History Main / DamselInDistress

* This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', when Spider-Man cheerily points out to an ungrateful Norman Osborn that he is Spidey's very first rescue of this type. It's played straight in regards to LoveInterest Liz Allan, an InnocentBystander who gets used as part of a HostageForMcGuffin scenario.

** Subverted at the end of IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade. Elsa became a distressed damsel when she found herself dangling over a crevasse after she tried taking the Holy Grail from its resting place. However, ''rather than letting Indiana pull her up to safety'', she uses his hold to try and reach for the chalice, which had conveniently fallen just below her. In the final moment, she almost reaches the grail until her hand slips away from Indy's, causing her to suffer a DeathByMaterialism.

** Rather funnily, ''[[{{Badass}} Han Solo]]'', of all people, plays this role in ''Return of the Jedi''. He is rescued from a dragon... [[InvertedTrope by a princess]]. And he ''is'' helpless and weak when she rescues him, seeing as he's blind at the time. This doesn't prevent him from (accidentally) knocking Boba Fett into the Sarlacc Pit - and then rescuing best friend Lando Calrissian after Lando had come to rescue ''him''!

* Most of the women in ''SinCity'' due to its Noir roots.

The main female of the series and is mostly a FauxActionGirl but has still had to have her ass saved regularly by Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Rock Lee. Sakura does decides at one point that she is saved too often and swears to look after herself (cutting her hair to prove this point)but it's sadly short lived as she loses her DesignatedGirlFight with Ino Yamanaka. Things get better for Sakura as gets her BadassTeacher Tsunade and learns cool new jitsu that would qualify her for ActionGirl if she didn't still be need to rescued, due to her Sakura chasing after the dangerous anithero Sasuke (who the most past of the series couldn't care less about her)in true LoveMakesYouDumb fashion.

Rin Kakashi's deceased team mate had to be rescued by him in a flashback but at a tragic loss... [[spoiler: Obito (Kakashi other team mate) was crushed by boulder that almost killed Kakashi TakingTheBullet and seemly died not before making Kakashi promise he care for her (which is extra tragic as he was in love Rin while she was in love Kakashi LoveTriangle).The promise was broken for Rin died later when a "tailed beast" was put in her and she jumped in front of Kakashi's Chidori (lightning hand attack) technically committing suicide, Obito He'sBacK from the dead witnessed this and decides to destroy the world, this falsh back is considered a real TearJerker]].

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Cat Burglar Nami ten times (eleven counting the movies) Nico Robin twice.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Nico Robin twice.

* Topanga plays with this trope in the second season's Halloween episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'':

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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mario-DamselInDistress_2325.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[SaveThePrincess Just another Wednesday for]] [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Princess Peach.]]]]

->''"Why is she always the one getting kidnapped?'' '''I'm''' ''the princess!"''
-->-- '''Amalia Sheran Sharm''', ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}''


A character, usually female, is put into immediate danger in order to put the cast in motion. Her plight unites the cast, causing them to put aside [[DividedWeFall their differences]] and work together to save her or provide the premise for TheQuest.

The nature of the distress varies. The classic damsel has been kidnapped or captured and is locked away, awaiting rescue and afraid for her life and virtue. She may also be lost or stranded in a hostile area, trapped, desperately ill, or suffering any number of terrible fates where she needs help to survive.

This set-up is plausible if the damsel in distress is a beloved character, but can be very jarring if the audience fails to see what's so valuable about the damsel and why the rest of the cast should drop everything to go to her rescue. Some damsels are so annoying that the audience [[DamselScrappy wouldn't mind seeing them dead]]; others end up in trouble in a way that just screams CharacterDerailment. This is particularly dangerous for the resident ActionGirl who will seem [[{{Chickification}} suddenly weak and helpless]] if her stint as a damsel isn't properly justified -- if the moment is bad enough, she can be demoted to FauxActionGirl. On the other hand, anyone can have a bad day; perhaps she just had a moment of BadassInDistress after being thrown a DistressBall.

A possible way to shake things up a bit is to give the damsel something to do besides stand around uselessly. The DamselOutOfDistress will put up a fight, which can either help or make things worse. The DefiantCaptive damsel will snarl and rage where her meeker sister would scream. There are even subversions in the line of PlayAlongPrisoner: the DecoyDamsel puts on all the appearance of this trope, but her helplessness is all for show.

Sometimes the character gets kidnapped for the sake of her [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman good looks]] or [[BlueBlood royal blood]], but in other works she's more likely doing something that is a threat to the party that kidnaps her ([[IntrepidReporter reporters are common]]), which allows her to look smart and independent before she needs to be saved. Alternatively, she can end up prisoner as a HeroicSacrifice; situations where she puts herself in peril so that others can get away are popular, even if her plan ultimately fails.

Generally expected to give TheHero a SmoochOfVictory when he rescues her. Assuming [[ILetGwenStacyDie he does]], [[RedundantRescue of course]]...

This is a type of LivingMacGuffin. ChainedToARock is an ancient form; GirlInTheTower and HypnotizeThePrincess came later. Damsels in distress are often BoundAndGagged, especially where AuthorAppeal is concerned.

If the kidnapper in question is particularly nasty, expect an IHaveYouNowMyPretty situation to occur. If the character does not become a DamselScrappy but still is constantly captured, they are a DesignatedVictim. Compare with DisposableWoman.

For the GenderFlip, see DistressedDude. See also DistressBall, StandardFemaleGrabArea, DeterminedWidow, IHaveYourWife, SaveThePrincess, HostageMacGuffin. If the girl is actually ''faking'' this for her own benefits, depending on her purposes she's either a DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel or a DecoyDamsel. A typical damsel that rescues herself is a DamselOutOfDistress. If she has a strong spirit despite captivity then he/she is a DefiantCaptive. If the hero leaves the damsel in distress, that's DelayingTheRescue. See also TheCaptivityNarrative for a plot based on this.

Not to be confused with the 2012 comedy film ''Film/DamselsInDistress''.

''[[TropeCo/DistressedDamsel This item]] is available in the TropeCo/TropeCo catalog.''

