History Main / BadassInDistress

* TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons: While the majority of dnd PCs are ActionHeroes of some flavour or other, there are plenty of ways they can end up in need of rescue. Fortunately, adventurers rarely travel alone.

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]
* TableTop/DungeonsAndDragons: While the majority of dnd PCs are ActionHeroes of some flavour or other, there are plenty of ways they can end up in need of rescue. Fortunately, adventurers rarely travel alone.
** A creature grappled by a [[{{Cuthulhumanoid}} Mind flayers]] tentacles has a chance of being [[StatusEffects stunned]] for the duration of the grapple, leaving them unable to fight back as the monster [[BrainFood devours their brain]] or drags them away for [[FateWorseThenDeath psionic enslavement or to use as a host.]]

* In Literature/{{Discworld}}, despite Vetinari being a trained assassin and MagnificentBastard, things are always happening to him. In order: [[Literature/{{Sourcery}} turned into a lizard]], [[Literature/GuardsGuards thrown in the dungeon]], [[Literature/MenAtArms shot]], [[Literature/FeetOfClay poisoned]], [[Literature/TheTruth framed for a crime he didn’t commit]]. Although two of those (thrown into the dungeon and poisoned) he saw coming and had plans to get out of, but let Vimes think he was rescuing him.

* ''Literature/DragonBlood'' begins with a character who has been established as badass in ''Literature/DragonBones'' in severe distress. It doesn't last long.[[spoiler: After escaping the torturer, walking miles in ill-fitting shoes, and fighting some bandits while she's at it, Tisala breaks down and needs some healing. So it is badass->in distress-being badass->needing more help.]]
* In the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novel Dragons of Spring Dawning, [[FourStarBadass the Golden General, Laurana,]] is captured by her ArchEnemy, [[DarkActionGirl the Dragon Highlord Kitiara]], and [[ComeToGawk put on display at the Council of Highlords as Kitiara's gift to the]] [[BigBad evil goddess, Tahkisis.]] But even after being manhandled by Kitiara and with Takhisis, in her five headed dragon form, towering over her, Laurana stays defiant and, when the chance presents itself, breaks free, steals Kitiara's weapon, and single handedly fights her way out of the chamber, setting off an EnemyCivilWar in the process.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Harry Dresden gets tied up/manacled/[[DistressedDude whatever]] on a regular basis and often needs to be rescued, but gets himself out of the situation just as often and kicks so much ass that no one really holds it against him.

* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/TheHourOfTheDragon'' and ''Literature/ShadowsInTheMoonlight'', Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian needs to be rescued. Then he kicks butt.
* ''Literature/InDeath'' series: Eve Dallas has gotten into trouble a few times. Sometimes Roarke saves her life. Sometimes she just saves herself.
* Happens to [[AntiHero Kane]] in "[[Literature/KaneSeries 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/{{Mistborn}}'' has Vin get captured twice: Once by Steel Inquisitors, and once by [[spoiler: Yomen, when he slams the door to what is more-or-less a bomb shelter behind her]]

* In Sukhinov's ''Emerald City'' decalogy, Corine, who was a powerful player in the first half, is depowered and turned into a mouse , until she is rescued in the final book.

* In Sukhinov's ''Emerald City'' decalogy, Corine, who was a powerful player in the first half, is depowerde and turned into a mouse , until she is rescued in the final book.

** [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E19ZeroHour "Zero]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E20ZeroHourPartII Hour"]]: [[spoiler:Kallus]] gets unmasked as the TheMole and held captive on the bridge of the ''Chimaera'', ForcedToWatch Thrawn's attack on the rebels. He manages to arrange his escape by [[IShallTauntYou taunting]] Governor Pryce until she orders him ThrownOutTheAirlock, giving him an opportunity to overpower his guards and make for an escape pod.

* Raphael in the ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' movies, especially the [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze second movie]] thanks to his stint working alone had him getting captured by Shredder, Tokka and Rahzar and had to be saved by his brothers before he can kick ass again. He's TheLancer, so that explains. ''WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}}'', however, reverses it; even though Raphael is still TheLancer, his stint caused [[TheLeader Leonardo]] to get caught instead.

* ''WebAnimation/{{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.

