History Main / YouAreTooLate

# The villain is a WellIntentionedExtremist, and his plan really was [[AndItWorked for the greater good]] or at least close enough to be debatable.

The villain is a WellIntentionedExtremist, and his plan really was for the [[AndItWorked greater good]] or at least close enough to be debatable. If instead the hero had won, it would have been a NiceJobBreakingItHero.

* The ''SinestroCorpsWar'', Hal Jordan realizes too late that [[spoiler: the Guardians' new authorization for the GreenLantern Corps to kill]] was the whole reason {{Sinestro}} started the war in the first place, meaning TheBadGuyWins. However, even Jordan acknowledges at the end that the ability to use lethal force like real cops and soldiers does help in defending the universe.

** Doesn't this also happen in ''Aladdin'' where Jafar wishes himself the most powerful sorcerer in the world, only for Aladdin to manage to trick him into becoming a genie? And doesn't this happen in ''TheLionKing'' where Scar successfully becomes King? Or in ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' where Frollo manages to capture Esmeralda and finds the Court of Miracles? Disney has a trend of using this trope, doesn't it...?

* So far in ''AdventureQuestWorlds'', the hero always arrives too late to stop the Chaos Lords from summoning their respective [[SealedEvilInACan Chaos Beasts]] (in one case, he/she actually gave the item sought by the first lord of chaos, Escherion, to him so he could use it to free the Lake Hydra, and in another, Discordia was actually a fake Chaos Lord so he didn't have his own Chaos Beast - the real Chaos Lord, Kimberly, on the other hand, used her power of rock to send him/her back in time where her Pony Gary Yellow was enlarged and brought to life). He/she defeats the Chaos Beasts anyway, though.

** Doesn't this also happen in ''Aladdin'' where Jafar wishes himself the most powerful sorcerer in the world, only for Aladdin to manage to trick him into becoming a genie? And doesn't this happen in ''TheLionKing'' where Scar successfully becomes King? Or in ''TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' where Frollo manages to capture Esmeralda and finds the Court of Miracles? Disney has a trend of using this trope, doesn't it...?

# they succesfully defeat whatever plan the villain had- but it turns out he had already been through with that plan, and was moving/had moved onto a new one, so the heroes just wasted their time.

* In ''Torchwood:ChildrenOfEarth'', the world governments have finished rounding up 10% of the world's children and are preparing them to be sent to the 456 when Jack discovers he can use the transmission sent by the 456 to defeat them and save the children, but only at the cost of a child's life. The only child available? [[spoiler: Jack's grandson. Worse yet, his mother can do nothing but watch. This leads to Jack suffering a HeroicBSOD.

** In the level "The Covenant", Johnson is captured in a XanatosGambit to be used to activate the array. Master Chief is a bit too far away, so Miranda goes in after him. They almost sacrifice themselves, but Truth kills Keyes before she can carry it out, then activates the rings. MC and the Arbiter, with the EnemyMine help of the Flood, arrive JustInTime to deactivate them.

* Not sure which of these it fits, it seems mixed, but "The Green Candle" from ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. Rita makes a candle made from the magic wax Tommy was covered with when she turned him into the Green Ranger. If it burns out while in her hands not only will it strip Tommy of his powers, they will bolster her own magical strength. At the end of the two-parter Jason is too late to stop the candle from burning out while in Rita's possession. They're able to stop the drained power from being added to Rita's own by giving Tommy's coin to Jason (granting Jason the Dragon Shield), but the fact remains that they're down a man, meaning their fight has gotten that much harder.

* ''TanzDerVampire'' lets Professor Abronsius and his assistant Alfred believe they've saved the beautiful Sarah from the clutches of the vampire lord Graf von Krolock, complete with a dramatic getaway from the ball where she was the Graf's main course. All seems well, and Alfred and Sarah embrace, at which point Sarah reveals a shiny new pair of fangs and attacks Alfred, draining him and making him a vampire too. The rest of the vampires then arrive to claim the audience themselves as their new prey...

* Subverted in ''ChronoTrigger'', in that you arrive too late to prevent Marle from being deleted from the timeline, but you are JustInTime to prevent the event that deletes her. [[DoctorWho I hate time travel.]]

* In ''Super PaperMario'', the sixth chapter fits perfectly. Sammer's Kingdom is consumed by the Void before the party can reach the Pure Heart.

* Mephisto points this out as well when you confront him at the end of Act III:

# The hero is still in time to stymie the villain's overall plan, but [[FriendOrIdolDecision only at the cost of]] a HeroicSacrifice, or the death of the LoveInterest, [[{{Nakama}} close friend(s)]], or (rarely) an innocent bystander, or the villain achieving some other victory. May be the result of a XanatosGambit. Often results in a BittersweetEnding or DownerEnding.

# The hero is still in time to stymie the villain's overall plan, but [[FriendOrIdolDecision only at the cost of]] a HeroicSacrifice, or the death of the LoveInterest, [[{{Nakama}} close friend(s)]], or (rarely) an innocent bystander. Results in a BittersweetEnding or DownerEnding.

** When you arrive in Kvatch to retrieve Martin, it turns out the daedra have already opened up a portal outside the city and burned most of it down.
** When you bring Martin back to Jauffre, Mythic Dawn agents have already attacked the priory and stolen the Amulet from its hiding place.
** By the time you get the Amulet and Martin back to the capital, BigBad Mehrunes Dagon has already crossed over. Martin is forced to make a HeroicSacrifice to banish the Daedra Prince of Destruction to save all of Tamriel. Presumably, this will have even bigger repercussions down the road as there are no longer any Septims to stop the events from repeating. (Actually, since the amulet was destroyed, this some how stops the cycle. This can possibly be deduced because the dragon fires weren't lit, yet Oblivion is sealed. The reason why is very well explained but buried deep in the game's lore so unfortunately the average player will never come across it and the entire ending seems very GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere.)
** Even if the big scary demons have been locked away for good there are still going to be far reaching consequences. The Septim line and the threat of the world's destruction by Oblivion were the bubblegum and string holding the entire Imperium together. With no more central authority deriving from a legitimate emporer expect every ambitious lordling in the farther flung lands to declare his independence.

* Later in Disney's ''TheLittleMermaid,'' the heroes arrive too late to complete Ariel's contract, as Ursula gleefully points out.

* In {{Avatar: The Last Airbender}}, a lot of emphasis is put on the Aang beating Ozai before Sozin's Comet arrives and super-charges the villains for a period of time. It soon gets demonstrated that they have no way of getting Ozai to fight them before then, and there won't be a world to save if they wait till after. However, it ultimately doesn't matter, as Aang is still able to steamroll Ozai once he goes into [[SuperMode Avatar mode]].

* In AvatarTheLastAirbender, a lot of emphasis is put on the Aang beating Ozai before Sozin's Comet arrives and super-charges the villains for a period of time. It soon gets demonstrated that they have no way of getting Ozai to fight them before then, and there won't be a world to save if they wait till after. However, it ultimately doesn't matter, as Aang is still able to steamroll Ozai once he goes into [[SuperMode Avatar mode]].

* Doesn't this also happen in ''Aladdin'' where Jafar wishes himself the most powerful sorcerer in the world, only for Aladdin to manage to trick him into becoming a genie? And doesn't this happen in ''TheLionKing'' where Scar successfully becomes King? Or in ''TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' where Frollo manages to capture Esmeralda and finds the Court of Miracles? Disney has a trend of using this trope, doesn't it...?

If the final stage of the plan involves a TimeBomb, then it is an example of this trope only if the heroes arrive too late to prevent it from going off. If the heroes defuse the bomb or divert the missiles midflight, then they're JustInTime.