----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]
* In ''Anime/DaphneInTheBrilliantBlue'', Maia is kidnapped on numerous occasions, but it's justified on grounds that Rena doesn't give her any combat or weapons training before sending her into dangerous situations. This is because her role for most of the series is basically to be live bait to lure out the bad guys, and Rena simply trusts her team to be able to rescue Maia whenever it's necessary.
* Shirayuki of ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'' occasionally falls into this category, though as a PluckyGirl she doesn't take it lying down and tends to [[DamselOutOfDistress try to do something about it herself]]. Played completely straight during the Tanburn arc, where she is [[spoiler: not only kidnapped, but then ''kidnapped from her kidnappers'']].
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''
** Rukia Kuchiki gets to be the Damsel in Distress in the Soul Society arc, despite the fact that she was a bit of an ActionGirl in previous episodes.[[spoiler:She agreed to go because she knew she'd be executed for giving her powers to a human... and Rukia ''[[SuicideByCop wanted to die]]'' in the first place]]. Despite her QuicklyDemotedWoman status, it could be argued that Rukia was actually just a BadassInDistress... for a ''really'' long time.
** In the Arrancar and Hueco Mundo arcs, [[GenkiGirl Orihime Inoue]]. She went with [[spoiler:Sosuke Aizen]] ''willingly'' to protect her friends [[spoiler: right after they got their asses kicked by the Arrancar ([[SadisticChoice had she not gone, they would've been killed and Karakura would've been destroyed right on the spot]])]]... The story arc is NOT shy about showing the tremendous emotional and physical strain it brings on her [[spoiler: to the extreme of causing her a HeroicBSOD that almost made her cross the DespairEventHorizon]]; sure, [[spoiler: Ichigo and Ishida manage to reach for her]], but things go wrong immediately afterwards, and before ''that'' [[BreakTheCutie she was throughly abused]] by Loly, Menoly, Nnoitora and Ulquiorra, among others. [[spoiler: It takes Orihime almost a ''year'' to fully get over the horrible effects of her imprisonment.]]
* Both in ''Anime/BurstAngel'''s anime and manga, this is the official duty of Meg. And [[BerserkButton invariably Jo goes tilt]] every time the thing happens.
* In the anime of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', [[spoiler:Rosette]] [[{{Chickification}} takes on this role]] towards the end in the series. In the manga, Azmaria tends to play this role the entire time.
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'', when [[{{Tsundere}} Kallen]] is captured and becomes a hostage for 1/3 of the season, Lelouch is swearing to rescue her. She is then put in a plexi-glass cage and given [[GoGoEnslavement a frilly, cleavage heavy dress]]. Kallen is by far the show's number one ActionGirl, Lelouch's personal bodyguard and one of the deadliest pilots in the CG universe, thus [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome she re-affirms all three facts within moments of being rescued]].
** Instead of a RescueArc, Kallen's time as a Prisoner Of War is used as ''CharacterDevelopment''. She not only interacts with Nunnally and sees a different side of Lelouch through her, but also gets to [[UnstoppableRage punch Suzaku]] ''while wearing said frilly, cleavage heavy dress'', which makes Suzaku [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize he is]] JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. She ends up in a mini-TraumaCongaLine version of this as not long after the battle over Tokyo comes to its disastrous conclusion, during which she was finally freed from her imprisonment, she ends up back in distress again, as she tries to defend Lelouch, who she has been used to bait into a betrayal from her fellow Black Knights. Her comrades [[PunishedForSympathy accuse her of being under Lelouch's geass]]. When he realizes Schneizel is behind this, it takes Lelouch [[ShooTheDog shooing her off]] with a fake admission to using them all in order to save her.
* Aura's kidnapping is the [[SaveThePrincess drive]] behind most of volume 2 and 3 of ''LightNovel/{{Corsair}}'', however, being a PluckyGirl she doesn't act overly distressed about it or her impending execution, [[spoiler: and when Ayace finally shows up to rescue her, her reaction is: "[[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike You're late!]]"]]
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'',
** [[spoiler: Winry is taken "hostage" by the military after Ed and Al discover the truth about the homunculi. Although Winry has no idea, if Ed and Al do something the government doesn't like, then the powers-that-be will kill her. To save her, they end up north, near Briggs, and enlist the unlikely help of Scar, the man who'd murdered her parents, by pretending to have him kidnap her. Granted, the fake kidnapping part of the plan was Winry's own idea, so she half rescued ''herself''...]]
** This dirty little trick was played off on Roy and Riza as well: [[spoiler:the same situation was setup with Riza, to make sure Roy didn't act up. However, she's more of a BadassInDistress here because despite being a hostage, she knows it isn't fazed by it in the slightest. She remains courageous to the point where she can confront Selim Bradley about his secret identity as the homunculus Pride, and then use her position as a hostage to ''prevent him from killing her on the spot''.]]
* In the later ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' novels, ActionGirl Kaname turns into an extreme Damsel in Distress. She may have more or less given up for a while after the events of Continuing On My Own, but it's only a temporary thing, and it's not that long before she starts to regain some of her old vigor and determination. [[spoiler:After that she ends up being more or less mind controlled by Sophia aka the First Whispered Ever, but that's a bit of a different matter.]]
* Miaka from ''Manga/FushigiYuugi''. Despite being the main protaganist of the series, she ends up needing to be rescued from wild animals, bandits, the BigBad, and just about anything else that a human being might concievably need rescuing from.
* ''Future Diaries''
** Averted with Yuno Gasai since she's quite the {{Yandere}} ActionGirlfriend and so far she's only been whacked counted times with the DistressBall. After she gets hit with it, she's very likely to pull a [[HesBack She's Back]] and recover soon.
** Exploited with [[spoiler: Tsubaki Kasugano aka the 6th]], who [[spoiler: ''[[DecoyDamsel pretends]]'' [[DecoyDamsel to be one]] so she can gain Yukiteru's trust via TheDulcineaEffect and keep him away from Yuno.]]
* Lampshaded in ''Anime/GunXSword'' when Van asks Wendy "Why do you keep getting caught?" (As it happens, she keeps getting in trouble because she's not afraid to mouth off to the [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain of the week]] . . . which usually pisses off said villain.)
* Kagome from ''Manga/InuYasha'' has to deal with more then a fair share of kidnappings. This can be somewhat justified on grounds that she starts the series as a normal teenager with no combat training who is thrust in a world where she constantly faces life-threatening situations.
** Rin probably personifies this trope more then any other character in the series, though this makes sense as a normal small child with no fighting skills who travels with a demon lord who has many powerful enemies.
* Lyra/Kitty from ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion''.
* Nao from the ''Manga/LiarGame'' starts off as this, extremely naive and crying whenever someone who she put her trust in (even if she shouldn't) deceived her and always relying constantly on Akiyama to help her. But she [[TookALevelInBadass matured]] and now, she's quite a force to be reckoned with, using her honest character to trick others, even deceiving [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bastards]] Yokoya and Akiyama on separate occasions without either of them realizing it until afterwards.
* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': Clarisse, Murasaki, Fujiko ([[BadassInDistress sometimes]])... The character trope was used back in the Manga, and is expected to occur. There's one in pretty much every Lupin movie or TV special, in fact. See the DamselInDistress/AnimatedFilms page.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': Let's see... a MysteriousWaif who's below the CompetenceZone and happens to be the daughter of the main character? Yup, Vivio was destined for this role the moment she was introduced. With her now actively training [[GooGooGodlike on her powers]], and another TimeSkip putting her into the CompetenceZone's minimum age, she likely won't end up as DamselInDistress again.
* Subverted in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', as a part of the TwistEnding of the first season. [[spoiler:The girls ''thought'' that [[BarrierMaiden Princess Emeraude]] was the Damsel in Distress. She actually had the power to break through Zagato's prison all the time... but didn't do it because she was in love with him since they met. And because she was the ''real'' BigBad. Who summoned the girls [[ICannotSelfTerminate to KILL her]], and Zagato kidnapped her to ''save'' her from them]]. The problem was solved in the end. [[TearJerker Very dramatically.]]
* Happens several times in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' First is Konoka during the Kyoto arc, but that's a JustifiedTrope since she had not waken up her own powers and she didn't have any similar to self-defense training. Then a demon captures Asuna. Lastly, [[spoiler:Asuna and Anya are held captive by Fate. Unfortunately, the rest of the team is unaware of this, as Asuna is replaced by a doppelganger, and Anya is MIA to begin with.]]
* Invoked in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''. [[WrongGenreSavvy Maria Louise]] ''really'' wants to play the Damsel part so her KnightInShiningArmor George De Sand will come to her rescue, so she gets Domon to [[BatmanGambit help her plan her own kidnapping so he can fight George]], who refused to duel with Domon per HonorBeforeReason motifs. It backfires ''spectacularly''. [[spoiler:Not only does the ''far'' more GenreSavvy George deduce their plan ''right from the start'', but he also delivers a "WhatTheHellHero" speech to Maria as he and Domon fight. Maria and Rain Mikamura barely escape with their lives from the battlefield and, as punishment, Maria is [[PutOnABus sent back to Neo France]] until the Neo Hong Kong arc.]]
* [[PluckyGirl Relena Peacecraft]] from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' is ''falsely'' accused [[DieForOurShip by her]] [[RonTheDeathEater detractors]] of being one. Since she's an ActualPacifist she never fought her way out guns blazing, but she wasn't a DamselScrappy either, actually trying to [[TalkingYourWayOut talk down her captors]] in the three instances where she's in enemy hands throughout the anime (by Romefeller late in the TV show, White Fang near the end, and Mariemaia's in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWingEndlessWaltz'') even showing her GuileHero chops by turning the first instance into a '''massive''' payoff. She once even dissuaded Heero from killing or harming her ''with words alone.''
* ''Anime/{{Monster}}''
** Realizing that Johan has plans to meet up with (and presumably do [[MindRape horrible, unspeakable things to]]) his estranged twin sister, Nina, Tenma rushes off to rescue her. The thing is, in the rush, the good doctor seems to have not accounted for two things -- 1) Being mostly a NonActionGuy, he is woefully unprepared for things like a crazed lackey stabbing him in the face with garden shears and 2) Nina is pretty damn awesome in the art of Aikido, which she immediately demonstrates by saving ''him''. Looks like she didn't need your help after all, Tenma. [[spoiler:Too bad the same couldn't be said for her ''parents''...]]
** Also played straight with Eva when she is rescued from [[spoiler:The Baby]] by [[spoiler:Martin]]
* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Nico Robin twice.
** Most of Enies Lobby is a RescueArc where the Straw Hats are fighting the CP9 to save Robin. However, her status as a damsel in distress is justified by the fact that she willingly let herself get captured. She felt she had to die, so she surrendered to the World Government. Plus, although she was bound with Seastone by the time she regained the will to live, she still tried her best to escape, and the only reason she failed was because Spandam kept using Funkfreed to keep her in line. She started fighting back the moment she was freed from the Seastone.
** The second time was when [[spoiler:Bartholomew Kuma]] blasted her to Tequila Wolf, where [[spoiler:she was forced to work as a slave]]. But in this case, she [[spoiler:was saved by Revolutionaries more or less instantly]] and was not bound with [[KryptoniteFactor Seastone]] anyway, making her status as "distressed" questionable at best.
* In ''Manga/ABridesStory'', Mr. Smith's refusal to marry Talas out of pity meets bewilderment: Saving her is what a man ''does'', right?
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Pikachu often gets himself caught in Team Rocket's traps. However, he often gets itself out, so this is an aversion.
** Nearly every character, male of female, had a turn as this. Amusingly, the Team Rocket trio themselves might actually be one of the most recurring examples.
** A Gardevoir actually serves as the damsel in the episode where Hunter J makes her first appearance.
* In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' [[TheChick Platinum]] initially seems to be the living embodiment of the trope, as she rarely goes '''ANYWHERE''' without getting herself into trouble. It was so obvious that [[IdiotHero Diamond]] was able to point out and lampshade this only after ''4 chapters into the story''; most anime and manga characters don't realise this sort of thing ''ever''.
* Generally played straight in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' with Akane. Two plotlines in the 38-volume manga (and two of {{the movie}}s) involve her BoundAndGagged and in need of rescue. A good number of the other girls fall prey to this throughout the series, and the entire female cast winds up like this in the second tie in movie. Ranma himself holds the DistressBall (both in male and female forms) more than once and needs someone from his harem to rescue him.
* Deconstructed in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''. Many shows have DID girls who go through Hell and back, but remain sweet and nice and without many psychological marks because many writers won't know what to do. ''Utena'' points out that in RL, people of both genders stuck in these roles will ''stop'' being "pure" and "sweet" and start acting more passive-aggressive and manipulative, if they're forced into situations where they can't seize direct power. This is ''very'' obvious in the cases of Shiori Takatsuki (looks sweet and gentle and demure, but is very malicious and has horrible self-esteem since her "best friend" Juri is a beautiful and strong LadyOfWar), Kozue Kaoru (repeatedly gets herself in trouble and flirts/sleeps with other guys to catch the attention of her twin older brother and "prince", Miki), and ''specially'' [[spoiler: Anthy Himemiya (once performed a huge sacrifice, paid the price by both suffering immense physical pain and becoming a passive figure as the Rose Bride, ultimately became a mix of BrokenBird and [[TheDragon puppet]] to her ManipulativeBastard brother Akio a.k.a. Dios aka End of the World) and Utena Tenjou (she's ''not'' one since the beginning, but her insecurities and naiveté more than once play quite a part into shoving her close to the "role")]] This is not to say that BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil, or that it's stupid to be remain nice after a tragedy. It's just pointing out a general trend: if weakness is imposed on people, it ''will'' bring consequences.
* Done twice in ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'', once to [[AnIcePerson Mizore]] through an ArrangedMarriage, once to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Moka]] for being a LivingMacGuffin. In [[SplitPersonality Moka's]] case, it's actually both this and BadassInDistress, depending on which of her personalities we're talking about.
* Naru Osaka of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' needs to be saved from a Monster of the Week attack fairly regularly, to the point where it gets frequently lampshaded in FanFiction.
* Saori Kido in ''Manga/SaintSeiya''. Often hir role in the story is be kidnapped or offers herself as a hostage to save her friends. Despite that she is the goddess Athena!
* Cho Kanan, Lirin, and Yaone all hold their own separate moments in ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}''. Both Yaone and Lirin being saved successfully by Kougaiji. And Kanan becoming the traditional DisposableWoman.
* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'': Given the number of times that Fuu ends up getting kidnapped, she made a good investment in saving the two male leads to be her bodyguards. Considering how most of the kidnappings were all just random encounters, you wonder why she wasn't more concerned with separating from them. This was lampshaded in an old "Anime Insider" magazine, which featured a match-up pitting Fuu against [[Manga/ExcelSaga Excel and Hyatt]] in an eating contest. On her stats, Fuu's pet peeve is listed as "getting kidnapped."
* Iwai from TheSeveringCrimeEdge is doomed to this. She's small, weak, has little experience in the real world, and she's surrounded by serial killers with unbreakable super-weapons who can have any wish granted if they kill her. One could even argue that the organization that'd kept her for much of her life deliberately arranged her lifestyle to make her into a DID, since they love nothing more than gruesome crimes and moving stories like a hero rescuing a princess. That said, she does have some steel in her even if she can do little to fight back. One enemy who's obsessed with authority and power has Iwai nearly raped by several men, gets her beloved to attack her, then tries some mild torture when she finally reaches them. Despite everything, Iwai just stares at her enemy with defiant hate in her eyes, refusing to break under the torment.
* Akiko in ''LightNovel/ShonenOnmyouji'' gets her moment when a group of demons kidnap her in order to use her blood to heal their master, as well as lead Masahiro into a trap. Of course in the end either Masahiro or Akiko would have been enough to heal their master, but Masahiro has some pretty steller spiritual powers in terms of combat so is more of a threat.
** She was pretty much asking for it really. She followed Masahiro out at night, despite the fact that Masahiro had specifically directed her to stay in her room so she could be protected by the spiritual barrier his grandfather had erected.
* Subverted in ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', where it becomes clear over time that Sara is just pretending to be Robotnik's hostage.
* Subverted regularly in ''Anime/SonicX'', most notably with the episode ''Young Girls Jungle Trap'' where the female characters are captured multiple times -- and get out of it entirely by themselves multiple times, too.
* Played with in ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf''. Holo isn't a Damsel in Distress - in fact her counterpart Lawrence usually takes the part of the DistressedDude - but she's GenreSavvy enough to be well aware of the trope. She jokes around with Lawrence about him liking meek women he could comfort, and enthusiastically play-acts the part for him in jest. She even fools Amati into being her KnightInShiningArmor, [[ItAmusedMe largely for kicks]]. When she's genuinely crushed by the revelation that [[spoiler:Yoitsu has been destroyed]], she bitterly accuses Lawrence of hiding it from her because he liked seeing her helpless and ignorant.
* In the second arc of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Asuna is still trapped in cyberspace in a different game under control of a domineering GameMaster. While said GameMaster has had months to wear her down and use his admin privileges to stop any plot she devises, the contrast between her hardcore ActionGirl persona in the first arc and the helpless damsel in the second was taken poorly by some fans.
* Nia generally fits this role in the third and final arc of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. The third was justified because she was BrainwashedAndCrazy. [[spoiler:Once she snaps out of this with the help of Simon however, she fits this trope to a T.]]
* In ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'', Clarisse is pursued by the Count and one of [[TheHero Lupin]]'s priorities in this story is protecting/rescuing her.
* Parodied in ''Manga/TheDevilKingIsBored'' when the titular Devil King kidnaps a kingdom's princess because he's, well, bored, and thinks that fighting some heroes would be fun. He even places a portal to hell in the middle of a populated town. With a sign above it that says "Portal to Hell."
* Rachel from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', at least twice. Pretty bad track record for a girl who wanted to climb the Tower by herself. Then again, [[DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel she's learnt a few things or two]].
* Akiko Aoshika from ''Manga/WolfGuyWolfenCrest''. Haguro tries to invoke this trope with Ryuuko, but she points out that Inugami isn't interested in her.
* In ''Manga/YuGiOh'', Anzu falls into this role more than once and is kidnapped, brainwashed, possessed, or has her life endangered by nearly all of the villains in the series. This even carries over to spin-offs, such as ''Manga/YuGiOhR'', where she's kidnapped by Yako to be the vessel for Pegasus's resurrection, and ''VideoGame/YuGiOhForbiddenMemories'', where Seto kidnaps her pre-incarnation, Teana. However, in a bit of an out-of-character moment, she invokes the trope once to lure out Dark Yugi in one of the manga's early chapters, putting herself in danger with the Playing Card Bomber.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsters'' has a maiden from a village who is chosen as a sacrifice to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
