Line #50 Main/VolcanoLair


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/artwork_james_bond.png]]]]
5	[-[[caption-width-right:350:The base no self-respecting supervillain can do without.]]-]
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11	->'''Mr. Incredible:''' I've been meaning to ask you. Of all places to settle down, why...?\
12	'''Mirage:''' With a volcano? My employer is attracted to power. So am I. It's a... weakness we share.\
13	'''Mr. Incredible:''' Seems a little unstable.\
14	'''Mirage:''' I prefer to think of it as... misunderstood.
15	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1''
16
17	Some people want to live not at volcano's feet, but ''in'' a volcano. Whether it's active or extinct. After all, a crater inside some big mountain is a relatively defensible location, there's plenty of free geothermal power, it looks impressive, and [[LavaAddsAwesome Everything's Cooler With Lava]]. Usually SupervillainLair, but not always. Naturally [[ChekhovsVolcano predisposed]] to become a CollapsingLair.
18
19	Most feature [[ElaborateUndergroundBase labyrinthine cave complex]], {{Lava Pit}}s and use of free heat. These bases are often located in a LavaPotVolcano, hanging over or surrounding a great lake of molten rock. Often done in a [[ConvectionSchmonvection rather careless manner]]. May or may not be located [[IslandBase on an island]]. In a video game, this may be a LethalLavaLand.
20	----
21	!!Examples:
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
25	* ''Anime/GreatMazinger'': Marquis Janus, one of the villains of the ''Anime/MazingerZ'' sequel had an IslandBase with an artificial volcano built on the center. Its eruptions could be set off and stopped at will. Often it was used to blast Great Mazinger with a rain of hot-molten rocks, debris and volcanic cinders in order to slow down its advance or hinder TheHero Tetsuya as he battled.
26	* ''Anime/KotetsuJeeg'': Queen Himika's HomeBase was inside a volcano.
27	* Starscream's temporary base in ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'' is located on a volcanic {{island\|Base}} in the Pacific. Since he and his minions are giant alien robots, the heat is not an issue. Hell, Thunderblast enjoys bathing in the lava.
28	* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', Blaine set up his gym inside the volcano of Cinnabar Island. Not surprisingly, he specializes in [[ElementalRockPaperScissors Fire-type Pokemon]]. Many other Fire-type-specializing Gym Leaders also set up their gyms in volcanoes or similar.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Books]]
32	* ''ComicBook/Agent327'': Dr. Maybe has one in "Dossier Stemkwadrater". It proves to be his undoing when Agent 327 and his two allies try to escape the base using Dr. Maybe's own invention, [[LoudOfWar the Stemkwadrater]], but extensive use of the device causes the volcano to become active again..
33	* Used interestingly in one ''ComicBook/BuckDanny'' story. While flying, Buck spots a smoking volcano island and flies over it, taking pictures to send to volcanologists. Which is how he discovers the volcano isn't active but used as a secret base by the bad guys, who use smoke emitters to disguise their operations.
34	* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}''. Plutonian built his secret superhero citadel inside a volcano not just because he's NighInvulnerable and can survive swimming through lava that would incinerate any supervillain, but also in the futile hope of [[SuperHearing drowning out the voices constantly calling for his help]]. The series starts with his FaceHeelTurn, so it's become a SupervillainLair. Fortunately one of his former superhero colleagues is a master of teleportation technology, enabling them to bypass the lava to get inside.
35	* ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain Magneto had a base hidden within a volcano near the Savage Land, which he could easily get in via his magnetic powers. He once held the All-New All-Different X-Men prisoner here, but in their escape and subsequent battle with Magneto, the base was destroyed after devices meant to keep the lava away were destroyed.
36	* In ''ComicBook/TraggAndTheSkyGods'', the Yargonian invaders set up their base inside the volcano known as Fire Mountain.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Fan Works]]
40	* Dr. Brainstorm and Jack of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' reside underneath Old Faithful.
41	* ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace''. Journalist Buster Kincaid is [[RuleOfCool delighted]] to find that a MadScientist has an ElaborateUndergroundBase in Antarctica's [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Mount Terror]]. Turns out erupting volcanoes is part of his EvilPlan (and it's also a ChekhovsVolcano when the inevitable CollapsingLair happens).
