And Your Reward Is Infancy
"Do you know the only reward you get for being Batman?
It's more than some people get."
You get to be Batman.
And--when you're a child--you get a handful of years of real happiness, with your father, with me.
So it's the end of the story. Our hero has fought the good fight, and now it's time for him to go on to something greater. Will he find himself in Fluffy Cloud Heaven? Will he Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence? No, it turns out that his ultimate reward is to...stay right here. As a baby. Huh.
Note that this is not the natural end result of someone aging backwards. This is the universe giving a well-deserving character new life, often returning him to the people who loved him in his old life. This can be especially touching when it happens to a character whose life has been full of hardship, fighting, or suffering; now they can return to a time of innocence, being taken care of instead of having to care for everyone else.
This may involve Reincarnation, but not necessarily; other methods for employing this trope can include De-Aging or Body-Swap.
The villainous version is Raise Him Right This Time.
As an Ending Trope, Spoilers ahead may be unmarked. Beware.
Anime and Manga
- Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito ends with Hatsumi being reborn as her lover Hazuki's daughter. Yuri Fans were not happy.
- The first series of Minky Momo ends with our heroine being run over by a truck—she goes through an afterlife heroquest, and as a result comes back as the biological baby daughter of her Muggle Foster Parents.
- At the end of Vampire Game, Duzell, who gave a Heroic Sacrifice, is reincarnated as the son of Ishtar, the woman he loved.
- In Sailor Moon this happens to Hotaru after her Heroic Sacrifice.
Comic Books
- Batman in Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
- The New Universe: Star Brand is reborn as a Star Child a la 2001.
Film
- Dave in 2001 Space Odyssey.
- In the film version of What Dreams May Come, The Hero and his wife choose reincaration over heaven and hell.
- One of the various movies in the Italian comedy series Fantozzi has this trope Played for Laughs at the end when the titular protagonist, Ugo Fantozzi[1] dies, crushed under a steamroller (and receiving a flat coffin as a result)... only to be born again, as himself, even coming out of the womb with the very same clothes, indicating his future life is going to be just as sucky as the previous one. His internal monologue, serving as the punchline, put it best:
Literature
- One Discworld novel features a guru-abbot from an order of time-traveling monks who's been in a cycle of death and rebirth for hundreds of years. After his most recent death, his spirit hovers over the house of a nice married couple as he waits to be conceived. The real kicker comes after that when he's right back to being a guru, drooling and bonking senior monks with his rattle whilst dispensing wisdom.
Live Action Television
- In Doctor Who, the TARDIS reverted a Villain of the Week back into egg form. The Doctor promptly hands her over to a loving family for her to start all over again.
Music
- The ending of the music video of Moby's Natural Blues.
Video Games
- Shadow of the Colossus, arguably.
- 7th Saga
- The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time did this, but didn't exactly play it straight. Link skipped forward seven years a third of the way into the game so his reward at the end is to regain those lost years. The official timeline, however, has this cause several problems.
Web Comics
- Teddy Weddy in 1/0, although he technically isn't "staying right here" as the whole cast is now moving to Oregon.