History Main / StolenGoodReturnedBetter

* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/CaveStory''. You get your first weapon, the Polar Star, by stealing it from the hermit gunsmith. If you return to him later in the game, he angrily takes the Polar Star back--but calms down when he notices how much wear and tear is on the gun now. Genuinely impressed that you put his weapon to such good use, he upgrades the Polar Star into the Spur and gives it back to you.

* PlayedForLaughs in a ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' movie. Bender swaps Leela's engagement ring with a fake, but after examining the stolen ring, he realizes that the replacement he made is actually more valuable. He shrugs it off, considering it his gift to Leela.
** And again when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Fry gets his hands back from the Robot Devil]].
--->'''Fry:''' And what did you do to my ''nails''?
--->'''Robot Devil:''' I ''cleaned'' them.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', the Citadel's automated Confiscating Field takes and disintegrated all of Gordon's weapons...just to accidentally power up the Gravity Gun when it tries to destroy it, turning it into the [[EleventhHourSuperpower weapon Gordon cleans up the entier Citadel with]].

* Michael and the rest of his TrueCompanions from ''Series/BurnNotice'' often have to steal cars as part of their various plans to help their [[VictimOfTheWeek Client of the week]]. While those cars aren't always improved by the crew using them, it is revealed several seasons into the show that they've been having Michael's mother Madeline "find" all these missing cars and report their location to the police in order to make sure they get returned to their owners, usually no more than a day or two after taking them.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', the Hive takes over the Titans' (filthy) Tower. By the time the Titans retake it, the Hive have cleaned it up and alphabetized their [=CDs=]. Beast Boy and Cyborg are appalled, since now they can't find anything, and they were saving [[ItCameFromTheFridge that blue mold]].

--> "Tomorrow, though? You'll be the captain of the ship where then thousand dead people came back to life."

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2018-01-04 Captain Kaepu]] finds himself with a bunch of "uninvited guests" on his ship[[note]]He's aware that some of the more xenophobic members might hold him responsible for them being there, until the happy later realization that they didn't give him a choice[[/note]], and in reassuring him they just want to "borrow" some of his ship's equipment;

* In an episode of ''Series/MichaelBentinesPottyTime'', a thief steals [[MonumentalTheft Nelson's Column, the Effiel Tower and the Statue of Liberty]]. It turns out the thief was actually having them cleaned as a gift to the governments of the United Kingdom, France and the USA and returned them in 'as-new' condition.

* A variant occurs in ''Series/Leverage''. The team is hired by a charity who discovers that their investment broker has stolen from them and gone into hiding. When they find him, they discover he's actually a pretty decent guy and he had stolen the money because he knew he could quadruple it if he used tricks and back-channels.

* In the mid 1990's, a disillusioned mid-level bank employee staged a real life BavarianFireDrill caper which led to him walking out the front door of his former place of employment with over $1,000,000 in a duffelbag. When tracked down several years later thanks to the ImprobablyCoolCar he bought as his one splurge, however, he was ultimately able to gain a reduced sentence and make a settlement with the bank allowing his family to keep some of the money and much of the property he had purchased: Through otherwise conservative spending and some savvy investing, he had actually turned his bloodless $1 million dollar caper into a $12 million dollar diversified portfolio, allowing him to make full recompense for his single crime, plus interest.

* The old Creator/MarvelComics series ''The ComicBook/NewWarriors'' played with this a bit. The character Silhouette stole an [[MySuitIsAlsoSuper Unstable Molecule costume]] from [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] (she could meld into the shadows for teleportation but would [[BlessedWithSuck always lose her clothes in the process since they can't meld with her]], forcing her to find something with less FanService). She shed her old costume and stole the new one, feeling guilty about the situation afterwards. She tried to return it to Richards, but he was fine with the situation and ended up tweaking it slightly for her... and offering to make further costumes for her in the future.
* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'': In a variation on both this and GoneSwimmingClothesStolen, Leetah and Nightfall leave their clothes on a branch while [[LesYay dancing in the moonlight]]. While they do, the seamstress Moonshade surreptitiously removes their clothes from the branch and replaces them with new ones.
* In ''Batman '66: The Lost Episode'' (based off an unproduced script written by none other than HarlanEllison), Two-Face steals a nearly complete set of ancient Chinese plates from a museum, only to return the set with the missing piece when his coin comes good-heads up.

* In the classic text-adventure game ''VideoGame/{{Zork}}'', one of the treasures you find is a golden egg... but if you let the thief steal it, when you find his lair later, you find that the egg has been opened, and it contains a golden singing bird--much more valuable!

* There is an UrbanLegend that says [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Fred Rogers]]' car was once stolen. When the thieves discovered whose car it was, they returned it with an apology note and all the damage they had done repaired. Some variations of the legend also say that the car was detailed upon return with a few coats of car wax. ''{{WebSite/Snopes}}'' covered it [[http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/rogerscar.asp here]].

* The old Creator/MarvelComics series ''The NewWarriors'' played with this a bit. The character Silhouette stole an [[MySuitIsAlsoSuper Unstable Molecule costume]] from [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] (she could meld into the shadows for teleportation but would [[BlessedWithSuck always lose her clothes in the process since they can't meld with her]], forcing her to find something with less FanService). She shed her old costume and stole the new one, feeling guilty about the situation afterwards. She tried to return it to Richards, but he was fine with the situation and ended up tweaking it slightly for her... and offering to make further costumes for her in the future.

* In ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', Marty [=McFly=] steals a kid's scooter, ripping off the handles so it's just the board. When he gives it back, it's the world's first skateboard.
** He does something similar in the future, ganking a Franchise/{{Barbie}}-branded {{hoverboard}} from a little girl. When he goes to return it, she lets him keep it because she found Griff's high-end, rocket-propelled "Pit Bull" instead.

* An UrbanLegend says [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Fred Rogers']] car was stolen, and when the thief discovered that that was whom he robbed, returned it after detailing it.
** ''{{WebSite/Snopes}}'' covered it [[http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/rogerscar.asp here]].