History Main / ShapeshifterModeLock

* Ben in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has this happen to him a lot, since he's basically got a BlackBox [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum from outer space]] [[ClingyMacGuffin permanently attached to his wrist]]. Even leaving aside that when he uses it, it turns him into the alien he chooses (or the one ''it'' chooses instead) until the timer runs down, then turns him back human until it powers up again, there have been a number of Mode Lock incidents, generally involving a weaker alien such as Grey Matter or Ditto.

*** Also happens to Albedo, Ben's doppelganger in ''Alien Force'', who creates a duplicate Omnitrix and synchronizes it to Ben's, only to be transformed into a [[CloneByConversion copy]] of Ben because Ben's form is the "[[ShapeshifterDefaultForm default]]". When they fight, the magnetic interference caused by the meeting of two Omnitrices causes Albedo's [[PaletteSwap colors to change]]. When Azmuth appears to tidy up the whole mess, he takes out a part of Albedo's fake Omnitrix, cursing him to stay in human form (which he absolutely hates).

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', Nero had his right arm injured after a run in with a demon, only for it to heal exceptionally quickly and become a demonic RedRightHand. While he think's he's being turned into a demon, in reality his arm is stuck in Devil Trigger, which usually transforms the entire body into a more powerful demonic form. After [[spoiler: he gains full control of his demonic power in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', Nero's arm returns to it's human form and he is able to activate his full Devil Trigger at will, which transforms his entire body rather than just his arm.]]

** The original Marvel ''Comicbook/TheTransformers'' comics introduced Nucleon late in the run, to [[MerchandiseDriven tie in with the toy line's introduction of the non-transforming Action Masters]]. Nucleon strengthens a Transformer immensely, but, among other nasty potential side effects, always renders them unable to transform. Understandably, [[PsychoSerum most users wind up wishing they'd never touched the stuff.]]

* ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'': Besides all the instances of this from canon, Jake accidentally becomes stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" (he later gets his morphing ability back thanks to the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Ellimist]], [[spoiler:and then mode-locks himself as a human at the end]]), David and [[spoiler:Kelly]] lock themselves in new human forms and start new identities in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" and "What if the Auximorphs joined the team right away?" respectively, and "What if Tobias was stuck as a human in #33?" has it right there in the title.

** There's a device from the [[ComicBook/TheTransformers Marvel G1 series]] that locks a Transformer in one mode. It's used on Blaster for defying [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Grimlock]]. It's more than an inconvenience for Blaster (or Soundwave, for that matter) because of their alternate modes: not-terribly-mobile radios. It later gets used to mode-lock the Combaticon Blast-Off in his space shuttle mode in order to take a bunch of human kids for an orbital joyride.

*** Also happens to Albedo, Ben's doppelganger in ''Alien Force'', who creates a duplicate Omnitrix and synchronizes it to Ben's, only to be transformed into a [[CloneByConversion copy]] of Ben because Ben's form is the "[[ShapeshifterDefaultForm default]]". When they fight, the magnetic interference caused by the meeting of two Omnitrixes causes Albedo's [[PaletteSwap colors to change]]. When Azmuth appears to tidy up the whole mess, he takes out a part of Albedo's fake Omnitrix, cursing him to stay in human form (which he absolutely hates).

* Averted in a ''ComicBook/WildCATsWildStorm / ComicBook/{{JLA}}'' crossover where Maul is afraid to use his power to [[BlessedWithSuck exchange intelligence for size]] because he would become "too stupid to turn back" if he grew big enough to smash the villain's barrier. Superman solves it by giving him [[AppliedPhlebotinum an electric spark that turns him small after 30 seconds]].

** This point comes up later in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', when [[spoiler:Future Zamasu]] and Goku Black [[FusionDance fuse into]] [[spoiler:Fusion Zamasu]] using the earrings. Goku Black is in his Super Saiyan Rosé form at the time, which should bring up this issue. However, the fusion inherited [[spoiler:Future Zamasu's CompleteImmortality]], a trait that prevents the mode lock's lethality and gives it even more power. This does come with some downsides, though; [[spoiler:when Fusion Zamasu is hit with enough energy, half of his body [[BodyHorror starts mutating]], since his immortality didn't fully extend to his mortal half, and thus can't fix the damage like it would for Future Zamasu.]]

* In ''Manga/SuperPig'', Buurin gets this in the second to the last episode after revealing her secret to her classmates. Fortunately for her, after collecting 108 pearls, she gets better.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Gambit}}'' solo series, Courier [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifted]] into a woman to make an appointment with Mr. Sinister, who was posing as an obstetrician. Realizing he was set up, Sinister injected "her" with a destabilizing agent, the only antidote for which was to take away her powers completely. [[FirstLawOfGenderBending Unfortunately, he didn't realize Courier wasn't originally female...]]
** Courier's not the only X-character to suffer this. Nearly any character with a civilian form and a combat form will find him/herself stuck in powered-up mode. Colossus has been trapped in metal form, Iceman in ice form, Lifeguard in [[HalfHumanHybrid half Shi'ar form]], Shadowcat as intangible (not shapeshifter but worth mention), Wolfsbane as at least part wolf, and so on.

