Line #56 Main/SuperHumanTrafficking


1	%%
2	%%The examples on this page have been sorted alphabetically. Please help keep this page tidy by adding new ones in order. Thank you!
3	%%
4	%%Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages; all such examples have been commented out. Please add proper context before uncommenting them -- a good example should explain how it's an example.
5	%%
6	%%Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions128
7	%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
8	%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
9	%%
10	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rco001_9.png]]]]
11	%%
12
13	->'''Professor X:''' For someone who hates mutants, you certainly keep some strange company.\
14	'''Stryker:''' They serve their purpose, as long as they can be controlled.
15	-->-- ''Film/X2XMenUnited''
16
17	In a setting where there are MageSpecies, aliens, fairies, or superpowers that show up with sufficient regularity, these {{Differently Powered Individual}}s will have the hardship of being hunted by those who want to exploit them for money, power and... other uses. [[MutantDraftBoard The government]], corporations, {{Mad Scientist}}s and criminal organizations may seek to enslave and co-opt them to evil ends, such as spying, {{Super Soldier}}ing, ForScience, and many other purposes.
18
19	In extreme cases they may become a SlaveRace or EndangeredSpecies thanks to this FantasticRacism. The protagonists are likely a part of this oppressed group, and have to spend the story on the run from their oppressors, trying to escape their captors control, and/or thwarting their plans and helping their fellows escape. As a result of this trope, members of this oppressed group are likely to choose TranshumanTreachery and the [[AntiHumanAlliance enslavement (or eradication) of mankind]], which can be poetically {{trag\|edy}}ic if [[BewareTheSuperman the fear of this]] is [[SelfFulfillingProphecy what lead to the enslavement in the first place]]. Expect at least one person to react in horror to this situation, and possibly stating that SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil.
20
21	See also MutantDraftBoard and SuperRegistrationAct. For examples of what things can be like if Supers volunteer their abilities, check out JustForFun/TheseLookLikeJobsForTheSuperman.
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27	* ''Manga/PlusAnima'' is about young people who develop animal-like abilities and powers, with the ability to grow wings, claws, tails, and more. Discrimination against the +Anima occurs in many places, but in Sailand, enslaving them is legal and there is an active business. It's implied that they're usually sold to people who can make the most use of their abilities, (such as a fisherman who wants to use a swimming +Anima for his work) though attractive +Anima may be sold to rich people and artists for the purpose of standing around and looking pretty.
28	* ''Manga/TheAncientMagusBride'' starts with Elias buying Chise from an auction for that deals in magical creatures. It's later revealed that [[spoiler:she ''sold herself'' due to her DarkAndTroubledPast]].
29	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': [[spoiler:After the Titan Wars, the Eldians remaining outside the Walls were rounded up by the nation of [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Marley]] and imprisoned in ghettos. While they ''claim'' this was an act of mercy, in reality Marley is merely exploiting them for their ability to transform into Titans. Extremely oppressive laws provide an excuse to arrest Eldians for whatever reason, subjecting them to experimentation or transformation into a mindless Titan. These Titans provide the backbone of the Marleyan military, unleashed on the battlefield to slaughter their enemies. With the launching of the Warrior program, Eldian families are encouraged to sell their own children to the military in exchange for better treatment. These children become fanatical [[TykeBomb tyke-bombs]] that believe their service to Marley will someday earn their kinsmen their freedom. The very best are given the "honor" of hosting one of the Nine Titans, giving them incredible powers in exchange for having their lifespan cut short to 13 more years and spending it all as weapons for the military]].
30	* ''Manga/BlueRamun'': {{Downplayed\|Trope}}, but the Garicalege makes their money by [[HumanResources harvesting]] a FantasticMedicinalBodilyProduct that only the Blue Ramun tribe members can produce -- their [[HealingHands magically curative]] [[ThePowerOfBlood blood]] (and in some cases, organs). The Garicalege kidnap adult Blue Doctors to steal their blood and [[spoiler: abduct illegal half-Blue blooded children to keep them in captivity and brainwashed into giving blood on command until the children become unprofitable to keep alive and are killed to harvest their organs]].
31	* ''Anime/BNABrandNewAnimal'': There's a black market in beastman children. Michiru is captured by traffickers in the second episode but manages to use her RubberMan powers to escape before they're loaded onto the ship.
32	* ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' Contractors were treated like [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman dangerous-but-useful monsters]] and either used as expendable killers or [[TheyWouldCutYouUp experimented upon]] at will -- at least, until the U.N. intervened... to demand that countries share this research and form PANDORA. Dolls who got a shorter straw were treated like corpses with still living brains -- if normal humans don't take cyborgization well, try to cut off a Doll's legs and "program" him to test the replacement. Just like that, it's equipment. Or sometimes a pretty one gets "programmed" and sold as a {{Sexbot}} -- illegal, but behind the {{masquerade}} there's very little difference.
33	* In ''Anime/{{Endride}}'', [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation special innate weapons]] called Warp Relics are common, but far from universal, which leads to a slave trade of [[TykeBomb child assassins]] [[{{Brainwashed}} groomed]] for their magical fighting capabilities.
34	* ''Manga/{{Gangsta}}'' features a split-off of humanity called [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Twilights]], all of whom have SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, etc. but constantly face FantasticRacism and were legal to enslave until just a few years before the main story starts. The only reason [[{{Muggles}} normals]] got away with this sort of treatment is because Twilights are a very small minority of the population and all of them are hopelessly addicted to the pricey drug ''Célèbre'', which many slave masters used to control them. For example, [[spoiler:one of the main reasons Nicolas never ran away from his highly abusive owners as a child was because they provided him with just enough ''Célèbre'' to keep him barely lucid]].
