History Main / YankTheDogsChain

* ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'': Ace is [[NiceGuy a nice guy]], but if something can go wrong, [[ButtMonkey he's usually the one it happens too.]] His only run of good fortune, was when he managed to hook up [[{{bifauxnen}} with Brooke.]] Which didn't last, due to Ace being [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/eerie-cuties/2012-12-10 manipulated by Melissa]], and [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/eerie-cuties/2012-12-31 Tia's]] [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/eerie-cuties/2013-10-23 interference.]] Brooke finally had enough and broke up with him.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'': Radiator Springs is rejuvenated by Lightning and everyone is happy, and it looks like the icing on the cake is the customers that seem to be approaching. Except they aren't customers. They're the press, who've been alerted to Lightning's presence by Doc, and Lightning is promptly whisked away for the final race.

** After [[spoiler:Bart escapes from Homer's abuse]] in the minisode "Return of the King", [[spoiler:he calls for a big brother to be his ParentalSubstitute, only to learn that his new big brother is no one but [[Music/MichaelJackson Leon Kompowsky]] himself.]]
** In the minisode "Bart Licks a Pickle", [[spoiler:Bart creates a [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E3LisasSax "sad"]] [[NightmareFuelColoringBook drawing]] after he licks Homer's pickle and gets raped by everybody in Springfield except his family. After Marge and Homer discover it, Bart is sent to [[BedlamHouse New Bedlam Hospital]] to get some rest, only to get raped by Leon Kompowsky, who's living in the same room as Bart.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', When Ming interrupts the 4*Town concert Mei attends, She busts Mei's opportunity to touch [[CelebrityCrush Robaire]]'s hand.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei attends the 4*Town concert and is about to have an opportunity to touch [[CelebrityCrush Robaire]]'s hand when Ming interrupts the concert.

* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' has a doozy. In MAG 160, Jon has saved [[spoiler:Martin]] from the Lonely, they've escaped to Daisy's safehouse in Scotland, and they seem to be genuinely happy for the first time in years...[[spoiler:and then Jonah Magnus forces Jon to read a statement that brings all the Fears into the world, effectively causing the apocalypse]].

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' takes this to an artform, with tremendously horrible things lurking behind every victory and any attempt to correct any aspect of the CrapsackWorld doomed to [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption failure]]. [[TheEmpire The Imperium]] has caught onto this; one of its many Thoughts For The Day being "Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment". It helps when the literal god of Hope is also the god of Manipulation.

* Kelemvor in ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' began as a mercenary who wanted to be a hero but literally couldn't act altruistically without tripping a family curse and turning into a werepanther, which complicated his growing relationship with his teammate Midnight. Then he was killed by ex-teammate Cyric... and ''then'' he ascended to become god of the dead in place of the despotic and now-divine Cyric, promising justice to the inhabitants of his realm. He also resumed his romance with Midnight, who'd become the new Mystra. Set up to be a hero after all, and on an epic scale, right?... And ''then'' it was revealed that a god of death who tried to do the right thing was disrupting the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil, and his switch to "neutrality" meant condemning another friend from his human life, handing over the Seraph of Death to Mask, breaking it off with Mystra (while Cyric literally drank their tears), and stuffing people back into the Wall of the Faithless.

* In ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'', Mitch is Blanche's last chance for a normal life. Just when their relationship is going steady, Stanley intervenes, leading to Mitch denouncing Blanche.

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic gets plenty of yanking, but the cruelest might have to be near the start of ''Film/SimonSez''. When he complains to [[Creator/AllisonPregler Lupa]] that he always gives in to people wanting to do a review with him, she says she won't push it and leaves. He's overjoyed that someone finally listened to him and he now has a new lease on life, but it turns out that [[spoiler:she was just trolling him]].
* In a slightly less sympathetic use of the trope, WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick puts on some mood music when WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows finally agrees to sleep with her out of boredom. The "mood music" turns out to be "Reproduction" from ''Film/{{Grease 2}}'', and he runs off, much to her anger.

* ''WebVideo/EchoRose'': After being bullied, fired, and plagued the paranormal, Echo receives what looks to be a present from a fan... which is really an animal skull, and a note demanding she stop her investigation. She doesn't take it too well, having to end the video immediately due to how horrible she was feeling.
* ''[[LetsPlay/{{Dream}} Dream]]'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tylNqtyj0gs "Minecraft Speedrunner VS 3 Hunters GRAND FINALE"]]: After getting chased by three hunters with iron armor and swords (the luckiest they've been, according to Dream,) having to fall off a mountain to buy himself some time, and having to go underwater and make himself a hole in which he almost drowned himself in, he finds a cave with some diamonds... only for Dream to have to make an iron pickaxe to actually get the diamonds. By the time the furnaces are done smelting the iron and having made himself the pickaxe, the hunters are right on his tail, and they notice the diamonds. They successfully prevent Dream from getting half the diamonds, and he's upset about this.
** An even more extreme example occurs in "Minecraft Speedrunner vs 3 Hunters FINALE", where Dream has gone through a huge ordeal, exhausting his supplies and at incredibly low health when he finally takes out all 3 hunters in the End. He yells out in triumph, thinking that all he has to do is take out the less threatening Ender Dragon... only for Bad to sneak up behind him and [[CherryTapping hit him once and kill him]].

* John [=McClane=]'s marriage is patched up at the end of each ''Franchise/DieHard'' movie and broken up by the next one. In [[Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard the fourth]] he's divorced, and it's his relationship with his daughter that needs patching up.
* ''Film/NationalTreasure2BookOfSecrets'' uses a similar pattern, where after finishing pretty well in the first movie, the protagonists are down on their luck (a failed marriage, an aprehended Ferrari, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick an accusation that Ben Gates' ancestor betrayed Abe Lincoln]]).