* Maeda in ''Manga/CromartieHighSchool'' is a text book example despite being male. Very commonly plots are kicked off because he gets kidnapped by a rival high school prompting the students of Cromartie to go rescue him. Though, being a comedy show, it's played for laughs and he rarely gets rescued since the protagonists will usually get lost or caught up in something else.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Comic book heroes seem to spend about half their time rescuing some girl they've been dating on-and-off for about seventy years from something each issue, from [[{{Popeye}} Olive Oyl]] to [[{{Superman}} Lois Lane]]. (Unsurprisingly, people who [[LovesMyAlterEgo Love someones alter ego]] often suffer from this trope.) Batman? Well, until a few decades ago, the one he would be constantly saving was his oft kidnapped sidekick, Robin: The Boy Hostage (aren't we all glad they toughened him up).
** See the [[http://www.superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35:batmans-not-gay-hes-not-dammit&catid=32:seduction-index&Itemid=36 infamous image]] of the JLA being told that they have doomed their love interests... except that Batman doesn't have a love interest. He has Robin. HoYay indeed.
*** At least he was smart enough not to think of Robin's real name.
** Batman ''sometimes'' has a Distressed Damsel love interest. Julie Madison and Vicki Vale in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks; Silver St. Cloud in the Seventies, and Jezebel Jet in the modern age. No, wait, scratch that last one...
* In the early days of ''{{Spider-Man}}'', Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy would serve this role. Then it was notoriously subverted in the 1973 ''[[{{Spider-Man}} Amazing Spider-Man]]'' story ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', in which archvillain the Green Goblin kidnaps Spidey's girlfriend, Spidey goes to rescue her... and she dies, turning from Gwen Stacy into [[TheGwenStacy * The* Gwen Stacy]].
** Also subverted, in a different way, by Mary Jane Watson after her marriage to Peter. Whenever she's confronted by obsessive stalkers, she (almost) always manages to escape on her own, without any help from her super-powered husband. Even more subverted by the fact that, more often than not, ''Mary Jane'' is the one who bails out Spider-Man whenever one of his opponents has the upper hand in a fight.
*** Even before their marriage, when Mary Jane was witness to a Spidey fight going poorly, she'd often brazenly distract or sabotage the bad guy, relying on her charm and wit to save her from the dangerous consequences.
** Even ''Aunt flippin' May'' has taken out bad guys. When (fairly) recently the Chameleon had assembled a group of Spider-Bad guys to go after Peter Parker (This is just before Civil War, natch) the Chameleon himself disguised himself as Peter to go and kidnap Aunt May. Aunt May opens the door, and lets her nephew in, and gives him some tea and biscuits while she has to finish her knitting [[spoiler: before revealing that she drugged the fucking tea cause she'd recognize her beloved nephew anywhere and Chameleon obviously was an impostor, holding up "GOTCHA" written across the sweater she just made in a]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome knitted moment of awesome]].
* Role-reversal: Yorick in ''YTheLastMan'' is the spoilt "damsel" who has to be saved by the tougher and more experienced women around him, ActionGirl 355 in particular.
** However, Yorick sometimes has his moments, even in the beginning when he's useless most of the time. In one CrowningMomentOfAwesome, Yorick is the prisoner of an Israeli commander who is about to shoot down a space shuttle with two live men on board. He attacks her from behind and ruins her shot. And then he knocks her out. Despite him being locked in handcuffs which not even an escape artist like himself can get out of.
* Heather Hudson attempted to invert this trope in ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'', even referencing it. When she finds out her two-hour wait for her husband (Guardian) is a set-up, she tries to storm out: "Other wives and girlfriends may be content to play bait for the good guys, but I'm not going to stand around waiting for you to use me to lure Mac into your lair." But by then, Mac's been captured; they want revenge against Heather, too. (The woman with her throws her across the room.)
* ''TheNewTeenTitans'': Raven, dear God in Heaven! Her being a pacifist, it kind of [[JustifiedTrope makes sense]] that she'd have trouble fighting with kidnappers.
* The main character of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' almost always ends up captured by villains, as a parody of {{Faux Action Girl}}s. Naturally this leads to her being the laughingstock of the superhero community. Nonetheless, despite all the ridicule she receives and her general lack of success as a superheroine, she proves to be a {{Determinator}} who [[IronWoobie refuses to quit]].
* Stephanie Brown, star of the current ''[[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}} Batgirl]]'' series, is [[TheCommissionerGordon growing a relationship]] with Detective Nicholas Gage. [[DistressedDude She comes to his rescue]] relatively often, as befits a superhero, and [[LampshadeHanging points out]] that he is a damsel in distress in their relationship.
* Most of the women in ''SinCity'' due to its Noir roots.
* Subverted with Jadina from [[ComicBook/LesLegendaires Les Légendaires]]; her typical SpoiledSweet attitude, natural clumsyness and the fact she's a princess seems to make her designed for this role, and [[TheHero Danael]] even mentionned she has been this at least once; however, she never falls into that role, and actually ''is'' the one saving her friends most of the time, sometimes even doing so when weakened. This reaches its paroxysm in Book 14, where [[spoiler:after she got temporary depowered and had her friends saving her, but still saves her friends from the new BigBad Abyss, who none of her friend could even scratch. And all of this while still depowered. Wow.]]
* April O'Neil from ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''. In almost all of the TMNT continuities, she is a good friend of the Turtles, and is a love interest to Donatello in the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 2012 cartoon]]. While it varies by incarnation, as the turtles' most prominent human friend she is often in need of rescue, particularly in the [[{{TMNT1987}} 1987 cartoon]].
* In ''{{ComicBook/Violine}}'', Violine is regularly in need of saving, and occasionally tied up as well.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
* Stories like "Literature/SleepingBeauty", "Literature/{{Bluebeard}}", "Literature/{{Rapunzel}}", "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood" and "Literature/SnowWhite" are often this, because the heroines are actually not in a position to do anything when their rescuers arrive... other than stay in their comatose state. Even though the POV is theirs and not the PrinceCharming's, the role is the same.
** "Rapunzel" is actually an inversion - the prince does not rescue Rapunzel, he just gets her pregnant, and later on it is her tears that cure his blindness. Also in "Little Red Riding Hood" the eponymous character is too young and the grandmother too old to be really considered a damsel in distress and that the story originally ended unhappily, getting two endings tacked on later (first the wolf being killed by the passing huntsman, later the cutting-open and revelation that the Little Red Riding Hood and granny had survived).
* In "Literature/TheGooseGirl", the [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] is under the power of the servant who took her place and turned her into a goose-girl until the king figures out a way to get her tell her story without breaking her promise not to. (GenderFlip version in the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} "Literature/TheLordOfLornAndTheFalseSteward", Child #271)
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/goosegirl/stories/maidenpearls.html The Maiden from whose Head Pearls fell on combing herself]]", the heroine is thrown into the sea and is rescued by a fisherman.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/armlessmaiden/stories/biancabella.html Biancabella and the Snake]]", Biancabella has [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence her hands cut off and her eyes gouged out]], and is driven into exile from her husband. The snake, being her friend, restores her eyes, hands, and ultimately her place.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/babayaga/tales/koshcheideathless.html The Death of Koshchei the Deathless]]", Marya Morevna is carried off by Koshchei the Deathless, and Prince Ivan must rescue her.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/babayaga/tales/frogtsarevna.html The Frog-Tsarevna]]", after Prince Ivan stupidly burns his wife's frog skin, she is in the power of Baba Yaga and he must go on TheQuest to rescue her.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/60twobrothers.html The Two Brothers]]" and "[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/079.htm The Three Princes and their Beasts]]", the hero saves the [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] from the dragon.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/69jorinde.html Jorinde and Joringel]]", Jorinde is turned into a nightingale by a WickedWitch and held captive by her.
* In "Literature/TheBlueMountains", the hero must suffer a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown for three nights to free the heroine.
* Also in "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/asbjornsenmoe/threeprincesseswhiteland.html The Three Princesses of Whiteland]]".
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/swanmaiden/stories/soriamoriacastle.html Soria Moria Castle]]", the three princesses are held prisoner by three trolls and the hero must kill the trolls to rescue them.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/swanmaiden/stories/serbian.html The Golden Apple Tree and the Nine Peahens]]", a dragon carries off the queen and her husband must rescue her.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sleepingbeauty/stories/youngslave.html The Young Slave]]", the heroine is the illegitimate niece of a lord, whose wife finds her in enchanted sleep and, in a [[GreenEyedMonster fit of jealousy]], beats her, knocking loose the comb that had kept her asleep, and turns her into a slave, abusing her so severely she [[DrivenToSuicide thinks of killing herself]]. One day, her uncle hears her lamenting her woes and saves her.
* Similarly in "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/books/portugual/pedroso/maidenwithrose.html The Maiden with the Rose on her Forehead]]", where the uncle's wife also burns the poor girl all over with a red-hot iron to make her ugly.
* In "Literature/{{Prunella}}", Prunella is a WickedWitch's prisoner and she assigns {{Impossible Task}}s; only with the help of the witch's son does she survive.
* In "[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/075.htm The Grateful Prince]]", the king {{promise}}s his baby to an ogre, and so takes a peasant girl and leaves his son with peasants. The ogre takes the girl and leaves, but the boy, on growing up, decides he can't possibly live on such a sacrifice and goes to rescue her.
* In ''Literature/TheLoveOfThreeOranges'', the heroine is transformed into a bird.
* In ''Literature/SoriaMoriaCastle'', the princesses are captives of trolls.
* In ''Literature/TsarevichPetrAndTheWizard'', the hero's MissingMom. Also the three princesses he meets while searching for her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Animated Films]]
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', especially in a scene where Robin Hood and his Merry Men try to "rescue" Fiona from the ogre they believe has kidnapped her, only to have her rebuff him and beat up all his men in a combination of styles from ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' and ''Film/TheMatrix''.
** And in ''Shrek Forever After'', where in an alternate universe where Shrek was never born and never came for her, Fiona eventually decided to rescue ''herself''.
** Played straight at first but later subverted with Fiona in ''WesternAnimation/ShrekFourD'', who at first is helpless after Thelonius kidnaps her, but eventually gains the upper hand and beats him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', Andy purposely has Bo Peep play this role, so Woody could save her. [[SickeninglySweethearts Not that she minds]]...
* Disney is rather infamous for this in their movies.
** Parodied in Disney's ''Disney/{{Hercules}}''.
--->'''Hercules:''' Aren't you a damsel in distress?\\
'''Megara:''' I'm a damsel... I'm in distress... I can handle this. Have a nice day.
** A more recent straight example would be [[spoiler: Kida]] from 2001's ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', who spends the last third of the film crystallized by the villain, and that her boyfriend and his teammates actually had to rescue her and change her back.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'', when Akima is jettisoned into space, captured, and held to be sold into slavery. The rest of the crew undergoes a makeshift rescue operation, only to find out that she [[RedundantRescue successfully knocked out all]] of her captors and is patiently waiting to be picked up.
* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/HappilyNeverAfter'', in which The Prince (whose name is revealed to be Humperdink) is searching for one of these (or a lady in waiting or whatever else is a typical princess) and sounds excited that [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} Ella]] could be one of those things. When he asks if she's a damsel in distress, her response is "I will be. Kind of. At midnight". To say the least, Ella does more ass-kicking than servant boy Rick or Humperdink.
* Straight example in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'', where Red Puckett is BoundAndGagged and loaded into a tramway cabin filled with dynamite, and it's up to Granny to rescue her.
* Michelle, the little badger from ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAForest'', inhales a poisonous gas and falls ill. Thus, it's up to her friends Edgar, Russel, and Abigail to find the herbs to heal her. Her damsel status stands in a bit of contrast to Abigail, an ActionGirl who fights an owl while trying to save her.
* Odette from ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess'' is under an enchantment by Rothbart that causes her to turn into a swan when moonlight leaves the lake by his castle in the morning and she needs Derek to break the enchantment, but she also turns down Rothbart's marriage proposals without a hint of remorse or fear even though she knows he's a powerful sorcerer and he ''killed'' her father. Also, she doesn't exactly wait for Derek to show up and does everything she can to try and let him know where she is and what he has to do.
* ''Anime/TheFumaConspiracy'': Murasaki, who twice found herself the target of kidnapping and/or traps. The first was when she was captured by a Fuma Ninja during her wedding, and demanded the MacGuffin in exchange for her life. The demand motivated Goemon and company to steal the vase and deliver it to the Fuma.
* ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles'' shows an example of Fujiko being a DamselInDistress ''and'' a {{Badass}}, but without being a BadassInDistress. During the opening, she loses her memory, and her entire personality changes. She's terrified of nearly everything, and everyone is a stranger to her. When she contributed to part of her rescue via pure Muscle Memory, that also terrifies her.
* ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'': Dawn, being a {{Princess Classic}} is kidnapped by [[EvilOverLord The Bog King]] as a hostage to exchange for a stolen {{love potion}}.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action Films]]
* ''Film/KingKong'':
** The original [[Film/KingKong1933 1933 film]] treated Fay Wray's Ann Darrow as nothing more than a prize for an evil gorilla.
** The [[Film/KingKong1976 1976 film]] starts this way, but Jessica Lange's Ann Darrow gets to know King Kong, sees that he's lonely and forms a bond with the big guy.
** Creator/NaomiWatts' Darrow from the [[Film/KingKong2005 2005 film]] takes the latter step further, and is more assertive in trying to stop a money hungry publicist from making Kong a circus attraction.
* The UrExample of this in film would probably be the protagonist of the 1914 silent melodrama serial ''The Perils of Pauline''. A "talkie" version of the series was made in the '30s; the title was later used for a 1947 biopic of original ''Pauline'' actress Pearl White, and a 1967 film that was a camp spoof of the genre.
** Pearl White also starred in a nearly-identical series, ''The Exploits of Elaine'', around the same time.
* A large number of [[Film/JamesBond Bond Girls]] fit this trope.
** For example, Honey Rider in ''Film/DrNo''. Dr. No decides to execute her by cuffing her to the inclined side of a [[DrowningPit pool with water pouring in from a large pipe]]. Bond finds her and releases her. Originally she was supposed to be [[http://www.shrunkencinema.com/cinema/bond/crabs.jpg attacked by large crabs while chained]].
** ''Film/{{Thunderball}}''. Bond's fellow agent Paula is kidnapped by a couple of Largo's thugs and taken to be tortured for information. Bond goes to Largo's estate to rescue her but arrives too late. Paula has taken a CyanidePill and killed herself so she can't be made to betray Bond and the operation.
** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': In the climax, Oberhauser kidnaps Madeline and traps her in a locked room in the old MI6 building, which is set to be demolished and has already been rigged to blow. Bond has to race through the building to save her life.
* A rare role-reversal is in the movie version of ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', where Luke Perry is the DistressedDude. (He had clearly [[TookALevelInBadass Taken A Level In Badass]] by the end of the movie, though, electrocuting a vampire at the HighSchoolDance.)
* ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' attempts to make this one more feminist-friendly by having Lucy [=McClane=] [[DefiedTrope reject this role at every turn.]] She is still helpless to physically resist, being an unarmed college student, but when the villain [[IHaveYourWife puts her on the phone with her dad]], she simply [[DefiantCaptive tells him how many bad guys are left.]] John [[spoiler: kills the villain Gabriel by shooting his own shoulder to hit Gabriel's heart, which frees Lucy and now that she is traumatized by John shooting his own shoulder on purpose just to save her, she becomes caring to her dad just like in the original Die Hard and her rebellious personality towards John now faded to dust]].
* Ditto for Elizabeth Swann in the first ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', except the feminist-friendly parts were ''added by the actress herself''. Said actress gets a much more [[ActionGirl fitting role]] in the sequels.
** Played straight and then subverted as said damsel [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] over the course of the movies. It gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Jack when he refers to her as "a certain damsel in distress... Or should I say distressing damsel." after [[spoiler: her ShootTheDog moment of leaving Jack to die]].
** If Elizabeth is this in the first movie, then Will must be as well, because he ends up having to be rescued from the ''exact same situation''. She manages to instigate his rescue despite being marooned on a deserted island, and then actively fights alongside him in the final battle.
* In the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', Mary Jane gets kidnapped by the villain in the climax of all three movies. She's also in distress twice before the climax of the first.
** They tried to play it less straight in ''Film/SpiderMan2''. After Spidey gets knocked down in the climax, [[RescueReversal M.J. picks up a steel beam and tries to sneak up on Doctor Octopus]] (Doc Ock, [[GenreSavvy learning from his earlier encounter with Aunt May]], [[OffhandBackhand brushes her aside]]).
** Creator/KirstenDunst actually only signed on for ''Film/SpiderMan3'' when they promised ''not'' to make her a Damsel in Distress. When plans changed, Creator/SamRaimi tried to make it up to her by giving her more to do in the finale. She ends up saving Spidey by chucking a cinder block at Venom, and [[DamselOutOfDistress uses some web to swing out of the way of a falling truck]].
* Done remarkably effectively in ''Film/{{Superman}}'' (1978) - the famous helicopter rescue, but all of the climaxes in the movie involve this trope. Also used in the sequels.
* Played fairly straight in 'Sync' episode 6, where computer prodigy Yoshi appears to have no sense of fighting or quick reasoning skill whatsoever. Ruthlessly exploited by our 'GenreSavvy' main character when he gets her to panic in his favor by suddenly yelling, "Oh god, look at all the bad guys coming to get you, get on the motocrcycle, quick, they're right behind us!'
* Aversion: In ''Film/TheProposition'', this role is occupied by the retarded younger brother. Obviously, there is no RescueRomance. At the end, however, [[spoiler: Charlie still has to rescue the police captain's wife from being raped and killed, although the captain himself - despite being [[BadAss Ray Winstone]] - is also being threatened, though not with rape.]]
* Subverted in ''Film/EverAfter'': when Danielle is sold into slavery, Prince Henry shows up to rescue her. But, being the capable heroine she is, she has already threatened the bad guy and freed herself.
* The ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' series
** Marion Ravenwood in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''. She's captured by Todt and threatened with torture in her own bar and has to be rescued by Indy. Later in Cairo she's captured by the Germans' Arab allies and carried away in a basket. Then she's captured yet ''again'' by Nazi troops while she's aboard the ship. Somewhat averted because she isn't completely helpless, including knocking out one of her Arab pursuers with a frying pan and pulling a knife on Belloq in an attempt to escape.
** Willie Scott in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''.
** Subverted at the end of IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade. Elsa became a distressed damsel when she found herself dangling over a crevasse after she tried taking the Holy Grail from its resting place. However, ''rather than letting Indiana pull her up to safety'', she uses his hold to try and reach for the chalice, which had conveniently fallen just below her. In the final moment, she almost reaches the grail until her hand slips away from Indy's, causing her to suffer a DeathByMaterialism.
* The female lead in ''Film/{{Legend 1985}}'', it doesn't help that she's [[VirginityMakesYouStupid innocent to the point of stupidity]] either.