35	* ''Manga/MonsterMusume'': This may or may not happen frequently with the more monstrous monster girls. A shown example would be [[SpiderPeople Rachnera Arachnera]], whose host family was expecting a girl of the [[LittleBitBeastly softer variety]]. One of the more recent chapters [[spoiler:shows several monster children being rescued from a group of kidnappers]].
36	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
37	** [[FishPeople Fishmen]] inherently have [[SuperStrength ten times the strength of normal humans]], but they are constantly getting captured and placed into slavery, where they are bought for extremely high prices by [[AristocratsAreEvil the fabulously wealthy]]. People confirmed to have Devil Fruit powers also fetch very high prices at the slave auctions.
38	** The same goes for "Holy Mother" Carmel, [[spoiler:Big Mom]]'s childhood caretaker. [[spoiler:While she's working as a nun running a home for orphaned children of all races, she's [[BitchInSheepsClothing actually trying to sell them off to the World Government as soldiers or for other purposes]]]]. Like mother, like daughter...
39	* ''Manga/TokyoESP'': The reason the protagonists from Part 1 are missing is [[spoiler:because they've gone undercover to break up an [=ESPer=] trafficking ring]].
40	* ''Anime/WitchHunterRobin'' had the inquisition mostly out to kill witches, but the Japanese branch isn't averse to recruiting witches... in order to use them to hunt down their own kind. The ones they capture are then enslaved (or [[HumanResources processed]], it's not made clear) to produce "orbo", an AntiMagic material.
41	* ''Manga/WorldTrigger'': The [[AlienInvasion Neighbors]]' motive for coming to earth is essentially this. Drones are sent to earth to harvest humans for their [[{{Mana}} Trion]]. Humans with low Trion merely have their Trion Glands removed ([[PoweredByAForsakenChild which is, naturally, fatal]]). Humans with sufficiently high Trion, however, are taken alive and used as Slaves Soldiers back in The Neighborhood.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Comic Books]]
45	* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
46	** ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'':
47	*** The Cyborg-Superman and Mongul have both tried to do this to the members of the Green Lantern Corps.
48	*** In ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', this is the reason why the Justice League has a crypt for supervillains: there's a burgeoning market on metahuman organs. Had the League not interred their foes, they would most likely have been chopped up like cheap cars.
49	** In ''Justice League Adventures #6'' (a spin-off of the [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague animated show]]), Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are captured and [[AuctionOfEvil auctioned off]] to the highest bidder. Lots of villains from throughout the [[Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse DCAU]] (including some who never appeared in any of the shows) are invited to the auction. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a trap by the Justice League to lure them out of hiding and arrest as many villains as possible.]]
50	** ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'':
51	*** The 1980s villainess Queen Bee was introduced running an auction to sell off a brainwashed superheroes from another world.
52	*** In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age\|OfComicBooks}} and in the 1990s, the original alien version of the Queen Bee has sometimes tried to [[AssimilationPlot transform the Leaguers into her "drones"]].
53	** ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'': The villain Roulette engages in this so that she can profit from betting on superhuman blood sports.
54	** ''ComicBook/StarmanDCComics'': The 1970s alien version spent years as a drugged slave being bought and sold by various "collectors".
55	** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc "ComicBook/TheSuperSteedOfSteel", a band of horse robbers spot Comet transformed into centaur and decide to catch it and make a profit from exhibiting him. Later, Gorbin, the co-owner of a ruinous sea circus, decides to go to Atlantis waters and hunt one pair of merpeople for his show. He catches Lori and Jerro, which turns out to be a bad move because they are close to the Super Family and have telepathy.
56	* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
57	** In one arc of ''ComicBook/MsMarvel'' (volume 2), the Puppet Master attempted to sell a number of superheroines under his mind-control as {{Sex Slave}}s to various nasty sorts.
58	** The ''ComicBook/XMen'' are basically the {{Trope Codifier}}s. Among the groups out to enslave them are:
59	*** The Weapon X project, a secret black-books government program intended to transform mutants into brainwashed expendable {{Super Soldier}}s and powered covert agents.
60	*** The U-Men are a band of humans whose [[IJustWantToBeSpecial desire for super-powers]] leads to their abducting and [[OrganTheft vivisecting]] mutants in order to experiment in gaining super-powers through blood transfusions and limb/organ/tissue grafts.
61	*** The island nation of Genosha built its prosperity on mutant slavery, even having special teams sent out to kidnap mutants from other countries to enslave them, until Magneto stepped in and took over, unleashing the vengeful slave population to massacre the humans in a case of PayEvilUntoEvil.
62	*** The villain Mojo's entire existence is practically to televise {{Differently Powered Individual}}s doing awesome things for the benefits of higher ratings. Their consent, is of course, ''purely optional''.
63	*** We once did see the Hellfire Club having an ''actual superhuman auction.'' This isn't as [[BullyingADragon suicidally dumb]] as it sounds, as the Franchise/MarvelUniverse has always had a large population of lower-level superhumans, especially mutants -- not always visible, but there. The club wasn't selling anyone who could kill you with their brain. Not to mention, the Hellfire Club is run by an Inner Circle of powerful superhumans in their own right. Natch, the X-Men had to break it up.
