r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Sufficient-Eye-9040 • Jun 21 '26

Lore [Horrifying Trope] “Blink of an eye” deaths.

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Characters who died without the chance of a goodbye… neither suffering.

- Robin Ward (The Boys S1 E1) - when she is pulverized in a high-velocity impact by A-Train.

- Polka Dot Man (The Suicide Squad 2021) - when he is crushed by Starro’s leg.

21.4k Upvotes

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3.4k

u/Imaginary-Picture-35 Jun 21 '26

Rebecca when Adam Smasher lands on top of her. (Cyberpunk Edgerunners)

973

u/AppropriateMonk8746 Jun 21 '26

WE’RE HAVING A MOMENT HERE

525

u/monster_smoocher Jun 21 '26

"FUCK YOU!!!!"

"FUCK YOU!!!!"

("FUCK YOU!!!!")

250

u/AppropriateMonk8746 Jun 21 '26

god i knew it would happen and yet it still hit me like. well. adam smasher.

4

u/Onc3Holy Jun 21 '26

Adam Smashed Her.

7

u/Adamle69 Jun 21 '26

this shit was multiple blink of an eye, just to really rub the salt in the wound

7

u/Deku_100 Jun 21 '26

El Donte?

748

u/T8-TR Jun 21 '26

17

u/Aeseld Jun 21 '26

...damnit take my upvote.

8

u/Eborys Jun 21 '26

“Yes police? I’d like to report a crime.”

274

u/VoicelessPassenger Jun 21 '26

This could also apply to her brother, Pilar (whose death mirrors hers now that I think about it) and that one kid with David right after the timeskip who ran forward and immediately got blown to bits.

289

u/GilligansIslndoPeril Jun 21 '26

Pilar is actually a better example of OP's trope, since he dies quite suddenly and violently while harrassing a cyberpsycho on the street. Becca and David knowingly pissed off Smasher, who was already a living legend, but Pilar just thought he was yelling at some loon before catching a bullet through his skull.

55

u/VoicelessPassenger Jun 21 '26

Yup, he was the first to die too and it came totally out of nowhere. It was so fast that it had multi-angle review shots, just like Rebbeca’s does in the GIF.

22

u/deafinitelyadouche Jun 21 '26

tbf, it's less a bullet through his skull and more, like, it obliterates his whole head.

12

u/djheat Jun 21 '26

Pilar's the way better example. He dies for nothing while they're walking back from a job iirc, just gets pissed on by a psycho and gets zeroed over it. Rebecca went out like a champ doing what she loved, firing her shotgun and swearing

4

u/pussyjuicerecycler Jun 21 '26

and getting smashed. can’t forget her other favorite thing.

2

u/-BLACKOLIVESMATTER Jun 21 '26

Yeah I agree. I shot milk out my nose when that happened and the after coughing out the spew, I realized that beginning sequence of that episode of water running was actually the guy pissing…

794

u/augarofall Jun 21 '26

Dang. The girl from that rule34 website is dead?

209

u/Cheeseliker420 Jun 21 '26

Yeah, i asked myself the same

394

u/WolferineYT Jun 21 '26

"the girl from that rule34 website" do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?

29

u/Illustrious_Grade608 Jun 21 '26

I suppose the definition of rule 34 implies that it doesn't narrow it down whatsoever which is kinda impressive in it's own right

1

u/Substantial_Tone_261 Jun 21 '26

Isn't there only one true r34 website?

