History Main / PastVictimShowcase

->''"You know, Carl... These people who pass through here, they all tell pretty good stories. A surveyor making a map... A botanist cataloguing plants... An old man taking his house to Paradise Falls... Well, that's the best one yet--I can't'' wait ''to hear how it ends."''
-->-- '''Charles F. Muntz''', ''{{WesternAnimation/Up}}''

* In ''Velocity'', by Creator/DeanKoontz, the primary villain has a collection of faces and hands removed from past victims, which said villain proudly displays to the protagonist during their climactic confrontation.

-->'''Mal:''' No...I'm sure he was a... very bad man.\\

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Kurotsuchi showed Uryu a picture of his mentor's soul after Kurotsuchi had finished experimenting on it. Made more horrific by the fact that said mentor was also Uryu's grandfather, and by the [[LackOfEmpathy careless manner]] in which Kurotsuchi talks about it; to Kurotsuchi, [[ButForMeItWasTuesday he's just making conversation]], and when Uryu informs him about his relation to the victim, Kurotsuchi [[TheSociopath isn't bothered in the slightest.]]
* During ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', [[BigBad Jail]] sent a taunting broadcast to the [[TheFederation Time-Space Administation Bureau]] showing the rise of the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Saint's Cradle]], including a video of Nanoha's daughter Vivio [[PoweredByAForsakenChild being tortured to power it]]. This was most certainly among the worst ideas in the entire history of bad ideas, contending with heavy-weights like [[Theatre/OedipusRex marrying Jocasta]]. Later, Nanoha makes sure to give one of Jail’s subordinates her regards- by blasting her with her WaveMotionGun.
* {{Bishonen}} Griffith in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' after a year of torture. While his horribly mutilated body is displayed, what is left underneath the iron mask that he wears is never revealed -- but it made even the battle-hardened Guts recoil in horror.
* A variation: when the protagonist of ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'' [[spoiler:wakes up after her HeroicSacrifice]], she is asked by the NeglectfulPrecursors to become their agent on the surface. When she refuses, they show her a picture of what's left of [[spoiler:her ''real'']] body.
* In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' Kurapika goes to a mansion looking for a job that will make him able to attend a secret meeting of the crime lords. Once he gets employed, he passes by a corridor that has a former bodyguard's dead body partly visible from a painting. That was the punishment for getting deceived by wrong information and placing the boss's life in danger.
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', this happens when Yamori first brings Kaneki to his TortureCellar. His previous, dead "toy" is still chained to a chair with a bag over his head, and a bucket of severed fingers and toes in front of him. Kaneki is understandably horrified to realize the "task" his new superior has in mind for him.

* In the ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' fan fic "Pride Comes Before The Fall", Ranma delivers Ryouga's shredded, bloodied bandanna to the Tendos.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', Carl is horrified to realize [[spoiler:his childhood hero, Charles Muntz, has [[GoMadFromTheIsolation gone off the deep end]] when Muntz starts bragging about some aviator helmets belonging to past "visitors" to Paradise Falls. Muntz apparently killed them all in a fit of paranoia, believing they were trying to steal his discovery out from under his nose.]]

* In ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'' the assembled good guys were forced to watch a broadcast by the villain of the [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and execution of the good guys' master spy.
* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': [=C3PO=] is told that Jabba the Hutt "became displeased with his former protocol droid and terminated it". We are shown its mutilated remains. The worst part was that it was still sufficiently functional to scream. The ExpandedUniverse book ''Literature/TalesFromJabbasPalace'' states that the droid in charge was actually adding pain sensors to the tortured droids and relishing their anguish.
* In ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' Kadaj does this with the bloody I.D cards of two of Rufus's former agents, saying, 'Fine, swear on these!'
** Both agents show up unharmed near the end to rescue Rufus, [[UnexplainedRecovery but no explanation is given as to how that's possible.]]
* ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}'': "You are next." Said after the "BigBad" pummels a fighter the main character befriended briefly beforehand.
* In ''Film/TheScorpionKing'', [[spoiler:Memnon gets a message by carrier bird, and everyone thinks the Akkadian is dead. When he opens the message, he discovers that it contains Thorak's amulet instead.]]
* In ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors'', all of the people who were eaten by Audrey Jr. have their faces emblazoned in the center of the plant's flowers. This was referenced in the [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors musical adaptation]], where the plant's victims sing the finale number through the flowers.
* In ''Film/{{Khartoum}}'' the Mahdi has a meeting under truce with General Gordon, to convince him to surrender. Gordon still thinks an expedition he sent down the river to get help has reached safety until the Mahdi lifts several heads out of various boxes -- all the expedition leaders.