** Hey, she ''did'' manage to trick Darkness into believing her FaceHeelTurn long enough for her to free the unicorn. She got knocked out immediately afterwards.
* Giselle starts out like this in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' but reverses roles with Robert in the end.
* Princess Leia from ''StarWars'' manages to be this and simultaneously an ActionGirl. However she is something of a subversion because her plea for help was not a plea for a rescue but rather a plea to get the plans to the Death Star to Bail Organa on Alderaan. She wasn't expecting a rescue at all (and the guys didn't plan to do it either).
** And she wasn't exactly what one would call grateful when she did get the rescue, either.
--->'''Princess Leia:''' I don't know who you are or where you've come from, but from now on you'll do as I say, okay?
** Carrie Fisher herself said: "I was not a damsel in distress. I was a distressed damsel."
** Rather funnily, ''[[{{Badass}} Han Solo]]'', of all people, plays this role in ''Return of the Jedi''. He is rescued from a dragon... [[InvertedTrope by a princess]]. And he ''is'' helpless and weak when she rescues him, seeing as he's blind at the time. This doesn't prevent him from (accidentally) knocking Boba Fett into the Sarlacc Pit - and then rescuing best friend Lando Calrissian after Lando had come to rescue ''him''!
*** If Jabba has her as his slave girl, in the end ''she's'' the one who kills him.
* Trillian in the film version of ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''.
* In ''Film/HudsonHawk'', a kidnapped Andie [=MacDowell=] pretends to suffer side effects from curare poisoning so she can annoy the typewriter symbols out of her captors and [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] the trope: "I'm not a very good damsel in a dress, am I?"
* Averted in ''Film/IronMan1''. Pepper Potts has to be rescued, but is enough of a threat that the villain feels compelled to shoot her instead of taking her hostage. She's also generally competent and helpful throughout the film.
** Indeed, the one scene that seems obviously headed for her being captured and turned into a distressed damsel has her instead easily evading the villain's clutches, and then immediately alerting the authorities to his evil plans.
** Done again in the sequel, when Happy Hogan insists on accompanying S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Romanov on her mission and fights a bad guy when they enter the building. By the time he has won the fight, he sees that she's taken down every other bad guy there is.
*** And shown again with Miss Romanov in the beginning of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. She's held captive by a group of Russian mobsters who are ready to kill her until Agent Coulson calls her, ready to bring her back in. She easily frees herself and drops everyone she was dealing with in no time flat. With Coulson listening in on the whole thing.
* ''Film/XMen'':
** In ''Film/XMen1'', Rogue is kidnapped by Magneto for his machine.
** In ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', Emma Silverfox is captured by William Stryker and he used her to blackmail her sister, Kayla.
* Cheryl in ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka'' when she's kidnapped by Mr. Big's {{Mooks}}.
* {{Double subver|sion}}ted in ''Film/TrueGrit'' western: the main character is a 14-year old girl trying to prove her companions she doesn't need babysitting, and succeeding. However, eventually she does, in a perfectly classical way: first getting kidnapped by outlaws, than falling into a snake pit.
* Subverted in ''Film/TheAvengers1998''. Emma Peel is captured by Sir August and brainwashed into a hallucinatory state. You'd expect Steed to break in and rescue her, but instead she escapes from Sir August, fights off her delusions and breaks out to freedom by herself.
* In ''Fil/{{Perfume}}'', the VillainProtagonist sets his murderous sights on Laura Richis, a beautiful, virginal young lady. Her father becomes wary of the danger and does everything in his power to protect his daughter.
* ''Film/TankGirl''. Sam (a 10-year-old girl) is captured several times, with Tank Girl spending the movie tracking her down in order to save her. Subverted at one point when Sam cleverly uses a deadly toy to puncture a child molester's hand.
-->'''Sam:''' That's what you get for being a perv!
* Tina (Cameron Diaz) in ''Film/TheMask''. Although she is able to get Dorian to take off the mask and then kick it to Stanley, which leads to the battle being won.
* ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}''. Jessie Deighan turns into one. She's a helicopter pilot. She does mountain rescues. Then she gets scared by bats in a cave, and cringes in a corner while the he-men fight.
* Subverted hilariously in a scene of ''Film/TheBoondockSaintsIIAllSaintsDay'' with Agent Eunice Bloom. She's snatched into an impenetrable panic room by a baddie (right in front of the cops, no less), and pandemonium breaks out. One of the cops even worries that she might be "touched and stuff", and it's played as high drama for a bit. He needn't have worried; in the next shot, Special Agent Bloom has the baddie pinned down and sputtering for relief.
* ''Film/WildWildWest''. Rita Escobar, whose [[spoiler:husband]] was kidnapped by Dr. Loveless and who ends up getting imprisoned and kidnapped by Loveless herself.
* Played straight in ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. Princess Buttercup gets kidnapped by Vizzini, nearly eaten by the shrieking eels, is the oblivious target of a murder plot, gets set on fire, falls into a sand trap, and nearly gets maimed by a rodent of unusual size. At one point she even contemplates taking her own life.
* Subverted with [[spoiler: Kelly]] in ''Film/MysteryTeam''. Yes, she DOES get kidnapped... [[spoiler: but it's not like the Mystery Team were much help in saving her]].
* [[ReconstructedTrope Reconstructed]] in the ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' movie. They point out that while, yes, Daphne did get kidnapped a lot, she never let that discourage her from joining the gang in their latest mystery. She's also GenreSavvy enough to have [[TookALevelInBadass studied martial arts]] so that she is eventually able to look after herself.
-->'''Daphne:''' (after defeating a henchman who tried to kidnap her) Now who's the damsel in distress?\\
'''Henchman:''' Me?\\
'''Daphne:''' Straight up!
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Selina Kyle (Creator/AnneHathaway) plays this straight when she is cornered by Bane's henchmen on the rooftop while confronting John Daggett. She also fakes it in the bar shootout, where she guns down two of Bane's henchmen, then [[WoundedGazelleGambit begins screaming hysterically when the SWAT team bursts in, only to sober up as soon as they have chased Bane's men out]].
* Played straight in ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' with Broomhilda.
** Kerry Washington said she took the part because African-American actresses aren't usually offered the "damsel in distress" role.
* Played straight in ''Film/DesertHeat'' with a [[EveryoneLovesBlondes pair of blondes]]. Complete with [[AThreesomeIsHot threesome]] RescueSex.
* Pretty much the whole point of ''Film/ALonelyPlaceToDie'', which has a group of mountaineers getting killed off one by one trying to take a young Serbian child they found buried underground in the Scottish highlands to safety.
* Isabelle getting captured by the giants is what sets the plot of ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'' in motion.
* In ''Film/ShowdownInLittleTokyo'', after Yoshida recaptures Minako he takes her with him as a hostage. He eventually ties her up covered in gasoline and tries to burn her alive in front of Kenner.
* Elle Brody’s role in ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'' is basically to be in danger from the Kaiju and motivate Ford to risk his life to save her.
* Fiona during the climax of ''Film/TheGiver'', [[spoiler:in which she's sentenced to Release for her role in helping Jonas escape.]]
* In ''Film/{{Annie 2014}}'', [[spoiler:Annie is kidnapped by her fake parents and sent on a car chase with them during the climax]].
* ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' has Daisy Domergue. John Ruth captures her for the Dead or Alive bounty on her head, and believes that a KnightInShiningArmor of sorts is going to try to rescue her. [[spoiler: Turns out ''four'' such knights mostly wiped out most of Minnie's Haberdashery of innocents to do just that.]]
* Marian in ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' is a downplayed example - she directly helps Robin under the nose of the Sheriff and only went through with his scheme because Nottingham was holding the rebels hostage and would've killed them if she turned down his marriage proposal. During her wedding/[[RapeAsDrama rape scene]] she is defiant throughout by outright telling him "[[DefiantToTheEnd It may be my body but it will not be me!]]" And during the final fight between Robin and Nottingham she does ''not'' a bystander as she grabs what she can to help Robin, which isn't much since it's in a chapel.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* At least as old as Literature/TheBible itself, as shown by the case of Sarah, daughter of Raguel, saved by Tobias with Raphael's help.
* Played straight in numerous medieval tales from all over Europe, with [[KingArthur Lyonesse, Guinevere]] and [[Literature/TristanAndIseult Iseult]] as model examples. In the ChivalricRomance, it was particularly noted as an element of the Matter of Britain, which was the supreme matter dealing with love.
* Defied way back in ''1495'' in Matteo Boiardo's epic ''Orlando innamorato''. Princess Angelica of Cathay (China) is distressed by the Muslim Tartars at the city of Albracca. Riding to her rescue are the French, the Indians, and several other Muslim armies including King [[ChewToy Sacripante]] of Circassia. She thinks all this isn't good enough and escapes to find the missing Christian champion Orlando before returning to be rescued.
* Constance Bonacieux in ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers''.
* Wendy Darling, Tinker Bell and Tiger Lily (who is an interesting case, as she is also BadassPrincess) to ''PeterPan''.
* Aouda in Verne's ''AroundTheWorldInEightyDays''. She then shows more than a glimpse of an ActionGirl, though.
* Dimity Plumleigh-Teinmort in Literature/TheFinishingSchoolSeries often ends in this role due to being AfraidOfBlood and {{Fainting}} tendencies. Despite being in training to become a spy.
* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Bella Swan is ineffectual against a group of rapists and Edward must swoop in to save her. Prior to this, Edward had to save her from a careening truck. Later in the book, she is ineffectual against a vampire, and Edward and his family must swoop in to save her. Subsequent books have the same formula, right down to warring factions -- werewolves and vampires -- putting aside their differences to save Bella. Bella herself is absolutely useless in a fight until she herself gets cool powers.
** Like [[Literature/TheSookieStackhouseMysteries Sookie Stackhouse]] Bella is actually the only human with enough bad luck to attract both werewolves and vampires (and various deadly situations) that are impossible to kill or harm unless by other supernatural creatures. One of the reasons of her insistence to become a vampire (aside from spending eternity with her beloved Edward) is to avert this trope. Like she says in the first book: "I can't always be Lois Lane. I want to be Superman, too."
** In the movie at least, Bella attempts to fight back against the rapists and maces the vampire before running for it. While neither is winning a battle, it's at least some form of self-preservation.
** Let's just say that it's realistic insofar as, a lot of the time, Bella could not realistically be expected to fight off vampires and so on. Everyone else's willingness to sacrifice themselves for her, on the other hand . . .
* Though reasonably competent, actor Lee Nicholas (in Tanya Huff's ''Literature/SmokeAndShadows'' series) seems to have an attraction for evil forces that want to possess his body, hold him hostage, and otherwise put him in peril--perhaps because the series protagonist has a crush on him. At one point, Lee [[LampshadeHanging actually says]] that he's "getting tired of being the designated damsel in distress".
* Buttercup in ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'' spends almost the entire story waiting for her true love to come save her. She's in this mess because she gave herself up to save him -- and he ''did'' promise he'd always come for her. Of course, ''The Princess Bride'' is an AffectionateParody of swashbuckling adventure stories.
* In ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'', Pelafina writes in her letters that she is this character, and that her son has to save her from being locked up in the mental institution.
* Esmeralda in ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''. Her mere presence is the catalyst for all the action in the book. Victor Hugo kind of rips into this trope by having Esmeralda pine for her knight in shining armor, who eventually does nothing to save her from execution. Had Esmeralda been a little more proactive about her own fate, maybe things would have worked out better for her.
* Christine in ''Phantom of the Opera''... sorta kinda.
** It's complicated, involving a StalkerWithACrush and a ScarpiaUltimatum.
* In ''ThePhantomTollbooth'', Milo's quest rapidly turns into one to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Castle in the Air. Once Milo reached them, there was a huge group of very PO'd monsters racing towards them, so running was the only option any of them had.
* In ''TheMoomins'', Snork Maiden, and being so pathetic has made her the least popular character.
** She often does it on purpose, since she fancies herself as a romantic heroine. She can be quite undistressed when she ''wants'' to.
* In John Barnes's ''Literature/OneForTheMorningGlory'', Sylvie the goblin's prisoner.
* Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve from the earlier books of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''. They have a strange ability to get shielded, tied up and locked away only to be rescued by someone, though they did manage to get themselves away from the Seanchan in Book 2. Plus the time they actually berated Mat for saving them. They do get called on that later on by Birgitte however, who tore each of them a verbal new one and forced them to apologize. They'd also broken themselves out of there when Mat showed up.
* In Creator/JamesThurber's ''Literature/The13Clocks'', the Princess Saralinda is kept in her EvilUncle's castle. [[spoiler:In fact, she is [[ChangelingFantasy not his niece]], and he intends to force her to marry him once he is free of a curse.]]
* Although Creator/TerryPratchett insists he's unable to write characters like this, Ginger in ''Discworld/MovingPictures'' spends her short-lived Holy Wood film career ''playing the role'' of one Distressed Damsel after another.
** He's clearly forgotten Violet Botell in ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}''. Susan does lampshade it by berating her in her mind for her intentionally helpless behaviour.
* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'':
** Played straight with both Turin's loves in "The Children of Hurin", Finduilas, killed by the orcs, and Niënor Níniel (when Glaurung wipes her memories). Sadly things end badly for her, as she only realizes who she is after [[BrotherSisterIncest Turin]] has [[SurpriseIncest impregnated her]], at which she kills herself.
** Zigzagged by Lúthien: when imprisoned by her father, she frees herself. Although she is then captured a second time and needs some help to escape, she then proceeds to almost single-handedly free her lover Beren (and a number of other prisoners) from Sauron -- yes, that [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]]. Later in Angband [[GodOfEvil Morgoth]] possibly intends to rape her, but she sends him to sleep. When the forces of Angband come after her and Beren, they are saved by eagles.
** Idril, during the Fall of Gondolin, as her treacherous cousin Maeglin, who is in [[KissingCousins love with her]] despite first-cousin marriages being illegal among Elves, tries to take her (it is implied he intends to basically rape her) and murder her son Earendil. However Idril's husband Tuor throws Maeglin off the walls of Gondolin.
** Celebrían, the wife of Elrond, is captured and possibly raped by the orcs. She was rescued by her sons, but left Middle-Earth.
** Played with by Eowyn in "The Lord of the Rings". She shows herself to be very capable, disguising herself as a man and avenging her uncle's death by defeating the Witch-King of Angmar, one of the main villains of the Legendarium. However his breath leaves her dying, and it takes Aragorn to heal her.
* Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs. To be just, he has a lot of DistressedDude as well, and the damsels have high spirits, courage, and willingness to do what is in their powers, but:
** Jane in ''Literature/{{Tarzan}}''.
** Meriem in ''Son of Tarzan''.
** Dejah Thoris in several ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' books, most notably from the beginning of the second to the end of the third.
** An anonymous group of women in ''The Gods of Mars'', thrown to animals, inspires a GladiatorRevolt.
** Thuvia in ''Warlord Of Mars'' and ''Thuvia Maid of Mars''
** Tara in ''Chessmen of Mars''
** Valla Dia in ''The Master Mind of Mars''
** Virginia Maxon in ''Literature/TheMonsterMen''
** Dian in ''Literature/AtTheEarthsCore''
** Emma von der Tann in ''The Mad King'' meets Barney Custer when he sees that her horse ran away with her.
** Both Sanoma Tora and Tavia in ''A Fighting Man of Mars''. Sanoma loses her spirit entirely, which is evidence enough that she is not, after all the LoveInterest.
* Literature/JudgeDee's cases often include at least one of these young ladies; ranging from vagabond thieves, to reluctant prostitutes to innocent young ladies of gentle birth. However they are seldom ''quite'' helpless or useless.
* Wilkie Collins' Victorian novel ''[[WomanInWhite The Woman in White]]'' (1860) features the character Laura Glyde (nee Fairlie), who is the embodiment of this trope. She's got the emotional strength of a Kleenex.
** The interesting part is that [[PluckyGirl Marian Halcombe]], her half sister, is an amazingly strong character for a [[VictorianLondon Victorian]] novel, almost an ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl by the standards of the time. While Laura is the epitome of blushing Victorian beauty and fragility, Marian is described as "ugly", even having a slight mustache on her upper lip. Maybe this is a case of an Ugly TomboyAndGirlyGirl.
* In Creator/WenSpencer's ''Endless Blue'', Paige is captured by Mary's Landing and Turk must come to her rescue. [[spoiler:Also Eraphie did not flee of her own will but was captured by Hardin; Mikhail comes to her rescue as soon as that becomes clear.]]
* Diana Mayo, heroine of ''Literature/TheSheik''. She's kidnapped by a rival Sheik, forcing the titular character to rescue her, during which he realizes he's fallen in love with her.
* In the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' series, Laurana becomes this after being captured by her ArchEnemy Kitiara and having her love interest Tanis Half-Elven try to rescue her. Played with in that [[spoiler: Laurana no longer trusts Tanis as he has been DatingCatwoman, refuses his help and ends up breaking free on her own. Though she does end up needing Tanis's help to complete her escape.]]
* Creator/EstherFriesner loves to avert and parody this trope.
** In her "Majyk" trilogy, we first have Mysti in ''Majyk by Accident'' whose only source of distress is her [[OurElvesAreDifferent Welfin]] relatives and who [[spoiler:bullies Kendar into marrying her so she can leave the "jolly greensward ho" and stop skipping around like an idiot and her only REAL distress is when the curse hits her after Kendar refuses to follow through with a promise he made during the wedding vows.]]
** In the second book, ''Majyk by Hook or Crook'', we have not only Mysti [[spoiler:who has become the swashbuckler with a secret identity, A Blade for Justice (and prefers to be referred to by his/her full name)]], but we also have Anisella, who wears nothing but chain mail, has a black belt in ''helo kiti'' and a green barette in ''po kipsi'', and crumples like a [=McDonalds=] napkin when even barely brushed by [[spoiler:wool... or any other fabric.]]
** The third book in the trilogy, ''Majyk by Design'', gives us a male example in Prince Boffin [[spoiler: who has been turned into a toad]] but also gives us great parody in Kendar's aunts (mercenary swordswomen)and his soon-to-be sister-in-law Dulcetta who, although she is generally the TYPE of girl who would fall into this category, actually [[spoiler:kidnapped the man whom everyone thought kidnapped her and hatched a scheme with him to write romance novels. When the main characters find her she is heard screaming for help with the help of a metric ton of PurpleProse and while she is recounting to them the story of what happened runs off to write when the characters paraphrase her cries as "Help me". She thought it was perfect. It also comes to pass that her mother, who raised her to be a docile, dependent woman, was a barbarian swordswoman herself and only gave it up because she preferred regular bathing.]]
* [[spoiler: Jez]] is kidnapped at the beginning of the second ''KingdomKeepers'' book, setting the plot in motion.
* Inverted in ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' where Sanzang, the only human of the group, and a man to boot, is often kidnapped by the newly introduced BigBad of each chapter.
* In Creator/PatriciaAMcKillip's ''The Book of Atrix Wolfe'', Saro is trapped in a spell, rendered TheSpeechless, and [[FallenPrincess ends up]] a SculleryMaid in CinderellaCircumstances.
* In Andy Hoare's WhiteScars novel ''Hunt for Voldorius'', the Bloodtide tells the White Scars and Raven Guard that Malya is being subjected to being made a new Bloodtide, and begs them to rescue her.
* [[spoiler: Ginny Weasley]] in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', although no one realizes it until near the end. [[spoiler:And she did attempt to save herself by throwing the diary away first, stealing it back only because she was afraid of being outed]].
