History DistressedDude / WesternAnimation

** The titular brothers, Chris and Martin, tend to get themselves in distress fairly often, to the point that Zach's debut episode, [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E3AardvarkTown "Aardvark Town"]], is the only villain debut episode in the show where neither brother gets captured. [[note]]Martin is captured in [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E4FlightOfTheDraco "Flight of the Draco"]] (Donita's debut episode) and "Spirit Bear" (Paisley's debut episode), while Chris is captured in "Platypus Cafe" (Gourmand's debut episode).[[/note]] That said, the episode they spend the most time being captured is in [[Recap/WildKrattsS6E11AmazinAmazonAdventurePart2 the second half of "Amazin' Amazon Adventure"]], where they first get trapped in dough by Gourmand, then kidnapped by him, Zach, and Donita, with them being [[BoundAndGagged tied with red cuffs when we next see them]]. While Koki is able to secretly remove the cuffs from the brothers and [[DamselOutOfDistress the brothers fight back in the morning after]], they still spend a good chunk of the second half as captives, ultimately needing Aviva to save them.

** The titular brothers, Chris and Martin, tend to get themselves in distress fairly often, to the point that Zach's debut episode, [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E3AardvarkTown "Aardvark Town"]], is the only villain debut episode in the show where neither brother gets captured. [[note]]Martin is captured in [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E4FlightOfTheDraco "Flight of the Draco"]] (Donita's debut episode) and "Spirit Bear" (Paisley's debut episode), while Chris is captured in "Platypus Cafe" (Gourmand's debut episode).[[/note]] That said, the episode they spend the most time being captured is in [[Recap/WildKrattsS6E11AmazinAmazonAdventurePart2 the second half of "Amazin' Amazon Adventure"]], where they first get trapped in dough by Gourmand, then kidnapped by him, Zach, and Donita, with them being [[BoundAndGagged tied with red cuffs when we next see them]]. While Koki is able to secretly remove the cuffs from the brothers and [[DamselOutOfDistress the brothers fight back in the morning after]], they still spent a good chunk of the second half as captives, ultimately needing Aviva to save them.

* WesternAnimation/WildKratts:
** The titular brothers, Chris and Martin, tend to get themselves in distress from time to time, to the point Zach's debut episode, [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E3AardvarkTown "Aardvark Town"]], is the only villain debut episode in the show where neither brother gets captured. [[note]]Martin is captured in [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E4FlightOfTheDraco "Flight of the Draco"]] (Donita's debut episode) and "Spirit Bear" (Paisley's debut episode), while Chris is captured in "Platypus Cafe" (Gourmand's debut episode).[[/note]] That said, the episode they spent the most time being captured is in [[Recap/WildKrattsS6E11AmazinAmazonAdventurePart2 the second half of "Amazin' Amazon Adventure"]], where they first got trapped in dough by Gourmand, then kidnapped by him, Zach, and Donita, with them being [[BoundAndGagged tied with red cuffs when we next see them]], and therefore, while Koki is able to secretly remove the cuffs off the brothers and [[DamselOutOfDistress the brothers fight back in the morning after]], they still spent a good chunk of the second half as captives, ultimately requiring Aviva to save them.
** Jimmy, befitting a NonActionGuy, also tends to be captured by the villains a few times, requiring a member of the Tortuga crew (usually the aforementioned brothers, although [[Recap/WildKrattsS3E23PrayingMantis Aviva saved him before]].) to save him as a result.

** The titular brothers, Chris and Martin, tend to get themselves in distress from time to time, to the point Zach's debut episode, [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E3AardvarkTown "Aardvark Town"]], is the only villain debut episode in the show where neither brother gets captured. [[note]]Martin is captured in [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E4FlightOfTheDraco "Flight of the Draco"]] (Donita's debut episode) and "Spirit Bear" (Paisley's debut episode), while Chris is captured in "Platypus Cafe" (Gourmand's debut episode).[[/note]] That said, the episode they spent the most time being captured is in [[Recap/WildKrattsS6E11AmazinAmazonAdventurePart2 the second half of Amazin' Amazon Adventure]], where they first got trapped in dough by Gourmand, then kidnapped by him, Zach, and Donita, with them being [[BoundAndGagged tied with red cuffs when we next see them]], and therefore, while Koki is able to secretly remove the cuffs off the brothers and [[DamselOutOfDistress the brothers fight back in the morning after]], they still spent a good chunk of the second half as captives, ultimately requiring Aviva to save them.