* In the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', Peter Parker is the poster child for PerpetualPoverty and never seems to be able to catch a break in his personal life or relationship with Mary-Jane.
* ''[[Creator/OscarWilde Wilde]]'': Oscar has it pretty rough in the last 20 minutes or so, what with being imprisoned for 2 years of hard labor just for being gay (because homosexuality was actually ''illegal'' in England back then). Then his wife Constance comes to see him and, guess what? Not only does she ''not'' want a divorce even after he's cheated on her with ''men'' (and lots of them), but she'll let him see his kids again! A happy ending for when he gets out of prison! Right? '''No.''' His sentence ends and he learns that [[spoiler:Constance is dead, which not only takes away her, but any hope Oscar has of seeing his two boys again]].

* ''Film/PsychoBeachParty'': The murderer has been caught, [[spoiler:Chicklet's SplitPersonality has been cured]], romantic stories are all tied off happily, all of that is now behind them as the all live hap-oh god. [[spoiler:It was all a dream as Chicklet is in a mental hospital getting realistically horrifying shock therapy]]... Happy?
* Happens in ''Film/ThePursuitOfHappyness'', when Chris Garner has sold all his scanners and is having a moderately fine life, then the government seizes the money from his bank account for unpaid income taxes, leaving him broke and homeless.

* For whatever reason, the mirror in ''Film/{{Oculus}}'' loves to toy with its victims a lot rather than outright killing them. Perhaps it is an EmotionEater?
* [[Franchise/StarWars Luke, Leia, and Han]] in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', big time. You'd think that after ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', all of their troubles would come to an end? Hell no. Thirty years later, Luke has [[spoiler: become a hermit after an apprentice of his turned to the dark side and killed the next generation of Jedi that Luke was training]]. Said apprentice was [[spoiler: Ben Solo, the son of Han and Leia, whose FaceHeelTurn drove the two apart, with Han and Chewie returning to smuggling, while the knowledge that Leia is Darth Vader's daughter effectively destroys her political career]]. The First Order, a political and military faction partly made up of former Empire operatives and led by Supreme Leader Snoke, is waging war against the Republic and [[spoiler: destroys its capital, Hosnian Prime]]. Finally and most heartbreakingly, Han tries to turn [[spoiler: his son]] back to the light side, and it almost seems as if [[spoiler: Ben]] decides to do so...[[spoiler: until he stabs Han in the chest with his lightsaber and kills him.]] And the cherry on top is that [[spoiler: Ben Solo/]]Kylo Ren is inspired by [[spoiler: his grandfather, but not for being Anakin Skywalker, but rather for being]] Darth Vader. Considering all the Jedi and the Rebellion went through starting from ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' until ''Return of the Jedi'', it seems as if fate is purposely trying to cause hell. Just imagine how the force ghosts of Anakin, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Yoda must be feeling, watching all of this (and [[Film/TheLastJedi the]] [[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker follow-ups]] [[FromBadToWorse only make things even worse]]).
* ''Film/TheWorldOfKanako'': The narrator is bullied constantly and when he meets Kanako he finally seems to overcome his sucky life. It turns out that [[spoiler:Kanako just manipulates and corrupts him, and he gets killed after a series of even more suffering]].

* In ''Film/LustForGold'', Walz has has Julia and Pete trapped on the ledge outside the mine and is slowly starving them to death. They are suffering from dehydration and Julia begs him for water. Walz taunts them by taking several long drinks from his canteen, before seeming to take pity on them and throwing them the canteen. However, as Pete and Julia are fighting over the canteen, Walz picks up his rifle and shoots a hole in the canteen, [[BlastingItOutOfTheirhands knocking it from their hands]]. A second shot knocks the canteen ober the edge of the cliff.
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'':
** Diana for all her life has believed that the Amazons would just have to kill Ares and men would be free from his influence. She finds out the hard way that men don't need a god's influence to go to war.
** She saves a village caught in the crossfire between the British and Germans; Charlie starts to sing again, as a result. Dr. Poison gasses the village as a demonstration.
* At the end of ''Film/TheGodfather Part III'', Michael has finally gotten out of the mob, his son has just made a triumphant debut as an opera singer, and now he can spend the rest of his life as a banker, secure in the knowledge that the Corleone name will be remembered for his son's music and his daughter's charity foundation rather than the criminal empire started by his father. Then an assassin sent by Michael's final batch of enemies from his mafia days tries to kill him and shoots his daughter by mistake.

* PlayedForLaughs in the ''[[ShowWithinAShow Angels with Filthy Souls]]'' movies from ''Film/HomeAlone''. In the first movie, Johnny goes "I'm gonna give you until the count of ten to get your ugly, no-good keister off my property before I pump your guts full of lead! One...two...ten!" In the second, he gives a count of three for his girlfriend to leave, and then goes "One...two... *fires* ...three!"

*** Asgard [[spoiler:[[Film/ThorRagnarok was destroyed]] in order to kill a mad goddess]], but the Asgardians have escaped [[spoiler:extinction and are heading to Earth in hope for a better future. Then Thanos attacks their ship, and their already dwindling population is decreased by half. Worse, according to WordOfGod Lady Sif and the InUniverse actor who played Loki were among those killed by Thanos's culling, meaning that half of ''those left'' perished with the Snap]].

* This trope accurately summarizes Wrestling/KofiKingston's Wrestling/{{WWE}} career when it comes to the main event, starting with him not even being allowed to compete in the 2009 Elimination Chamber due to Wrestling/{{Edge}} attacking him before it took place. This was a big part of his 2019 push.

While the permutations are endless, the result is the same: writers Yank the Dog's Chain, cruelly undoing the good turn that they've done the character and keeping the bone they've just thrown them just out of reach, which can make even the simplest goals seem like {{Tragic Dream}}s.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheWilloughbys'': [[spoiler: After rescuing their parents from freezing to death on top of the Unclimbable Alp, the Willoughby children confessed their plans to get rid of them and started telling them to come home. Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby walked towards Tim, Jane, and the Barnaby, thinking they saw the errors of their ways. That is until Mr. Willoughby pushed his children out of the way and took his wife to the blimp. When the couple got inside, Mr. Willoughby accidently popped the blimp and left their children stranded.]]

