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| 5 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 10 | [[quoteright:350:[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lao_che_antidote.jpg]]]] |
| 11 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[EvilGloating "This is the antidote for the poison you just drank, Dr. Jones."]]]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ->''"Villains '''always''' have antidotes... They're funny that way."'' |
| 14 | -->-- '''The Tick''', ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | A tendency for villains to carry a vial of the antidote to the poison they just gave the hero under their shirt for absolutely no reason whatsoever. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | It can go down in several ways. One commonly used method is for the hero to spend the episode trying to scrounge up the ingredients to the cure from scratch, quickening the drug in the process, only to fail and be informed by the villain that they had it all along. Is also regularly executed during a trade off, with the villain receiving what they want but WithholdingTheCure. One has to wonder why they felt the need to bring the real deal if they were planning on cheating out the hero anyway. Another more humorous variant is for the villain to reveal the vial and have it snatched from or [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands knocked out of their hand]] before they can even get the [[EvilGloating gloating]] out. A subversion would be for the hero to snatch the supposed antidote only to discover it is a fake. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Some writers may try to HandWave it by giving the villain a sadistic thought process, demonstrating that they enjoy recounting [[ToThePain the agonizing death]] awaiting the hero only to dangle the one thing that could save the hero's life right in front of their face. Nonetheless, the [[WatsonianVersusDoylist out-of-universe reason to do it]] is so that the hero or his companions can steal it and use it JustInTime. It makes a bit more sense when the villain is using the poison [[PoisonAndCureGambit as a form of blackmail]], fully intending to hand over the antidote as soon as the hero has given him what he wants in exchange. (This assumes, of course, that the villain is a NobleDemon, believes strongly in [[IGaveMyWord keeping their promises]], or otherwise has a [[PragmaticVillainy sensible reason]] for being willing to carry and hand over the actual antidote rather than a fake.) |
| 21 | |
| 22 | There's also another possible HandWave, one that can be a reasonable [[JustifiedTrope justification]] in the right conditions. Accidents happen, and if you're carrying poison around with you accidents can be fatal. Someone might get clever and try a PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo. A case of [[RightHandVersusLeftHand friendly fire]] might lead you to inadvertently hitting the wrong person with your poisoned weapon. People who are [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace careless with weapons]] might even manage to injure ''themselves'' with their own poison. In any of those situations, you might really need to have the antidote on hand; the villain might just want to be prepared in case he or she is accidentally poisoned, well aware of the possibility of DeathByIrony. However, the ''true'' Evil Genius' way to prepare for this eventuality is to build up an AcquiredPoisonImmunity. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | In video games, enemies who can inflict StatusEffects often [[RandomDrops have a chance of producing the item that cures said ailment]] when defeated. This makes it less frustrating if an enemy poisons you while you have no more antidotes left, since it means you don't ''need'' to trudge all the way back to the nearest TraumaInn and item shop, but [[ImpossibleItemDrop it doesn't explain why the venomous snake would turn into an anti-venom potion when killed]]. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | The concept of an [[MagicAntidote instant antidote]] is itself a form of AppliedPhlebotinum. In real life, even if a toxin does have an effective antidote its action will rarely be as fast as depicted in Hollywood (then again, the same is true for most toxins, so an antidote doesn't usually ''need'' to act instantly to be effective). For example, atropine blocks and counteracts the ''symptoms'' of nerve agent poisoning, but it does not actually remove the toxin from the body or heal damaged tissue. Even with an antidote, a poisoned patient may require extensive hospital care. Poisons in Hollywood also typically have a time limit during which the victim will feel no symptoms until the time limit expires, at which point they suffer a CriticalExistenceFailure. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | See also ToThePain, ContrivedCoincidence, CarryingTheWeakness, and FridgeLogic. |
| 29 | ---- |
| 30 | !!Examples: |
| 31 | |
| 32 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 35 | * In the anime ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', one of the shinigami captains, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, possesses an ultimate attack which creates all sorts of nasty chemicals, at least one of which is poisonous. Uryu, who had the misfortune of fighting Mayuri, gets poisoned, but after the captain leaves, his subordinate/OppositeSexClone Nemu (who, like Mayuri, is immune to it) gives Uryu the antidote. |
| 36 | * At first subverted, then played straight in ''Manga/BusoRenkin''. When Tokiko gets implanted with the homunculus core early in the series, Koushaku Chouno told Kazuki he had the antidote in pill form, only to be a fake. Later, in the first showdown between Chouno (now Papillon) and Kazuki, Papillon swallows the key to the box containing the actual antidote, telling Kazuki he must kill Chouno if he wants to save Tokiko. |
