Basic Trope: The hero's friend has been brainwashed or mind-controlled into a Face–Heel Turn, possibly even becoming a Tragic Monster. The hero must now fight the friend.
- Straight: Alice has been mind-controlled by Emperor Evulz to turn against Bob. Bob fights her and he manages to convince her that she is really a good girl successfully.
- Exaggerated: Alice has been mind-controlled and turned into an Eldritch Abomination by Emperor Evulz. Bob, however, turns her back to normal by fighting her to convince her that she is a good girl.
- Downplayed: Bob fights Alice, but manages to remind her how much she enjoys fighting stronger people and turns her against Emperor Evulz.
- Justified:
- Bob wants to save Alice, and can only help by fighting.
- Emperor Evulz wants Bob to kill Alice, and ensures that they end up fighting like this.
- Played for Drama: Bob tries to save Alice from her situation, but the narrative makes it highly unclear if Alice is going to die. During the fight, there is a heavy emphasis on the damage Alice is sustaining.
- Played for Laughs: Bob has successfully liberated Alice from her brainwashing after a fight, but continues fighting and is blinded by his sadness. Alice, annoyed, eventually knocks him over the head in such a way he instantly realizes she's been freed.
- Played for Horror:
- Alice regains just enough of her mind to destroy herself in a violent fashion, with her puppet master probably surviving.
- Alice's puppet master making clear the control is not being shaken off is played for extra creepy factor:
Alice: Alice is not picking up the phone, Bob, and she never will agaaaaaa~iiiiiiinnnnn! - Inverted:
- Emperor Evulz fights a previously mind-controlled Alice to get her back under mind-control.
- The Dragon, Charles has been mind-controlled by Bob to force him to be good, and Emperor Evulz is trying to bring him back by fighting him.
- Subverted:
- At the moment that Bob seems defeated, Alice leans in close and explains in a whisper that the mind-control didn't really work, but Emperor Evulz has to think it did.
- "Okay, yes, your friend Alice is in here somewhere, but saying 'I know you're in there' isn't going to get her out."
- Alice has defected to the evil of her own will.
- After Alice tells Bob she's okay, he drops his guard, and Alice blasts him off, calling him a fool for actually believing what she said.
- Alice was Dead All Along; what remains is just an Empty Shell.
- Bob decides to Take a Third Option and uses his own Psychic Powers to cancel out Emperor Evulz's mind-controlling.
- Double Subverted:
- Then Bob takes out a ring belonged to Alice, and finally manages to bring her back.
- Then Bob uses a ring to bring Alice back to life and manages to free her from Emperor Evulz's mind-control.
- Parodied: The fight begins because Alice says something that is the tiniest bit out of character and everyone reacts as she has been mind-controlled.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob fights his Alice, who is mind-controlled by Emperor Evulz. During the fight, Alice appears to go back to normal, but no one knows if Alice really is back to normal or if it is Emperor Evulz making Alice being like Bob's friend until Bob lets his guard down.
- Averted:
- Bob fails in redeeming his friend and ends up being defeated by Alice.
- Bob fails to redeem his friend and ends up killing her.
- Bob doesn't even bother trying to talk to Alice.
- Enforced: The creators needed to bring Alice back from mind-control after being like that for a long time.
- Lampshaded:Bob: "I know you're in there somewhere!"
Mind-controlled Alice: "Funny, the last guy I mind-controlled's friend said that too!" - Invoked: Other friends or rivals of Bob says that only he can save Alice.
- Exploited:
- Emperor Evulz doesn't want anybody to know he's mind-controlling somebody knows that it's been found out when Bob says "I know you're in there somewhere".
- Emperor Evulz plans to pretend to go back to normal so that Bob will let his guard down.
- Defied:
- Bob refuses to fight Alice.
- Bob's attempt is interrupted by his teammate, Danny, by outright killing the mind-controlled Alice.
- The way Alice is mind-controlled completely and utterly annihilates anything that resembles a personality (removal of the brain, for example). Bob and Danny see it in action very early on in the story and know the only thing that remains is giving Alice's body a Mercy Kill.
- Discussed: "Please don't get possessed - I'd hate to fight a demonized version of you... again!"
- Conversed: "Bob has to fight one of his mind-controlled friends almost every issue. And here we have it at the end of this issue, so next issue she'll probably try to talk her buddy down by reminding her of their friendship."
- Deconstructed: As smart as Bob is, A Surprisingly Realistic Outcome occurs and Bob finds that it is going to take more than trying to remind Alice of the old days to make her normal.
- Reconstructed: By forcing the mind-controlled Alice to fight, Bob can make Emperor Evulz focus on the fight instead of repressing Alice. This gives Alice a chance to break free or resist being made to attack, verifying that she still exists as they did on some level. Empowered by their conviction, Bob is able to recall several memories that he and Alice share while fighting, talking while Emperor Evulz is distracted. After the fight, Alice is captured and the brainwashing is deeprogrammed.
Back to "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight
