History Main / ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer

* In one ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'' story, the titular robot battles giant ants encroaching on Reno, Nevada. When interviewed afterwards about how he defeated them, he explains "I used my violence."
* Subverted in ''ComicBook/TheBadger''. In one story the Badger debates this issue with a crippled street musician. After the Badger saves him from a mugger the busker, while remaining personally committed to pacifism concedes that the Badger has a point.

* Franchise/{{Batman}}, despite his usual ThouShaltNotKill rule has resorted to this on a few occasions when the villain he's fighting can't be safely contained. Not counting several EarlyInstallmentWeirdness stories from UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|of Comic Books}} where he killed several villains, the modern era has his original encounter with [=KGBeast=] whom he leaves to drown in the sewers (this is later retconned with the GCPD saving him), enraging Deacon Blackfire's followers into killing him in ''ComicBook/BatmanTheCult'', and him shooting Darkseid during ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''. While he doesn't kill he still uses plenty of violence, often leaving criminals with broken bones for the police to pick up.

* One of the ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'' tie-ins focusses on a brother and sister in ComicBook/BlackAdam's home country of Khandaq, which is being ruled by a brutal US-backed dictator named Ibac. The sister believes they can liberate the country through peaceful protest and appealing to the international community, while the brother joins a [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised violent militant group]] called the "Sons of Adam". The Sons try to conduct a mystical ritual to restore Adam (who was killed at the end of ''[[ComicBook/Shazam2012 Shazam!]]'') to life, but Ibac's soldiers find them and kill them. As her brother dies in her arms, the sister completes the ritual, Black Adam is resurrected and leads the Sons in a violent rebellion, personally (and gruesomely) murdering Ibac. The sister decides her brother was right and grabs his gun, then races off to join the fight.
* The current page quote from ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'' actually subverts the trope in context. Gothwrain is egging Theodore Diggers on to try to kill him on purpose in order to [[spoiler:enable his own ThanatosGambit that he's been plotting for at least years]]; violence is exactly the answer he ''wants''.
* A [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Comic Book story featuring the Guardian and the Newsboy Legion had them interact with two pacifist brothers who'd isolated themselves in their house for years because of the world's warlike ways. Enemy spies break into the house for some reason (possibly to use it as a hideout, or to steal the brothers' stashed money to fund their spy ring) and it's only by the Guardian's use of applied force that the spies are defeated. The brothers grasp the intended Aesop, that if you don't confront evil, it will eventually come in after you.
* The original run of ''ComicBook/HawkAndDove'' had this as a message. Of course, if you're going to be a crime-''fighter'', it's implied that you have to fight people, ''Dove''.
* A crossover between ComicBook/ThePunisher and Deathlok (a pacifist man in the body of a killing machine) feature this. The climax of the story has Frank killing a man threatning the life of Deathlok's son. Deathlok initially objects, and Frank says that he didn't have a choice. Deathlok gets ready to argue, but then decides that this time, he was right, and thanks him for saving his son's life.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}, in his early ComicBook/PostCrisis years, infamously killed several (depowered) villains who'd [[OmnicidalManiac killed their worlds]] and threatened to get their powers back and do the same to Earth-DC; Supes was left tormented as a result. It strengthened his resolve to ''always'' find another way from then on, to the point that when later confronted with ''[[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorphs]]'' in ''Superman / Aliens'', he is still reluctant to kill them.
* Both played straight and inverted in ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}''. By the end of the series, Spider has personally killed more than a dozen people (mostly in self defense) and has committed assault on hundreds, if not thousands. But he also carries around a mostly nonviolent, if uncomfortable, weapon (the Bowel Disruptor, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) and almost all real change is effected through the written word rather than the alternative.

** This has cropped up more often in recent years. His solution in ''Comicbook/AvengersVsXMen''? Murder Hope Summers, a teenage mutant girl, for being a beacon for the Phoenix (though he can't go through with it). And in ''ComicBook/AgeOfUltron''? Murder Hank Pym so he can't make Ultron, who has successfully taken over the world. [[spoiler:A SubvertedTrope that second time, as it makes everything go FromBadToWorse in TheMultiverse.]]

* The late, great Richard Jeni had a bit of fun with this one, countering the charge that violence doesn't solve anything by scratching his chin and quipping, "[[DeadpanSnarker Eh, it solved]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII..." He then goes on point out that violence [[SubvertedTrope may not be the best solution]], but [[DoubleSubversion it IS a solution]]:

* The late, great Richard Jeni had a bit of fun with this one, countering the charge that violence doesn't solve anything by scratching his chin and quipping, "[[DeadpanSnarker Eh, it solved]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII..." He then goes on point out that violence [[SubvertedTrope may not be the best solution]], but [[DoubleSubversion it IS a solution]].

* The missionaries in ''Film/RamboIV'' find out the hard and painful way that only violence understands violence and when your opponents' goal is mass genocide, pacifism just makes their job easier. Franchise/{{Rambo}} himself has no such illusions, and has no choice but to unleash a world of hurt on the Burmese military junta to save what's left of the naive missionary team. It appears that cold, harsh [[RealLife reality]] backs this one up; the monks who attempted peaceful protests against the Burmese S.P.D.C. were all but wiped out.

