History Main / PyrrhicVictory

* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' has the defeat of the Meta and dealing with Project Freelancer come at the price of [[spoiler:Alpha-Church and several other AIs being destroy in an EMP, Tex imprisoned in the capture unit that Epsilon-Church then joins her in (which is thrown into evidence and deemed useless) and Wash almost killed, then forced to masquerade as Church to avoid prison time. Oh, and Red Team lost Lopez. He comes back (as a head still/again) in season 11, though]].

** The ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'' prequel book shows this happening very, very heavily to [[WellIntentionedExtremist Redcloak]], who loses nearly everyone and everything he cares about as he tries to make progress on [[MissionFromGod the quest his god has given him]]. It also happens to a lesser extent to [[BigBad Xykon]], whose transformation into a lich has made him immortal and more powerful than ever... and becoming an undead also means that he has lost all the earthly pleasures that he had believed made life worthwhile before his transformation. (The loss of his sense of taste and ability to enjoy coffee being the one that gets emphasized by the book.)

Though based on real life events, due to massive [[Administrivia/EditWar edit warring]] in the real life section, [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease the section is now closed.]] Fortunately, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory there's a page with details of these battles]] on [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]].

* In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', [[WellIntentionedExtremist Waternoose's plan to enslave children for their screams to keep Monsters, Inc., going and end the energy crisis]] is [[EngineeredPublicConfession exposed for all to see]], leading to his arrest. But as he is lead out, [[WhatTheHellHero he warns Sully that by trying to keep Boo safe and get her home safely, he has destroyed Monsters, Inc., which no longer has any more screams, and thus doomed Monstropolis to a state of permanent blackout]]. And indeed, later, all the monsters in the building are standing outside with the company seemingly out of business, and even Sully is worried that his good intentions have cost him his job. Mike tries to cheer him up.
-->'''Mike:''' Hey, you all right? Come on, pal, cheer up, we did it! We got Boo home! Sure, we put the company in the toilet, and, gee, hundreds of people will be out of work now. Not to mention the angry mob that'll come after us when there's no more power, but hey... at least we had some laughs, right?

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', the Piston Cup comes down to a three-way contest between hero Lightning [=McQueen=], BigBad Chick Hicks, and defending champion Strip Weathers, who is planning to retire after this race. Hicks cheats and causes Weathers to wreck out, which in turn causes Lightning, in the lead, to drop out to help Weathers at least finish his last race. As a result, Hicks actually wins, with Weathers in second place and Lightning in third, but he accepts the trophy to a throng of boos and thrown objects, including from his own pit crew, now revealed as a cheater to the world. It also costs him a coveted sponsorship deal with Dinoco (the company that sponsored Weathers and was searching for a new racer following his retirement) who instead offer a deal to [=McQueen=] for his sportsmanship despite losing the race.

* In ''ComicBook/SupermanSpaceAge'', Lex cements his victory over Batman, [=WayneCorp=], and the world the day the world ends. To add insult to injury, the fact that he refused Superman's DNA extraction means nothing of him remains on the new Earth.

'''Here there be spoilers,''' since this is often an {{Ending Trope|s}}.

* When Franchise/{{Batman}} faces [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Jason Todd]], who forces him to [[SadisticChoice choose]] between letting Joker die or killing Jason, Batman [[TakeAThirdOption makes Jason drop his weapon and sends him into shock]] by [[ImprobableAimingSkills throwing a batarang at a pipe so it rebounds and cuts the side of Jason's neck]].
-->'''Joker:''' You managed to find a way to win... and everybody still ''loses''!!

* After ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' ends in the death of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/IronMan actually [[InvokedTrope mentions Pyrrhus]] in ''The Confession''. Overwhelmed with guilt and grief, he ultimately concludes that the victory [[WasItReallyWorthIt was worthless]].

* ComicBook/DoctorDoom:

* In ''ComicBook/Injustice2'' (the comic book prequel to the [[VideoGame/Injustice2 video game of the same name]]), ComicBook/RasAlGhul manages to get rid of the corporate executives polluting the world as well as [[spoiler:successfully assassinating the President of the United States for his anti-environmental policies]] with none of the heroes being able to stop him. However, in the process [[spoiler:his animal reserve with several endangered species being devotedly guarded by Ra's gets destroyed during a battle with the superheroes, leading to their species being practically extinguished]]. He lets his enemies go because there is no more point in fighting, and makes sure to tell them whatever victory he made that day is meaningless due to the price paid before swearing to carry on the fight even more ferociously.
* ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' ends on this. Batman, Jim Gordon, and Harvey Dent form an alliance to take down Carmine Falcone just as Batman's familiar RoguesGallery start to appear like [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]], [[Characters/BatmanRoguesTheScarecrow The Scarecrow]], [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]], and [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]]. Falcone's empire is brought down--but the series ends with the RoguesGallery in control, Harvey Dent has been transformed into [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two-Face]], one of Harvey's first acts as Two-Face is killing Falcone himself, and both Batman and Gordon wondering "WasItReallyWorthIt"
* In Marvel's [[{{Elseworlds}} "What if Juggernaut killed the X-men"]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Juggernaut successfully kills Xavier and the X-men]], but he doesn't get to enjoy it because [[EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce without the X-men to stop them, the Sentinels release a poison gas into the atmosphere]] that kills everyone but Juggernaut due to his powers, and he finds that he can't interact with people hiding in shelters because breaking in exposes them to the gas. So he's all alone in the world, forever.

