Villains Want Mercy



"Let me go! Let me go! Please! Don't hurt me! I'll do anything! Anything!"

- Gaston begging the Beast for mercy.

Sometimes when defeated by the hero, the villain goes down gracefully. Sometimes he realizes he is doomed and demands the hero to stop fooling around. Sometimes he tries to take the heroes with him. Sometimes the villain is so bad, he will never stop fighting until he is put down for good. This trope is not about those villains.

Smug snakes, dirty cowards, and bad guys who suffer from moral decay rarely go down with their heads held high. For all the bravado and confidence they usually project, they are much more likely to get on their hands and knees and beg for mercy. This also serves to contrast them with the hero, as heroes usually never beg for mercy from the villain in the opposite situation, at least not for themselves. Very rarely, it is the act of a noble wrongdoer who is consistent about offering his foes mercy, and expects the favor to be returned.

Depending on where the hero is on the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism, they might call the villain out on how many people they have denied mercy before sparing them anyway.

Others may deliver a "Reason You Suck" speech and leave the villain alive just to spite him. Or they might just scoff at this and shoot him.

If the hero does grant them mercy, they may perform a Heel-Face Turn out of gratitude. However, it is quite very common for the villain to attempt to attack the hero one last time, usually while their back is turned. This will rarely work.

Anime

 * Iron-Masked Marauder: When surrounded by angry forest Pokémon as they confront him for all the heinous crimes he has committed, the Marauder begs for mercy, but his pleas are ignored, and they tie him up using String Shot.
 * Frieza: After being sliced in half by his own attack, Goku was about to leave Frieza to die until Frieza started begging Goku to save his life.

Animated Films

 * Scar: Begs for mercy when he's cornered by Simba by pulling the family card and blaming the hyenas for his own actions, but Simba doesn't buy it. When Simba decides to spare him, Scar goes to leave, only to throw embers into his nephew's eyes and attack him. Scar later begs mercy from the hyenas only for them to maul him to death.
 * Gaston: When the Beast holds him by throat and dangles him off of the roof of the castle, threatening to drop him to his death, Gaston pathetically begs the Beast not to hurt him. The Beast gives in and spares Gaston, ordering him to leave the castle for good. However, when Gaston sees the Beast going to reunite with Belle, he sneaks up behind him and stabs him in the back, only to lose his footing and fall to his demise.
 * In the 2017 remake, like the original animated film, the Beast has Gaston at his mercy and Gaston begs for mercy. The Beast gives in, telling Gaston that he (Beast) is not a monster and angrily orders Gaston to get leave. However, upon seeing the Beast reunite with Belle, Gaston shoots him in the back twice and karma catches up to him when the bridge he's standing on collapses, sending Gaston to his death.
 * Dag: Otis raises his fist to punch Dag, just as his father did, but instead he lowers his fist and glares at the evil coyote and demands him to NEVER return, before hitting him with a golf club and Dag soars out into the distance while howling in pain.
 * Shaw: Prepares to shoot Boog when Elliot leaps in front and the bullet hits him instead. This makes Boog enraged and he pins Shaw to the ground and roars fiercely in his face, before tying him up with his own gun. Elliot is then revealed to have survived--the bullet only shot off his remaining antler.
 * Claude Frollo: When Quasimodo stops Frollo from killing him with a dagger and angrily approaches him, Frollo begs for mercy, but Quasimodo refuses as he finally sees the man who raised him as an evil, sadistic monster.
 * Beauty Smith: When White Fang corners him at a shed, Beauty Smith begs for mercy and Maggie orders White Fang to not kill him before he and his henchmen are eventually arrested by Hank.
 * Ernesto de la Cruz: After his true nature and crimes have been exposed, Ernesto is approached and cornered by Pepita. He meekly begs for mercy, but Pepita roars in his face, carries him in her talons, and sends him flying towards a bell tower where he's crushed by a bell after smacking face-first into it.

Live Action Films

 * Koba: When hanging from the top of a skyscraper after dueling Caesar, Koba begs for mercy as he reminds Caesar of the "Ape Not Kill Ape" rule. However, Caesar coldly tells Koba that he's no ape and drops him to his death.
 * Ulysses Klaue: Begs for mercy when T'Challa/Black Panther apprehends him and holds his claws at him.

Literature

 * Wormtail: Pathetically begs for mercy when he's confronted by Sirius and Remus; later begs for mercy from Harry, Ron, and Hermione after revealing he betrayed Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort.

Western Animation

 * Bill Cipher: Begs for mercy when he realizes he was tricked into entering Stan's mind and is about to be erased from existence. His only response is getting punched in the face, leading Bill to be destroyed for good.

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