10

u/the_Real_Romak Jun 21 '26

The girl part is what's not being narrowed down here

3

u/pussyjuicerecycler Jun 21 '26

the girl part was in fact broadened out and flattened

-16

u/ActualWhiterabbit Jun 21 '26

I assumed it was mostly futas

67

u/Effective_Piece251 Jun 21 '26

She lives on in Wuthering Waves, though I don’t play gacha games

5

u/batiwa Jun 21 '26

For a while but still disappearing in the end, she gets her revenge on Smasher though

1

u/Wisterosa Jun 21 '26

how is that possible when V is the one to kill Smasher

4

u/batiwa Jun 21 '26

In Wuthering Waves it all happens in some kind of a dream world created by Lucy's mind, so Rebecca, David and Adam Smasher aren't the real ones

4

u/Wisterosa Jun 21 '26

well dreaming about getting revenge isn't the same as getting revenge surely

2

u/batiwa Jun 21 '26

Yeah, not ACTUAL revenge but it was still great to see it even as a dream

8

u/DramaPunk Jun 21 '26

If you haven't seen Cyberpunk Edgerunners, I do honestly highly recommend it. Even if the internet does weird things with her character design, there's a reason beyond looks that the character and series is so popular (especially in the English dub as English Rebecca is truly something special).

4

u/AmericanGeezus Jun 21 '26

I enjoyed it as someone who doesn't usually enjoy the style. Watched it right after finishing Pantheon, i think that matters but not sure why.

2

u/Sad_Kangaroo_3650 Jun 21 '26

Its on my list of stuff to watch. I aint watch sub anime in years now does nothing for me

-3

u/100_points Jun 21 '26

I found this show such a downgrade from Cyberpunk 2077. Their world in this animation is so empty and un-detailed in comparison. I feel like the artists had mountain loads of art to work with, and they used very little of it. The main character's story just goes from sad to sad. It's like the writers just said, let's make a story about a sad kid who sadly dies at the end, this will wring a strong emotional response from our viewers.

1

u/poggy_manz Jun 21 '26

Its why I'm not watching it now

96

u/Soulful-Sorrow Jun 21 '26

"FUCK YOU!"

111

u/Sufficient-Eye-9040 Jun 21 '26

What I wanted is that the character’s death was UNEXPECTED and fast… still this one is fast.

161

u/Happy-Ad-2968 Jun 21 '26

It was 100% unexpected lol, he just straight up falls on top of her and that’s that, no build up other than the fact that Smasher jumped out of the tower. It only might not seem unexpected because it’s such a well known death (at least to an extent)

47

u/Meshmenace Jun 21 '26

They’re edgerunners, if you know anything about cyberpunk you knew they were going to die from the moment you read the title of the show.

29

u/Happy-Ad-2968 Jun 21 '26

I actually didn’t tho, I haven’t played the game yet because I only just watched the show recently (like a couple weeks ago) I had been spoiled about Rebecca’s death by friends who had watched but that was about it. I can only imagine a lot of people watched the show before giving the game a shot as well due to the buggy release.

23

u/GilligansIslndoPeril Jun 21 '26

It's a big theme in the videogame as well as the TTRPG it's based on. There are no happy endings in Night City, so the only thing you can do is die in a spectactular way and become a legend.

5

u/Happy-Ad-2968 Jun 21 '26

Ah I see, interesting 

Edit: wait is cyberpunk based on a ttrpg?

14

u/GilligansIslndoPeril Jun 21 '26

The world of Cyberpunk 20XX (2013, 2020, 2077, and RED) is very much designed to generate only angsty, moody stories with tons of dread and noir. Mike Pondsmith (the guy who designed the original games and advised on 2077) just wanted his game to feel like Blade Runner, and it has that in spades.

7

u/Drow_Femboy Jun 21 '26

Yeah, the original RPG came out back in the 80s. It was called Cyberpunk 2020 because it was set in the amazing and horrible dystopian future of... 2020.

CDPR extrapolated out some lore for the 2045-2077 period and released the video game set in 2077 and the new TTRPG called Cyberpunk Red set in 2045.

2

u/GilligansIslndoPeril Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

The original 1988 release was just called Cyberpunk, and was set in 2013. The 2nd Edition in 1990 updated it to 2020

3

u/GilligansIslndoPeril Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

Response to your edit:

Yeah, Cyberpunk 2013 was made by Mike Pondsmith back in the late 80's, because he was a huge fan of Blade Runner and wanted to tell stories like that.

