Basic Trope: The villain shows mercy on the hero before dying.
- Straight: In the end, Dr. Imperius spares his enemies by letting them escape his Imperial Palace before it self-destructs, leaving himself inside to perish.
- Exaggerated: Having repented of his evil ways entirely, Dr. Imperius sets the heroes free, decimates his fellow villains in the Compendium of Evil, broadcasts a heartfelt apology to the world and collapses his Palace into the sea with only himself inside.
- Downplayed: Dr. Imperius subconsciously gives his enemies the upper hand during their last fight.
- Justified:
- Despite his crimes, Imperius still has a rudimentary sense of honor.
- The crushing defeat received has impaired Imperius's judgment to the point where he is no longer concerned with victory.
- Imperius believes in "survival of the fittest" enough to let his enemies survive instead of him.
- Team Good Guys' refusal to give in to corruption Restored Imperius' faith in humanity.
- Inverted: The heroes spare Imperius from death upon his defeat—before taking him to be punished for his many crimes.
- Subverted: Dr. Imperius lets the heroes escape... into a heavily fortified prison on a desert island without any chance of escape or rescue. He dies content knowing his foes have been vanquished for good.
- Parodied: Dr. Imperius isn't actually about to die. He's just feeling charitable for once.
- Zig Zagged: The heroes are slow to take Dr. Imperius up on his offer, since he's pulled this kind of thing before. After some uncharacteristic pleading, they get the message and high-tail it in the nick of time. In his final moments, Imperius realizes he could have taken advantage of their indecision and won the day, and dies in agony screaming the name of his most hated foe: "HINDSIIIIIIGHT!".
- Averted: There is no time for Imperius to show mercy, since his Palace crumbles well before that.
- Enforced: It's one way of using Death Equals Redemption or showing how much of a Graceful Loser Imperius was, even after his sworn enemies have trounced him, and it shows that Imperius wasn't all that bad deep down.
- Lampshaded: "Don't be surprised, Captain. You knew there was some good in me all along, didn't you?"
- Invoked: Dr. Imperius's heart just isn't in the whole villainy business anymore, and with the collapse of his most recent scheme he feels it prudent to just let the whole thing crumble rather than try and shore it up.
- Exploited: Because he'll be back in a month or so, Dr. Imperius takes every opportunity to study his opponents more closely during the fight, then lull them into a false sense of security by letting them think he's bought the farm, only to reappear later with both a more nuanced battle plan and the psychological payload of their prior victory being nullified. The knowledge that he's the cat in a never-ending game of cat-and-mouse is all the comfort he needs.
- Defied: Dr. Imperius does everything in his power to make sure he won't perish alone.
- Discussed: The heroes ponder why Imperius's last act was one of good, rather than evil.
- Conversed: "It's a shame you had to end like this, Imperius. You had so much potential."
- Implied: All communication between Imperius and the heroes ceases.
- Deconstructed: Despite Dr. Imperius's final attempt at charity, the heroes fail to escape in time.
- Reconstructed: Which was his plan all along. If he can't win, he'll make sure everyone loses.
"Alas, foiled! Here, take this passage to safety; for you there remains a chance for happiness! Go!"