* Played for laughs in ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux'', where a character goes from crying their eyes out over the brutality of war to exclaiming [[WarIsGlorious "War! It's FAN-TASTIC!"]] thanks to a brief pep-talk.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' provides an interesting juxtaposition. Both [[SkilledButNaive Alm]] and [[ActionGirl Celica]] qualify. Both avoid violence whenever possible, but when it comes to violence it solves everything. Despite what both of them initially claimed [[spoiler:upon reuniting for the first time since childhood and what caused their initial schism]], Alm -who usually chooses fighting, similar to most Lord in the series- is often put in situations where ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption, yet would rather not have his and enemy soldiers die pointlessly, while Celica -who holds pacifism as part of her creed, after Mila's teachings- has [[MurderIsTheBestSolution no problem killing whoever gets in her way]]. As the game progresses, Alm grows into a more ReluctantWarrior and nearly loses his mind when he [[spoiler:kills [[EvilOverlord Emperor Rudolf]], who was actually his father]] and then [[spoiler:Berkut, in self defense, after learning they were cousins]]. At the end of the game Alm seems [[HurtingHero noticeably shaken]] by the war while Celica is fine. In ''[[VideoGameRemake Shadows of Valentia]]'', Alm's voice actor Creator/KyleMcCarley sells off his character development [[VocalEvolution with a progressively more brooding voice]] as the game goes on.

** In "'' The Roach''", a large roach claims to be able to swallow ''everybody'' and thus terrifies the other animals (including elephants) into submission. All attempts to reason either with the roach (to stop scaring the animals) or the animals (to stop beaing afraid of a mere ''roach'') fail, after which a sparrow comes along and swallows the roach with a single bite.

* The modern world ''is'' essentially built on violence, or at least the ''[[AppealToForce threat]]'' [[AppealToForce of violence]]. Any faction who can maintain [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_on_violence monopoly on violence]] will become ''de facto'' state, [[MightMakesRight free to enforce their rules on the populace]]. These rules, in turn, can be codified into law.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': On at least two of the WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Episodes]], Lisa made it so Springfield (and the world) became peaceful locations with no weapons... and were thus completely helpless when a threat (the zombies of various famous Western criminals ([[AndZoidberg and Kaiser Wilhelm]]) in one, Kang and Kodos invading ''armed with slingshots'' in another) came packing.

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' has the [[NoSocialSkills former child-soldier and career mercenary protagonist]] acting as the [[DrillSergeantNasty head coach]] for his high school rugby team, who had lost forty-nine of their past forty-nine games. By the end of his training, every one of the wimpy, pacifist team members have been turned into berserkers with burning-red eyes. One of them is outright disappointed that a tackle that carried him through a member of the rival team left said person trembling on the ground instead of ''dead.'' With that in mind, the substitute coach was literally reading an instruction manual that was inspired by the teachings of [[Film/FullMetalJacket Drill Sergeant Hartman.]] Of course, the entire episode (if not the entire ''series'') is being PlayedForLaughs.

** In the side-story Prince Kassardis and His Three (AxCrazy) Wives, violence is necessary for peace. The trick is, it doesn't have to be ''your'' violence...
* Invoked in ''Webcomic/ASofterWorld.''
-->I always thought violence didn't solve anything. Until one day it did.

* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', Mimic gets GoodAngelBadAngel--both of whom advise him that [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-3-15/ Violence Really Is the Answer]].
* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'':
** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20180621051323/http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000428c Megaman is explaining that violence is not the answer when Roll shows up, and immediately resorts to violence.]]
** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190618122004/http://bobandgeorge.com/archives/001114c Megaman tries it on the Authors.]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190513040948/http://bobandgeorge.com/archives/001115c Protoman approves.]]
* ''Webcomic/JoeVsElanSchool'' relates a A very, ''very'' twisted RealLife example. "The Ring" forces a rebellious kid to put on boxing gloves and fight other kids who are chosen to represent Elan, and it is meant to teach students that Elan will always win. It's another tool that Elan uses to not only demoralize students, but to allow students to brutalize their peers for the sadistic glee of their captors. What's worse, no one is allowed to opt out.