42	* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse:'' Between seasons 1 and 2, Corona takes up a lair in a volcano, using magic to help her slightly less volcano-proof underlings survive living in an active volcano.
43	* ''Fanfic/ShadowsOverMeridian'': The Stone Nest, the Mogriffs' sacred nesting grounds in the northern mountains of Meridian, turns out to be a volcano that's either extinct or sleeping. The caldera has vegetation and water coming from the snow and ice that's melting outside thanks to the warm air and the sunlight filtering from the open crater. It's here that the Mogriffs make their nests and adorn them with crystals found inside the volcano. The other races' greed for those crystals is part of the reason they've had to fight for their ancestral home over the centuries.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
47	* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' -- Syndrome's base at Nomanisan Island. Mr. Incredible directly asks Syndrome's SexySecretary why he'd build his home at a volcano, and she respond it's because he's attracted to power, as well as the rich soil that lets them grow delicious food on the island.
48	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGONinjagoMovie'': Garmadon has one, and he even uses it to [[BadBoss fire out generals that fail to live up to his expectations]]. It's apparently a fondness of his; his pajamas have a volcano print on them. [[spoiler: When he takes over Ninjago City, he even makes a point to transport said base to the city.]]
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
52	* ''Film/AustinPowers'' -- Dr Evil's IslandBase -- obviously based on Ernst Stavro Blofeld's base in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice''.
53	* Disney version of ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' -- Captain Nemo's island
54	* ''Film/SpyKids2IslandOfLostDreams'' (IslandBase)
55	* In ''[[Film/{{Fantomas}} Fantômas Unleashed]]'', Fantômas built his lair in a volcano in Italy, which he leaves in his FlyingCar just as the volcano erupts.
56	* In ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', the SPECTRE base is built inside a volcano, providing the trope image. The volcano is long dead, but the lava tunnels provide venting for the toxic gases and blazing exhaust from SPECTRE's rocket launches. When the base is blown up in the climax, from outside it looks like the volcano is erupting.
57	* In ''Film/RogueOne'', we're introduced to Vader's castle, which was built on [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Mustafar]], a volcano/lava world. ''ComicBook/DarthVaderDarkLordOfTheSith'' explains why and how it was built there, and ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsAdventures Adventures: Tales From Vader's Castle]]'' homages old horror movies about getting stranded in the middle of nowhere with only an intimidating, haunted, and possibly evil castle nearby.
58	* In ''Film/InventionForDestruction'', Count Artigas' lair is located in Black-Cup Island; an extinct volcano. His manufacturing processes cause a column of black smoke to rise from the caldera; making it look like the volcano is still active.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Literature]]
62	* ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' has all "classic" Weyrs made this way (one of the rare occurrences of this trope with ''extinct'' volcanoes,) but not early or later ones.
63	* ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland'' appears to be a DesertedIsland formed from long-ceased volcanic activity. Most of the land outside of the crater is wild jungle tumbling to the sea, with only so much beach at the edges, but the inside of the caldera is a sprawling compound.
64	* Evil Harry Dread, the low-budget EvilOverlord in ''Literature/TheLastHero'', complains that ''other'' Dark Lords somehow manage to get volcano lairs even when the local geology is completely wrong for them.
65	* The eponymous Higher Institute of Villainous Education in the ''Literature/HIVESeries'' is one.
66	* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' has Salamandastron, the Long Patrol/Badger Lord base, built in an extinct volcano on the coast.
67	* In the 1951 novel ''Simon Black in Peril'', the Australian AcePilot hero created by Ivan Southall battles Nazis who established a secret lair in a hollow volcano during the war, and are now planning to take over the entire Pacific.
68	* In ''Literature/StarterVillain2023'', Charlie Fitzer inherits a nice one from his recently-deceased supervillain uncle. The book features numerous references to the iconic ''Franchise/JamesBond'' villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, so it is presumably inspired by the ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' example featured above. But this one comes with abundant geothermal power and a workforce of UpliftedAnimal dolphins.
69	* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Played with in the Caribbean island kingdom of Karedonia, created by the supervillain Gizmatic (Joe Wilkins). The original island, Sao Monica, sat on a magma hotspot; self-proclaimed Emperor Joseph used MadScience to draw magma up from the ground to extend the island until it quintupled in size. He then used it to create a tropical getaway and supervillain haven, complete with tourism, mining of rare minerals, offshore banking, and supervillain timeshare lairs. While the palace and most of other structures are on the slopes of Mt Wilkins rather than inside the volcano itself, there is an interior citadel which also houses the machinery which keeps the island stable.