** "Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows" has Hermione being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback. When Harry and Ron try to save her Bellatrix takes her hostage, however Dobby's intervention saves them.
* Literature/ConanTheBarbarian. Very often
** The queen in "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn"
** Yasmina In "Literature/ThePeopleOfTheBlackCircle"
** Sancha in "Literature/ThePoolOfTheBlackOne". ([[MenAreTheExpendableGender The captured male is drowned to show Conan what they are up to]].)
** Octavia in "Literature/TheDevilInIron". She escapes slavery on her own account, but she stumbles into worse.
** Natala in "Literature/TheSlitheringShadow"
** Livia in "Literature/TheValeOfLostWomen"
** Muriela in "Literature/JewelsOfGwahlur"
** Olivia in "Literature/ShadowsInTheMoonlight"
* In ''Black Beauty'', Lady Anne.
* Averted in ''Komarr'', by LoisMcMasterBujold. Ekaterin Vorsoisson [[spoiler: destroys the villains' secret weapon.]]
* Tenar to Ged in ''Literature/EarthseaTrilogy''. (It can be argued that Ged is also a DistressedDude to her.)
* In the first book of the Literature/TimeScout series, Margo ends up in a 16th century Portuguese prison. In the third, Birgitta is saved by Skeeter from a beating. In the fourth, Birgitta is saved from gang rape and murder. In the third and fourth, Ianira is in the hands of UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper.
* Lampshaded in Literature/SoonIWillBeInvincible, where it is noted the Corefire has the requisite "reporter girlfriend who always needed rescuing."
* Averted most of the time by Jenna Heap in ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'', as she usually manages to get safe by herself.
* In Creator/LMMontgomery's ''Literature/TheBlueCastle'', Valancy foolishly goes to a dance where drunken men start to harrass her. Barney Snaith arrives in time. The main character in ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'' is saved by [[spoiler:her future husband]] from a catastrophe resulting from her attempt at impersonating Elaine the Lily of Astolat from Tennyson's poem. HilarityEnsues.
* In Teresa Frohock's ''Literature/MiserereAnAutumnTale'', Lindsey is in {{Hell}}. Lucian realizes he must open a Gate, which has been forbidden to him, to rescue her.
* Amy Goodenough in the ''Literature/YoungBond'' novel ''Literature/BloodFever'', who is kidnapped by pirates for ransom. She ends being taken from them by the novel's BigBad, who plans to make her his wife.
* Agnes and Antonia both get their chance to fill this roll in ''Literature/TheMonk''. One will live to be rescued, one will not.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's "A World Called Maanerek", Sonna is captured with Torrek. While Torrek is turned back to Wanen by removing his new memories and restoring his old ones, the ship decides to use Sonna as a "tension release" by lobomotizing her and letting the men rape her. [[spoiler:Wanen, his memories not so gone as they thought, rescues her before his own escape.]]
* Christine becomes one in ''Literature/BrideOfTheRatGod'' after she wears an ArtifactOfDeath that is used as a prop in one of her films.
* In ''Literature/{{Tinker}}'', Tinker realizes why this is more common than DistressedDude: there is no ''elegant'' way for a grown woman to lug about an injured man.
* Also by Wen Spencer, the cover to ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' features a man carrying a limp woman. Said cover is [[CoversAlwaysLie misleading]]; that scene does happen, when Odelia passes out in a stream after being beaten by attackers and Jerin fishes her out, but the women of that universe, Odelia included, are anything but neutral, and that is really the only case in the book where a woman needs to be rescued. Unless you count the [[spoiler: fact that Jerin helps Cira escape by picking the locks of her handcuffs. She is only in trouble because she tried to rescue him, so it is not a straight example of distressed damsel]]
* In Creator/SarahAHoyt's ''Literature/DarkshipThieves'', Thena in the opening.
* Parodied in ''Literature/TheGoodTheBadAndTheMediochre'', where dragons are noted to have a tendency to kidnap virgin princesses. Just because.
* In AndreNorton's ''Literature/IceCrown'', Roane stumbles on the place where kidnappers bring Princess Ludorica.
* In AndreNorton's ''Storm over Literature/{{Warlock}}'', Shann leaps to the aid of a Wyvern when she loses control of the forktail.
** In ''Ordeal In Otherwhere'', Charis poses as this, driven mad by the contact with the Wyverns, to infiltrate the Company men.
%% * Clary Fray from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments''. So ''many'' times.
* Played with a few times in ASongOfIceAndFire.
** The war to save Lyanna Stark was won, but Lyanna died in the process so victory was hollow for the people who wanted to save her. There's hints that the "Damsel" was far less in distress than people who started the war thought.
** Sansa Stark never got rescued by her family and was eventually forced to flee with an amoral man who then groomed and molested her.
** Lady Hornwood was already dead by the time her would-be rescuers arrived.
* In ''Literature/FrostflowerAndThorn'' [[spoiler:Frostflower]] ends up needing rescue after being [[spoiler:hung up for execution, though without fatal injury since the farmer-priest Maldron still hoped she would recant and be his SexSlave.]]
* ''[[Literature/AMagesPower A Mage's Power]]'': Princess Kasile is kidnapped during a joust, but this does not (immediately) provoke a RescueArc. The main characters are mercenaries, and their leader insists that this event doesn't concern them unless they are hired to rescue her. Eric decides to go on his own time, along with his fellow mercenary, Culmus, who is also the princess' [[CourtlyLove secret boyfriend]].
* Abby Badica when captured by Strigoi in ''Literature/VampireAcademy''. She is a cute, helpless, royal Moroi who breaks down in the face of danger. Every one of her rescuers is tempted to leave the battle and comfort it.
* ''Literature/{{Archvillain}}'': Maira needs to be rescued at least once per book.
* In the second [[Literature/TheBourneSeries Bourne novel]], the people manipulating Bourne [[IHaveYourWife have kidnapped his wife]] to force him to do their bidding. Only she's not Suzie Homemaker, she's a high level government official in her own right, accustomed to traveling the world and fighting communism with the power of economics on behalf of the Canadian government. She sows confusion among the enemy, then walks out the front door into the night.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Annie Cresta. [[spoiler:She's captured and held prisoner by the Capitol at the end of ''Catching Fire'', but she is rescued in ''Mockingjay.'']]
* In Literature/TheFlyingBoy, Amy Simpson was kidnapped by Dr. Paigne as bait for Jeremy Floeter.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Everybody is Distressed sooner or later. There's even episodes where Buffy takes this role. In the first few seasons, Willow is the main Distressed Damsel. In second two, she and Xander share the role. As Willow grows in power in seasons three and four, Xander, Giles, and Spike end up in this position more often than the others. In seasons 5 and 6, it's Dawn. In season 7, it's the potentials.
--> '''Buffy:''' Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday.
** Buffy was this in the Season 2 episode Halloween, when an enchanted costume causes her to become a very helpless 18th century noblewoman.
** Subverted by the show itself, however, as Buffy appears to be the stereotypical petite, blonde girl who is constantly in need of rescue, which she almost never is and on the rare times that she is captured, she almost always gets herself out of trouble.
** Also the Season Three episode "Choices" plays with this trope as Willow gets captured by The Mayor and does eventually need rescuing but only because her attempts to liberate herself fell through when she got distracted gathering intelligence about The Mayor's plan which was arguably good trade off since she knew Buffy would get her out anyway.
** Cordelia was this when she was on the show. Not so much after she moved to ''Angel''.
** Anne was this twice. She appears again on ''Angel'', a good deal tougher.
* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'''s "A Hole in the World", Fred tries to fight her status as DistressedDamsel:
-->'''Wesley:''' You have to lie down.\\
'''Fred:''' I am not -- I am not the damsel in distress. I am not some case. I have to work this. I lived in a cave for 5 years in a world where they killed my kind like cattle. I am not going to be cut down by some monster flu. I am better than that!
** The gang takes off to save her anyway.
* Alex Cahill is kidnapped in almost every other episode of ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''.
* ''Series/LazyTown'' sometimes has Stephanie being kidnapped by the "evil dude".
* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', it seems that every episode that centers on River has her in serious danger, needing some BigDamnHeroes to save the day...except for "Objects in Space," where she hits the villain with a {{plan}}.
** The ironic part is that by ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', she's activated hidden WaifFu powers that would have let her handily deal with ''every one'' of the bad guys gunning for her in the series.
*** River in the series got so smart and powerful that Serenity's own crew starts to worry about whether she's safe to keep around.
*** It makes sense, given that ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' was used to tie up loose ends in the story. Given how "Objects in Space" went, it seems that the next season would have had River slowly regain her former fierce intellect and use it far more often.
** She showed some signs of her impending badassery earlier on in the episode "War Stories" when she gunned down three of Niska's men with her eyes closed in order to save Kaylee, who would have shared DistressedDamsel duty had the series actually continued. Joss Whedon has said something to the tune of, "Whenever we wanted to up the suspense, we just put the [[WrenchWench cute engineer]] in danger."
** And it's been similarly commented that anytime a man infiltrates the ship he does so by befriending Kaylee, flirting with her and then threatening her at gunpoint. (This happens twice, with Simon in the pilot and then Tracy in "The Message", and probably would've been a continuing trend.)
* Lana Lang in ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. The whole first season was one big Lana capture-fest. And most of the second. Usually by [[GreenRock kryptonite]] mutants who [[StalkerWithACrush ''loved'' her]]. And once they had her, they often tried to kill her, for no better reason than to give Clark a chance to arrive [[JustInTime JUST IN TIME]]! One later-season character actually commented sardonically to his obsessed stalkermutant friend "Lana Lang? Gee, how original."
** Subverted with Chloe Sullivan. While she needs to be rescued now and then, as Clark puts it himself, she saved him more times than he could have ever saved her.
** Subverted with Lois Lane in more recent episodes; while she tends to need rescuing on a semi-regular basis, she often ends up saving her own skin, and will never be defined as "helpless". She also lampshaded this trope in the Season 10 episode "Harvest", when she ended up getting kidnapped by a rural community who wanted to sacrifice her in a harvest ritual, after wanting to prove to Clark that she didn't need protecting:
--->"I promise to eat a heaping helping of crow when we get back home, but right now, do your super-speedy thing because this fair lady needs some rescuing big time."
* ''Series/GossipGirl'' does it at least once per season, when characters put aside their problems to help Serena: in season 1, when the Nate/Blair/Chuck love triangle takes second place to Serena's confession that she (allegedly) killed somebody; in season 2, when again the aforementioned love triangle is paused when the three characters try to get her out of jail, and in season 3 when all pending matters (Chuck's grief over his father's death anniversary, Lily's postponed confession to Rufus about a night with her ex-husband, Eric's and Jenny's constant fighting, Dan's lingering feelings for Vanessa) are frozen (and then solved or exposed, one by one) when she's on a car accident and over half of the cast go to the hospital to be with her.
* The game show version of The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop has Penelope in distress in the same manner as the cartoon where H.C. wants her dead, missing & never found, etc.
* Often done in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' about a patient's dying or miraculously recovering ending bickering about less important matters.
** One episode turns the plot of that episode into a medieval fantasy. In it, the patient becomes a damsel in distress that everyone works together to save.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', just try to count how many times ''the Rangers themselves'' get tied up, to either figure a way out in time for the big fight, or be rescued by the one Ranger who wasn't there at the time.
** How many other times did the ''Series/PowerRangers'' have a damsel in distress?
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' tends to apply this trope so much it gets annoying after a while. The Victim Of The Week (usually female) is either being threatened and can't help herself out or Sam is pinned to something and helpless against the MOTW or Dean is doing something stupid/going off on his own, getting nabbed and needing Sam to save his arse.
** They've subverted it twice with Sam, though. In ''Bloodlust'', the vampires capture him but let him go after they've given him a good talking to and in ''The Benders'', he manages to get out of his cage without Dean's help and Dean ends up being the tied up one in need of saving.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' put every character, male and female, hero and villain, into such a situation--notably John, who is captured and [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] at the end of the first season and is rescued by Aeryn (with help), and Aeryn, who is captured and tortured at the end of the final season and is rescued by John (with help). This makes sense, as she is the ActionGirl at the start of the show, and while he's not quite an action hero by the end he has [[TookALevelInBadass gotten badass enough]] to return the favor.
* Subverted (a bit) in ''Series/DoctorWho'' (notorious for women who needed rescuing from bug-eyed monsters at every cliffhanger) with Jo Grant (UNIT assistant to the Pertwee Doctor) who was a trained spy/escapologist, and thus was the one who freed the Doctor when they were captured. (Lampshaded also by Sarah Jane Smith when she rescues the Doctor from a cell in ''The Android Invasion'' and quips: "This time I'm saving you!" She'd also done it in the first episode she was in, ''The Time Warrior''.) Jo Grant was originally conceived as an [[Series/TheAvengers Emma Peel-type]] ActionGirl but they cast Katy Manning after her somewhat ditzy audition, a classic example of the difference between what the producers say they want and [[TheDitz what they actually want]].
** Barbara Wright alternately played this trope straight and subverted it. The most memorable straight example would be in the very first ''Who'' serial ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild An Unearthly Child]]'', where she spends most of the last two episodes screaming and crying. She seems to have gotten it out of her system by the next serial, where she's perfectly happy to go on a commando raid into the Dalek city. Her most memorable subversion is probably ''The Crusade'', where she does get kidnapped, but rescues herself and is on her way back to rescue everyone else by the time Ian shows up to save her.
** Mary Tamm was initially leery of taking a companion role in the series for this very reason, but she was assured that her character, Romana, would be an intellectual equal to the Doctor and a competent woman to boot. Supposedly, she left the role later on because she felt it had reverted to this trope (although possibly she left because she was having a baby -- the internet is not very clear on the matter.)
** Lampshaded in the new series episode "The Empty Child", when the Doctor learned that Rose was hanging from a barrage balloon during a Nazi Blitz attack. "I've travelled with a number of people, but you're setting new standards for being peril-friendly."
** On a whole, the companions in the new series seem to swing between playing this trope straight and subverting it. In the event that the companions ''are'' captured and can't save themselves, they at least ''try'' to, or find information, or help the Doctor, or at least sass their captors.
*** It at least makes sense why this would happen. To create tension you ''need'' someone to be captured, and since the Doctor's companions are 90% female, it unfortunately becomes this trope.
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons The Krotons]]'', Vara -- and later Zoe, when she too is chosen for a "companion".
** Think what you will about Stephen Moffat but River Song almost never needs rescuing. The few times she does it's typically because she's flung herself off of a building or into the vacuum of space in an attempt to evade capture, specifically because she knows The Doctor will come show up in his handy time machine.
* Parodied in the [[ShowWithinAShow Captain Proton]] holoprogram in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' with secretary Constance Goodheart, whose only function is to be captured by the villainous Dr Chaotica so Captain Proton can rescue her, and whose only dialogue is an ear-splitting scream. When Seven of Nine [[OffTheRails is roped in to play Constance]] she asks what her function is. Tom Paris (playing Proton) replies awkwardly that her job is to "tag along on all the missions".
* Topanga plays with this trope in the second season's Halloween episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'':
-->'''Cory:''' ''(seeing Topanga in a long gauzy dress)'' Why'd you have to wear that?\\
'''Topanga:''' I'm a damsel. But not the distressed kind, one who's totally calm and in complete control of her own destiny.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Gillian Anderson may consider [[AgentScully Scully]] to be a good feminine role model, but there's no getting away from the fact that the character spent a worrying amount of time (especially in seasons 1 to 4) being kidnapped, tied up and drooled over by freaks and fruitcakes. [[AgentMulder Mulder]] had a tendency to rush headlong into dangerous situations which usually lead to Scully having to save his ass, so maybe it doesn't count.
** Yeah, Mulder seems to get captured/injured/drugged/whatever just as much as Scully does, often because he doesn't stop to actually think before he does something. It was one of the earliest shows to divvy up the proportion of Distressed Damsel and DistressedDude pretty equally between the male and female protagonists.
** Scully did seem to get BoundAndGagged more often than Mulder, Doggett, or any of the other main characters though, so there may still have been some AuthorAppeal at play.
* Mrs. Peel from the original ''Series/TheAvengers'' series. Almost all of the episodes feature her in some kind of predicament, generally clad in tight fitting (not to say clinging...) apparel and bound in a weird situation. Examples are: tied in aluminium foil to act as an electric conductor to electrocute Steed when he touches her, tied to train tracks (classical but effective), bound to a Mad Scientist patented reclining table to act as guinea pig for his super strong laser, tied, scantily clad in a harem outfit...
** The episode where she's locked in a gilded cage wearing a ''very'' skimpy feathered costume.
* Possibly the only reason why [[DamselScrappy Kate]] exists on ''Series/RobinHood''. Partially justified in that she's just a simple peasant girl who has been thrown into a guerilla-style war, but which inevitably leads to FridgeLogic when one wonders [[TheSmurfettePrinciple why on earth]] the outlaws keep letting her [[TagalongKid tag along]] with them on dangerous missions that [[FauxActionGirl she's obviously not equipped to handle]].
* Jeremy Clarkson tried to take advantage of this on ''TopGear'' when he drove his Toyota into a ditch and then called emergency services, claiming to be a pregnant woman about to be eaten by dogs (rather than a fat, old man who can't judge terrain).
** This works if you're not Jeremy Clarkson -- the AA prioritises "lone woman" calls, as well as some other categories like disabled drivers.
* Frequently subverted on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', where Team Gibbs often race to rescue the damsel in question (usually Abby), only to find she's overcome the villain by her own efforts. That's a testimonial to team spirit.
* Used not infrequently with Gwen in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''. It hasn't started becoming annoying ''quite'' yet, but the jury is still out on how many more times a plot can revolve either around her putting herself in a situation (however morally justifiable) that requires Arthur to half-kill himself just to get her out of it (a la ''The Last Dragonlord''), or around her being rescued successfully, only to ''fall over'' about seven seconds later and end up needing saving all over again (''Lancelot and Guinevere'', I'm looking at you.), before things start getting really tiresome. She's the only main character in the show to lack either magic powers, or having been trained to be a KnightInShiningArmour since childhood. And, like ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', every character that's not Merlin ends up with the role in at least one episode, including the future KingArthur.
** As of ''Servant of Two Masters'' and ''Tears of Uther Pendragon Part One'', Merlin has joined the roster. The show is a WorldOfBadass[[BadassInDistress In Distress]].
* Elena in ''TheVampireDiaries'', more often than not. Justified as she is the only main character who doesn't have any sort of magic ability. She is constantly being threatened and/or kidnapped to enrage Stefan or sometimes Damon.
