History Main / BadassInDistress

** [[spoiler:During the later stages of the Second Battle of Axum, [[BoisterousBruiser Quinlan Vos]] and 400 other Jedi are captured by a [[HumanoidAbomination daemonhost]], and spend a couple of episodes locked up inside Tahr Whyler's TortureCellar while Quinlan is [[ColdBloodedTorture subjected to extreme torture]] that comes close to [[BreakTheBadass breaking him]]. Quinlan and the other Jedi are eventually saved by Aayla, who tracks them down and frees them.]]

** [[spoiler:During the later stages of the Second Battle of Axum, [[BoisterousBruiser Quinlan Vos]] and 400 other Jedi are captured by a [[HumanoidAbomination daemonhost]], and spend a couple of episodes locked up inside Tahr Whyler's TortureChamber while Quinlan is [[ColdBloodedTorture subjected to extreme torture]] that comes close to [[BreakTheBadass breaking him]]. Quinlan and the other Jedi are eventually saved by Aayla, who tracks them down and frees them.]]

In other words, Administrivia/TropesAreTools, and this is a good one for adding depth and humanity to a potentially InvincibleHero. Done well, it makes viewers appreciate the hero's customary badassery all the more. Done badly, it may leave the audience wondering if they just caught the DistressBall today. Done too often, the hero will start to lose the audience's sympathy, and their reputation as a mighty hero will seem exaggerated and undeserved. One way to avoid this is using the WorfHadTheFlu trope, in which the plot provides a specific valid reason for why the hero was captured. Perhaps they were injured, ill, emotionally traumatized, or was defeated as a result of taking on overwhelming odds in an attempt to protect others. Or they might even have [[TrojanPrisoner allowed themselves]] to be CapturedOnPurpose, either to protect their allies and give them time to escape, rescue a previously captured ally, try to persuade the more redeemable villains to do a HeelFaceTurn, or simply [[PlayAlongPrisoner get close enough to the villains to catch them off-guard]].

* Quaker Oats turned this into a sweepstakes called "Save the Cap'n" by putting Cap'n Crunch in trouble during a series of commercials, where he was captured by the Soggies. Over the course of the advertising campaign, viewers had to use clues provided by a hotline to identify which door and which key was needed, then send in an entry form with the correct answers to be eligible to win prizes. Meanwhile, the storyline was being shown in the commercials themselves, concluding with the Cap'n escaping in an epic battle. (Well, epic [[RuleOfFunny cartoonish battle.]])

* Asuna from ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' is put in this role in the Fairy Dance arc. Her then-fiance Sugou intercepted her and 300 other SAO players after the game was cleared and trapped them within ALO, and kept her in particular locked in a giant bird at the top of the World Tree. However, she manages to figure out the code to the lock on her cage, times her escape so that Sugou wouldn't notice her escaping and managed to make it to a terminal where she could log out before she got caught, and even after she got locked back in her cage, she still managed to grab the admin keycard at the terminal.

* ''[[Fanfic/PatternsOfThePast Patterns of the Past]]'': Old Missie, Olesya's boss when she was an Investigation agent, gets kidnapped by the Patternista, a known villainess, who holds her for ransom and threatens to kill her by gun if Odd Squad doesn't pay up. Although the Director puts up a fight prior to her kidnapping and is a DefiantCaptive, the rescue team doesn't gain the upper hand until Olesya shows off her mathematical prowess to the Patternista in a pattern duel.

* Franchise/{{DCAU}}:

* ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': Link ends up getting thrashed by a Wizzrobe, requiring Zora to rescue him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Mr. Incredible is caught infiltrating Syndrome's headquarters and placed in an energy prison where he receives intense electrical shocks. As Helen's plane approaches the island and Bob recognizes her voice, Syndrome gleefully launches a series of missiles at it while letting Bob hear the frantic cries from Helen that there are children on board as the plane is shot down. When Mirage reports a confirmed hit with no survivors, Bob is left to face the agony that his family is dead and Syndrome leaves him to suffer in his grief. As the movie is a {{Deconstruction}} of the standard superhero story, Bob does not immediately bounce back after facing his DarkestHour. When Mirage has her HeelFaceTurn and releases Bob from his restraints, he immediately lashes out in his anguish and despair, grabbing her by the throat and willing to choke the life out of her. Only her revelation that his family is still alive saves her.

** In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', and ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'', Mario is kidnapped by King Boo.

* Subverted in ''{{Manga/Overlord}}'' where Ainz fakes his defeat against demons (who actually work for him) only to come back later and appear as a savior. It wrks (to the point where one of the survivors against the demons starts a ''cult'' based on him).

