History Main / Retirony

* The RedBaron Manfred von Richthofen was finally shot down two days before he was due to go home on leave. Taking the irony UpToEleven, his last words were to a fan begging for an autograph: "What's your hurry? [[TemptingFate Are you afraid I won't come back?]]"

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBnuuLaZgww&feature=g-u-u This]] scene from ''WebAnimation/HowItShouldHaveEnded's'' take on ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' has one Chitauri planning to retire right before the end scene.

* [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] in ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'', as the [[BigBadEnsemble Chroma Conclave]] attacks Emon during [[BigGood Sovereign Uriel]]'s retirement speech.
* The ''[[WebAnimation/DorklyOriginals Dorkly]]'' article, “[[https://web.archive.org/web/20140517060037/http://www.dorkly.com/post/60847/these-8-characters-are-definitely-going-to-die These Eight Characters are Definitely Going to Die]]”, includes in the list, "The Two-Week-Till Retiree".

* In June 2022, [[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-61993354.amp a man who was cycling the length of the UK for charity]] suffered a fatal heart attack only 28 miles from the finish line.

* ''VideoGame/EnterTheGungeon'' features an item called the Badge, which gives you a police officer companion. He shoots at enemies rather slowly, and can take a lot of damage (and refills his health every floor) but is mortal. His description mentions that he's close to retirement, and talking to him enough will confirm that he's three weeks away. Even if you manage to make him survive, he will die at the door of the final boss.

** Relating to ''Titanic'', Ned Parfett was a newspaper boy who was photographed holding the headline "TITANIC DISASTER: GREAT LOSS OF LIFE," which became an iconic image of the tragedy. He went on to serve in World War I, and was killed less than two weeks before the armistice. Adding onto this, he was actually about to go home on leave, and the German shell that killed him landed while he was in the quartermaster's stores looking for a clean uniform to travel in.

* In the ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad and Comicbook/DoomPatrol Special'', all of the members of Rick Flag's team have one mission left before they are legally pardoned. This includes the Thinker, who plans to abandon his life of crime in favor of a peaceful civilian existence once the mission is over. Unsurprisingly, he's the first one to die when the shit hits the fan.

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Comicbook/SpiderIsland'':
-->'''Comicbook/IronFist:''' Focus, Gravity! No one is dying today!\\

* In ''Comicbook/CivilWarII'' #0, UsefulNotes/BarackObama suggests that Comicbook/WarMachine retire and enter a career in politics, arguing that he's not getting any younger and won't be able to be an Avenger forever. War Machine is then killed by Comicbook/{{Thanos}} a short time later, which kicks off the main conflict of the series. Something of an odd case due to ComicBookTime in that James Rhodes debuted as a character in 1979 and was portrayed as a Vietnam vet at the time and has been an Avenger on and off for over 30 years (became Iron Man in 1983) without having aged a day.
* The opening arc of ''Comicbook/DetectiveComicsRebirth'' has [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake]] deciding that he wants to retire from crime fighting so he can attend college and try to live a normal life. He ends up performing a HeroicSacrifice to save hundreds of people, and the story ends with Bruce breaking down after finding Tim's acceptance letter. [[spoiler: Subverted when it later turns out that Tim survived, but is now being held captive by Mr. Oz.]]
* In ''Comicbook/SpiderManDeadpool'' #28, in Spidey's flashback, one of the civilians who nearly gets killed says she's only two weeks from retirement. Subverted since Spidey manages to save them all. Inverted in [[RashomonStyle Wade's version]], which replaces the civilians with a superhero team that the book's writer, Robbie Thompson really wants to exist. The recently restored from ComicBookLimbo Crystar says he was only two weeks ''out'' of retirement.

* Played unusually straight for comics in the ''Comicbook/{{M|arvelComics2}}C2'' setting where the moment that Captain America concedes that he is past his prime but won't retire until after the current crisis is resolved you know that he's a dead man. Since it was a side continuity it was a death that would stick.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' applies this to the villains: some Raiders will randomly talk about how they're going to hit one more caravan before giving it up.

* Discussed in the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' UniverseCompendium ''Symposium of Post-mysticism'' as an example of one of [[MurphysLaw Murphy's Youkai]], malicious spirits brought into existence by people's belief in tropes. Yes, seriously.

* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'': a Doombot sliced up by White Tiger sputters out "Three days til retirement" before falling apart.
* In the season two finale of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', Wally West announces plans to retire after the current crisis is over, and [[LegacyCharacter offers his Kid Flash title to Bart]] before he [[KilledOffForReal icks the bucket]].

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', at the Glitz Pit, King K says that after one more match he is going to retire. Later you find him and Bandy Andy under a block, because [[spoiler:[[HeKnowsTooMuch they know too much]] about Grubba's energy-sucking machine that uses the Crystal Star's power. They ultimately survive and return to the Glitz Pit]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' [[spoiler: Queen Tara is on her last day of being in charge. When she's picking her replacement, the villains show up, and [[WeHardlyKnewYe well..]]]].

** Relating to ''Titanic'', Ned Parfett was a newspaper boy who was photographed holding the headline "TITANIC DISASTER: GREAT LOSS OF LIFE," which became an iconic image of the tragedy. He went on to serve in World War I, and was killed less than two weeks before the armistice. Adding onto this, he was actually about to go home on leave, and the shell that killed him landed while he was in the quartermaster's stores looking for a clean uniform.