64	*** [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]] was stolen from a hospital shortly after birth and given to a slave-trafficking sorcerer as a gift because of his [[TechnicolorEyes demonic-looking eyes]].
65	* In ''ComicBook/RobynHood: I Love NY'', Natalya runs a slavery ring that captures Easter European Highborns and smuggles them into the US, where they are sold as sex slaves.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
69	* SelkiesAndWereseals stories often have a man to force the selkie into marriage or servitude by stealing their animal hide, thus stopping them from returning to the sea.
70	* "Literature/TheSwanMaiden": Many versions of the tale involve unscrupulous men forcing a maiden into marriage after [[FurIsClothing stealing her animal skin]], [[ShapeshifterModeLock trapping her in human form]].
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Fan Works]]
74	* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'':
75	** During WWII, ComicBook/{{Hydra}} and [[StupidJetpackHitler the Nazis]] are implied to have done this, to an extent, experimenting on a young [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]].
76	** The Weapons Plus program, particularly Weapon X, specialized in this, being more focused on the enslaving side of SuperSoldier creation. Or at least, they did until Weapon X a.k.a. ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} escaped, and took refuge with [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Charles Xavier]]. Who they tried to go after. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Bad idea]].
77	** The Red Room were [[SovietSuperscience the Soviet equivalent]]. During the Cold War, they kidnapped an eight year old Alison Carter (valuable, given that she was the secret daughter of Peggy and [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve]] and a fully fledged SuperSoldier), and later do this in the ''Forever Red'' arc of the sequel, with a number of high-profile prisoners/slaves. Their prisoners included Lorna Dane a.k.a. Polaris, and their ultimate weapon: the Red Son ([[spoiler:a reprogrammed version of Harry's BlankSlate body]]). That ended up enraging Lorna's father, none other than ''[[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]''. Twice over, given that [[spoiler: since Wanda is Harry's godmother and ParentalSubstitute, he's suggested that he sees Harry as an adjunct grandson]]. That's not bad idea, or even a terrible one - ''that is suicide''.
78	* In ''Fanfic/CrimsonAndEmerald'', Neito Monoma notes that his parents had to hide the [[SensorCharacter true nature]] of his [[PowerCopying quirk]] because Europe has a problem with quirk trafficking rings that kidnap kids with powerful Quirks and raise them to be villains. He'd had several attempted kidnappings as a child just because he was the son of the Japanese Ambassador to France and a member of the European Parliament, even with his true quirk withheld.
79	* In ''Fanfic/FirstTrySeries'', Sasuke has to hide that he's Uchiha to not risk getting kidnapped and sold into slavery for his bloodline.
80	* In ''Fanfic/TheGreatRedPandaRescue'', [[WesternAnimation/TurningRed Mei]] is kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder for her ability to turn into a giant red panda.
81	* ''Fanfic/IAmWhatIAm'': After all Slayers are activated, some mages begin engaging in Slayer trafficking. A notable case is Joiah Angler, who traffics Slayers for either manual labor, use of their [[HumanSacrifice organs]] for spells or simply the thrill of owning them.
82	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9037762/4/I-Fall-out-to-Pieces I Fall(out) to Pieces]]'', the director of [[Franchise/{{Fallout}} Vault UK-13]] mistakenly discovered the existence of [[Literature/HarryPotter magic]] through blood tests, but since he doesn't actually know about the magical world, [[EntertaininglyWrong he assumed that the various witches and wizards were simple]] {{mutants}}. His plan for Vault UK-13 was to gather as many as these "mutants" into the Vault as possible to have them reproduce and raise the children to be loyal to the crown.
83	* FandomSpecificPlot in ''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia'':
84	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18426852/chapters/43647438 Someone You Trust]]'' has Present Mic infiltrating one of these rings but it’s from the perspective of a captured Aizawa who doesn’t understand why Hizashi is torturing him. Hizashi had to maintain his cover or risk blowing the chance to save U.A. students from being sold.
85	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/45984871/chapters/115749064 The Waters of Lethe]]'' has Aizawa caught trying to infiltrate such a ring. He’s touted as a high profile, valuable “item” because of Erasure and by the time he and the other captives are freed, he’s suffering from IdentityAmnesia due to a Trigger-boosted quirk.
86	** ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/26172646/chapters/63686026 Submerged]]'' Aizawa gets sucked into infiltrating a group of pro hero traffickers after being labeled a traitor. The authorities wouldn’t even let him tell Hizashi, and Hizashi has no idea why it happened til he gets caught by the ring.
87	* In ''Fanfic/ANinjasGuideToGotham'', it's a DiscussedTrope and a lurking background fear. In order:
88	** This is brought up as a reason why [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Jason]] is determined to keep [[{{Manga/Naruto}} Hayate]] away from Gotham's social services. Metahumans are always at a greater risk of being taken advantage of, especially when there's so much mob money entangled with most of the power structures within the city.
89	** Hayate, meanwhile, is familiar with what the shinobi countries refer to as "bloodline theft," or the targeted kidnapping and exploitation of individuals with unusual ''[[SuperpowerfulGenetics kekkei genkai]]''. Before Hayate was born, Kushina was targeted by Kumogakure for this reason, and upon Minato's ascension to the Hokage's seat, he made the practice a capital crime.
90	** As Tim and Steph point out, technically Kei and Hayate are both victims of this because they aren't supposed to be in Gotham at all. Given the evidence at hand, Kei blames the League of Assassins and Ra's al Ghul in particular for their situation.