70	** UnreliableNarrator Mephisto the Mentalist claimed that the reason so many [[EspionageTropes super-spy organizations]] in the 1960s and 1970s had a Volcano Lair was because they could contract it out to a super-villain called Volcanax, who was a [[MadScientist Devisor]] as well as having lava-control powers. He would just go to some distant point in the ocean, draw up a large amount of magma, and then once it was cooled enough he would install equipment to keep it from collapsing back down without him constantly maintaining it personally. Of course, being the product of MadScience, the equipment itself was unstable and pretty easy for any intruder to wreck, which is why the islands would always explode just as the hero is getting away...
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
74	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Dragonstone — Stannis's foreboding seat of power — is one of these, in addition to being an IslandBase. It was formed centuries ago by volcanic eruptions, utilized by the Targaryens as a staging ground for their conquest of Westeros, and for bonus points is a major source of obsidian. It's also where every Targaryen dragon, other than Balerion the Black Dread, was born and raised.
75	* The villain Moltor of ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' bases his operations inside one of these, in sharp contrast to his brother Flurious, who resides inside of an icy cave lair.
76	* ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'''s normal hangar is inside a long-extinct volcano. Justified because the tapering shape of the interior cavern is ideal for a concealed helipad; unless a satellite or search aircraft happened to overfly it right as Airwolf were taking off or landing it's almost totally invisible.
77	* ''Series/{{Stargate Atlantis}}'': An Ancient outpost on the planet Taranis was built over a supervolcano in order to tap the geothermal energy, but keeping it running for too long unfortunately caused the volcano to erupt.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Radio]]
81	* ''Radio/BleakExpectations:'' During series 4, BigBad Mister Benevolent finds a volcano on a dessert (as it, it's actually made of dessert) island. For reasons he can't properly explain, he felt the need to add a self-destruct option that anyone could touch. And naturally, it gets set off.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
85	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
86	** ''TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}}'' -- The biggest Minoi settlement around is Mount Nevermind. A combination of their smokepowder storage facility and one angry red dragon led to reactivation of the volcano and subsequent discovery of useable geothermal energy.
87	** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' -- Firenewts live in volcanic mountains. Because they need {{lava pit}}-grade heat.
88	** Red dragons, being immune to fire, prefer hot lairs and especially like volcanoes for combining high temperatures with commanding views of the landscape.
89	** Fire giants like to make their homes within volcanoes or volcanic caverns -- active ones, by preference, and ones who live in less tectonically active real estate can go through quite a lot of wood and coal to make their lairs feel more homey.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Video Games]]
93	* ''VideoGame/{{Butcher}}'': The Volcano Research levels takes place in one.
94	* ''VideoGame/EternalTwilight'': The Blood Council's base of operations is located in Sidamo Mountain, a volcanic area.
95	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever 2''. It looks like this but, as it turns out, the actual lava pit inside the base would be too troublesome -- so the villains use synthetic lava instead.
96	* ''VideoGame/{{MageCraft}}'' has a secret weapons lab variant. Justified as they can quickly destroy the research if things get out of hand.
97	* ''Videogame/{{MARDEK}}'' has at least one NPC who lives in a volcano, a mad hermit [[spoiler:who is actually the shaman of the area, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone driven insane from guilt]]]].
98	* ''[[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Mega Man]]'s'' Dr. Wily had a couple, with at least two in the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series.
99	* In the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series games, [[BigBad Bowser's]] castle is usually found inside a volcano.
100	** In ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'', Mt. Lavalava, which serves as the main setting for the game's fifth Chapter is where Lava Piranha, the guardian of the fifth Star Spirit, Misstar, calls his home, and upon its defeat, [[LoadBearingBoss the volcano starts to erupt]].
101	* [[spoiler: Dark Crater]] from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Time/Darkness/Sky''.
102	* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Emerald]]'': Team Magma's headquarters is located in Mount Chimney, specifically because that's where [[OlympusMons Groudon]] is.
103	* ''VideoGame/PokemonXD'' has the Team Cipher lair in a volcanic island base.