** Relating to ''Titanic'', Ned Parfett was a newspaper boy who was photographed holding the headline "TITANIC DISASTER: GREAT LOSS OF LIFE," which became an iconic image of the tragedy. He went on to serve in World War I, and was killed less than two weeks before the armistice.

* ''VideoGame/EnterTheGungeon'' features an item called the Badge, which gives you a police officer companion. He shoots at enemies rather slowly, and can take a lot of damage (and refills his health every floor) but is mortal. His description mentions that he's close to retirement, and talking to him enough will confirm that he's three weeks away. Averting this trope is up to you. Good luck.

* An insurance company one: two friends are in a food court; one is a thin active cyclist who is berating the other, a large overweight slob gorging on a cheeseburger and fries. The skinny fellow is telling his friend that his diet and lifestyle will kill him, whereas the fit friend will live for years. Then the fast-food sign falls from the ceiling, crushing the skinny guy.[[/folder]]

* ''Film/OnlyTheBrave'': As they're heading to Yarnell, Eric tells Jesse this will be his last fire season. Then he's one of those caught in the fire [[spoiler:that claims nineteen of his crew in the biggest loss of firefighters since 9-11]].

* In ''Literature/{{Battle Ground|2020}}'', during the Fomor attack on Chicago, Harry runs into a cop who'd featured prominently in some of the early novels but who he hadn't seen in years. The officer says that he's two weeks from retirement, then looks at [[ApocalypseHow the present situation]] and says he's going to die of "cliche poisoning."

* ''Series/{{Psych}}''

* One interpretation of Warren Zevon's "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)" sees the central character die during his intended final match (although both aspects are kept ambiguous)

* Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG has what might be not only a subversion but an ''inversion'' with Montoya. He was a former small-time crook involved with a big heist on a multi-million dollar corporation and the one member of the crew who had been planning to go clean when he was done. The heist [[GoneHorriblyWrong was a disaster]] as a result of interference from one Silencia Venemosa and Montoya was one of only two men to escape from the massacre with their lives. Fast forward a few years later to [[ItMakesSenseInContext the actual Dino Attack]], and not only has Montoya successfully gone clean but [[spoiler: his only surviving partner and Silencia herself are killed in the final battle, making him the last surviving participant of the heist]].

* Used in one case of ''VisualNovel/{{Ace Attorney Investigations|MilesEdgeworth}}''. [[spoiler: Detective Badd]] mentions that this is his last day before retirement, even officially announcing his retirement at midnight, right before [[spoiler: he is arrested for being part of the Yatagarasu. So that actually makes this an aversion]].

** ''VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation'' has it up the wazoo with Shamrock. During the Liberation of Gracemeria (the endgame), he talks about how he's going to introduce you to his family, going so far as reminding you to bring flowers for his daughter. When it's revealed that his family was killed during the operation, in the final mission, he goes all suicidal and flies right into a Death Star trench run-style alley to get important mission data. He gets hit several times and isn't ''seen'' to bail out. Subverted in that [[spoiler: he doesn't die, but is now stuck in a wheelchair.]]

* In [[TheNeidermeyer Captain Waylon's]] ''final'' mission of ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]'', he proudly declares that this is his final mission before retiring to his burned-out mansion. [[spoiler:In something of a subversion you don't actually see him die, he just [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse sort of vanishes from the story and is never heard from again.]]]]

* In the ''Webcomic/{{Magellan}}'' side story, "Families/Cемьи", Soviet heroes Red Vlad and Comrade Katya had discovered that the missions they thought were great patriotic victories over evil Western Capitalism were staged propaganda events and the threats their superiors used to keep them in line were bluffs. They started to make plans to go grab their son (whom they'd hidden away from their superiors) and defect, when the [[HellOnEarth Q'Arth invasion]] began. Vlad and Katya agreed that stopping these strange monsters would be their last great mission for the motherland. Long time readers knew that [[spoiler: Vlad and Katya were among the first to fall to the Q'Arth]].

* Rinne seems prone to causing this in ''Anime/VividStrike''. Two of her opponents note how it'll be their last tournament (in [[spoiler:Miura's]] case it's more that she'll be too old to be in the U-15 bracket), only to be curb-stomped by her. [[spoiler:Subverted for the former, as her defeat actually convinced her to keep going even if only at a local level.]]

'''Wiggum:''' Well, you know how it is with cops. I'll get shot three days before retirement. In the business, we call it "retirony".\\

* NASCAR driver Fireball Roberts died in a crash during the 1964 World 600 on May 24th, 1964, from severe burns. The race would have supposedly been one of his last before retirement.

* Some of the evil mooks in 2005's ''VideoGame/ThePunisher'' claim they were about to retire/are married/have kids/whatever. It's possible to leave them alive ([[VideoGameCrueltyPotential but not as much fun]]).

** In Part 5, ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo Vento Aureo]]'', right before [[spoiler:Narancia]] dies they begin talking about everything they're going to do once the Boss is defeated. [[spoiler:Wanting to get through highschool, being there for Trish, seeing Fugo again, eating some piping hot pizza and getting his life together]]. They die a few minutes afterward.

* One of the earliest examples is 1932 film ''Film/CentralPark''. Charlie, a Central Park cop, is suffering from badly deteriorating vision, but he's hiding this because his pension vests in a week, after whihc he can retire. Naturally he's shot and killed by an armed robber at the end of the film.