* Averted in a ''ComicBook/WildCATsWildStorm / ComicBook/{{JLA}}'' crossover where Maul is afraid to use his power to [[BlessedWithSuck exchange intelligence for size]] because he would become "too stupid to turn back" if he grew big enough to smash the villain's barrier. {{Superman}} solves it by giving him [[AppliedPhlebotinum an electric spark that turns him small after 30 seconds]].
* A [[ShapeShifting Skrull]] named Khn'nr was to be used in the infiltration of Earth in [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel's]] Secret Invasion event. He was mode locked into the form of Captain Marvel, a long dead hero, and [[FakeMemories brainwashed into thinking he was him]] from the past. When he found out, he rejected his part in the invasion, and now is trying to work against it.

* In Franchise/TheDCU, a story arc in ''ComicBook/MartianManhunter'' involved him being Mode Locked in a form resembling his usual appearance, but with four arms. This was a ShoutOut to the four-armed Green Martians in Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars Barsoom]]'' novels.
** Other instances include Manhunter being reduced to amorphous goo by a neurotoxin, being trapped in Aquaman's body and freaking out, and an Elseworlds story where all the heroes lost their powers, leaving him in his natural Martian form with all of the [[BlessedWithSuck suck and none of the blessing.]]
** The evil White Martians are initially dealt with this way by the JLA. They are given human form and have their memories removed, effectively trapping them as humans. Needless to say, problems occur when a few of them get their minds back and remember how to shapeshift.

* The Thing from the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', but not in all continuities.
* Happens to ComicBook/IncredibleHulk on occasion. Whether this is good or bad depends on the form he's stuck as. Hulk would love to be mode-locked and never turn into Banner again. Banner would love to be free of the Hulk, but at this point knows better. Both absolutely hate the idea of being mode-locked as the other.
** Unlike the Hulk, the Abomination is completely incapable of returning to his original human form. He's none too happy about that.
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'':
** A story arc involved Durlan shapeshifter Chameleon Boy getting stuck in his usual form and undertaking a dangerous journey on Durla to a place that would restore his shapechanging abilities. His father, who had long ago been Mode Locked into human form by a disease, came with him, but only to provide support; he had adjusted to having a permanent form and didn't want his abilities back.
** An origin story reveals that the clubhouse of the Legion itself is this. An alien called Fortress Lad who had the ability to turn into a fortress was rejected by the Legion, who were then attacked by Mnemonic Kid, who had the power to erase memories. She blanked the memory of the Legionnaires but Fortress Lad stepped in before she could do further harm, transforming into a building to protect them. In retaliation, she proceeded to attack him, entirely erasing his memory of being a living being, only one thought in his mind ("Never give up") leaving him locked in building mode forever. When the Legionnaires regained their senses and defeated Mnemonic Kid they simply believed the building already was their clubhouse, since they had a feeling of fondness for it.
* ComicBook/DoctorStrange foe Dormammu's sister Umar used to be the StrongerSibling. Then Umar gave birth to her daughter Clea while transformed as a human. To Umar's chagrin, this locked her into human form forever, which made her weaker than her brother.
* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest''. The female High One named Timmain regularly changed into the form of a wolf to hunt. She eventually forgot her true identity and came to think of herself as a wolf.
* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', the shape-shifter Phylum, while entertaining children in hospital, [[spoiler:is permanently trapped in the form of a chimpanzee]].
* In ''Comicbook/BillyBatsonAndTheMagicOfShazam,'' Tawky Tawny is [[ReimaginingTheArtifact reimagined]] as a spirit who can shift between a human and various animal forms, usually a tiger. When fighting [[SdrawkcabName Niatpac Levram]] (aka [[spoiler:Mr. Mind]]), he tries to transform but gets hit, which, due to the instability of magic at the Rock of Eternity, traps him halfway between human and tiger shape, making him an anthropomorphic animal like his counterpart in most other ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' books.
* In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueGenerationLost'', it is revealed that ComicBook/CaptainAtom had lost the ability to change back and forth between being Captain Atom and Nathaniel Adam/Cameron Scott. It was introduced out of the blue, as no previous appearance had even suggested that he was losing the ability to transform effortlessly, so it did not have much dramatic impact.

* In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman'', alien villain Xviar takes on human form in order to mingle with Earth people, but due to a flaw in the process he's unable to change back to his original form. His body can't age either, so Xviar is forced to move and change jobs constantly so nobody wonders [[ExpositionOfImmortality why he doesn't get older]].
* Walter Langowski/Sasquatch from ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' is a gamma mutate with the power to transform at will into, well, [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti a Sasquatch]]. Over the years, however, he's spent more and more time as Sasquatch, hardly ever reverting to human form. By the time of ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'', its started to become actively painful and difficult for him to turn back into a human again, prompting him to seek out Bruce Banner (who has experience with this trope, as noted above) for help, fearing that soon he won't be able to transform at all. [[spoiler:His fears are proven horribly true when it's revealed that his difficulty shapeshifting is the result of [[MonsterFromBeyondTheVeil Brian Banner]] gradually influencing and [[DemonicPossession possessing]] him from beyond. He is only restored back to humanity when Hulk manages to [[DePower drain his gamma radiation]] and Brian with it.]]
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth Vol 5]]: Circe manages to trap Deimos and Phobos, who often disguise themselves as dogs, in the form of a pair of Doberman Pinschers. They are utterly furious that she would dare, and even more angry that they are now magically trapped as Veronica Cale's obedient pets.
* ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'': The Hummingbird, who was shrunk by an alien ray that was destroyed before he could be re-enlarged. As such, he's stuck permanently at a maximum height of six inches, though among his powers is the ability to [[IncredibleShrinkingMan temporarily shrink even smaller]].