91	* In ''Fanfic/WishCarefully'', magically-strong girls were kidnapped by Death Eaters to be concubines for stave off their slow extinction.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
95	* ''Film/Deadpool2016'': Ajax runs a lab that activates latent superpowers in people, under the pretense of making superheroes out of them, then sells them off as super-slaves to various criminal organizations.
96	* ''Film/EscapeToWitchMountain'': In the original movie, Tony and Tia are chased by a CorruptCorporateExecutive who wants to use their powers for his personal gain and a mob of people on a literal WitchHunt. Not that they know what they'll ''do'' with them once they catch them. In the sequel, ''Film/ReturnFromWitchMountain'', the villain is a MadScientist who kidnaps Tony and fixes him with a MindControlDevice in order to harness his powers.
97	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
98	** In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'', General Thunderbolt Ross says, in no uncertain terms, that the titular character "is property of the US Government". Specifically, since Banner tested an attempt to reverse-engineer [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger a super-soldier serum]] on himself, the power of the resultant [[HulkingOut Hulk-out]] is seen by Ross as useful to the government as study. He's prepared to capture Banner and use him as a guinea pig/monster on a leash for the rest of his life.
99	** ''Film/IronMan3'' features a think tank that's designing new virological enhancements to create the perfect [[SuperSoldier super-soldier]]-for-sale, while staging fake terror attacks to increase demand. It's disturbingly unclear how much free will the test subjects retain.
100	** ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'': This is also what Captain America fears will happen if they sign [[SuperRegistrationAct the Sokovia Accords]]. Given Ross's all-but-apparent glee at having some heroes locked up and others under his thumb, he has no qualms about this.
101	--->'''Captain America:''' What if they send us somewhere we don't think we need to go? What if there's somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us?
102	* In ''Film/MermaidDown'', two fishermen capture a mermaid and cut her tail off, planning to sell her upper body and her tail separately for millions of dollars each. Before they can carry out their plan, the mermaid kills one of them and Dr. Beyer kills the other so he can have the mermaid for himself.
103	* ''Film/{{Push}}'': All the world's superpowers hunt down... people with actual superpowers, killing, brainwashing, and experimenting on them.
104	* In ''Film/SheCreature'', Angus steals a captive mermaid, despite warnings that the mermaid is a killer, so he can get rich displaying her at carnivals.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Literature]]
108	* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfDorsa'': Akella can tell quickly on going into their quarters that the Order of Taghren children were sired by her men. With them being Adessian like her (black people, going by their descriptions) and they have white mothers, this results in the girls having darker skin plus kinky hair, as Akella notes, closer to their fathers. Additionally, some also have particular facial features in common too with her men.
109	* In ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars'', the Abh were originally [[ServantRace created to be slaves]]. Now that they have an empire of their own, they're hated.
110	* In ''Literature/EmpireStar'', the Empire uses Lll as slaves, because it cannot afford not to. The Lll have some sort of (not-well-specified) building power that makes them the only reasonable option for some sorts of projects. However, the Empire is not happy with this fact, and uses its own powers to make anyone who is in the presence of the Lll feel great, overwhelming, physically painful sorrow. And anyone who hires Lll laborers must feel this sorrow the whole time.
111	* ''Literature/GarbageBrave'' starts with this. Tsukuru's entire Home-Ec class, including himself, were summoned to an alien world and sold to various nations, based on their transmigration granted super-powers. Tsukru was dumped in a dungeon and LeftForDead because nobody [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness stopped to consider how dangerous]] [[LethalHarmlessPowers his subskills [Igniton] and [Dismantle] are]].
112	* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': [[EvilInc Manpower Incorporated of Mesa]]. Whatever sort of genetically engineered slave you need, from [[SexSlave pleasure units]] engineered with stunning good looks and thoroughly trained to please any man or woman's desires, through to the [[WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture heavy labor lines]] engineered for size and strength and nothing else, Manpower Incorporated has you covered.
113	* In ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'', there is Oreg, who was turned into some highly supernatural GeniusLoci ghost-thingy in order to create a [[PoweredByAForsakenChild castle that would take care of itself]]. [[spoiler:He is also a shapeshifting dragon, so he was supernatural to being with.]] There is also the skeleton of a dragon in chains somewhere in the caves under the castle. Dragons are sapient beings in this world, so this not better than having a human skeleton in the basement -- rather worse, actually.
114	* ''Literature/InCryptid'': The novella ''The Measure of a Monster'' focuses on Alex, Shelby, and Sarah saving some gorgon children from EvilPoacher kidnappers. They're an entirely different species rather than superpowered humans, but it still counts.
115	* ''Literature/TheInfected'': The titular [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Infected]] who are dangerous enough are effectively [[MutantDraftBoard drafted into the IPB]] on pain of death. Also, any Infected with [[HealingHands healing powers]] vanishes almost immediately, kidnapped by [[TheCartel cartels]] or the incredibly wealthy.
116	* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Tariatla has a brisk trade in the [[EnslavedElves enslavement of elves]], who, in this verse, are basically humans infused with chaotic energy. They're immortal and possess a HealingFactor and so they are used for perpetual labor and dangerous operations, as well as [[SexSlave "eternal virgins"]]. A large part of ''Literature/ManaMutationMenace'' is breaking this trade worldwide.
