History Main / CreepyCockroach

* In ''ComicBoo/{{Batman}}: Gotham Nights'' #42, Batman and Spoiler have to defend Gotham City from a swarm of cockroaches transformed by ComicBook/TheJoker's chemical warfare.

* Zigzagged in ''VideoGame/BugFables''. The Roaches were thought to be extinct by the times the events of the game take place, and only the ruins of their civilization remain behind. [[spoiler:In one of such places, the [[AbandonedLaboratory Upper Snakemouth]], a group of roach [[MadScientist scientists]] was conducting horrible experiments on bugs of various kinds using the [[FesteringFungus Cordyceps fungi]] to [[ImmortalityImmorality find immortality]] without [[FountainOfYouth the Everlasting Sapling]], but they ultimately met their end at the hands of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard their own rebellious creation]]]]. However, [[spoiler:the last surviving roaches in the Giant's Lair village avert this, as they are quite reasonable and hospitable, and one of them even expresses disgust to the actions of the Upper Snakemouth roaches. They're a bit gloomy and distrustful of outsiders, and they keep ScaryScorpions as attack animals, but this is all understandable considering they have to constantly fend of [[EldritchAbomination Dead Landers]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/BugFables'', the roaches were thought to be extinct by the times the events of the game take place, and only the ruins of their civilization remain behind. [[spoiler:In one of such places, the [[AbandonedLaboratory Upper Snakemouth]], a group of roach [[MadScientist scientists]] was conducting horrible experiments on bugs of various kinds using the [[FesteringFungus Cordyceps fungi]] to [[ImmortalityImmorality find immortality]] without [[FountainOfYouth the Everlasting Sapling]], but they ultimately met their end at the hands of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard their own rebellious creation]]]]. However, [[spoiler:the last surviving roaches in the Giant's Lair village avert this, as they are quite reasonable and hospitable, and one of them even expresses disgust to the actions of the Upper Snakemouth roaches]].

This trope is dedicated to all things roachy (no, not [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roach_(cannabis_culture) that]] kind of roach, or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Roach that]] kind of roach, or even ClockRoaches). As a side note, "Katsaridaphobia" is the word of fear of cockroaches.

This trope is dedicated to all things roachy (no, not [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roach_(cannabis_culture) that]] kind of roach, or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Roach that]] kind of roach, or even ClockRoaches).

* The drog beetles in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: The Swarm'' aren't ''quite'' flying roaches, and not just in the CallARabbitASmeerp way, they [[ExplosiveBreeder breed faster]] and are more fragile than roaches, but they have similar feeding habits and a similar tendency to get into everything.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' features a hilarious Mouse-Cockroach hybrid dubbed the "Cockamouse" by Lily and Marshall.

* Cockroaches are one of the more prevalent insect pests shown on ''Series/BillyTheExterminator''.

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' featured a ParodyCommercial of a Roach Motel-esque glue trap that does cruel things to the roaches as they lay stuck there, such as getting their legs pulled off by mechanical arms. It even contained a window so everyone can see.

* During a ''Series/BeakmansWorld'' segment dedicated to the cockroach, one gets out of the jar Liza was holding them in and crawls up her arm, freaking her out and ruining the take (though they did ThrowItIn for a laugh before doing Take 2).
* Discussed on ''Series/GoodEats'' in an episode about lobster. Alton notes how a lot of people aren't comfortable with the idea of killing lobsters to eat, yet don't think twice about stomping on a cockroach running across the kitchen floor. Even though, genetically, cockroaches and other insects aren't ''that'' far away from lobsters. He then shows a more humane way of killing the lobsters, for those who still aren't convinced.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnh5QYnREsE Joe's Apartment]] takes place in a decrepit apartment bathroom where cockroaches dance to music.
* Rose and the Arrangement's "The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati" is about a movie goer's obsession with horror movies, with said movie being his all-time favorite.