* While in the original series they chose to mode lock (making it not a real example), in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' Goku and Gohan stay Super Saiyan cause they ''forgot'' how to power down.
-->'''Gohan:''' Truthfully it's very concerning.
* In ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', it happens to [[Music/GeorgeHarrison George]] thanks to a flaw in the ring that normally allows him to [[VoluntaryShapeshifter shape change at will]]. He gets stuck as a pigeon in New Zork and is ''not'' happy about it; he uses his ring more cautiously for a time after it happens.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Mirrored}}'' [[ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime after Harry polyjuiced himself to look like Voldemort]] the polyjuice has a reaction with the [[spoiler: horcrux]] inside Harry so he was stuck looking like Voldemort for an extended period of time.
* Natsuru, of ''LightNovel/{{Kampfer}}'', is a MagicalGirl whose real form is [[GenderBender male]]. In ''Fanfic/ResonanceDays'', she [[PosthumousCharacter dies]] and winds up in the [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Puella Magi]] afterlife, where she's now [[FirstLawOfGenderBending permanently]] in MagicalGirl form. She seems to have taken it [[HappilyMarried fairly well]], though.
* Navarone and Twilight are temporarily locked in [[{{Animorphism}} pegasus]] and [[HumanityEnsues human form]] respectively in ''Fanfic/DiariesOfAMadman''. Nav later also ends up being locked in female form after his [[GenderBender gender switching]] stones backfire.
* Standard for the first 72 hours in [[http://shiloh.tvheaven.com/hall.html this]] paranormal-themed ''{{Series/Emergency}}'' fic series if a person manages to survive the initial infection that produces cat-shifters. After that, shifting comes freely.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/7480533/ This Is It, The Apocalypse]]'', Marinette and Adrien both get trapped in their superhero forms when their kwamis go into hibernation without warning.
* In ''Fanfic/IfWishesWerePonies'': Animagi traveling through the portal from Earth to Equestria are automatically transformed into a Pony; regardless of whether they were in their Human or Animal Forms when crossing over as was shown with Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, [[spoiler:Rita Skeeter, and Peter Pettigrew.]] By Book II, it is discovered that this Mode Lock also extends to Werewolves [[spoiler:as was shown when Remus Lupin accidentally gazed up at Lunas' Full Moon, and collapsed in pain as the Werewolf Curse tried to forcibly transform him out of his Pony Body: only to wind up destroying itself and curing Lupin of his Lycanthropy altogether.]]
* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'':
** [[spoiler:Swift-Pad's changeling friend Maxilla informs Swift-Pad that they've been given permission to do this, assuming the form of a female wolf permanently to prove how much he/she cares about him and their relationship. Swift-Pad, fully aware of the meaning behind this act, becomes fully committed to the relationship as a result. Maxilla later officially undergoes it in chapter 26.]]
** [[spoiler:Chapter 26 reveals that doing this is a last-resort option for changelings who don't want to die with their Queen.]]

* Done to the goddess Calypso by the First Brethren Court many years before the events of ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'', trapping her in the form of [[spoiler:Tia Dalma]]. She says that "it has been torture."
* ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'': When a new ''Nightmare'' movie is plagued by a mysterious series of deaths, it's revealed that an ancient shapeshifting evil that has existed in various forms throughout time but which can be contained by stories has been impersonating Freddy Krueger for the past 10 years. After being stuck as Freddy for so long, the spirit started to believe that it actually ''was'' Freddy and tries to target Heather Langenkamp, the actress who played the first FinalGirl to face him.

* ''Literature/{{Bisclavret}}'' is about a baron who is a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]. For three days each week he [[ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing takes off his clothes]], turns into a wolf and then [[TransformationTrinket turns back when he puts them on again]]. Unfortunately, his wife takes this news badly, begins an affair with a knight and has him steal the baron's clothes, trapping him in wolf form. He's stuck that way for a year before he gets free.
** This poem had a few other medieval copycats with the same basic plot, including ''The Lay of Melion'' (where the transformation is done by the wife's magic ring) and an Arthurian knight named Sir Marrok, who was stuck for seven years.
* In ''Literature/ThisIsNotAWerewolfStory,'' which is loosely based on ''Literature/{{Bisclavret}},'' Raul [[VoluntaryShapeshifting turns into a wolf]] each weekend and spends time with a [[WhiteWolvesAreSpecial white wolf]] which he believes is his MissingMom. He doesn't know how she got trapped in wolf form and is thus very careful to always follow the transformation formula carefully. [[spoiler:Raul is then trapped in wolf form himself for several months after his friend Vincent betrays his secret to the villain who trapped his mom]].

