Line #9 Main/KnockoutAmbush


1	%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1615709494041169200
2	%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.
3	%%
4	A group of characters is suddenly ambushed, but they're either [[TapOnTheHead knocked out with concussive force]] or shot with {{Tranquilizer Dart}}s, KnockoutGas, {{Static Stun Gun}}s or something with a similar effect, and not lethal weapons, because the ambushers want them alive.
5
6	Usually, the scene will involve the darts coming out of nowhere before those being shot at even see their attackers. The heroes are walking along, when all the sudden - ''zip!'', Alice goes down. Followed by Bob and Charlie, and the screen fades out.
7
8	When this happens in video games, the player's weapons and items are usually [[NoGearLevel taken away]]. In some games, there will be an opportunity for the player to get their items back shortly after the Knockout Ambush, in others the game might give different items to replace the ones lost.
9
10	A SubTrope of IWantThemAlive. Often involves InstantSedation.
11	----
12	!!Examples:
13
14	[[foldercontrol]]
15
16	%%[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
17	%%* Happens to Vanessa and Madlax in ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'', when they are captured by Enfant. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
18	%%[[/folder]]
19
20	[[folder:Comic Books]]
21	* In an old issue of ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' comic, thugs shoot Jamie Sommers, apparently killing her. Then the thugs mention that she was shot with "medicated wax pellets", drugging her into unconsciousness.
22	%%* Regularly happens to Franchise/{{Tintin}}, via TapOnTheHead. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Fan Works]]
26	* In ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', the four are ambushed by [[spoiler:Brox and Co. and the Raleka]] in [[GhostCity Ehndris]] in an ambush where none of the four are meant to be killed, though only one of them (John) is actually knocked out (well, he's put to sleep). Paul is mind-controlled and led away, George is briefly paralyzed so they can take his RingOfPower and render him harmless, and the ambushers do nothing to Ringo because they know he can't do anything to anyone at that point. [[spoiler:Brox]] lampshades this a bit when [[spoiler:they asks Grunnel]] why they didn't just kill Ringo and George. [[spoiler:Grunnel]] basically admits to being too fond of them to kill them, and also that [[ForTheLulz it's funnier to have them watching helplessly while the others are being put to use]].
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
30	* In ''WesternAnimation/SurfsUp'', the Pen-Guans take out Chicken Joe ([[CameraAbuse and the cameraman]]) with blowdarts, right after Joe says that "[[TemptingFate the jungle is the most peaceful place on the planet]]."
31	* In ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'', Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman and King Julien are ambushed with tranquilizer darts by Captain [=DuBois=] and her team of animal control officers.
32	%%* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'': "Is he talking about [[{{Area51}} Area fifty...]]" zip! thud! %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
36	* In ''Film/HudsonHawk'', Almond Joy takes out Eddie, Tommy Five-Tone and Anna using curare-tipped blowgun darts.
37	* In ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'', the Jawas ambush R2-D2 and C-3PO with ionization blasters designed specifically to disable droids.
38	* In ''Film/{{Hannibal}}'', Hannibal is ambushed and captured by mooks wielding some sort of stun gun.
39	* In the ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' movie, soldiers are knocked out by the blunt ends of staff weapons one by one.
40	* A scene in ''Film/{{Daybreakers}}'' has a convoy of humans being ambushed by the [[VillainWorld vampire military]]. They stop to change a tire, only to have an OhCrap moment when a dart is found sticking out of it. Then crossbow bolts, arrows and tranquilizer darts start flying between the two sides, until all the humans are [[HumanResources captured for use in the blood banks]].
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Literature]]
44	* In ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}'', agents of The Shop capture Andy and Charlie [=McGee=] by shooting them with tranq darts from long range. Which was smart considering Andy can control minds and Charlie is pyrokinetic.
45	* ''Literature/GoblinsInTheCastle'': While William and Igor are on their way to see Granny Pinchbottom, they get ambushed twice by goblins. The second time, William is briefly knocked out, awakens in time to see Igor get carried away, then gets hit from behind and is knocked out ''again''. The goblins, not realizing who William is at the time, are only interested in carrying Igor away though.
46	* In ''Literature/ThePerilsOfEnhancegirl'', the main character's super-senses make her very vulnerable to chloroform, so she's often captured and subdued in this fashion. It's not limited to her. At one point [[LightEmUp Spectra]] is knocked out by being konked on the back of the head by a semi-crooked cop.
47	* At the beginning of ''Literature/WingsOfFire: The Hidden Kingdom'', everyone in the main group except for Glory and Starlight gets ambushed and hit by tranquilizer darts courtesy of the [=RainWings=]. Later done to one of the villains [[spoiler:under Glory's command]], but [[spoiler:Icicle]] stays awake long enough to realize that [[spoiler:she's going to have to face [[DreamWalker Queen Scarlet]] and possibly find out that she is going to kill her brother for failing her.]]
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
51	%%* Happened to [[TheCaptain Sheridan]] on Mars in an episode of ''Series/BabylonFive''. {{Subverted}} in that rather than just go down for the count, Sheridan is able to fight his attackers for a short time before succumbing to the tranquilizer patch that had been slapped on him by [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn Garibaldi]]]]. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own -- What exactly happened to Sheridan?
52	%%* Frequently used in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' when taking down superhumans. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
53	* In ''Series/{{Lost}}'', when Michael leads Sawyer, Kate, Jack, and Hurley to the Others' camp, the Others ambush them from the trees using tranq darts, then gag them and put bags over their heads.