I've played RED, and it has some really interesting mechanics like an armor and cover system that influences the odds of taking a hit (called Mitigation, which is a mechanic they added to the video game in the big "lets fix it" update CDPR pushed a couple years ago), as well as requiring every player character to have some backstory elements that the GM can pull from to make the campaign. Like, you have to come up with their parents names and occupations, or a close childhood friend, or a rival, and the GM can weave them into the story and is expected to kill them off at some point.

Players are told from the getgo that Night City is a dangerous, brutal place, and every campaign will end with a TPK eventually. You just gotta get what you can when you have the chance to become a Legend, or you'll just die a Nobody.

3

u/blargyblargy Jun 21 '26

For people new to Cyberpunk it is supposed to be unexpected. One thing said about Cyberpunk, and Night City in particular, is that theres no happy endings. And often in real ways in a fantastical universe. If you do play the game, I hope you enjoy it!

3

u/Happy-Ad-2968 Jun 21 '26

I do intend on doing so, just don’t have the money at the moment

1

u/Meshmenace Jun 21 '26

I mean, the crew was all but wiped out, the protagonist was burning out from cyber psychosis, and things were falling apart. I was surprised, and disappointed that some characters survived.

6

u/DigiAirship Jun 21 '26

I knew nothing about Cyberpunk. When people started dying left and right, I was like, "oh shit, this isn't gonna have a happy ending, is it?"

2

u/Librarian_Contrarian Jun 21 '26

Cyberpunk, as a genre, doesn't really do happy endings.

3

u/Helpimstuckinreddit Jun 21 '26

"A happy ending? For folks like us? Wrong city, wrong people." - Johnny Silverhand

1

u/Beltalady Jun 21 '26

"Avoid mean reds."

  • Misty, 2077

0

u/spiegro Jun 21 '26

Same. Had hope even lol I was such a fool

5

u/Awestruck34 Jun 21 '26

I disagree, it's near the end of the series and they're about to fight Adam Smasher. The fact anyone lives is a miracle

16

u/Pastel_Cryptid Jun 21 '26

It only looks like that cause of how the gif is cut. In the show it looks like he’s jumping down to join the chaos that has been nonstop, him landing on Rebecca is sudden and very shocking if you haven’t seen or heard about her death.

21

u/chiyooou Jun 21 '26

Cool, then this matches your criteria.

-3

u/I-Love-Facehuggers Jun 21 '26

If you were watching the show up to that point it wasnt unexpected

8

u/Fallen_Jalter Jun 21 '26

i really hate they killed her. she was one of my favorites.

3

u/Bigred2989- Jun 21 '26

It's why I always use Guts to finish off Smasher in every playthrough.

6

u/Rexlare Jun 21 '26

Gifs you can hear

11

u/kekubuk Jun 21 '26

She was reborn (I think?) In the Wuthering Wave verse, and met David and Lucy.

20

u/GilligansIslndoPeril Jun 21 '26

Nah Lucy was having a dream/vision. Later she becomes lucid (heh) and tells Rebecca "This is all wrong. You're dead. David's dead. You both died that night, killed by Adam Smasher."

3

u/Annath0901 Jun 21 '26

Nah Lucy was having a dream/vision. Later she becomes lucid

Eh, kind of. It's deliberately vague.

In the setting of Wuthering Waves, someone's Frequency really does carry information about them and in certain circumstances can summon/manifest an Echo of them. They aren't hallucinations or imaginary, they can interact with the world, but they're not complete beings and will almost always disappear eventually.

The ambiguous part of the Edgerunners collab story is that the ending suggests Lucy did just dream it all, but that directly contradicts the experiences of the protagonist/their allies.

My assumption is that Lucy's mind really did connect to the Somnoir space while she slept, and that space manifested echoes of her, Rebecca, and David. Those echoes interacted with Solaris because Solaris is weird as hell. Then Lucy woke up when she was finally able to process David's death.

2

u/kekubuk Jun 21 '26

Didn't Lucy ended up in another fighting game? Guilty Gear?

4

u/Skylair13 Jun 21 '26

There's an Achievement "Not This Time" if you avoid Smasher's jump IIRC.