* At the end of the "Kindly Ones" arc of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Lyta Hall, aided by the Kindly Ones, succeeds in killing Dream and avenging her son's apparent death. There's just one problem: Daniel wasn't actually dead, and for her crimes against the Dreaming, he is forced to become the new Dream, so she will never, ever get him back. And on top of that, her actions have pissed off a lot of people, leaving her with a lot of enemies.

* ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs''

* In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/LastDaughterOfKrypton'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} defeated [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Simon Tycho]]'s private army, beat him up, got her stolen [[DataCrystal Sunstone]] back and blew his space base up. As for Simon Tycho himself, he lost the lower half of his body because of the explosion. Still, because he got a sample of Supergirl's blood completely by accident, he thinks he came out on top.

* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': On paper, [[spoiler:ComicBook/LexLuthor succeeds in getting Franchise/{{Superman}} killed thanks to Doomsday]]. However, [[spoiler:he ends up in jail as a result, Franchise/{{Batman}} is keeping an eye on him and will work with Franchise/WonderWoman on starting the Justice League, Superman is now remembered by everyone as a hero and will come back.]]

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': In one story arc, Calvin attempts to weasel out of having to do a writing assignment for school by using time travel to get it in the future when it's already written. It doesn't end up working out, because in order for the assignment to exist in the future he had to have written it in the past (which he did not do), but the past and future Hobbeses together, realizing in advance Calvin's scheme won't work, write up a story themselves and give it to Calvin, [[DespiteThePlan so he still gets out of having to write a story himself in the end]]. Unfortunately, when Calvin presents the story the next day, he finds it's an ''insulting'' story about how much of a useless idiot he is for using time travel to weasel out of doing his homework, and which, according to Calvin, turned him into the laughingstock of the class.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': In one story arc, Calvin attempts to weasel out of having to do a writing assignment for school by using time travel to get it in the future when it's already written. It doesn't end up working out, because in order for the assignment to exist in the future he had to have written it in the past, but the past and future Hobbeses together, realizing in advance Calvin's scheme won't work, write up a story themselves and give it to Calvin, so he still gets out of having to write a story himself in the end. Unfortunately, when Calvin presents the story the next day, he finds it's an ''insulting'' story about how much of a useless idiot he is for using time travel to weasel out of doing his homework with time travel that, according to Calvin, turned him into the laughingstock of the class.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Pyrrha Nikos has a name of Greek origins. While her first name comes from a word meaning "flame-haired", her surname means "victor of the people". The term "pyrrhic victory" comes from the name of King Pyrrhus, whose name shares the same origin as Pyrrha. Pyrrha's name therefore can translate to "Pyrrhic Victory". During Pyrrha's tournament match against Penny, she defeats Penny but only in a way that leaves her feeling devastated. [[spoiler:As a result of Emerald [[MasterOfIllusion making her see]] a threat that doesn't exist, Pyrrha uses the full force of her magnetism Semblance to repulse Penny's swords. As Penny is a secretly a robot who is controlling her swords via wires, Pyrrha's act accidentally entangles Penny with the wires, garroting Penny so successfully that her body is torn into pieces on live television.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
** Pyrrha Nikos has a name of Greek origins. While her first name comes from a word meaning "flame-haired", her surname means "victor of the people". The term "pyrrhic victory" comes from the name of King Pyrrhus, whose name shares the same origin as Pyrrha. Pyrrha's name therefore can translate to "Pyrrhic Victory". During Pyrrha's tournament match against Penny, she defeats Penny but only in a way that leaves her feeling devastated. [[spoiler:As a result of Emerald [[MasterOfIllusion making her see]] a threat that doesn't exist, Pyrrha uses the full force of her magnetism Semblance to repulse Penny's swords. As Penny is a secretly a robot who is controlling her swords via wires, Pyrrha's act accidentally entangles Penny with the wires, garroting Penny so successfully that her body is torn into pieces on live television.]]
** Hits Cinder in Volume 5, as [[spoiler:[[KickTheDog her mortal wounding of Weiss]] only succeeded in bringing out Jaune's healing Semblance and making the rest of the heroes double up their efforts. If that wasn't enough, her plan to ambush the children with Raven and Vernal and betray them to get the relic backfired, as Raven used Vernal as a decoy to get the relic for herself.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei suceeds in defeating her mother in the climax however [[spoiler: Ming's massive kaiju body is not in the ritual circle, Mei is not strong enough to pull her into it and time is running out to perform the ritual to save her]]. [[spoiler: Fortunatly, Mei's other female relatives help her pull Ming into the circle in time.]]

