History SealedEvilInACan / WesternAnimation

** Nibiru from ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SheZow'', [=BrouHaHa=] was imprisoned in a vacuumn cleaner, that he also happened to be in a box, by Anges Monroe, the Previous [=SheZow=], he was imprisioned there for 61 years, until some unwitting customer brought it off from Guy Hamdon, the current [=SheZow=], in a garage sale.

** In ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E23InspirationManifestation Inspiration Manifestation]]'', the tome was hidden away and locked behind a caged door for a reason. But Spike fails to notice any of this.
** As shown in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E25TwilightsKingdomPart1 Twilights Kingdom Part 1]]'', Lord Tirek was imprisoned in Tartarus and has escaped.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', Marceline's father, the Lord Of Evil, is sealed in the Nightosphere. Finn [[NiceJobBreakingItHero frees him, not knowing how evil he was]]. In the end, Finn manages to seal hime back into the Nightosphere. Even worse is [[OmnicidalManiac the Lich]], the UltimateEvil who was imprisoned inside amber within a great tree by the legendary hero Billy. He finally broke free during the season 2 finale.

** Discord had been [[TakenForGranite imprisoned in a stone statue]] by Celestia and Luna since ancient times for the suffering his rule brought everyone in Equestria. The Cutie Mark Crusaders release him by [[NiceJobBreakingItHero creating discord (fighting) in front of it]], giving him the power to break free from his weakened prison. He's put back in his can at the end of Part 2. [[spoiler:The Mane Six eventually release him and [[HeelFaceTurn reform him]].]]
** [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E20ItsAboutTime "It's About Time"]] reveals that there're a bunch of these things sealed away in Tartarus that are guarded by Cerberus.

* The Serpentine and the Stone Army in ''Franchise/{{Ninjago}}''.

* The Serpentine and the Stone Army in ''{{Ninjago}}''.

** And in the same show, Ghostfreak is an odd example of evil that got sealed in a can ''accidentally'', his DNA sampled for the show's ClingyMacGuffin so that the wearer can turn into him, and the personalities of his species being encoded in their genes somehow. Eventually, he gets loose and becomes Ben's EnemyWithout.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has both Pariah Dark and the [[FutureMeScaresMe future]] [[WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy self]] of the titular character.
** Also the Fright Knight, released first by Danny himself (accidently), and later by Pariah Dark so that he could act as TheDragon.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has The Mare in the Moon, a corrupted princess who reigned over the night, but [[FaceHeelTurn turned evil]] when she saw how little the night was appreciated. She refused to [[TheNightThatNeverEnds let the sun rise]], so her sister used the [[CosmicKeystone Elements of Harmony]] to banish her to the moon. But the [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight legends state]] that on the longest day of the thousandth year, [[WhenThePlanetsAlign the stars will aid in her escape]]...
** The villain of the first two episodes of season two, Discord -- the evil [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Spirit Of Disharmony]] who ruled Equestria as a land of chaos and suffering -- was [[TakenForGranite trapped in a stone prison]] over 1000 years ago by Princesses Celestia and Luna using the Elements Of Harmony. After they lost their link to the Elements Of Harmony, the seal keeping him imprisoned began to break, and finally a little bit of chaos happening right next to it ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero thanks to the Cutie Mark Crusaders getting in a fight]]) gave him the strength to escape and begin his reign of chaos and disharmony anew. In the end, the [[FanNickname Mane Cast]] put him back.
*** [[spoiler: Then ultimately subverted, as in a season 3 episode, Celestia has the Mane Six release him in order to redeem him. It works. [[ReformedButNotTamed Mostly]]]]
** "It's About Time" reveals that there're a bunch of these things sealed away in Tartarus that are guarded by Cerberus.
** Season 3 villain King Sombra was the EvilOverlord of the Crystal Empire and [[SlaveRace enslaved its entire population]] under horrific conditions. Celestia and Luna defeated him by turning him into a LivingShadow, banishing him to the arctic north were he was sealed away in a glacier. Yes, he was [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof banished then imprisoned in the place he was banished to]]. A thousand years later, he manages to escape the glacier, but is still left a presumably less dangerous LivingShadow. Makes one wonder just how many cans Equestria has. Subverted in the end, the Crystal Ponies straight up ''[[KilledOffForReal kill him]].''
** The IDW Comics have this with [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings ending up imprisoned in their own castle after their second defeat.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' had a lot of these.

** ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' brought us [[PsychoPrototype Protoform X a.k.a. Rampage]]. He was the result of Maximal experiments to produce an immortal super-soldier by copying Starscream's mutant spark. They got that part right in the form of [[GoneHorriblyRight an unkillable serial killer that slaughtered human and cybertronian alike]]. After eventually capturing him, the Maximal Elders sealed in up in a stasis pod then turned him over to Optimus Primal's to dump on some desolate asteroid since they could figure out how to destroy him. Several adventures later and the monster was unleashed again and recruited by the Predacons.

* Trigon in season four of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', where his daughter Raven becomes his portal into the world, allowing him to turn every creature in the biosphere [[TakenForGranite into stone]] and cover the planet in lava.
** Also, the dragon Malchior in an earlier episode qualifies, sealed in one of Raven's spellbooks.
* Most seasons of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' involved the cast attempting to reseal escaped Sealed Evil in a Can once using a jar-like object. In the series, this is {{justified|Trope}} by the fact that destroying evil will only allow a different (and probably stronger) evil to take its place. Better then to keep around the evil threat you already ''know'' how to deal with, than risk leaving the way open for something far worse to come up that you may not know how to deal with in time.
** In other words, the devil you know is better than the one you don't.
** In addition to the main villains, there was also Spring Heeled Jack, who was [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] long ago and accidentally released and the Monkey King, who's imprisoned as a puppet.
* The singing, dancing frog who ruined a man's life in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "WesternAnimation/OneFroggyEvening" was placed into a cement slab and freed several hundred years in the future. The frog was also found by the man in question in that cement slab, so he may have been taken out of and put back into the slab many, many times by all the men whose lives he had ruined.
** This is based on the story of a real (not evil) horned lizard that was sealed in the cornerstone of a courthouse (long before they were on any endangered species list). 31 years later the stone was opened and the horned lizard was alive and lived on for almost a year afterward.
* ''ComicBook/MonsterAllergy'' has this when it comes to trapping monsters.
* Wuya from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' was trapped in a puzzle box for 1,500 years until Jack Spicer freed her unwittingly.
** Likewise, Hannibal Roy Bean was trapped in the Yin-Yang world for nearly as long until Omi freed him unwittingly.
** And then there's Sibini, who was trapped in the Mosaic Scale until "The Evil Within".
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has both Pariah Dark and the [[FutureMeScaresMe future]] [[WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy self]] of the titular character.
** Also the Fright Knight, released first by Danny himself (accidently), and later by Pariah Dark so that he could act as TheDragon.
* The Dark One from ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'', who is so large he requires a planet for a functioning seal. Please see the "Exaggerated" example for further details.
* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', "Phantoms": Due to TimeTravel, Franchise/{{Superman}} accidentally unseals an evil that, it's implied, his future self [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble sealed/will seal]] a thousand years beforehand.