* ''Series/WorldOnFire'': Kasia, who's slowly become a hardened Polish resistance fighter, nonetheless, gets captured when the Germans ambush her during another honey trap operation. She's captured and then sentenced to death. However, while being marched off to the gallows resistance fighters rescue her.

* Any heroes in ''Creator/MarvelComics'' who got captured in the Skrull Invasion during the ''Secret Invasion'' storyline, including [[spoiler:Elektra, Spider-Woman, or even the highly-dangerous Black Bolt]]. After rescue, they resume their life as superheroes, some of them are also ''bitter'' against any remaining Skrulls and should they cross their path again, they ''will'' kick butt.

** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade'', Superman is captured and shackled by Comicbook/LexLuthor. Supergirl -an alternate universe Supergirl- tries to rescue him but she's captured, too. They were freed by Comet.

* ComicBook/{{Venom}} was held hostage by Carnage during the ''ComicBook/MaximumCarnage'' storyline, in what was likely the ''stupidest'' case of BondVillainStupidity exhibited for a ComicBook/SpiderMan villain; Carnage specifically expressed a desire to keep him alive for ''months'' if he had to, just to torture him; Venom actually managed to escape on his own, but he spent quite a lot of his energy to do so, and was recovering for the rest of the story... until the finale.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and Jubilee's mentor-sidekick relationship started when ''she'' rescued him from the Reavers (a bunch of heavily armed killer cyborgs) in a [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks late 80s/early 90s]] comic. He'd been tortured to within an inch of his life. (It was clearly BondVillainStupidity on the part of the Reavers, who were keeping him alive just to make him suffer.)

** In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', Rouge was captured early on in Shadow's story. Subverted as she managed to get out before Shadow could rescue her, (though she sounds as if she wanted to be rescued when Shadow does find her.). In the same game, one of the trials for Silver involve him rescuing Blaze from some enemies within a time frame.

* The end of ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' vol. 3 puts Ninjette firmly in this category. [[spoiler:Six ninja ambush her in a park and tag her with a "sleeping poison"-laced blade. Four of them were dead or mortally wounded before she was blindsided with some InstantSedation, and the only reason the last two were on their feet was a secret clan technique rendering them immune to pain (she thought they were solidly out of the fight, or at least too hurt to sneak up on her).]]

* It’s very common for ''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia'' writers to target Aizawa with this trope due to him being one of the series’ biggest overall badasses. And it will almost always be Present Mic and occasionally Midnight rescuing him, though his students are no slouches either. Examples include ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22150390 Contingency]]'', ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12785530/1/Every-Step-of-the-Way Every Step Of The Way]]'' and ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/31245029/chapters/77232179 Home To You]]''

* In the ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27853170/chapters/68194306 Pulse and Void]]'' Present Mic is kidnapped by a guy who wants to siphon energy from his screams. Mic isn’t lucky enough to have powers besides his SuperScream and that’s taken from him save when they want him to scream by use if a muzzle and shock collar. He’s kept shackled to a chair and is subjected to brutal ColdBloodedTorture and rape and is powerless to escape until his extremely furious husband Aizawa, plus Midnight, Midoriya and Bakugo, lays a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on his captors and saves him.

* In the ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27853170/chapters/68194306 Pulse and Void]]'' Present Mic is kidnapped by a guy who wants to siphon energy from his screams. Mic isn’t lucky enough to have powers besides his SuperScream and that’s taken from him save when they want him to scream by use if a muzzle and shock collar. He’s kept shackled to a chair and is subjected to brutal ColdBloodeTorture and rape and is powerless to escape until his extremely furious husband Aizawa, plus Midnight, Midoriya and Bakugo, lays a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on his captors and saves him.

* In the ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27853170/chapters/68194306 Pulse and Void]]'' Present Mic is kidnapped by a guy who wants to siphon energy from his screams. Mic isn’t lucky enough to have powers besides his SuperScream and that’s taken from him save when they want him to scream by use if a muzzle and shock collar. He’s kept shackled to a chair and is subjected to brutal ColdBloodeTorture and rape and is powerless to escape until his extremely furious husband Aizawa, plus Midnight, Midoriya and Bakugo, lays a NoHoldsBarred beatdown on his captors and saves him.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'': Olimar was able to take on several monsters and other things when he got stuck on PNF-404 in the first two games. Here, he needs to be saved by the Koppai crew.