History Main / PoisonAndCureGambit

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' features an injury-based version: When Amalgam hijacks the new HumongousMecha Mithril was building for Sousuke, Mr. Kalium ([[spoiler:AKA [[FaceHeelTurn Andrei Kalinin]]]]) shoots engineer Gavin Hunter in the gut. He then explains that they're so far away from civilization that Hunter will die a slow, painful death unless he tells Amalgam what they want to know, in which case they'll treat his wound. [[DefiantToTheEnd Hunter tells him to go to Hell.]]
* In ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'', Hermes Pharmaceutical developed a riot suppressant gas which they soon discovered has a 99.8% lethality rate. They sold this to their nation's police anyway and then extorted any rich victims of the gas in exchange for the antidote.
* ''LightNovel/HowNotToSummonADemonLord'': The corrupt Paladin Batutta and the Church have been using magic to infect the townspeople of Zircon Tower City with the deadly Marked Death Disease so that they can make money curing them.

* In Chapter 22 of ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', Naofumi poisons a guard, whom he then tells will die unless he receives an antidote from him. He uses it to turn the guard into a guide to find Melty.

* ''VisualNovel/TheRoyalMasquerade'' has this as part of the villain's EvilPlan. [[spoiler:Renza Fierro, who has been pretending to be Julia's friend up to this point, reveals that all the drinks she gave her out of seeming generosity were actually laced with a slow-acting poison called cantarella, and Julia must help her become queen if she wants her to give her the antidote for it. When Julia refuses, Renza locks her in a room to die from the poison. Julia only survives because she's able to steal the antidote later.]]

* ''VisualNovel/TheRoyalMasquerade'' has this as part of the villain's EvilPlan. [[spoiler:Renza, who has been pretending to be Julia's friend up to this point, reveals that all the drinks she gave her out of seeming generosity were actually laced with a slow-acting poison called cantarella, and Julia must obey her schemes at all times if she wants her to give her the antidote for it. When Julia refuses, Renza locks her in a room to die from the poison. She only survives because she's able to steal the antidote later.]]

** The Doctor does this to a corrupt and compassionless {{Jerkass}} hospital administrator in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E5CriticalCare Critical Care]]"; disgusted at how the civilisation lets certain people die based on their standing in society, the Doctor deliberately infects one of the main hospital staff with a virus so that he would be forced to change his usual procedure in order to be treated himself. This was foreshadowed earlier in the episode when Nelix did something similar to a prisoner they were interrogating about how to find the missing doctor. Neelix tricked him into eating a toxic meal that wasn't deadly but would cause severe pain, which was treatable, but only the doctor was authorized to give the cure, so he would have to tell them where to find the doctor to make the pain stop.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', many turn to the Chaos God Nurgle to escape the effects of a crippling or deadly plague, only to discover Nurgle created it in the first place. The [[TabletopGame/BlackCrusade Tome of Decay]] says Nurgle cultists end up ''happy'' upon learning that, because it means Nurgle took active steps to recruit them, meaning he has "chosen" them.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebVideo/StampysLovelyWorld'': The plot of Episode 760, "Impossible Choice", revolves around this. In Episode 749, "[[MilestoneCelebration Ten Years Later...]]", Stampy's oldest dog Barnaby is poisoned, and the BigBad uses the antidote to save Barnaby's life as leverage for the eponymous Lovely World, forcing Stampy into the titular SadisticChoice between his beloved dog's life and being able to set foot in the community he's been building for over a decade. [[spoiler:Stampy manages to haggle it down to just the Funland, though, and later episodes have him engaging in PassiveAggressiveKombat against the villains to get his minigame paradise back.]]
[[/folder]]

[Lao Che and his goons start laughing and he pulls out a vial]\\

'''Lao Che:''' (begins laughing) The poison you just drank, Dr. Jones!

!!Due to the nature of this trope as a possible plot twist, [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned beware of unmarked spoilers]].

* In one of the ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' books, Nokamma is fatally wounded in a fight. A plant monster called Karkhazani gives her a temporary cure and will only give her a permanent cure if the Toa agree to retrieve a sample of energized protodermis for it, as the plant monster hopes it will turn it into something mobile. In the end, the Toa get the cure, but the plant monster is killed by the energized protodermis instead of transforming.

* This shows up in ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' during the second chapter of [[TheMedic Alfyn's]] path. When he arrives in the town of Goldshore, he finds another apothecary, Vanessa Hysal, has been in the town some time. A fever's plagued the city, and Vanessa's been curing people left and right, asking a pittance from those with plenty and nothing from those with less, claiming that "apothecaries have a sworn duty to ease suffering". A short while later, people around Goldshore start experiencing violent and unceasing coughing fits; Vanessa recognizes it as the "Gaborra whooping cough", and has a cure that she's willing to sell... for an exorbitant price[[labelnote:$]]100,000 [[GlobalCurrency leaves]] a phial; this game believes in MoneyForNothing and the ''player'' is still barely able to make 150,000 leaves from encounters and sellables by the time you can safely make it to Goldshore[[/labelnote]], on grounds of the key reagent being hard to come across. Point A: The whooping cough is entirely Vanessa's fault, due to using Gaborra evergreen in her fever remedy, which is '''known''' among apothecaries to cause inflammation and swelling of the throat. Point B: The reagent for her Gaborra cure is a moss found in abundance in a cave ''just outside of Goldshore''. Point C: Vanessa gave her fever remedy to ''everyone'', and doesn't give a significant portion of a damn what happens to any poor folk who can't afford the Gaborra cure; as far as she's concerned, the people of Goldshore are her walking coin purses, and an empty coin purse is to be thrown away. Alfyn [[TranquilFury is outraged when he realizes what she did]], storms off to the cave where the Glowworm Moss can be found and gives Vanessa [[WhatTheHellHero a piece of his mind]], [[BossBattle his axe]], and a sleeping agent that causes intense {{Guilt Induced Nightmare}}s in anyone it pricks; even one of Alfyn's companions is [[BewareTheNiceOnes visibly disturbed by that last one]].

* [Insert disease here] is occasionally accused of having been intentionally created and introduced into the populace in various {{Urban Legend}}s and UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories.

[[index]]
* PoisonAndCureGambit/AnimeAndManga
* PoisonAndCureGambit/FanWorks
* [[PoisonAndCureGambit/LiveActionFilms Films - Live-Action]]
* PoisonAndCureGambit/{{Literature}}
* PoisonAndCureGambit/LiveActionTV
* PoisonAndCureGambit/VideoGames
* PoisonAndCureGambit/{{Webcomics}}
* PoisonAndCureGambit/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]

[[folder:Jokes]]
* Creator/EmoPhillips told a joke in which as a child, he had a lemonade stand where the first glass was free and the second was $5. The second glass contained the antidote.
* A group of tourists goes on a guided tour of a rubber factory. First they see the floor dedicated to baby pacifiers, then the floor dedicated to condoms. One tourist notices that one in ten condoms is removed from the assembly line, goes through a separate machine, then gets put back with the rest. On asking, he is told that the machine pokes a hole in the condoms that go through it. After all, they've got to sell pacifiers somehow.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', this is the ''modus operandi'' of Darklord Ivan Dilisnya. He created a PerfectPoison called Borrowed Time, which will be a guaranteed kill on anyone at sunset unless they take "Mercy", which is only good for a day. He naturally uses this to ensure loyalty out of all of his employees... and he's not above using Borrowed Time as a recruitment tool.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', many turn to the Chaos God Nurgle to escape the effects of a crippling or deadly plague, only to discover Nurgle created it in the first place. The [[TabletopGame/BlackCrusade Tome of Decay]] says Nurgle cultists end up ''happy'' upon learning that, because it means Nurgle took active steps to recruit them, meaning he has "chosen" them.