** Jimmy, befitting a NonActionGuy, also tends to be captured by the villains a few times, requiring a member of the Tortuga crew (usually the aforementioned brothers, although [[Recap/WildKrattsS3E23PrayingMantis Aviva saved him before]].), to save him as a result.

** The titular brothers, Chris and Martin, tend to get themselves in distress from time to time, to the point Zach's debut episode, [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E3AardvarkTown "Aardvark Town"]], is the only villain debut episode in the show where neither brother gets captured. [[note]]Martin is captured in "Flight of the Draco" (Donita's debut episode) and "Spirit Bear" (Paisley's debut episode), while Chris is captured in "Platypus Cafe" (Gourmand's debut episode).[[/note]] That said, the episode they spent the most time being captured is in [[Recap/WildKrattsS6E11AmazinAmazonAdventurePart2 the second half of Amazin' Amazon Adventure]], where they first got trapped by dough by Gourmand, then kidnapped by him, Zach, and Donita, with them being [[BoundAndGagged tied with red cuffs when we next see them]], and therefore, while Koki is able to secretly remove the cuffs off the brothers and [[DamselOutOfDistress the brothers fight back in the morning after]], they still spent a good chunk of the second half as captives, ultimately requiring Aviva to save them.

** The titular brothers, Chris and Martin, tend to get themselves in distress from time to time, to the point Zach's debut episode, [[Recap/WildKrattsS1E3AardvarkTown "Aardvark Town"]], is the only villain debut episode in the show where neither brother gets captured. [[note]]Martin is captured in "Flight of the Draco" (Donita's debut episode) and "Spirit Bear" (Paisley's debut episode), while Chris is captured in "Platypus Cafe" (Gourmand's debut episode).[[/note]] That said, the episode they spent the most time being captured is in [[Recap/WildKrattsS6E11AmazinAmazonAdventurePart2 the second half of Amazin' Amazon Adventure]], where they first got trapped by dough by Gourmand, then kidnapped by him, Zach, and Donita, with them being [[BoundAndGagged tied with red cuffs when we next see them]], and therefore, while Koki is able to secretly remove the cuffs off the brothers and [[DamselOutOfDistress the brothers fight back in the morning after]], they still spent a good chunk of the second halves as captives, ultimately requiring Aviva to save them.

* ''WesternAnimation/AThousandAndOneAmericas'': At the beginning of the nineteenth episode, Fito is swimming in a pool until he approaches a deep area and begins dorwning, at which point Monica gets in to save him. Fito later tells Chris he feels disgraced over being saved by a girl.

* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': [[BunnyEarsLawyer Alistair Krei]] is constantly having run-ins with supervillains, some of whom he [[CreateYourOwnVillain created himself]], and Big Hero 6 has to bail him out. He's basically a more bumbling version of Norman Osborn in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''.

* [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway Ma-Ti]] on ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' gets captured and BoundAndGagged or nearly killed more often than a FauxActionGirl.

* Ron Stoppable in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' gets this quite a bit as {{sidekick}} to the show's hero Kim. She, of course, has her moments of helplessness, but Ron gets himself into trouble even more, occasionally leading to situations when they're both captured and tied up at the same time.
** One episode centred on Ron learning an Aesop about "becoming a man," and featured one of his teachers pointing out that he can't be very good at being a "real man" -- because he ''keeps getting saved by a girl''.

* On ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', the [[AnimalEspionage Agent P]] and [[MadScientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz]] B-Plot parodies the tropes of SpyFiction, including those put forth by the former [[Franchise/JamesBond page image]]. In every episode, Dr. Doofenshmirtz has a new trap for Perry the Platypus, which gets progressively more absurd as the show goes on. Of course, Perry always escapes, either by his own ingenuity or [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Doof's incompetence]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' episode "My Fair Jet", the DSA weather balloon flies off in some nasty weather, and carries Sean along with it. But luckily, Jet saves him with his jetpack.