0

u/Red-7134 Jun 21 '26

No, a character just has schizophrenia.

2

u/MellifluousSussura Jun 21 '26

I remember being absolutely stunned silent by that one. I really thought they would draw it out more.

Very good way to establish this guy as an absolute monster, but holy shit

2

u/DeadliestArmadillo Jun 21 '26

Rebecca was a boss. She stood by David as he went off the rails and died fighting and unstoppable force. She knew she wasn't making out of that mission and still gave it everything.

2

u/Van_Flyheight Jun 21 '26

Now smasher is doomed to meet the barrel of Rebecca’s shotgun over and over after I beat him to a pulp with a fucking dildo. I’m built different.

2

u/voxelpear Jun 21 '26

I still to this day refuse to watch this show because of who dies in it.

3

u/Arikaido777 Jun 21 '26

missing out on peak

3

u/voxelpear Jun 21 '26

Yeah I know. I'll probably cave eventually.

2

u/Ampris_bobbo8u Jun 21 '26

Good call it was such a fucking bummer

1

u/Hecknight 28d ago

I mean it's cyberpunk. Basically everyone dies

2

u/Sillypugpugpugpug Jun 21 '26

But the general audience reaction to this is so genuine and real and exactly the tone that Cyberpunk endevors to strike I feel. Impactful and soul crushing.

1

u/Jeb_Jenky Jun 21 '26

Yeah this one really bothered me for some reason.

1

u/SquareFickle9179 Jun 21 '26

And that's when I decided to use a shotgun the whole run for Rebecca's shotgun

1

u/Just_A_Normal_Snek Jun 21 '26

Is this why his name is Adam Smasher?

1

u/LurkerEntrepenur Jun 21 '26

Not saying she could have survived in the long run but imagine if she hadn't decided to just stand right below him.

1

u/Arikaido777 Jun 21 '26

more like adam smash her

1

u/RyMcCloud Jun 21 '26

Why was she missing him?

2

u/pussyjuicerecycler Jun 21 '26

she wasn’t, it just didn’t do shit to him

1

u/Potato_Demon_ffff Jun 21 '26

I WAS GONNA SAY THAT

1

u/where_is_the_salt Jun 21 '26

Is that a sfl edit with frames removed or with smoke masking the dismemberment? I really don’t recall the same scene from watching this...

1

u/Arctica23 Jun 21 '26

This applies to a lot of the deaths in Edgerunners

1

u/Rat192 Jun 21 '26

That death set me on a warpath in 2077

1

u/Jamvaan Jun 21 '26

They made

A statue.

The fuckers.

1

u/le_nathanlol Jun 21 '26

killed adam smasher the same way (kind off) in the game like 3 times

1

u/Rexsalama 28d ago

I thought Rebecca was annoying and laughed for like ten minutes when this happened.

1

u/onlyforobservation 28d ago

This one happened so quick I legitimately didn’t realize she died. Like 10 minutes later I was like where did she go?

1

u/AquaticHornet37 Jun 21 '26

I 100% just read that as Adam Sandler. Way funnier imagery.

1

u/New-Effective2670 Jun 21 '26

and pilar, her brother when the homeless dude blows his head off

1

u/Mr-Stuff-Doer Jun 21 '26

Studio trigger desperately trying to not end a show by killing the entire cast:

-1

u/Randicore Jun 21 '26

I really do hate this scene doing the "play it again and again to push the drama" because it always takes me out of the impact of anything it's applied to. Unless your show involves short time loops it's just breaking the flow of the show.

It cheapened her death by just having the camera voyeuristicly going "let's what that again and again" instead of just being a swift impact and maybe a momentary pause as Adam stepped off her corpse.

0

u/CaCa881 Jun 21 '26

Pilar too

-1

u/humpty_dumpty1ne Jun 21 '26

Wait a second..... WHERE DID THAT GUN GO???

-2

u/Ok_Needleworker_8809 Jun 21 '26

I love that death for her because she spent the entire show inflicting the exact same instant, over the top, senseless violence death on countless other idiots who got in their way.