* In ''Film/SixtyEightKill'', the shelves in Dwayne's workshop are lined with glass jars containing body parts from his previous victims. That fact Dwayne and Liza are so sanguine about this is what finally convinces Chip to free Violet and flee.

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' Sauron's messenger at the Black Gate shows Frodo's armor and cloak and Sam's sword to his companions; Sauron (who doesn't know about the Ring or that there were two hobbit infiltrators) wants to imply that their spy will be [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] if they do not surrender. Gandalf doesn't take the messenger's offer, but ''does'' take the hobbit's things. Especially meta-effective because at this time the reader doesn't yet know about the real circumstances, and so is as clueless as the characters about the hobbits' and the Ring's fate.
* Emperor Ublaz [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Mad Eyes"]] in ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'' does this to a pirate captain under his command when he reveals the body of the captain's brother. The captain immediately decides to go through with the revolt he was planning.
* In ''Under the Yoke'', the second [[Literature/TheDraka Draka]] novel, an Alliance agent is captured by the Draka, who send him back in a shipping container - horribly mutilated but still alive, with pictures detailing his torture and "Thanks for the lovely chat" carved on his forehead.
* When ''Able Team'' are first briefed on Neo-Nazi CorruptCorporateExecutive Unomondo (the closest thing that series had to a reoccurring BigBad) they told how one of his accountants who turned state's evidence got a big set of pictures -- his wife and children being lowered one inch at a time, one picture at a time, into [[AcidPool tubs of acid]]. The man killed himself the next day.
** And in the original ''Literature/TheExecutioner'' series, Mack Bolan finds that TheMafia has prepared a room to show their {{Sex Slave}}s what will happen if they've got any ideas of disobedience. It contains the tortured body of a federal agent (and former lover of Bolan) with photos showing all the stages of her torture. Bolan still has to [[MercyKill put her out of her misery]].
* [[BigBad The Pale Woman]] in ''Fool's Fate'', the last book of the ''Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings'' series, does this to Fitz when torturing the Fool to death.
* In the first [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant Covenant]] trilogy, Lord Foul sends a tortured and broken Waynhim back to Revelstone as a messenger, with a threat to make the entire Land as broken as the wretch.
* After [[ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] Azil for three years in ''Literature/DragonsWinter'', [[BigBad Tenjiro]] sends him back to Karadur broken in both body and soul.
* In one ''Literature/ForgottenRealms'' novel, Entreri had stolen the statue that allowed Drizzt to summon Guenhwyvar, and let Drizzt see it just long enough for him to figure out what the small object was.
* ''Literature/{{Swellhead}}''. The title villain's SupervillainLair includes a hallway where the [[DecapitationPresentation heads]] of former enemies and childhood bullies are [[HumanHeadOnTheWall displayed like hunting trophies]], along with the means of their demise -- usually a KarmicDeath that fits whatever grudge Swellhead had against them.

* ''{{Series/Firefly}}'''s Niska is very fond of using this trope. As a means of getting Mal and Co. to cooperate, he shows them the mutilated hung corpse of his wife's ''nephew''!
-->'''Mal:''' No...I'm sure he was a...very bad man.
-->'''Niska:''' My wife's nephew. At dinner, I am getting earful.
* In the 1997 British BlackComedy ''Underworld'', a crime boss takes the protagonist to see the garden of his BigFancyHouse and shows him the spot where they buried a previous rival who was into being ChainedByFashion. The metal leaching into the soil is apparently quite good for the plants.
* ''{{Series/American Horror Story}} Hotel'''s John Lowe realizes that he is the Ten Commandments Killer when Hypodermic Sally shows him a room filled with symbolic body parts from his previous kills.