* ''TabletopGame/D20Modern: Urban Arcana'' has the Roach Thrall, which is nothing less than a giant bipedal cockroach [[PuppeteerParasite wearing a human body like a suit.]] They reproduce by [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong using their host's sexual organs to inject their eggs into a victim during intercourse]], and within six to eight hours the newly-hatched Roach Thrall larva will have consumed its host's brain and taken over its body. They don't inherit any memories from their host, but Roach Thralls are intelligent enough to learn to speak (while in a human body) and try to blend into society to some extent, usually as street people with a disgusting hunger for garbage, or a weird "cult" that seeks to acquire more hosts to breed the next generation. If forced into combat, a Roach Thrall is likely to explode out of its human shell to fight in its more dangerous natural form, though this is a one-way process.

* Junk Man's stage from ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'' featured Gockroach S., robotic roaches that emerged from nests.
* Both supporting characters in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' are forced to deal with a tunnel filled with giant T-virus infected cockroaches. And, [[OhCrap oh joy]], they're the flying kind! Ada is easily able to outrun them, but Sherry isn't, and while they don't do any damage just by landing on you, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath it's instantly fatal if enough of them manage to.]]
* The [[NamesToRunFromReallyFast Reaper]] in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' is the example above taken UpToEleven. These roaches are accidental products created by Uroboros Virus, and they deliver a guaranteed OneHitKill should they grabbed you.

* The Creeper monster appearing in both ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'' and ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''. They are said to be a manifestation of the town itself. ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' has a variation with the Swarm, a leech/roach hybrid.
* Roaches hold the distinction of being the only monsters to appear in every entry of the ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' series, ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}}'' included. As a GeniusBonus, they are called [[Literature/TheMetamorphosis Gregor]] in both ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World''.
* The first Scarecrow sequence in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' features a swarm of cockroaches crawling out of the floor grates.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' has the Radroaches, giant cockroaches mutated by radiation. They're still [[TheGoomba the weakest enemies in the series]], though ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' made them more dangerous in that their puny bites cause radiation damage as well, which reduces your maximum total health until healed with [=RadAway=] or a doctor.
* '''Five-foot''' roaches are the first enemy introduced in every ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'' game, and usually remain the most common monster throughout. In between games, the main character Beethro runs a restaurant in which he serves up the meat from all the roaches he's killed.
* ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'' has Sal, a man-sized upright-walking cockroach who sounds like Creator/PatrickWarburton (but isn't voiced by him) and works as the cook in Stinky's Diner. He ends up performing a HeroicSacrifice by walking into a radiation-flooded room. When the titular protagonists voice the well-known myth, Sal explains that it's incorrect... and dies.

* Averted by Lapoleon in ''VideoGame/BestFiends''. He knows he's destined to be Emperor of Everything when he's grown and cockroaches inherent the world, but at the moment, he's a bit [[ReluctantRuler nervous about growing into that role]]. But he gains a bit more confidence with each evolution.
* In ''Videogame/TheSims1'' and ''Videogame/TheSims2'', cockroaches appear on untidy lots and are very upsetting to Sims, who may cry, freak out, and/or stamp all over them if they encounter them. Averted in ''Videogame/TheSims3'', in which roaches are just collectible bugs and don't cause histrionics.
* If you don't play as a human faction in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', it's possible to encounter Earth in various stages of its development as you explore the galaxy. One outcome is to find it as a [[AfterTheEnd Tomb World]] with nothing on it but irradiated ruins, craters, and pre-sentient cockroaches that are candidates for [[UpliftedAnimal uplifting]] into a client species.
* ''VideoGame/TinkerQuarry'' contains a small room filled with mechanical cockroach enemies. To make things worse, they actively chase after you instead of just wandering around like most other enemies. A sign near the room tells us that they are [[{{Jerkass}} Walter]]'s pets. Apparently, he's not just a sleazy shopkeeper, he's also a PestController.
* Giant cockroaches are a common low-level enemy in ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl''. It's hard to say how giant they are, since a tile in Crawl can contain [[UnitsNotToScale an infinite number of dragon corpses, but only one living creature.]]
* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' introduces Pheromosa, an [[StarfishAlien Ultra Beast]] that resembles a [[CuteMonsterGirl slender, feminine, humanoid cockroach]]. It's not so much actively scary or evil as it is just weird.

