Basic Trope: A heroic character makes a sacrifice, typically their life, to achieve a particular objective.
- Straight: In the final battle with Emperor Evulz, Alice sacrifices herself to momentarily stun the Emperor, allowing her teammates to deliver the final blow.
- Exaggerated:
- Every person in a 500-man brigade save for one has to sacrifice themselves to stun the Emperor, leaving the Sole Survivor to deliver the final blow.
- Alternatively, all of Alice's team, no matter who, have to sacrifice themselves to kill the Emperor, leaving no surivors.
- Downplayed:
- Alice offers to allow Evulz to erase all of her memories of her teammates to let his guard down, letting the rest of the team kill the Emperor once and for all. Though Alice doesn't die, she leaves the Five-Man Band because she doesn't know them anymore, though they accept her decision with sadness.
- Alice survives her attack on Evulz, but becomes handicapped in one way or another.
- Justified:
- It's literally the only way that they can attack him - someone's gotta die.
- Alice is already mortally wounded so she has no reason not to use the guaranteed fatal Dangerous Forbidden Technique.
- Alice was already feeling suicidal to begin with, but wants to die in a selfless and meaningful way.
- Inverted:
- Alice comes Back from the Dead.
- Alice sacrifices her teammates to save herself.
- Emperor Evulz sacrifices himself to further his goals.
- Drake sacrifices himself for Emperor Evulz due to them both being Anti Villains.
- Alice sacrifices herself just to screw over someone else.
- Subverted:
- Alice sacrifices herself, but the sacrifice does nothing.
- Alice plans to sacrifice herself to defeat Emperor Evulz, but the group comes up with another way.
- Alice uses the Dangerous Forbidden Technique, but survives.
- Alice has a Disney Death, where it appears she's dead, but she comes back moments later.
- Alice was The Mole who's "sacrifice" was a cover to rejoin Evulz.
- Alice declares her intent to sacrifice herself, but chickens out at the last second.
- Double Subverted:
- Alice sacrifices herself, and it appears to do nothing at first, but it eventually causes enough damage over time or screws over Emperor Evulz in some other way to make the sacrifice ultimately meaningful.
- The plan failed so Alice ends up having to sacrifice herself anyway.
- Alice was close to death — and sorry, no medical attention for miles.
- Alice was feeding Evulz bad info, once she is "safe" within Evulz' base she knows she will receive a bullet to the head.
- Parodied:
- Alice needlessly sacrifices her life to solve a minor problem instead of an epic crisis.
- The Smart Guy comes up with a valid strategy that doesn't involve anyone dying. Alice rejects it anyway because she says that someone always has to die in big battles.
- Alice is constantly trying to throw herself in the way of deadly weapons aimed at her friends, but keeps missing. At the end, she finally successfully takes the deadly wound... which was aimed at The Big Bad, not the hero.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice plans to sacrifice herself, but the group comes up with another way. However, the plan fails so Alice ends up having to sacrifice herself anyway. But at the last minute, The Cavalry shows up and fights off Emperor Evulz, sparing Alice.
- Averted: No one sacrifices themselves.
- Enforced: "We need to show that The Hero will go all out. Let's have her off herself!"
- Lampshaded: "I may be dying, but I die so that millions will live!"
- Invoked: Alice learns an attack that costs her life.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz tricks the team into sacrificing Alice which gives himself an advantage once she dies.
- Defied:
- Alice refuses to utilize an attack that costs her life, because she wants to live to see the future.
- Alternatively, Alice doesn't sacrifice herself because she knows her friends need her, and doesn't want to abandon them like that.
- Bob rescues Alice at the right time so that she doesn't die.
- Emperor Evulz sees Alice coming and puts her down well away from him and too far for her sacrificial attack to affect him.
- Discussed:
- "She's...she's really gonna do it? Alice!"
- When Emperor Evulz threatens to kill an innocent civilian unless he lets him kill her, Alice replies that she would gladly do so if it were for that fact the she knows that Evulz has no intention of keeping his bargain.
- Conversed: "So this is the scene where Alice sacrifices herself to save the day. Oddly, I felt nothing for her death."
- Implied: A medal ceremony is performed at Alice's funeral.
- Deconstructed:
- Senseless Sacrifice.
- Alice is killed in the most horrifying way possible, with her soul scattered and scorched and twisted beyond comprehension. The pain is real and devastating, you do not want to sacrifice yourself no matter what the pesky ethics or compassion says to you.
- Alice's sacrifice did help stop Emperor Evulz, but that's not going to change how devastated and heartbroken her friends and allies will be when they learn about her death.
- Alice is The Heart of the group. The group falls apart because she's no longer there to keep things in order.
- Alice is so eager to take the bullet not because she is so heroic, but because she wants to die.
- After Alice dies saving him, Bob is unable to cope with her loss and is Driven to Suicide.
- Reconstructed:
- The sacrifice works and even though the rest of the team is in mourning, they get over it and defeat Emperor Evulz.
- Alice endures the pain of her passing by holding on to the memories of her friends and family, who eventually find a way to recombine her soul so that she can enter the afterlife.
- After some time has passed and everyone has properly mourned her death, they are able to move on and see the good that has come from Alice's sacrifice.
- The rest of the team goes through Character Development. They realize that since Alice is no longer there to support them, they each have to be The Heart in their own way without depending on her.
...Fear not... my fellow tropers... I'll give my life so that you may continue on... if you'd like to continue my legacy, go to Heroic Sacrifice...