117	* ''Literature/MarketOfMonsters'' follows refugees fleeing the trade in Unnaturals (humans or creatures with supernatural abilities).
118	* In ''Literature/TheMermaidsSister'', Maren and O'Neill are transporting BathtubMermaid Maren to the ocean when they're captured by Dr. Phipps, who keeps Maren in a jar and puts her on display in his Gallery of Wonders to be gawked at.
119	* ''Literature/MissPeregrinesHomeForPeculiarChildren'': In ''Library of Souls'', peculiars enslave and pimp other peculiars in Devil's Acre.
120	* ''Literature/OfFireAndStars'': In the sequel it turns out that Zumordan children are being kidnapped and then enslaved for use of their magic by Sonnenbornes, as their people greatly lack mages. They convince themselves having this can make their desert country bloom once again.
121	* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': There are Old World Domain Connectors, those with a {{Transhuman}} OrganicTechnology BrainComputerInterface as well as other side effects and abilities. Akira and others live in fear of being forcibly seized by any number of MegaCorp in OneNationUnderCopyright in what would at worst consist of being made a BrainInAJar for experiments. Eventually Shirou is introduced, who has been living in a GildedCage as a PlayfulHacker agent for Sakashita. Akira is assigned to escort his convoy, which gets attacked by other companies with plans to kidnap Shirou. Shirou hatches an elaborate escape plan afterwards, with his bodyguard Halmers as well as Yanigisawa competing to reinstate or exploit him.
122	* ''Literature/SideJobs'': In the short story "Aftermath", Murphy has to disguise herself as a kidnapper selling a couple of [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]] in order to track down and destroy a Fomor group operating in Chicago. Formors are a group of aquatic supernaturals snatching up humans possessing varying degrees of magical talent. It's mentioned that [[BloodMagic werewolf blood has several useful properties]], and [[PoweredByAForsakenChild presumably other kinds of magic-users would have unique traits]].
123	* ''Literature/SuperSalesOnSuperHeroes'': When a supervillain conquers the city, she has most superheroes sold into slavery with {{magically binding contract}}s. The plot kicks off when the protagonist accidentally buys one online and ends up running a slave empire. {{Subverted\|Trope}} in the sequels, where he turns them into {{indentured serv\|itude}}ants with limited contracts instead, since he realizes that basing his entire financial empire on a single law that could change at any moment is ridiculous. Besides, he expands from the city to the outside country, where slavery is illegal.
124	* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': The [[UsefulNotes/StockholmSyndrome Damane]] are magic-users brainwashed and enslaved by the Seanchan and treated as a cross between property and dangerous animals.
125	* ''Literature/XanaduStoryverse'': In the wake of the Change, an underground market springs up for possession and exploitation of the newly-formed supernatural beings. In "Mermaids of Xanadu", the main characters become targets of one specifically intending to profit from the capture and sale of mermaids and a Jedi. The story discusses some of the issues with doing this, chiefly the ones revolving around trying to keep powerful supernatural beings prisoner. The traffickers rely on threatening to DePower their victims to keep them in line, but doing so ruins their value -- but, on the other hand, letting them keep their powers and abilities makes them very difficult to contain.
126	* ''Literature/XandriCorelel'': In ''Testing Pandora'', the villains are trying to steal [[BirdPeople Psittacan]] eggs for a rich human's petting zoo.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
130	* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', human {{telepath\|y}}s are ''required'' to join the [[MutantDraftBoard Psi Corps]], or take psi-dampening drugs that include suicidal depression as side effects.
131	* ''Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}'':
132	** ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': This is the attitude of much of the Watchers' Council to Slayers, as utterly disposable tools who can always be replace by the next one if they fail or get rebellious. The final season reveals that this was not a case of SlowlySlippingIntoEvil under the stress of protecting the world, but that the ancient magicians who created the First Slayer and set up the organization planned it that way from the start.
133	** ''Series/{{Angel}}'': In one episode, Lorne is being forced to use his ability to read people's destinies so that they can be sold on the black market.
134	* ''Series/DoctorWho''
135	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]", the Tharils are enslaved for their time-sensitivity, forced to work as navigators for human vessels by being strapped into mechanisms that can damage their minds from prolonged use.
136	** This is the ambition of the villain [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Henry van Statten]]. [[BullyingADragon Pity his first attempt involves a Dalek]].
137	* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', a government facility known as "The Academy" exists to experiment on young people who show signs of psychic abilities and turn them into {{Super Soldier}}s. Among other things, the process vastly amplifies their PsychicPowers, but it frequently drives the subjects insane. The Academy recruits their 'students' by [[SchoolForScheming posing as a prestigious school]]; while there's no evidence of them using force to obtain ''new'' subjects, it's very difficult to get out again once you've signed on. Any escapees are hunted by [[TheMenInBlack "Hands of Blue" agents]].
138	* ''Series/TheFlash2014'':
139	** This appears to be Amunet Black's business, and the prison warden is in on it, offering to sell her the [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual metas]] in a secret wing.
140	** A later season has the criminal organization called Black Hole, which kidnaps and conscripts metas with [[LightEmUp light-based]] powers as enforcers and assassins.
141	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has a mix of both options by the same organization, which simultaneously hunts, exterminates, recruits and blackmails people with abilities.