* The TV commercial for the sequel to ''VideoGame/BattleTanx'' had the CaptainErsatz of the Snuggles bear from the commercial for the first game get [[WeCanRebuildHim rebuilt after the injuries he suffered]], only to be struck by another tank.
* One Cocoa Pebbles [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aWs1tP6VEI commercial]] has Fred take Barney to court for the latter's repeated attempts to steal the former's cereal. Barney says he loves Cocoa Pebbles [[TrueCompanions almost as much]] as he loves Fred. Fred is so moved by this he willingly gives him the cereal...only for the judge to jump down, grab the bowl, and run off shouting "Case Dismissed!" as Fred and Barney cry in each other's arms.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''Franchise/XMen'': As a whole, mutants are always going to have it rough in the Marvel Universe. After all, [[RuleOfDrama there wouldn't be a need for the X-Men]] if society ever did accept them would there? But a couple of examples stand out.
** Mutants finally got their own country and safe haven in the form of Genosha. Sixteen Million mutants strong, the mutant race was ready to head into the future under the leadership of ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, one of their greatest champions. Then Xavier's evil twin sister sets a couple of Omega Sentinels on the island. Less than a few dozen survive.
** Mutants then began to recover from this disaster (though their population was cut in half.) Humans were finally starting to sympathize with mutantkind and even Magneto (who was presumed dead at the time) was being seen as a force of positive social change. Then Xorn, while disguised as Magneto no less, destroys New York while high on sentient bacteria and [[KilledOffForReal murders Jean Grey]]. (Confused? It's okay most were).
** This prompts ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} to actively try to cultivate the image of mutants superheroes in order to repair the damage. It seems to be going well. Then the ComicBook/ScarletWitch [[ComicBook/HouseOfM says three little words...]]
** With just under two hundred mutants left, the rest are almost all [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]] or [[KilledOffForReal dead]], the remaining mutants are rendered more vulnerable than ever. This sets in motion a chain of events that places the X-Men and by default all of mutant kind, in the direct cross hairs of the U.S. Government and The Avengers. Fortunately it also attracts the Phoenix Force and revitalizes mutant kind, even though Cyclops ends up demonized by mutants and humans alike and a fugitive from justice.
** Then just as mutantkind is about to get back on track and Cyclops looks like he's about to redeem himself as a leader of mutant kind, the Terrigan Cloud appears. While it gives birth to [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Inhumans]], it poisons and sterilizes mutants. Cyclops attacks ComicBook/BlackBolt in retaliation and is (apparently) killed, but also does [[NoodleIncident something so horrible]] that humans are right back to "Kill all mutants" mode. It gets so bad that the X-Men relocate to Limbo. That's right. Life for a mutant sucks so bad on Earth that the X-Men would rather move their entire species to HELL.
* [[spoiler:ComicBook/BlackAdam]]'s entire storyline in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' is one long, tragic, and incredibly cruel example of chain yanking.
* In ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'', Franchise/{{Batman}} pleads with ComicBook/TheJoker to reconsider the death course the two of them are on, making a genuine offer of help... and there's a [[Heartwarming/{{Batman}} panel]], about a panel and a half, where it looks almost like the Joker will accept. The Joker even turns the concept into a joke that has even Batman laughing.
* Franchise/{{Batman}} regularly runs on this, in all media - at least from the villains' point of view. Batman just will ''not'' die.
** In [[Series/Batman1966 the 1960s TV series]], the villains ''always'' manage to capture Batman and Robin about halfway through TheCaper, but ''never'' manage to finish them off with their [[DeathTrap Death Traps]]. The Mad Hatter seemed to have finally triumphed in "The Contaminated Cowl" by using deadly radiation to fry the Dynamic Duo into skeletons - but then it turned out the heroes had escaped after all, and had deliberately left behind the skeletons as a ruse.
** "Almost Got 'Im" was the animated episode in which the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc are bonding over their mutual frustration on this very issue. No matter how smart they've tried to be, Batman always finds a way out of their murder plots: he has [[CrazyPrepared an unexpected ace up his sleeve]], he manages to [[WeNeedADistraction create a distraction]], he pulls an idea right out of his ass, or [[TheCavalry another hero intervenes to save him]]. Since "Almost Got 'Im" is told mostly in flashbacks, we ''know'' Batman managed to make it out alive each time, but our WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief still kicks in as each story-within-a-story unfolds.
* In the short-lived Marvel Adventures: ''Comicbook/IronMan'' series, Tony finds out at long last that his father, who drove Stark Industries into the ground and abandoned him and his mother, had been cheated by a business associate and left in shame, but really had loved him. He hires a PI, Jessica Drew, to track his father down. And she finds him, and everything checks out, even memories... Then it turns out to be a plot by the Chameleon. Later he does find his dad and realizes that he's just as irritating as ever.
* Franchise/SpiderMan has a big support cast, and [[DoomMagnet people keep getting killed]]. Sometimes the writers decide to bring them back. This never works. Possibly the biggest example is when his ''parents'' turned out to be alive again; they'd been killed when he was a baby. They turned out to be robots. Supporting cast coming back from the dead has only "stuck" twice: when the Aunt May who died turned out to have been an ''[[VoodooShark actress]]'', and when ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson, who had been [[DorkAge killed in a plane accident]] because [[SuperheroesStaySingle having a wife restricted Spidey]], was not dead after all. (Cross your fingers for history repeating itself soon, folks.) And then ''Comicbook/OneMoreDay'' happened, because Creator/JoeQuesada didn't like the changes that had been made to Spidey since the Silver Age and PARTICULARLY not his marriage to Mary Jane, resulting in probably the most infamous CosmicRetcon of recent years. God damn it.
* Sometimes, the pirates in ''Comicbook/{{Asterix}}'' think they can actually take down the ship they see. Or Can They? Nope! ''They'' are on board. It can be Phoenician, Egyptian, or Roman, but it's all the same.