* Aku in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''.
** The three servants of Set.
* Hades, Greek God of the Underworld, in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. Released by Felix Faust in the hopes that Hades will grant him "ultimate knowledge" in return. Hades naturally betrays Faust by [[spoiler:causing him to instantly age to an old man since "Ultimately, pain and suffering are all humans will ever know."]]
* The 13 Ghosts from the Chest of Demons in ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo''.
** Nibiru from ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''
* In the prequel episode of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', we discover that the dormant Supercomputer was sealing XANA for 10 years. It is Jérémie, by turning it back on, who unleashed the malevolent program (plus his future girlfriend) on the world.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', the Warner Brothers (and their sister Dot) were Sealed Zany in a Water Tower. In this case, it was more Sealed ''Chaos'' in a Can.
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' had some sort of a sealed evil monkey man who petrified people in one episode. His name fit him perfectly, The Yono
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' had a lot of these.
** For 4 million years, the ''Ark'' held the Decepticons and Autobots in stasis, under a volcano... until volcanic activity shook things up and woke up the evil Decepticons.
** In ''Cosmic Rust'', there's a [[GhostPlanet dead planet]] with radio beacons warning travelers to stay away or die horribly. The Decepticons plunder it, and in the process, catch the metal-eating plague called Cosmic Rust.
*** [[TheStarscream Starscream]] shows signs of TabletopRPG GenreSavvy in this episode: when confronted with [[AncientTomb a sealed crypt]] with a curse warning on it, he proclaims that "a curse on the door means treasure behind the door" and breaks in. Unfortunately, he's in a Transformers cartoon, not a [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D game]], making it a near-fatal case of WrongGenreSavvy.
** In ''Return of Optimus Prime'', the HatePlague spores were sealed ''inside a star'' after their last outbreak. Unfortunately, the star went nova.
** Starscream himself could be considered Sealed Evil in a Can in the episode ''Starscream's Ghost''; his ghost first appears after Octane tumbles into the Decepticon crypt and knocks over the ruins of Starscream's grave marker.
** ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' brought us [[PsychoPrototype Protoform X a.k.a. Rampage]]. He was the result of Maximal experiments to produce an immortal super-soldier by copying Starscream's mutant spark. They got that part right in the form of [[GoneHorriblyRight an unkillable serial killer that slaughtered human and cybertronian alike]]. After eventually capturing him, the Maximal Elders sealed in up in a stasis pod then turned him over to Optimus Primal's to dump on some desolate asteroid since they could figure out how to destroy him. Several adventures later and the monster was unleashed again and recruited by the Predacons.
** Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. [[spoiler: After Unicron's defeat by Primus, his body was cast away into the depths of space. His gravitational pull attracted matter over billions of years which coallessed into the Earth itself. Unicron's physical form is the Earth's core, but he can control the mineral deposits on the surface and create golems of himself, among other things.]] Played straight [[spoiler:when Optimus traps Unicron's Anti-Spark (his soul basically) inside an indestructible reliquary in the series GrandFinale.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'': In the first episode, the Pastmaster is Sealed Evil in a Treasure Chest. We don't learn he exists until ''after'' he gets unsealed.
** There's also the Mad Kat The Insane Jester, who was sealed in a jack in the box.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' played with this trope on occasion, notably in the episode "Knock, Knock". They even played with Chthulu in one episode.
** The SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'' also used this trope a few times.
* Baron Mordo in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'' is sealed within a ''soda'' can... that Thor opens when raiding ComicBook/DoctorStrange's refrigerator for a late-night snack.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'', Robotnik steals a computer of magic spells from the [[HeelFaceTurn formerly evil]] wizard Lazar, and Sonic attempts to get it back. When asked why he can't just destroy the computer, Lazar says that would release all the evil it contains.
* Norm the Genie in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents''.
* Valtor from ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' may count as sealed evil in a block of ice, until the Trix released him in the beginning of season three.
* The position of [[EvilOverlord Phobos]] and several of his most powerful minions for most of the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' [[spoiler: until he gets released by the heroines]]. [[BigBad Nerissa]] was also once a Sealed Evil In A Can, but she escaped several decades before the series begins.
* ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' had Natron the First in the aptly named episode "Ancient Evil". After he is defeated and returned to his tomb, Mira melts the door to it. Hopefully this will keep him sealed.
* Chiros, the secondary antagonist of ''WesternAnimation/KongTheAnimatedSeries''. Imprisoned in a stone tablet that is implied, by Harpy cautioning the gargoyles moving it, would turn out bad for Chiros if it was broken (whether it will actually kill him or simply prevent him from being released ever again is unknown). It is also unknown why it was never destroyed the first time he was sealed inside it. At the end, [[spoiler: Chiros is released, but Lua opens up a portal and Kong spins him by the tail and throws him back in, sealing him inside the tablet again. Kong immediately smashes the tablet.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has The Mare in the Moon, a corrupted princess who reigned over the night, but [[FaceHeelTurn turned evil]] when she saw how little the night was appreciated. She refused to [[TheNightThatNeverEnds let the sun rise]], so her sister used the [[CosmicKeystone Elements of Harmony]] to banish her to the moon. But the [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight legends state]] that on the longest day of the thousandth year, [[WhenThePlanetsAlign the stars will aid in her escape]]...
** The villain of the first two episodes of season two, Discord -- the evil [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Spirit Of Disharmony]] who ruled Equestria as a land of chaos and suffering -- was [[TakenForGranite trapped in a stone prison]] over 1000 years ago by Princesses Celestia and Luna using the Elements Of Harmony. After they lost their link to the Elements Of Harmony, the seal keeping him imprisoned began to break, and finally a little bit of chaos happening right next to it ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero thanks to the Cutie Mark Crusaders getting in a fight]]) gave him the strength to escape and begin his reign of chaos and disharmony anew. In the end, the [[FanNickname Mane Cast]] put him back.
*** [[spoiler: Then ultimately subverted, as in a season 3 episode, Celestia has the Mane Six release him in order to redeem him. It works. [[ReformedButNotTamed Mostly]]]]
** "It's About Time" reveals that there're a bunch of these things sealed away in Tartarus that are guarded by Cerberus.
** Season 3 villain King Sombra was the EvilOverlord of the Crystal Empire and [[SlaveRace enslaved its entire population]] under horrific conditions. Celestia and Luna defeated him by turning him into a LivingShadow, banishing him to the arctic north were he was sealed away in a glacier. Yes, he was [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof banished then imprisoned in the place he was banished to]]. A thousand years later, he manages to escape the glacier, but is still left a presumably less dangerous LivingShadow. Makes one wonder just how many cans Equestria has. Subverted in the end, the Crystal Ponies straight up ''[[KilledOffForReal kill him]].''
** The IDW Comics have this with [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis and the Changelings ending up imprisoned in their own castle after their second defeat.]]