104	* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has the BigBad Dagoth Ur's VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon within [[{{Mordor}} Red Mountain]], a massive shield volcano with an ancient [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] city complex built into it.
105	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': Dr. Eggman has built a few of these, such as Lava Shelter in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' and the Veg-O-Fortress ''VideoGame/SonicSpinball''.
106	* The second IslandBase in ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' is built around a volcano (the inside of which serves as your rocket silo).
107	* After his sudden [[ObviouslyEvil yet inevitable]] betrayal, Premier Cherdenko of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' takes refuge in his secret volcano fortress, which comes equipped with a full suite of military production structures, Moai heads that shoot infantry, a [[NukeEm Vacuum Imploder]], and a fortified redoubt inside the volcano's caldera, just in case.
108	* The Dark Being's lair near the end of ''VideoGame/LighthouseTheDarkBeing''. It's also polluting the area around it.
109	* It's hard to find a ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' player who ''hasn't'' built one of these at least once.
110	* Old Hell in ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'' has been turned into a geothermal power complex. While the deeper magma chambers are active, the level is regulated and the main shaft is stable enough to house an elevator.
111	* ''VideoGame/Shantae2002'': Risky Boots' lair is built into an island volcano. Naturally, once the [[HumongousMecha Tinkertank]] is destroyed and Risky herself is defeated, it starts to erupt and Shantae must OutrunTheFireball.
112	* ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'': In the second game, the KGB operate out of a secret volcano lair in Takoshima.
113	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble'' has Krematoa, the secret hideout of [=KAOS=] and K. Rool, built inside of a volcano.
114	* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': The Sallow Man -- a malevolent HumanoidAbomination -- and his undead minions operate out of a cave network in the volcanic Nameless Isle, complete with plenty of {{Lava Pit}}s. This makes for an EasyLevelTrick, since his BossBattle can be cut short by [[WeaponizedTeleportation teleporting him]] [[AMoltenDateWithDeath into the lava]].
115	* Case 36 of ''VideoGame/CriminalCaseWorldEdition'' takes place in a [[Film/KingKong1933 Skull Island]] {{Expy}} where [[MadScientist Marshall Metcalf]] has established a MadScientistLaboratory inside the island's volcano.
116	* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' has Volcano Manor, a fortress built at the peak of a volcano. It was once the headquarters of the Golden Order's inquisitors, and now is home to a [[MurderInc society of heretics]] who [[AssassinationSidequest hunt fellow Tarnished]].
117	* Mondo Mountain, which serves as the final world in ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower: [[VideoGame/RocketPowerBeachBandits Beach Bandits]]''.
118	* Zilla's secret hideout, and the final stage, in ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior1997'', is hidden in a volcano. You open a hole in the lava lake and leap inside to gain access.
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120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Web Comics]]
123	* ''Webcomic/MinionsAtWork'' as a comic about going-on in {{Supervillain Lair}}s featured [[http://www.minionsatwork.com/2011/01/minions-256-where-theres-smoke.html volcanic lair]] of [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Doctor]] [[LizardFolk Coldblood]] time and again, with lots of jokes about its volcano nature.
124	-->'''Minion No. 1''': [[http://www.minionsatwork.com/2011/07/greetings-molten-yes-were-late-again.html I totally told you, WE LIVE IN A VOLCANO! There's NO SUCH THING as a "minor plumbing problem"!]]
125	* The Original Gobwin Knob in ''{{Webcomic/Erfworld}}'' was built on an extinct volcano.
126	* ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' lampshaded this with [[ShowWithinAShow Dr. Jyrras]] [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_442.php explaining]] why he specifically chose an ''extinct'' volcano for his IslandBase:
127	-->After all, [[SarcasmMode nothing quite says "intelligent"]] like having 70 billion dollars of equipment next to an unstable volcano!
128	** To make it ''look'' active however, he filled the crater with bright orange pillows.
129	* ''Webcomic/DresdenCodak'' had [[http://dresdencodak.com/2009/04/19/onald-creely/ Kimiko's dream]], where she says who she wants to be when she grows up:
130	-->'''Kimiko''': A robopsychologist like Susan Calvin from [[Literature/IRobot Asimov's Robot Series]]. Except [...] I'd live on an island with a volcano for power.