** That's when they're lucky. If they're unlucky something will make the thing ''worse''. Luckily for them, what happened in ''Asterix in Corsica'' [[spoiler: (they took a job to take three people in Corsica with the idea of robbing the passengers, only to realize in open sea that they were transporting a Corsican clan chief and ''them''. As ''they'' were sleeping they manage to sneak out of the ship, and reboard it when the Corse and ''them'' have disembarked in Corsica... At which point the ship is ''blown up'' by the fumes of a piece of Corsican cheese!)]] hasn't been topped... Yet.
** In ''Asterix in Britain'', the pirates manage to avoid having their ship sunk by the Gauls, only to accidentally run it aground.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' gets his chain yanked HARD: [[spoiler:Just after he gets back together with Princess Sally, not only does the Evil wizard Ixis Naugus return completely sane (thanks to the Chaos Emerald) with Geoffry who was his loyal servant the whole time, but he ends up turning most of the council and the people of the city against one of his friends due to her being BrainwashedAndCrazy a few issues ago. Then Eggman comes back with his brand new battleship of doom; The Death Egg Mk 2. Then during the attack on said Death Egg Sally get KILLED right before Eggman sets off a CosmicRetcon. Then after Sonic fixes it a la his Super Form and prevented her from being killed, she ends being robotized to save the rest of the world. Then after that Sonic gets flung from the Death Egg and is forced to leave Sally behind in order to save the city from one of Eggman's robot. Then after THAT, Ixis Naugus wins over the city by destroying the robot and (unintentionally) healing Bunny's robot part's and becomes KING! THEN AFTER THAT, the Battle Birds and the Babylon Rouges attack the city and blast a giant HOLE in the city in order to activate an ancient artifact. ''THEN AFTER THAT'', when Max and his family try to leave the city Eggman attacks again, his Metal Sonic self-destructs and puts Antione in a coma]]!
* ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMysteryGillen'' sets up the possibility of real change and redemption for ComicBook/{{Loki}}, only for him to screw himself over in the end. They managed to change some things, in ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'' they're even worthy of Mjölnir... for about 10 minutes. Which is yet another dog chain yanking moment.
* After years of the abuse she watched the Facility put her daughter, ComicBook/{{X 23}}, through in their quest to duplicate the Weapon X project, Dr. Sarah Kinney finally decided to take the girl and run, issuing her instructions to destroy additional embryos created by the project and to kill the project leader, Zander Rice. Just when it looks like Laura will be able to escape with her mother to live in peace, it turns out Rice had Sarah contaminated with the trigger scent as a final "fuck you" from beyond the grave. One UnstoppableRage later Laura is a SelfMadeOrphan, killing the only person who loved her.
** It happens ''again'' not long after. After escaping the Facility, Laura turns up at the home of her aunt Debbie and cousin Megan. Debbie knew ''something'' about Laura, (it's implied that she knows Laura is Sarah's daughter, but believes she was the product of a bad relationship her sister was in and that both were trying to escape it) and welcomes her into their home as part of the family. Laura quickly connects with Megan and strikes up a strong friendship with her, and it seems as if she will ''finally'' escape into a quiet and peaceful life with people who love her. Too bad it turns out Debbie's boyfriend was planted by the Facility and calls in Kimura. The three manage to escape her after a trigger scent scare, (Megan had the presence of mind to drag her mother into the shower to wash it off after being exposed) but Laura is forced to send them into hiding and cut off all contact with them to protect them.
** She eventually finds her way to [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Logan]], who offers to bring her to Xavier's school to give her a fresh start and help her cope with all the hell she's been through. And then she's attacked and arrested by Comicbook/CaptainAmerica. Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} even ''lampshades'' this [[WhatTheHellHero by telling Cap that he may have just stolen Laura's last chance at a normal life]]. The poor girl just can't catch a break!
** And yet ''again''. Just as she's starting to find a measure of peace after WalkingTheEarth to find herself during her solo series and then joining ComicBook/AvengersAcademy, she gets [[ComicBook/AvengersArena shanghaied by Arcade to fight other teen heroes to the death for his amusement]]. ''And'' no sooner is she rescued, but she turns up wandering Miami in an amnesiac state after being taken and tortured by the Purifiers. Who, by the way, happen to have a copy of the video Arcade released which quite prominently puts just what the trigger scent does to her on display.
* Happens to ''Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}}'' four times regarding his wife Comicbook/{{Mockingbird}}.
** After a bitter separation and impending divorce, Clint and Bobbi finally reunite and get back together. Not long afterward, she's killed in a battle and dies in his arms.
** Clint goes to rescue Bobbi's soul from the Marvel version of Hell, only to discover that he was tricked into rescuing ComicBook/{{Hellcat}} instead.
** Then he ends up in Wanda's reality and they're in a relationship again. Then the world goes to hell, the Bobbi in ComicBook/HouseOfM leaves, Clint finds out that he's actually dead in the real world, then when everything goes back to normal, Clint is restored to life with all the memories of House of M.
** Then came ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'', when a Skrull ship crashed and revealed a group of the heroes. Most were discovered to be Skrulls, but Clint tested the Mockingbird they found with a question and decided she was the real Bobbi. Then it turned out she was actually a Skrull who honestly believed that she was the real Bobbi, which led to Clint shooting and killing her. The real Bobbi finally returned at the end of the event. Only ''that'' turned out to be bad when, in the course of a team-up, Clint realizes the Bobbi who he reunited with was the Skrull and the real Bobbi still considers them divorced.
* ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}} occasionally wins... very briefly. As the animated series [[ExpositoryThemeTune put it:]] ''"Iznogoud, the rat vizir, he never wins, that much is clear..."''
* Every time things seem to be going well for the ComicBook/{{Runaways}}, something always happens to ruin it, whether it's Gert's death, Iron Man's attack on the Hostel, angry people from Karolina and Xavin's pasts, or Old Lace's death and Klara's freak-out. At one point, they finally managed to make a deal to get the Avengers to leave them (mostly) alone... and then Nico and Chase got kidnapped by Arcade...
* ''ComicBook/AdventureTime'': The Ice King in Lich Land. The moment he steps in, he's [[spoiler:reunited with his finance, Betty]]. The following events are akin to a FixFic where all of Ice King's misery and LossOfIdentity are melted away as he exchanges kisses and sweet nothings with [[spoiler:Betty]]. [[LotusEaterMachine Too bad that none of it is real.]]
-->'''Ice King:''' You're just as real as I-- ([[spoiler:[[LiterallyShatteredLives Fake!Betty shatters into a million pieces]]]]) [[TheLostLenore --as I remember.]]
* ''ComicBook/SuperboyPrime'': DoubleSubversion. At the end of ''ComicBook/AdventureComics'' #5, where Superboy-Prime admits that he hates what he has become and just wants a happy ending. Laurie Lemmon enters the basement and comforts him, telling him that they are sorry for what they did to him and are going to leave him alone—"they" being previously mentioned as being the writers at DC Comics. As they embrace, a Black Lantern ring is shown on Laurie's hand that detects the hope within Prime's heart, implying she is really a Black Lantern and is manipulating him into feeling hope before she kills him. However, when Superboy-Prime is accidentally transported back to New Earth, a flashback shows him reconnecting with Laurie Lemmon and his parents, implying she is the real Laurie Lemmon and they are happy together. Sadly for Prime, he is separated from his loved ones again. He blames the Teen Titans and battles them. When he loses, they imprison him within the Source Wall.
* ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'' sees [[ComicBook/{{Deadman}} Boston Brand]] brought back to life by the Life Entity, with instructions to learn to appreciate it. And he does, coming to enjoy both his life and those of others, and even falling in love with ComicBook/HawkAndDove. Then he completes his real mission, raising Swamp Thing, and gets killed again. And the Life Entity refuses to resurrect him again, because he's completed what it needed him to do.
[[/folder]]