* An unusual variation occurs in the ''Literature/{{Switchers}}'' series. The titular shapeshifters [[GrowingUpSucks lose their powers at 15]] (which is to say, Midnight on the morning of their fifteenth birthday) and are stuck as whatever they happen to be at the time. This issue is directly and pointedly addressed in the second book, appropriately entitled ''Midnight's Choice''.
* Likewise in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'', Daemons may manifest as any creature up until (once again) [[GrowingUpSucks their human counterpart grows up]], whereupon they "settle" on a [[AnimalMotifs highly symbolic]] permanant form.
* Several people in the ''Literature/KieshaRa'' series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes have had their animal forms "bound" so that they can't transform, some intentionally as punishment. It's not a pleasant process.
** Though none have appeared in published canon, WordOfGod says that a shapeshifter who spends an extremely long period of time in his or her animal form can get modelocked as the animal. This is referred to as going feral.
* Used in Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/TheImmortals'' quartet. A strange black hawk turns out to be a powerful mage after being given enough drugs to knock out a human - he was so sick in animal form that there was no way he could do anything, much less change back. Daine also gains the ability to shapeshift later on, but often can't shift back if she panics or forgets about her human self. Also, if she ever shapeshifted into an immortal, she would be unable to change back.
* This is a subplot of a Polish story "Academy of Pan Kleks".
* Wilhelm Hauff wrote [[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/lfb/gn/gnfb05.htm "The Story of Caliph Stork,"]] where you need a magic word (and magic snuff) to transform, but will forget it if you laugh.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Hermione puts Rita Skeeter, the nosy reporter who isn't above ruining people's lives by writing bald-faced lies about them, into a jar that makes her [[spoiler: unable to transform out of her animagus form, a beetle.]] The jar is just sealed and enchanted to be unbreakable -- thus, if she tries to change back... well, she'd be too big for the container.
** Also, Dumbledore has mentioned in ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard'' that anyone other than an animagus that tries to polymorph themselves would permanently become an animal, unable to use magic to change back.
** This also happens to Tonks although it's not too dramatic. Tonks is unable to use her metamorphmagus skills when she becomes depressed about her [[spoiler:love for Remus Lupin]] and thus gets stuck [[spoiler:looking rather like a girl version of him]].
** Hermione gets stuck as a CatGirl in ''Chamber of Secrets'', after mistakenly adding cat's hair to her dose of the Polyjuice-potion, that was meant to transform her into a Slytherin girl. The potion is supposed to work for just one hour, but since it was designed for human-transformation only, it takes several weeks of professional magical treatment to reverse the effects.

* In Middle-earth:
** In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' this happens to [[{{Satan}} Morgoth]] -- "And then he took the form he had worn as the tyrant of Utumno -- a [[EvilOverlord dark lord]], tall and terrible. And in that form he remained forever after."
** Likewise his protégé, Sauron, after the destruction of his physical body in the drowning of Númenor. Even after he regains physical form, he can no longer take on a fair-seeming appearance, and is restricted to ruling through fear rather than deception (not that he doesn't make the odd off-handed attempt, but it doesn't work out too well in a world where BeautyEqualsGoodness is nearly always the rule).
** The Wizards in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', on the other hand, are good Maiar in a voluntary ModeLock in the shape of old men -- in fact, they are placed into real flesh-and-blood bodies, instead of the usual ''fana'' shapes of Maiar. This is to encourage them to use knowledge to advise and encourage other peoples, rather than use their full abilities to grab power or cow people into submission. [[spoiler: Doesn't work with Saruman.]]
* In ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea'' by Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin, wizards who spend too much time shapeshifted into animal forms can forget their humanity, especially when distracted by the animal's power of ''{{flight}}'' or ability to freely range the oceans. A sufficiently powerful wizard can bring them back, though in the only case that happens onscreen the wizard also had access to the shapeshifter's [[IKnowYourTrueName Name]], which may have helped.
* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', Belgarath mentions that sorcerers can't spend too much time in animal form without changing back, as the longer you spend as said animal, the more you begin to think and feel like that animal, and too much time in one form can bring the very real possibility that you simply won't want to change back ever.
* The succubus lead character in Richelle Mead's ''Literature/GeorginaKincaid'' series suffers a mode lock, along with all of the other demonic immortals in Seattle, when their supervising Archdemon goes missing [[spoiler:(summoned and bound by his lieutenant, with help)]]. Georgina is lucky enough to be in her default form when the lock begins -- another succubus is not so lucky and gets locked into a completely different body. This stasis removed definable abilities such as shape-shifting and aura perception due to their being normally 'distributed' via the Archdemon, but their connection to hell - and their immortality -- remained.
* In the ''Literature/{{Outernet}}'' books by Steves Barlowe and Skidmore, the shapeshifter-characters Sirius and Vega are trapped in the forms of a cat and dog, respectively. This remains throughout the whole of the series (with two brief exceptions).
* Mikey [=McGill=] in ''Literature/TheSkinjackerTrilogy'' gets stuck in his hideous monster form whenever his negative emotions overwhelm him, and it usually takes some sort of trigger to bring him back to normal.

