History Main / PayingForTheActionScene

A hero or AntiHero gets in a scuffle in a [[BarBrawl bar]], a [[DinerBrawl restaurant]], a [[BallroomBlitz banquet hall]], or another establishment not fit for battle and, after the chaos is over, decides to pay for the destruction left behind. HeroInsurance would typically still be in effect but the hero decides to give the owner a little bit of money in order to pay for the mess. More often than not, this is to make the character look like a total {{badass}}. Not only did they just beat up or kill an enemy in a typically awesome manner but they decided to toss in a few extra bucks to pay for collateral damage. This can often be an EstablishingCharacterMoment since the audience can tell the person is not to be trifled with, but is also generous enough to take responsibility for the damages. There might also be the possibility that the payment is too small to cover the charges. A BondOneLiner is optional.

[[quoteright:301:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paying_for_the_action_scene.jpg]]

-->-- '''Han Solo''' after blasting Greedo in the Mos Eisely Cantina, ''Franchise/StarWars Episode IV: Film/ANewHope''

* Played straight and inverted in a ''ComicStrip/PrinceValiant'' story arc, where Prince Valiant's troop and a band of drunken Vikings had a rhubarb in a travelers' inn. "Val succeeds in holding the stairs, but the stairs fail to hold Val." Prince Valiant gallantly offers to pay for half the damages, while the Viking chieftain requires goading by an armed militia to pony up his half.

A character (usually a heroic figure) gets in a scuffle in a [[BarBrawl bar]], a [[DinerBrawl restaurant]], a [[BallroomBlitz banquet hall]], or another establishment not fit for battle and, after the chaos is over, decides to pay for the destruction left behind. HeroInsurance would typically still be in effect but the hero decides to give the owner a little bit of money in order to pay for the mess. More often than not, this is to make the character look like a total {{badass}}. Not only did they just beat up or kill an enemy in a typically awesome manner but they decided to toss in a few extra bucks to pay for collateral damage. This can often be an EstablishingCharacterMoment since the audience can tell the person is not to be trifled with, but is also generous enough to take responsibility for the damages. There might also be the possibility that the payment is too small to cover the charges. A BondOneLiner is optional.

* Subverted in the first ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' film. The 'Busters destroy half of a four-star hotel in pursuit of a ghost and not only don't offer to pay but they give the manager a lengthy bill. The snooty manager refuses to pay their high wages (to say nothing of the damages), so they offer to release the ghost back into the hotel, making the manager rethink his options.

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Grandmaester Pycelle is intruded upon by Tyrion (who is looking to arrest him) while he is with a prostitute. Just before Tyrion hauls Pycelle away, he gives the prostitute a gold coin "for [her] troubles". He then looks at [[DirtyOldMan Pycelle]] and [[FunnyMoments turns to the prostitute to give her another coin]]. Granted this was likely done to humiliate Pycelle but Tyrion has always treated prostitutes rather well, so it is not out of character for him.

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]
* The second part of Guts' EstablishingCharacterMoment in ''{{Berserk}}'' (after he makes a demoness GoOutWithABang) has him enter a BadGuyBar, put a few coins on the bar telling the barkeep "for the disturbance". Before the barkeep can ask for clarification, Guts has started attacking the mooks, destroying them and the furniture, leaving one alive (and more than happy to take a message to the EvilOverlord).
* In ''{{Claymore}}'', the group of Claymores sent to hunt down Theresa find the inn she is staying at, and hand the innkeeper a bag of money. The innkeeper protests that it's too much - for that amount of money, you could buy the entire inn. You can probably guess that it ends up being fair compensation.

[[AC: Comics]]
* [[DoomPatrol Robotman]] writes a check for the damages after crashing through a bookstore window. He also stops to [[DoNotTryThisAtHome caution some nearby children about the dangers of walking through plate glass.]]

* Wayne Enterprises ends up repairing a lot of the collateral damage {{Batman}} incurs.
* {{ComicBook/Highwaymen}}: Able Monroe combines this with PreEmptiveDeclaration when he buys a car directly off the showroom floor and adds $4000 to the check "to repair the windows" so he can drive it directly onto the street.

[[AC: Fan Works]]

[[AC: Film]]
* A famous example was included in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope''. Han Solo kills Greedo in the Mos Eisley Cantina, blasting a hole through his chest before tossing the bar tender a coin along with the page quote.