* [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1997/05/11 An alarm clock]] induced ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' into dreaming he was locked inside a pasta factory. Then, as Garfield was seconds away from the greatest feast in history, the alarm clock went off.
* ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean'': Lisa Moore's breast cancer has returned, but it looks like they caught it in time and she should be right as rain in a few months. Except the doctors mixed up her medical charts: her cancer wasn't in remission and by the time they caught the mistake, it was already too late to do anything but delay the inevitable.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In the ''Fanfic/TamersForeverSeries'', every time it looks like Takato and Rika are becoming closer, something happens to drive them apart. The ultimate one comes when they finally do get together [[spoiler:then Takato has to leave her behind forever]]. Good thing Takato's an IronWoobie.
* In ''FanFic/WhatLiesBeyondTheWalls'', the Long Patrol finally [[BreatherEpisode gets a chance to relax and eat delicious food for a full three chapters]] when they come across Tearmann. And then [[spoiler:vermin storm the community, which leads to more death, more fighting, and Urthquake becoming even ''further'' unhinged than he was to begin with]].
* In ''Fanfic/MotherOfInvention'', when Applejack builds a raft to escape the island - without first unraveling its mysteries - the attempt doesn't fare well.
* In ''Fanfic/WeasleyGirl,'' AU fanfic, Harry Potter (thanks to an ill-timed joke by George Weasley) spends a few chapters thinking that the "stone" that's hidden at Hogwarts and that Voldemort is after is the Resurrection Stone. Which Harry dreams of using to call his parents back to life. Needless to say, he is disappointed.
* ''Fanfic/TheEveningSonata'' sprinkles hints about Sunset Shimmer and Sonata Dusk getting together. Sunset gives an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove...! But is rejected, as she threatened Sonata's sister, Aria Blaze. Sunset breaks down.
* ''Fanfic/{{A New World|IcedFairy}}'': After an epic battle with the immensely powerful Yuuka Kazami (who she ''barely'' manages to kill), one of the many Lunarian warriors sent to purge Gensokyo yells how she's the most powerful warrior of her race, and sits down to catch her breath. As she does, she feels a bit lightheaded... and turns to see [[MasterPoisoner Medicine Melancholy]], who's been filling her lungs with paralyzing toxins for a while. As she chokes on the venom, Medicine realizes she's not feeling particularly merciful, and snaps the Lunarian's neck.
* ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': [[spoiler: Despite an attempt to learn the Magi of Stars’ true identity while in the world of Canterlot High, the group only gets a small hint in the form of Pinkie Pie remembering seeing a girl with a dog and a similar mark once, but that’s literally all she knows]].
* In ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'', Kaworu eventually manages to have Rei return his affections, [[spoiler:only for her to die in a HeroicSacrifice less than an hour after she asks him out on a date. And then she loses all memory of him when she's brought back]].
* ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheMoon'':
** In the sequel ''The Mare From the Moon'', in chapter 29, [[spoiler:Spliced has been put on trial and effectively gotten what she wanted, with the judges having reduced her sentence to freedom once she cures all the diseases and viruses she's made, requiring her only to undergo mandatory psychological evaluation and therapy afterward. Then agents of the higher intergalactic tribunal show up and inform everyone that their bosses have already made up their own minds, re-arrest her and take her back to her old cell on the moon]].
** [[spoiler:The story ends with Spliced, having finally served out her full sentence, asking the council members to fulfill their promise and make her mortal again so she can die permanently... only to learn that they don’t know how.]]
* ''Fanfic/LelouchOfTheWingsOfRebellion'': When Euphemia temporarily lifts the ban on Japanese people visiting the local shrine so they can celebrate the Tanabata festival, she admits that Cornelia will probably reinstate the ban and end the festivities as soon as she gets wind of it. Sure enough, that's exactly what she does.
* ''FanFic/SleeperHitAU'': [[ForWantOfANail Despite his Quirklessness]], Izuku's exhaustive hard work pays off when he passes U.A.'s Entrance Exam and gets admitted to the top hero school in Japan. His new teacher Aizawa then promptly expels him on the very first day, fudging the results of his assessment test and falsely claiming that he performed the worst. He then casually outs him as Quirkless in front of the whole class, sneering about how he refuses to give him any 'special treatment'. To make matters worse, all of this happens in front of his childhood friend-turned bully, Bakugou -- and the girl he [[InSpiteOfANail saved from the zero-pointer]]? [[InnocentlyInsensitive Calls him 'Deku']], leaving him convinced that she knows its insulting connotations and [[CynicismCatalyst making him much more cynical about the type of students U.A. is looking for]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Happens to Tobias in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. His distant cousin has flown in from Africa and wants to take care of him. He can finally have a real family, stop eating roadkill and have a proper relationship with Rachel. He can have a normal life! ''This is awesome!'' No, it's not. That cousin is Visser Three. In morph. He's trying to kill him.
* Happens ''hard'' to Mike Noonan in ''Literature/BagOfBones''. His wife dies unexpectedly, taking their unborn baby with her, leaving him alone and broken, unable even to work. Eventually, he discovers that returning to their summer home in western Maine holds the key to turning his life around, one way or another. Immediately, he meets the young, beautiful Mattie Devore and her daughter, Kyra. Thanks to them, he finally finds purpose in his life. He starts writing again. Mattie even reciprocates his unspoken feelings for her. Romance and redemption are all but certain. [[spoiler:Then, Mattie is murdered right in front of him, the ghosts in his house come to life and try to kill Kyra, Mike gives up on writing forever, and the book ends with him still alone and engaged in a bitter battle to obtain custody of Kyra.]]
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Arya Stark manages to make several daring escapes from different captors, but is always kidnapped by someone new shortly thereafter. [[spoiler:And she is ''finally'' brought back to her family... just in time for [[FromBadToWorse the Red Wedding]].]]
** Her sister Sansa, after being held captive and abused for a year, is finally going to be taken away by some friendly people to marry a great guy... [[spoiler:Then her captors find out and force her to marry one of them instead, a terribly ugly dwarf. He's actually a decent person, but Sansa hates his whole family because of what happened to her father.]] And now it's apparently in the process of happening ''again''. Stupid StockholmSyndrome GenreBlindness.
** Ramsay Snow is ever so fond of invoking this trope with his [[ManipulativeBastard human playthings]] (when he's not literally yanking them around on a chain like a dog, that is). It's a way of teaching them helplessness and inducing StockholmSyndrome. He lets them think a servant or fellow prisoner has taken pity on them and decided to help them escape... then [[spoiler:he hunts them down with a pack of dogs, kills the confidante, and removes a couple of minor body parts as punishment. After one or two of these, they start panicking at the very ''idea'' of trying to escape]].
* Marcus Clarke's ''For the Term of His Natural Life.'' The entire book consists of nothing but this and is the most relentlessly depressing book ever. Even at the end of the book, where something finally goes right, [[spoiler:not seconds later he and his love interest both drown at sea]].
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'': Pettigrew's been outed as guilty and is being turned in! They're going to prove Sirius' innocence! And then Harry can leave the horrible, abusive Dursleys and live with his godfather! Everything's going to be fantastic, everything's going fine, and, say, is that the full moon?... and didn't they just learn Lupin was a werewolf?... aw, shit.
* The title character in Creator/CharlotteBronte's ''Literature/JaneEyre'' finally gets to the altar with her employer/true love Rochester when it is revealed that Rochester is already married to a mad woman he's got locked in the attic, and the wedding is canceled.
* In Charlotte Bronte's claustrophobic ''Literature/{{Villette}}'', the perpetually unhappy heroine Lucy has fallen in love with and become engaged to fellow-teacher M. Paul, only it is revealed ambiguously in the last few pages that Paul [[spoiler:probably died in a shipwreck before they could be married]].