* In ''Prospero's Children'' by Jan Siegal, a sorceress with the ability to turn into a wolf would use her form to hunt humans for sport. One day she met a wizard who cursed her to remain in wolf form permanently until she could repent for her evil ways. After several years, she sought out the wizard so that she could show him that she had changed, but the wizard no longer had the power to change her back.
* ''Literature/CurseOfTheWolfgirl'' reveals that werewolves are unable to shift out of their human forms if there is a lunar eclipse. Then things get worse when the BigBad of the book finds a spell that can simulate an eclipse and conspires with a bunch of hunters.
* In Creator/MikhailAkhmanov's ''Literature/ArrivalsFromTheDark'' series, the Metamorph species is able to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting voluntarily shapeshift]]. Their normal form is that of an amorphous blob. There are a few individuals who have a mutation that locks the individual into the first transformation for life. At that point, only slight changes are possible. These usually become spies among other races, able to slightly alter their appearance within the confines of the race. The observer on Earth took on the appearance of a human male. He's able to change into other males of any human ethnicity but not females due to radical physiological changes. Attempting any radical changes is likely to be fatal.
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'':
** Treach, [[WarGod the Tiger of Summer]], originally a [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Soletaken]] [[PhysicalGod Ascendant]], is said to have been stuck in his tiger form for at least the last 500 years prior to the series and to have become little more than a crazed, mindless beast due to losing his rational thought to the tiger's instincts.
** The unnamed god of the Forkrul Assail is seen only as a [[OneToMillionToOne D'ivers]] in the present-day of the story and is broken up into ''every lifeform'' in the Glass Desert -- so largely bugs and butterflies, since there is nothing to feed upon in the Glass Desert for any other animals. It is considered lost by the Forkrul Assail, but the last book reveals that [[spoiler:they drove it to this by turning their endless hunger to judge everything onto their own god and finding it wanting]].
** The seven [[{{Hellhound}} Deragoth]], or [[CanisMajor Hounds of Darkness]], are said to be the [[OneToMillionToOne D'ivers]] form of Dessimbelackis, the Emperor of the human First Empire, who sought to teach his subjects a lesson about respecting nature by turning them into beast shapeshifters. He took on the forms of the seven Deragoth in order to flee the [[DemBones T'lan Imass]] retribution for the mess he had created, then lost himself and became the Hounds of Darkness for good.
* The title villain of ''Literature/{{IT}}'' by Creator/StephenKing can be forced into one form if several people all think of it that way at once. [[spoiler:Like a GiantSpider.]]

* Voluntary shapeshifting and other forms of {{Transhumanism}} played a big role in human society in Creator/JohnRingo's ''Literature/CouncilWars'' series until the beginning of the war imposed a Mode Lock on everyone. Results varied from unfortunate through unpleasant to instantly fatal depending upon how long the person had intended to stay transformed and how survivable the chosen form was when technology was lost. Both sides try to recruit people with useful shapes, despite the villains' purist ideology. Even though shapeshifting is a thing of the past how people deal [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody (or fail to deal)]] with their mode locks remains a plot point for years afterwards.

* In ''Literature/VoidCity'', one of the magical properties of the bullets fired by the gun ''El Alma Perdida'' is to prevent all forms of shapeshifting. John Paul Courtney would use it to prevent werewolves he killed from reverting to their human forms upon death, thus making it apparent that he had killed monsters rather than men.
* {{Discussed}} in ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin''--Merlin is given the ability to turn into a deer [[VoluntaryShapeshifting at will]]. However, the power will naturally wear off after a while, and if he's still in deer form when it does, well, tough cookies. Fortunately, it doesn't happen.

* In ''[[Literature/MagicShop The Monster's Ring]]'', Russell gets a ring from TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday that lets him transform into a HornedHumanoid by twisting it on his finger but its instructions warn him to not twist it three times and to ''never'' use it on a full moon. When he accidentally does both of these on the same night, he transforms into a full monster and finds that he can't change back. [[spoiler:Fortunately, he returns to being human when the night is over. Unfortunately, he learns a month later that he's now doomed to transform into the same monstrous form every full moon.]]
* In ''Literature/TheFeyAndTheFallen'', HalfHumanHybrid Liam attempts to control his [[EnemyWithin fey magic]] by undergoing hypnosis treatment. The result is that the violent "beast" inside him is asleep, but he can no longer shapeshift.
* ''Literature/RetiredWitchesMysteries'': In book 3, the witches use a special enchanted water to force a shapeshifter back into human form and stop her from changing back.

* In Myth/NorseMythology Loki suffered a temporary ShapeshifterModeLock in form of a mare, before giving birth to Sleipnir. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* In Myth/CelticMythology, the pregnant aunt of Finn Mac Cool is transformed into a dog by a jealous fairy. Although she is later restored, her twin children remain as dogs, because that was the form they were born in.
* In some legends, the ''cat sìth'' is actually a witch who has transformed into a cat nine times, at which point they can't transform back. This is presumably related to the idea that CatsHaveNineLives.

** If an armbanded human is caught while in Pokémon form, the Vow takes precedence and the human is forced to stay as a mon unless they're released. (The armband can be taken off, but they won't shift back to their original form.) However, putting on a Pokémon to human armband can work around that restriction.
** The mon bombs used by the Seven Jerk Dragons work under similar principles, including the Pokémon to human armband loophole.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', if a Lunar Exalted's [[BattleAura anima banner]] gets too intense, the Lunar will be Mode Locked to a handful of his most iconic forms until the anima banner dies down.
* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica''. Using Muto Corporem (shapechanging) spells is potentially dangerous. If a mage spends a month in the shape of an animal, they will start to act and think like that animal. Eventually they could lose their human personalities altogether.

* ''Forgotten Futures''. A magician who transforms into an animal may come to believe that they are that animal and prolong the spell until it becomes permanent and erases their true personality.