[[folder:Urban Legends]]
* [Insert disease here] is occasionally accused of having been intentionally created and introduced into the populace in various {{Urban Legend}}s and UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories.
* The "Big Pharma" conspiracy theory, according to which major pharmaceutical companies are hindering medical research so that affordable medical products can't replace expensive ones and thus reduce profits.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/YoJinBo'' employs this trope, albeit mostly offscreen: In Bo and Ittosai's paths, the ninja Kasumimaru reveals that he persuaded [[spoiler:Ittosai]] to turn [[TheMole mole]] by [[spoiler:managing to cut him with a poisoned knife during battle, and then promising him money and the antidote in return for his help against the heroes]]. Interestingly, Kasumimaru apparently handed over the antidote as soon as the agreement was made, since it's never an issue [[spoiler:even when Ittosai inevitably reneges on the deal]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* There was a thought experiment that played with this trope. The premise was that your best friend is dying of a unique disease, and the only cure is held by a doctor who wants more money for it than you can get. It's supposed to provoke questions of what [[ShadesOfConflict morality]] truly means.
* The S'Hamala or Chumash of California had antap, or medicine men/women, who poisoned enemies and then blackmailed them.
* This trope can get used as an accusation against BribingYourWayToVictory in video games. It's telling if a game has a tough obstacle or major inconvenience that is easily solved with a cash-exclusive item that seems almost tailor-made for that...

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': During the Assassination Island arc, [[spoiler: half of the class is infected with a deadly SynthethicPlague by an unknown enemy, who demands that the class surrenders Koro-sensei for the cure. The second half of the arc revolves around the remaining half of the class infiltrating the hotel where the enemy has set up base in order to steal the cure. After the arc's climax, however, the assassins who engineered and released the plague reveal that since they knew that their employer Takaoka was going to destroy the cure and [[PragmaticVillainy they didn't want the stigma of being responsible for a bunch of middle schoolers dying]], they only used a plague that looked deadly, but would have healed on its own.]]
* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': After one of his Homunculus embryo [[EvilGenius the Papillon Mask Creator]] attaches itself to [[ActionGirlfriend Tokiko]], he offers [[StockShonenHero Kazuki]] a cure in exchange for Kazuki's [[MacGuffin Kakugane]], a rare [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemical device]] that can turn into a powerful weapon and possesses healing properties. This is also an unintentional XanatosGambit, given that the cure [[spoiler:is a useless fake]] - if Kazuki makes the trade, then Papillon gets to study Kakugane technology and he ''still'' gets to turn one of his greatest enemies (at the time) into a minion. If not, then he loses out on the Kakugane but still gets Tokiko as a minion. However, because the Kakugane is what brought Kazuki BackFromTheDead, he can't remove it or he'll die [[spoiler:so he doesn't make the trade and accidentally knocks out the Papillon Mask Creator with one punch, at which point Tokiko arrives and tells him that the cure was fake.]]
* Attempted in the 2001 ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'' series. The Egypt episode has a bunch of villains whose plan culminates in dropping a bomb filled with poison into Cairo, while the team and ''especially'' [[TheHeart Francoise]] (who is in full ItsPersonal mode, and [[SuperSenses has the perfect powers]] [[WrenchWench to defuse the crisis]]) attempts to defuse it.
* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' features an injury-based version: When Amalgam hijacks the new HumongousMecha Mithril was building for Sousuke, Mr. Kalium ([[spoiler:AKA [[FaceHeelTurn Andrei Kalinin]]]]) shoots engineer Gavin Hunter in the gut. He then explains that they're so far away from civilization that Hunter will die a slow, painful death unless he tells Amalgam what they want to know, in which case they'll treat his wound. [[DefiantToTheEnd Hunter tells him to go to Hell.]]
* In ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'', Hermes Pharmaceutical developed a riot suppressant gas which they soon discovered has a 99.8% lethality rate. They sold this to their nation's police anyway and then extorted any rich victims of the gas in exchange for the antidote.
* ''LightNovel/HowNotToSummonADemonLord'': The corrupt Paladin Batutta and the Church have been using magic to infect the townspeople of Zircon Tower City with the deadly Marked Death Disease so that they can make money curing them.
* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', Joseph manages to appeal to Wamuu's BloodKnight nature by convincing him that [[ScheherezadeGambit if he was given a month to train, then he could give him the fight of his life]]. Wamuu ends up agreeing but puts this trope into play to make sure he doesn't weasel out of their battle. It turns out that he and his fellow [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Pillar Men]] all carry hollow rings filled with deadly poison, which he fuses into Joseph's heart using his powers. In 33 days, the ring will break apart and release the poison within, killing Joseph. The only way to safely remove the ring (and the poison within) is by taking the antidote held in Wamuu's mouth piercing. To further complicate things, Wammu's cohort Esidisi fuses his own ring into Joseph's throat, and that ring can only be neutralized by the antidote within his nose piercing, thus necessitating defeating him as well. Their leader Kars mercifully decides not to put in his own ring, not as interested in Joseph as the other Pillar Men are.
* In ''Anime/NinjaScroll'', Dakuan (a spy for the Tokugawa government) forcibly recruits MasterSwordsman Jubei to help him prevent a group of super ninjas from completing a scheme that would help overthrow the government by making use of this trope. Jubei has already had several run-ins with the ninjas in question, but declines to help Dakuan and is about to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere simply walk away from the whole situation]] when Dakuan reveals that [[StockNinjaWeaponry a shuriken]] that Dakuan used on Jubei earlier was poisoned, and Jubei will die within days unless he helps Dakuan.
* In Chapter 22 of ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', Naofumi poisons a guard, whom he then tells will die unless he receives an antidote from him. He uses it to turn the guard into a guide to find Melty.
* In one chapter of ''Manga/RurouniKenshin: Restoration'', a corrupt doctor acquires a vial of smallpox and intends to infect a town with it so he can make money curing them. Fortunately, Kenshin, a good doctor, and a cart driver are able to stop him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fic ''[[https://jeconais.fanficauthors.net/Perfect_Situations/Perfect_Situations/ Perfect Situations]]'', in order to get Draco Malfoy and his goons to leave her alone, Daphne Greengrass force-feed him what she claims is a poison that will be lethal in ten months' time and says that he can have the antidote at the end of the year if he behaves himself. Actually, it's all a bluff.
* Alfred Pennyworth uses a variation against Xander in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11206143/10/The-Plagiarist The Plagiarist]]'' in that he administers the antidote first, then offers the poison once Xander proves to not be a threat. As he explains, several antidotes are equally deadly as their poisons if they have nothing to counteract, and while many might have an AcquiredPoisonImmunity, no one does the same with antidotes.
* In ''Fanfic/VengeanceOfDawn'', Breaking Dawn, a disgraced former student of Princess Celestia, slips an amnesia-inducing poison into Cadence's drink, planning to "miraculously" cure her later as part of her plan to get back into Celestia's good graces. [[MissingStepsPlan She doesn't actually have a cure for the poison]] and is relying on her friend [[TheSmartGuy Laurel]] to come up with one. [[spoiler:Twilight beats her to the punch by purging Cadence of the poison's dark magic first.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' fic, ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21447313?view_full_work=true Final Stand of Death]]'', it was revealed in Deathbowl ‘98, [[spoiler: Mel and Victoria]] weren’t killed in the lighting collision, rather they [[spoiler: died of heart attacks]]. It was once thought due to shock after either knowing or seeing what happened to [[spoiler: Emma, Geri, Melanie, and the [[{{Music/Hanson}} Hanson brothers]]. Later on, after abandoning their Fusion Gundam disguises and Music/MelanieC (who was left behind for a reason), [[spoiler: Music/SpiceGirls]] wondered why were they [[InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath in a match against Hanson]] when there was no reason, according to them. [[Series/TheXFiles Gillian]] informs them that they had [[spoiler: arsenic]] in their system, and heart failure is one of the deadlier effects. Cue Nick saying something about stealing.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* This happens in the live-action ''Manga/BlackButler'' movie, with a poison that causes mummification.
* The villain of the Matt [=McColm=] action movie ''Body Armor'' creates nasty viruses and makes money off them by then selling the cure.
* ''Film/Dune1984'': Mentat Thufir Hawat is required to milk a cat daily for the antidote to the poison he has been administered by the Harkonnens.
* In ''Film/EscapeFromLA'', Snake is infected with the Plutoxin 7 virus, which will kill him in ten hours unless he gets the President's daughter and the {{EMP}} satellite control device she stole. Subverted in that [[spoiler:at the end, it's revealed that "Plutoxin 7" is merely a fast-acting, hard-hitting case of... the flu]].
* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'':
** ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' involves a one-person version of this trope in the ColdOpen where Indiana is tricked into drinking poison. "And now, doctor Jones, you give me the diamond."
** ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' has a more lethal variation in which Donovan shoots Indy's father in the stomach to coerce Indy into retrieving the Holy Grail. "You can't save him when you're dead! The healing power of the Grail is the only thing that can save your father now! It's time to ask yourself what you believe!"
* In ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'', it's a bit more subtle than usual: The BigBad wants stock options of a company he sold the antidote to, allowing him to get his share when said company makes big bucks.
* In ''Film/TheMonsterMaker'', Dr. Markoff infects Lawrence with acromegaly and refuses to supply the cure unless Lawrence's daughter Patricia [[ScarpiaUltimatum agrees to marry him]].
* The film ''Film/PhaseIV2002'' turns out to have this as the motive for the murders: [[spoiler:A pharmaceutical company murders everyone who knows they've created an actual cure for AIDS, because current lifelong care is more lucrative.]]
* Quite a few of Jigsaw's {{Death Trap}}s in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series involve exposing victims to a slow-acting poison and then forcing them into a LifeOrLimbDecision to get the antidote. ''Film/SawII'' has likely the most notable example: the main game's victims are trapped in a house that's filling up with DeadlyGas, with multiple antidotes scattered throughout and locked behind various traps.
* In ''Film/SecretAgentSuperDragon'', the BigBad used this to coerce some spies to turn DoubleAgent. Of course, being the Big Bad, he never got around to giving those he turned the antidote.
* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'': What Shredder and Eric Sacks's EvilPlan amounts to; they will unleash a lethal biotoxin upon New York City, and then profit from selling an antidote derived from mutagen extracted from the Turtles' blood.
* In ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'', BigBad Daxus plans to unleash a plague targeting humans, to which he has the cure. This is because hemophages are nearly extinct, and he needs a new plague to justify the Arch-Ministry's continued existence.
* ''Film/VForVendetta'': The Norsefire group get their position by spreading a plague through several areas, and blaming it on supposed captured terrorists. Its leader Sulter wins the election by a landslide, and the party then distributes a cure through a medical company they control.