* PlayedForLaughs in an episode of ''Red vs. Blue.'' A [[spoiler: newly-villainous Agent Washington]] needs to get information out of a group of aliens and is fully prepared to simply force it out of them, but [[ActualPacifist Doc]] convinces him to try negotiation first. [[spoiler: The aliens mock and insult him for it.]] [[spoiler: Washington's]] response to this says it all:
--->'''[[spoiler: Wash:]] '''[[TranquilFury It means]] [[PreAsskickingOneLiner peace talks have broken down.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' zig-zagged this in the last few episodes: [[MartialPacifist Aang]] speaks with his past lives, and each one tells him, indirectly, that killing Ozai is justified if only because they can offer no other solution to him--even fellow {{Perfect Pacifist|People}} Avatar Yangchen tells him that as Avatar, the well-being of the people supersedes his own spiritual needs and ethical code, and he must do whatever it takes to protect the world. Then Aang goes into the Avatar State, beats the ever living snot out of Ozai, and [[TechnicalPacifist refuses to complete the finishing move.]] THEN [[spoiler:Aang uses [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands energybending]] to save the day without killing]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', one episode featured the Atom and ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} teaming up to save Franchise/{{Batman}}. The Atom, a scientist, is off put by [[BoisterousBruiser Aquaman's tendencies]] and tries to solve the problem with science and precision... until he gets sufficiently angry and punches cancer. This works.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' was spent mostly trying to convince a tribe of {{Actual Pacifist}}s that the Separatists were about to test a new superweapon on their planet whether the villagers were there or not (although the village was something of a bonus), the Jedi did not lead the Separatists there, and politely asking the Separatists to leave was not going to have any effect. One of the elders of the village refuses to listen and makes the argument that while violence might/would save their ''lives'' they would be sacrificing the very heart of who they are ''as a people'' by giving up pacifism. Then again, without their lives, who they ''were'' as a people is a lot less valuable.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'' it's official from the start of the series that this is Buck Tuddrussel's go-to philosophy-- punch first, ask questions later! Otto at first tries to intervene at every chance, trying to explain that most problems that the Squad comes across could easily be solved with their words and can be manipulated into an agreeable compromise. But eventually its shown that there's just some problems in life that can't just be "talked" into fixing, sometimes a little butt kicking goes a long way.

* Handled really strangely in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''. Dr. Henry Pym, the hero Ant-Man, is a strong believer in the ideals of being a pacifist and makes it very clear that he hates being a superhero because it means he not only cannot indulge his truest love, scientific research, but he is forced to fight super-villains, whom he would much rather focus on trying to rehabilitate after they are captured. In contrast, the rest of the Avengers have no qualms about fighting supervillains, viewing it as an immediate solution to the immediate problem of "this guy is trying to blow up the city". Things come to a header in the Ultron storyarc of the first season, where Dr. Pym tries desperately to stop a fight between the Avengers and the Serpent Society in the middle of a hostage situation; the end result is that Hawkeye gets hurt and several of the Avengers get mad at him--his LoveInterest, Janet Dyne, The Wasp, outright chews him out for it. In response, he quits the team. Team leader Tony Stark, Iron Man, views it for the best, but he does not condemn Dr. Pym's decision, noting that he has never truly been happy with the life of the superhero and that it simply isn't a calling for him. In the second season, Dr. Pym temporarily returns as the far more violent vigilante Yellowjacket, having [[JerkassBall taken a severe shift in bad attitude whilst he was gone]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': On at least two of the WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Episodes]], Lisa made it so Springfield (and the world) became peaceful locations with no weapons... and were thus completely helpless when a threat (the zombies of various famous Western criminals ([[AndZoidberg and Kaiser Wilhelm]]) in one, Kang and Kodos invading ''armed with slingshots'' in another) came packing.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' at one point the League has to go up against a seemingly invincible {{Magitech}} robot that gets stronger the more aggressive people get around it. The same episode also includes the only appearance of two superhero brothers, Hawk and Dove. Hawk tries to break it, Dove points out that violence doesn't always work. They end up having to go with the latter's plan eventually and the robot depowers from the lack of aggression. Later, the robot reappears without this weakness and suddenly it turns out you ''can'' just break the robot. Guess violence really does solve your problems.

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[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/RustyAndCo https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2010_08_18_3_15.png]]]]

* Kitano from ''Manga/AngelDensetsu'' is an ActualPacifist that always gets dragged unwillingly into fights. Normally he just stands there dodging every blow until his opponent is too tired to continue--just do not push his BerserkButton.
* ''Manga/RamenFighterMiki'': InAWorld full of FightingSeries that always [[BrokenAesop say that Violence Is Bad but the protagonists always solve their problems through violence]], this series is one of the few that averts this trope: Every problem the protagonist had could have been resolved without violence, and those who practice violence is because they are clearly idiots.
* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' has the [[NoSocialSkills former child-soldier and career mercenary protagonist]] acting as the [[DrillSergeantNasty head coach]] for his high school rugby team, who had lost forty-nine of their past forty-nine games. By the end of his training, every one of the wimpy, pacifist team members have been turned into berserkers with burning-red eyes. One of them is outright disappointed that a tackle that carried him through a member of the rival team left said person trembling on the ground instead of ''dead.'' With that in mind, the substitute coach was literally reading an instruction manual that was inspired by the teachings of [[Film/FullMetalJacket Drill Sergeant Hartman.]] Of course, the entire episode (if not the entire ''series'') is being PlayedForLaughs.
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'''s [[Recap/OnePieceAlabastaArc Alabasta Arc]], Vivi believes that she can stop Crocodile's coup by convincing the rebels they are in fact [[UnwittingPawn unwitting pawns]] and stop the civil war Baroque Works is causing without anyone dying. Luffy, however, knows life isn't that simple, and convinces her that the best course of action is to stop pussyfooting around and just attack the problem at its source: [[StraightForTheCommander Crocodile himself.]]
** Mind you, this example is a lot more {{Zigzagged}} than most; Vivi is ''already'' a combatant who has no problem using ([[CantCatchUp or at least trying]]) severe or even lethal force against immediate dangers, and in fact spent two years undercover in a gang of vicious bounty hunters/assassins. The argument is more over tactics and priorities than it is over violence/pacifism ideology, and the Straw Hats actually ''do'' give Vivi's idea a shot when some desert animals pop up to provide convenient means of transportation to the rebels' camp (though [[DoubleSubversion this ultimately fails]] because Crocodile has planted agitators in both the royal ''and'' rebel armies - something ''neither'' party actually brought up when Luffy and Vivi had their initial argument).

* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' :
** ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' turns out this way. 50 years after becoming an ActualPacifist, a cross-country errand to earn enough money to save his family leads Logan into a confrontation where violence is unavoidable, as he's locked in a room with someone trying to kill him. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, after he defeats his foe and returns home, it turns out he should have resorted to violence much earlier.]]
** This has cropped up more often in recent years. His solution in ''Comicbook/AvengersVsXMen''? Murder Hope Summers, a teenage mutant girl, for being a beacon for the Phoenix (though he can't go through with it). And in ''ComicBook/AgeOfUltron''? Murder Hank Pym so he can't make Ultron, who has successfully taken over the world. [[spoiler:A SubvertedTrope that second time, as it makes everything go FromBadToWorse in TheMultiverse.]]
* A [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Comic Book story featuring the Guardian and the Newsboy Legion had them interact with two pacifist brothers who'd isolated themselves in their house for years because of the world's warlike ways. Enemy spies break into the house for some reason (possibly to use it as a hideout, or to steal the brothers' stashed money to fund their spy ring) and it's only by the Guardian's use of applied force that the spies are defeated. The brothers grasp the intended Aesop, that if you don't confront evil, it will eventually come in after you.
* The original run of ''ComicBook/HawkAndDove'' had this as a message. Of course, if you're going to be a crime-''fighter'', it's implied that you have to fight people, ''Dove''.
* Both played straight and inverted in ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}''. By the end of the series, Spider has personally killed more than a dozen people (mostly in self defense) and has committed assault on hundreds, if not thousands. But he also carries around a mostly nonviolent, if uncomfortable, weapon (the Bowel Disruptor, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) and almost all real change is effected through the written word rather than the alternative.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}, in his early ComicBook/PostCrisis years, infamously killed several (depowered) villains who'd [[OmnicidalManiac killed their worlds]] and threatened to get their powers back and do the same to Earth-DC; Supes was left tormented as a result. It strengthened his resolve to ''always'' find another way from then on, to the point that when later confronted with ''[[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorphs]]'' in ''Superman / Aliens'', he is still reluctant to kill them.
* A crossover between ComicBook/ThePunisher and Deathlok (a pacifist man in the body of a killing machine) feature this. The climax of the story has Frank killing a man threatning the life of Deathlok's son. Deathlok initially objects, and Frank says that he didn't have a choice. Deathlok gets ready to argue, but then decides that this time, he was right, and thanks him for saving his son's life.

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/TheBadger''. In one story the Badger debates this issue with a crippled street musician. After the Badger saves him from a mugger the busker, while remaining personally committed to pacifism concedes that the Badger has a point.

* One of the ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'' tie-ins focusses on a brother and sister in ComicBook/BlackAdam's home country of Khandaq, which is being ruled by a brutal US-backed dictator named Ibac. The sister believes they can liberate the country through peaceful protest and appealing to the international community, while the brother joins a [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised violent militant group]] called the "Sons of Adam". The Sons try to conduct a mystical ritual to restore Adam (who was killed at the end of ''[[ComicBook/Shazam2012 Shazam!]]'') to life, but Ibac's soldiers find them and kill them. As her brother dies in her arms, the sister completes the ritual, Black Adam is resurrected and leads the Sons in a violent rebellion, personally (and gruesomely) murdering Ibac. The sister decides her brother was right and grabs his gun, then races off to join the fight.

* In ''Fanfic/TheWizardInTheShadows'', Harry's default response to most problems is to blast his way through them. Or, for instance, use an unhelpful guard as a battering ram.

--> '''M'gann''': This is how you feel all the time, isn't it? You try to fix things and everyone just-.\\