* The ''[[GothicHorror Innistrad]]'' set of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has a beneficial one for [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Werewolves]]: [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Discussion.aspx?multiverseid=262700 Immerwolf]], [[BilingualBonus translating from German to "Everwolf"]]. Werewolves normally transform back and forth between their human and wolf form depending on the amount of spells cast on the last turn, and their human forms are typically much weaker. As long as Immerwolf is on the battlefield, all werewolves already in wolf form are locked into it, making them far more formidable (werewolves in human form remain free to shapeshift into beast form, but not out of it).
** A corollary is the Planeswalker Arlinn Kord, herself a werewolf native to Innistrad. She changes between human and wolf form, but only beneath the light of Innistrad's moon. She can Planeswalk to other worlds in either form, but is Mode Locked until she returns to Innistrad.
* A TransformingMecha example from ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. A Land-Air 'Mech that takes either a gyro hit or an actuator hit is as good as stuck in whichever form it's in at the moment. It ''has'' to have a complete working set of joints in order to transform properly. This property makes Land-Air 'Mechs into extremely {{Fragile Speedster}}s.
* ''Weaponized'' by [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil Task Force: Valkyrie]] in ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' with their Equalizer Grenades. You know how rapidly blinking bright light can cause seizure? Same principle, but it's applied to the part of the brain that controls shapeshifting. Suddenly [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken those werewolves]] find themselves back to human form and unable to switch back, making them easy pickings.
* The Court of Mirrors from ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'' have an interesting twist on this trope. Most Princesses are standard HenshinHero fare: they default to a human form, can temporarily assume a powerful magical form, and must concentrate and make an effort to hold that form for long stretches of time. Princessess of Mirrors, on the other hand, default to their ''magical'' form and have to make an effort to assume or stay in their ''human'' shape.

* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', the party visits Garoh, a village whose inhabitants, due to proximity to the Air's Rock, turn into werewolves in full moon nights. The mayor, though, as Kraden explains to him, he has absorbed too much Psynergy to go back to his human form.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', halfway through the game you are given a "cure" that mode locks your ability to shapeshift your body into weapons. Oddly enough though you can still shapeshift.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'':
** Certain units can shapeshift, but the action is considered to be a spell, and costs mana (and sometimes also has a cool down). So, if a Dark Ranger casts Silence on a bunch of Druids of the Claw, then, well, no Bear Form for you. Similar things can be done with Druids of the Talon and Spirit Walkers.
** A TFT walkthrough states that in one mission, hitting Ilidan with a bunch of damaging spells will have a high chance of distrupting his AI, preventing him from transforming into his demonic form when heavily injured.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** The black dragon boss Nefarian has calls out to specific classes with specific effects on those classes. The class call to Druids ("Druids and their silly shapeshifting. Let's see it in action!") will force all Druids to shapeshift into cat form and block them in it for a while. Feral specialized DPS druids may not be affected if they're fighting in this form anyway, but druid bear tanks, healers and spellcasters will be annoyed. Of course, at the time Nefarian was at the top of the food chain DPS-specced feral druids, and for that matter any non-healer druids, were so exceedingly rare in end-game raiding that Nefarian was probably fine discounting their existence entirely.
** A slightly less obvious example existed for Warriors in the same fight. Warriors, while not traditional shapeshifters, do have the ability to switch between different stances. When Nef called them out, "Warriors, is that all the damage you can do?", they were forced into Berserker Stance -- which increases damage done but also decreases defenses. Like the above druids, at this point in the game 99.99% of raid tanks were Warriors and virtually all raiding Warriors were expected to at least be geared for tanking for trash and should a boss require multiple offtanks or should the shit hit the fan. This meant that when Warriors were called the tank suddenly took A LOT more damage, and it was time to blow defensive cooldowns and heal bomb. The entirety of phase 2 of that fight was built around messing with a class's ability to do its (at the time) primary job.
** In a PlayedForLaughs example, in ''Legion'''s version of Dalaran in the first aid shop, you find a druid trapped in his aquatic form (a sea lion) stuck in a bathtub complete with showerhead and frilly curtains. If you ask him about it he tells you he was doing reconnaissance in the waters off the broken shore and got clobbered by an infernal dropping from the sky, and it's risky to shift back until he's completely healed. The entire situation has him thoroughly embarrassed and he asks you to not tell anyone he knows about it.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Link gets stuck in wolf form whenever he goes into a area covered in twilight. The only way he can change back, is by returning the '[[PlotCoupon Tears of Light]]' to the spirit in that area. Later in the game however [[spoiler:Zant curses Link, locking him in his Wolf form (despite there being no twilight covering the land) Once removed, said [[CursedWithAwesome "curse"]] can be re-applied and removed at will, allowing Link to change whenever he needs to]].
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' begins with this trope. Link is changed into a deku scrub until he gets his Ocarina back and learns to play the song of healing. Of course later on you can change at will by applying [[{{Shapeshifting}} various]] [[MaskOfPower masks]].
* In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', a certain wonkiness in the nature of things makes it difficult--in some cases impossible--for the local druids to shapeshift. It's a story element and has no effect on the combat effectiveness of your party's druid.
* Towards the end of ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime 3: Corruption'', Samus goes to Phaaze, the source of all Phazon. However, the concentration of Phazon is so high that Samus gets thrown into a dangerous Hyper Mode has to drain all of her energy tanks in order to prevent instant corruption. And even that doesn't stop the problem since it just delays the inevitable where sooner or later, the Phazon will consume Samus so it becomes a TimedMission from the landing to the end of the FinalBoss battle.
** Towards the beginning of ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', Samus gets Mode-Locked out of her Morph Ball after it malfunctions, forcing her to procure a replacement.
* Cornell, the werewolf protagonist of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLegacyOfDarkness'', spends the entirety of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaJudgment'' trapped in wolf form as a result of the time rift.