* Subverted in the first ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' film. The `Busters destroy half of a four-star hotel in persuit of a ghost and not only don't offer to pay but they give the manager a lengthy bill. The snooty manager refuses to pay their high wages (to say nothing of the damages), so they offer to release the ghost back into the hotel, making the manager rethink his options.
* In the most recent ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' movie, Sherlock engages in a pit fight in a dingy pub and eventually knocks his opponent through the wood wall. He collects his winnings and leaves some of it on the bar counter, apparently as payment for the wall and the extra bottle he takes from the bar.
* ''Film/SupermanII''. After he gives up his super powers, {{Superman}} is [[DinerBrawl beaten up by a bully in a diner]]. After he regains his powers he returns to the bar and beats up the bully, causing minor damage. He gives a wad of bills to the diner's owner to pay for the damage.
* After the big Harmonia Gardens scene in ''{{Hello Dolly}}''!, Dolly tells the staff to put the bill for all the damages incurred on the tab of Vandergelder's Hay and Feed, the store that Horace Vandergelder, the man she's leaving the restaurant with and spent the whole film trying to woo, owns and runs.
* Subverted in Richard Lester's ''TheThreeMusketeers''. Temporarily embarrassed for funds and very much in need of food and drink, the Musketeers and D'Artagnan's servant Planchet cause chaos in an inn with a long, furious and faked fight...which is a pretext for numerous tricks to purloin said food and drink for later consumption at their leisure.
* In "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" after Dobbs and Curtin beat down their deadbeat employer they take only the money owed to them and then leave something on the bar for the drinks and damage.
* In "Shane" after the rancher and Shane win a fist fight with a dozen of the cattle baron's thugs the rancher says they'll pay for the damage, him and Shane.

[[AC: Live Action TV]]

* In GameOfThrones, Grandmaester Pycelle is intruded upon by Tyrion (who is looking to arrest him) while he is with a prostitute. Just before Tyrion hauls Pycelle away, he gives the prostitute a gold coin "for [her] troubles". He then looks at [[DirtyOldMan Pycelle]] and [[FunnyMoments turns to the prostitute to give her another coin]]. Granted this was likely done to humiliate Pycelle but Tyrion has always treated prostitutes rather well, so it is not out of character for him.

[[AC: Music]]
* Some rock musicians or bands have the reputation of trashing hotel rooms with their wild partying. In [[TheEagles Joe Walsh's]] song "Life's Been Good", he mentions this:
-->''I live in hotels, tear out the walls''
-->''I have accountants pay for it all''
** Presumably it's he who pays for it, but since rich people are often detached from their finances through accountants and such, this is basically like saying he doesn't worry directly about it but has guys taking care of the actual transactions for him--which are probably pocket change to him anyway.

[[AC: Newspaper Comics]]
* Played straight and inverted in a ''PrinceValiant'' story arc, where Prince Valiant's troop and a band of drunken Vikings had a rhubarb in a travelers' inn. "Val succeeds in holding the stairs, but the stairs fail to hold Val." Prince Valiant gallantly offers to pay for half the damages, while the Viking chieftain requires goading by an armed militia to pony up his half.

[[AC: Video Games]]
* The ''NeverwinterNights2'' expansion ''Mask of the Betrayer'' has a tavern where the owner will fine you if you start a bar fight and/or vandalise any of the furniture.
* After Megaman stops a pirate attack on the city in ''MegaManLegends'', he can contribute to the city rebuilding fund to help repair the damage the pirates caused during the attack.
* In MetroLastLight, Artyom visits the bar in the Venice station and is offered the local drink. If the player chooses to go on a binge, Artyom will black out and [[WhatDidIDoLastNight wake up with the bar thrashed]], apparently due to his actions. He has the option to pay the bartender for damages, which nets him a karma boost.

[[AC: Webcomics]]
* At least once in ''{{Nodwick}}'', the fighter Yeagar ended up with the tab for damages after a bar brawl -- he was the last guy standing.

[[AC: Western Animation]]
* The Teaser of one ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode had them watching trailers for a BlandNameProduct of a ''Film/JamesBond'' movie. After subduing a villain in a fancy restaurant, the hero tells the manager to put the damage on his tab.

-> ''"Sorry about the mess."''
--> -- '''Han Solo''' after blasting Greedo in the Mos Eisely Cantina, ''Franchise/StarWars Episode IV: Film/ANewHope''

* The Teaser of one ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode had them watching trailers for a BlandNameProduct of a JamesBond movie. After subduing a villain in a fancy restaurant, the hero tells the manager to put the damage on his tab.

* Subverted in {{Richard Lester}}'s ''TheThreeMusketeers''. Temporarily embarrassed for funds and very much in need of food and drink, the Musketeers and D'Artagnan's servant Planchet cause chaos in an inn with a long, furious and faked fight...which is a pretext for numerous tricks to purloin said food and drink for later consumption at their leisure.

* Subverted in {{Richard Lester}}'s ''Film/The Three Musketeers''. Temporarily embarrassed for funds and very much in need of food and drink, the Musketeers and D'Artagnan's servant Planchet cause chaos in an inn with a long, furious and faked fight...which is a pretext for numerous tricks to purloin said food and drink for later consumption at their leisure.

