History Main / NotQuiteDead

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[spoiler:Mao is riddled full of bullets (including by the ''heavy machine gun of a [[HumongousMecha Knightpolice Frame]]''), but he came back next episode with a {{handwave}} about Britannian medical science and how Lelouch should have commanded the soldiers to shoot to kill. It takes a [[BoomHeadshot bullet to the head]] to [[FinalDeath stop him once and for all]]]]. Near the end of the second season, a similar thing happens to [[spoiler:Cornelia, except she doesn't get shot in the head]].
** [[spoiler:Guilford, whose mech for all intents and purposes was within the blast radius of a weapon that disintegrates everything in its path, yet lived to appear at Cornelia's bedside in the last few episodes.]]

* [[http://www.goldcoincomics.com/bios/blake/ Blake]] from Gold Coin Comics is a childhood rival that somehow survived his entire hometown being wiped out.

* Buredoran of the Comet from ''TensouSentaiGoseiger'' fits this to a T after he's seemingly destroyed he comes back as Buredoran of the Chupacabra then after that he comes back in the Vs movie as Buredoran of the Bloodbath and then is finally brought back as Buredo-RUN before he assumes his true form.

* ''Fanfic/FinishingTheFight'': At the climax, Ferikus combines this with ClickHello. "[[IronicEcho You should have finished what you started.]]" [[spoiler:He is then promptly killed by ''also'' NotQuiteDead Murphy, who scolds him for not firing first.]]

** This happens again when Prince Herbert falls out of the window to his death, only to appear later at his own cancelled wedding to start singing.Then when the song begins, all of the people slaughtered by Lancelot gradually get up and join in.

'''Concorde:''' ''"Uh, I'm-I'm [[TropeNamer not quite dead,]] sir."''\\

[[folder:Film]]

* Inverted in ''JohnnyMnemonic''. The Priest is blasted with EMP, frying most of his cybernetics, and is then electrocuted to a crisp. At the very end of the movie, he ''starts to rise from the floor'', and a frightened gasp comes from Jane... only to reveal that his body is actually just being hauled up on a pulley. "Just garbage. Get rid of it."
* Some of the Huns in ''Disney/{{Mulan}}''.

* ''TheGamers:'' "It's Hunk, the mercenary you left for dead!

* From ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'':
-->'''Yzma''': Kuzco is dead, right? Tell me "Kuzco's dead". I need to hear these words.
-->'''Kronk''': Uh, do you need to hear all those words exactly?
-->'''Yzma''': He's STILL ALIVE?!
-->'''Kronk''': Well, he's not as dead as we would have hoped.
-->'''Yzma''': Kronk!
-->'''Kronk''': Just thought I'd give you a heads-up, in case Kuzco ever came back.
-->'''Yzma''': He can't come back!
-->'''Kronk''': Yeah, that would be kinda awkward, especially after that lovely eulogy.
* ''AustinPowers'' plays with this numerous times. Usually by dragging it too far.

* King Candy/[[spoiler:Turbo]] in ''Disney/WreckItRalph'' gets [[spoiler:devoured by a Cy-Bug]] before the climax. During the climax, however, [[spoiler:he reappears having fused with the Cy-Bug and has become [[OneWingedAngel even more powerful]].]]

** [[Spoiler:Ichirō faked his death to later resurface as the Silver Samurai. Charles Xavier came back alive and well in TheStinger, to Wolverine's surprise.]]

* A fifteen-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, spoke out against the sexist restriction of rights in her country and was shot in the head by Taliban assassins in 2012 as a result. She survived, came out of a coma, and went right back to educating herself and speaking her mind.
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Compare OnlyMostlyDead and AlmostDeadGuy. There may or may not be some overlap with StayingAlive. It can be shown by having their [[EyeAwaken eyes open]] or [[FingerTwitchingRevival fingers twitch]]. Not to be confused with TheUndead. If a villain does this a lot, it's probably because he has JokerImmunity. This is also sometimes because the character is MadeOfIron because they're just that strong.

Compare OnlyMostlyDead and AlmostDeadGuy. There may or may not be some overlap with StayingAlive. It can be shown by having their [[EyeAwaken eyes open]] or [[FingerTwitchingRevival fingers twitch]]. Not to be confused with TheUndead. If a villain does this a lot, it's probably because he has JokerImmunity. This is also what MadeOfIron results in.

Compare OnlyMostlyDead and AlmostDeadGuy. There may or may not be some overlap with StayingAlive. It can be shown by having their [[EyeAwaken eyes open]] or [[FingerTwitchingRevival fingers twitch]]. Not to be confused with TheUndead. If a villain does this a lot, it's probably because he has JokerImmunity.

[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/DragonBall http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HalfOfFrieza_6649.jpg]]]]

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* Perfect Cell in ''[[Manga/DragonBall Dragonball Z]]'' is teleported into the afterlife by Goku after initiating a self destruct technique set to go at any minute, after which he regenerates from a single surviving cell with an increased {{power level|s}} from [[HalfHumanHybrid Saiyan DNA]] pushed to the brink of death and which absorbed the teleportation technique that Goku had just used. Using said technique, Cell returns to the battlefield back on Earth just as everyone had believed the battle over and begun to mourn Goku's passing.

** This can be said of most of the villains in the Dragonball series:

* Being stabbed through the heart with a large spike? With an actual doctor checking his pulse to make sure he was dead? Minor things when it comes to the self-proclaimed ''UltimateTeacher'', Ganbachi Chabane.

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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* ''RedDragon'' features this during [[spoiler:the final confrontation between Detective Graham and the titular villain]], when [[spoiler:they shoot each other through a flimsy bedroom door.]] Later averted when [[spoiler:Graham's wife puts a bullet in the killer's head. Several times.]]

*** Kooler, [[spoiler: who was burned up in the sun but survived thanks to the Big Ghetti Star, and returned as Metal Kooler]].

** Happens frequently enough with both protagonists and antagonists in the Hueco Mondo arc, one would think that the giant clouds of dust kicked up by the horrible attack ''du minute'' had incredible regenerative powers.

** [[spoiler: Even then does Myotismon survive--he's the ManBehindTheMan... the [[{{Mons}} Mon]] behind the man? in season two, having possessed Oikawa as the kids left for the Digital World right after thinking they'd done him in as Venom Vamdemon, emerging as final BigBad in Anime/DigimonAdventure02 in his OneWingedAngel form of Belial Vamdemon, aka Malo Myotismon. Unfortunately, he proved to be a ClippedWingAngel.]]

** Zhuqiaomon in ''Anime/Digimon Tamers'' is defeated by Mega Gargomon, but reappears and nearly kills the tamers, before Azulongmon convinces him to do a HeelFaceTurn.

* The famous Asuka/Unit-02 versus the MP [=EVAs=] sequence in ''[[EndOfEvangelion End of Evangelion]]''; Asuka dismembers, rips apart, breaks the bones of or impales all nine MP [=EVAs=] in what looks like the biggest case of [[NoKillLikeOverKill overkill]] ever; unfortunately, ''it's not'', and the MP [=EVAs'=] bodies reconnect, get right back up with a SlasherSmile and proceed to take their bloody vengeance on [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Asuka.]]

* Near the end of ''BarbieAndTheDiamondCastle'', one of [[VainSorceress Lydia's]] spells backfires on her and she disappears. The main characters finally reach the [[MacGuffinLocation Diamond Castle]] and are about to undo all of Lydia's spells when guess who comes [[DragonRider flying in the window]]?

* An example of the scenario which this page is actually about appears at the climax of ''Film/IronMan''.