'''M'gann''': Efficiency. I thought maybe I could use their fear-. No. I needed to destroy, and that form is.. better than all of the other forms I could have used. I needed something the Manhunters didn't know how to fight. So I did it. I took on the form of a prehistoric killing machine. Because that was what I needed to get the result I wanted. I stabbed and burned and killed because that was what needed to happen. I turned myself back after they retreated… And I don't feel bad.
* In ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', this is how Cross sums up his approach to correcting the many, ''many'' social wrongs plaguing the CrapsaccharineWorld that is the Grand Line and the Four Blues. Some evils just will ''not'' end until and unless somebody puts an end to them by force. Particularly notable examples include bluntly calling Vivi out on how it's impossible for them to prevent the fighting between the Alabastan loyalists and the rebels with Baroque Works goading on boath sides, lampshading Queen Otohime's canonical PacifismBackfire, and [[spoiler:staging an elaborate raid on the slave merchants of Sabaody to inspire pirates worldwide to start raiding slavers, which ultimately triggers an uprising by Sabaody's native population, who are sick of their home being used as the Grand Line's premier slave market.]]
* PlayedWith in ''Fanfic/ALoudAmongDemons''; as much as Lincoln doesn't want to use violence, he understands that it's necessary when dealing with people that deserve it (such as his encounters with [[ImAHumanitarian Martha]] and [[MadScientist Lyle Lipton]]). However, Lincoln will [[MartialPacifist only resort to violence if he absolutely]] ''[[MartialPacifist has]]'' [[MartialPacifist to]], and [[ThouShallNotKill refuses to kill]] out of fear that he would develop a taste for bloodshed.
* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': Mistyfoot is initially willing to be a loyal deputy to Leopardstar despite the leader's responsibility for her brother's death and the prejudice against half-Clan cats like her. However, after Hawkfrost's death, she sees how the problem of "Thistle Law" ideology doesn't go away and Leopardstar continues with the same old habits, and she decides the only way to get rid of this ideology is to kill it by killing Leopardstar. It works, and she's able to use her leadership to make sure her Clan never goes in that direction again (though her traditionalism poses its own problems later on when she sides with Ashfur in punishing codebreakers).

%%This is the {{Hard Truth Aesop}} of {{WesternAnimation/How To Train Your Dragon 2}} wherein Hiccup originally believes that Drago Bludvist is someone with whom it is possible to negotiate and seeks communication with him though his father Stoick warns him that Drago is a {{complete monster}} with whom he can never hope to reason and Hiccup ignoring this warning leads to [[spoiler:Stoick dying]] and Hiccup realizing that the evil Drago is an enemy who must be fought rather than persuaded.

* In ''Film/WarmBodies'', the [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombies]] are redeemed by ThePowerOfLove. The bonies, not so much.
* A complex example in ''Film/DestryRidesAgain''. The title character has renounced violence and is a real CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass who elects to take down the bad guy by being a GuileHero. But when his boss, the sheriff, is murdered by the bad guys, Destry snaps and assembles a posse to wipe out Kent and his gang by force. However, this trope is ultimately averted when the women of the town, determined to stop the bloodbath, arm themselves with two-by-fours and defeat the bad guys with some whacks to the head.

* Franchise/{{Batman}} is a type who has no problem with brutal fights but a [[ThouShaltNotKill code against killing]]. Often, villains (especially the Joker) will test this commitment.
** The movie ''Film/BatmanBegins'' presents an example where he has no choice, as his mentor turned enemy explicitly states that he feels no gratitude that Bruce previously saved his life and vows to kill Bruce if he doesn't join his cause. Ultimately, Batman doesn't kill the villain but rather [[SaveTheVillain declines to save him]], which is still at odds with Batman's code of ethics, at least the one established in the comics (especially as it was Batman's plan to stop the train that put the villain in a position which threatened his life). Of course, he was just starting out. It should also be noted that the villain was likely capable of saving himself, if he so wanted to. He seems to have solidified his moral code by the time of ''Film/TheDarkKnight''--when [[spoiler:the [[ChekhovsGun spring-loaded razors on his gauntlets]] cut the Joker and causes him to fall off the building, he still catches him]]. It could also be argued that [[spoiler:since he survived the fall, he might not have expected Dent to die when he prevented him from killing Gordon's son]]. [[spoiler:Batman can be excused for Dent's death, considering he was exhausted and shot, he only tackled Dent off the ledge to save a small child, and there really wasn't any way for him to know that there would be a fall that would kill Dent. Dent's death was an accident that Bruce can't really be held accountable for.]]
** [[Film/Batman1989 Burton's Batman]], on the other hand, never had this problem, and just killed without much thought.

* The entire plot of the film ''Film/BillyJack''. Becomes a bit of a BrokenAesop when the film keeps trying to insist that the peaceful, nonviolent hippies are in the right, but Billy Jack's freely-dispensed asskickings are the only thing keeping them from being repeatedly victimized by the town bullies.
* The missionaries in ''[[Film/RamboIV Rambo]]'' find out the hard and painful way that only violence understands violence and when your opponents' goal is mass genocide, pacifism just makes their job easier. Franchise/{{Rambo}} himself has no such illusions, and has no choice but to unleash a world of hurt on the Burmese military junta to save what's left of the naive missionary team. It appears that cold, harsh [[RealLife reality]] backs this one up; the monks who attempted peaceful protests against the Burmese S.P.D.C. were all but wiped out.
* ''Film/TheRundown'''s climactic moment occurs when Wrestling/DwayneJohnson's character finally proves why you shouldn't put a gun in his hand and he unleashes his badass fury with an arsenal of weapons.