| 37 | * This drove the plot of an episode of ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'', as the heroes had to stop an evil syndicate who had stockpiled an antidote to a deadly disease. The bad guys were trying to sell the stuff on the black market. The TeamMom of the group (a girl who happens to have SuperSenses that make it easier for her to find the antidote ''and'' the bomb) gets pissed off as she finds out, and it triggers her SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. |
| 38 | * Done interestingly in the third ''Manga/DeathNote'' movie ''Film/LChangeTheWorld'' where a group trying to wipe out humanity for the sake of the environment develop an incredibly spreadable and fatal disease. They are rendered unable to use it near the beginning when the antidote is destroyed and therefore if they released it they too would die. [[spoiler: Though in the end, the leader releases it anyway because (unbeknown to their henchmen) they are willing to die for their cause]] |
| 39 | * In ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'', [[PoweredArmor Mikoto]] of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Uraha]] wields detachable claws that poison the enemy and claims not to be carrying the antidote. [[spoiler:In response to this, [[ActionGirl Fuuko]] [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome steals one of the claws and stabs her with it]]. Naturally, Mikoto produces the antidote almost instantly, which Fuuko also steals.]] |
| 40 | * In ''Manga/GetBackers'', Himiko Kudo - who isn't really a villain most of the time, just the "opposition" - always carries an Antidote Scent to counteract any effect by her poisons. Perhaps justified in that she sometimes used them on herself and usually wants to stop breathing fire at some point. |
| 41 | * In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', Gon risks his life to search a villain's corpse for an antidote to the snake venom that is killing his friend, getting himself bitten in the process. When another companion asks how he knew it would be there, Gon replies that it's only common sense that anyone who uses venomous snakes as the basis for his attacks would carry the antidote: not only because of the chance of being bitten himself but to act as a bargaining chip against enemies who have been poisoned. |
| 42 | * Justified in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure''. For the sake of a challenge, Wamuu and Esidisi poison Joseph to impose a time limit on him, and to survive he'll have to defeat them and claim the antidote they're carrying. |
| 43 | * ''Anime/TheLegendOfSnowWhite'': When the evil queen comes to poison Snow White, she isn't carrying the antidote to the apple, but she ''is'' carrying the way to lift the petrification curse she cast on the whole forest. Of course, as she keeps her eyes on Snow White, there's no way she could grab it... [[spoiler:Snow White [[HeroicSacrifice bites the poisoned apple]] to get her to lower her guard, and uses the last of her strength to lift the curse.]] |
| 44 | * ''Anime/LupinIIIIslandOfAssassins'' has the taunting-the-hero version. [[spoiler:Doc has the antidote to the island gas on him during the final confrontation.]] |
| 45 | * [[PoisonousPerson Hanzo]] of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' carried around a vial of antidote to the poison his body produced because his breath would uncontrollably exude poison if his respirator came off. Notably, this is never shown as backfiring: when a poisoned enemy of his got the antidote [[WorthyOpponent it was because Hanzo GAVE it to him.]] |
| 46 | * Subverted in the ''Anime/NinjaScroll'' movie, where Tokugawa spy Dakuan forces Jubei into his service by hitting him with a poisoned shuriken (ironically saving his life from a hypnotist in the process). When Jubei tries to poison Dakuan with the same shuriken in return, Dakuan replies that he already got rid of it. The antidote is surprisingly [[spoiler:to be poisoned by Jubei and Dakuan's poison-laden ninja ally Kagero through some type of sexual contact]]. Since Dakuan is technically a good guy he willingly gives up the antidote near the end of their mission. |
| 47 | * [[ManipulativeBastard Vincent]] in ''Manga/PandoraHearts'' [[spoiler: poisons Sharon and Echo to get Break to destroy Alice's memories, promising him the antidote if he does so. When he does, Vincent tries to throw the antidote off a balcony, only to have Echo stop him.]] |
| 48 | * Justified in the first episode of ''Manga/PumpkinScissors'': a) since the poison was airborne, having some antidote on hand for accidental exposure was a good idea, and b) the antidote was originally stashed in their base where it would be hard to get at. Why the villain brought it with him for the final showdown remains unexplained, though. |
| 49 | * In ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'', the team fights Galactor who is polluting the oceans and conventional attacks simply accelerate their aims. However, they managed to stop the operation and in the process, inadvertently make Galactor spill their countermeasure they happen to be carrying on board. |
| 50 | * In the ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga, Mokuba challenges Yugi and Jounouchi to a game of food roulette, where they eat what's in front of them. Jounouchi eats a poisoned meal, and Mokuba reveals that he has the antidote to the poison, which Yugi will have to defeat him to get. Yugi wins despite Mokuba's cheating, and gets the antidote for Jounouchi while Mokuba eats the other poisoned meal. He survives, possibly because one of his servants had another antidote. |
| 51 | [[/folder]] |
| 52 | |
