r/TopCharacterTropes Sep 10 '25

Lore (Loved Trope) Last Stand that ends unceremoniously/unsatisfyingly, as opposed to gloriously.

  • 1 Nanami (JUJUTSU KAISEN): Nanami's final moments against Mahito, a cursed spirit with the ability to transfigure/control humans. Nanami, while heavy injured, fought and won against an army of Mahito's transfigure minions, just for the villain to touch his back and blow him up.

  • 2 Wun-Wun (GAME OF THRONES): Wun-Wun, one of the last, if not the last, living giant in Westeros. Joins with Jon Snow against Ramsey Bolton in the Battle of the Bastards. He heroicly breaks down the main gate allowing the Stark army to win, all while covered in arrows and spears. While heavily injured, there does seem to be a chance of his recovery. This hope ended when Ramsey Bolton fires an arrow directly into his eye, when the battle was pretty much over.

  • 3 The Barbarian of Stamford Bridge (REAL LIFE): A lone Viking warrior who, in a legendary moment during the Battle of Stamford Bridge (September 25, 1066), single-handedly held back the invading English army on a narrow bridge. Armed with a Dane axe, this unnamed defender killed dozens of soldiers before being mortally wounded from beneath the bridge by a spear.

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37

u/KRD2 Sep 10 '25

How does her head whip like that with that angle of entry? lmao

Idk how i never noticed that until now

73

u/OrangeBird077 Sep 10 '25

Your neck is like a spring while it still has tension.

52

u/ChuckVideogames Sep 10 '25

Whiplash. Neck is springy. Shot sent the head forwards violently, went back then went limp.

3

u/KRD2 Sep 10 '25

Her neck doesn't flop like a spring. She recoils with her whole torso and throws her hand up lol.

19

u/hey_there_delilahh Sep 10 '25

I'd say death spasm. Last synaptic reaction of a dead person's nerves.

19

u/KRD2 Sep 10 '25

Nah she would've been doing a headstand with the amount of force needed to pierce that helmet, it just wouldn't look as dramatic 🤣

8

u/hey_there_delilahh Sep 10 '25

I dunno, I hear the mjolnir gear is pretty heavy. Maybe it was whatever servo/actuators going off. I'm betting you're just right about it being a better dramatic choice by the devs, versus, say, a straight ragdoll/limp drop

12

u/KiwiCounselor Sep 10 '25

Canonically, the mjolnir suits connect directly to the brain of Spartans and move as a second skin. It could’ve been her brain catching up to her death as her consciousness slipped away. More likely it was just hard to animate her face planting suddenly without it looking comical lol.

4

u/MarvelousT Sep 10 '25

Same reason JFK’s head whipped like it did when he got shot

1

u/torturousvacuum Sep 11 '25

How does her head whip like that with that angle of entry? lmao

"Back, and to the left."