History Main / ToHellandBack

* Near the end of PAD's run, Triton has killed Poseidon and is kicking the crap out of ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} and friends. Aquaman lets Triton kill him, so he can get to the afterlife. Once there, he decks Charon, rallies the souls who didn't have boat fare, jacks Charon's boat, runs Charon over with his own boat, storms the literal Gates of Hell, cuts off one of Cerberus' heads, marches right up to Pluto and demands Poseidon back, ultimately convincing Hades with a very solid BatmanGambit. On his way out, Cerberus is back, and Aquaman has just one word for the titanic guardian of the underworld: [[spoiler: "Stay."]]

* The river Styx, either with or without Charon the boatman and his fee

* "Literature/TheDevilWithTheThreeGoldenHairs": The main character finds the entrance to the Hell -described as a black and sooty place- beyond a wide river traversed by a lonely ferryman's boat. After crossing the border, he easily and quickly finds the Devil's dwelling.

* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' has "[[SuperFunHappyThingOfDoom Hidden Fun Stuff]]".

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' starts Pit off in the Underworld. ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' has Pit return to the Underworld to fight Medusa [[spoiler:and again on two separate occasions to fight Hades]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTeenTitans'', the Teen Titans need to go to Hell to [[spoiler: go to the CrystalPrison Raven made for [[SealedEvilInACan Trigon]] and re-seal him]]. This is [[DownplayedTrope less of an ordeal than usual]] for going to Hell and back because Raven is part-demonic and can just teleport them to a single gauntlet of monsters away where they need to be, then teleport them back.

** Psyche, wife of Eros/Cupid, descended as a task imposed by [[ObnoxiousInLaws Aphrodite/Venus]] in order to beg Persephone/Prosperina for a box of beauty in order to win back her husband whose trust she had betrayed.

* This occurs in Scandinavian variants of tale type ATU 425B, "Son of the Witch" (previously, "The Witch's Tasks"), a subtype of the more general type ATU 425, "The Search for the Lost Husband", of the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, and also in former tale type [=AaTh=] 428, "The Wolf": the heroine finds herself at the mercy of her husband's mother (a man-eating creature or sorceress), and has to perform tasks for her. One of the tasks is to visit her sister (who lives in Hell), and get from there something (usually, a box or casket, but it may also be a comb or tamis).

** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'', as part of Lae'zel's storyline the party either has to make a DealWithTheDevil or open a portal to Hell and invade the home of the devil Raphael to retrieve a SwordOfPlotAdvancement.
*** Another example comprises pretty much the entirety of the game's ''tutorial level'' after the mind flayer nautiloid you awaken on escapes pursuit by shifting into Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, right into the middle of a pitched Blood War battle. Your goal is to reach the damaged nautiloid's helm to steer it back into the mortal plane before it crashes and leaves you stranded in hell, forcing you to fight your way through various demonic entities and mind flayers under a fairly strict time limit.

** ''Highly Responsive to Prayers'': One path has you storming hell for no reason. Though this game isn't really in continuity anymore...

** ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View'' [sic]: They fight a {{Shinigami}} and her boss, the Judge of Hell, while on the banks of the Buddhist equivalent of River Styx.
%%** ''Subterranean Animism'': The final stage is ''former'' hell.

** Episode 1 of the first ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' ends with the Marine being killed and sent to Hell as a result. He then ''fights his way out of Hell'' back to Earth. On top of that, megawad ''VideoGame/{{Sigil}}'' (conceived as an unofficial "Episode 5" to ''Doom'' created by Creator/JohnRomero) has Doomguy being sent back to and fighting his way out of Hell ''again''.
** ''VideoGame/DoomII: Hell on Earth'': The Marine ends up intentionally storming Hell in order to halt the demonic invasion of Earth, and manages to escape back to Earth after killing the Icon of Sin. The ''VideoGame/FinalDoom'' level packs ''TNT: Evilution'' and ''The Plutonia Experiment'' (semi-sequels to ''Doom II'') each have Doomguy invading Hell yet again to stop yet more demonic incursions.
** ''VideoGame/Doom64'': While the original ending has Doomguy deciding to just ''stay'' in Hell to make sure everything really ''does'' stay KilledOffForReal this time, the epilogue campaign in the UpdatedRerelease reveals that Hell itself tried to teleport him back to Earth, forcing him to fight his way ''back'' into Hell.
** ''VideoGame/Doom3'', being a ContinuityReboot, has its version of the Marine go to Hell and back twice. The expansion adds one more round trip to Hell for a different protagonist.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' has a strange aversion, where the character travels to what appears to be Hell, but is revealed to be a pocket plane they created that simply resembles Hell due to their connection to Bhaal.