142	* ''Series/TheImmortal1969'': Ben Richards is a race car driver whose blood contains every immunity and antibody possible, making him effectively immortal. A very rich and old man discovers this by receiving a transfusion from Richards and instantly feeling much younger and healthier. This prompts him to want to capture and imprison and effectively enslave Richards to ensure a constant supply of this (literally) life-giving substance. They even covered the point about paying Richards to frequently donate some blood, and the old man refusing by postulating that serious injury could kill Richards, thereby cutting off the supply of blood.
143	* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'': Renn, a young boy, can read minds. He was sold by his own (apparent) father to a [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen brutal queen]], who used his ability to ferret out people who were plotting against her, then had them [[OffWithHisHead all beheaded]], which haunts him. Then he was sold to the D'Harans for his ability. After being rescued though things look up as Renn is sent to a refuge for children with magical gifts.
144	* ''Series/{{Misfits}}'': In an AlternateHistory episode, a Holocaust survivor travels back in time to [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct kill Hitler]], but inadvertently causes the Nazis to have a technological advantage and take over Europe. In the alternate present, the Nazis are rounding up superpowered individuals and using Seth, who can [[PowersAsPrograms transfer powers]], to give them to high ranking Nazi officials. The superpowered individuals are then killed. Seth pays thugs to find someone who can resurrect his dead girlfriend, although he does let the man go after he brings her back.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
148	* Myth/ClassicalMythology: The probable UrExample appears when Heracles/Hercules is repeatedly forced into servitude. For example, he performed his famous Twelve Labors as penance for killing his family after Hera briefly drove him insane. Later, as penance for killing ''another'' guy in ''another'' fit of divinely induced madness, he had to serve Queen Omphale for a year, performing housework in feminine clothes while the queen wore his lionskin cape and carried his club.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
152	* ''TabletopGame/{{Aberrant}}'': Some [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual novas]] (superpowered individuals) are hunted by criminal syndicates who kidnap them and harvest their organs to make superpowered drugs.
153	* ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'': The organization PSI (Parapsychological Studies Institute) hunts down and captures people with PsychicPowers and {{brainwashe\|d}}s them into becoming villains and slaves of PSI. PSI plans to use them to take control of the world.
154	* ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'': Muls ([[HalfHumanHybrid crossbreeds between humans and]] [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]]) have incredible endurance, being able to work three days straight without rest, but are rare due to their sterility. Their endurance makes them great slaves, and large numbers are made into gladiators. Slave-hunters will generally put more effort into capturing muls than slaves of other races, and will probably have to because muls sprinting for freedom tend to be badass.
155	* This crops up a couple times in ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil''.
156	** The Cheiron corporation does this to any being with powers, dissecting them to make medicine. Interestingly, their strategy is stated to be very successful at curing the sick. They also harvest organs to give their agents superpowers.
157	** On the {{squick}}ier side of things, Ashwood Abbey is a compact of bored, rich dilettantes who [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunt]] supernatural beings to, ah, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil entertain]] [[ColdBloodedTorture themselves]].
158	* In ''TabletopGame/MummyTheCurse'', Last Dynasty, Incorporated harvests {{mumm\|y}}ies for their [[PureEnergy Sekhem]], which they use for a variety of drugs, from an AIDS cure to a LongevityTreatment.
159	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':
160	** Aasimars -- the descendants of mortals and [[OurAngelsAreDifferent celestials]] -- are often targeted for slavery due to their beauty, the strength and resilience granted them by their heritage, and the fact that their rarity means they almost never have their own communities to protect them.
161	** The ancient empire of Thassilon was built on the backs of legions of enslaved giants, who were controlled through the powerful magic of the Thassilonian [[SorcerousOverlord Runelords]].
162	* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'':
163	** Drakes are creatures that appear to be human but can shapeshift into the form of small dragons, with appropriate powers. Once they started to appear, powerful entities such as Great Dragons and {{Mega Corp}}s immediately started to hunt them down and capture them. It seems that drakes were originally created to be a ServantRace for the dragons, and the dragons themselves have something of a difficult time seeing why things should be otherwise.
164	** In general, awakened magic users tend to fetch a premium in human trafficking rings.
165	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Imperium of Man counts [[PsychicPowers psykers]] as part of their planetary tithes. The Imperium uses psykers for [[SubspaceAnsible faster-than-light communication]] (astro-telepathy) and as military assets (sanctioned wyrdvane psykers) and the Navigator Houses (in)breed their own unique psychic mutants [[PsychicStarshipPilot that are required for]] FasterThanLightTravel. Psykers who fail whatever tests are fed to the Golden Throne, where they [[PoweredByAForsakenChild fuel the Astronomican]], the Emperor's massive psychic lighthouse, which allegedly burns through a thousand psykers a day. Untrained psykers are incredibly dangerous to Imperial citizens, as the powers of [[EldritchLocation the Warp]] can use an unsuspecting psyker as a gateway into the real world and wreak havoc until they dissipate back whence they came.
166	[[/folder]]
167
168	[[folder:Video Games]]
169	* ''VideoGame/BioShock'': The Little Sisters are little girls who have been kidnapped and augmented with a parasitic slug that makes them effectively immortal until they're ripped apart for PsychoSerum (or reach puberty, which turns them into feral teenagers with superpowers). There was a market for harvesting the stomachs of little girls until the civil war turned Rapture into a ruined nightmare, at which point the little girls are paired with giant, hulking cyborgs dedicated to killing anyone who harms their bow-wrapped drug factories. You can either [[VideoGameCaringPotential save them]] or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential get in on the action]].