* ''WesternAnimation/OggyAndTheCockroaches'' is about three roaches named [[Music/TheRamones Dee Dee, Joey, and Marky]] who terrorize Oggy the cat, who wants nothing more to sit back, relax, and watch some TV.
* Roach Coach from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' was a villain who controls a whole swarm of roaches. [[spoiler:Who turned out to be a roach in a MobileSuitHuman.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', after Dale is forced to quit his job as an exterminator (due to all the poisons he exposed himself to) and gets a desk job at an adhesives company, his son brings over some roaches which eventually get loose and swarm the place. Dale then kills them all off.

* On an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', Buzz is teleported to what he thinks is a planet of roach-like aliens, but it turns out to be actual roaches in the local GreasySpoon.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' once had to save some cockroaches from Officer X. It was especially hard on Private.

* Subverted with one-shot characters the Roaches[[note]]voiced by a real-life folk trio named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roches The Roches]]--and [[PunnyName pronounced the same way]][[/note]] in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', who were three FunnyAnimal roaches. Not exactly creepy, except to Hampton, who finds ''all'' bugs creepy.

* Averted by ''WesternAnimation/{{Roboroach}}'''s protagonist Rubin Roach (the eponymous "roboroach"), a KindheartedSimpleton who uses his cyborg powers to defend the cockroach city of Vexburg.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', Superman gets thrown 30,000 years into a post-apocalyptic red-sunned future, where he and Vandal Savage have to infiltrate a nest of giant cockroaches to recover the power-source for Savage's time machine.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'': Cleveland is too afraid to kill cockroaches, so he just puts bowls over them, resulting in the house becoming filled with slowly moving little domes.

* One of Raphael's greatest fears in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012.'' Alas, fate has made sure that these are among the mutated monsters he faces in "Cockroach Terminator".
* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' has Shwick, a wanted criminal and a giant cockroach with a shifty demeanor who lurks in a dark alley and looks for unsuspecting victims to lead to their deaths.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'', Peter is used as "bait" to draw the shapeshifting monster out, which as already taken many demonic forms. Peter is nervous as it starts to approach, and tells himself he can deal with anything - then he panics when he sees it's a ''gigantic'' cockroach.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'', Season 1 "[[Recap/CentralParkS1E9LiveItUpTonight Live It Up Tonight]]", when Bitsy and Helen gets locked inside a liquor store room, cockroaches starts coming out of the floor drain and freaks them out.

[[folder:Other]]
* Inverted by stand-up comedian Jimeoin, who speculated that cockroaches who can survive nuclear war but can be crushed by thong-wearing humans would believe that HumansAreCthulhu. "Do they fear thongs like we fear nuclear war?"
[[/folder]]

* In anime, women are often deathly frightened of cockroaches in much the same way Western fiction has them [[EekAMouse scared of mice]]. One prominent example from ''Anime/SailorMoon'': Setsuna Meioh a.k.a. Sailor Pluto.

* In ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'', a big cockroach shows up to terrorize the classroom. While all the other students panic at the sight of it, Tomoko, always desperate to make friends, sees an opportunity to earn everyone's respect and stomps it, with the anime version depicting the whole scene as if it was straight out of ''Manga/TerraFormars''. However, rather than earn everyone's admiration, the students end up getting creeped out that Tomoko would stomp a large bug like that, and start moving their desks farther away from her.

* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures'' had the villain Scumbug, an exterminator who mutated into a roach-like being thanks to the mutagen. He eventually found his way into [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the original cartoon]].

