History Main / TimeStandsStill

* ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter'' features the Healing Touch, an ability Derek possesses that lets him slow down time if things get critical. During the operation on the Savato GUILT, it proceeds to attack the patient's heart, forcing Derek to use his ability, but when Savato is still capable of moving at fast speed, Derek uses the Healing Touch a second time, causing time to stop completely and allowing him to eliminate the Savato.

* ''VideoGame/StartAgainStartAgainStartAgainAPrologue'': The land of Vaugarde is suffering from this thanks to The King. Many of the world's inhabitants have been Frozen in time, and this can also happen to your party... though [[TheChosenOne The Housemaiden]] has a special resistance to it, due to being blessed by the Change God, and can cure any of her friends who fall to it.

* ''Literature/Orthogonal'': this is the basis for the entire trilogy: because [[MinovskyPhysics physics works very differently]] in their universe, the main character of the first book helms a project to create a [[GenerationSHips generation ship]] that can travel fast enough that relativistic effects cause an eon to pass on the ship while four years pass at home, in order to buy time to find a solution to the [[spoiler: [[ApocalypseHow swarm of infinite-velocity antimatter asteroids coming their way]].]]

* In ''Series/{{Tracker}}'', Cole (AKA Daggon), as well as every other Cirronian, has an ability that allows them to step into "hypertime" for several seconds, which slows time down to a crawl. He uses it once to trick a mobster into thinking that he has killed him by going into hypertime and moving his head away from the bullet until it has passed him and then back. When normal time is restored, he makes sure to fall into water after the gunshot. There was also an episode where he and another Cirronian use this ability simultaneously to save a falling human. The BigBad later invents a device that is a better version of this ability, as it takes only minutes to recharge, while Cirronians need a day.

** In ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'', this is {{inverted}} by [[spoiler:[[BigBad Father Pucci]]'s final Stand "Made in Heaven" (which is indirectly derived from The World). It infinitely ''accelerates'' time while keeping living beings moving at normal speed, making it appear that food rots instantly, vehicles [[TooFastToStop become supersonic and crash instantly]], and the cycle of day and night strobes faster and faster until the sun is just a golden streak dividing the sky. Pucci alone is included in the accelerated timeframe, granting him effective SuperSpeed. However, this is just a side effect of Made in Heaven's true purpose, to accelerate time so far that it triggers a [[CosmicRetcon new cycle of the universe]].]]

* The super-speed version shows up in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' as [[spoiler:Metroman decides to take some time out mid-confrontation for some self-reflection.]]

** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': [[ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} Peter Maximoff]] uses his super speed to mess with some Pentagon guards, and to redirect the bullets they had just fired. From his perspective, everyone and everything is frozen in time. A similar scene happens in ''Film/XMenApocalypse'', where he arrives at the X-Mansion shortly ''after'' an explosion begins yet pulls everyone out [[spoiler:except Havok, who had already been caught in the explosion]] in a few nanoseconds.

* ''Series/TheCollector'': It's used by the Devil sometimes to talk in privacy. Or to offer [[DealWithTheDevil a deal]] to someone who is seconds away from death.

** The earlier ''Series/KamenRider555'' came close to the same effect with the eponymous Rider's Axel Form. When [[Series/KamenRiderDecade Decade]] uses Faiz Accel Form, however, it's portrayed as a match for Clock-Up, resulting in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDuYOw3FwDQ an almost DBZ-level fistfight.]]

* In ''Series/Lucifer2016'', this is the angel Amenadiel's power. Typically, an indicator that Amenadiel has appeared is everything slowing down to a crawl for everyone but Lucifer. One episode involves Lucifer deliberately summoning his brother in order to make use of his ability as part of his plan to punish a killer ([[spoiler:catching a bullet in mid-air and then seemingly teleporting several yards away]]). In Season 2, [[spoiler: he [[BroughtDownToNormal loses this power]] when [[HumanityEnsues he becomes human]] as punishment for his [[WellIntentionedExtremist actions]] in Season 1, but regains it and his angelic status at the end of the season.]]