* ''Film/{{Evil|2003}}'': Violence was the answer to crush the GangOfBullies at Erik's prep school. Erik turns the other cheek for almost the entire movie, and his reward is to suffer horrific torture that ends with him nearly getting murdered, and his best friend Pierre is beaten to a pulp before leaving the school. However, once Erik does decide to start hurting people, he delivers an immensely satisfying beatdown to Dalen that ends in Dalen crawling out of the ring with a shattered nose. Just the threat of violence to Otto, whom Erik catches alone without his goon squad, results in Otto dropping to his knees and crying like a little girl before he pukes all over himself. Then at the end he goes home, tells his brutal stepfather that the stepfather has to leave the house, and then gives him a beating as well (offscreen).

* This trope was inverted in ''Literature/InThePresenceOfMineEnemies'' by Creator/HarryTurtledove, when the quiet programmer is mocked by his supervisor for not having the conviction to go join the riots against a coup... and then once he's left alone changes a geneological database and anonymously alerts the "good guys" to the "discovery" in a move which does far more to undermine the coup than any individual bottlethrower could imagine (and the POV characters who are protesting physically do little violence but simply shame the coup mooks into not killing them for hours until the mooks are EAGER to surrender to the "good guys" military forces).
* Turtledove also has an {{Anvilicious}} short story (''The Last Article'') in which the Nazis take over India, and UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi tries his nonviolent civil disobedience methods against them. It ends with his movement horribly crushed, and on his way to be executed Gandhi laments his mistake in assuming basic human decency on the part of the Nazis, the moral being that such methods can only hope to defeat an oppressor with a conscience.
* He went one step further in his ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'' series, suggesting that violence is not only the answer, but our '''salvation'''. Humanity's constant strife and warfare has made it so "perfidious" and battle-ready that we continually take the technologically advanced but strategically stagnant alien invaders by surprise with our double-dealing and resourcefulness. For example, [[spoiler:pissing on a sensor and freaking out an analyst, who swore up and down that "4 billion Big Uglies" were coming right at them.]]
* This was a big theme of Terry Goodkind's ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' series, particularly Naked Empire, in which the pacifist Bandakar Empire had to be persuaded to fight the invading Order soldiers. The protagonist massacres pacifists "armed only with their hatred of moral clarity". Though it should be noted that the protestors weren't just shouting slogans; they were quite literally occupying the only road the army could use to reach any position from which they could fight effectively. In practical terms, they'd volunteered themselves as [[HumanShield human shields]].
* Essentially the point of ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''. The book was about the question of what a citizen owed in exchange for his political privileges, as Heinlein points out that Americans do not ''earn'' their citizen status. Violence wasn't the answer provided society was well-governed, but violence was the ultimate, final way in which disputes were settled. Hence, all authorities ultimately must be backed by force or they are toothless. Heinlein's novel featured an Earth where [[{{Utopia}} nearly everyone was law-abiding, rights were extended to all regardless of race and gender (revolutionary in his time), and civil society was idealized]]. He contrasts this with a much-more-violent [[AfterTheEnd post-war]] collapse of civil order. Violence against the Bugs was inevitable because neither humanity nor the Bugs would cede their unlimited expansion throughout the universe. Violence is also used to convince the Skinnies to switch sides in the war. The point that violence is a means to an end, and not an end, is [[{{Anvilicious}} frequently]] brought up, only a bit less than the whole [[AuthorFilibuster citizenship issue]]. Heinlein was [[AuthorTract preaching]] Clausewitz, not carnage.
** In fact, citizenship could be earned by any form of civil service. Military service was simply the quickest and most prestigious route, with the much more chance of rising to political office later. Also, the government decides ''which'' form of service you get assigned (you can quit anytime outside of active combat, forfeiting the chance to earn full citizenship) ― thus, the chance of being assigned to the armed forces depends on just how much this trope applies to the current interstellar political situation.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}''. No matter how much the Abbot insists that Violence Is Wrong, Cluny's horde ends up being defeated by... violence. In fact, pretty much every book in the series has the message "violence is OK if you're killing evil creatures", and even among the normally peaceful Redwallers, only a few characters are ever bothered by having killed an enemy. And the ones that are bothered are usually instantly rounded on by the other characters, chastised for their softness/naivete.
* Being a TechnicalPacifist (albeit one who [[CombatPragmatist fights dirty]]), Sam Vimes in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' books frequently finds himself in situations where he is pressured to have to kill his enemies but tries to avoid it. ''The Fifth Elephant'' presents a good example, where Lady Margolotta, the mentor and/or pupil of MagnificentBastard Lord Vetinari, shows her cunning credentials by aiding the villain so he will go after Vimes' wife, putting Vimes in a situation where it is apparent that he has no choice but to kill, knowing that the villain (a werewolf with NighInvulnerability) will always come back against the ones he loves. Vimes does end up killing, fully aware of being set up by Lady Margolotta, and [[LampshadeHanging notes how]] he won't deliver a BondOneLiner because he believes that it's the only thing separating self-defense and murder.
* Subverted for once in ''The Killer Inside Me'' by Jim Thompson. The narrator spends most of the story rationalizing his killings, but through therapy realizes he was really [[MurderIsTheBestSolution just following]] [[AxCrazy his own psychoses]].