54	* In ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', after Darnell is identified as a former secret agent, Earl and Randy keep being shot at with tranquilizer darts as a RunningGag.
55	* ''Series/{{Merlin\|2008}}'' had Merlin and Arthur hit by tranquilizer darts by a band of slave-traders.
56	%%* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' 'Swap Meat' this happens to Sam. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
57	* In ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Oliver has Diggle knock him and his mother out with tranquilizer darts so that Diggle can interrogate her as The Arrow and use the threat of harm to Oliver against her, with the added bonus of Moira apparently seeing Oliver and The Arrow in the same room.
58	* ''Series/BlakesSeven''
59	** In "Bounty", Blake teleports up to the Liberator to find it deserted except for an apparently distraught woman who claims that the crew have been killed. He finds out the real reason she's holding her hands over her face when SpacePirates spray him with KnockoutGas.
60	** In "Horizon", the crew teleport down to the eponymous planet [[IdiotBall one-at-a-time]] and get ambushed by [[TranquilizerDart natives with blowguns]]. Finally Avon is smart enough to teleport down elsewhere, which is just as well as he's the last one left.
61	%%* ''Series/{{Bones}}'': Zach does this to Bones, because he's no match for her in a fair fight and he knows it. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
65	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', module A3 ''Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords''. If the {{PC}}s will be playing in module A4, at the end of A3 the entire {{PC}} party will be rendered unconscious by a green gas and captured by the Slave Lords.
66	* ''TabletopGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'' supplement ''Uncanny X-Men'' boxed set "Adventure Book"
67	** In chapter 4 "Time Out" the {{PC}}s are at a charity basketball game when the supervillain Arcade floods the gymnasium with KnockoutGas in order to capture them.
68	** Chapter 5 "Nightmare in New Guinea".
69	*** The {{PC}}s are at an audience with the Mandrill when he decides to capture them. He and his soldiers open fire on them with [[TheParalyzer neurostunner pistols]] that cause unconsciousness.
70	*** While the {{PC}}s are escaping from Mandrill's base, one of his soldiers wearing PoweredArmor attacks them. She uses a [[TheParalyzer neurostunner]] built into her armor to knock them out.
71	** At the end of Chapter 8 "Terror in the Amazon" the {{PC}}s are knocked out by Arcade's KnockoutGas again the same way they were in Chapter 4.
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Video Games]]
75	* At one point in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', you're knocked out from behind by a couple of soldiers.
76	* In ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' you are [[spoiler:knocked out by a stun grenade from nowhere after recovering the G.E.C.K]].
77	* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroDawnOfTheDragon'', Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx are shot with enchanted arrows by Hunter's tribe that immediately renders them unconscious. Sparx only had enough time to react with a SlowNo
78	* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork5TeamColonelAndTeamProtoMan'': In the first chapter, Lan and his friends visit his dad's office as the latter is going to show something. Suddenly, gas grenades roll from outside and burst, knocking them all out. Then some GasMaskMooks enter the room to confirm the gas concentration before their boss, Dr. Regal, walks in and orders them to kidnap Lan's dad and confiscate Lan's friend's PET devices. Lan himself, meanwhile, escaped notice because he's in a closed part of the room (in his dad's personal workspace, as he's told to take something from there).
79	* In ''VideoGame/Postal2'', two rednecks sneak up on The Postal Dude while he's urinating on his father's grave and knock him out with a shovel to the back of the head.
80	* In ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard'' at the end of '[[TrappedBehindEnemyLines Behind Enemy Lines]]', Keegan is knocked out with a [[PistolWhip Buttstroke]] from a Karabiner 98K by a [[ItsRainingMen Fallschirmjager]].
81	* In ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}: Clear Sky'', Scar is knocked out by a tripmine set up by Bandits in the basement containing Fang's PDA, the Bandits also take all of the player's equipment and money, although it is possible to get all of the stolen equipment back shortly afterwards, the money cannot be retrieved.
82	* In ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'', the vampire player character gets clubbed unconscious by an enemy as they climb out of a cab, requiring them to be rescued before they're dealt a CruelAndUnusualDeath. Why a TapOnTheHead [[CutsceneIncompetence affects the character more than a bullet through the brain does]] is [[GameplayAndStorySegregation left unexplained]].
83	* The final level of ''VideoGame/{{Outlaws}}'' is prefaced with a cutscene showing the protagonist James Anderson observing the BigBad's mansion from a nearby cliff, only for a pair of goons to creep up and knock him out. The level proper begins with Anderson waking up disarmed and locked in a shack that has a convenient hole in the roof.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Western Animation]]
87	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheLegendOfKorraS1E4TheVoiceInTheNight The Voice In The Night]]", Korra challenges [[BigBad Amon]] to a duel. When he doesn't show up, she assumes he chickened out and starts walking home... at which point she's [[ZergRush jumped by dozens of Amon's mooks]] and knocked unconscious.
88	* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS5E2Mortyplicity Mortyplicity]]", when the Smiths try to hide out in a forest from rogue decoys, Rick realizes the forest is [[ItsQuietTooQuiet too quiet]] just as they are shot with {{Tranquilizer Dart}}s.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Real Life]]
92	* Coyote Peterson and his team ambush a group of lions with tranquilizer darts in the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/BraveWilderness Brave Wilderness]] episode "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6V2ynggtec Bite of the King]]".
93	[[/folder]]

Context Main / KnockoutAmbush