Line #25 Main/MeatPuppet


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11	[[quoteright:297:[[WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy_mandy_meat_puppets.png]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:297: "And if at first they think it's strange, they won't think twice if they don't have a brain!"]]
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14	->''"I'm not too fond of getting my hands dirty; instead, I take over the minds of others. They do everything I say, like good little puppets."''
15	-->-- '''Jov Leonov''', ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy''
16
17	Not to be confused with [[PeoplePuppets People Puppets]] -- or [[Music/MeatPuppets a certain rock band from Phoenix]] -- a Meat Puppet is a biological and (usually) living [[BodyAndHost Host]] that has been taken control over by a PuppeteerParasite, BodySnatcher, or similar character, be it through biological means, science, or occultic sorcery. The attempt to control a potential Meat Puppet in such a manner either results in MindControl, [[PeoplePuppets Body Control]], or DemonicPossession. Compare to EmptyShell.
18
19	The purpose of a Meat Puppet is usually to act as a tool for the controller, ranging from basic slaves to intricately placed spies, sometimes also being used as a "Seeing Eye Dog" if the controller can remotely view through the puppet's senses. Generally, a Meat Puppet is a [[FacelessGoons Faceless Goon]], used as a [[HumanShield Meat Shield]], or simply becomes a brainwashed {{Mook\|s}} that's expendable to a villain or antihero in control of it.
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21	The following are special types of Meat Puppets chosen for specific purposes:
22
23	[[index]]
24	* BigDumbBody -- A meat puppet that holds little intelligence but is desirable for its physical prowess and durability.
25	* LivingBodysuit -- when a host is chosen as a disguise for reasons of secrecy and espionage.
26	* WetwareBody -- a biological body possessed by a computer.
27	* WillingChanneler -- a Host who "wants" to be controlled, or at least isn't against having their body used by someone (or something) else.
28	[[/index]]
29
30	Not to be confused with the ForumSpeak term for someone who posts on another user's behalf.
31
32	----
33	!!Examples:
34	[[foldercontrol]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'': [[spoiler:The Leader gains the ability to hijack people thanks to his stay in the Below Place, including Rick Jones, then the Green Scar Hulk. Though after three bodies he starts to get distracted from splitting his attention four ways.]]
38	* ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'': The EldritchAbomination Nightmare Rich encounters on his first visit to Knowhere likes to turn people into these, starting with an entire team of heroes called the Luminals. Side-effect, they tend to explode if grazed with a gravimetric beam.
39	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': For his final confrontation with ComicBook/{{Artemis}} and Diana the White, Magician uses magic to override and physically alter Cassie Arnold and ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} into his minions, who attack whomever he directs them at and seem to have no mental capacity of their own. Cassie is killed by the experience, though Cheetah survives.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
43	* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''. Mewtwo takes control of [[spoiler:the local Nurse Joy]]'s mind and uses her as the interface between it and the trainers invited to the island before it reveals itself.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
47	* The avatar Na'vi bodies in ''Film/{{Avatar}}''.
48	* ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'': John Malkovich is under control of the protagonist for much of the movie when he is inside Malkovich's head.
49	* Done rather disturbingly by [[spoiler:{{Satan}}]] in ''Film/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon1990'' to the crew of a spaceship.
50	* In ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' and ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', Agent Smith overwrites Bane inside the Matrix and uses his body to escape into the real world.
51	* In ''Film/StarshipTroopers2HeroOfTheFederation'', [[PuppeteerParasite Control Bugs]] take over an entire outpost of [[RedshirtArmy Mobile Infantry]] soldiers and pit them against the main characters.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Literature]]
55	[[AC:Examples by author:]]
56	* Creator/GeorgeRRMartin had a short story in which the corpses of executed criminals were implanted with control chips and sold as industrial equipment. They were only good for certain types of work, because they were somewhat clumsy and required human operators. Much of the plot revolved around the practical and financial issues facing the corpse-driver protagonists.
57	[[AC:Examples by work:]]
58	* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', people who have been infested by a [[PuppeteerParasite Yeerk]] are known as Controllers. The host is [[AndIMustScream fully conscious but unable to move]], save for a few seconds of FightingFromTheInside if they're lucky. The Yeerk can read all of the host's thoughts and memories, and communicate them through [[{{Telepathy}} thought-speak]].