* In ''VideoGame/RuinerPinball'', The "Tower" board includes a previous victim who is shackled spread-eagled to a rack.

* Creator/DanAbnett's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''The Guns of Tanith'' has the Chaos commander Sagittar Slaith broadcast footage of the captured and [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] Ghosts on screens in his captured city to the other Ghosts he knows are still out there.
* The 2nd Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' supplement ''The Complete Book of Elves'' included several stories about elven attitudes and TimeAbyss mindset. One of the most disturbing was about how an elf's children hunted down and captured the dwarf who'd killed their parent, then left a severed dwarf limb on the killer's doorstep every year as a warning to anyone who would dare to threaten an elf. The worst thing is, [[spoiler:the vengeful children had also acquired a ''ring of regeneration''. They've been invoking this trope each year for more than three decades and counting...]]

* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'':

* ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock 2}}'': Your friendly MissionControl [[spoiler:is strapped into a Big Daddy suit and only has control of his mouth and part of his mind. You need to MercyKill him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', [[spoiler:Ganondorf]] holds up [[spoiler:Midna's broken helmet]] to demonstrate that he just defeated her -- just before shattering it.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Moxxie's mafia don father, Crimson, mounts the horns and jaws of all [[YouHaveFailedMe who have crossed him]] upon his walls.

* [[spoiler:Ami]] in ''Literature/SailorNothing'' gets used as an example of this trope.
* In WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's review of ''Film/TheLastAirbender'', talent-bended victims get shown to whoever's next.

* Film/{{Bloodsport}}: "You are next." Said after the "BigBad" pummels a fighter the main character befriended briefly beforehand.

* The 2nd Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' supplement ''The Complete Book of Elves'' included several stories about elven attitudes and TimeAbyss mindset. One of the most disturbing was about how an elf's children hunted down and captured the dwarf who'd killed their parent, then left a severed dwarf limb on the killer's doorstep every year as a warning to anyone who would dare to threaten an elf. The worst thing is, [[spoiler: the vengeful children had also acquired a ''ring of regeneration''. They've been invoking this trope each year for more than three decades and counting...]]

In fantasy, this is often put across by the display of an heirloom which the previous character owned and which was taken from him by the villains. In more modern or realistic settings, they are shown photographic or video evidence of the unpleasant changes the villains put the last hero through, often with a taunt of "Not very pretty now, is he?"

* In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' Kurapika goes to a mansion looking for a job that will make him able to attend a secret meeting of the crime lords. Once he gets employed he passes by a corridor that has a former bodyguard dead body partly visible from a painting. That was the punishment for getting deceived by wrong information and placing the boss's life in danger.

--> '''Mal:''' No...I'm sure he was a...very bad man.
--> '''Niska:''' My wife's nephew. At dinner, I am getting earful.

** Dr. Steinman has a gallery of his failed attempts at making a "Masterpiece". We never learn if the women volunteered for these surgeries or Steinman kidnapped them.

* Andrew Ryan does this to Jack in ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' by showing him a room filled with those who'd opposed him previously, some of which Jack had learned about and gotten to know through the audio diaries but never met.
** Earlier in the game, Dr. Steinman has a gallery of his failed attempts at making a "Masterpiece". We never learn if the women volunteered for these surgeries or Steinman kidnapped them.
** The trope reappears in ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock 2}}'', where [[spoiler: your friendly MissionControl was strapped into a Big Daddy suit and only had control of his mouth and part of his mind. You need to MercyKill him.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', Carl is horrified to realize [[spoiler:his childhood hero, Charles Mintz, has [[GoMadFromTheIsolation gone off the deep end]] when Mintz starts bragging about some aviator helmets belonging to past "visitors" to Paradise Falls. Mintz apparently killed them all in a fit of paranoia, believing they were trying to steal his discovery out from under his nose.]]