* VideoGame/CommandAndConquer:

** VideoGame/MentalOmega: This is the signature ability of [[spoiler:the Paradox Engine, the Allied Nations' superweapon and mobile headquarters intended as their trump card against the [[DirtyCommunists Soviet Union]], and then against the [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill Epsilon Army]]. The Engine's Time Freeze ability shares the same activation sound as the aforementioned Sigma Harmonizer, but it works for up to 2 minutes right from the get-go, proving to be a ''massive'' GameChanger in the Allies' struggle against their enemies.]]

* ''VideoGame/Disgaea5'': Killia's initial [[LimitBreak Overload Skill]], ''Alma Ice Sculpture'', allowed him to freeze time around a target. However, due to how much energy it consumed, it is noted as being AwesomeButImpractical for combat. Before the events of the game, [[BigBad Void Dark]] stole it using his Overload Skill, [[PowerParasite Brigante Eclipse]] alongside several other Overload skills throughout the story [[spoiler: in order to revive his older sister, Liezerota, whom he accidentally killed when she took a hit intended to finish off Killia.]] When the party does face Void Dark near the end of the game, he cycles through all the Overloads he stole throughout the story; when Alma Ice {{Sculpture|s}} is active, anyone he strikes will be unable to take their next action.

* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': [[spoiler:Malleus's unique magic creates an area of effect that puts anyone within to sleep and freezes time.]]
* ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' provides an example of this: start a match against bots, bring up the console and type in: ''playersonly''. This will freeze time. [[VeryHighVelocityRounds Your hitscan weapons will work as usual]], the various projectiles of the other weapons will come a full stop after leaving the barrel. The possibilities are endless: you can surround a bot with rockets from every direction and when typing ''playersonly'' again (which lets the flow of time continue) [[HilarityEnsues watch them explode]]. Or shoot every bot with your sniper rifle and after starting time again, watch as all of their heads are propelling into every direction. Works only against bots, but it can be loads of fun.

** Metron also does this during the GrandFinale (saying that they "exist between two ticks of the clock") to warn [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] of [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid the consequences of his actions]].

* Mused upon metaphorically in the appropriately titled Music/{{Rush}} song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMSFqXGZ5TQ "Time Stand Still"]]. Notably, it's "Time '''Stand''' Still", as in asking for time to stand still. As opposed to the song by Gary Lewis and the Playboys (at the end of which, said lead singer does a spot-on imitation of his [[Creator/JerryLewis father]]).

* Raven of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands manages]] this in the episode "Birthmark." Unfortunately for her, [[spoiler:Slade, the one she was trying to stop, was immune to the time freeze because he had been given powers by her father, Trigon]].

* It shows up as ''Time Stop'', one of the highest-level spells available in TabletopGames ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. In the 1st and 2nd editions, the spell actually caused time to halt within a certain radius of the caster. Since third edition, however, the spell description has changed and the caster himself speeds up, merely creating the impression that time has stopped and altering the way actions play out while the spell is in effect. Either way, it was one of the most GameBreaker powers, essentially granting the caster several entire rounds to do whatever they liked unopposed. It got a serious nerfing in 4th edition, where it became an epic tier (it had been a level 9 spell before) Utility spell that could only be cast once per day and simply the caster a few extra actions for that turn, which could ''not'' be used to attack... though there were still some shenanigans which could be pulled off with it. It was buffed up a bit again in 5th edition, though still nowhere near as broken as before; once again, like in the old editions, time ''is'' stopped around the user, and the user is given 1d4 + 1 extra rounds with a major caveat: if the caster does something that affects another creature or an object they are carrying, time resumes early. This is purposefully open for abuse to allow for creativity, because another spell, Delayed Blast Fireball, gains power the longer it has been left out in the field of battle, making it a perfect 'finisher' for Time Stop, and the spell only specifies that affecting objects carried by others will end the spell; nothing says you can't use telekinesis to prop up a few boulders over your foes until time resumes.
** The expansion book ''Book Of Nine Swords: Tome Of Battle'' introduced a high-level ability that was actually called Time Stands Still. It allows the user to make two full-round attacks in one turn instead of one. With a certain build from that book, this makes it possible to make up to ''fourteen attacks'' in a single round (six seconds). And don't even think about how many you get with a Thri-kreen (four arms).