[[folder:Jokes]]
* Creator/EmoPhillips told a joke in which as a child, he had a lemonade stand where the first glass was free and the second was $5. The second glass contained the antidote.
* A group of tourists goes on a guided tour of a rubber factory. First they see the floor dedicated to baby pacifiers, then the floor dedicated to condoms. One tourist notices that one in ten condoms is removed from the assembly line, goes through a separate machine, then gets put back with the rest. On asking, he is told that the machine pokes a hole in the condoms that go through it. After all, they've got to sell pacifiers somehow.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Used in ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' - several of the protagonists claim to have dosed a pair of corrupt rat catchers with poison and force them to explain their scam in order to get the antidote. However, the "poison" was actually [[LaxativePrank a laxative]], and the "antidote" is... more laxatives. One of the protagonists actually wants to use real poison, but another talks him out of it.
* At one point, ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' tricks a sprite into drinking a bottle of Holy Water, then offers her a shot of magical springwater that will counteract the Holy Water's effects in exchange for the opportunity to study The Book (the fairy equivalent of the bible).
* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', the Nyissan court tries this when Garion is briefly MadeASlave, dosing him with drugs that will kill him from withdrawal if he doesn't continue to receive them. Or that would, if he wasn't a sorcerer who can transmute his blood to purge the drugs from his system. Cue the OhCrap from a queen facing down TheChosenOne and his legendary sorceress aunt with a sudden lack of leverage.
* In ''Literature/BestServedCold'' by Joe Abercrombie, master poisoner Castor Morveer and his apprentice Day use this a number of times. In some instances the trope is played straight, while in other cases there was actually no poison at all; in one of ''those'' cases, the proffered antidote is actually the real poison.
* In one of the ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' books, Nokamma is fatally wounded in a fight. A plant monster called Karkhazani gives her a temporary cure and will only give her a permanent cure if the Toa agree to retrieve a sample of energized protodermis for it, as the plant monster hopes it will turn it into something mobile. In the end, the Toa get the cure, but the plant monster is killed by the energized protodermis instead of transforming.
* A variation occurs in John Collier's famous story ''The Chaser'': TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday sells a LovePotion for a pittance which the owner strongly implies will turn the main character's beloved into a LoveFreak. The antidote in this case is the "chaser" of the title, which is some sort of poison to "solve" that problem.
* The villainous corporation in ''Confessions of Super-Mom'' makes both insulin and cereal, and deliberately uses the cereal to give children diabetes.
* As part of the BigBad's BoxedCrook gambit in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' ExpandedUniverse novel ''Mission: Impractical'', he doses the Sixth Doctor, Sabalom Glitz, and their companions with a poison and offers them the cure as additional incentive to do his bidding. Moments after reluctantly agreeing and leaving, Six reveals to the companions the poison doesn't work on Time Lords and uses Glitz's supplies to whip up a cure, which he passes around. [[{{Troll}} Glitz isn't informed he's already cured]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments until the end]].
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', Harry pulls a unique subversion by poisoning ''himself'' so that he can [[StopOrIShootMyself strong-arm a faerie with an interest in his survival]] into cooperating with his plan.
* Seen in ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' in a unique variant, directed at one person. When Thufir Hawat is captured by the Harkonnens, they administer a "latent" poison to him that will remain in the body but can be temporarily neutralized by frequent ingestion of an antidote. The technological poison sniffers won't register the antidote, which is harmless, and the poison within his body can't be detected. If the antidote is withdrawn, the poison will activate.
* ''Literature/TheElderScrollsInUniverseBooks'': In ''[[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:A_Game_at_Dinner A Game at Dinner]]'', Prince Hlaalu Helseth of Morrowind holds a banquet, and then informs the guests after the meal that he has [[CleanFoodPoisonedFork poisoned the utensils]] of those who were spying on him for other nobles. He offers a glass of antidote to anyone who confesses. [[spoiler:The "antidote" is actually the poison; the man who takes it, and admits to spying for Helseth's stepsister the Queen of Wayrest, dies in agony. The anonymous narrator, himself a spy for Helseth's vassal House Dres, remained silent and is horrified enough by the experience to beg his mistress for reassignment.]]
* This is the plan of [[spoiler:Père Noël]] in ''LightNovel/GiftFromThePrincessWhoBroughtSleep'', having [[spoiler:Margarita make an airborne toxin of Gift]] and selling the cure on the black market. The only problem is that [[spoiler:Margarita wanted to just kill everyone with the poison]].
* Occurs twice in the ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'' series.
** In ''The Lies of Locke Lamora'', the Spider poisons Locke and promises him the antidote only if he agrees to help her. [[spoiler:He immediately knocks her unconscious and loots the antidote.]]
** In ''Literature/RedSeasUnderRedSkies'', Archon Stragos poisons Locke and Jean and demands their help in exchange for the antidote. [[spoiler:Stragos's alchemist only creates enough antidote for one person before he dies, and Locke and Jean are forced to flee the city. Later, Jean insists Locke be the one who drinks it, only for Locke to reveal he already slipped it into Jean's finished drink.]]
* In ''[[Literature/OldMansWar The Ghost Brigades]]'', the CDF induces an organ failure in a captured alien scientist that will kill him after several hours of painful seizures unless they give him an "antidote" that will stabilize his lymph analogs, temporarily. He talks.
* In the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', this gambit is used to ensure that Arya can't escape prison, as only her captors have the antidote.
* In ''Literature/{{Jhereg}}'', Vlad and Kragar uncover an episode of this in the history of their target, Mellar: He won a noble's favor and aid by getting said noble in touch with a witch that could cure a plague. Mellar had hired the same witch to ''spread'' that plague to create that opportunity in the first place.
* Creator/BarbaraHambly's novel ''Literature/TheLadiesOfMandrigyn'' pulls a particularly delicious version of this gambit: At the beginning of the book, a poisoner slips Sun Wolf a particularly dreadful poison and then casts spells daily to keep it from affecting him, but will not remove it from his system until he's completed a task. Much later, [[spoiler:he decides dying horribly is better than the alternatives, and escapes to crawl off and suffer the effects of the poison... which turns out to be the lost shamanic initiation everyone's been searching for the whole book. It's just better known as a poison because it ''is'' torturous and only a few are equipped to survive it.]]
* In the ''Literature/{{Lionboy}}'' books, [[spoiler:the Corporation]] induced an asthma epidemic in the general population in order to sell inhalers.
* In the ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' novel ''Literature/AgentsOfArtifice'', Gemreth's demon injects Jace with a painful venom before it interrogates him, promising the antidote if he passes the test.
* In Creator/WilliamGibson's ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'', protagonist Henry Case betrayed a prior client and was punished with a toxin that crippled his ability to access cyberspace. His present employer heals the nerve damage as payment, then implants sacs of the same toxin as insurance.
* The [[MegaCorp Corporations]] of ''Literature/OryxAndCrake'', particularly [=HelthWyzer=], made a business out of creating new diseases, inserting them into their vitamin supplements, and then selling the proprietary cures at high prices. This practice comes back to bite the human race in the butt later, when [[TheChessmaster Crake]] takes it to the next level.
* An ImpliedTrope in Steinbeck's ''Literature/ThePearl''. After being stung by the scorpion, Coyotito seems fine until the doctor gives him a pill and says he thinks the poison will hit within an hour. Sure enough, it does and the doctor then cures him. Even the uneducated Kino is very suspicious.
* Seen a few times in ''Literature/PerryRhodan'', typically as a longer-term blackmail plot: apply a relatively subtle, slow-acting but deadly futuristic poison to the victim (or, [[KickTheDog for extra dog-kicking points]], to somebody ''else'' the victim cares about), then regularly supply them with just enough counteragent to keep the poison in check but not actually neutralize it for good. The method has been used by planetary dictators, intelligence agencies of the more unscrupulous persuasion, and at least one starship captain using it to blackmail her own (admittedly likewise shady) ''crew''; naturally, employing it is a pretty good sign of the perpetrator having crossed the {{moral event horizon}} some time ago.
* In ''[[Literature/IxiaAndSitia Poison Study]]'', this is how the commander's food taster is kept loyal, with a dose of the cure needed every day. To make it harder for the subject to obtain another supply of the cure, [[spoiler:the poison does not exist. The "cure" is an addictive drug with painful withdrawal symptoms.]]
* [[EpicFail Fails epically]] in the first book of Creator/JohnRingo and Creator/DavidWeber's ''Literature/PrinceRoger'' series. Roger and his Marines are poisoned and ordered to fight for a tin-pot dictator with this gambit... which backfires amazingly because [[BizarreAlienBiology they're from a totally different planet]]. Even worse for the would-be poisoner, the poison used actually ''helps'' the humans, inspiring TheMedic to check another poison for providing a mineral necessary for biological functions but unable to be manufactured by their food replicators, and finding that it can help stretch out the supplements required by the civilian team lacking the nannites doing the conversions.
* ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'' gives a twisted example, regarding how the title character became a vampire. Darren's friend Steve asked the vampire Mr. Crepsley to blood him, but Crepsley refused. Darren, who is obsessed with spiders, can't resist stealing the extremely poisonous one that Crepsley performs in the circus with. But when the spider bites Steve, Crepsley says that he will only give the antidote to save Steve's life if Darren agrees to join him as a vampire. To add another twist on top, it was ''someone'''s, plan, but not Crepsley's -- both Darren and Steve are about 12 years old, and blooding children is illegal. Crepsley was manipulated into it by Mr. Des Tiny, who then goes on to manipulate Steve into believing that Darren conspired with Crepsley to poison him in the first place...
* ''Literature/AScannerDarkly'': [[spoiler:New Path]] is behind Substance D while providing rehabilitation for its addicted users, which also includes doing farm work - growing more of the drug.
* In ''Literature/TheSpaceMerchants'', advertising companies use unethical methods to get people to buy their products. The drink Coffiest contains an addictive alkaloid that gets you hooked for life. There's a cure, but it's so expensive it's cheaper to just keep drinking the stuff.
* ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'':
** One person who tries RecruitingTheCriminal Jim [=DiGriz=] doses him with a slow-acting poison and promises him the antidote upon completion of his mission. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} when Jim does so, then belatedly realizes he's passed the deadline by which the poison was to take effect; the employer later admits that it was a bluff.]]
** In ''The Stainless Steel Rat for President'', a [[IHaveYourWife member of Jim's family is captured]], so Jim surrenders himself. He's completely strip-searched, but the SecretPolice fails to realise that Jim has impregnated a deadly virus into his fingernails, which he uses to scratch the dictator. Jim then agrees to provide the antidote if everyone is released. However, as Jim refuses to kill, he was just bluffing about the virus, which is actually a mild toxin to provide the symptoms, with an injection of water as the antidote.
* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''[[Literature/VorkosiganSaga Vorkosigan]]'' series, Baron Fell of Jackson's Whole has this as the basis of most of his business, selling both traditional military weaponry and their defenses, as well as manufacturing chemical and biological weapons along with their cures.
* Early in ''Literature/TheWellOfMoments'', Jasmine pulls this on a client who tried to stiff her out of payment. [[spoiler:It gets turned back on her later by someone else.]]
* Thomas of Magnus, the ''hero'' of Sigmund Brouwer's ''Literature/{{Wings of Dawn}}'', uses this -- the price of being given regular doses of antidote is continued cooperation from the [[AncientConspiracy agents]] pursuing him, all of whom claim to be with the good guys and want him to join them. [[spoiler:In reality, this is a BatmanGambit to weed out which side is lying; knowing that the villains have [[CombatPragmatist fewer compunctions about fighting dirty]] and [[OutGambitted think they're smarter than he is]], Thomas is slipping non-lethal doses into every meal and providing them with flavored water as the "antidote". When he "inadvertently" allows them enough information to determine the recipe of the supposed antidote, the villain works it out and seizes the opportunity to... [[HoistByHisOwnPetard poison himself]]. OOPS.]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AlmostHuman'' has one episode involving an organ-trafficking scheme in which people desperately in need of new hearts are fitted with bio-mechanical hearts that are set to fail after thirty days. The timer can be reset, of course, for a very exorbitant fee.
* ''Series/TheAmericans'': Philip and Elisabeth poison the son of the Secretary of Defense's maid in order to get her to steal a clock and then return it after they've planted a bug on it.
* In the fifth season of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', it is revealed that one of Oliver's off-screen victims as "The Hood" in the first season was Justin Claybourne, a man who first got involved with a black market group to spread weaponized polio in one of the poorer areas of Starling City, then bought up exclusive rights to a new polio cure and offered to sell it at exorbitant prices.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** Edgars Industries create a virus that kills only telepaths, but also make a cure. They intend to turn some into slaves and kill the rest. [=PsiCorps=] itself finds out about this and takes messy revenge. (They keep the cure.)
** In another episode, a dual-latent-poison version (similar to the ''Dune'' example above) is used. When Lord Refa visits Londo on Babylon 5, Londo has a drink waiting for him. Londo asks Refa to end his association with [[spoiler:Mr Morden and the Shadows]], and when Refa asks why he would do that, Londo famously replies:
--->'''Londo:''' Because I have asked you; because your sense of duty to our people should override any personal ambition; and because I have poisoned your drink.
::: : Then, Londo explains to Refa that the poison won't kill him right away, but rather would fester in his body and not do anything, but turn deadly when it met a second poison, which is also harmless on its own, and which Londo also has and is capable of administering (remember, having a taster won't help, since the taster won't be susceptible to the second poison). Refa complies. For a while.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven'':
** In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS1E3CygnusAlpha Cygnus Alpha]]", a ScamReligion has been created around this trope, as the high priest has the only stocks of a medicine that must be administered for the rest of your life to fight off a local disease. Later he reveals that the disease is harmless and burns itself out in a few days.
** In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E3Traitor Traitor]]", the protagonists encounter Forbus, a ReluctantMadScientist who's been refining a brainwashing drug. Turns out [[BigBad Servalan]] infected him with a disease that causes an agonising death. After making him a cripple, she doles out an antidote that keeps the infection at bay, as long as he continues his work. Forbus constructs a homemade bomb to [[TakingYouWithMe kill them both]], but unfortunately Servalan shoots him first.
* ''Series/BurnNotice''
** A first season episode has an assassin trying to kill Michael. Near the end of the episode, the assassin has a hot dog and goes into anaphylactic shock because Michael sprinkled crushed peanuts on his hot dog (the man being violently allergic to peanuts), then took his epipen. The assassin talks as much as he can until he loses consciousness.
** A later episode has Michael and Sam ''pretending'' to do this to force a middle man to play along with selling Michael's services to the VillainOfTheWeek. They jab a syringe filled with a harmless substance into him and tell him it'll kill him without an (equally fake) antidote, which they will only provide if he cancels the actual guy said villain wanted to hire and sells Michael as the expert he needs.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens The Pandorica Opens]]", River Song pulls one of these while negotiating the sale of a [[TimeMachine Vortex Manipulator]] with a black market salesman in a bar.
-->'''River:''' This is a Callisto Pulse. It can disarm micro-explosives from up to 40 feet.\\
'''Dorium:''' Interesting. What kind of micro-explosives? ''[drinks wine]''\\
'''River:''' The kind I just put in your wine.
* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Two Deaths of Hercule Flambeau", [[spoiler:Lisandra]] poisons Father Brown with a poison that will take [[ExactTimeToFailure 35 hours to kill him]]. She says she will provide him with the antidote if he persuades Flambeau to surrender the stolen holy artifact to her.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Tyene Sand insists that Bronn call her the most beautiful woman he's ever seen before giving him the antidote.
* A variation in ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' in that it's the ''hero'' who pulls it off, using a villain's ploy against them. On realizing that Morgana is the source of the spell that renders all of Camelot under an enchanted sleep, Merlin tricks her into drinking water spiked with hemlock. As she lays dying Morgause (who cast the spell in the first place) bursts in and Merlin breaks a deal with her: he'll give her the name of the poison if she lifts the spell over Camelot. She agrees in order to save Morgana's life (though if she hadn't, the spell would have been broken anyway with Morgana's death).
* Gogol's introductory episode in ''Series/{{Nikita}}'' has the Russian paramilitary group capture Nikita and inject her with a Division-developed poison, with the antidote to be administered after she completes an assassination for them. [[spoiler:Alex manages to smuggle the antidote out of Division for Nikita, who then ensures the assassination fails.]]
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** VillainOfTheWeek Kivas Fajo pulls this in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E22TheMostToys The Most Toys]]" when he poisons the water supply of a Federation colony so he can then sell the cure to the ''Enterprise''. However, his real goal is to get his hands on Data so that he can add a Soong-type android to his collection of rare things. One of the things that tips off the ''Enterprise'' crew that Kivas is up to something is when they find out he happens to be transporting ''exactly'' as much of the (very rare) cure as is needed to restore the water supply, no more and no less. Plus, the fact that tricyanate is MUCH more expensive to manufacturer than the cure (hytritium), so he would not make a profit on this venture (quite the opposite, it would cause him a huge loss).