| 53 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 54 | * Also used in an ''[[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' story, when a flesh-eating bacteria started spreading outwards from Mount Rushmore in a fast-moving red cloud. Cap's archenemy the ComicBook/RedSkull had the bacteria engineered to wipe out "lesser races", which backfired when it turned out that the bacteria ate ''anybody''. The Skull did immunize himself somehow, and the day was saved when the Avengers caught him and had scientists take his blood for a cure. |
| 55 | * Inverted in an old issue of Marvel's ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'', where the supervillain Cobra appears to pull just this ploy to get his (likewise villainous) nemesis Mr. Hyde off his back. In fact, Cobra was bluffing about the poison all along...but the supposed "antidote" turned out to be powerful knockout drug. |
| 56 | * In one ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'' story, the time-traveling villain the Scarlet Centurion torments Tom Thumb with the cure for cancer, withholding it when Tom Thumb refuses to poison fellow team-mate Hyperion. Ultimately deconstructed when [[spoiler:it is revealed that the "cure" is common Aspirin, which is good enough to knock cancer out of the heavily-engineered people of the Centurion's future, but useless to Tom after his Faustian bargain.]] |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 60 | * ''Fanfic/TriptychContinuum'': The red-tinge drug (which amplifies magic and causes it to go out of control) is the pollen of a certain flower, but the root of that same flower is the antidote. |
| 61 | [[/folder]] |
| 62 | |
| 63 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 64 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', Kuzco spends most of the movie trying to get back to his palace so he can force Yzma to turn him human again; Yzma has potions to transform anyone to practically any shape. When he finally gets there, [[spoiler: he has no idea which one is the "human" potion, and steals them all, which results in a transformation fight with Yzma similar to the Toadstool from ''The Sword In The Stone''. At the end Yzma is turned into a kitten, so they're both really fighting over the same "antidote".]] |
| 65 | [[/folder]] |
| 66 | |
| 67 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 68 | * ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'': Mr. Freeze has a partial cure for the disease his wife is suffering from in his suit. Batman needs it for Alfred, who suffers from the same disease. |
| 69 | * In both ''[[Film/EscapeFromLA Escape]] [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork from]]'' movies, poor Snake Plisskin has something injected into his body that will kill him if he doesn't accomplish his mission and get back in time to have it deactivated/cured. Subverted in ''Escape From L.A.'' when Plisskin is told the "lethal virus" is really nothing more than a rather strong case of the flu. |
| 70 | * In ''Film/TheGentlemen'', Mickey has Lord George's tea poisoned, then leaves him with the antidote: the point having been to demonstrate that he could get to Lord George anywhere. |
| 71 | * In the opening of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', Dr. Jones trades the remains of Nurhaci to gangster Lao Che for a large diamond, when Indy is poisoned by Lao Che and offered the antidote [[ToThePain to intimidate]] him into giving back the diamond. Naturally there's a fight and Lao Che drops the antidote, allowing Indy to drink it and save himself (but he loses the diamond in the fight). |
| 72 | * Turned inside-out in the otherwise trope-tastic ''Film/MissionImpossibleII''. A scientist creates the ultimate flu vaccine -- also producing the ultimate superflu in the process. Things are the right way around once the villain gets his hands on the suitcase. The villain also had an interesting way of selling the vaccine, as surprisingly, he did ''not'' ask for a ransom. He had to create the ultimate flu virus to create the ultimate flu vaccine. Which, while being a horrible violation of the Geneva Convention, is actually pretty consistent with the production of some types of vaccine -minus the part about creating a supervirus, anyway. Dead or dying samples of the virus are prime examples of a vaccine. |
| 73 | * ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'': The Jigsaw Killer tends to carry or leave an antidote for the poison he frequently uses on his victims. For example, according to Zep's tape from the [[Film/SawI first film]]: "There's a slow-acting poison coursing through your bloodstream, which only I have the antidote for..." |
| 74 | * In ''Film/VanHelsing'', Dracula has a cure for lycanthropy, though for a [[JustifiedTrope very good reason]]. He's weak to werewolves, so it acts as an insurance policy. |
| 75 | [[/folder]] |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 78 | * Subverted in Creator/CornellWoolrich's "After-Dinner Story." A man [[SummationGathering gathers together everyone who was present during his son's alleged suicide]], and explains that he knows one of them murdered the young man, though he is not able to prove it to the law's satisfaction. He has therefore arranged for the guilty party -- and ''only'' the guilty party -- to be poisoned, and he is making the antidote available so that the murderer will have to make a choice: expose himself, or die outright. Finally, someone takes the antidote. [[spoiler:The old man then reveals that he ''didn't'' know the killer's exact identity, and had to resort to this ruse to discover it. No one was poisoned to begin with: the supposed antidote ''was'' the poison.]] |