170	* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'': The Harvester gang likes to kidnap people with [[ArtificialLimbs augmentations]] and cut them out to either sell or install in themselves. Not a very nice group of people, all things considered.
171	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'':
172	** The main nations have a ''legalized'' example: all individuals, human or elf, with magical talent can be taken away by the [[MageKiller Templars]] and placed inside a glorified prison with others of the like (ostensibly for their own and everyone else's protection) to toil away for the Chantry and whomever the Templars deem suitable clients. The situation is made complicated by the fact that mages are so because of their connection to [[SpiritWorld the Fade]], which includes a significant population of malevolent [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] ready to use the mage as a tunnel to wreak havoc in the mortal world. A mage who loses control and gets [[DemonicPossession possessed]] is generally accompanied by a massive body count. The Chantry sees its practices as a reasonable compromise: Mages are taken away from the public population for the safety of all, but the mages themselves aren't killed outright, but confined amongst their kind in relative comfort where they can study their art, use them for the better, and be warned not to give into the demons. As is with most complicated matters, there is ferocious debate on this in- and out-of-universe, and lots of room for abuse on both sides.
173	** The Qunari, for their part, treat their mages as dangerous beasts. All mages are called Saarebas, which literally means "dangerous thing" in Qunlat. They are forced to wear [[PowerNullifier special collars that nullify their abilities]] and can be used to cause them great pain. Many also have their [[MouthStitchedShut mouths sewn shut]], so that they can't speak the words of a spell. In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', if a certain Qunari mage hunter finds out that you or anyone in your party is a free mage, he will go berserk and attack you immediately (of course, he would still attack you anyway for attempting to free a Saarebas). They have only recently started to grudgingly use Saarebas in warfare, once their attempt to fight the Tevinter Imperium (a [[TheMagocracy magocracy]]) with only conventional means (including gunpowder) was met with devastating magic.
174	* ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' specifically says that the [[BeastMan beastmen]] of old were enslaved for their great strength, and were hunted again for the same purpose when they re-emerged after the return of Alchemy to Weyard.
175	* ''VideoGame/InFamous2'': [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Joseph Bertrand]] hires a group of [[AmoralAfrikaner South African]] [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenaries]], and then offers them the opportunity to become [[AnIcePerson Ice]] [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Conduits]] in exchange for a large sum of money (conveniently leaving out the part where the process will cause them to start [[TransformationHorror mutating uncontrollably]] and [[SanitySlippage losing their minds]] over time). But instead of just giving them the powers and letting them be on their way, Bertrand boxes them up and attempts to sell them to foreign governments and warlords as [[SuperSoldier super-soldiers]]-[[SealedArmyInACan in-a-can]] for even more money. [[spoiler:But it turns out that he doesn't even care about the money at all; it's actually part of his grand EvilPlan to spread [[FantasticRacism fear and hatred of Conduits]] on a global scale.]]
176	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': [[MindOverMatter Biotics]] (especially untrained children) are very sought after by illegal groups, particularly if they're powerful for their species. In a more benign variant, biotics are also rare enough among humans that there are monetary incentives offered for them join the armed forces; the [[FantasticRacism discrimination]] they face is so omnipresent that a very large percentage of them do indeed sign up just to escape it.
177	* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'': The [[ArmiesAreEvil Blackwatch]] once infected the entire population of a town with an experimental bioweapon. Every subject died after the town had to be shelled except for two, a woman and her newborn baby, who both exhibited odd capabilities. They were seized and designated "military assets" to spend the next forty years imprisoned and subject to all kinds of tests to develop tactics for fighting (and creating) new bioweapons.
178	* In ''Franchise/StarCraft'', telepaths are deceptively (if possible) or forcibly (if not) recruited into the [[MutantDraftBoard Ghost Program]] by wranglers. They are then trained TheSpartanWay and mind-wiped. Ironically, the mind-wipe proved to be the selling point to one November Annabella "Nova" Terra, who jumped at the chance at a new life without the horrible memories of her parents being murdered and her life since then.
179	* ''VideoGame/XCom'':
180	** The titular organization does this a lot to aliens -- both by selling their corpses, which is pretty profitable in the beginning, and capturing living ones for interrogation and conducting research.
181	** The Advent administration from ''VideoGame/XCom2'' is a tyrannical regime that uses BreadAndCircuses to lure ordinary humans into their gene clinics -- at which point they're shipped off to laboratories and lethally harvested for traces of superhuman genetics, which are used to create superhero bodies for the ruling elite to possess.
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Webcomics]]
185	* In ''Webcomic/BlueYonder'', the Davenports have been targeted. Their parents were taken in the {{Backstory}}, and Maiden Flight sacrificed herself to buy Blue Yonder time -- [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1361050/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-39/ and the reasons why are as yet unknown]].
186	* In ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'', while "goblin" races (humans, orcs, etc.) are terrified of fae races (elves, faeries), one kingdom has offered a reward for captives of elven blood [[spoiler:for use as HumanSacrifice in hopes of obtaining the power of immortality]].
187	* ''Webcomic/TheGamer'': A constant worry for Han Jee-Han, both because he's an especially tempting target, which drives his need to {{Level Grind\|ing}} by putting him in near-constant danger of being abducted and used as a battery, and because "mana farms" tend to be run by the worst of the worst.
