History Main / MakeItLookLikeaStruggle

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "Dead in the Water'', a jeweller conspires with some of his friends to rob his own store. The jeweller is left BoundAndGagged in a chair in the vault, but one of the robbers decides to make the scenario look more realistic by smacking him hard in the face.

* In ''Film/IndependenceDay'', Creator/WillSmith's character "borrows" a helicopter to find his girlfriend. One soldier catches him and draws his pistol, ordering Smith out. Smith just gives him a look and asks if he really wants to shoot him, which makes the soldier lower the gun. As he's taking off, Smith goes, "Look, just tell 'em I hit you." The soldier is quite a bit bigger than Smith's character, making his "you shittin' me?" look particularly amusing.

** Except at first the thug punches Danny across the jaw for real before realizing that part wasn't supposed to come until later.

-->-- ''Film/{{Serenity}}''

* {{Discussed}} in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'': the guard inside a vault the crew are robbing surrenders when Jayne fires a burst in his direction, then later Mal talks to him about shooting him nonfatally so he doesn't lose his job over it. It doesn't happen, because the arrival of a shipload of Reavers prompts Mal to have the guard round up everybody upstairs and bring them into the vault to hide out.

AloneWithPrisonerPloy may include the prisoner doing it; TheInfiltration may put the undercover participant in either or both roles. ApologeticAttacker and HitMeDammit are to be expected. May involve delays if the "attacker" WouldntHitAGirl or has other such restrictions and has to circumvent or get over it. Compare PassiveRescue (which may overlap, if the guard provides the means to be taken "hostage" or otherwise overpowered).

* In one story of the ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'', the Beagle Boys infiltrate a museum hidden in sarcophagi. During the night, the entire collection is stolen by a rich collector, who then leaves the helpful guard tied up, telling him that he'll get his money shortly and that [[IWasNeverHere he's been "attacked by masked people"]].

* In an issue of ''Franchise/SpiderMan's Tangled Web'' [[note]]Which focusses on the [[ADayInTheLimeLight world around Spider-Man]] instead of the hero himself[[/note]] one of the employees of ComicBook/TheKingpin has had one of his criminal projects ruined by Spider-Man. He gets called in, by a low level crook who recently messed up pretty bad as well. The guy shoots the driver, goes up to the Kingpin. Kingpin expected him to shoot the driver (Because the employee was exemplary) and in return for [[MakeItLookLikeAStruggle Making It Look Like A Struggle]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards Kingpin assures his wife and child would not be touched]]. The guy unleashes FiveRoundsRapid into the Kingpin's [[KevLard chest]] who then proceeds to [[YourHeadASplode crush his employee's head in between his hands]].
* The ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' short story "La Foire aux Gangsters" has one gangster taking pity on the kidnapped baby and giving him to Spirou. He then asks him to knock him out with a TapOnTheHead; he barely registers the hit but gets a bump, so he tells Spirou it'll do.

* In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'', the mooks of the titular queenpin stage a robbery with violence to lure ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} out. Starfire's conman Derek Marlowe asks their boss' henchmen to pull their punches while they are beating him up, but his "co-workers" happily reply their assault must look real.

TheHero needs a MacGuffin, or simply an escape. Someone is supposed to prevent it... but doesn't really want to. Or simply doesn't want to fight TheHero. So that person won't be punished for aiding, they have to pretend the guard tried to resist, but was defeated. This means that the helper will be tied up and sometimes smacked around a bit to make it look genuine. This is generally somewhat PlayedForLaughs, especially when the hero [[ComedicSociopathy takes it upon themselves to do this]] rather than their ally suggesting it. Often involves TapOnTheHead.

AloneWithPrisonerPloy may include the prisoner doing it; TheInfiltration may put the undercover participant in either or both roles. ApologeticAttacker and HitMeDammit are to be expected. May involve delays if the "attacker" WouldntHitAGirl or has other such restrictions and have to circumvent or get over it. Compare PassiveRescue (which may overlap, if the guard provides the means to be taken "hostage" or otherwise overpowered).