59	* Two very creepy examples in ''Literature/TheCasterChronicles'' -- [[spoiler:Sarafine inhabiting Mrs. Lincoln in ''Beautiful Creatures'', and Mrs. English being possessed by the Lilum in ''Beautiful Chaos'']].
60	* In ''The Devils of D-Day'' by Creator/GrahamMasterton, the demon Elmek possesses a local priest. When the protagonist demands to know what happened to the real Father Anton, Elmek points out he just stepped on his entrails. Turns out in this case DemonicPossession means ripping out the victim's insides and sitting inside the body, working it like a literal puppet.
61	* ''Literature/ImperialRadch'': The ancillaries from ''Ancillary Justice''. They're typically made using dissidents from conquered worlds, who have implants shoved into their brains that permanently render them extensions of a ship's AI, obliterating all previous identity. They're used as ground soldiers or anything else that needs a pair of hands. Most people call them [[FateWorseThanDeath corpse soldiers]].
62	* ''Old Virginia'' by Laird Barron has a HumanoidAbomination sitting on the shoulders of various people and using them for transport (a case of being literally hagridden), controlling them through tendrils inserted into their spine. This ends up being the fate of the protagonist as well.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
66	* In an episode of ''Series/DeadGorgeous'', Mr. Griffith is laid up with a kidney stone. To avoid having Miss Sinclaire expel the Ainsworth girls, their ghost guide Agatha possesses Mr. Griffith and forces him up out of bed.
67	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWho2019NYSResolution Resolution]]", the villain controls archaeologist Lin in this fashion, forcing her to build it a new set of armour. [[spoiler:After its casing is destroyed, the Dalek recon scout takes over Aaron, Ryan's estranged father.]]
68	-->'''Lin:''' Who are... [[WhatTheHellAreYou what are you?]]\
69	'''Creature:''' I am your pilot now.\
70	''[Lin struggles to pull the creature off her back, only for her hand to be forced back down]''\
71	'''Creature:''' Do not fight me. I have control of your body. All brain and motor functions are under my power.\
72	'''Lin:''' Please, no...\
73	'''Creature:''' Silence. See how I control you. Turn. ''[Lin jerks round to face the mirror]'' Look. ''[speaking through her mouth]'' You are my prisoner now. You are my... puppet.
74	* In ''Series/TheFlash2014'', Doctor Alchemy was created by [[spoiler:Savitar taking over Julian Albert's mind with the Philosopher's Stone]].
75	* ''Series/TheGhostAndMrsMuir'': In "Centennial", the captain takes over Claymore's body so he can dance with Mrs. Muir.
76	* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', demons and angels require vessels to walk the earth. The term "meat puppet" is often used.
77	-->'''Meg:''' ''[[[DemonicPossession possessing]] Sam]'' Sam's still my meat puppet. I'll make him bite his tongue off.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
81	* ''TabletopGame/PsionicsTheNextStageInHumanEvolution'': Powerful psychokinetics can hijack people's bodies and remotely control them.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Toys]]
85	* The [[FaceHugger Krana]] in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' can control a being once attached to his or her face. If they possess a [[LittlePeople Matoran]], it's a straight example of the trope, since Matoran lapse into unconsciousness when separated from their MaskOfPower. However, if they possess a Toa, there will be a struggle for control between Krana and host. IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight ensues.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Video Games]]
89	%%* The zombie virus in ''Franchise/DeadSpace''.
90	* ''VideoGame/{{Geist}}'' surrounds itself in having the player possess hosts both biological and machine to affect the living world and defeat the BigBad. There's even a minigame devoted to Ghosts vs Hosts.
91	* ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': [[spoiler:Yomiel can possess and manipulate living creatures the way Sissel manipulates inanimate objects. Aside from his cat the hosts are either unknowing or unwilling, but he can also possess the EmptyShell of his own corpse.]]
92	* The ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series features various types of headcrab creatures that overlap with ZombieMooks. The headcrabs apparently latch onto the skull of the host, eat their way through it, and then control the new "corpse" while simultaneously mutating it to make it even nastier. The host remains [[TechnicallyLivingZombie alive]] and [[AndIMustScream conscious]] the whole time, of course.
93	* The Flood parasites of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' insert their tendrils into the nervous systems of their host subjects. Afterwards, they control and mutate the host in the same way that headcrabs do.