* Used in ''Literature/TheTwoTowers'', both book and movie. In the movie, the Ents initially decide to not fight, but they change their minds after finding that Saruman had clear-cut a large section of the forest. It received lots of complaints about being pro-war. It was more subtle in the book, with Treebeard's line, "It is likely that we march to our doom, but if we stayed home and did nothing, doom would find us anyway."
** Note that Tolkien was writing this during World War II, a war pretty much universally declared to be completely justified, in stark contrast to World War I in which Tolkien himself had fought. It's likely his intended message was that fighting is okay, if it's in a cause as justified as stopping the Nazis.
** Not only that, Tolkien's Britain had seen a very active pacifist movement during the 1930s (in 1933, the Oxford Union debating society successfully carried the motion "this House will under no circumstances fight for King and country") along with numerous unsuccessful attempts to deal with the Nazis short of war. Doom, or at least war, ''did'' find them anyway.
* Creator/GeorgeOrwell remarked in [[http://www.george-orwell.org/Notes_on_Nationalism/0.html one of his essays]] that, "Those who 'abjure' violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf."
* In the novels ''In Death Ground'' and ''This Shiva Option'' by David Weber and Steve White, the invading aliens are an implacable hive mind. No negotiation was possible and the aliens had no desire to coexist. The aliens, in fact, didn't understand coexistence as a concept and were not interested in learning. The violent solution turned out to be the correct one.
* In the ''Literature/AnitaBlake'' series this is a recurring and controversial theme, especially as it's had a steady presence throughout the series as each new line Anita's willing to cross cuts her off from more of the "normal" world, and slowly pushes old friends and associates further away from her. The author's made comments to the general effect that while she likes and admires idealism enough to write it into characters, she can't manage enough personal belief in it to avoid this trope in her writing.

* In ''Literature/TheLostRegiment'' series, Vincent Hawthorne is a devout Quaker who enlisted in the Union army despite his church's pacifist objections to war, believing slavery to be a greater sin than warfare. Soon the conflict between his religious beliefs and military duty are put to the ultimate test.

* Ironically enough, many of Poems [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids for children]] written by a Soviet writer Korney Chukowski feature this:
** In "''Tsokotuha the Fly''", a hostile spider crashes a party which the eponimous fly hosts for other insects, and is about to kill Tsokotuha but then a courageous gnat fights the spider and kills him.
** In "'' The Roach''", a large roach claims to be able to swallow ''everybody'' and thus terrifies the other animals (including elephants) into submission. All attempts to reason either with the roach (to stop scaring the animals) or the animals (to stop beaing afraid of a mere ''roach'') fail, after which a sparrow comes along and swallows the roach with a single bite.
** In "''Stolen Sun''", The Sun is swallowed by a giant Crocodile, plunging the whole world into eternal darkness. The other animals don't feel strong enough to defeat the Crocodile and the strongest one - the giant Bear - is reluctant to fight. However after being to that the only way to find his missing children is to return the Sun, the Bear finally decides to challenge the Crocodile. After his last attempt to negotiate fails, the Bear attacks the Crocodile and and beats him up, until the latter is forced to release the Sun, restoring daylight. Afterwards, the Bear is lauded as a hero by all other animals.
** Finally, "''Barmalej''". Said Barmalej is a mobster man who roams Africa and EatsBabies - baby animals at first, but the he tries to eat human children, too. He only changes after being SwallowedWhole by a crocodile (possibly the same one wrom the "''Stolen Sun''"). Barmalej is released alive, but swears to never harm another child (human ''or'' animal) ever again.

* There're some bosses in the pacifist route of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' where violence is simply your only option to continue. However, this doesn't mean you can't spare them or show mercy; you just need to fight normally until you get your scripted opportunity.

---> '''Chrom:''' My sister wished for our people to know peace, Gangrel. [[PrepareToDie But as long as you draw breath, it can never come]].