| 79 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 80 | ** Subverted in ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' Keith and Malica give the two {{Mooks}} poison, and then offer the antidote in return for information and being set free. Subverted when [[spoiler: it turned out that both poison and antidote are actually laxatives]]. The lesson here is do not mess with Discworld heroes. |
| 81 | ** In ''Literature/{{Mort}}'' the Agatean [[EvilChancellor Grand Vizier]] comes to regret not doing this when he ends up eating his own poison, and the emperor refuses to allow him to leave the table, go back to his quarters, and retrieve the small black vial in the hidden compartment with "antidote" written on it. |
| 82 | * Literature/ArtemisFowl uses the blackmail version on a decrepit alcoholic sprite in the first book, "poisoning" her with holy water to force her to let him look at her Book (which contains the secrets of the fairy people) in exchange for an antidote - which he faithfully administers once he has what he wants. And since the fey had been addicted to alcohol for ages, he also slipped in the ultimate hangover cure, with an added amnesiac/knockout drug. As to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim why he didn't just kill her]], the Book has to be freely given, so that wouldn't work. Butler does question why Artemis didn't finish her off afterward, but this hints that Artemis isn't actually as cold hearted as he likes people to think he is. |
| 83 | * Played straight and subverted in ''Literature/BestServedCold'' by Joe Abercrombie: The poisoner Morveer regularly carries antidotes to poisons that he lacks immunity for on his person. He uses this to his advantage when [[spoiler:his assistant, Day, attempts to kill him. He retaliates by cutting her with a poisoned knife and dangling the antidote in front of her. It turns out that the knife was unpoisoned, and the "antidote" was the real poison, which Day gratefully swallows.]] |
| 84 | * ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'' series: |
| 85 | ** ''The Lies of Locke Lamora'': The titular hero has been given a slow-acting poison by the mastermind of the secret police, a frail old lady. She shows him the antidote in her hand and informs him that he will only [[PoisonAndCureGambit receive it if he cooperates]]. He immediately punches her out and grabs the antidote, commenting that she thinks she's a lot more powerful than she really is. |
| 86 | ** The villain in ''Literature/RedSeasUnderRedSkies'' is a little smarter, keeping the Alchemist carrying the antidote well guarded at all times and only carrying enough antidote for one person. |
| 87 | * In ''Literature/ThePearl'', the local doctor finds out that Kino's son has just been stung by a scorpion and that Kino has acquired a large pearl which is expected to sell for a lot of money. The doctor promptly starts implying that even though the baby appears healthy, he could suffer side effects from the sting later and Kino had better let him give the baby a shot. Cue some time later, when the baby is clearly sick and the doctor shows up and gives him another shot that fixes it. While it's not stated if it's the case, it's heavily implied and Kino certainly believes that the doctor made the baby sick and cured him just for money. |
| 88 | * ''Literature/TheRadix'': an example by a hero. John Brynstone injects the BigBad with poison and interrogates him by promising the antidote. At the end he confesses that he was bluffing: "poison" was actually saline solution. |
| 89 | * Subverted in the ''[[Literature/TheRiftwarCycle Riftwar]]'' book ''Servant of the Empire'': an assassin takes the antidote before drinking poisoned tea along with his victim, but it turns out to not be the antidote. The subversion kicks in when it's pointed out by the victim's spymaster searching for a cure that the antidote ''bottle'' was convincing enough to be genuine, so all they have to do is find the apothecary who made it, as he can clearly make the antidote or he wouldn't have an officially-stamped bottle for it in the first place. |
| 90 | * In one of the ''Literature/{{Spellsinger}}'' novels, Jon-tom and his friends go on a perilous FetchQuest to find a cure for Clothahump's terrible illness. It later turns out that Jon has had that very medication with him all long, having brought it with him from our world. [[spoiler: Even worse, it's only aspirin, as Clothahump was faking to force Jon-tom and the others to undertake a journey he knew they'd surely refuse otherwise.]] |
| 91 | * Justified in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''. The poisoner's plan was to invite the target and a bystander to a snack of bread and jam; since the target doesn't like jam, the bread is poisoned and the jam contains the antidote. The poisoner eats the poisoned bread to alleviate suspicion and takes the antidote with it. |
| 92 | * ''Naked Empire'', the eighth book of the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' series averts the trope. The moment the villain obtains the only antidote for a poison the main hero ingested, he dumps it in the ground without any ceremony or even letting the hero get within ten kilometers of it. Unfortunately for him, a DeusExMachina saves our valiant hero in the last moment. |
| 93 | * In ''Deeper'' of the ''Literature/{{Tunnels}}'' series, during the climactic confrontation, the BigBad casually informs the hero that she is carrying both the world-destroying super plague and its cure on her person; what's more, hers are the only samples in existence, so losing either of them would completely ruin her evil plan. Must've been carrying the VillainBall as well... |
| 94 | * Subverted in the ''Literature/{{War Of The Spider Queen}}'' series, where not only does Quenthel have no antidote to the poison she administers to a traitorous student, it is not even a poison per se, but rather an alarming-but-non-life-threatening overdose of alertness potion. |