* ComicBook/HowardTheDuck had a foe called [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/cockroac.htm the Cockroach]] in his second series, an ordinary roach who became a man-sized humanoid after exposure to [[ArtifactOfDoom the Cosmic Key]]. His EvilPlan was to use the Key to create an army of roach-men like himself to TakeOverTheWorld, but was outsmarted by Howard who trapped him with giant flypaper, doused him with industrial strength insecticide; after the Key was confiscated, he was he was [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice skewered by a bladed walking stick]] thrown by Howard's ally R. L. Haney, and was presumed dead. (He was not, [[LongBusTrip but he has yet to return]].)
* The Perilous Painter was originally a [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain joke villain]] who lucked out and found some [[ArtAttacker "magic paints"]], who was defeated by the Human Torch early in the heroes career. When he returned (quite a bit later) in ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' comics, he had regained (and likely enhanced) his powers, and was now covered with roaches who he communicated with. Exactly where they came from and what purpose they served remains unknown.
* Heroic example (sort of) with ComicBook/AntMan, who used a swarm of roaches to fight an alien race called the Kulla in ''Tales to Astonish I 41#''
* In addition a lot of Marvel's [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain less formidable villains]] are associated with roaches:
** Marvel Boy, one of [[ComicBook/GreenGoblin Norman Osborn's]] henchmen during ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' is a Kree spliced with a roach.
** Medallion, an eccentric crime boss fought by ComicBook/ThePunisher, wanted to create radioactive roaches. (The reason Frank regards him a joke - this plan never went anywhere.)
** Litterbug, one of [[ComicBook/XMen the Morlocks]], is a mutant who resembles a roach.
** Inheritor from Beyond is an old foe of [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]] who is a normal roach mutated by the High Evolutionary.
** The original Pursuer is another creation of Kree experiments, a foe of [[ComicBook/{{Inhumans}} the Inhumans]]

* Dr. Cockroach from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' is actually quite nice, for a MadScientist with a taste for garbage.
%%* Digit from ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail''.

* ''Film/MenInBlack'' features a giant roach alien who devours a human and uses his skin as a disguise. He also leaves swarms of roaches wherever he goes, and loves sugar (preferably in water).

* ''Khepri Cockroach Tide'' (or just ''Cockroach Tide'') revolves around an experiment on biogenetics using cockroaches that GoesHorriblyWrong. For starters, the roaches starts gaining intelligence. Then, they start breeding at a rapid pace, and begins multiplying by the hundreds while stalking their creators... the movie is strictly '''NOT''' recommended for audiences with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuO9t_bauYE Katsaridaphobia]].
* In ''Film/JoesApartment'', Joe shares his apartment with some talking roaches. However, this is more of an inversion, since the roaches in question are friendly.

* Played with in ''Film/{{Mimic}}''. The movie's breed of man-sized insects (basically a termite-praying mantis hybrid) can be confused for giant cockroaches, but they were actually designed originally as an answer to the disease-spreading roaches in New York City. After the new biological weapon had consumed all the roaches, they continued to evolve into ever larger breeds and started preying on humans...
* In ''Film/{{Cornered}}'', a junkie going through withdrawal finds himself continually harassed by hallucinatory cockroaches.

* The Creator/WilliamCastle feature ''Bug'' has cockroaches that are able to set things on fire.
* The ''Film/SilentHill'' film has cockroach-like monsters with screaming human faces on their underside.
* In ''Film/HostelPartIII'', a woman is sprayed with something that causes a cockroach swarm to crawl into her mouth, suffocating her.

* The direct-to-video film ''Film/HoneyWeShrunkOurselves'' has a scene where a truck-sized cockroach attacks the shrunken parents. Things get even scarier when the cockroach starts nibbling at Diane by grabbing her trapped leg with its mouth.
* A horde of flesh-eating cockroaches turns up in ''Film/DamnationAlley'', devouring one man alive and having left prior victims StrippedToTheBone.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'', as the duo visit the city dump, Dog befriends and cares for a roach with a broken leg, much to Cat's dismay. Roachy here is an inversion, since he [[spoiler: actually saves Cat's life near the end]].

** A non-sentient example occurs in another episode where Fry mentions how after a 1000 years, New New York still has a massive roach problem, but now they're the size of humans.

* ''Khepri Cockroach Tide'' (or just ''Cockroach Tide'') revolves around an experiment on biogenetics using cockroaches that GoesHorriblyWrong. For starters, the roaches starts gaining intelligence. Then, it starts breeding at a rapid pace, and begins multiplying by the hundreds while stalking their creators... the movie is strictly '''NOT''' recommended for audiences with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuO9t_bauYE Katsaridaphobia]].