** The Doctor does this to a corrupt and compassionless {{Jerkass}} hospital administrator on an episode of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''; disgusted at how the civilisation lets certain people die based on their standing in society, the Doctor deliberately infects one of the main hospital staff with a virus so that he would be forced to change his usual procedure in order to be treated himself.
* Elizabeth does this to get Jim out of prison in the season finale of ''Series/TerraNova''. [[spoiler:She was bluffing. The "cure" she injected was a sedative.]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', this is the ''modus operandi'' of Darklord Ivan Dilisnya. He created a PerfectPoison called Borrowed Time, which will be a guaranteed kill on anyone at sunset unless they take "Mercy", which is only good for a day. He naturally uses this to ensure loyalty out of all of his employees... and he's not above using Borrowed Time as a recruitment tool.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', many turn to the Chaos God Nurgle to escape the effects of a crippling or deadly plague, only to discover Nurgle created it in the first place. The [[TabletopGame/BlackCrusade Tome of Decay]] says Nurgle cultists end up ''happy'' upon learning that, because it means Nurgle took active steps to recruit them, meaning he has "chosen" them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Urban Legends]]
* [Insert disease here] is occasionally accused of having been intentionally created and introduced into the populace in various {{Urban Legend}}s and UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories.
* The "Big Pharma" conspiracy theory, according to which major pharmaceutical companies are hindering medical research so that affordable medical products can't replace expensive ones and thus reduce profits.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The original ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' has a side-quest where you're poisoned by an assassin, so you'll die in 10 days if his partner in crime isn't ready to help you... for a price [[spoiler:of removing the geas his "partner" put on him to make him cooperate]].
* ComicBook/TheJoker does this in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', poisoning Franchise/{{Batman}} with the same disease that's slowly killing him and making the Dark Knight find a cure. Batman merely responds that he's fine with both of them dying, but the Joker anticipated that and managed to poison people all over Gotham with it, so now Batman ''really'' has to find a cure. Ultimately, [[spoiler:Batman cures himself, and WordOfGod is that he manages to save Gotham, but the Joker's actions lead to him not getting the cure and, so he dies]].
* In [[spoiler:the third time loop of]] ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', [=DeRosa=], Profiteur, and Dr. Qada plan to do this but are stopped by your party before they can get started. Qada, who created both the poison and the cure, has a hard time deciding whether he wants his name to go down in history as the great hero that created the cure, [[EvilIsCool or the diabolical villain that created the]] ''[[EvilIsCool poison]]''.
* Played with in the ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' franchise, as the company which holds the zombie plague medicine Zombrex has to intentionally start outbreaks in order to create the medicine. The price for Zombrex is high due to the company's high research costs but gets extortionate for people in an outbreak due to the normal issues of supply and demand. They also claim to be researching a permanent cure for the zombie virus and has so far managed to make Zombrex last for 24 hours as opposed to twelve.
** The cure is finally developed in the aftermath of ''VideoGame/DeadRising3'' when one of the orphans made immune by Carlito Keyes is discovered. (It just happens to the PlayerCharacter, Nick Ramos.)
* Used on a global scale in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'', with the synthetic disease "The Gray Death" (and very expensive vaccine "Ambrosia").
* What kicks off the plot of ''VideoGame/JakX''. During the reading of Krew's last will, Krew reveals in a recording that he always wanted to win the Combat Racing Championship and demands that everyone present drive for him, revealing that the wine they toasted with was poisoned with minute doses of a slow-acting poison known as Black Shade. Krew gives them an ultimatum: win the next Kras City Championship as his team and receive the antidote when they win, or die.
* In Nugget's and Ms. Applegate's routes of ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten}}'', Nugget has the protagonist eat a chicken nugget to prove he wants to be his friend. He later reveals that the nugget was poisoned and that the protagonist will die at the end of lunch if he doesn't get the antidote, which Nugget will only give him if he can get [[BarbaricBully Buggs]] to eat another, more potent poison nugget.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', one path through the level 11 quest takes you through the Copperhead Club, where you encounter the owner Shen Copperhead. Each time you meet him, he poisons you, and won't remove the poison (or give you the PlotCoupon you came there for) unless you go on a FetchQuest for him... and when you do, he does it again, despite all your best efforts to avoid it. Eventually, you get fed up with him and just beat him up and take it from him.
* It's strongly implied that Agahnim[[note]]who was possibly (part of) Ganon in disguise; it's not clear[[/note]] did this (releasing a plague into Hyrule, then arriving incognito as a sorcerer able to halt the plague) in the lead-up to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''.
* As the plot of the GameMod ''[[VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Marathon Rubicon]]'' unfolds, [[spoiler:the player can learn that this is ThePlan of Dangi Corporation. Which of the game's endings you get hinges on whether the player does anything to stop it. Naturally, the ending where the player does nothing to stop it is ''not pleasant''.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'', Dr. Wily secretly spreads the Roboenza virus to afflict robots and leave humans helpless, then reveals that he caused it and says that anyone who wants to cure their robots should come work for him.
* The title character in ''Nick Chase and the Deadly Diamond'' is forced to steal the stone in order to receive the antidote to the toxin "Mr. X" had poisoned him with.
* This shows up in ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' during the second chapter of [[TheMedic Alfyn's]] path. When he arrives in the town of Goldshore, he finds another apothecary, Vanessa Hysal, has been in the town some time. A fever's plagued the city, and Vanessa's been curing people left and right, asking a pittance from those with plenty and nothing from those with less, claiming that "apothecaries have a sworn duty to ease suffering". A short while later, people around Goldshore start experiencing violent and unceasing coughing fits; Vanessa recognizes it as the "Gaborra whooping cough", and has a cure that she's willing to sell... for an exorbitant price[[labelnote:$]]100,000 [[GlobalCurrency leaves]] a phial; this game believes in MoneyForNothing and the ''player'' is still barely able to make 150,000 leaves from encounters and sellables by the time you can safely make it to Goldshore[[/labelnote]], on grounds of the key reagent being hard to come across. Point A: The whooping cough is entirely Vanessa's fault, due to using Gaborra evergreen in her fever remedy, which is '''known''' among apothecaries to cause inflammation and swelling of the throat. Point B: The reagent for her Gaborra cure is a moss found in abundance in a cave ''just outside of Goldshore''. Point C: Vanessa gave her fever remedy to ''everyone'', and doesn't give a significant portion of a damn what happens to any poor folk who can't afford the Gaborra cure; as far as she's concerned, the people of Goldshore are her walking coin purses, and an empty coin purse is to be thrown away. Alfyn [[TranquilFury is outraged when he realizes what she did]], storms off to the cave where the Glowworm Moss can be found and gives Vanessa [[WhatTheHellHero a piece of his mind]], [[BossBattle his axe]], and a sleeping agent that causes intense {{Guilt Induced Nightmare}}s in anyone it pricks; even one of Alfyn's companions is [[BewareTheNiceOnes visibly disturbed by that last one]].
-->'''Alfyn:''' What happened to your "sworn duty to ease suffering?"\\
'''Vanessa:''' Here's some advice, little puppy. [[BitchInSheepsClothing Don't trust anything you can get for free.]] A stately mansion, lavish dresses, fine wine... [[ItsAllAboutMe Why shouldn't everything I want be mine?]]\\
'''Alfyn:''' You're free to have what you want, but I won't let you deceive the weak and vulnerable to get it. Using your knowledge to inflict pain for profit? You're a disgrace to our profession. Doesn't it make you feel anything to see people suffer?\\
'''Vanessa:''' [[LackOfEmpathy Should it?]] The ailing, the injured... They're just means to an end. [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals Just like the kittens I test my tonics on.]] They bring me leaves by the bucket. And when they've outlived their usefulness... they die. Do you cry when you toss away a broken flask? [[TheSociopath Well then, why should I?]]
* ''VideoGame/PresentableLiberty'' has this as part of the backstory, but with a twist: The cure ends up causing organ failure. [[BigBad Dr. Money]] tries capitalizing on this too by selling new organs, but they tend to fail very rapidly[[labelnote:*]]The Money box in the prequel game ''VideoGame/ExoptableMoney'' can generate organs late into the game. Presumably this is where these bad organs are coming from[[/labelnote]]. [[spoiler:Turns out, a legitimate cure does exist, and you were injected with it so your organs would become incredibly valuable.]]