* The ''NeverwinterNights 2'' expansion ''Mask of the Betrayer'' has a tavern where the owner will fine you if you start a bar fight and/or vandalise any of the furniture.

A character (usually a heroic figure) gets in a scuffle in a [[BarBrawl bar]], a [[DinerBrawl restaurant]], a [[BallroomBlitz banquet hall]], or another establishment not fit for battle and, after the chaos is over, decides to pay for the destruction left behind. HeroInsurance would typically still be in effect but the hero decides to give the owner a little bit of money in order to pay for the mess. More often than not, this is to make the character look like a total {{badass}}. Not only did they just beat up or kill an enemy in a typically awesome manner but they decided to toss in a few extra bucks to pay for collateral damage. This can often be an EstablishingCharacterMoment since the audience can tell the person is not to be trifled with, but is also generous enough to take responsibility for the damages. A BondOneLiner is optional.

* The Teaser of one ''{{Arthur}}'' episode had them watching trailers for a BlandNameProduct of a JamesBond movie. After subduing a villain in a fancy restaurant, the hero tells the manager to put the damage on his tab.

A character (usually a heroic figure) gets in a scuffle in a [[BarBrawl bar]], a [[DinerBrawl restaurant]], a [[BallroomBlitz banquet hall]], or another establishment not fit for battle and, after the chaos is over, decides to pay for the destruction left behind. HeroInsurance would typically still be in effect but the hero decides to give the owner a little bit of money in order to pay for the mess. More often than not, this is to make the character look like a total {{badass}}. Not only did they just beat up or kill an enemy in a typically awesome manner but they decided to toss in a few extra bucks to pay for collateral damage. This can often be an EstablishingCharacterMoment since the audience can tell the person is not to be triffled with but is also generous enough to take responsibility for the damages. A BondOneLiner is optional.

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A character (usually a heroic figure) gets into a scuffle in a [[BarBrawl bar]], a [[DinerBrawl restaurant]], a [[BallroomBlitz banquet hall]], or another establishment not fit for battle and, after the chaos is over, decides to pay for the destruction left behind. HeroInsurance would typically still be in effect but the hero decides to give the owner a little bit of money in order to pay for the mess. More often than not, this is to make the character look like a total {{badass}}. Not only did they just beat up or kill an enemy in a typically awesome manner but they decided to toss in a few extra bucks to pay for collateral damage. This can often be an EstablishingCharacterMoment since the audience can tell the person is not to be triffled with but is also generous enough to take responsibility for the damages. A BondOneLiner is optional.

* In ''{{Claymore}}'', the group of Claymores sent to hunt down Theresa find the in she is staying at, and hand the innkeeper a bag of money. The innkeeper protests that it's too much - for that amount of money, you could buy the entire inn. You can probably guess that it ends up being fair compensation.

A character (usually a heroic figure of some kind) gets into a scuffle in a [[BarBrawl bar]], a [[DinerBrawl restaurant]], a [[BallroomBlitz banquet hall]], or another establishment not fit for battle and, after the chaos is over, decides to pay for the destruction left behind. HeroInsurance would typically still be in effect but the hero still decides to give the owner a little bit of money in order to pay for the mess. More often than not, this is to make the character look like a total {{badass}}. Not only did they just beat up or kill an enemy in a typically awesome manner but they decided to toss in a few extra bucks to pay for collateral damage. This can often be an EstablishingCharacterMoment since the audience can tell the person is not to be triffled with but is also generous enough to take responsibility for the damages. A BondOneLiner is optional.

* Subverted in the first ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' film. The `Busters destroy half of a four-star hotel in persuit of a ghost and not only don't offer to pay but they give the manager a lengthy bill. The snooty manager refuses to pay their high wages (to say nothing of the damage done to the hotel), so they offer to release the ghost back into the hotel, making the manager rethink his options.

A character (usually a heroic figure of some kind) gets into a scuffle in a [[BarBrawl bar]], a [[DinerBrawl restaurant]], a [[BallroomBlitz banquet hall]], or another establishment not fit for battle and, after the chaos is over, decides to pay for the destruction left behind. HeroInsurance would typically still be in effect but the hero still decides to give the owner a little bit of money in order to pay for the mess. More often than not, this is to make the character look like a total {{badass}}. Not only did they just beat up or kill an enemy in a typically awesome manner but they decided to toss in a few extra bucks to pay for collateral damage. BondOneLiner is optional.

* Averted in the first ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' film. The `Busters destroy half of a four-star hotel in persuit of a ghost. The snooty manager refuses to pay unless they give him money for the damage first. They offer to release the ghost back into the hotel, making the manager rethink his demands.