188	[[/folder]]
189
190	[[folder:Web Originals]]
191	* ''Literature/{{Brennus}}'': Not uncommon. People with the Adonis trait (especially if it comes with little or nothing else in the way of superpowers) are targets for {{sex slave}}ry. Other powers tend to vary depending upon the risk-versus-reward scenario, but the Califate pays top-dollar for [[MagicPoweredPseudoscience Contrivers]], and everyone wants a {{Gadgeteer\|Genius}}.
192	* ''Roleplay/DestineEnormity'': Although the superhumans are the upper class in Arcadia, the primary setting, the Minos Corporation was found to be shipping Arcadian citizens out to be enslaved in the outside would. [[EnemyMine Both the Elite and the Messiah Complex were]] [[http://s13.zetaboards.com/DestineEnormity/forum/3020723/ pissed]] when they found out.
193	* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', kidnapping and exploitation of superhumans (especially {{mutants}} and dynahosts) crops up from time to time in various forms. In particular, a major StoryArc set in late 2007 begins when a group of heroes (and one retired villain) rescue a kidnapped Whateley student, and in the process uncover a group called The Triangle; they are a splinter off of Humanity First! who claim to be seeking peaceful co-existence with mutants, but are covertly enslaving mutants with useful powers 'for the common good'. Other instances include [[spoiler:the Loose Cannons]] getting sold to the operator of an illegal BloodSport ring, from which they then try to escape. It also seems to be ''de rigeur'' for some {{Mad Scientist}}s to [[KidnappedForExperimentation kidnap superhumans for test subjects]]. At least one instance of a low-level [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifter]] being held exploited for prostitution has been mentioned, as well.
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder:Western Animation]]
197	* Magical creatures in general are frequently hunted or killed by the Huntsclan on ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong''.
198	* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': [[WhoYouGonnaCall Ghost hunting]] is a common occupation, although only Skulker and the Guys in White are even remotely competent. [[RepulsiveRingmaster Freakshow]], who uses and controls ghosts for his circus acts, is another example.
199	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', [[OurFairiesAreDifferent fairies]] are often hunted to obtain their magical power, almost always Mr. Crocker going after Timmy's fairies. [[spoiler:In TheMovie, ''WesternAnimation/AbraCatastrophe'', he succeeds.]] Later on another, far more dangerous and competent fairy hunter shows up in the form of Ms. Doombringer.
200	* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': Roulette turns up with this M.O.
201	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': A Season 3 plotline involves new [[BlowYouAway airbenders]] created by the recent [[MassSuperEmpoweringEvent Harmonic Convergence]] (most of them citizens of the Earth Kingdom) being forcibly abducted and {{conscript\|ion}}ed into the Earth Kingdom army.
202	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch'': Because of their enhanced abilities, Clone Force 99 has been on the run from Imperial scientists ever since they defected at the start of the show. [[spoiler: Towards the end of the second season, it's revealed that an Imperial scientist has been holding clones prisoner and using them as lab rats in his experiments, with Crosshair being his latest victim]].
203	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS2E3ChildrenOfTheForce Children of the Force]]", [[BigBad Darth Sidious]] hires [[BountyHunter Cad Bane]] to kidnap Force-sensitive babies (potential future Jedi) and bring them to Mustafar so he can experiment on them and raise them to be agents for the Sith.
204	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': In addition to killing fugitive Jedi, the Inquisitors are tasked with taking in Force-sensitive children, often by kidnapping, so they can be raised as future Inquisitors. As Ahsoka points out, this is exactly what the Sith tried to do in the ''TCW'' episode above, except this time, the kidnappings are [[MutantDraftBoard state-sanctioned]] by TheEmpire, and there's no Republic or Jedi Order to stop it.
205	* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'': Norman Osborn's EvilPlan in season 1 is to [[KidnappedForExperimentation kidnap Spider-Man, find out what gave him his powers (a process that will likely kill him)]], and then create an army of [[SuperSoldier Super Soldiers]] to sell to the highest bidder. Thankfully, Osborn ending his partnership with Octopus meant that this plan was abandoned.
206	* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'':
207	** The "genomorphs" of Project Cadmus are genetically-engineered/cloned super-beings that are kept under mental control until ordered with a task. In fact, the events of the pilot episode were a carefully-crafted revolt by the genomorphs to supplant the control of the Light (the NebulousEvilOrganisation which created them), and allow the most human-looking of them (Superboy) to escape and act as their advocate to the outside world. Unfortunately, the Light is still in control, just more subtly, and Superboy has trouble even advocating for himself. Also, they left the same guy who was brainwashed into being head of security for the evil version of Project Cadmus as head of the reformed version, [[ThereAreNoTherapists instead of getting him some damn therapy]]. As of Season 2, both of them have been cured of this.
208	** In Season 2, The Light have started making deals with evil alien forces, such as [[TheEmpire the Reach]] (and later, Darkseid of Apokolips) after advertising humanity's potential for superpowers, which means lots of homeless people getting kidnapped and shipped off for human experimentation to have their [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual metahuman]] abilities activated. This subplot leads to a group of teenagers escaping the Reach's captivity, using their newfound superpowers to survive.
209	** In Season 3, the main story arc begins with our heroes trying to investigate and take down an international "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything metahuman trafficking]]" operation where countless people, mostly children and teenagers, are being kidnapped and turned into living weapons for sale to various governments and warlords not just on Earth, but also across the universe (including to the aforementioned Darkseid). It turns out that the child trafficking conspiracy is based primarily out of a secret laboratory beneath a children's hospital in [[{{Ruritania}} Markovia]].
210	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SuperHumanTrafficking