* In the real-time tactics game ''VideoGame/SoldiersOfAnarchy'', TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt was caused by a virus that caused uncontrollable cellular mutations quickly followed by death. During the game, the COTUC route has the player's squad finding out that [[spoiler:the epidemic was caused by NOAH's predecessor, a medical firm who engineered the virus in order to get rich on the vaccine... [[SubvertedTrope only for the cure to prove ineffective]]]], while the NOAH route implies [[spoiler:COTUC somehow had a working cure all along, probably [[NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup having stolen it out of NOAH's labs after sabotaging the original research]] [[WithholdingTheCure to make their own survival appear miraculous to the common folk]]]]. Now, [[spoiler:NOAH]] are getting close to synthesizing the cure once more and are actively [[TheAtoner trying to restore the world as atonement]] while [[spoiler:COTUC]] are not only experimenting with the virus to make it even deadlier but intend to eliminate [[spoiler:NOAH]] as well to secure their position as the last major power in the world - ''fully intending to release the improved virus if they think they're losing''.[[note]][[GodzillaThreshold Which they attempt to do]] if the player attacks their headquarters.[[/note]] [[BlackAndGrayMorality Hoooly shit!]]
* In the final chapter of ''VideoGame/TitanicAdventureOutOfTime'', Colonel Zeitel has poisoned Lady Georgia. He demands the painting for the antidote.
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' has a non-poison version. Mystia Lorelei uses her blindness-inducing MagicMusic to sell grilled lamprey to humans as a blindness cure, with the intent of getting them so used to fish [[CarnivoreConfusion they stop eating poultry]] (she's a bird youkai).
* ''VisualNovel/YoJinBo'' employs this trope, albeit mostly offscreen: In Bo and Ittosai's paths, the ninja Kasumimaru reveals that he persuaded [[spoiler:Ittosai]] to turn [[TheMole mole]] by [[spoiler:managing to cut him with a poisoned knife during battle, and then promising him money and the antidote in return for his help against the heroes]]. Interestingly, Kasumimaru apparently handed over the antidote as soon as the agreement was made, since it's never an issue [[spoiler:even when Ittosai inevitably reneges on the deal]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', Matoya poisons the "Light Warriors" to coerce them into retrieving her magic eye for her. However, because she's blind, she doesn't realize which poison she'd given them, and it turns out to be the one that causes sanity-straining nightmares.
* Subverted in ''Webcomic/{{Dreamkeepers}}'', where the poison the Resistance gave to a corrupt official is incurable, but slow and painful. They offer to give him a painless suicide capsule if he talks.
* In ''Webcomic/DrowTales'', this forms two key elements of [[BigBad Snadhya'rune]]'s strategy to get elected Empress and force her own "[[{{Narcissist}} enlightened]]" views down everyone's throats.
** Snadhya'rune runs a nether cult that is obsessed with the idea of tainting, which basically involves infecting a [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fae]]'s soul with a demon, and as such has been spreading the taint far and wide. Getting tainted generally means being consumed by the demon, but Snadhya'rune [[spoiler:has learned how to master control over it via SplitPersonalityMerge]] and is promoting it as a form of "enlightenment". At least two of the people Snadhya'rune has "enlightened" completely switch loyalties, leading some to fear that Snadhya'rune is utilizing it as a means of brainwashing.
** She threatens to annihilate all of the clans with [[spoiler:a deadly infectious flower. Only those who bend to her rule will be given the cure.]] Surprisingly enough, a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity significant portion of the population]] strongly supports her goals. She has her first VillainousBreakdown in the entire strip when [[spoiler:Sarghress assassins kill the scientist responsible for the "Cure" part of the gambit. Making sure another scientist can make the cure becomes a very high priority for her. Unfortunately, said scientist left NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup due to a desire to keep her work a secret. As a result, Snadhya's flower plague quickly spreads beyond the control of everyone, including her]].
* In ''{{Webcomic/Garanos}}'', the BigBad Gharsena [[spoiler:is the one who made the disease Gailen is dying from, a fact she uses to force Gailen to be her mole. When Gailen figures it out she attempts to kill her, but Gharsena just magically accelerates the disease until it kills her.]]
* Given a MadScientist twist in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' when it turns out the poisoner is also the cure - as long as he's alive and close by there is nothing to fear from the poison. Of course, he failed to properly take into account that the one poisoned is ''also'' a MadScientist. [[spoiler:She can't ''cure'' herself, but she can make another creature have the same preserving effect as the poisoner.]] And another twist: [[spoiler:It turns out he botched the experiment and ''he'' starts to get sick from not being around ''her'', though he's able to go much longer without contact than she is. He finally admits it was a bad idea and agrees to cure them both.]]
* One strip of ''Webcomic/{{Precocious}}'' shows Bud selling his famous "Muffins of Doom" from a booth, then his customer sees something else, panics, and drops the muffin he was eating, and Autumn is shown in a booth selling "Antidotes".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS3E16JakeVsMeMow Jake vs. Me-Mow]]", Me-Mow uses this to blackmail Jake into assassinating the Wildberry Princess. It doesn't take, however, when Me-Mow [[ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy reveals that the toxin is enough to kill 50 dogs]], leading [[{{Sizeshifter}} Jake]] to realize [[TakeAThirdOption he can just supersize his liver by 51]] and absorb said toxin.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** In one episode, the Scarecrow releases a chemical that takes away all sensation of fear, making people dangerously reckless, with the plan of selling his fear toxin as the "antidote".
** And in an earlier one, CorruptCorporateExecutive Roland Daggett has stray animals infected with an incredibly virulent new strain of rabies that he plans to sell the cure for.
* The ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' episode "Operation: M.I.S.S.I.O.N." had Numbuh Four manipulate Mr. Boss, Count Spankulot, Soccer Mom, and Stickybeard into forming a bowling team to compete against his dad's team by giving them soda he claims to be poisoned and refusing to give the antidote until they comply. When the assembled bowling team almost wins, Numbuh Four ends up ruining everything by accidentally blurting out that the villains were never poisoned.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': In the episode "[[Recap/DannyPhantomS2E16MastersOfAllTime Masters of All Time]]", [[BigBad Vlad]], suffering from another outbreak of the Ecto-Acne disease that afflicted him after he first became half-ghost, approaches Danny for help in curing it, and infects Sam and Tucker with the disease as well to ensure Danny's cooperation.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk Dragons: Race to the Edge]]'': In the episode "[[Recap/DragonsRidersOfBerkS8E8TripleCross Triple Cross]]", Viggo, having been betrayed by Krogan and Johann, forces Hiccup to help him by poisoning Toothless with red oleander. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] toward the end when he informs Hiccup that Toothless was never in danger since red oleander is harmless to dragons.
** Earlier in the episode [[Recap/DragonsRidersOfBerkS5E5BuffalordSoldier "Buffalord Soldier"]], Viggo's plan was to unleash a deadly plague and then capture a Buffalord (a rare species of dragon who's saliva is a universal cure) to use as a bargaining chip.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' episode "The Other Cousin", Clara poisons Hero and promises to give him the antidote if he shows her cousin Bleh a good time. This becomes a WhatHappenedToTheMouse moment in the broadcast version when he's not seen getting the antidote in the episode (the extended DVD version does in fact show Clara giving it to him).
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' double subverts this. Demona tries to pull a deal of this kind by shooting Elisa with a poisoned dart and coercing the gargoyles to help her in return for the antidote. Unbeknownst to her [[PocketProtector Elisa's badge deflected the dart]]. The Gargoyles spring the trap anyway, out of curiosity, and so Demona will think she succeeded. An extra twist comes up in the end, [[ILied when Demona gloats that there]] ''[[ILied is]]'' [[ILied no antidote]] right before she gets away. It was a XanatosGambit that would result in the deaths of at least one of her foes and possibly more as a fringe benefit. Thank God for that badge...
* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': In "The Rock", Valmont infects Jackie with a poison that will [[TakenForGranite turn him into stone]], offering the antidote in exchange for all of the talismans that Jackie has collected thus far. Jade then breaks into Section 13 in order to save her uncle. Of course, Jade missed one and Tohru responds by smashing the antidote. [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Good thing the Horse Talisman grants you healing powers...]]
* This launches the main plot in the OneEpisodeWonder ''WesternAnimation/KorgothOfBarbaria''. A FauxAffablyEvil thief invites BarbarianHero Korgoth to dinner while he talks about hiring Korgoth for a job. When Korgoth refuses to take the job after dinner, the thief reveals that there was a deadly parasite in Korgoth's food, and the only way he'll give Korgoth the elixir to cure it is if Korgoth does the job.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': In "Black Friday", Blackarachnia gives some of the Autobots a lethal dose of her venom and will only provide the cure if Optimus steals something for her that can help her get rid of her organic half. She ends up being betrayed by Prometheus Black, who wants to remove her robot half instead and use her for his experiments. Optimus saves her and she escapes, but she leaves the cure for Optimus to find.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* There was a thought experiment that played with this trope. The premise was that your best friend is dying of a unique disease, and the only cure is held by a doctor who wants more money for it than you can get. It's supposed to provoke questions of what [[ShadesOfConflict morality]] truly means.
* The S'Hamala or Chumash of California had antap, or medicine men/women, who poisoned enemies and then blackmailed them.
[[/folder]]