* In the interactive fiction game ''Frederik Pohl's VideoGame/{{Gateway}}'' (loosely based on the [[Literature/{{Gateway}} book]]) one of the final challenges is escaping Hell. Hell itself is quite small - it's only got four distinct areas but each carries a painful punishment for the player. The escape method relies on the player realizing that [[spoiler:Hell is actually a Virtual Reality and that hydras and Virtual Reality memory limits don't mix well]].

* ''[[Series/{{Angel}} Angel: After the Fall]]'' features all of Los Angeles being trapped in Hell.

* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Sesshoumaru's does this for his MoralityPet Rin in one of the greatest PapaWolf moments in the entire manga. [[spoiler:Not only does he kick the King of Hell's ass, but he also purifies every damned soul in Hell before heading back to have Rin resurrected by his mother, a youkai queen]].

* Creator/MarvelComics has Mephisto who is a Satan-like figure. Many heroes have found themselves facing Mephisto in his realm. One of the most famous being a story in ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'', which saw the hero and the entire Hell's Kitchen district of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity venturing into his realm.
** There is also Damien Hellstrom, ''the Son of Satan'' who has traveled to Hell and returned many times due to his dad being Satan himself (or one of Marvel's many versions of him).
** Almost every version of Comicbook/GhostRider has ventured into Hell.

** ComicBook/SpiderMan once died in a lesser-known and underrated story. He traveled to Death's Realm and fought ComicBook/{{Thanos}} for the soul of a little girl.
** The ComicBook/XMen teamed up with Comicbook/DoctorStrange and had an adventure in Hell. Or so it seemed. Strange was suspicious when Hell was a by-the-book copy of Dante's ''Inferno''. And then Colossus ripped down the gates of Hell, even though according to said book, no one short of Christ is supposed to be capable of that feat. It turned out to be a hoax; "Hell" was an elaborate illusion by sorceress Margoli Szardos, and Colossus was able to break through her spells due to his iron body having an AntiMagic effect.
** Magik from the ComicBook/NewMutants rules her own region of Hell called Limbo, meaning she and her teammates technically go to Hell and back at least once an issue.

* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', where Morpheus travels to Hell to retrieve his helmet, and again to free Nada, though the latter didn't turn out so well.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': When Sofia Constantinas is imprisoned in Hades for wandering too close to one of its entrances without proper protections ComicBook/SteveTrevor, rather casually, runs in after her and pulls her back out right by Cerberus who seems more likely to greet Trevor with a friendly lick than attack. As Steve had come back from death twice by this point evidently the underworld doesn't have much hold on him.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Franchise/WonderWoman, ComicBook/WonderGirl and Ferdinand travel to Hades to rescue Hermes, who has been imprisoned in Tartarus by Hades.

* Creator/LarryNiven and Creator/JerryPournelle revisited Dante's Inferno in their own [[Literature/InfernoLarryNivenAndJerryPournelle modern version]]. The central character, Allen Carpenter, traveled through the same Hell, encountering many similar events. However, some of the settings had been modernized -- there were demonic cars, and the Grove of the Suicides was being bulldozed. Replacing Virgil's role as guide was Benito [[spoiler:[[UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini Mussolini]]. In the end, Allen had Benito climb Satan rather than himself to seek divine forgiveness.]]
* Most of the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' visit Hell at some point in their respective books. How bad it is depends on whether Satan's showing them the vacation brochure version or allowing them to see the real thing. The Incarnations are powerful enough that Satan can't keep them there against their will, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's easy for them to get out, and if they've got mortal companions Satan has ''a lot'' more leverage.
* Creator/RobertAHeinlein's story ''Literature/MagicInc''.
* When the Walking Death takes over Literature/MarlaMason's city and essentially holds it hostage in return for her dagger of office, Marla invades the underworld, meaning to sit in his throne and acquire the power to get him out of Felport. She has a friend show her to the AfterlifeExpress, and (along with her valet) encounters all of the people she has killed, some of whom want her to join them. Then it turns out that the old Death is still at home on his throne...

* Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' featured this in one annual, wherein the eponymous plant elemental journeyed through the afterlife -- visiting the Realm of the Just-Dead, Heaven, and Hell -- in order to find and bring back Abby, whose evil uncle, Anton Arcane, had cast her down to Hell. In addition to the similarity to the Orpheus myth, the issue also functioned as a retelling of Literature/TheDivineComedy, with Dante's supernatural guides being replaced by their closest DCU equivalents -- Deadman, ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger, The Spectre, and ComicBook/{{Etrigan}}.