94	* This is the implied case with Millennia from ''[[VideoGame/{{Deception}} Kagero: Deception II]]''. She never speaks in cutscenes aside from nodding or shaking her head, but exactly ''how much'' control the Timemoids are exhibiting over her is [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation up to the player]] via {{Dialogue Tree}}s.
95	* In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', [[spoiler:after defeating [[BigBad Cackletta]], her defeated spirit takes over the beaten-up body of Bowser and becomes... Bowletta]].
96	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': '''[[VillainOverride ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL]].''' Really, Reaper Indoctrination in the ''Franchise/MassEffect' series is a mass (no pun intended) version of this.
97	* ''VideoGame/MeatPuppet'': Yes, there is a game whose title is the same as this trope, and the game mostly follows the description at the top. Lotos/Lotus Abstraction answered a personal ad that said about "nocturnal missions". She is being controlled by the Puppet Master/Martinet. She is required to make {{Asshole Victim}}s out of six leaders of the most profitable corporations (also known as ambassadors), and do this in one night, or else the suit that was put on her without her consent will self-destruct and kill her! This is what Martinet is trying to accomplish: [[spoiler:the Puppet Master wants to use Lotos to reassemble the fractured genetic key to universal entropy and shut down the universe. That would make Lotos accomplice to the biggest murder of all time a prospect that displeases her greatly. She'd rather save the world instead]]. You can find out more [[http://www.thecomputershow.com/computershow/previews/meatpuppet.htm here]].
98	* In ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'', Abe possesses and controls his enemies in his efforts to save his species from extinction and free them from slavery. Ironically, in ''Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus'', secondary antagonist General Dripik refers to Abe as a 'Mudokon Meat-Puppet', without any correlation to the trope.
99	* ''VideoGame/PainKiller'' also contains a character who uses mind control to manipulate potential enemy hosts, (and sometimes including allies).
100	* ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy'' refers to mind-controlled soldiers (under the terrorist group called the Movement) as Meat Puppets, and is the {{Trope Namer\|s}} in this case.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Webcomics]]
104	* In Chapter Two of ''Literature/AntlersColorado'', [[spoiler:Austin is possessed and used as a vessel by an evil entity that has been bound to a lake for centuries. There's a chapter from Lake-Austin's point of view where it's obvious that the lake has no idea what the limitations of a human body are, or just doesn't care]].
105	* In ''Webcomic/{{Fite}}'', [[spoiler:the Mutali turn out to be just puppets of Skerry]].
106	* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'' gives us the unnerving possibility of this being the ultimate fate of victims of ThePlague that resulted in the current AfterTheEnd setting the characters find themselves in. Be they Beast (animal-based victims), Troll (human-based victims) or Giant (combo-platter critters). As if facing becoming a BodyOfBodies and/or MeatMoss BodyHorror wasn't enough, you could be trapped and watching yourself attack others for ''[[AndIMustScream decades]]''.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Western Animation]]
110	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': In the episode "Little Rock of Horrors", a [[MusicalEpisode singing meteor monster]] from outer space crashes in town. It [[BrainFood feeds on brains]], and convinces Billy to bring him his friends, family and neighbors to feed on. The monster feeds by taking out their brains from their ears, which [[WhoEvenNeedsABrain instead of killing them]] turns the townspeople into green-eyed, tongue-lolling zombies vulnerable to control to its psychic powers (as pictured above). The more brains it eats, the more backup dancers it can add to the throng.
111	* This is an integral part of Irken biology when you delve deeper into the lore of ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', one that would have been explored in more detail had the show not been cancelled. The Irkens' bodies are just a vessel, their memories and personalities [[WetwareBody are all contained in the PAKS on their backs]]. In one episode where we see Zim's birth, at first, he lays on the ground motionless, but the instant the PAK is placed on him, he is able to move and speak. The cancelled episode "Ten Minutes to Doom" would have revealed that the body can only live ten minutes without their PAKS.
112	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': It's revealed in "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind Change Your Mind]]" that [[spoiler:White Diamond]] has EyeBeams that can turn other Gems into these for her, [[spoiler:turning them monochrome in the process]]. She [[EntertaininglyWrong also]] happens to think that [[HalfHumanHybrid Steven]] himself [[spoiler:was [[RaisedAsAHost created]] to serve as one for his MissingMom Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond. White is proven wrong when pulling out Steven's [[HeartDrive gemstone]] creates a LiteralSplitPersonality of him instead of his mother]].
113	[[/folder]]
114

Context Main / MeatPuppet