* A heroic trickster variation. In an issue of ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977'', Luke tells an imperial officer he has poisoned him and will give him the antidote once he gives Luke access to computer records. Feeling stomach pains, the officer complies, and then Chewbacca knocks him out. Turns out Luke only put soap flakes in the officer's soup.

* The basis of {{ComicBook/SpiderMan2099}}'s backstory; when he tried to resign from [[MegaCorp Alchemex]], his boss gave him a drink spiked with a drug so powerful, the withdrawl symptoms were leathal, meaning that he'd have to keep working for them in order to keep a steady supply and not die.
* In ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'', SnakeOilSalesman Dr. Doxey is willing to poison entire towns to sell his "cures". The only saving grace is that he limits himself to non-lethal poisons, as dead victims obviously wouldn't be able to buy the cure from him.

* In the ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' novel ''Literature/AgentsOfArtifice'', Gemreth's demon injects Jace with a painful venom before it interrogates him, promising the antidote if he passes the test.

* ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'' gives a twisted example, regarding how the title character became a vampire. Darren's friend Steve asked the vampire Mr. Crepsley to blood him, but Crepsley refused. Darren, who is obsessed with spiders, can't resist stealing the extremely poisonous one that Crepsley performs in the circus with. But when the spider bites Steve, Crepsley says that he will only give the antidote to save Steve's life if Darren agrees to join him as a vampire. To add another twist on top, it was ''someone'''s, plan, but not Crepsley's -- both Darren and Steve are about 12 years old, and blooding children is illegal. Crepsley was manipulated into it by Mr. Des Tiny, who then goes on to manipulate Steve into believing that Darren conspired with Crepsley to poison him in the first place...