* Once on ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Tea angrily calls [[FourEyesZeroSoul Weevil]] a cockroach for (once again) cheating in a duel. Weevil, however, takes it as a compliment, since cockroaches are so hardy (that, and he loves insects in general).

* Rose and the Arrangement's "The Cockroach That Ate Cincinatti".

* The made for TV film ''They Nest'' had cockroaches that nested inside people.

* The [[LightningBruiser American Cockroach]] plays this trope very straight, not only they are notorious for carrying diseases and being invasive species, they can ''[[UpToEleven fly]]''.

* In ''VideoGame/PilgrimRPGMaker'', A swarm of realistic-looking giant cockroaches reside in Storey 1 and will kill Akemi if she [[spoiler:takes the key from their room without placing candy in the preceding room to trap them]]. Subverted with the one in Storey 6- while it has the same design, [[DarkIsNotEvil it is friendly and will not attack Akemi]], instead giving her the password needed to complete Storey 6.

* One of the many signs that you're losing your sanity to the evils of the Brennenburg Mansion in ''VideoGame/AmnesiatheDarkDescent'' is to see roaches everywhere.

They crawl, they swarm, they eat leftover food, they stink, and they scatter when exposed to bright light ([[FromBadToWorse and some varieties can even]] ''[[FromBadToWorse fly]]''). Roaches are also incredibly hardy -- some being able to survive without food for about a month -- and very adaptable to many environments, preferably those that are warm and moist. It doesn't help how slimy and uncannily ''fluid'' they seem even compared to other insects. Often times this is exaggerated in fiction in that [[CockroachesWillRuleTheEarth they are able to survive a nuclear war ]](though roaches can withstand radiation poisoning for a long period of time, they are not immune to its effects). They're also used as a symbol of filth and decay in fiction. They may be utilized by a PestController.

They crawl, they swarm, they eat leftover food, they stink, and they scatter when exposed to bright light ([[FromBadToWorse and some varieties can even]] ''[[FromBadToWorse fly]]''). Roaches are also incredibly hardy -- some being able to survive without food for about a month -- and very adaptable to many environments, preferably those that are warm and moist. It doesn't help how slimy and uncannily ''fluid'' they move about even compared to other insects. Often times this is exaggerated in fiction in that [[CockroachesWillRuleTheEarth they are able to survive a nuclear war ]](though roaches can withstand radiation poisoning for a long period of time, they are not immune to its effects). They're also used as a symbol of filth and decay in fiction. They may be utilized by a PestController.

They crawl, they swarm, they eat leftover food, they stink, and they scatter when exposed to bright light ([[FromBadToWorse and some varieties can even]] ''[[FromBadToWorse fly]]''). Roaches are also incredibly hardy -- some being able to survive without food for about a month -- and very adaptable to many environments, preferably those that are warm and moist. Often times this is exaggerated in fiction in that [[CockroachesWillRuleTheEarth they are able to survive a nuclear war ]](though roaches can withstand radiation poisoning for a long period of time, they are not immune to its effects). They're also used as a symbol of filth and decay in fiction. They may be utilized by a PestController.

* The direct-to-video film ''Film/HoneyWeShrunkOurselves'' has a scene where a truck-sized cockroach attacks the shrunken parents. Things get even scarier when the cockroach starts nibbling at Diane when it grabs her trapped leg with its mouth.

* In the early 2000s there was a series of TV ads for laundry detergent, bath oil, etc., that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYXpW8Crkzc played out normally]], when suddenly a realistic cockroach began crawling around on the screen. Eventually, an [[CommercialSwitcheroo Orkin Man]] sprays it dead. [[http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040800/ent_040800037.shtml Many people reported thinking it was real]] and threw things at the set. This commercial was withdrawn after Orkin was sued by a man who threw his shoe at the TV set and broke it. Another viewer threw her motorcycle helmet.

** ''Arachnid'' has Gokiburi[=/=]Megumi Oki, an assassin girl who has abilities related to cockroaches. She's a smug perverted PsychoLesbian who wants slaves and enjoys being hated, but gladly makes friends with the heroine, [[SpidersAreScary Alice]], once she's defeated and dragged to her home for information.