* This happens to Robin from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' a few times. Once, when his teammates thought he was going crazy, they restrained him to a medical bed.
** A few times? Try a lot! A lot of villains' favorite plan seems to be "capture Robin and put him out of commission" so the Titans are faced with having to rescue him. Very often, he ends up [[BoundAndGagged shackled or strapped to one thing or another.]]
** Or, if he isn't restrained with those, he's been paralyzed by magic/superpowers/poisons/whatever. Or stuck into a marionette.
** Kinda makes sense when you realize that Robin is the leader of the team, so if you take down the leader, the rest of the team is most likely to fall apart. Many villains try to follow this tactic, but usually, it doesn't work that well.
*** In fact, Cyborg and Beast Boy usually [[IAlwaysWantedToSayThat gleefully]] take the opportunity to shout [[{{Catchphrase}} "Titans! GO!"]] while Robin is out of commission.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'', known mostly for its heroines getting into distress situations, actually features a couple of scenes where the girls' male spy helpers, Blaine and Dean, get captured by the bad guys.
** The spinoff series ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez'' will have a scene featuring one or more of the three Clark boys from time to time.
* Optimus Prime gets this with his love interest Elita One in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. When arriving to [[DamselInDistress save her]] from the Decepticons, first Optimus gets captured and watches helplessly as Elita tries to save them both, nearly getting killed for it. For one reason or another, the Decepticons decide not to finish them immediately but [[UnwillingSuspension to hang Optimus over an acid bath]] where Elita will have a good view of his demise (and her demise-to-be). Elita One then activates her time powers to save Optimus Prime, which leads to him finally being able to do something to rescue her. It's pretty 50/50 with them.
** A similar incident occurs with Blurr in "The Face of the Nijika" (minus the whole "save my girlfriend" thing).
* Sadlygrove, the IdiotHero from ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', thinks of himself as a KnightInShiningArmor and thus is on the lookout for Distressed Damsels to rescue. This is turned on its head in Episode 4, where he's lured in a cursed castle by the four "Ugly Princesses". Naturally, he ends up as the Distressed Dude to be rescued by his friends.

* As the heroines of a MagicalGirl show, the five guardians in ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' find themselves tied up fairly often, usually due to some form of magic. However, the only person in the series to actually be bound ''and'' gagged at the same time is BadassNormal Caleb, in the episode "Ghosts of Elyon". Not to mention, he is the character who gets captured the most across the two seasons. This is probably to be expected since, by the end of the series, he's the only main character without some kind of magical powers.

* Optimus Prime gets this with his love interest Elita One in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. When arriving to [[DistressedDamsel save her]] from the Decepticons, first Optimus gets captured and watches helplessly as Elita tries to save them both, nearly getting killed for it. For one reason or another, the Decepticons decide not to finish them immediately but [[UnwillingSuspension to hang Optimus over an acid bath]] where Elita will have a good view of his demise (and her demise-to-be). Elita One then activates her time powers to save Optimus Prime, which leads to him finally being able to do something to rescue her. It's pretty 50/50 with them.

*** In "The Gost of Paradise Estate", Pluma's grandpa Ruff, while a hero in his youth, has been trapped in a cage in Squirk's lair and held hostage to force his granddaughter to serve the villain, and needs to be rescued by her and the heroes.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan:'' ComicBook/NormanOsborn gets kidnapped by the vulture in the series' [[Recap/TheSpectacularSpiderManS1E1SurvivalOfTheFittest debut episode]], and naturally Spider-Man needs to save him.

* This happens to Robin from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' a few times. Once, when his teammates thought he was going crazy, they restrained him to a medical bed.

* All the guys in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' have gone through distressing situations, but the honor has to go to Superboy.

* On ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', the [[AnimalEspionage Agent P]] and [[MadScientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz]] B-Plot parodies the tropes of SpyFiction, including those put forth by the [[Franchise/JamesBond page image]]. In every episode, Dr. Doofenshmirtz has a new trap for Perry the Platypus, which gets progressively more absurd as the show goes on. Of course, Perry always escapes, either by his own ingenuity or [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Doof's incompetence]].