* Simon and Snarf in ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollz}}''; while the Magic of the Five was sufficient to release Snarf, Simon had to trick the girls into helping him, as he could only be freed by someone pure of heart helping him of their own free will.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', Marceline's father, the Lord Of Evil, is sealed in the Nightosphere. Finn [[NiceJobBreakingItHero frees him, not knowing how evil he was]]. In the end, Finn manages to seal hime back into the Nightosphere. Even worse is [[OmnicidalManiac the Lich]], the UltimateEvil who was imprisoned inside amber within a great tree by the legendary hero Billy. He finally broke free during the season 2 finale.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha: The Return of El Malefico'', El Malefico was imprisoned in the core of the Earth for 100,000 years. He used The Flea to trick Rikochet into freeing him by reading a passage from the Code of Masked Wrestling backwards. At the end, El Malefico is defeated and he is sealed back up again.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AlfredJKwak'', Alfred encounters the Evil Spirit of Darkness, an ancient demon who caused so much torment and destruction that God locked him inside a magic bottle.
* The Serpentine and the Stone Army in ''{{Ninjago}}''.
* Done a few times in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs''.
** The mischievous spirit in "The Box Of Dirty Tricks", which is sealed inside a box in an attempt to contain it from doing anyone any harm. Not that it stops the spirit entirely from doing its dirty tricks upon whoever possesses it.
** Mystico the goblin from "Nobody Smurf", who was sealed inside a fountain and was accidentally released by Nobody and Clumsy Smurf when they knocked over a goblet near the fountain that they were not supposed to touch.
** The druids in a tree in the episode "The Smurfs' Time Capsule". Only their leader managed to escape so that he could get the Moonrock Amulet and free his brothers when the light of the full moon hits the amulet. The Smurfs stopped his attempt and sealed the druid leader back inside the tree.
** The evil wizard trapped in the Swapping Well. (Papa Smurf was the one who had trapped him there, it turned out.)
** The MadArtist Maestro, who was trapped in a painting for making art that could do that to living creatures, inadvertently released by Painter Smurf (who Maestro affectionately called his "apprentice" later; Painter later had to create the most convincing work of his life - as he said - in order to put him back.)
* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', the wax statues in "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E3Headhunters Headhunters]]" were locked away for ten years before Soos stumbled across them and they were able to seek their revenge.

