History Main / LeakingCanOFEvil

* [[EldritchAbomination The Snarl]] from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' was sealed by the gods in a jail that used the entire planet for the lock. However, five rifts have formed in said jail, one of which allowed it to reach through and kill Soon Kim's wife, Mijung. Soon's party locked the rifts with impassable gates, but now four of the five gates have been destroyed, and the rifts they covered have grown huge. (Although, oddly, nothing of the Snarl has yet reached through.) [[spoiler:Until strip 945.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'', ArtifactOfDoom Model W contains the evil Dr. Weil's consciousness, and his corrupt influence results in the rise of new Mavericks that the heroes have to deal with. The end of the first game implies that [[BigBad Serpent]]'s plan to harvest power for Model W is actually Weil trying to bring himself back to life.

* A rather infamous issue of ''ComicBook/XMen'' revealed that Nightcrawler is actually the son of a demon, Azazel, who was locked in another dimension but is able to get free in order to father children [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext with the goal of them being able to free him]].

** Calamity Ganon from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' was locked up in Hyrule Castle for one hundred years. By the time the game proper begins, Ganon has reclaimed enough power to manifest itself as a mass of fog-like corruption surrounding the castle and resurrect monsters during a [[BadMoonRising Blood Moon]]. Worse yet, there's a very real possibility that Ganon will soon break out of its can and destroy what's left of Hyrule unless Link can put it down for good.
*** Also discussed in the game's backstory; at one point, Zelda theorizes that increasing numbers of monsters appearing around Hyrule are a sign that the seal placed over Ganon 10,000 years prior is failing and Ganon's return is imminent. [[spoiler:She's right. A few weeks/months later, Ganon does indeed break free, an event which culminates in the 100-year sealing of the game proper.]]

* In ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'', the Black Egg temple contains something sealed within, but roughly halfway through the game, it becomes clear that whatever's sealed inside is still managing to escape, as the Forgotten Crossroads becomes corrupted and turns into the Infected Crossroads. [[spoiler:It turns out to contain the Hollow Knight within, from whom the Infection is issuing. And then you discover that [[LightIsNotGood the Radiance]] is sealed within the Hollow Knight and is the true source of the Infection, making the Hollow Knight a leaking can inside of a leaking can.]]

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': The evil force known as the Darkness is this. Long ago, [[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} the Sorcerer]] fought the Darkness and sealed it inside a willing human being and used a magical dagger created from a shard of the sword Excalibur to control them. This being became the first in a long line of beings known as "The Dark One" and appeared as a dark mage of unfathomable power [[TheCorruption and a green scaly appearance]] only a mother could love. So long as the dagger was held by the forces of good, they could control the Dark One and keep him/her from ravaging the land. Unfortunately [[Characters/OnceUponATimeMainVillains one of the latest Dark Ones]] held onto the dagger and was instead tempered from laying waste to the world by his remaining humanity embodied by his love for his son and desire to reunite with him.

* This is how Winnowill from ''Comicbook/{{ElfQuest}}'' ends up when Rayek traps Winnowill's soul inside his own. Winnowill is mostly contained but occasionally is able to either affect Rayek's actions or even lash out with her own magic powers.

** Ganon was sealed away into the Dark World by the seven sages in the backstory of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', but used his evil influence to recruit Agahnim. The mage infiltrates Hyrule Castle and sets into motion Ganon's plans to capture the seven maidens and break the seal made by the seven sages.

* ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness''. The Anti-Christ is [[SealedEvilInACan trapped inside a glass cylinder]] inside a church. It sprays a liquid at one of the people researching it and takes control of them, then has that person spit the liquid at other people to possess them as well. It also uses MindControl on street people who live near the church to surround it and trap the researchers inside.

** The same goes for that series' SpiritualSuccessor, ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger''/''Series/PowerRangersSamurai.'' The BigBad is under a seal like the Mystic Force villains - he dries out even faster, enough that he can only last a few minutes in the human world and is weekend for days after attempting it. (Unfortunately, he's powerful enough that a few minutes is ''all he needs'' to utterly hand the Rangers their spandex-covered asses.) Like the first BigBad of Magiranger and Mystic Force, his ultimate goal is to get around the sealing spell so he can smash.

*** The [[HumanoidAbomination daelkyr]] may not be able to leave [[BeneathTheEarth Khyber]], but they can move around freely within it and talk to their servants on the surface, and drive the odd mortal mad.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', Exdeath spends the first half of the game sealed away by the crystals, but he is still able to command monsters and to mind control some people in order to bring about his release.

* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'': It's revealed in ''ComicBook/GreenLanternRebirth'' that Parallax, the yellow Fear Entity, was trapped inside the Central Battery a very long while ago, but his corrupting influence made the Rings weak to yellow and drove Hal Jordan mad.

* In ''Series/KamenRiderBlade'', the [[MonstersOfTheWeek Undead]] have to be sealed away not just to stop their rampages, but because the Riders can tap into their power. However, the Spider Undead specifically allowed himself to be sealed as part of a plan to take over the body of whomever used the Kamen Rider Leangle powers. He spends most of the series controlling OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Mutsuki Kamijo, until late in the series where the Riders (and [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch two Undead with noble characters]]) manage to force the Spider out of Mutsuki's body and reseal it properly.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' [[spoiler: reveals that ''Ganon himself'' is this to his predecessor, the demon Demise. Demise might be dead and/or back in his can, but Ganon is the essence of Demise reincarnating throughout time.]]

** The demon Bat'Zul, which was sealed under Cap Au Diable in the Rogue Isles. He was sealed properly, until a MadScientist realize he could drain electrical energy from the demon to provide cheap and efficient power to the city... with the small side effect of lightning demons occasionally jumping out of the power lines.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', [[spoiler:Zemus' can does not prevent him from mind-controlling certain people, like Golbez and possibly Kain. Unlike Exdeath, Zemus never actually leaves his can at all; the heroes raid it in the end.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' 3, when the ritual to seal away the Rift failed, the head of the shrine attempted to seal it into a dream world (the Manor of Sleep) to prevent it from spreading. This still doesn't work however, as it draws people suffering from SurvivorGuilt into it, allowing it to spread.

* Parallax, the Fear Entity, spent a long time trapped inside the ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' Corps' Central Battery, and was the catch-all handwave for the Green Lanterns' weakness to yellow (Parallax's colors), and the retcon of Hal Jordan's FaceHeelTurn. He was gradually corrupted by Parallax and Sinestro (the latter also having served time in the Central Battery).

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* This is a major staple of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, most famously appearing in the short story ''Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu''. Despite being dead and trapped within the sunken city of R'lyeh, the eponymous Old One is still capable of influencing certain humans through their dreams, guiding them to release him [[WhenThePlanetsAlign when the stars are right]].

* ''Series/OnceUponATime:'' The evil force known as the Darkness is this. Long ago, [[Disney/{{Fantasia}} the Sorcerer]] fought the Darkness and sealed it inside a willing human being and used a magical dagger created from a shard of the sword Excalibur to control them. This being became the first in a long line of beings known as "The Dark One" and appeared as a dark mage of unfathomable power [[TheCorruption and a green scaly appearance]] only a mother could love. So long as the dagger was held by the forces of good, they could control the Dark One and keep him/her from ravaging the land. Unfortunately [[Characters/OnceUponATimeMainVillains one of the latest Dark Ones]] held onto the dagger and was instead tempered from laying waste to the world by his remaining humanity embodied by his love for his son and desire to reunite with him.

* ''Videogame/EternalDarkness'':

** The other Ancients qualify as well. They're sealed in the great Darkness with only Mantarok to keep them in check. The events of the game involve one of them ([[spoiler:actually all of them]]) using their various pawns, artifacts, and minions to simultaneously get themselves free as well as completely screw over the others.
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''.

** Even worse was the death god Mot, imprisoned under the literal ghost town Dark Astoria. One of the final arcs in the game was stopping it from getting free and destroying the world.

* Several decades before the start of ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'', a [[EldritchAbomination Dark One]], Avoozl, attempted to break through into the world, assisted by a cult who worshiped it. After a tremendously bloody battle, the archmage Erana sealed it away at the cost of her own life. Unfortunately, her seal was not perfect, and Avoozl has had a lingering effect on Mordavia as its power leeches into the surrounding woods. In particular, certain types of magic (particularly teleportation and scrying) don't work properly in the vicinity of the Cave of the Dark One, the woods are increasingly filled with undead monsters, and by the time of the game itself the road into and out of Mordavia has been blocked by a swamp which drowns anyone who attempts to pass it.

* This is a major staple of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, most famously appearing in the short story ''Literature/CallOfCthulhu''. Despite being dead and trapped within the sunken city of R'lyeh, the eponymous Old One is still capable of influencing certain humans through their dreams, guiding them to release him [[WhenThePlanetsAlign when the stars are right]].