History Main / ShapeshifterModeLock

** Loren becomes an Andalite nothlit in ''A Place to Stand''[='=]s alternate timeline.

* 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.

* 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 its human form and he is able to activate his full Devil Trigger at will, which transforms his entire body rather than just his arm.]]

** Happened 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 imitation Omnitrix, cursing him to stay in human form (which he absolutely hates).

* An example of the ''lock out'' version of mode lock: In the current-gen console game of ''Spider-Man 3'', if the player removes the black suit, they have to wait for a small amount of time before they can use it again.

* 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.

** The amulet of unchanging will mode lock the player. This is usually a good thing, since most transformations are [[BalefulPolymorph unwanted]].

* In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', anyone who enters Betel's Forest is [[BalefulPolymorph turned into a beast form]], and those who [[VoluntaryShapeshifting can normally shapeshift]] are unable to revert while remaining there. Kalliv couldn't revert until chapter 3, despite leaving the forest in chapter 2.

* The horror story [[http://everything2.com/user/grundoon/writeups/We+don%2527t+make+good+wives?author=grundoon We don't make good wives]] explains why one should never [[BalefulPolymorph do this]] to a shapeshifting snake woman, no matter how much of a CuteMonsterGirl you think she is.

** Jake accidentally becomes stuck as a tiger in "What if Jake was stuck in morph?". He later gets his morphing ability back from the Ellimist ''á la'' Tobias in ''The Change'', [[spoiler:then nothlits himself as a human at the end. Also, instead of turning David into a rat, Jake orders him to create a new human morph and stay in it for over two hours, then turn himself into the local youth shelter.]]

* 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, and after Alloran is killed, Esplin infests Gafinilan and nothlits him in Alloran's body.]]

* 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.

** The overwhelming majority of shapeshifting powers being supernatural in nature, any form of AntiMagic (including a dead magic zone or a null-magic plane) will immediately revert shapechangers into their true forms, and keep them from transforming again until they escape the area.

*** Although the books tend to avoid going into detail, [[WordOfGod secondary]] sources indicate that this is what happens to changelings if they become pregnant -- they ''might'' be able to shift between female forms, but they can't shift to a non-female form until they give birth.

** A number of spells, like Moonbeam and Wall of Moonlight, can force a shapeshifted creature back into its default form and prevent it from transforming for a short time.

** In one episode of the original 1969 series, aptly named "_____", Akko-chan, upon meeting a [[LongLostUncleAesop new deaf kid]], uses her mirror, out of curiosity and compassion, to transform herself in a deaf-mute version of herself. Too bad that, since the mirror works by clear utterances of the needed transformation, and since [[LiteralGenie Akko-chan insisted on the "mute" part of her ailment]], Akko-chan couldn't ask the mirror to be changed back anymore.
*** Apparently, the mirror could have hit the ResetButton all the times, but [[spoiler:since it believed Akko-chan's desire for deafness shallow and impulsive, had decided to [[AnAesop show her how serious is an handicap]] by threatening Akko-chan with a permanent mode-lock]], with the added perk to show how badly she was missing the point: instead of trying to feel on a temporary basis what deafness is, she should have rather stopped at how her new friend was going on even knowing that he couldn't get a magic mirror to fix him.

* ''Film/MyFavoriteMartian'': Coleye gets ahold of some of the nerplex gum that the Martians use to transform into different species. He's initially exhilarated to transform into an alien himself (as he had spent the whole film desperately trying to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life), but in the midst of the change he accidentally swallows the gum, leaving him stuck like that. This proves inconvenient when his fellow SETI members tranquilize and capture him.

* Happened to David Banner one time on ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'', but in an [[IncrediblyLamePun incredibly]] strange way: in the two-parter "Prometheus", Dr. Banner got a little too close to a radioactive meteorite, and got stuck halfway between himself and the Hulk. For the duration of the ShapeshifterModeLock, he retained his consciousness and intelligence, but had difficulty concentrating and focusing, and also possessed a fair portion of the Hulk's strength. Later ''in the same episode'', he effectively got Mode Locked AS the Hulk after being captured and imprisoned by the military; his futile attempts to break free of his cell kept him pissed off enough to stay green.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Visionaries}}'' has few examples of this:

* In ''ComicStrip/ScaryGary'', Gary gets stuck in his bat form but with his human face at one point, and needs Owen to help him figure out what’s wrong, since as a bat, he can’t flip through the pages of his copy of an "undead owners manual".

** A plot point in the episode "Con of Rath", wherein Ben spends basically the entire episode in the form of the titular alien (which debuted in said episode). This was due to electromagnetic interference inadvertently caused by the Luodan Prince Tiffin, whom the crew have to escort in a [[spoiler:supposed]] peacemaking effort.

** ''Ben 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.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}:

** As a variant, Kevin winds up submitting to Mode Lock after overuse of previously-acquired Omnitrix-fueled transformation -- what Vilgax calls a "misshapen, chaotic amalgamation". By the time ''Alien Force'' rolls around, he [[UnexplainedRecovery returned to human form]] in time for his escape from the Null-Void.
*** Seems to have happened to Kevin yet again in ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]'', since now he's part concrete, metal, diamond, and other stuff.
*** 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 imitation Omnitrix, cursing him to stay in human form (which he absolutely hates).
*** Also a plot point in the episode "Con of Rath", wherein Ben spends basically the entire episode in the form of the titular alien (which debuted in said episode). This was due to electromagnetic interference inadvertently caused by the Luodan Prince Tiffin, whom the crew have to escort in a [[spoiler:supposed]] peacemaking effort.
*** Ben does this on purpose in ''Omniverse'', using a mode lock feature on the Omnitrix to stick himself in a form known for diplomatic skills to negotiate between 2 alien races (one of which is Rath's species). [[spoiler: Unfortunately one of the ''diplomats'' infested Ben with alien fleas, planning on ruining the peace talk by having the fleas cause Ben to ''explode''!]]
*** In another episode, "The Frogs of War", Ben uses the mode lock to keep him as a member of the species that [[spoiler:invaded the earth and exiled him]]. It's notable that this example the audience is unaware until shortly before he removes the lock.
* This is the entire purpose of the Plasmius Maximus in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom''. It has been used on both Danny and Vlad, modelocking them into their human forms. Other weapons/containment devices have this as a side effect of sorts.