History Main / TheDayOfReckoning

* At the end of ''FullmetalAlchemist'' manga/ Brotherhood, this pretty much happens when Father takes the lives of everyone in Amestris, only to have Ed and everyone else fol his plans, and he was eventually defeated.

* The two-parter Second Season finale of ''[[XMenEvolution X-Men: Evolution]]'' is actually titled "Day of Reckoning." It involves the iconic {{X-Men}} figure of a Sentinel being let loose in the city and attacking all mutants and them having to defend themselves, leading to their existence being revealed on national television.

* The Battle of the Five Armies at the end of ''TheHobbit''.
* The Battle of the Black Gate near the end of ''TheLordOfTheRings,'' used to divert Sauron's attention so that Frodo can do his job.
* The Battle of Hogwarts, in ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''.

* Any of the Apocalypses from ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

--'''Riley Finn, ''Live Action TV/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''

* ''CallOfCthulhu'' campaigns

--'''Riley Finn, ''TV/Buffy the Vampire Slayer''

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* ''{{Digimon}}'' had the arrival of Myotismon be "The Hour of the Beast" or [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar 6 seconds past 6:06 PM]].

* Ragnarok, the prophesied final battle between the gods and Jotun in Norse Mythology.

--'''Commander Shepard''', ''MassEffect2''

* ''PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': The Walpurgisnacht. [[spoiler:[[GroundhogDayLoop And Homura has faced it too many times to count. And losing, every single time.]]]]

* Gozer's arrival on Earth in ''{{Ghostbusters}}'' would almost certainly have been this. Judgment Day is even referred to by name and place in the Bible.

* When {{Angel}} and his team finally attack the Circle of the Black Thorn and try to avert THE apocalypse.

** In ''WorldOfWarcraft'', the climaxes of both ''Wrath of the Lich King'' and ''Cataclysm'' in the Icecrown Citadel and Dragon Soul raids respectively. It isn't so much that the villains are planning anything specific at that particular time, but with so many of the allied forces on the line, they'll be home free if the heroes fail.

* Sozin's Comet triggers this in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender''

There are tons of dark prophecies of doomsdays and master plans that take a long time to put into action. TheDayOfReckoning is the day that all the prophecies speak of... the day that the EvilOverlord wins, goodness and mercy are overthrown, and a new Dark Age arises on Earth...

At least, until the hero shows up, defeats the villain, saves the day, and returns everything to normal (usually with one or two characters sacrificing themselves to do it). This trope is about the final confrontation between the heroes and the coming evil. The long-awaited and foretold apocalypse. When the heroes finally get out from under the DarkestHour and put a stop to the villain's plan for world domination.

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!!Examples:

* ''{{Digimon}}'' had the arrival of Myotismon be "The Hour of the Beast" or [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar 6 seconds past 6:06 PM]].
* At the end of ''{{Fullmetal Alchemist}}'' manga/ Brotherhood, this pretty much happens when Father takes the lives of everyone in Amestris, only to have Ed and everyone else fol his plans, and he was eventually defeated.

* StarWars: The day Emperor Palpatine takes over the Republic, beginning with the murder of all the Jedi, at the end of ''Revenge of the Sith''.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* The new ''Series/DoctorWho'' series had a DayOfReckoning at the end of every season. The Doctor refers to them as "Volcano Days". Of particular note are the episodes "The Sound of Drums"/"The Last of the Time Lords", "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End", and "The End of Time".

* Judgment Day, as described in the [[TheBible Book of Revelation]]. This makes this trope OlderThanFeudalism.

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

[[folder:Video Games]]

** In ''{{WorldOfWarcraft}}'', the climaxes of both ''Wrath of the Lich King'' and ''Cataclysm'' in the Icecrown Citadel and Dragon Soul raids respectively. It isn't so much that the villains are planning anything specific at that particular time, but with so many of the allied forces on the line, they'll be home free if the heroes fail.

* In ''VideoGame/{{God of War}} III'' Kratos at last brings fourth the destruction of Mount Olympus, and the gods upon it, as all was foretold.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Trigon's invasion of Earth in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''.
* Sozin's Comet triggers this in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender''

* In ''TransformersTheMovie'', the coming of Unicron.
* The two-parter Second Season finale of ''[[XMenEvolution X-Men: Evolution]]'' is actually titled "Day of Reckoning." It involves the iconic {{X-Men}} figure of a Sentinel being let loose in the city and attacking all mutants and them having to defend themselves, leading to their existence being revealed on national television.
** The two-parter series finale "Ascension" probably also counts, as the titular heroes fight against and defeat their ultimate enemy Apocalypse, who had been prepping up for the last two seasons to turn all of humanity into mutants.

* ''CallOfCthulhu'' adventures

** ''The Fungi From Yuggoth'' campaign. Dholes will be summoned worldwide, the Sphinx will be changed into an avatar of Nyarlathotep and terrorists will overthrow national governments, allowing the Mythos to take over the world.

** ''The Fungi From Yuggoth'' - Dholes will be summoned worldwide, the Sphinx will be changed into an avatar of Nyarlathotep and terrorists will overthrow national governments, allowing the Mythos to take over the world.

** While the judgment before the great white throne is literally a day of reckoning (since "reckoning" in this sense is synonymous with "judgment"), the battle of Armageddon corresponds more closely to the trope meaning. The [[YourMileageMayVary good guys]] have already won by the time Judgment Day comes around.

* The Final Day from ''[[LegendOfZelda Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]''.

* The Day of Lavos from ''ChronoTrigger''.

At the end of ''{{Fullmetal Alchemist}}'' manga/ Brotherhood, this pretty much happens when Father takes the lives of everyone in Amestris, only to have Ed and everyone else fol his plans, and he was eventually defeated.

* The ''MassEffect'' series has one of these at the end of each game: in the first game, it is the defense of the Citadel and in the second, quite predictably, the Suicide Mission (see the opening quote).
** The third game isn't out yet, but from the first trailer, the whole damn thing might be this.
** Really, the entire series has been leading up to the Reaper's Day Of Reckoning when their fleet arrives in full. Except that Shepard has managed to delay them several times, pushing back their arrival in ''Mass Effect 1'' and, well, "Arrival", in addition to screwing up their schemes with the geth and Collectors.

* In ''{{God of War}}'' III Kratos at last brings fourth the destruction of Mount Olympus, and the gods upon it, as all was foretold.

* In ''GodofWar III'' Kratos at last brings fourth the destruction of Mount Olympus, and the gods upon it, as all was foretold.

** In ''God of War III'' Kratos at last brings fourth the destruction of Mount Olympus, and the gods upon it, as all was foretold.

** ''God of War III'' - Kratos at last brings fourth the destruction of Mount Olympus, and the gods upon it, as all was foretold.

There are tons of dark prophecies of doomsdays and master plans that take a long time to put into action. TheDayOfReckoning is the day when all the prophecies speak of... the day that the EvilOverlord wins, goodness and mercy are overthrown, and a new Dark Age arises on Earth...

* ''{{Digimon}}'' had the arrival of Myotismon be "The Hour of the Beast" or [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar 6 seconds past 6:06 PM]].