* Pretty much any video game with any sort of combat will go into this. To paraphrase Website/TheGrandListOfConsoleRolePlayingGameCliches: "All the world's problems can be solved by finding the right guy and beating the crap out of him." It's rather rare to find a game where the major conflict isn't resolved by some variation on "Beat the hell out of this guy."
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' is probably one of the best examples of an exception. In most endings, the major conflict is resolved just by successfully seizing an important location. In the best ending, [[spoiler:the more personal conflict for Riou is resolved by confronting Jowy at the stone where they promised to meet back up at the beginning of the game ''and allowing Jowy to beat him [[DeathIsCheap to death.]]'' He gets better.]]
** There's also ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'', where the Big Bad Demon Sulphur is pushed out of the dimension by the PowerOfFriendship, sacrifice, tears and blood. Then he just comes back at full power as a {{Superboss}} and it turns out LevelGrinding and hitting him really, really, ''really'' hard works better.
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest'' and ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' offer a different sort of subversion. The BigBad of the first game is dead, but his followers are [[TheRemnant very much still out there]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal preventing reconstruction]] while scheming to get their leader back and conquer the world for real this time. Both games also have leveling-up side-scrolling gameplay mechanics, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMy4M3oKBPY gloomy]] yet [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc8gqn6Wo1Y awesome]] music, and understandably bad reputations.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', this is averted. Killing [[spoiler:Orsino and Meredith]] does secure the survival of Hawke and his/her TrueCompanions, but it doesn't prevent the [[spoiler:Mage-Templar war.]]
* Joked about by Ultimate!Spider-Man in ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions''.
-->'''Ultimate!Spider-Man''': Violence is never the answer. Unless the question is 'How do I beat the bad guys?'
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', an [[SelfImposedChallenge attempt]] to [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]] your way through the [[NoobCave first castle]] [[PacifistRun without hurting the guards]] by exploiting their line of sight patterns works fine until Link gets to a locked door. To unlock the door, Link [[ButThouMust must]] go down to the basement and use his sword to slaughter a guard for the key.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'': In La Cité des Cloches, when Riku asks Esmeralda if Judge Frollo was always an evil bigot and requests to know where he could be located so that he could speak to him, it is subtly implied that Riku intends to try to reason with Frollo, having fallen into the darkness once himself. However, when Riku sees Frollo trying to burn down a villager's home because the inhabitant was suspected of harboring gypsies, he concludes that Frollo is [[MoralEventHorizon beyond saving]] and will have to be stopped by force.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'', this is generally Cayde-6's response to everything in the parts where he plays MissionControl - particularly when you're fighting the Hive and the Taken, both of which are species who run on strange eldritch space-magics. Cayde's solution to alien necromancers and the twisted spectres of various creatures who've been broken and recreated by the living embodiment of pure interdimensional evil is just keep shooting them until they go away, and it works like a charm, every time.
* Sorey spends ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' as a TechnicalPacifist, using his power to beat hellions down and purge the malevolence that had transformed them, but refusing to kill. He is forced to question whether his unwillingness to kill is really the best way, especially when he has party members who will finish enemies off, even right in front of him. It's not really whether he's right or wrong, though, but whether the strength of his convictions is firm enough to handle the day he ''has to'' kill someone - particularly the [[BigBad Lord of Calamity]] - without shaking him so much that it lets malevolence infect him. [[spoiler:Sorey ultimately kills the Lord of Calamity without falling to malevolence, doing it because he understands there truly is no other option and not because he discarded his principles for the sake of revenge.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Colobot}}'', there is a level where, due to concerns from the Earth's animal rights organizations, you are forced to use a bot that deals with the hostile giant insects in a non-lethal manner, so that you can retrieve the Black Box they are guarding. In literally the next level, your base is under attack from the same insects, and your orders are to forgo any attempts at pacifism and just shoot them into oblivion. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments The issue of pacifism is never brought up again afterwards.]]

** Finally, "''Barmalej''". Sais Barmalej is a mobster man who roams Africa and EatsBabies - baby animals at first, but the he tries to eat human children, too. He only changes after being SwallowedWhole by a crocodile (possibly the same one wrom the "''Stolen Sun''"). Barmalej is released alive, but swears to never harm another child (human ''or'' animal) ever again.

** Finally, "''Barmalej''". Sais Barmalej is a mobster man who roams Africa and EatsBabies - animal at first, but the heies to eat human children, too. He only changes after being SwallowedWhole by a crocodile (possibly the same one wrom the "''Stolen Sun''"). Barmalej is released alive, but swears to never harm another child (human ''or'' animal) ever again.

** In "'' The Roach''", a large roach claims to be able to swallow ''everybody'' and thus terrifies the other animals (including elephants) into submission. All attempts to reason either with the roach (to stop scaring the animals) or the animals (to stop beaing afraid of a mere ''roach'') fail, after whioc a sparrow comes along and swallows the roach with a single bite.
** In "''Stolen Sun''", The Sun is swallowed by a giant Crocodile, plunging the whole world into eternal darkness. The other animals don't feel strong enough to defeat the Crocodile and the strongest one - the giant Bear - is reluctant to fight. However after being to that the only way to find his missing children is to return the Sun, the Bear finally decides to challenge the Crocodile. After his last attempt to negotiate fails, the Bear attacks the Crocodile and and beats him up, until the latter is forced to release the Sun, restoring daylight. Afterwards, the Bear is lauded as a hero by all othe animals.
** Finally

Contrast NoHarmRequirement where violence has to be avoided for one reason or another and SheatheYourSword where non-violence is the only answer.

Contrast NoHarmRequirement where violence has to be avoided for one reason or another and SheatheYourSword which is the [[OppositeTrope opposite]] of this trope--''non-violence'' is the only answer.

* There're some bosses in the pacifist route of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' where violence is simply your only option to continue. However, this doesn't mean you can't spare them or show mercy.

A classic HardTruthAesop. Compare with MurderIsTheBestSolution, ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption, BeatTheCurseOutOfHim, and TheExtremistWasRight. GuiltFreeExterminationWar is the ultimate extreme case. Related to MightMakesRight and sometimes related to RightMakesMight.

** There's also ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'', where the Big Bad Demon Sulphur is pushed out of the dimension by the PowerOfFriendship, sacrifice, tears and blood. Then he just comes back at full power as a BonusBoss and it turns out LevelGrinding and hitting him really, really, ''really'' hard works better.

%%This is the {{Hard Truth Aesop}} of {{WesternAnimation/How To Train Your Dragon 2}}.