| 95 | [[/folder]] |
| 96 | |
| 97 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 98 | * ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': Gaius Baltar injects Chief with a fast-acting poison, then injects him with the antidote after Chief's girlfriend Boomer tells how many Cylons have infiltrated the fleet. Justified, since Baltar's aim was to get information from Boomer, not to kill Chief. Subverted, because Baltar was working for the good guys. |
| 99 | * Given a twist in the final episodes of Season 3 of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' in which Faith shoots Angel with a poisoned arrow. Turns out, she is carrying the antidote: her blood. Angel can only recover by draining the blood of a Slayer. |
| 100 | * One particular villain on ''{{Series/Chuck}}'' poisons several characters with a truth serum that also eventually kills you. He not only carries the antidote on his person but has more of it stored in his apartment. |
| 101 | * A greedy doctor purposely infects the crew of Moya on ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' so he can charge them a huge fee for the cure. Which only he knows how to make. |
| 102 | * Played with in ''Series/{{CSINY}}'''s "[[Recap/CSINYS04E19 Personal Foul]]". A woman out for revenge fills one capsule with deadly poison and a second with its antidote. ''She'' swallows the antidote first, then crushes the poison capsule inside her mouth... immediately before kissing her victim, thus transferring the poison to him. |
| 103 | * Played with in ''Series/GetSmart''. When Smart is given a 24 hour poison, he ultimately gets the antidote by poisoning his poisoner with a concentrated sample, forcing him to run to his lab to administer the antidote, while Max follows. The two fight over the antidote but both fall unconscious before they can drink it. Fortunately for Max, the antidote they were manufacturing at CONTROL is completed in time. |
| 104 | * On ''Series/HumanTarget'' it's discussed: A poisoned character (who was poisoned to death) is said to have believed another character had the antidote. Winston thinks this would be ridiculous, and Guerrero says it's common practice: carrying something so dangerous, you'd want an antidote on you. |
| 105 | * A good reason for this trope is given in BBC miniseries ''Series/IClaudius''. Two notorious poisoners meet. |
| 106 | -->'''Martina:''' I never bothered much with antidotes.\ |
| 107 | '''Livia:''' Well you never know, one day some fool of a slave will get the bowls mixed up. |
| 108 | * An interesting case in ''Series/TheInvisibleMan''. An episode has Bobby accidentally injected with a serum that turns him into a genius. However, as evidenced by serum's test subjects, the "enhancement" eventually burns out the brain. When faced with this, Bobby reveals that he has figured out the antidote with his new intelligence, but he's not going to use it even at the cost of his own life, as this would mean going back to his average old self. Darien forces his hand by injecting himself with the serum, knowing that the presence of the quicksilver gland in his head will make the serum fatal to him. Thus, Bobby is forced to choose between his intelligence and the life of his friend. Naturally, he chooses the latter. |
| 109 | * In ''Series/{{Killjoys}}'', Dutch and Johnny go undercover at a [[MakesSenseInContext Qreshi marriage renegotiation party]] to thwart an assassination attempt. Johnny gets poisoned and Dutch sets out to torture the assassin for the antidote, reasoning that no professional poisoner wouldn't carry it. |
| 110 | * ''Series/LimmysShow'': Parodied, as two spies drink by the fireplace. One of them [[EvilLaugh laughs]], then pulls out the antidote to "the poison you just drank". The other spy does the same. They awkwardly exchange antidotes, but it turns out ''those'' were poisoned as well. Once again, they both pull out antidotes, then they drink them theirselves. |
| 111 | * In one episode of ''Series/MacGyver1985'', the villain tries to get out some information from Mac by injecting a poison in him that kills him in 24 hours. Mac tries to steal back the antidote instead. |
| 112 | * Happens in ''Series/{{Manifest}}'', when [[spoiler:Saanvi]] poisons [[spoiler:the Major]] demanding information [[spoiler:on how to remove the Passengers genetic marker to save them and Zeke from their Death Date]] in exchange for an antidote. [[spoiler:However, this goes horribly wrong when the Major tries to grab the antidote, which breaks in the struggle, turning the extortion into murder]]. Even worse, [[spoiler:it turns out that Major was never researching into removing the Callings, just controlling and replicating them, so Saanvi's efforts were AllForNothing]]. |
| 113 | * ''Series/{{Powerless2017}}'': Wayne Securities sells [=EpiPen=]-style autoinjectors filled with the antidote for Joker gas just in case someone can't get it from the villain in time. It's their best seller. |
| 114 | * Once again, ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has done this one (in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'' episode "The Most Toys") where a planet had been poisoned by a substance that had a rare antidote. It turned out the person they bought the antidote off was the villain who had poisoned the planet in the first place, using the rarity of the antidote as a way of gaining access to the ''Enterprise'', kidnapping Data and tricking the rest of the crew into thinking he was destroyed in an explosion. The crew only cottoned on when they arrived at the planet and learned for the first time that the poisoning was so specific in quantity that the trader had mysteriously managed to give them the ''perfect'' quantity for curing it, something he couldn't have done without knowing in advance the exact level of poisoning they needed to cure. |