* ''Film/JohnWickChapter3Parabellum''. Mere minutes before his MercyLead runs out, John Wick goes to a BackAlleyDoctor for help stitching up a wound. To avoid persecution for helping an Excommunicado fugitive, the doctor hands Wick a derringer and tells him to make it seem like he was forced at gunpoint. He asks Wick to shoot him in a non-fatal area, carefully instructing where to place the bullet so it doesn't hit anything vital. After Wick does so, the doctor then realizes one might not be enough so asks John to shoot him again. [[BlackComedy Both times Wick shoots before the doctor has finished speaking,]] placing the rounds exactly where required.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': After [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal betraying]] the First Order and helping out the Resistance in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', [[spoiler:General Hux]] asks Finn to graze his arm with a blaster as they leave to make it look like [[spoiler:Hux]] was forced to help them. [[KickTheSonOfABitch Finn shoots him in the leg instead]]. [[spoiler:Either way, it doesn't work; [[NoNonsenseNemesis General Pryde]] is too smart to fall for it and just [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished shoots Hux dead]] before reporting to Kylo Ren that he found the spy.]]
* This exchange from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'':
--> '''Mal:''' The leg is good. It'll bleed plenty, and we avoid any necessary organs.
--> '''Payroll Guard:''' I was thinking more like a graze?
--> '''Mal:''' Eh, you don't wanna make it seem like you just gave up.
--> '''Payroll Guard:''' No, I get that.

* ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone''. After Maritza kills the two Nazi guards, she demands that Barnsby hit her to make it appear that he and Mallory attacked her and got away. Barnsby [[ApologeticAttacker apologizes]] and hits her weakly. She berates him and [[HitMeDammit orders him to hit her harder]]. Mallory suddenly [[TapOnTheHead punches her hard and knocks her out]], which [[EnforcedMethodActing actually happened in real life]]. They had to delay filming the next scene until the actress woke up.

--->'''Marta''' (after Barnsby's weak punch): Do you expect me to go back there with my hair neatly combed? ''Hit'' me!

---'''Marta''' (after Barnsby's weak punch): Do you expect me to go back there with my hair neatly combed? ''Hit'' me!

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "Dead in the Water'', a jeweller conspires with some of his friends to rob his own store. The jeweller is left BoundAndGagged in a chair in the vault, but one of the robbers decides to make he scenario look more realistic by smacking him hard in the face.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' novel ''Dark Mirror'', Troi stuns mirror!Worf so that he won't be executed by the Empire for treason after he aids them in escaping.

* ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone''. After Maritza kills the two Nazi guards, she demands that Barnsby hit her to make it appear that he and Mallory attacked her and got away. Barnsby [[ApologeticAttacker apologizes]] and hits her weakly. She berates him and [[HitMeDammit orders him to hit her harder]]. Mallory suddenly [[TapOnTheHead punches her hard and knocks her out]].
** The punching and knocking her out actually happened in real life. They had to delay filming the next scene until the actress woke up.

* Another villainous version in ''Film/IceStationZebra''. TheMole tells an American army officer to beat him with a crowbar so he can be shot in 'self defense'. The officer is incredulous that he would go along with this plan, but the mole points out that [[DefiantToTheEnd he's the type to die fighting]]. Instead of reaching for the crowbar, the officer attacks him directly, eventually gaining the upper hand [[NiceJobBreakingItHero until he's shot dead by the hero]] under the assumption that ''he'' is TheMole.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', during the "Impel Down Arc", Buggy and Mr. 3 are attempting to escape Level 4 by going up the stairs where Hannyable, the guard that they believe to be weakest, was guarding. Hannyable, wanting to get promoted, purposefully lets Buggy and Mr. 3 go up, hoping to blame Magellan later and get his job. [[SubvertedTrope However]], [[WrongGenreSavvy Mr. 3 and Buggy think that it's a trap, so it results in them getting brutally beaten up when they try to preemptively attack the guards.]]

** In "Private Madness Public Danger", Doyle enters a BadGuyBar and hauls a customer into the storeroom. Turns out he's an undercover cop and the two of them start knocking things off the shelves to make it sound like Doyle is beating him up. When it's time to leave, he reminds Doyle to give him the requisite facial bruise.
** In "Rogue", a corrupt [=CI5=] agent throws a witness out the window, then stabs himself in the shoulder with a knife (which gets thrown out the window as well) moments before Bodie and Doyle kick down the door in response to his faked cries of alarm.