and any attempt to rectify the situation could start WorldWarIII).

** Following the French defeat in Vietnam, America [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar would later intervene]] in the war torn nation. American involvement started out relatively small, but grew over time, becoming bogged down fighting a guerrilla war, pockmarked by scandals, and faced increasing opposition to continued engagement back on the home front. America would largely withdraw from the conflict after fighting for nearly 20 years, leading to the South Vietnamese government to be routed by North Vietnam and the hasty evacuation of Saigon. Following the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan, America would later intervene in the war-torn nation. [[HereWeGoAgain Second verse, same as the first.]] ensued, ending roughly the same way when the Taliban routed the Afghan government and Kabul was messily evacuated.

* In 1971, Milton Obote, having been President of UsefulNotes/{{Uganda}} for five years, would be deposed in a coup led by military officer UsefulNotes/IdiAmin. Amin was overthrown ten years later, paving the way for [[FullCircleRevolution Obote to reclaim power]]. Obote would be overthrown ''again'', and similar to the first time it would occur after five years in office and would be led by a military officer.

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' ended with Aiden becoming a lone traveler carrying the soulstone of a Prime Evil, Diablo. ''IV'' ends with [[spoiler:Neyrelle dawning a similar cloak and traveling alone with the soulstone of Mephisto, another Prime Evil]].

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' reveals that the end of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' was not the first time that the [[MageKiller Templar Order]] illegally performed [[ThePurge the Right of Annulment]] on a Circle of Magi. Centuries before the series started, the Knight-Commander of the Antiva Circle of Magi used a fake demon infestation and the Right of Annulment to prevent anyone from finding out that his [[NumberTwo Knight-Captain]] was a SerialKiller who had murdered over a hundred mages out of pure bigotry. While the [[InternalAffairs Seekers of Truth]] eventually hunted down and killed the Knight-Captain, they participated in the cover-up and there is no mention of them punishing the Knight-Commander for his actions. Background chatter in ''II'' also reveals that [[GeneralRipper Knight-Commander Meredith]] had petitioned the Divine directly, bypassing the local Grand Cleric, for permission to carry out the Right; she threw off all pretenses of going through the legal channels after Anders destroyed the local Chantry. While it is not known if Anders knew about the historical similarities, it is implicitely the reason that he went to such extreme measures to prevent the Chantry and the Seekers from performing another cover-up.

** Ishikawa also notes this is not the first time a former student of his used his techniques for evil. He previously taught the heir of another clan who would use his skills to assassinate his lord. He failed but not before killing many of his own people.

* ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'' appears to have this going on: [[spoiler:Yandere-chan's mother is said to also be a {{yandere}}. Tapes from a former journalist found scattered across the school reveal that a yandere had committed murder at Akademi High while stalking her senpai in the '80s, but managed to escape justice. The basement tape reveals that after the murder trial, the yandere (who shares the same family name as Yandere-chan) kidnapped her senpai and tied him to a chair in her basement, claiming that it was the same chair ''her mother'' used for her father..]].

* In the ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' games, at least two generations of Cooper Gang members had one of them turn rouge and back-stabbed them. For Sly's father, that would be Dr. M, who wanted to steal the contents of the Cooper Vault as revenge, and is implied to have sold out his former friend to Clockwerk and the Fiendish Five. For Sly himself, that would be [[spoiler:Penelope]], who went insane from greed and power and plotted to murder Sly out of envy.
* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', the Klingons make the exact same mistake in the lead-up to the Federation-Klingon War that they made in [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine the lead-up to the Dominion War]]. They unilaterally invade the Gorn, insisting that the Gorn have been infiltrated by shapeshifters (unlike with the Cardassians, the Gorn actually ''have'' been), and then when the Federation doesn't believe them, instead of trying to back up their claims they withdraw from the Khitomer Accords. And just like with the Dominion, this resulted in a Federation-Klingon War that only weakened the quadrant for the inevitable bigger fish. Once again, the Klingons' HonorBeforeReason tendencies play right into the hands of a ManipulativeBastard adversary.

* The ''Franchise/TombRaider'' series features a few examples. For instance, in the Russia chapters during ''Chronicles'', Lara learns about an artifact called the SpearOfDestiny, which is supposed to give its bearer and its armies untold power. A group of Nazis who claimed the spear were subjected to the spear's extremely unstable power and the artifact created an explosion that sunk the group's U-boat. Flash forward to the present where Lara finds the spear, is forced to hand it over to Russian mob boss Sergei, and the history repeats from there as the artifact's powers go haywire. Luckily, Lara manages to escape before the submarine explodes and sinks to the ocean bed.
** Used as a plot point in ''Legend''. [[spoiler: Lara notes that many myths and legends share similarities to the legend of King Arthur and his knights. There's a sword in a stone, a heroic leader figure, a mystical advisor and so on. Lara hypothesizes that these myths were actually real, and that that they are all connected in some manner, possibly through the same people (or things) that made the Excalibur swords.]]
* Seen in ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' and ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' with Grom and Garrosh Hellscream. Grom was the first orc to drink Mannoroth's blood, cursing nearly his entire race with an endless bloodlust and enslaving them to the Burning Legion, all for the sake of more strength. Faced with defeat at the hands of Cenarius, Grom drank from a fountain that he believed would grant him strength, only to learn it was in fact filled with Mannoroth's blood, completely enslaving him and his clan to the demon. Years later Garrosh tried to use the [[TheHeartless Sha]] and then the heart of [[EldritchAbomination Y'shaarj]] to empower himself and his True Horde.
** In ''Battle for Azeroth'' the Horrific Vision of Orgrimmar shows a future where Thrall is driven mad by N'Zoth and convinced that the only way to save Azeroth is by drinking the Old God's blood. Those who obey his order are twisted by the Void into slaves of N'Zoth while those who refuse are executed.
* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series; in the first game, Kiryu [[TakingTheHeat takes the heat]] for a murder he didn't commit, coming out of prison ten years later to find most of his friends and colleagues from the past have moved on or are now openly hostile to him. In the [[VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon seventh game]], Kasuga Ichiban takes the heat for a murder he didn't commit, coming out of prison eighteen years later to find most of his friends and colleagues from the past have moved on or are now openly hostile to him. [[spoiler: Bonus points, both of the real culprits were men the two heroes considered BloodBrothers, though Ichiban didn't learn that Masato was the killer until well after the fact while Kiryu knew from the start Nishiki killed Dojima.]]