131	* One shows up in ''Webcomic/GenocideMan''.
132	-->'''Dr. Fumiaki''': Then welcome to Corvo Island. Part volcano, part laboratory ... well, pretty much just those two things.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Web Original]]
136	* [[http://www.villainsource.com/lairs.html Villain Source]] -- volcano IslandBase
137	* ''Blog/HowToHero'': The guide's author expresses confusion at this phenomenon but warns superheroes about it anyway.
138	** "A lot of volcanoes end up being used as supervillain lairs at some point. Which seems weird to me. Because why would you want to live in a volcano. I feel like it would get hot. But who am I to judge. What do I know about supervillain lairs."
139	* [[https://youtu.be/7qqnBMBBlj4 Because Science explains why]] [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome this is a terrible idea.]]
140	* One of the alternate-universe baseball teams in the Website/SCPFoundation's [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2206 SCP-2206]] is the Montreal Volcanoes, counterpart to the Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos). Their stadium is built in the active crater of their version of Mount Royal, which has been known to occasionally [[ChekhovsVolcano erupt]] [[TotalPartyKill during games]]. To players and spectators alike, it's just another of Maximum League Baseball's [[EverythingTryingToKillYou many]] occupational hazards.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Western Animation]]
144	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Inside Job\|2021}}'': In [[Recap/InsideJobS1E7GhostProtocol "Ghost Protocol"]] the supervillain "Dr. Skullfinger" has a volcano base, which J.R. buys after he gets arrested. He pays for it by raiding Cognito's employee pension plan and intends to use it as an [=AirBnB=], something that [[EvenEvilHasStandards disturbs the evil real estate agent]] and the janitor mopping up blood.
145	* In the Franchise/MyLittlePony TV show and movie, witches lived in the Volcano of Gloom.
146	* The titular ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' is inside a volcano that's inside ''another'' volcano.
147	* In ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'', the Defenders' base, Monitor, was built inside a dormant volcano.
148	* The Forge from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is a volcano lair used by Bismuth to forge the Crystal Gems' non-summon weapons and upgrade existing weapons, having made Rose's sword, upgrades to Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl's weapons and [[spoiler:the Breaking-Point, a hand-held super-weapon created with the express purpose of shattering gems]]. The entrance can only be opened by Bismuth, and because Bismuth is a gem created specifically for construction and smithing, her body can withstand high temperatures and is able to touch molten-hot materials undeterred.
149	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' Season 2, the spirits of evil lions of the past can be summoned by the Roar if it used for unjust purposes, such as mindless rage, while in a volcano. Janja and his hyenas trick Kion into doing that, which allows them to summon [[spoiler:Scar]] from the lava.
150	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' has Doofenshmirtz set up shop and enact his latest evil scheme inside an extinct volcano, one inexplicably located on the same island that the Flynn-Fletcher family got stranded in.
151	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': The Autobots built a headquarters out of the volcano their ship crashed into. It's mostly dormant, but has erupted at a few key moments, most importantly the eruption that reactivated all the Transformers and reignited their war.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Real Life]]
155	* Rabaul, the major base for Japanese forces in the South Pacific in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, is located inside the Rabaul caldera. The Japanese army dug many kilometres of tunnels as shelter from Allied air attacks. It was devastated by eruptions in 1937 and 1994.
156	* During the Battle of Iwo Jima late in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Japanese garrison based on the island had built a network of caves and tunnels throughout the island, including the volcano, known as Mt. Suribachi. at the southern point of the island. The volcano itself was used as a headquarters and rallying point early in the battle, until it was taken by the US Marines storming the island 5 days into said battle.
157	* While not a volcano the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne_Mountain_Complex Cheyenne Mountain Complex]] fits the general idea of a base within a hollowed out mountain.
158	* The Arecibo Radio Telescope occupies the crater of an extinct volcano in Puerto Rico.
159	* [[TheFundamentalist Daesh]] actually briefly controlled one during the [[UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring Syrian Civil War]]. It is a dead volcano and isn't [[https://twitter.com/QalaatAlMudiq/status/1045652059788316672 much to look at]], but the [[GeoEffects hostile terrain]] and abundance of cave networks significantly bolstered their ability to defend the region against an enemy that both outgunned and outnumbered them.
160	[[/folder]]

Context Main / VolcanoLair