Blowing up the bad guys on their turf in a selfless act

Blowing up the bad guys on their turf in a selfless act - Aggressive young black man with raised fist in bathroom

In these three relatively recent movies: Pacific Rim, Independence Day and The Avengers,

the good guys win by sending a nuke through some orifice to blow up the bad guys on their side of things in what seems like an act of self sacrifice (though in all 3 cases, the prospective martyr-to-be survives).

What is the origin of wrapping up a major conflict (typically a war) with a self-sacrifice to deliver a final blow (via nuke or otherwise)? What is the earliest iteration and what other developmental instances are there in movies?






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