* The player's mecha in ''VideoGame/{{Thexder}} 95'' is unable to change into jet or tank form for the first few levels.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', there are a race of humanoid shapeshifters called Laguz who transform between LittleBitBeastly mode to their respective form and back, mostly at will but balance-wise restricts how long they can fight. Eventually, antagonistic Laguz appear that are stuck in their combat form, and their berserk, slave-like nature heavily implies that they are not this way by choice. [[spoiler:It's revealed that MadScientist Izuka used a PsychoSerum on several laguz, causing them to go insane and become what's known as the Feral Ones. One of his victims was Rajaion, a Dragon Laguz Prince, forcing him to stay in his dragon form ''and'' make him go insane; from then on he was enslaved by Izuka's boss Ashnard, who used poor Rajaion as his Dragon Mount. He was only released by the time Ashnard was slain in battle... but by then he was so weakened and wounded that he died almost immediately afterwards.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', the Avatar's dragon friend Lilith claims she has a human form but cannot use it any longer because she has used up her energy. [[spoiler: She only shapeshifts back into it as she's dying.]]
* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Bosmer (Wood Elves)]] possess the innate ability to transform into nightmarish beasts as [[GodzillaThreshold a final desperate act of defense against invaders]], known as "[[TheWildHunt the Wild Hunt]]." However, there is no known way to reverse this transformation, leaving them permanently stuck as these monsters. As such, it is only known to have been used twice in recorded history.
* A variant of this trope appears in ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'': when Delsin absorbs a new power, he becomes unable to access any other power until he masters the one he absorbed. [[spoiler:Augustine tries to use this against him in the final battle, willingly giving Delsin her concrete powers, knowing that Delsin would be at a disadvantage since she had seven years to master her own.]]

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', Nero had his right arm injured after a run in with a demon, only for it to heal exceptionally quickly and become a demonic RedRightHand. While he think's he's being turned into a demon, in reality his arm is stuck in Devil Trigger, which usually transforms the entire body into a more powerful demonic form. After [[spoiler: he gains full control of his demonic power in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', Nero's arm returns to it's human form and he is able to activate his full Devil Trigger at will, which transforms his entire body rather than just his arm.]]

* The ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''-based series ''Machinima/ChronicleOfTheAnnoyingQuest'' has Hana. Unlike other druids, Hana cannot shapeshift back from his cat form at will. This shortcoming is a great source of annoyance to his fiancée, Kit.
* WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice: After the Yu-Gi-Oh duel with T'zeentch, Magnus the Red can't shapeshift his wings away, resulting in the Emperor making chicken jokes at his expense.

* ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'': Kieri's "bunny curse" occasionally kicks in by itself and is difficult to revert.

* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'': Boba Fett is a shapeshifter, but acquires a childhood injury which locks him into the shape of his adopted father, Jango Fett.

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' Princess Voluptua is an insectoid alien who routinely uses a device to appear human. In the Cone story arc, it gets ''stuck,'' which is terribly dangerous.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Harbourmaster}}'', Seisha has such a strong HealingFactor that any shapeshifter which samples her DNA will wind up turning into her -- permanently. [[spoiler: This results in Mormo, who took over ''ten thousand'' forms over its life, captured and put into stasis until Gilou and the other Aquaans can figure out how to fix it, just on general principles. After all, there's nothing preventing someone from making another Seisha somehow.]]

* In the ''Altered Fates'' universe created by Jennifer Adams, featuring the Medallion of Zulo, one changed by the Medallion has to wait twelve hours to change again or change back. The Medallion also tends to disappear or get misplaced at inconvenient times, leaving the changed person stuck in his new form forever.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Visionaries}}'' has few examples of this:
** In "Lion Hunt", Darkstorm uses a potion to trap Leoric in his Lion form. Unless the spell is broken by the setting of the Three Suns, Leoric will never be able to revert to human form again.
** In "Horn of Unicorn, Claw of Dragon", Arzon, after he has developed symptoms of the Magical Plague, attempts to assume his Eagle form, only to find that he can't maintain it, effectively trapping him in human form.
** In "The Trail of Three Wizards", most of the Visionaries become exhibits in a magical zoo, where they are locked into their animal forms.
** In "Dawn of the Sun Imps", one of the titular Imps (who has the ability to control felines) takes control of Leoric, who becomes trapped in his Lion form as a result.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheMask: The Animated Series'' featured a gypsy fortune-teller that tricked Stanley into giving her the Mask which she then used to power another magic Mask that gives enormous powers. She then discards the Mask thinking it's now useless and Stanley puts it on... only The Mask is stuck in the form of a stereotypical Scot (complete with kilt). He then gradually obtains the rest of his forms (starting with the most useless ones, as The Mask himself lampshades).

** Don't forget the episode "Forever Phantom", in which one of Jack's weapons zaps Danny and [[TheBlank Amorpho]], forcing the former to stay in his ghost form and the latter to stay in Danny's human form...even though Amorpho still manages to (with difficulty) shift a bit more before being cured. ItsALongStory.
* Between episodes 21 and 23 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', Adamaï, a young shapeshifting dragon, is stuck in Tofu form after being [[JustEatHim swallowed whole and then regurgitated]] by Igôle (a powerful beast reinforced by Xelor magic, which is what interfere with Adamaï's power). This is a case where the modelocked form is small and weak, Tofus being RidiculouslyCuteCritter birds.