* As part of the BigBad's BoxedCrook gambit in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' ExpandedUniverse novel ''Mission: Impractical'', he doses the Sixth Doctor, Sabalom Glitz, and their companions with a poison and offers them the cure as additional incentive to do his bidding. Moments after reluctantly agreeing and leaving, Six reveals to the companions the poison doesn't work on Time Lords and uses Glitz's supplies to whip up a cure, which he passes around. [[{{Troll}} Glitz isn't informed he's already cured]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments until the end]].

* ''Literature/TheElderScrollsInUniverseBooks'': In ''[[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:A_Game_at_Dinner A Game at Dinner]]'', Prince Hlaalu Helseth of Morrowind holds a banquet, and then informs the guests after the meal that he has [[CleanFoodPoisonedFork poisoned the utensils]] of those who were spying on him for other nobles. He offers a glass of antidote to anyone who confesses. [[spoiler:The "antidote" is actually the poison; the man who takes it, and admits to spying for Helseth's stepsister the Queen of Wayrest, dies in agony. The anonymous narrator, himself a spy for Helseth's vassal House Dres, remained silent and is horrified enough by the experience to beg his mistress for reassignment.]]

* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': Durring the Assassination Island arc, [[spoiler: half of the class is infected with a deadly SynthethicPlague but an unknown enemy, who demands that the class surrenders Koro-sensei for the cure. The second half of the arc revolves arround the remaining half of the class infiltrating the hotel where the enemy has set up base in order to steal the cure. After the arc's climax, however, the assassins who engineered and released the plague reveal that since they knew that their employer Takaoka was going to destroy the cure and [[PragmaticVillainy they didn't want the stigma of being responsible for a bunch of middle schoolers dying]], they only used a plague that looked deadly, but would have healed on its own.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', many turn to the Chaos God Nurgle to escape the effects of a crippling or deadly plague, only to discover Nurgle created it in the first place. The [[TabletopGame/BlackCrusade Tome of Decay]] says Nurgle cultists end up ''happy'' of learning that, because it means Nurgle took active steps to recruit them, meaning he has "chosen" them.

* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': In "The Rock", Valmont infects Jackie with a poison that will [[TakenForGranite turn him into stone]], offering the antidote in exchange for all of the talismans that Jackie have collected thus far. Jade then breaks into Section 13 in order to save her uncle. Of course, Jade missed one and Tohru responds by smashing the antidote. [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Good thing the Horse Talisman grants you healing powers...]]

* The film ''Film/PhaseIV2002'' turns out to have this as the motive for the murders: [[spoiler:A pharmaceutical company murders everyone who knows they've created a cure for AIDS.]]

* Quite a few of Jigsaw's {{Death Trap}}s in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series involve exposing victims to a slow-acting poison and then forcing them into a LifeOrLimbDecision to get the antidote. ''Film/SawII'' was the most notable example: the main game's victims are trapped in a house that's filling up with DeadlyGas, with multiple antidotes scattered throughout and locked behind various traps.

* Quite a few of Jigsaw's {{death trap}}s in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series involve exposing victims to a slow-acting poison and then forcing them into a LifeOrLimbDecision to get the antidote. ''Film/SawII'' was the most notable example: the main game's victims are trapped in a house that's filling up with DeadlyGas, with multiple antidotes scattered throughout and locked behind various traps.

Due to the nature of this trope as a possible plot twist, '''[[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned beware of unmarked spoilers]]'''.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* Quite a few of Jigsaw's {{death trap}}s in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series involve exposing victims to a slow-acting poison and then forcing them into a LifeOrLimbDecision to get the antidote. [[Film/SawII The second film]] was the most notable example: the main characters are trapped in a house that's filling up with DeadlyGas, with multiple antidotes scattered throughout and locked behind various torturous traps.

* One episode of ''Manga/CaseClosed'' combines this with a BatmanGambit. A mother hosts a party for her son and his friends, and serves coffee followed by cake, with one participant passing on the cake due to [[DoesNotLikeSpam his dislike for sweets]] while everyone else treats themselves to cake. Said boy dies shortly thereafter, and it's revealed that she had poisoned the coffee and put the antidote in the cake, taking advantage of the boy's aversion to sweets to kill him.

* One episode of ''Manga/CaseClosed'' combines this with a BatmanGambit. A mother hosts a party for her son and his friends, and serves coffee followed by cake, with one participant passing on the cake due to [[DoesNotLikeSpam his dislike for sweets]]. Said boy dies shortly thereafter, and it's revealed that she had poisoned the coffee and put the antidote in the cake, taking advantage of the boy's aversion to sweets to kill him.

* One episode of ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' combines this with a BatmanGambit. A mother hosts a party for her son and his friends, and serves coffee followed by cake, with one participant passing on the cake due to [[DoesNotLikeSpam his dislike for sweets]]. Said boy dies shortly thereafter, and it's revealed that she had poisoned the coffee and put the antidote in the cake, taking advantage of the boy's aversion to sweets to kill him.