| 115 | * In ''Series/Zorro1990'', a government official poisons Zorro. Zorro manages to get a sample of the poison, but quickly realizes that he'd die long before he could figure out what the antidote was, so he arranges for the official to be stuck with a dart marked with his trademark Z. Thinking that Zorro had just given him the same poison (the dart was actually harmless), the official fled to the nearest source of the antidote, allowing Zorro to follow him and take it for himself. |
| 116 | [[/folder]] |
| 117 | |
| 118 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 119 | * ''Tabletopgame/DungeonsAndDragons'' |
| 120 | ** Judges Guild |
| 121 | *** Adventure ''Dark Tower''. In one room is a medusa (a monster that can [[TakenForGranite change opponents into stone]]). If the medusa is defeated, the {{PC}}s will find a [[LimitedUseMagicalDevice spell scroll]] with ''Stone to Flesh'' spells. Anyone who the medusa changed to stone can be changed back to flesh by the spells. |
| 122 | *** Supplement ''The Book of Ruins'', adventure "Temple of Tarsham". In one room are a group of cockatrices with TakenForGranite (petrifaction) powers. Right next door, there's a room with a [[LimitedUseMagicalDevice spell scroll]] holding a Stone to Flesh spell, which will turn a petrified victim back to normal. |
| 123 | *** Adventure ''The Tower of Indomitable Circumstance''. In one room is a roll-top desk with a trapped top. After it's opened, the top can slam down and cut off one of the opener's hands. In the desk is a clerical scroll of Repair Body which can be used to re-attach a severed hand. |
| 124 | *** ''The Unknown Gods''. The deity Ihlwynd can inflict a rotting disease by touch and an unhealable wound with his magical spear. However, if his spear is taken from him, it can heal any disease or wound the deity has caused. |
| 125 | ** Fourth edition. Almost every monster that can afflict you with something nasty (such as petrification) has the means to undo that effect when the monster is slain, e.g. because some body part is the antidote. The weirdest example is the Rust Monster, that destroys your equipment (not technically poison, but certainly a nasty lasting effect), but when killed will ''drop precisely enough money'' to buy a new copy of whatever was destroyed. |
| 126 | ** The cave fisher monster fires an adhesive filament that wraps up opponents and is dissolved by alcohol. The cave fisher's blood has a high alcohol content, so after it's killed, its blood can be used to remove the filaments it created. |
| 127 | ** Module S4 ''The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth'' |
| 128 | *** When a roper's tentacles hit a person, the victim loses half of their strength for 1-3 hours. One cure for the loss is the magical substance Keoghtom's Ointment. One room in the Caverns contains two ropers, and another nearby cavern has two jars of Keoghtom's Ointment. |
| 129 | *** One of the caves has two cockatrice monsters that can turn any creature they touch to stone. In the cockatrices' treasure is a spell scroll with the magic-user spell Stone to Flesh on it. With that spell, a magic-user can change one of the cockatrices' victims back to life. |
| 130 | ** ''Magazine/{{Imagine}}'' magazine #3 adventure "A Box for the Margrave". The PlayerCharacter party will be attacked by a half-orc assassin with poisoned darts. In his belt pouch, the assassin has four vials holding an antidote to the poison on the darts. |
| 131 | ** ''Magazine/{{Dungeon}}'' magazine |
| 132 | *** Issue #24 adventure "In the Dread of Night". In one room of Dentiata's tower, there is a spider with a poisonous bite protecting a wooden box. In a secret compartment nearby is a vial holding an antidote to the spider's venom. |
| 133 | *** Issue #76 adventure "Fruit of the Vine". An olive creeper is a form of plant that can infect another creature by touch and turn it into an olive creeper. A victim of the olive creeper can be cured by casting a Cure Disease spell on them. One of the rooms in the abandoned house where the creeper lives has a Cure Disease spell scroll. If the PlayerCharacters can find the scroll, they can cast Cure Disease on one of the olive creeper's victims and bring them back to normal. |
| 134 | [[/folder]] |
| 135 | |
| 136 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 137 | * A {{justified|Trope}} example happens in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' when Shay confronts Hope. She fills the room they are in with a poisonous gas after taking an antidote so only Shay is affected by it. [[FridgeLogic That still doesn't explain why she didn't just throw the vial so Shay couldn't use it]]. |
| 138 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' has an [[Literature/TheElderScrollsInUniverseBooks in-game book]] titled ''[[http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:A_Game_at_Dinner A Game at Dinner]]'' which [[SubvertedTrope Subverts]] this on a BatmanGambit scale. A Dunmer (dark elf) spy is writing a letter of resignation from espionage, and explains why. He was invited (along with several other Dunmer and at least one human) to dinner by Hlaalu Helseth, the head of the House the narrator is spying on. The narrator describes having seen a renowned alchemist (who makes [[MasterPoisoner exceptionally unpleasant poisons]]) visit the host. The narrator attends the dinner, and fakes eating and drinking. After everyone has eaten, Helseth announces that the disloyal have been given a fast-acting poison, the faithful have been spared, and the antidote is in a broth he had just had brought out (there was enough food available at the feast that nobody would have any other reason to drink any). The narrator wonders how this was possible, as all ate from the same plates and drank wine from the same chalice. Helseth announces that the utensils were actually poisoned, so even feigning eating would poison you. Due to this, not only would you die, but you would have "sadly, missed an excellent roast." Eventually, one of the human guests jumps up and drinks a large quantity of the broth, and then confesses his espionage. Helseth smiles when he finishes, and explains that the "antidote" was actually the poison, and that he does NOT, in fact, have an antidote to it. The narrator finishes his letter of resignation by informing his superiors that he sincerely does not want to describe the agony in which the poor man died, and that the paymaster to whom the letter is addressed does not want to know. |