** Then again, the first time a vampire tried to kidnap her, she didn't just take it and wait for Stefan to save her, she fought back and tried to ''kill the vampire with a pencil''.
** Caroline also filled this role, especially in early Season 1, but since she TookALevelInBadass, not so much...
* Though Veronica, Sarah, and Sofia all get this at one point or another in ''Series/PrisonBreak'', LJ is the epitome of this trope. Any time he's on screen he's either being used as a bargaining chip against his dad and uncle or being rescued by his dad and uncle; the kid spends most of the series tied to a chair. All of them though are justified, since they're average citizens stuck in a mass conspiracy against people trained to make them this.
* As the one on the show who puts himself in situations he's not equipped for, [[Series/{{Castle}} Rick Castle]] is usually the one in distress, but in the fifth season episode "Target", [[spoiler:his daughter gets kidnapped.]]
* Series/TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries: Nancy Drew was reduced to this in second season, once Janet Louise Johnson took over the character, in cross-over episodes with the Hardys. Nancy only existed to be placed in situations that required Frank Hardy to rescue her:
** ''Arson & Old Lace'': Nancy gets kidnapped and needs Frank to rescue her.
** ''Voodoo Doll'': Nancy wanders into the BigBad's lair, gets caught, and needs Frank and Joe to rescue her.
** ''Mystery on the Avalanche Express'': Nancy gets cornered on a train by two men -- a passenger train, in a hallway where there's plenty other passengers in compartments -- and can't simply push past them until Frank comes to her rescue.
* ''Series/MastersOfHorror'':
** "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road":
*** Subverted with Ellen. When the killer tries to hunt her down, she shows that she's a survival expert who lays several traps for him and outsmarts him several times.
*** Played straight with the Young Woman, who isn't able to defend herself and becomes easy prey for the psycho.
** "Valerie on the Stairs": Justified with Valerie, [[RefugeeFromTVLand who was created by the writers in the boarding house as a fictional character]] whose only reason for existing is to be saved from The Beast. [[spoiler:She vanishes completely after she's rescued, having finished playing her role.]]
* ''Series/{{The 100}}'' has almost every character need rescuing at one point or another, but the most notable example is when 48 of the delinquents are held captive inside Mount Weather. [[TheProtagonist Clarke]] escapes on her own, but [[RescueArc rescuing the other 47 is the main focus of Season 2.]]
* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' had Maddie (and later Carey), tied up (and later kidnapped) by their captors, hoping that Zack (and later Cody) to rescue them both (because they are really twin brothers).
* In ''Series/NightAndDay'', Jane Harper's mysterious disappearance forms the backbone of the show, although the irony is that her dysfunctional friends and family need saving just as much as she does.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* It can be argued that Anhura from the musical-in-album-form ''Music/RaziasShadow'' fits this trope. She argues against her father and seems to have the same sense of a greater destiny as Adakias, but she doesn't do anything about it except sit around singing wistfully (Adakias has his share of wistful singing, but he's much more proactive). She's first a damsel when [[spoiler: her father refuses to let her marry Adakias]], but Adakias rescues her by [[spoiler: eloping with her]]. This causes her to [[spoiler: grow ill]], and a third of the second act is therefore spent trying to [[spoiler: cure her illness]]. ''Then'' once they do, [[spoiler: Pallis bursts in]], and Adakias [[spoiler: sacrifices himself to save her when Pallis attempts to murder her]]. Depending what you think happened directly after the end of the song and before the narrator's epilogue, Anhura either [[spoiler: [[HeelFaceTurn ends up with Pallis]]]], staying a damsel, just a rescued one, [[spoiler: fixes everything herself while Pallis retreats]], getting out of the trope, or [[spoiler: everything fixes itself without her help]], which keeps Anhura thoroughly useless and in this trope.
* Mentioned in Creator/WillSmith's song ''Film/WildWildWest'':
-->''Any damsel that's in distress\\
Be out of that dress when she meet Jim West''
* Subverted in the video of ''Mean'' by TaylorSwift. Taylor is shown [[ChainedToARailway tied up on railroad tracks]] by a [[DastardlyWhiplash villain]], who is all [[EvilGloating gloating]] over her predicament. Not long after, a friend of the villain's comes along, the two villains get [[DrinkingOnDuty drunk]], fall asleep, after which Taylor simply gets out of her ropes and heads off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myths and Religion]]
* This is OlderThanFeudalism, dating back at least to the Greek myth of Perseus and Andromeda.
** The story of Hesione and Heracles is very similar to that of Perseus and Andromeda. However, Deianeira, another woman in Heracles' [[ChickMagnet adventurous]] life, subverts it by [[GreenEyedMonster taking matters in her hands]] shortly after the rescue.
** Eurydice is in a classic DamselInDistress situation. Unfortunately, Orpheus does not come up to expectations.
** Subverted with Helen of Troy, who is anything but innocent in what happens to her.
* In ''Literature/{{Ramayana}}'', Sita is a crown example.
* In Celtic mythology (''Literature/{{Mabinogion}}''), Branwen finds herself in this position. Subverted with Deirdre, who voluntarily put herself in the situation which was considered as distress by her fiancé.
* Downplayed in the legend of [[Myth/SaintGeorge St. George and the Dragon]] (a tale that has otherwise many parallels with the myth of Perseus and Andromeda): The princess is delivered to the dragon and saved by St. George, but she is not [[ChainedToARock physically constrained]], does not ask for help, and there is no [[RescueRomance romance between the princess and George]], nor does the king [[StandardHeroReward offer her up in marriage.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* Mary Jane Watson from Creator/{{Stern}}'s ''[[Pinball/SpiderManStern Spider-Man]]'' pinball.
* Appropriately enough, Princess Peach from Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/SuperMarioBros''.
* ''Pinball/MedievalMadness'' has five princesses that must be rescued from fire-breathing dragons.
* The queen in ''Pinball/BigGuns''.
* The girl in the aptly-named "Save the Girl" VideoMode in ''Pinball/JunkYard''.
* April O'Neal, unsurprisingly, serves this role in ''Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''.
* Unsurprisingly, the only party member in ''Pinball/DungeonsAndDragons'' captured by the fire-breathing dragon is the Valkyrie.
* The ultimate goal of ''Pinball/PopeyeSavesTheEarth'' is to rescue Olive Oyl from Bluto -- after saving the Earth, of course.
* Nell is this in ''Pinball/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkleAndFriends'', awaiting rescue from Dudley Do-Right.
* Miss Polly in ''Pinball/CactusCanyon'', who not only regularly gets into trouble, but also gets an entire mode ("Polly Peril") where she is ChainedToARailway.
* There's a captured princess in the "Dragon's Keep" table of ''VideoGame/FullTiltPinball''
* The backbox translite for ''Pinball/BoneBusters'' shows one of the female team members being grabbed by an [[DemBones animated skeleton.]]
* Christine Dae from ''Pinball/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''
* ''Pinball/StrangeScience'' has Jodi, a teenager who's been kidnapped by a MadScientist as part of his FreakyFridayFlip experiment.
* Princess Ball in ''VideoGame/PinballQuest''
* The princess from ''Pinball/TalesOfTheArabianNights''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** Princess Peach Toadstool has been kidnapped too many times to count. And yet she's [[PowerCreepPowerSeep perfectly capable of kicking butt]] in such games as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'', ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', ''VidoeGame/SuperMario3DLand'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', and the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series. [[WMG/SuperMarioBros Go figure]]. Adaptations sometimes try to turn her into an ActionGirl, but her tendency to get kidnapped is such a major part of the ''Mario'' tradition that it becomes very hard to omit or work around. In recent games such as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and its [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 sequel]], the tables have been turned and Bowser's kidnapping of Peach does more damage to him than her, as Peach being in Bowser's clutches leads him to be defeated again by Mario.
** [[ExpositionFairy Tippi]] also plays Distressed Damsel for all of one chapter in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', though her capturer only wants to post pictures of her on the Internet. (No, really.)
** Princess Daisy fills in the role of Distressed Damsel in place of Peach in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand''.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Peach's contemporary, Princess Zelda, fits the trope, but not in a way that plays the trope precisely straight. While finding/rescuing/protecting her is usually Link's ultimate or major goal in any game where she is present, she almost invariably cooks up some clever ideas whereby she can actively work against the EvilPlan of the BigBad who captures her. The classic DistressedDamsel, by contrast, is tactically of no use whatever.
** In the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI original game]], she knows she's going to be captured as part of Ganon's plot, so she fragments the Triforce of Wisdom (which is what he's really after) and hides it in various parts of her kingdom, then enables her most loyal servant to escape to find help while she herself is taken prisoner.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', though she is in a prison cell at the beginning, she is quickly rescued by Link. She only gets kidnapped again about a third of the way into the game; she gets rescued in the second-to-last dungeon, after which she and the other Maidens (themselves Distressed Damsels) use their magic to break the barrier barring entry into Ganon's Tower.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', she also acts as the [[{{Mentors}} mentor]] by [[ItWasHisSled secretly]] being Sheik.
*** Played painfully straight when she reveals her identity near the end of the game and ''immediately'' gets kidnapped.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', Zelda starts out as leader of a gang of pirates, while Link's just some kid, which makes her ''more competent then the main character''. She's also vital in the final boss fight.
*** In the sequel, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'', she spends the first half of the game AWOL and the second half as a statue just to make sure she had a reason not to be kicking ass by Link's side.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', she isn't kidnapped - she surrenders to the BigBad to [[BarrierMaiden save her people from genocide]], although it amounts to roughly the same thing. While unable to actively participate in the fight for most of the game, she is extremely helpful [[spoiler:to the point of appearing to ''give up her own life'']] when she does appear, and is a vital participant in the endgame.
** Taken to an extreme in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'', where Zelda manages to be kidnapped despite being a controllable character for almost the whole game. Her spirit actively teams up with Link and assists her own rescue. [[ZigzaggedTrope Zigzagged much?]]
*** And yet is still able to actively assist Link in combat, including the final boss fights.
** Played straight, after all these years, in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', where Link gets involved in the plot in order to rescue his childhood friend Zelda. She actually barely avoids a proper kidnapping.
* Pauline (aka "Lady") in the original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''.
** All of the playable Kongs (besides Donkey) are this to some extent in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64''.
*** Though Donkey himself does act as one in both ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' sequels.
** The fact that [[ActionGirl Dixie Kong]] is very much not a damsel in distress is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by an outraged Cranky Kong.
* Palutena in ''VideoGame/KidIcarus''. Apparently, being a goddess does not make one immune to this trope. Although it's more MindControl than actual kidnapping.
* Played with in an entertaining fashion in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' mod ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues''. The Princess in the story is the player character and spends a lot more time rescuing people than not, and the character who most fits this archetype is Anden, a male character. Pia actually comments on this when you tell her the tale of rescuing Anden for the first time.
* Aerith Gainsborough from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', when she is kidnapped and taken to Hojo's laboratory to be experimented on. Saving her makes up most of the BestLevelEver, so hooray!
** Also worth noting that the in-game play at the Golden Saucer during the date scene plays with this trope, complete with an evil dragon.
* Rinoa Heartilly from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' was this, with [[DesignatedVictim disturbing regularity.]] She's probably the second most DistressedDamsel out of the entire Franchise/FinalFantasy franchise next to the example below, which is actually saying a lot (though it doesn't speak highly of her [[DamselScrappy character]]). To her credit though, she does get much better once she [[spoiler: becomes a sorceress, though she still gets taken captive by Seifer later to be held hostage by Adel, but he ''was'' holding her a weapon-point.]]
** In reference to the spoiler point above, [[spoiler: it's important to remember that Seifer inadvertently played right into the protagonists' hands by hooking Rinoa up to Adel, since the plan was for Rinoa to absorb her powers upon Adel's defeat.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', Rosa spends alot of time in the first half of the game incapacitated due to some reason or other (illness, kidnapping, etc.) She gets better in the second half though, even refusing to StayInTheKitchen when told to by Cecil toward the end ([[WhatAnIdiot a very dumb decision on Cecil's part.]])
* Averted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' with Yuna. Who, while kidnapped three times, managed to escape on her own the first time and actually made a plan to defeat one of the BigBad's the third time (which the heroes, while pulling off an impressive BigDamnHeroes, messed up) she still escaped on her own. And the second time, she was actually being "kidnapped" by [[spoiler: Rikku]], so there wasn't any real danger, though the other characters think there is at the time.
** Nonetheless, [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]] held a running tally of how many times she gets kidnapped in the first place, and she beats Rinoa. Probably iconic is how she happens to get kidnapped by the WellIntentionedExtremist, then gets kidnapped from there by the BigBad before the party manages to free her.
* In ''VideoGame/StarFox Adventures'', Krystal serves the role of the Distressed Damsel, being trapped in a crystal up until the end. Which is ironic, considering that she was ''originally'' intended to be a player character.
* {{Subverted}} in ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'': Guybrush Threepwood goes through all kinds of peril to save Govenor Elaine Marley, who was captured by the BigBad [=LeChuck=]. He gets to the church on Melee Island just in time to [[SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace interrupt their wedding]], only for Elaine to descend on a rope from the ceiling. Turns out she'd already made her escape, fooling [=LeChuck=] by putting a pair of trained monkeys in her wedding dress, and was actually planning to assassinate him while he was distracted by the wedding ceremony, but Guybrush inadvertently managed to mess up that last step by attempting to rescue her. At least Guybrush ends up getting the honor of finishing off [=LeChuck=].
** Played straight in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'', where [=LeChuck=] kidnaps Elaine near the end, ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', where Pegnose Pete captures Elaine in the middle, and ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' where [=LeChuck=] [[NoodleIncident had kidnapped]] Elaine sometime before the beginning [[spoiler: and again at the end, though that was part of a complicated BatmanGambit on her part]].
* Inverted, then played straight and also lampshaded in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}''. The first "damsel" the players have to rescue is resistance leader Roland, and the second is his girlfriend Lilith - who comments on it in a radio message: "Better dead than a damsel". After this example was featured in Anita Sarkeesian's "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games" series, writer Anthony Burch [[http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/community/articles/1099/inside-the-box-you-still-don-t-know-jack commented]] that he regretted using this trope.
* Maya Fey of ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' fame. First meeting? Save her in a court case. Reunited in game 2? Save her in a court case. End of game 2? Kidnapped, must save someone else in a court case in order to get her back. Final case third game? Nearly murdered and then trapped in an icy cave. Luckily, she also spends just as much time out of distress and she's even rescued Phoenix on a few occasions. And she never lets herself be defined by the trouble she gets into.
* In ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead 1'', the thing that draws the heroes to the mansion in the first place is a distress call from Tom Rogan's girlfriend Sophie, who, despite apparently being a fellow [[TheMenInBlack AMS]] agent and the only survivor of her group, is mostly useless. Depending on how you fared, she [[MultipleEndings may or may not survive]]. In the later games, you can rescue citizens or your partner from marauding zombies for extra lives.
* PluckyGirl Yuri Sakazaki from the original ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'', although after the events of the game [[TookALevelInBadass she took up Kyokugen Karate from her father to defend herself]] and became nearly as proficient as her brother, Ryo, and their friend[[note]]and LoveInterest, in Yuri's case[[/note]], Robert. Though Ryo initially objected to her taking up martial arts, [[BigBrotherInstinct out of concern for her safety]], he's come to acknowledge her talents.
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars:''
** [[LethalChef Kusuha Mizuha]] -- her face just screams that she is a perfect target to make a Distressed Damsel, and in every installment of ''[=Original Generation=]'', starting from ''[=OG=] 1, [=OG=] 2, [=OG=] Gaiden'', there is always a scenario where she is kidnapped, first by Ingram in ''[=OG=] 1'', then by Lorenzo & Murata in ''[=OG=] 2'' (only in the remake. The scenario was not featured in the GBA version), and finally by the Bartoll units in ''OG Gaiden''. Not even saying 'I'm not just some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued!' in battles can rectify this...
** In ''Alpha'' series, however, it's {{inverted}}. Once ''Alpha 2'' kicks in and the stories get more proper, it's usually her boyfriend Bullet that needs to be rescued.
** Though not entirely subverting to this trope, somewhat the RidiculouslyHumanRobot Lamia Loveless fell into this trope in ''OG Gaiden''. After all her whole [[ActionGirl ass kicking and dramatic development]] back in ''[=OG=] 2'', her story in ''[=OG=] Gaiden'' involves her getting kidnapped and needs to be rescued TWICE (even our resident damsel needs to be rescued once this time). First she's kidnapped by the Bartolls, all while just being in the wrong place in the wrong time, stripped naked and be somewhat {{brainwashed}} to fight her allies. She was almost saved... but suddenly, the villains managed to snatch her back after the player has to [[CliffHanger wait for 6 months to see if she's dead or alive]], and brainwash her AGAIN. So much that it takes a [[HeelFaceTurn former badass enemy turned good]] to save her completely. Once she's completely saved, she returns being a formidable girl in battlefield (and that even depends whether the player wants to use her or not), though her story arc was over at that point.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinSuperRobotWars'', Professor Eri Anzai gets kidnapped by Ze Balmarian Empire because her vast knowledge on the lost continent of Mu.
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'', Altair saves countless Distressed Damsels (and some Distressed Abbots and Islamic Scholars as well) from the city guards, and is rewarded by their family/students helping him escape from Mooks. Despite this happening in the middle of a city, [[ApatheticCitizens nobody seems to react at all to the attempted abductions and rapes happening right in front of them]].
** They're in Medieval cities in the state of war, and the would-be rapists and murderers are exactly the people stationed to keep the peace, and are the only ones with decent weapons and armour around. TruthInTelevision, unfortunately.
* Furiae in ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' doubles as this for family reasons (she's your sister, and technically a [[SaveThePrincess princess]]) and because she happens to be the linchpin CosmicKeystone that prevents [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt catastrophe.]] As the DownerEnding page points out, this isn't as idealistic as the other examples.
* Bastila, a trained Jedi, is kept as a hostage during the first part of ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. She'd just crawled out of a crashed escape pod's wreckage when she was captured, and her captors were intelligent enough to fasten a neural disruptor to her head (and she didn't have time to determine where her lightsaber was). She does manage to free herself the instant your rescue attempt manages to thin out the guards enough that she can finally get the disruptor off. However, she is quite offended if you comment that you "rescued the damsel in distress" later on, almost as badly as when Carth starts joking about losing her lightsaber being against the Jedi code.
