# What's the name of this trope?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 10, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969 "2022-06-10T12:40:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969/1 "2022-06-10T12:40:27Z")

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Been done a million times: the hero, who is usually a CIA agent or professional assassin, is running from his employers who want to kill him for whatever reason. Like the Bourne crap, Salt, 7 Days of the Condor, Burn Notice, Road to Perdition sort of thing.

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**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969/2 "2022-06-10T12:45:42Z")

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These might cover it.

> **[Contract on the Hitman - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ContractOnTheHitman)**
>
> A professional killer (most likely a Hitman with a Heart) suddenly finds himself being hunted by the very organization he works for. Cue a plot line involving him taking out other assassins as he works his way through the ranks trying to find out …

> **[Run or Die - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RunOrDie)**
>
> Sometimes our heroes are faced with a foe they simply cannot withstand. Not only is it a fight they cannot win, it's a fight they have no hope of even surviving. There isn't even a way to win by dying. They have two options: run away, or be …

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**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969/3 "2022-06-10T14:48:12Z")

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> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#):
>
> Like the Bourne crap, Salt, 7 Days of the Condor, Burn Notice, Road to Perdition sort of thing.

You forgot every Tom Cruise _Mission Impossible_ movie. Ethan Hunt has been disavowed so many times they literally had to lampshade it. (What they don’t mention in film is that his pension clock and seniority restarts every time he rejoins the IMF so he’s constantly trying to work his way back up to a GS-8.)

I call this the “Disavowed Hero Who Can’t Retire” trope, distinct from “Retired Expert Forced Back Into Service For One Final Mission”, e.g. _Firefox_, _Bladeruuner_, _No Time To Die_, et cetera.

Stranger

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**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969/4 "2022-06-11T00:08:51Z")

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Sometimes ‘they’ just send you to a nice seaside resort with beachballs and everything!  
Be seeing you 👌

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969/5 "2022-06-11T00:13:20Z")

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> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> the “Disavowed Hero Who Can’t Retire” trope

Given your cogent explanation, surely we must call it the “underfunded pension” trope?

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**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-of-this-trope/965969/6 "2022-06-11T00:37:25Z")

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> [@crowmanyclouds](#):
>
> Be seeing you 👌

By hook or by crook…we want information! In-formation! In-formation!

Stranger