** Charlotte considered this a ''happy'' ending -- for M. Paul that is. Which you may be inclined to agree if you've read the book: [[spoiler:life with a passive-aggressive depressive like Lucy Snow is a fate no man should suffer]].
* ''The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber'' by Hemingway is such an example.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s Rincewind has had this happen to him enough times that now he expects it. It has now gotten to the point that if anything good happens to him he will more or less panic until the other shoe drops.
** Wonderfully {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in "Run Rincewind Run!"
** In continuing to play with it, Sam Vimes believes he doesn't deserve his good fortune and lives in fear of this trope happening to him.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' arguably has several of these (Harry will always be behind on the rent, even if his [[spoiler:secret half-brother]] comes from a rich family; the {{masquerade}} will always go on; things will always get in the way of his relationship with Murphy), but there's one really blatant example in [[Literature/SummerKnight the fourth book]]. Harry's OneTrueLove Susan has been (almost) turned into a vampire, and throughout the book he is deeply depressed and completely obsessed with looking for a cure for vampirism, never mind the fact that all reputable sources tell him it's impossible. While investigating something unrelated, one of the nigh-godlike Faerie Queenes herself gives Harry a DeusExMachina that can supposedly undo any enchantment at all. It's intended for use in the main plot, but Harry hopes to solve his current assignment by some more simpler means and save the DeusExMachina for Susan. [[spoiler:It gets taken from him after five minutes.]]
** Happens again in ''Literature/{{Changes}}''. Harry, having long since given up on finding a way to cure Susan, is taken aback when the Leanansidhe hits her with a spell that temporarily pacifies her Vampiric nature. Since the spell as-used was designed to render her unconscious briefly, it's no good in it's current form, but Harry thinks with enough time and effort he might could tweak it into a permanent solution, and for the first time in years he has hope that Susan may one day get to live a normal life again. Although the events of the plot demand his immediate attention, he resolves to look into it further once things calm down. [[spoiler: He never gets the chance, because Susan dies during the book's climax.]]
** Another vicious example came in ''Literature/TurnCoat'' for not just Harry. Since the events of ''Literature/DeathMasks'', Harry hasn't had a girlfriend or any romantic involvement for nearly five years. Then, at the end of ''Literature/SmallFavor'', he starts dating [[spoiler:Luccio in her younger body]]. They're both happy together, especially [[spoiler:Luccio, because she's spent nearly a century without experiencing romantic interest or a sex drive. Darned wizardly extended lives.]] Then in ''Turn Coat'' [[spoiler: it turns out Luccio was being mind-controlled into being attracted to Harry by the traitor in the Council.]] ....well, ''shit.''
*** In ''Changes'', [[spoiler:after spending the entire book having one bad thing happen after another, it finally looks like Harry and Murphy might get together. Then 20 minutes before Murphy is supposed to show, Harry gets shot dead]].
*** Interestingly, though, the trope is {{downplayed|Trope}} in that [[spoiler: it is fairly clearly indicated that this whole, huge chain of disasters was derived in large part from various ''bad choices'' made by Harry, Susan, etc, it could have been prevented...and better choices in the future could produce better results. The Archangel Uriel seems to be trying very hard, as much as he can with the rules that bind him, to teach Harry to grasp this]].
** The short story "Day Off". Pretty much the entirety of it. Harry finally gets a day off, and is promptly challenged to a magical duel at 1 AM on that day. It goes downhill from there. The whole thing is PlayedForLaughs.
* ''Literature/IAmNotASerialKiller'' crosses this with CharacterDevelopment and HopeSpot to truly heartbreaking effect. After years of miserable loneliness, the universe seems to give John a break-he falls unexpectedly for the local GoodBadGirl and she gives him a rare taste of ease and connection. [[spoiler:She becomes a casualty of the SerialKiller ''he brought to town'']], and he spends the next book trying to escape the pull of a sanity-shattering DespairEventHorizon as a result.
* Mack Bolan, Literature/TheExecutioner, eventually had things going pretty well for him. He's working for the government, so the cops aren't after him all the time, he's got a whole group of soldiers sharing his new mission, and he's got a girl he dearly loves. Then the KGB shoots up his headquarters and blows her to hell.
* The discovery of a later will at the end of ''Literature/BleakHouse'' leads us to believe that Richard and Ada will live HappilyEverAfter. Unfortunately, it turns out that [[ShaggyDogStory the entire inheritance has gone into paying for the long-running court case]]. Although Richard is at last free of his obsession with winning the case, it is only so that he can [[spoiler:[[DyingAsYourself die as himself.]] Overworked and ill, he is killed by [[DeathByDespair the shock of losing the estate]]]].
* This trope becomes common with the Baudelaires in Lemony Snicket's ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' series. There are times in the series where it appears Violet, Klaus and Sunny are going to catch a break, but then Lemony Snicket crushes all your hopes.
* The whole point of the short story ''[[http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/villier5.htm La torture par l'esperance]]'' (The Torture of Hope) by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam is that yanking the dog's chain is the most sadistic form of torture.
* Pretty much the B-plot of every ''Literature/TravisMcGee'' novel, with the exception of the books where it's the A-plot.
* It happens repeatedly to the protagonist of ''Literature/MasterOfTheFiveMagics'': each time he risks it all to learn of a new kind of magic, a rival swoops in and gloms all the profits, leaving him with nothing but a clue to the next style of magic-use.
* The whole point of a story by Jerome K. Jerome "In Remembrance of John Ingerfield and of Anne, his Wife".
* Everything will be going well by the end of an ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' book only for everything to be mediocre ''at best'' by the start of the next.
* ''Literature/TrappedOnDraconica'': Kalak is introduced as the last Leondian and mid-book he discovers that 300 of his fellows, including his sister, survived their kingdom's fall. Shortly afterward [[spoiler: They're all killed and he's the last again]].
* The evening before Helen realizes her husband is having an affair in ''Literature/TheTenantOfWildfellHall'', she hears two of his friends complaining how "that woman" is civilizing and moralizing him — and she gets an unexpectedly affectionate welcome when she surprises him outside. Then she learns that he thought she was someone else, and "that woman" is the Other Woman.
* In the Literature/BookOfJonah, God grows a plant to provide his prophet shade. Then during that night he kills the plant and summons a hot wind to daze Jonah with heat. It turns out to be a SecretTestOfCharacter; Jonah weeps that the plant is dead, but is fine with letting the Ninevites all be killed, which God finds terrible of him.
* Swedish writer Simona Ahrnstedt does this in her debut novel ''Literature/{{Overenskommelser}}''. Beatrice and Seth, the two protagonists, have what can only be described as a really hot date. Surely they will sort things out now, after eight months of misunderstandings? Surely now Beatrice won't have to marry Rosenschiöld (who's like forty years older than her and treats women like dirt), to whom she was forced to get engaged? But alas, not only does she have a tyrannical uncle, but she also has a sadistic sociopath for a cousin, who now makes sure that she's separated from Seth. Cue a whole year of more misery for Beatrice...
* In ''Literature/SpaceMarineBattles'', things seem to be going well for the slave rebellion as they manage to win a bit and gain some long-lost freedom. But alas, they have the misfortune of living in a CrapsackWorld and the Iron Warriors are quick to crush the insurrection, which gets worse when an Ork WAAAGH! attacks the planet in full force (at least the leading rebel gets his revenge on the Iron Warrior that tormented him the most).
* ''Literature/AMurderIsAnnounced'': Charlotte Blacklock suffers from a goitre, which her overbearing father refuses to let her have surgically repaired. When he passes away, it looks like things will finally get better: her sister Letitia takes her to Switzerland to have the procedure, and Letitia's former employer has left a large fortune in trust for her to share with Charlotte, just as soon as his frail and sickly wife dies (and the sisters are quite willing to wait as long as it takes for nature to take its course there). Life is sweet, right? [[spoiler:Wrong. Letitia unexpectedly dies while Belle Goedler is still alive, so Charlotte will get nothing. You can hardly blame her for deciding Charlotte should be the one who's died, and she'll live the rest of her life as Letitia.]]
[[/folder]]

