History Main / Frameup

* ''{{Paranoia}}'' specifically encourages this.

See also: TakingTheHeat, where an innocent person attempts to put ''themselves'' in the frame to save someone else. FalseFlagOperation, where it is an entire organization or nation that is being framed by another. Compare and contrast AbominationAccusationAttack, where the accusation doesn't include any crime that has even been claimed to have happened.

* ''{{Batman}}'', or rather Bruce Wayne, had to deal with this in ''Bruce Wayne: Murderer?'' and ''Bruce Wayne: Fugitive'' after his ex-girlfriend Vesper Fairchild was found dead in Wayne Manor. Lex Luthor had hired the assassin David Cain to frame Bruce Wayne for a murder after Bruce ruined his scheme to acquire Gotham's real estate in the aftermath of ''No Man's Land''. The frameup went even further than that though: since Cain had deduced that Bruce and Batman were one and the same, he also planted fake evidence suggesting that Vesper had discovered Bruce's secret and was about to expose him. This actually made some of Bruce's allies (except Dick and Alfred who remain convinced that Bruce is innocent) briefly suspect that Bruce had snapped and killed Vesper to hide his secret. The story arc went on for as long as it did because Bruce didn't even try to [[ClearMyName clear his name]]; rather, he used this as an opportunity to ditch his identity as Bruce Wayne and become Batman full time.

** In the episode ''Delinquent'', a young sex-offender makes up a nonsense accusation against Stabler, and then try to get his own charges dropped in return for dropping his own charges against stabler.

* In the HonorHarrington book ''At All Costs'', the Republic of Haven is framed for several assassinations, this is [[spoiler:so successful that it prevents the peace talks from happening, which leads to the biggest battle in the entire series of books, with the Manticore system itself under attack]].

* The 1960s TV series, and the 1993 film, ''TheFugitive'' is entirely based around this trope. A renowned medical doctor is framed for the murder of his wife, escapes during transit to death row, and spends the rest of the series trying to [[ClearMyName clear his name]].

* ''GhostTrick'': [[spoiler: Lynne]] is framed for the murder of [[spoiler: Yomiel]]...by [[spoiler: Yomiel. He controls her to shoot his immortal shell, makes sure it's caught on tape, then leaves his body to be found by the police. Since few people see the corpse before Cabanela steals it, no one else notices that it's a person who supposedly died ten years earlier.]]

* In ''{{Watchmen}}'', [[spoiler: Rorschach]] is framed for the murder of [[spoiler: Moloch]].

See also: TakingTheHeat, where an innocent person attempts to put ''themselves'' in the frame to save someone else. FalseFlagOperation, where it is an entire organization or nation that is being framed by another.

* ''Manor de Sade'' starts out with the protagonist bragging to herself about how she managed to advance in her career by backstabbing his boss with a trumped-up accusation of sexual harassment. He had simply been friendly, but she had pretended to feel harassed. This resulted in him getting fired and her getting his job, just as she had planned. Only the audience (and her mirror) gets to know the truth. [[spolier:Or maybe not.]]

* SinCity has two protagonists framed: Marv and John Hartigan. In a rare GangWar example, Dwight framed one crime family for attackign anothe rin order to protect the Old Town girls.

* In ''XMenNoir'', Anne-Marie Rankin framed Captain Logan for the murder of Jean Grey by killing her with WolverineClaws. However, between this and the OrgyOfEvidence she provided, Thomas Halloway had her figured for the killer almost immediately.

* ''The Hurricane'', 1999 American biographical film starring Denzel Washington as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.

* Every episode ever of ''PerryMason'' and ''{{Matlock}}''

* Subverted in ''Framed'', because the title would make you expect it to happen but it doesn't. (At least according to the review at ''SomethingAwful''.)

* ''{{Batman}}'', or rather Bruce Wayne, had to deal with this in ''Bruce Wayne: Murderer?'' and ''Bruce Wayne: Fugitive'' after his ex-girlfriend Vesper Fairchild was found dead in Wayne Manor. Lex Luthor had hired the assassin David Cain to frame Bruce Wayne for a murder after Bruce ruined his scheme to acquire Gotham's real estate in the aftermath of ''No Man's Land''. The frameup went even further than that though: since Cain had deduced that Bruce and Batman were one and the same, he also planted fake evidence suggesting that Vesper had discovered Bruce's secret and was about to expose him. This actually made some of Bruce's allies (except Dick and Alfred who remain convinced that Bruce is innocent) briefly suspect that Bruce had snapped and killed Vesper to hide his secret. The story arc went on for as long as it did because Bruce bother trying to ClearMyName; rather, he used this as an opportunity to ditch his identity as Bruce Wayne and become Batman full time.

* ''{{Batman}}'', or rather Bruce Wayne, had to deal with this in ''Bruce Wayne: Murderer?'' and ''Bruce Wayne: Fugitive'' after his ex-girlfriend Vesper Fairchild was found dead in Wayne Manor. Lex Luthor had hired the assassin David Cain to frame Bruce Wayne for a murder after Bruce ruined his scheme to acquire Gotham's real estate in the aftermath of ''No Man's Land''. The frameup went even further than that though: since Cain had deduced that Bruce and Batman were one and the same, he also planted fake evidence suggesting that Vesper had discovered Bruce's secret and was about to expose him. This actually made some of Bruce's allies (except Dick and Alfred who remain convinced that Bruce is innocent) briefly suspect that Bruce had snapped and killed Vesper to hide his secret. The story arc went on for as long as it did because Bruce bother trying to ClearMyName; rather, he used this as an opportunity to ditch his identity as Bruce Wayne and become Batman full time. Well, he tried to anyway.

* In ''Speaking with the Dead'' by Elaine Cunningham ([[ForgottenRealms Realms of Mystery]]) Elaith Craulnober ([[MagnificentBastard of all people]]) was accused of a murder but swore that [[strike:this time]] he didn't do it. And Danilo Thann ([[VitriolicBestBuds of all people]]) had to defend him...