** In ''ComicBook/BatgirlYearOne'', Commissioner James Gorgon is kidnapped by Killer Moth's henchmen; ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} and Black Canary are captured by his kidnappers while attempting to release him.

* In ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', Revy spends the greater part of an episode knocked out (I think it took a large grenade) by the series' [[ImplacableMan Implacable]] NinjaMaid. When she regained consciousness, a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome ensued.

* ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'': After Shana was defeated by [[spoiler:Yuuji/Snake of the Festival]], she has joined this trope too.

* Happens a couple of times in Literature/TheStormlightArchive, usually as a result of a Shardbearer getting swamped by shear weight of numbers.

* On ''Series/{{The 100}}'', almost all the MainCharacters are taken prisoner or trapped in a dangerous situation at some point, no matter how badass they are, and they usually need at least a little outside help in order to escape.

** Also, in ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta 2}}'', it is ''[[spoiler:Jeanne]]'' who fills this role: [[spoiler:she gets killed while protecting Bayonetta from a surprise attack from Gomorrah and her soul is dragged to Inferno. She stays there for a good portion of the game until Bayonetta beats the living daylights out of the demon that was holding her captive.]]

* In the early parts of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', Roland is captured by bandits. According to him, they knocked him out while he was taking a piss. Near the end of the game, [[spoiler:Lilith ends up captured by Jack and used to power the Vault Key]].

* The first proper mission in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 2'' involves coming to mobster Vladimir Lem's rescue when his mansion is invaded by rival Vinnie Gognitti and his mooks.

* In ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Conviction'', [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys Victor]] [[FireForgedFriends "Vic"]] [[BashBrothers Coste]] is captured by [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Black]] [[EvilArmy Arrow]] and is interrogated and he [[FramingDevice recounts the tale of]] [[BadassBoast how Sam kicked their asses.]] In the final cutscene he tells them that Sam is [[PapaWolf taking care of his family]] and that he said that he [[TrueCompanions loved him like a brother]] when the alarms [[OhCrap sound]] [[TheCavalry signaling Sam breaching the premises.]] And we have a cut of Vic trough a camera saying [[BondOneLiner "Thought so"]] in the most badass way possible.

* ''WebComic/PrincessPrincess'': Amira, when she's kidnapped by Claire. Usually she's quite able to handle herself, but is swept away with magic.

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', all three of the main heroes at the time (Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin) get captured by Cadmus; it takes Robin approximately two minutes to break them out, [[{{Determinator}} while getting shocked the entire time]].

* [[ActionGirl Moka]] got hit with this in ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire''. That only applies to [[SplitPersonality Inner Moka]], whereas Outer Moka is a DistressedDamsel.

** Inverted with River, who started off as a DistressedDamsel being protected by the rest of the crew. [[WaifFu We]] [[AxeCrazy know]] [[BadassAdorable how]] [[OneManArmy that]] [[LadyOfWar turns]] [[YouShallNotPass out.]]

** ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'' is this trope turned into a game. The premise is after all is for the local, daily DistressedDamsel Princess Peach to save the day, saving the local, daily hero Mario, now turned DistressedDude. It only lasts for one game.

** Many of the more recent animated ''Scooby Doo'' features have upgraded Daphne from the standard DistressedDamsel of the original and earlier works, following the first live-action movie's portrayal by Creator/SarahMichelleGellar of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fame.

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': ''The Titan's Curse'' begins with [[ActionGirl Annabeth]] being captured by a manticore. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, promises to save her, but gets captured by Atlas and çhooses to hold up the sky in Annabeth's place. After the heroes confront Atlas, Percy, realizing Artemis is the only one who stands a chance against Atlas, holds up the sky to free her, and she promptly kicks Atlas's butt.

** The very first arc of Part II features [[BadassLongrobe Gaara]], [[AChildShallLeadThem now the]] [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Kazekage]], in a spectacular fight against [[MadBomber Deidara]] which he arguably loses due to his need to protect the village of Suna. The rest of the arc, aptly named the "Kazekage Rescue Arc", is about Naruto and his team [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin rescuing him.]]

* It happens to [[TheHero Rean]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel II'' where he's [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse "offered"]] to go with the bad guys' headquarters in a battleship in exchange for his friends' safety. He ends up being their "guest" throughout the Intermission chapter. And then it happens to him again in ''Cold Steel IV'' where [[spoiler:he's captured by the bad guys and is taken to their hideout, the Black Workshop, and the goal of his friends and students throughout Act 1 is to find and break him out. Of course by the Intermission stage, he ends up breaking out of his captivity by himself, although he's given in to his SuperpoweredEvilSide.]]