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/{{PvP}}'' when couch loafer Robbie wins the lottery - and ''never loses the money''. He even hires people to make sure he doesn't go broke.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''. After years and years of nothing but being screwed by the universe itself over and over again, Black Mage finally gets what he always wanted: He becomes an unstoppable mage of mass destruction, slaughtering almost everybody he knows (including the girl he has a crush on) in merely seconds... Only to have [[DeusExMachina Sar]][[AWizardDidIt da]] come pop in and bring everybody back to life.
** Done far, far earlier when he briefly became the overlord of hell, with all the power and cowering minions the title provides, only to be shoved back into his former body before he could destroy it.

* Patchy got hit with this hard in one of the arcs of ''Webcomic/LifeOfMaid''. After Patchy decides to get a new handheld, a Nintendo 3DS, she comes short of the money needed to buy it and decides to go to Remilia for money. But instead of simply giving her the money like in a previous arc, she puts Patchy to work around the mansion. After working her ass off, she finally gets her hands on it -- but just two strips later, she leaves the 3DS unattended to use the little girl's room, only to have it get [[spoiler:eaten by Yuyuko, who mistakes the chicken in the [[VideoGame/CookingMama "Cooking Papa"]] game she was playing for the real deal]].
* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'':
** In Chapter 14, Reynir, the cast LittleStowaway and novice mage, manages to come up with a rune able to keep dangerous ghosts away from the tank once painted on the back despite not having slept the previous night. Just as everyone is having dinner and looking forward to finally having a little sleep, the leader of the ghosts sends Reynir and Lalli a telepathic message telling them that the rune won't protect them forever and the he intends to kill everyone around them. And that's after the very battle that caused everyone to have an all-nighter put quite the psychological toll on Lalli.
** Reynir gets a milder form of this later in the story. The reason he got himself stowed away in the first place during Adventure I was that he was trying to reach Bornholm island by hiding a food crate he assumed to be headed for his destination. In Adventure II, he follows the rest of the crew on a trip to Finland, which has a stopover in Bornholm. Or rather, an off-island trade and travel hub. Going on the island itself requires a two-week quarantine.

* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'': [[StrugglingSingleMother Rosa Ushiromiya]] gets the worst in the course of almost every game, she is among the first victims of games 1, 4, 5, and 6 and does not better in games 2 (where she is the last to die being devoured, along with her nine-years old daughter, Maria, by a whole army of humanoid goats dressed as butlers and then personally tortured by [[BigBad Beatrice]] in the Tea Party) and 3 (where her [[BigSisterBully older sister Eva]] becomes a witch and subjects both she and Maria to a cycle of ResurrectionDeathLoop) either.

* In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', just as it seems as though Tenko and Himiko are slowly rebuilding their friendship into something healthier than before, [[spoiler: Tenko tragically dies in a death trap originally intended for ''Himiko''. Needless to say, Himiko does not take this well]].

* ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'' sees [[ComicBook/Deadman Boston Brand]] brought back to life by the Life Entity, with instructions to learn to appreciate it. And he does, coming to enjoy both his life and those of others, and even falling in love with ComicBook/HawkAndDove. Then he completes his real mission, raising Swamp Thing, and gets killed again. And the Life Entity refuses to resurrect him again, because he's completed what it needed him to do.

* ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' has a doozy. In MAG 180, Jon has saved [[spoiler:Martin]] from the Lonely, they've escaped to Daisy's safehouse in Scotland, and they seem to be genuinely happy for the first time in years...[[spoiler:and then Jonah Magnus forces Jon to read a statement that brings all the Fears into the world, effectively causing the apocalypse]].

* One Cocoa Pebbles [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvE9wysbnyQ commercial]] has Fred take Barney to court for the latter's repeated attempts to steal the former's cereal. Barney says he loves Cocoa Pebbles [[TrueCompanions almost as much]] as he loves Fred. Fred is so moved by this he willingly gives him the cereal...only for the judge to jump down, grab the bowl, and run off shouting "Case Dismissed!" as Fred and Barney cry in each other's arms.

-->'''Daffy:''' ''[[SkywardScream CUBISH!!!]]''

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', Mulan saves the remainder of the Chinese army from the Huns, burying the entire Hun force in an avalanche, ''and'' manages to save herself, [[CoolHorse Khan]], Mushu, Cri-ki, and Shang from falling to their deaths. It's the most she's accomplished after so many screw-ups, and Shang pledges his trust to her. Then, it's revealed that she was slashed with a sword. When she's treated for the injury, she's revealed as a woman. While Shang decides to spare her life, he still is hurt and leaves her on the mountain in disgrace.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': A pretty depressing one happens for Beast. He and Belle have been growing closer and she clearly has been much more warm towards him than when they first met. After the famous ballroom scene, he nervously asks her if she's happy with him, apparently readying up to see if she will declare her love for him. Then, she finds out that her father is sick and possibly dying. The Beast chooses to let her go save her father, even though he believes she'll leave him for good and condemn him to never having the curse broken. He then suffers this trope ''again'' in the film's climax, when Gaston is attacking him and he lost the will to live. He suddenly sees Belle riding in to find him, and regains his strength upon realizing that she returned to him. He overpowers Gaston and orders him out instead of killing him, and then he and Belle are happily reunited... only for Gaston to literally stab the Beast in the back. It says a lot about the Beast's general attitude towards life that after all that, he considers dying like that to be a good ending [[YouAreWorthHell because at least he saw Belle again]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'': Radiator Springs is rejuvenated by Lightning and everyone is happy, and it looks like the icing on the cake is the customers that seem to be approaching. Except they aren't customers. They're the press, who've been alerted to Lightning's presence by Doc, and Lightning is promptly whisked away for the final race.

* ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMystery'' sets up the possibility of real change and redemption for ComicBook/{{Loki}}, only for him to screw himself over in the end. They managed to change some things, in ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'' they're even worthy of Mjölnir... for about 10 minutes. Which is yet another dog chain yanking moment.