* ''Film/EventHorizon'' is a film about a spaceship that miraculously reappears near Neptune after using an experimental warp drive. Unfortunately for the investigation crew who set foot on it to find out what happened, not only did the ship go ToHellAndBack, but it [[EldritchAbomination brought a little bit of Hell back with it]].

* This happens on a daily basis to people living in a certain area in [[http://www.hell2u.com/ Michigan]].

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' has a StoryArc called "[[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19980427 Torg Goes To Hell]]." He's eventually [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/19980510 rescued]], but [[TrappedInAnotherWorld it takes bit longer to get back to his own universe]].
** Sam goes to Hell properly so called in the Saturday fillers at one point, taken there by the Demon Queen Deplora (who is not a native either, having her own separate hellish dimension). Later on, this is referenced in the main comic with his saying he's been to hell and back, maybe literally, in a ContinuityNod towards the "mostly canon" and not terribly loved Saturday comics.

** Episode 1 of the first ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' ends with the Marine being killed and sent to Hell as a result. He then ''fights his way out of Hell'' back to Earth. On top of that, megawad ''VideoGame/{{Sigil}}'' (sort of an "Episode 5" to ''Doom'') has Doomguy being sent back to and fighting his way out of Hell ''again''.
** In ''Doom II: Hell on Earth'', the Marine ends up intentionally storming Hell in order to halt the demonic invasion of Earth, and manages to escape back to Earth after killing the Icon of Sin. The ''VideoGame/FinalDoom'' level packs ''TNT: Evilution'' and ''The Plutonia Experiment'' (semi-sequels to ''Doom II'') each have Doomguy invading Hell yet again to stop yet more demonic incursions.
** While the original ending of ''VideoGame/Doom64'' has Doomguy deciding to just ''stay'' in Hell to make sure everything really ''does'' stay KilledOffForReal this time, the epilogue campaign in the UpdatedRerelease reveals that Hell itself tried to teleport him back to Earth, forcing him to fight his way ''back'' into Hell.
** ContinuityReboot ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'' has its version of the Marine go to Hell and back twice. The expansion adds one more round trip to Hell for a different protagonist.

* Kyril from ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic VI''. After walking alive into Sheogh, the local equivalent of Hell, to bodyguard an angel, he is betrayed and used as a bargaining-chip, his soul sold to one of the local Arch-Devils. Enraged, he fights his way out, conquering a significant territory in Sheogh on the way, and forming a reluctant alliance with the Arch-Demon he was sold to, ensuring that when he bursts back unto the surface, he does so at the vanguard of a horde of demons. He even finds himself attracting further demonic allies even after that point, solely due to his ever-increasing badassitude, since demons follow the rule of AsskickingEqualsAuthority.

* One of the legends told in the course of ''Literature/WatershipDown'' features the first rabbit, El-ahrairah, descending into Inle -- evidently the Lapine version of Hades -- and winning his people's freedom from the Black Rabbit who rules there. Hint: it involves sacrificing his ears. And that's only the ''beginning''. No, folks, contrary to the marketing, this is not a cute bunny story.

* The whole main cast of ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' goes on a trip to Hades to save Athena. Phoenix Ikki in particular comes and goes frequently.
** Also seen in ''Manga/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas'', the entire time. Cancer Manigoldo states that the underworld is his playground, and Virgo Asmita's first appearance is in Hell. Whilst the main characters are in Hell too, of course.

** This Hell has pretty much everything a typical Underworld tourist would want. It's a perfect example of the trope.

* DC's ''ComicBook/TheSpectre'', being the literal embodiment of the Wrath of God, is on a first-name basis (note that doesn't mean ''friendly'', it just means they know each other) with pretty much everyone having to do with the afterlife and at least some versions of the character have the ability to send people to Hell temporarily for educational purposes.

** But it exists within Bhaal's realm, and so really is in The Nine Hells/The Abyss/Gehenna/wherever. These three are all Lower Planes, and so basically count as hell; the two first both seem to be suggested as the location at some point, the third is where it should have been by canon.
* The primary driving force behind the initial plot of ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta 2}}'' was for the titular character to find the [[HellGate Gates of Hell]] to enter [[{{Hell}} Inferno]] to reclaim the soul of her dear friend and fellow Umbra Witch, Jeanne ... and ''then'' manage to get back out again. Getting into Inferno takes up the majority of the game, although getting out of Inferno ends up being a lot easier, happening pretty much by accident as a result of elements from the secondary storyline in the game.