* Princess Cassima in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestV'' and moreso in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVI'' is a damsel in distress. She is held captive by the wizard Mordak in V and in VI, is actually kept inside a tower by the GrandVizier [[Creator/HPLovecraft Alhazred]] for a plot to marry her.
** Similarly, the entire objective of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'' is to rescue Princess Valanice from a tower prison.
*** And in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIII,'' the Llewdor Oracle lights a fire under Gwydion's rear by showing him the three-headed dragon that's laid waste to Daventry. The dragon demands a HumanSacrifice, and the one "chosen" this year is Princess Rosella [[spoiler: his long-lost twin sister]].
** Her first appearance notwithstanding, Rosella tends to [[ZigZaggingTrope take this trope for a joyride]]. In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIV'', she's the one doing the rescuing, finding a MacGuffin to bring back from Tamir to heal her stricken father. She's briefly relieved of her inventory and locked up, but is freed soon enough due to MookFaceTurn. ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVII'' has her impulsively putting herself in harm's way, finding a way to free herself from the fire she landed in, and then rescuing a captured king. Top it off with her breaking the MoreThanMindControl Malicia pulled on [[spoiler: Edgar - who seems to be an absolute sucker for this sort of thing]].
* ''Franchise/TalesSeries:''
** ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'''s Colette Brunel. Even though, gameplay wise, she's a powerful and useful GlassCannon.
** Shirley from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'', who is constantly kidnapped during the main quest.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Natalia and Fon Master Ion are held hostage, she could have gone peacefully to avoid any conflict.
*** Ion is always getting kidnapped.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', Estelle is held hostage and used by the villain at the time of the game. She did not use her powers to save an Entelexia because she would have driven him berserk, and the amount of guards could have prevented a feasible escape.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'', the first half of the game is dedicated to save dozens of damsels in distress (captured by the Queen of the land. Go figure). But Veigue really cares more about rescuing his [[ShesNotMyGirlfriend not-girlfriend]] Claire, because [[MarySue she is just so much more important than all those other simpletons]].
* Kairi and her Nobody Namine from the ''KingdomHearts'' series, though they get a few moments outside the role in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', and really only fall into the role twice each.
** The other Princesses of Heart don't fare much better but are sometimes useful. For example, Belle has a particularly memorable scene in which Xaldin has both her and the Rose and is forcing the Beast to choose between them. [[spoiler:Belle preempts the choice by elbowing Xaldin in the gut, taking the rose from him, and escaping over to Sora right before the party fights him.]]
* Kyrie, Nero's LoveInterest from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'' is one of these, in contrast with Dante's demon hunting ActionGirl partners.
* The paramedics from ''Urban Chaos: Riot Response'' are usually in need of rescue, [[JustifiedTrope which makes sense]] since they're civilians trying to save injured cops and firefighters while under attack from insane gang members with ELECTRIC SAWS.
** Also the firefighters, Officer Forrester, and your C.O. Adam Wolf are in need of rescue. The firefighters are excused because they too are unarmed and the Burners have guns. Officer Forrester when he is not being used as a human shield is rather competent at stealing your kills so he too is excused. Wolf is excused because they kidnapped him at his safe house. Both Forrester and Wolf tell you when to fire at the Burner and they mock their would-be kidnapper.
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''Videogame/WizardsAndWarriors''. Each stage (except the last) ends with rescuing a DamselInDistress, conveniently labelled as "the distressed damsel". (In the last stage, you appear to have rescued a princess, which I guess means that the other stages are variations of the "[[SuperMarioBros Princess is in another castle]]" trope.)
** Three princess sisters appear in the third game of the series. In order to finish the game, you must promise to marry them after freeing them. Yes, all three.
* ''FireEmblem'' has had several of these:
** The original has [[WhiteMagicianGirl princesses Maria and Elice]], along with [[FauxActionGirl Midia]], who all fight by your side once you rescue them. Also included is princess Nyna, although she's an NPC who mostly exists for story purposes.
** Ellis in ''Mystery of the Emblem''
** 'In ''Genealogy of Holy War'', [[WhiteMagicianGirl Edain, Diadora, Yuria]] and [[SpoonyBard Lynn]] start like this before they join you. [[spoiler: It doesn't end well for all of them but Edin: Diadora eventually ends up brainwashed and dead; Yuria fares just as badly as her mother Diadora, but she survives, eventually coming into her own when she gets the holy spellbook Narga and bravely vows to keep fighting; and it's implied in a veiled way, through Ares vs Bramsel's pre-battle convo and Ares and Lynn's convo when she's freed, that [[RapeAsDrama she was raped]] by Bramsel after he took her captive.]]
** In ''Sword of Seal'', Princess Guinevere in the mental/emotional sense, Lilina before you free her and she becomes a MagicKnight. Also, BadassBookworm Cecilia (in her defense, she was injured) and MysteriousWaif Sophia, who also join your group.
** In ''Sword of Flame'', Ninian and her DistressedDude brother Nils, thanks to Nergal (though they later become [[SpoonyBard A Spoony Bard and Spoony Dancer duo]] and join the team properly; Priscilla (she's even got the evil marquess [[ScarpiaUltimatum trying to force her into marriage]]!), who also eventually becomes a MagicKnight after promotion.
** In ''The Sacred Stones'', Queen Ismaire of the White Dunes [[spoiler: The worse thing? You do ''not'' get to save her, and she ultimately dies in the arm of her son, KingIncognito Joshua. [[TearJerker SNIFFFFF!]] . ]]
** Though Fire Emblem applies the imprisonment plot device to both genders pretty judiciously - probably thanks to the easy "recruit opportunity" of prisoners of war. For example, the afore-mentioned Midia is imprisoned with three other characters, all of whom are men. In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Path of Radiance]]'', Rolf is held hostage along with Mist, likewise the [=POWs=] Brom and Nephenee (plus Crimean Knight Kieran). In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Radiant Dawn]]'' Illyana and Aimee are held prisoner, but so are the three male members of their caravan ([[spoiler:and the incognito dragon prince, Kurthnaga]]). There are plenty of DistressedDude examples littered throughout the games, too.
** In ''FireEmblemAwakening'' we have [[spoiler: Emmeryn, who's captured and threatened with death unless Chrom gives King Gangrel Ylisse's treasure]], Lissa's best friend Maribelle taken hostage by Gangrel for trying to call a cease and desist to the bandit attacks, Nowi the Manakete who was put on an auction block and treated like a circus animal, and [[spoiler: Noire, Tharja's daughter]] who's captured by a slave trader and held prisoner [[spoiler: until she finds a bow lying on the ground and her [[SuperpoweredEvilSide alternate self]] takes over.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'' takes this trope and [[spoiler:'''inverts''' it. In the final level (technically the first, chronologically), the princess is in distress '''because''' of ''you''. NiceJobBreakingItHero.]]
* ''SuikodenV'' has a {{subversion}} with Princess Lymsleia. While she is held hostage for most of the game, she chooses to [[spoiler: use her authority to attempt an escape from the Godwins and in the war in the favor of LaResistance in a supposed assault on them]] rather than accept the state of affairs.
* In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' there is a junior heroine, Fusionette, who is constantly getting in over her head, captured and needing rescuing. So much so that it's become a running joke among the community that she has to be the worst {{superhero}} in Paragon and the only reason that Vanguard even employ her is as an example of others of how NOT to do the missions.
* Ashley Graham from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' . Made all the more hilarious by how she was shown to want ''very'' much to give [[MrFanservice Leon]] a SmoochOfVictory (and a lot more than just a smooch) for rescuing her at the end... only for Leon to reject her and make sure she knows that he is ''not'' interested.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', Shana fits the bill perfectly. Even when she joins the party she is the light-elemental-healer.
* Parodied in ''ResetGeneration'' where EVERY player tries to 'rescue' a princess from every other player.
* ''Mega Man'':
** [[VideoGame/MegaManStarForce Star Force's]] Luna Platz becomes one whenever the evil villains attack in the games. There are three occasions in the first game where this happens. When Taurus turns Bud into a monster, then when she (along with Bud and Zack Temple) are forced into doing the swan dance on a trip to AMAKEN. Finally when the kids teacher merges with an evil FM-Ian and goes berserk. Her role as the DistressedDamsel continues into the second game, as she is kidnapped by Hyde-Phantom, then almost trapped in a alternate dimension by Solo-Rogue (along with Bud, Sonia and Zack), then kidnapped by Hyde-Phantom, again and then finally kidnapped by a giant bird monster.
*** And it all comes to a head in the third game. The [[BeachEpisode trip to Alohaha]] was supposed to be a relaxing affair, but then [[EvilDuo Jack and Tia]] corrupt Strong with a Noise Card, causing him to start an earthquake on the island and force him into a fight with Mega Man. Before you can say "it can't get any worse", [[ScaryBlackMan JOKER]] shows up and erases Strong. Just as Jack and Tia transform to fight Geo, Luna picked the absolute worst time to show up - [[MoralEventHorizon and Joker uses THAT opportunity to]] ''[[MoralEventHorizon kill]]'' [[MoralEventHorizon her]]! Strong, Luna, and Vogue (Luna's Wizard, the youngest of the lot) [[DisneyDeath all get better]], but Joker has established himself as a very serious threat - one that Luna fans absolutely despise.
* When Zero first wakes up at the beginning of ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series, he has to protect the girl who revived him, Ciel, throughout the entire first level.
* In the ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' FightingGame ''The Power Fighters'', one of the three selectable path objectives is to rescue Roll.
* Mega Man must save [[VideoGame/MegaMan4 Kalinka]] in Wily Stage 3 of ROMHack ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity''.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/TotalOverdose'', Ram has to save a DistressedDamsel in a sequence involving many [[DeadHorseTrope tropes so dead they don't even have entries]]. The Damsel is tied to the front of a runaway locomotive by the Villain, and Ram must run along boxcars, jumping into and out of boxcars, fighting mooks, and dodging explosives. The subversions could be that the Villain wears a White Hat with an antique emblem of the US Cavalry on it, and that instead of a horse, Ram gets a motorcycle to ultimately ride to the rescue on.
* Sue Sakamoto in ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' is continually kidnapped or imprisoned by various parties.
* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2TheFallOfMaxPayne'', Mona Sax's first line is: "God! I turned out to be such a damsel in distress..."
** She gets to invert the trope, running into a burning building to save Max.
** The line is an IronicEcho from the first game, when she denies being a damsel in distress like her twin sister was.
* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', has a character known as the damsel, who can be rescued from most levels for an extra hitpoint. One extra hitpoint. She also makes for a good throwing weapon. If you rescue 8 of them in one playthrough, you can play as her and you rescue Spelunky instead.
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' descended into this trope slowly. Early installments forwent hostages altogether (only the arcade rehash ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHauntedCastle'' added Simon's wife Serena, as if fighting {{Dracula}} weren't motivation enough), and when they began coming, there was uncommon gender balance. The series' first canonical damsel was actually a [[DistressedDude a guy in distress]], Christopher's son Soleiyu in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIBelmontsRevenge''; Richter in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfThe Night'' and Morris Baldwin in ''Circle of the Moon'' further balance out the captured maidens in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'' (one of whom isn't such a damsel at that). After ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'', however, this trope began to do its worst, e.g. Lydie in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'', Mina [[spoiler: and later Yoko]] in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'', Sara in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence''...
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' plays with this a bit when the bad guys' plan to turn [[ItWasHisSled Soma into Dracula]] is to trick him into thinking that Mina is a DistressedDamsel again [[spoiler: and kill "Mina" in front of him]].
** In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'', while there are distressed damsels, but there are also distressed children and distressed men as well.
* Marian in the original ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'', where the main objective was to rescue her from the Black Warriors.
** Subverted in ''Double Dragon II: The Revenge''. The arcade version starts off just like the first game, with Marian being surrounded by the Black Warriors, only instead of being knocked unconscious and taken into their hideout, [[StuffedInTheFridge she is gunned down to death]] by Machine Gun Willy. A similar thing happens in the NES version, only it shows Marian being attacked by a ninja (instead of Machine Gun Willy) and [[GoryDiscretionShot the game doesn't actually show the murder occur]] (the opening only says that it happened). Marian [[KilledOffForReal stays dead]] in the arcade version, but in the NES version [[BackFromTheDead she is brought back to life]] if the player completes the game on hardest difficulty level (playing this trope straight in a way).
** She's a no-show in the arcade version of ''Double Dragon 3'', but in the NES version the game's plot was rewritten (specifically for the localized version) so that the final boss turns out to be a possessed version of Marian named Queen Noiram ("[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Marion]]" spelled backwards).
** ''Super Double Dragon'' was about saving Marian too, but you wouldn't know [[AllThereInTheManual unless you read the manual]] (mainly because the game was released [[ObviousBeta incomplete]]).
** Averted in the Neo-Geo fighting game, where she's one of the playable fighters.
* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has Paula in this role a total of three times - kidnapped by [[{{Cult}} the Happy Happyists]], kidnapped by [[ZombieApocalypse zombies]], kidnapped by [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Monotoli]]. The second time was [[AllMenArePerverts Ness' fault]], though.
** Ness himself was captured the second time along with Paula.
* Dana Mercer becomes one about midway through ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''. Given that the one kidnapping her is [[spoiler: a freaking ''Leader Hunter'']] she is excused for screeching in panic.
** For those who haven't played the game, [[spoiler: a Leader Hunter is about the size of an elephant, and can throw down with Dana's big brother Alex. [[PersonOfMassDestruction Alex can tear tanks apart barehanded, and survive ''anything'']]. Dana can't do that.]]
* Liara's establishing character moment in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' involves rescuing her from a forcefield she got herself stuck inside, fighting off a krogan battlemaster while she hides in a corner, then saving her from a collapsing volcano. To avoid confusion, and confirm her love-interest status, she then proceeds to faint once she arrives on your ship, since she spent anywhere from hours to days without food or water in extremely stressful situation. Once she's had a proper rest she reveals herself for the BadAss she really is in the next mission you take her along. [[TookALevelInBadass More so in the sequel.]]
** [[spoiler:Yeoman Kelly Chambers]] gets this treatment late in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', complete with [[spoiler:getting dragged away by monsters, screaming her head off. The non-specialist crew of the Normandy meets the same fate at the same time.]] And [[{{Squick}} god help the poor girl]] if you [[RedundantRescue don't go to her rescue right away]]. Considering [[ShellShockedVeteran her fate]] in the third game, God help her even if you do.
** The Rachni Queen somewhat counts, insomuch as a giant bug can be considered a ''damsel!'' If set free on Noveria during the first game, she is captured by the Reapers during the third. Both times Shepard can decide to rescue her.
* In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', after you rescue Neeshka from the Fort Locke guards, she says "Does that make me a damsel in distress? I hope not, I ''hate'' those women!"
** [[spoiler:She get snatched off-screen once you enter Merdelain.]]
* Miyu in ''VideoGame/RedSteel'' is kidnapped on the first level, and the rest of the game revolves around bringing down the {{yakuza}} in order to save her.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' features Princess Elise taken hostage by Eggman, who pursues her relentlessly whenever Sonic gets her out of his clutches. Eventually, when she gets a few hints of what Eggman wants from her, she stands up to him by dropping herself to her supposed death to prevent him from acheiving his goal. After that scene, it's only after Eggman threatens to destroy her city/kingdom that Elise chooses to return as his prisoner.
** Also occasionally played straight with Cream.
** Amy Rose a few odd times, most prominantly in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD''.
** Tails occasionally plays a girlish-[[DistressedDude boy]]-in-distress kind-of role.
** In the spin-off cartoons and comics, Princess Sally takes the role on occasion too.
* Annoyingly in the ''Evolution'' games for the Dreamcast, WhiteMagicianGirl Linear WILL get kidnapped/convinced to leave the party right before the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and subsequent boss fights. And the two games have final bosses that are definitely ThatOneBoss. [[FakeDifficulty And she has the best healing and buffing skills in the game.]] Good luck!
* Wonderfully averted in ''VideoGame/BioShock2''. [[spoiler: Eleanor Lamb is setup to be one, but stick her in a combat situation and she absolutely massacres every Mook in her way. It is also revealed that she basically engineered her own rescue by resurrecting her rescuer.]]
* Raven inverts this a few times in ''UltimaIX'', then lampshades it when she has to play it straight. She later puts the Avatar into DistressedDude territory herself...and makes him like it.
* The entire population of Boingburg (with the exception of [[PlayerCharacter Rocket]]) in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesRocketSlime''.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. For the Alliance, you get a quest to rescue the dwarven princess from Blackrock Depths. For the Horde, you're given the same quest in the hopes of improving relations with the dwarves. Not only she does not want to leave, but she is pregnant. And you just killed the father.
* Flora Reinhold, Franchise/ProfessorLayton's foster daughter, gets stuck in this role in his games. In the original game of the series, she's more of a BarrierMaiden than a DistressedDamsel, but in the other two games where she appears so far, she has great aptitude for being kidnapped. She also goes missing in ''Professor Layton's London Life'', the bonus RPG packaged with some releases of ''ProfessorLaytonAndTheSpectersFlute'' [[spoiler:- but she hasn't been kidnapped. She's preparing to sacrifice herself to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Poor kid.]]
* Bandage Girl from ''VideoGame/MeatBoy'' who is constantly kidnapped by Dr. Fetus. In the last chapter in ''Super VideoGame/MeatBoy'', she decides she had enough of it.
* Deconstructed in VideoGame/GuiltyGear, where Dizzy is more powerful than her guardians, Testament, Johnny and Ky. The "rescuing" is more like [[PowerIncontinence calming her down when her power goes out of control.]] Dizzy herself is a NaiveEverygirl who [[ActualPacifist hates violence with passion]], so the experience of unintentionally attempting to kill people [[BreakTheCutie is traumatizing.]] If you listen to her in-game quotes, it seems that [[BlessedWithSuck her enormous powers inflicts physical pain to her]]. And the few times she snaps? [[BewareTheNiceOnes She SNAPS]] (like the AlternateUniverse from the CD dramas [[spoiler: in which she succeeds her mother Justice and destroys the world]], or the Midnight Carnival ending in which [[spoiler: she horribly kills I-No [[TheDogBitesBack when she abuses her a bit too much.]].]] In short, Dizzy needs no rescue from others... ''but from herself.''
* Kaori plays this role in ''VisualNovel/EienNoAselia'' despite theoretically having the same ass kicking potential as any stranger would. But she never even acquires a weapon and is instead held hostage for almost the entirety of the game by one person or another.
* If you romance a Governor's Daughter enough in the 2004 version of ''SidMeiersPirates'', then when you next visit the port the Governor will tearfully tell you that she has been kidnapped by the Evil Colonel Mendoza and beg you to hunt him down and rescue her. (Successfully doing so leads to the opportunity to propose marriage shortly after.)
* Sylvia in the first ''VideoGame/KungFuMaster'', kidnapped if just to force his boyfriend Thomas to [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours enter into a fight]] with the kidnapper and his group.