** The Link introduced in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has a history of this. He may be very badass, but if he acts without thinking or gets hit by a surprise-attack, he's quite easy to take down. Ganondorf gets him almost killed twice in the game [[spoiler:and [[LittleMissBadass Tetra]] has to save him both times]]. Later, in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'', he loses his sword and gets caught by [[spoiler:Bellum's tentacles]]. Surprisingly, [[spoiler:Linebeck]] saves him.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', while Zelda is typically the DamselInDistress, in this game she has been fighting Ganon non-stop for 100 years. She's finally beginning to lose the battle as the game begins, so she needs you for backup.
* In ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'', [[spoiler:Nick Fury and Maria Hill]] go missing in Chapter 7, and rescuing Mockingbird was the plot of the first Special Operations mission.
* In ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'', Thor, She Hulk, Nova, Drax, and the Scarlet Witch have all been turned to stone somehow by Thanos. (Or maybe Mephisto, or maybe both), and are present in the FinalBoss stage as statues. They are restored to life in the Heroes' endings after Thanos is defeated.
* At the beginning of ''Franchise/MassEffect'', two of the teammates you have to recruit [[WrenchWench Tali,]] and Liara are in trouble and you have to save them from some attackers: In Tali's case, it's a few thugs, and in Liara's case it's a Krogan Battlemaster and several Geth troopers. After they get on your squad however, they start pulling their own weight and generally kicking ass. In the sequel, to recruit Garrus and Tali again, you have to save them again, this time from much bigger threats. With Tali, it's several hundred Geth Troopers and a Colossus (basically a giant sentient robotic [[SpiderTank spider tank]]), and with Garrus it's wave after wave of mercenaries from three different criminal groups. Similar to the last game, they go back to being badass after the rescue. Indeed, Garrus never ''stopped'' being badass, [[ColdSniper popping off headshot after headshot]], killing dozens of mercenaries over the course of three days. He was simply in danger of being overrun. While not anywhere near to the same extent as Garrus, Tali didn't appear to be going down without a fight either, as in the room you find her in, she's alone with several dead geth troopers on the floor and a shotgun on her desk.

* One of the latter episodes of ''Series/DaiSentaiGoggleFive'' puts [[TheChick Miki Momozono/Goggle Pink]] into this situation when she's trapped inside a book, tied up and the book containing her is about to be burned. She broke from her bonds on her own, then gets put into a cage, but finally destroyed the source of the book's illusion source, destroying the book and getting out on her own. To some, that episode became quite the fan favorite (for a show at the age) and her SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.

* On ''Series/TheWalkingDead'', this happens too many times to even begin to document. Almost every main character gets knocked out, captured, detained, or restrained in some way by some faction or individual and ends up requiring outside intervention to escape. Season 4 actually ended with over 90% of the main cast being captured. Thankfully one exception was Carol, who managed to save them all at the start of season 5.

* ''Series/{{Merlin 2008}}'':

* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': Wonder Woman was [[InstantSedation gassed]] or rendered powerless by taking her [[SuperStrength belt of strength]] several times in World War II, but it was [[SecretIdentity Diana Prince]] who was the frequent target in TheSeventies.

** Much to Morrison and Nero's surprise, Dante, Trish and Lady are actually defeated by Urizen in the prologue of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', with both girls getting captured by Urizen via the Qliphoth's roots, and Dante being MIA and assumed dead by most characters until he was found by V, albeit in a coma. More than halfway through the story, V is also cornered by Malphas before he is rescued by Nero.

* ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'' is this trope turned into a game. The premise is after all is for the local, daily DistressedDamsel Princess Peach to save the day, saving the local, daily hero Mario, now turned DistressedDude. It only lasts for one game.

* Agent Tex from ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', easily the most badass character in the series (especially in ''Revelation''), regularly gets captured and requires the assistance of the far less competent Reds and Blues.

* ''{{Machinima/Anon}}'': Season 4 gives us the hostage situation that involves Hunter tied down on the floor, Tucker bound to a chair, and eventually Kyle being captured too when he stumbles on the scene.

* Happens to [[AntiHero Kane]] in "[[{{Literature/Kane}} Raven's Eyrie]]". He's badly wounded (even for his immense [[HealingFactor healing skills]]), carried by his few faithful men into an inn run by his victim bent on revenge, he is pursued by a ruthless bounty hunter, not to mention the Demon Lord himself. And the only person that seems to want to help him is [[spoiler: his [[ChildByRape daughter]] Klesst]].

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': ''The Titan's Curse'' begins with [[ActionGirl Annabeth]] being captured by the Minotaur. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, promises to save her, but gets captured by Atlas and çhooses to hold up the sky in Annabeth's place. After the heroes confront Atlas, Percy, realizing Artemis is the only one who stands a chance against Atlas, holds up the sky to free her, and she promptly kicks Atlas's butt.