| 139 | * While monsters in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' don't carry actual antidotes, they carry items that cause a status effect (bees carry poison-inducing items, etc.). Strangely, both crafting a piece of armor resistant to this status change ''and'' crafting a weapon that causes the effect requires large quantities of the antidote, and the item itself for the more powerful version. |
| 140 | * Downplayed and justified in the ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' series with the zombies. Only the scientist zombies will drop a medkit that will turn a zombified player character back to human. |
| 141 | * ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'': Subverted in ''Advance Wars: Days of Ruin''. Caulder/Stolos brokers a deal with the egoistic mayor, exchanging the mayor's cooperation for the antidote to a bioweapon he's infected the entire cast with, which he just so conveniently happens to be carrying on his person... |
| 142 | -->'''Caulder:''' Oh, and that medicine you took was not the antidote. Hello? Can you hear me? Mr. Mayor? ...Fascinating. |
| 143 | * In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', [[BigBad Saddler]] conveniently keeps a fully functioning and barely protected [[PuppeteerParasite Las Plagas]] removal device in his headquarters which Leon and Ashley find just in time. In-game files suggest the reason he had it was he was using it to research a way to make the parasites ''immune'' to the device. |
| 144 | * In ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'', after Yuri is infected by the Mistletoe Curse by Sapientes Gladio, the heroes travel halfway around the world tracking down the leader so they can demand a cure. [[spoiler:When they finally corner him, they learn that there ''is'' no cure]]. |
| 145 | * A lot of monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' inflict various nasty status conditions. However, they have a small chance of dropping an item that gives you immunity to their respective debuffs. Even better, you can combine several of them into one item for maximum immunity. |
| 146 | * At one point in ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 5}}'', Pastel, a little girl the group, especially Rebecca, befriended, becomes ill with a commonly incurable disease, so they use an earlier plot point and go back to a Veruni-infested city to ask Persephone, who is a villain to some degree, but the heroes really don't know that yet, for an antidote. She does give them the antidote...for Veruni. Pastel is a human, so taking a Veruni antidote would obviously have fatal side effects for a human, as Carol tells them a little later. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 150 | * In ''VisualNovel/IkemenSengoku'', Mitsuhide's Dramatic route has Yoshiaki shoot the main character with an arrow coated with a strong poison. When Mitsuhide corners Yoshiaki to demand the antidote, Yoshiaki initially claims that he doesn't have the antidote on him and gave it to someone he trusted for safekeeping. However, when Mitsuhide wounds him with the same arrowhead that poisoned the main character, he panics and whips out the antidote from his robes to take it, revealing that he did have it with him all along. Mitsuhide snatches away the antidote, tells Yoshiaki that he knew a greedy and power-hungry man like him would never willingly give up possession of such a powerful tool to anyone else, and then tops it off by revealing that the arrowhead he wounded him with wasn't actually poisoned and that the antidote to such a strong poison is likely strong enough by itself to [[KarmicDeath ravage a completely healthy body...]] |
| 151 | [[/folder]] |
| 152 | |
| 153 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 154 | * In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' Smoke Knights carry antidotes and test kits for a number of Smoke Knight poisons. Justified in that Smoke Knights work for more than one faction and they end up working against each other fairly often. |
| 155 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 156 | ** Played straight in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0070.html this one]] where Nale petrifies Celia, and so happens to have a Scroll of Break Enchantment on hand, which [[DumbMuscle Thog]] [[LooseLips spills the beans about]]. Justified as the scroll is a handy thing to have around just in general. |
| 157 | ** Defied (in a fashion worthy of [[spoiler: [[Comicbook/{{Watchmen}} Ozymandias]]]] himself) in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0593.html this strip.]] |
| 158 | --->'''Elan:''' Give me the antitoxin! I know you have one!\ |
| 159 | '''Kubota:''' Twelve Gods, why would I be carrying the antitoxin on my actual person? [[YouAreTooLate I drank it twenty minutes ago, it will be effective for the rest of the hour]]. |
| 160 | * The old 'give me the McGuffin, and I'll give you the antidote' trick breaks down in [[https://val-and-isaac.tumblr.com/post/183675186747 this strip]] of ''Webcomic/ValAndIsaac'', when Val injects the villain with an even stronger poison. |
| 161 | [[/folder]] |
| 162 | |
| 163 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 164 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Jake Vs. Me-Mow," a very small feline assassin named Me-Mow with a syringe of poison and a vial of antidote hides inside Jake's nose and poisons him, saying he'll only give him the antidote if he kills Wildberry Princess since Jake exposed Me-Mow's first attempt at doing so himself. Eventually Me-Mow is knocked out of Jake's nose still carrying the antidote, and Finn tries to get it away from him. Me-Mow smashes the vial when he is held down, but after this Jake realizes he can stretch his liver to a great enough size to render the poison into a non-lethal dose. Me-Mow did mention at one point that he was going to leave Jake to die, leaving open the possibility that the antidote was fake anyway. |
| 165 | * ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Poison Ivy [[BondVillainStupidity slips up]] in her [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE5PrettyPoison debut episode]] by revealing she has the antidote for her [[DruggedLipstick deadly lipstick]] on hand to a [[FakeFaint seemingly near unconscious]] Batman just after she'd [[ForcefulKiss insistently]] locked lips with him. Getting a little bit too close... |
| 166 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', it turns out that Gorilla Grodd's planetwide evolution device [[spoiler: had a single switch that reverses it (so it cured everyone already evolved). It was essentially a big "THWART PLAN" button]] |
| 167 | * ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': |
| 168 | ** Downplayed in "The Low Road". Tarantulas made an antidote to the virus he infected Rhinox with, but wasn't dumb enough to carry it with him into battle. It was back in his lab. Megatron gets his hands on it first, and uses it to force the Maximals to stand down. Then, he's defeated by an effect of the very virus he infected Rhinox with, combined with some hard-to-digest vine vegetables. [[{{Fartillery}} It's not pretty]]. |
| 169 | ** In "Gorilla Warfare", Scorponok plants a bug on Optimus that is supposed to make him cowardly. There is an antidote, which Megatron keeps and wants to use as a bargaining chip, expecting the now-pacifist Optimus to concede. The tides turn, however, when the bug malfunctions and Optimus becomes a raging war machine. HilarityEnsues. |
| 170 | * Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''. Demona shoots Elisa with a poisoned dart, blackmailing Goliath's clan into aiding her in exchange for the antidote. Unbeknown to Demona, [[PocketProtector by a stroke of luck]], Elisa was not actually poisoned by the dart. At the end of the episode, Demona reveals that there was no antidote in the first place and leaves [[DramaticIrony proudly claiming that at least she managed to kill Eliza]]. |
| 171 | * Averted in ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures''. In "The Rock", Valmont infects Jackie with a poison that will [[TakenForGranite turn him to stone]], but a) He points out that he isn't stupid enough to be carrying the antidote b) In the final showdown, his goons use a drop of the antidote on a fly to prove they have it, and seem willing to give it (until they notice the ransom isn't complete). |
| 172 | * Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Guess Who's Coming To Criticize Dinner?" The villain not only has the antidote, but absentmindedly starts adding it to the food along with the poison until he realizes his mistake. |
| 173 | * Similarly, when an aged beauty queen started splashing super models and actresses with an ugly potion, the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceCats'' forced her to reveal where she kept the antidote by splashing her with some of the potion. The catch? They actually just splashed her with water, and told her it was the ugly potion. She panicked and didn't check a mirror. |
| 174 | * ''WesternAnimation/StuntDawgs'': In "The Treasure of Crash's Madre", the Stunt Scabs steal Crash's mother recipe and replace it with one that makes the Stunt Dawgs way overweight. With Velda's help, they give the Scabs a taste of their own medicine and force the Scabs to reveal the antidote. Whiz Vid turns out to be carrying it in one of his pockets. |
| 175 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' was accidentally sprayed with a plant vitalizer that makes plants come alive and attack people. The villain -- a plant-man with plans for world domination -- indeed has an antidote, for reasons unknown to everyone. It's possible that he was keeping it as a fallback in case the plants decided to rebel against ''him'' too. |
| 176 | [[/folder]] |
| 177 | |
| 178 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 179 | * Some venomous animals. In some cases, eating the animal (or some part of it) can work, though one shouldn't rely on it. Most places that regularly deal with venomous animals like snakes have some antivenoms on hand just in case anyone gets bitten. |
| 180 | * Large-animal tranquilisers like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etorphine Etorphine]] are so quickly fatal to humans that vets only handle it with an injector of an antidote such as naloxone right beside them. |
| 181 | * States that have death by lethal injection do this, just in case. |
| 182 | * Hospitals technically have this too. Drugs given in the wrong dose is the same as poison and cases of OD require counter-agent/antidote. |
| 183 | * With death from opioid overdose horrifically common in many countries; public health authorities are starting to provide naloxone freely to everyone who wants to carry it, so that if they come across someone who has overdosed they can provide the antidote. |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
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