* Meatwad in ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' practiced turning into a life sized figure of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln ([[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway he can normally only become a hotdog and igloo]]) only to get stuck that way for the rest of the episode, as if he pulled a muscle.

* The episode "Good Hunting" from ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'' features this prominently. As TheMagicGoesAway, the shapeshifter Yen finds it harder and harder to leave human form, eventually becoming locked in it. After her UnwillingRoboticisation, she finds an alternate way to escape this trope. And her species by default has a WeaksauceWeakness that can shape-lock them, at least until they dry off.
* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'' has this as the danger of undergoing full, rather than {{partial|transformation}} transformation, as the shifter can lose themselves to their animal half without external stimulus to remind them of their human side. [[spoiler:This ended up being the case for Kipo's mother, Song.]]

* IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice: After the Yu-Gi-Oh duel with T'zeentch, Magnus the Red can't shapeshift his wings away, resulting in the Emperor making chicken jokes at his expense.

* An example of the ''lock out'' version of mode lock: In the current-gen console game of ''Spider-Man3'', if the player removes the black suit, they have to wait for a small amount of time before they can use it again.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Daemorphing}}'', Arbron, Elfangor, and Tobias all become nothlits as in canon, but Aftran doesn't become a whale, nor does David get trapped as a rat. [[spoiler:Tom ends up spending too long as a Hork-Bajir instead.]]

** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' introduced the [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Militant Monoform Movement]], a radical group that believed that alternate modes were a form of literal social engineering and should be outlawed. The group's main method of enforcing this seemed to be removing transformation cogs, sometimes not willingly.

* Averted in a ''ComicBook/WildCATs / ComicBook/{{JLA}}'' crossover where Maul is afraid to use his power to [[BlessedWithSuck exchange intelligence for size]] because he would become "too stupid to turn back" if he grew big enough to smash the villain's barrier. {{Superman}} solves it by giving him [[AppliedPhlebotinum an electric spark that turns him small after 30 seconds]].

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': In episode 13, Motoyashu puts a magic shackle on Filo's ankle that forces her to return to her human form and prevents her from shape shifting. It didn't take away any of her other powers, like her SuperStrength, which she uses to kick Motoyashu's ass and escape. Afterwards, Naofumi is able to remove the shackle.

** Grimlock suffers from this in the sequel VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron. Shockwave modelocked Grimlock into robot mode as a failsafe until he could fully control his test subject. UnstoppableRage can let Grimlock temporaraly override the mode lock.

* ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'': Besides all the instances of it from canon, Jake accidentally becomes stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" (he later gets his morphing ability back thanks to the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Ellimist]], [[spoiler:and then mode-locks himself as a human at the end]]), David and [[spoiler:Kelly]] lock themselves in new human forms and start new identities in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" and "What if the Auximorphs joined the team right away?" respectively, and "What if Tobias was stuck as a human in #33?" has it right there in the title.

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'':

* Besides all the instances of it from canon, in ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'', Jake accidentally becomes stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" (he later gets his morphing ability back thanks to the Ellimist, [[spoiler:and then mode-locks himself as a human at the end]]), [[spoiler:Kelly intentionally assumes a new human form]] in "What if the Auximorphs joined the team right away?", Tobias spends over two hours as a red-tailed hawk while caged in the Yeerk Pool in "What if they were caught during their first mission?" to prevent himself from being re-infested, and "What if Tobias was stuck as a human in #33?" has it right there in the title.

* Keiki from ''LightNovel/TheTwelveKingdoms'' is mode-locked in his beast form per orders of {{The Evil Prince}}ss Joei, as a part of her plan to usurp Youko's throne. She does so because, in beast form, Keiki can't either speak to others (to let them know that Joei is ''not'' the rightful heiress to the Kei throne), nor show that [[KneelBeforeZod he's physically unable to kneel in front of Joei]] (since having a ''kirin'' kneel in front of a prospect King/Queen is '''the''' proof of said King/Queen's worth). Youko manages to release him.

* Besides all the instances of it from canon, ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'' has Jake accidentally become stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?" ([[spoiler:he gets his morphing ability back thanks to the Ellimist, and then mode-locks himself as a human at the end]]), and [[spoiler:Kelly intentionally assumes a new human form to prevent herself from dying of cystic fibrosis]] in "What if the Auximorphs joined the team right away?".

* Besides all the instances of it from canon, ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'' has Jake accidentally become stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?", and [[spoiler:Kelly intentionally assumes a new human form to prevent herself from dying of cystic fibrosis]] in "What if the Auximorphs joined the team right away?".

* Besides all the instances of it from canon, ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'' has Jake accidentally becomes stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?", and [[spoiler:Kelly intentionally assumes a new human form to prevent herself from dying of cystic fibrosis]] in "What if the Auximorphs joined the team right away?".

* Fanfic/TabulaRasa is centered around Ranma undergoing an irreversible one in her female form thanks to a gem that Cologne mistakenly told her and Ryoga would lift the curse.

** [[spoiler:[[SixthRangerTraitor David]]]] was deliberately lured into a pipe and then stuck there until he was trapped as rat. He is later dropped off on a deserted island with no-one but real rats for company.