* A variation: when the protagonist of ''Manga/{{GUNNM}}'' [[spoiler:wakes up after her HeroicSacrifice]], she is asked by the NeglectfulPrecursors to become their agent on the surface. When she refuses, they show her a picture of what's left of [[spoiler:her ''real'']] body.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Film/SixtyEightKill', the shelves in Dwayne's workshop are lined with glass jars containing body parts from his previous victims. That fact Dwayne and Liza are so sanguine about this is what finally convinces Chip to free Violet and flee.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', Carl is horrified to realize [[spoiler:his childhood hero, Charles Mintz, has [[GoMadFromTheIsolation gone off the deep end]] when Mintz starts bragging about some aviator helmets belonging to past "visitors" to Paradise Falls. Mintz apparently killed them all in a fit of paranoia, believing they were trying to steal his discovery out from under his nose.]]

* During ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', [[BigBad Jail]] sent a taunting broadcast to the [[TheFederation Time-Space Administation Bureau]] showing the rise of the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Saint's Cradle]], including a video of Nanoha's daughter Vivio [[PoweredByAForsakenChild being tortured to power it]]. This was most certainly among the worst ideas in the entire history of bad ideas, contending with heavy-weights like [[Theatre/OedipusRex marrying Jocasta]].

A frequent component of RevengeByProxy, since the point of that is making the hero, not the victim, suffer.

See also FingerInTheMail, CreepySouvenir and ForcedToWatch.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Fan Fic ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''Film/{{Khartoum}}'' the Mahdi has a meeting under truce with General Gordon, to convince him to surrender. Gordon still thinks an expedition he sent down the river to get help has reached safety, until the Mahdi lifts several heads out of various boxes -- all the expedition leaders.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In the 1997 British BlackComedy ''Underworld'', a crime boss takes the protagonist to see the garden of his BigFancyHouse, and shows him the spot where they buried a previous rival who was into being ChainedByFashion. The metal leaching into the soil is apparently quite good for the plants.

[[folder: Pinball ]]

[[folder: Table Top Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''LordOfTheRings'' Sauron's messenger at the Black Gate shows Frodo's armor and cloak and Sam's sword to his companions; Sauron (who doesn't know about the Ring or that there were two hobbit infiltrators) wants to imply that their spy will be [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] if they do not surrender. Gandalf doesn't take the messenger's offer, but ''does'' take the hobbit's things. Especially meta-effective because at this time the reader doesn't yet know about the real circumstances, and so is as clueless as the characters about the hobbits' and the Ring's fate.

* In one ''ForgottenRealms'' novel, Entreri had stolen the statue that allowed Drizzt to summon Guenhwyvar, and let Drizzt see it just long enough for him to figure out what the small object was.

** Earlier in the game, Dr. Steinman has a gallery of his failed attempts at making a �Masterpeice�. We never learn if the women volunteered for these surgeries or Steinman kidnapped them.

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[[AC:FanFic]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Pinball}}]]

[[AC: TableTopGames]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

** Earlier in the game, Dr. Steinman has a gallery of his failed attempts at making a “Masterpeice”. We never learn if the women volunteered for these surgeries or Steinman kidnapped them.

[[AC: WebOriginal]]

* After [[ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] Azil for three years in ''DragonsWinter'', [[BigBad Tenjiro]] sends him back to Karadur broken in both body and soul.

* After [[ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] Azil for over a year in ''DragonsWinter'', [[BigBad Kojiro]] sends him back to Karadur broken in both body and soul.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Ganondorf holds up Midna's broken helmet to demonstrate that he just defeated her -- just before shattering it.

* During ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', [[BigBad Jail]] sent a taunting broadcast to the [[TheFederation Time-Space Administation Bureau]] showing the rise of the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Saint's Cradle]], including a video of the suffering Vivio. This was most certainly among the worst ideas in the entire history of bad ideas, contending with heavy-weights like [[Theatre/OedipusRex marrying Jocasta]].

* [[spoiler:Ami]] in ''SailorNothing'' gets used as an example of this trope.