* The Sorcerer from ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunninghamNinthGradeNinja'', who is sealed below Randy's school and seeks to free himself by causing chaos with the people he mutates.

*** [[spoiler: Then ultimately subverted, as in a season 3 episode, Celestia has the Mane Six release him in order to redeem him. It works.]]

* ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama All-Stars]]'': Mal, Mike's evil personality who was incarcerated in the same juvie Duncan was in sometime prior to the series, after he was pardoned from juvie, Mike was able to take control and seal him in his mind, years later Scott accidentally hit him as Manitoba Smith in the head with a shovel, partially freeing him.

* ''TotalDrama All Stars'': Mal, Mike's evil personality who was incarcerated in the same juvie Duncan was in sometime prior to the series, after he was pardoned from juvie, Mike was able to take control and seal him in his mind, years later Scott accidentally hit him as Manitoba Smith in the head with a shovel, partially freeing him.

* ''TheLegendOfKorra'': Vaatu, an evil spirit who is the embodiment of chaos, is sealed in a dead tree in a desert [[spoiler: by the first Avatar, in the Spirit World]]; Vaatu's design is similar to [[SamuraiJack Aku's]], as is his prison (evil spirit sealed in a dead tree in a swamp), which is itself a reference to [[FerngullyTheLastRainforest Nexxus]] (toxic spirit sealed in a dead tree in a dead forest).

** Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. [[spoiler: After Unicron's defeat by Primus, his body was cast away into the depths of space. His gravitational pull attracted matter over billions of years which coallessed into the Earth itself. Unicron's physical form is the Earth's core, but he can control the mineral deposits on the surface and create golems of himself, among other things.]]

* The Sorcerer from ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunningham9thGradeNinja'', who is sealed below Randy's school and seeks to free himself by causing chaos with the people he mutates.

* Most seasons of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' involved the cast attempting to reseal escaped Sealed Evil In A Can once using a jar-like object. In the series, this is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the fact that destroying evil will only allow a different (and probably stronger) evil to take its place. Better then to keep around the evil threat you already ''know'' how to deal with, than risk leaving the way open for something far worse to come up that you may not know how to deal with in time.

** The villain of the first two episodes of season two, Discord -- the evil [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Spirit Of Disharmony]] who ruled Equestria as a land of chaos and suffering -- was [[TakenForGranite trapped in a stone prison]] over 1000 years ago by Princesses Celestia and Luna using the Elements Of Harmony. After they lost their link to the Elements Of Harmony, the seal keeping him imprisoned began to break, and finally a little bit of chaos happening right next to it ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero thanks to the Cutie Mark Crusaders getting in a fight]]) gave him the strength to escape and begin his reign of chaos and disharmony anew. [[spoiler:In the end, the Mane Cast put him back.]]

** Season 3 villain King Sombra was the EvilOverlord of the Crystal Empire and [[SlaveRace enslaved its entire population]] under horrific conditions. Celestia and Luna defeated him by turning him into a LivingShadow, banishing him to the arctic north were he was sealed away in a glacier. Yes, he was [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E22ABirdInTheHoof banished then imprisoned in the place he was banished to]]. A thousand years later, he manages to escape the glacier, but is still left a presumably less dangerous LivingShadow. Makes one wonder just how many cans Equestria has. [[spoiler:Subverted in the end, the Crystal Ponies straight up ''[[KilledOffForReal kill him]].'']]

* In ''GravityFalls'', the [[spoiler: wax statues]] were locked away for ten years before Soos stumbled across them and they were able to seek their revenge.