-->-- '''King Pyrrhus of Epirus''' in the Battle of Asculum, his ''second'' Pyrrhic Victory against the Romans

-->'''Mike:''' Hey, you all right? Come on, we did it. We got Boo home. Sure, we put the company in the toilet, and, gee, hundreds of people will be out of work now, not to mention the angry mob that'll come after us when there's no more power... but hey, at least we had a few laughs, right?

These are common in DarkerAndEdgier series and is one of the defining characteristics of a CrapsackWorld. Compare to MeaninglessVillainVictory. Contrast with ShootTheShaggyDog. If the bad outcome of a victory is due to post-victory arrangements rather than victory itself, you may look for WonTheWarLostThePeace. When dealing with {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, this overlaps with BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu. Contrast XanatosGambit, where "losing" might benefit the planner more than outright victory. Contrast GodzillaThreshold; ''any'' victory will do, with no price too great to achieve it, and TheUnfettered are the most likely to carry it out.

Villains though are not immune to this trope, if anything it happens to them even more often than it happens to heroes. This is often done to show how futile being evil truly is, [[BeingEvilSucks never being able to win even when you do technically win.]] It is also a good way to have a KarmaHoudini still [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty pay for their crimes in some way.]] Compare MeaninglessVillainVictory, where the pyrrhic side is more intense and the victory side is now just gone.

This trope is based on real life events. However, due to massive [[Administrivia/EditWar edit warring]] in the real life section, [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease the section is now closed.]] Fortunately, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory there's a page with details of these battles]] on [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]].

* ''WebComic/SluggyFreelance'': In "GOFOTRON Champion of the Cosmos", Zorgon Gola tries to invoke this by imbuing a [[RuleOfFunny puppy]] with the light-seeking tendencies of a moth and the universe-destroying-chain-reaction powers of a cascade missile. Once the puppy manages to reach a sun, it will destroy the universe (or Punyverse, as the protagonists call this small alternative universe). Gola's real plan is to wait for [[CombiningMecha GOFOTRON]] to defeat the puppy but be destroyed or crippled in the ensuing explosion.

This trope is based on real life events. However, due to massive [[Administrivia/EditWar edit warring]] in the real life section, [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease the section is now closed.]] Fortunately, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory there's a page with details of these battles]] on [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]].

* At Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 2014, Team Cena (Wrestling/JohnCena, Wrestling/ErickRowan, Wrestling/{{Ryback}}, Wrestling/BigShow, and Wrestling/DolphZiggler) faced Team [[Wrestling/TheAuthority Authority]] (Wrestling/{{Kane}}, Wrestling/LukeHarper, Wrestling/MarkHenry, Wrestling/{{Rusev|andLana}}, and Wrestling/SethRollins) with the stipulation that if Team Cena was victorious, Triple H and Stephanie [=McMahon=] would step down from power, but with a caveat: only Cena could bring back the Authority. In the end, after Big Show punched out Cena and walked away from the ring, Ziggler was the only remaining member of Team Cena, who would successively pin Kane, Harper and Rollins, giving Team Cena the win. On the December 29 Raw, Seth Rollins threatened to curbstomp special guest Wrestling/{{Edge}}, who had retired from multiple neck injuries, demanding that Cena bring back the Authority after little more than a month of exile. Cena had no other choice but to grant Rollins' demand, and as a result, Ziggler, Rowan, and Ryback were temporarily fired, and [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame Cena was applauded by Triple H and Stephanie]] for bringing them back into power.

* Any gruesomely tiring or injurious match can be turned into one of these for the WWE Champion thanks to the introduction of the Money in the Bank briefcase. The briefcase can be cashed it at any time for a WWE Championship match, even if the champion is too worn out to properly defend their title. Notably, this is how the first cash-in went, with Wrestling/{{Edge}} defeating Wrestling/JohnCena in a short match after a bruised and bloody Cena had just defended the title in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution 2006. Other examples include Wrestling/CMPunk beating Wrestling/JeffHardy after winning the title from Edge in a Ladder Match at Extreme Rules 2009, Wrestling/{{Kane}} squashing Wrestling/{{Rey Mysterio|Jr}} after he just retained the title in a grueling match with Wrestling/JackSwagger at Money in the Bank 2010, and Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} beating Wrestling/RomanReigns after he just won a tournament for the vacant title at Survivor Series 2015. [[/folder]]

* ''Machinima/LogansTale'': [[spoiler:''Logan's Day'' ends with Logan defeating the Think Tank and rescuing Veronica, but she is horribly injured, and Boone dies pointlessly, robbed of even the chance to go down in a blaze of glory like he wanted]].

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has the defeat of the Meta and dealing with Project Freelancer come at the price of [[spoiler:Alpha-Church and several other AIs being destroy in an EMP, Tex imprisoned in the capture unit that Epsilon-Church then joins her in (which is thrown into evidence and deemed useless) and Wash almost killed, then forced to masquerade as Church to avoid prison time. Oh, and Red Team lost Lopez. He comes back (as a head still/again) in season 11, though]].