* ''VideoGame/HauntingGround'' uses this as a gameplay mechanic, by requiring Fiona to have rely on [[CanineCompanion Hewie]] as her primary means of defense against the game's stalkers. This is especially the case, when she's in full panic mode and unable to move. In most cases, her only recourse is to run and hide 'til the danger's passed.
* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFire'':
** ''VideoGame/{{Breath of Fire|I}}'' has Nina serve this role in her initial arc, when she's captured by the [[EvilSorcerer Karma Wizard]] while [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething looking for a cure for her father]], who said wizard poisoned. After the rescue, she never goes through it again. The first manga adaptation, however, just ''loved'' to turn her into a FauxActionGirl, even having another party member accuse her of being a [[TheLoad load]] to the rest of the group.
** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' switches it with this game's Nina's sister, Mina, being kidnapped to blackmail her into "[[IHaveYouNowMyPretty joining]]" a thieves' gang. There's also [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess Elfarran/Elforan]] in the [=HighFort=] arc.
** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'' also presents Nina in such a sitaution, when she's captured by [[SiblingTeam Balio and Sunder]] to blackmail the king/her father.
** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' is set into motion by Cray and Nina's quest to find her missing sister, Elina, later revealed to have been taken in by TheEmpire. Unlike previous games, things don't end up well.
* Princess Mari in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfDragons'' exists to fulfil this role. Though she actually [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething lead the offensive]] of her kingdom against the hordes of monsters, she just makes things get worse.
* Princess Kiku in ''{{Tenchu}}'' gets kidnapped in every game she appears in. It's played with in ''Tenchu 4'', where [[spoiler:she orders Rikimaru to kill her as a way to defeat the BigBad who was holding her hostage, and he eventually complies]].
* ''VideoGame/ThreeWonders'' has the Princess of Asthar in ''Chariot''.
* The [[CanonDiscontinuity non]]-{{Capcom}} developed ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}'' sequel, ''Strider Returns'', has this as its main plot, sending the game's protagonist to rescue his darling Lexia.
* Tawna in the original ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot1996''. Coco, though more prominantly an ActionGirl, takes the role a handful of occasions later on.
* Every single female character in the ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' games.
* In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'' [[spoiler:your fiance]] is kidnapped near the end of the game. This doesn't make her look bad since the one kidnapping her is [[spoiler:a super powerful dragon.]]
* Lola Tigerbelly becomes one towards the end of the first game in ''VideoGame/TheSpellcastingSeries'', having been placed in a swinging blade trap by the BigBad.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. In the "Paragon of Her Kind" quest, one of your goals is to rescue party member [[BoisterousBruiser Oghren's]] wife, Branka, from the [[BeneathTheEarth Deep Roads]], where she is missing. [[spoiler: It turns out that she deliberately led her entire clan there in search of an ancient ArtifactOfDoom. When it turned out the artifact was protected by lots of golems, ghosts, and deathtraps, she deliberately let Darkspawn kill all the men and attempt to turn all the women into Broodmothers, a process that involves force-feeding them the flesh of poisonous monsters and their own relatives, gang-rape by monsters, and lots of BodyHorror, so that she'd have a vast supply of monsters to set off the traps and kill the guardians. She's raving insane as well as utterly evil by the time you find her. You ''can'' spare her life and take the artifact for yourself, but the better choice, both morally and gameplay-wise, involves fighting and killing her, then destroying it. Even if you spare her, she refuses to be rescued, and stays in the Deep Roads with her prize.]]
** After the infiltration of Arl Howe's mansion, [[spoiler: the Warden him/herself can be arrested along with Alistair, and have to be rescued from prison by your choice of party members.]] Choose carefully, some combinations have truly hilarious results.
* There's also a subtle deconstruction in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''. While on the initial surface, Litchi Faye-Ling is trying to 'rescue' Arakune from his fate as an EldritchAbomination ([[spoiler:and later be captured by Relius]]), in truth [[spoiler:she's been dying of the same corruption and Kokonoe flat out refused to help her, and without any other sources of help, she's ForcedIntoEvil by joining NOL. In other words, Litchi has been in distress mentally and had to act on her own because nobody is willing to help her, compounded with the fact that she has been hiding her growing corruption from everyone else except Kokonoe, which makes possible helpers like Bang, Taokaka or Carl completely unaware of her distress.]]
* Much of the plot of VideoGame/AsurasWrath is this; about Asura's struggle to save his daughter Mithra. In the end, no one could stop him from saving her, [[spoiler: not even the creator of life itself.]]
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has several. Rhea is trapped in the Tomb of the Giants after her companions either all abandoned her or died. Dusk of Oolacile and Sieglinde are trapped in golden crystal golems. Anastacia of Astora is murdered and you have to retrieve her soul to revive her. Then again, most of the dudes you meet need rescuing you as well.
* Princess Prin Prin from ''Videogame/GhostsNGoblins'' is kidnapped in every single game she appears in (four). It's a wonder why she never [[ReconstructedTrope takes exception on it and evolves]] into RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething territory.
* Jade's distressed damsels in VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil are quite original, in that she has to rescue her [[spoiler: uncle, who is a humanoid pig, as well as all the orphans from the lighthouse.]]
* VideoGame/DragonsDogma. [[spoiler: The ending works on this premise, with whichever character you have the highest affinity with being kidnapped by the dragon and used as a hostage as your assumed love interest. Can lead to unintended hilarity if someone like Feste or Fournival is chosen.]] Aelinore also has this as her defining characteristic, and can potentially be rescued three times in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'', all the princesses are held in jars by the kings you have to defeat to add them to your set. Near the end of the game, whoever you brought with you is swallowed by [[spoiler: a rat king, which later gets chucked out the window by the boy whose room you're in]].
* The [[{{VideoGame/Lunar}} Lunar series]] rarely passes on an opportunity to incorporate a love interest rescue into one of its finales.
** ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'' -- VictoriousChildhoodFriend Luna spends the latter half of the game in captivity, and is freed after beating the final boss.
** ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' -- Lucia, target of the hero's [[TheDulcineaEffect Dulcinea Effect]], is captured by the BigBad near the end. Technically she frees herself, but if the hero hadn't come for her she would have assumed escape was impossible.
** ''VideoGame/LunarDragonSong'' -- Lucia (a different Lucia) gets kidnapped in the first half of the game and stays that way until the conclusion.
* ''VideoGame/DynamiteDux'' has Lucy, the owner of the two pet ducks you play as.
* Elizabeth in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' seems to be your average DamselInDistress: she's trapped in a tower, guarded by a terrible ''monster' and must be rescued by the PlayerCharacter, Booker. But she's immensely helpful in combat to the point it could be said [[EscortMission Elizabeth is escorting YOU]], constantly fetching needed supplies and using her abilities to summon useful terrain and helpers from other dimensions. And by the end of the game, [[spoiler: she reaches near godlike levels of power and effortlessly defeats her former guardian, a feat even Booker himself couldn't manage.]]
* Princess Satera from ''VideoGame/ShiningWisdom''. You have to save her twice, once from being turned into a swan.
* Subverted with Demi and Kyra of ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV''; they're both captured, but not to motivate anyone: Demi is immobilized by Zio when he takes over Nurvus, the system she works in, because she's the AI that runs it, but he has no use for her himself. Kyra has to be rescued from a forest of carnivorous trees; she got so pissed off at watching her friends suffering that she decided to go kill her way through the forest to put a stop to it. [[spoiler: Turns out the party isn't any better at fighting them than she is, either.]]
* Although mostly an ActionGirl herself, there have been incidents in the ''Franchise/SlyCooper'' games where Carmelita Fox needed to be saved. This is lampshaded in [[VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime the fourth game]] when [[DistressedDude Sir Galleth]] believes that a woman's role in combat is to be saved... and he was once rescued by Carmelita herself, much to his embarrassment.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' as Marle, [[spoiler: Princess Nadia]] is NEVER in this position. In fact, the only time in the entire game when you have to save her is when she's been effectively erased from time and can't help herself. The rest of the game she's a gung-ho Action Girl who won't back down from anything and the only other time it's possible for her to get captured...is if she's in your party at a story moment when you can also have characters like the super strong Robot and the frog Swordsman; and she still won't just sit there waiting to be rescued.
* ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'' has Lisa and Princess Darcy in the first game. While Lisa is a DefiantCaptive, Darcy has the misfortune of being trapped in a mirror.
* ''VideoGame/SmurfRescueInGargamelsCastle'', ''VideoGame/TheSmurfs1994'', and ''VideoGame/TheSmurfs2'' have Smurfette as the damsel in distress, though in ''The Smurfs (1994)'', a few {{Distressed Dude}}s also need to be rescued from Gargamel.
* ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' has its main character spend significant lengths of time trying to rescue [[spoiler:his captured sister.]]
* In ''Videogame/YuGiOhReshefOfDestruction'', Ishizu gets kidnapped near the end of the game to force the player to hand over the Millennium Items.
** Serenity is this in the Kaibaman show. It's just a show act, but you have to duel against Leichter anyway.
* ''VideoGame/NosferatuTheWrathOfMalachi'': Everyone who's not James or a monster. The most traditional example would be Rebecca, since the ultimate objective of the game is to rescue her from the Count before he can sacrifice her. [[spoiler:Ironically, she's the only one you can't save.]]
* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhBAM'', at the same time Yugi's arrested, Akiza gets kidnapped by Devack. By the time you reach her, she's been brainwashed.
* Lynn in ''Videogame/WitchesLegacy''. The premise of each game is usually Carrie having to save her from being kidnapped and possessed. It's very satisfying in have her be the player pov in the bonus chapter of the fifth game and have her save Edward.
* ''VideoGame/OneWayHeroics'' has Queen Frieda, who is locked inside a randomly-appearing heavily-guarded castle which you must fight through if you want to recruit her.
* ''{{VideoGame/Persona 4}}'' makes liberal use of this trope and DistressedDude, with each kidnapped victim being one of the primary motivations for entering the TV world in the first place.
** That said, this trope is subverted by each of the female party members in some capacity:
*** Despite being ambushed by her Shadow after running off on her own in Yukiko's dungeon, Chie plays a major role in rescuing Yukiko not long afterward. Further fleshed out in her Social Link arc, where she grapples with her burning desire to protect those around her. Also, [[MemeticMutation she kicks tanks]].
*** Yukiko's Shadow represents her desire to free herself from being forced to become the future manager of the Amagi Inn, and appears as a princess looking for her knight in shining armor. As her Social Link arc progresses, she toys with the notion of leaving the inn altogether, only to change her mind and take on the role of manager willingly and on her terms.
*** Rise Kujikawa, like Yukiko, appears to be the epitome of this trope at first; that is, until her Shadow is defeated by Teddie's HeroicSecondWind and she obtains her Persona. Moments later, ''Teddie'''s Shadow appears, and is ready to wipe the floor with the party until the exhausted and newly freed Rise steps up to provide analysis and support to the party (which was originally Teddie's job). Her S. Link revolves around her conflicted feelings about her career as an idol: she hates being the ditzy pop star, but she is reminded of just how inspirational she is to many of her fans (including her replacement, Kanami).
*** And then she becomes a playable character in ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax''.
*** Averted most prominently with [[spoiler: Naoto]], whose skills as an ace detective make her definite ActionGirl material. [[spoiler: Plus, there's the whole matter of her struggles with her gender identity.]]
* The titular princess of ''VideoGame/{{Tsioque}}'' seems to be this as she's immediately captured and put in the castle dungeon. She [[{{Averted}} averts]] this by breaking out of the cage herself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Discussed in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0482.html this strip]]: Haley is in trouble and Elan wants to rush off to rescue her. However, Durkon stops him, explaining that she is able to take care of herself. And that he is not. If he try to rescue her, he will just get himself killed, and that would make her very sad once she gets back on her own. Elan is forced to leave Haley to her fate. [[spoiler:And yes, she does save herself. And Belkar. And Roy's corpse, so it can be resurrected later.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{CHEVALIER}}'' ([[http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Chevalier hosted here]]) : Princess Faere in this fantasy adventure is a great example.
* Turned on its head in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', by the character of [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/07/07/episode-052-meanwhile/ Princess Sara]]. Sara, through countless kidnapping attempts at the hands of countless villains, has apparently gained enough knowledge and experience to become a competent villain in her own right. She even tries to help Garland, her latest kidnapper, in his battle against the Light Warriors. Sadly, Garland isn't nearly as good at the whole "being a villain" thing as she is. "[[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/07/11/episode-054-a-very-bad-plan/ ... but if something's worth doing, then it worth doing right.]]"
* Gleefully mocked (if not outright subverted) in ''[[http://www.adventurers-comic.com Adventurers]]'', where (lead character) Karn's mother (a White Mage) scolds neophyte White Mage, Lumi, for (among other things) "not being taught how to be kidnapped properly."
** And in another strip, where Karashi is kidnapped, and has already freed herself and made it back to camp by the time Drecker finds the note left by the kidnapper and announces that they have to rescue her.
* Possibly the ultimate aversion in ''Super Stupor'', a supervillain tries to kidnap a superhero's wife, and she brings him to tears, then ''maims him with a garbage disposal''. The hero visits him in hospital, and the villain says he fears for the hero's own safety.
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' "Painted Black" arc. Grace becomes one when she's captured while infiltrating Damien's base. She doesn't stay that way for long, and actually ends up being the one to defeat Damien after he gets her [[UnstoppableRage really, really mad.]]
** The Princess Peach example is also [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] in [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-05-07 this strip.]]
--->'''Sarah:''' You'd think the princess would be able to protect herself. She lays down the law in those fighting games.\\
'''Grace:''' Oh, it's all foreplay to her. She's kind of evil that way.
* In ''Webcomic/MonsterOfTheWeek'' Scully is perpetually Damsel in Distress, the fact that she doesn't particularly like, up to the point where "Time for: Scully in Peril!" became a RunningGag.
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has Zola, who was a [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090320 professional]] Damsel in Distress. She recently tried to trade up to something better, but [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090429 failed]], [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090501 badly.]]
** [[spoiler:Except she was just [[ObfuscatingStupidity acting stupid]], and gets the better of the BigBad with a [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100712 subverted]] GrandTheftMe ]]
* ''Webcomic/RoninGalaxy'': This arguably happens twice to Taylor in the first chapter. First when she wants to escape her initial situation, and again after she believes she's out of dodge. Luckily Cecil and Giancarlo manage to track her down and save her (again.)
** This happens yet again to Taylor, and Rin in the second chapter.[[spoiler: The latter gender-swapping the role.]]
** And again in the third chapter with Leona.
* ''Webcomic/TheCyantianChronicles'': Chatin and Cilke during Campus Safari, [[ActionGirl though they're not the type to be held long]].
* Genderswapped with Sora in ''AnsemRetort''.
* Parodied in the ''Webcomic/NerfNow'' short story starting [[http://nerfnow.com/comic/189 here]]. For fantasy princesses it should be a FamilyBusiness, you see.
** And [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/242 another turn]]: Peach dreams of being the heroine of her own game. Zelda dreams of being the heroine of her own game. Bayonetta, who ''is'' the heroine of her game, wants to be the one who gets rescued instead. And have a good dress.
* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'': Less so than DistressedDude, since there are fewer female characters. At one point, [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000730c Protoman deduces Roll is in trouble because she's the only female around]]. [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/030328 Though others have appeared since.]]
* ''Webcomic/ThePocalypse'': Rosa, after she is captured by Andrius [[spoiler:even though she has already been transformed into a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Zompire]].]] Also in the scene 26 of chapter 2 called ''Damsel in Distress'', the heroes save a girl from vampires. [[spoiler:[[DecoyDamsel She is not actually in distress]].]]
* ''Webcomic/WoodenRose'': Starts with Nessa taking a spill from her horse in the middle of a wintery woods, and twisting her ankle.
* ''Webcomic/ThePhoenixRequiem'': [[http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=143 When Jonas abducts Anya to make her go riding, he declares he could persuade the authorities that he was rescuing a damsel in distress]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Footloose}}'': [[http://www.footloosecomic.com/footloose/pages.php?page=13 I do not want to see you grow up as some blond idiot damsel in distress. which is frankly the way you're headed.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Roza}}'': [[http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2007-05-11 a plea]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Endstone}}'', Kyri defeats the bad guy [[http://endstone.net/2011/04/04/5-23/ to drop, unconscious, in the midst of a horde of dinosaurs. Jon reacts swiftly.]]
* In ''Webcomic/ThistilMistilKistil'', the [[MadeASlave slave]] Hedda is threatened with HumanSacrifice and drugged to keep her compliant.
* In the FakeActionPrologue of Chapter 2 of ''Webcomic/TheSpecialists'', [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-62/ Lady Liberty is taken hostage.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Exiern}}'' has Peonie as the recipient of the frequent kidnapping card. Although it wasn't the first or the last time, it seems that EvilSorcerer Faden was the nastiest as she complained "I was really scared ''this'' time". She hasn't managed to stop other people targeting her for an abduction yet though, and Tiff can generally tell what time it is by whether Peonie has been kidnapped yet or not.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Erstwhile}}'', [[http://www.erstwhiletales.com/a-tale-with-a-riddle-0-3/#.T29v9Nm6SuI the heroine is turned into a flower, and needs her husband to save her.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2781 Slick sees an unhappy Monique and refers to her as a damsel in distress.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Pacificators}}'', [[MakingASplash Larima]] got kidnapped so often, [[http://www.sailorenergy.net/MangaPacificators/MangaPacisV02CH09P015.html her team are sick of it.]]
* In ''Webcomic/DragonMango'', [[http://dragon-mango.com/comic/chapter04/dm04-13.htm Mango thinks contemptuously of the idea of a princess in distress in this day and age. Meanwhile, a princess has vanished.]]
* In ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'':
** [[http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-87/ Princess Parfait]], prisoner and harassed by Tomato.
** [[http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-141/ The shipwrecked Cucumber stumbles on one.]] [[http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-145/ Also a princess.]]
** [[http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-347/ Princess Piano is kidnapped even before anyone realizes that the Noisemaster is loose,]] and [[http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-350/ begs for help.]] [[http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-351/ Almond assures the queen that this is not cause of despair because saving princesses is kinda their job.]]
* In ''Webcomic/FauxPas'', [[http://www.ozfoxes.net/cgi/pl-fp1.cgi?654 when Penny recounts meeting the cutest boy, that he helped her hide from the fox adds to her parents' anxiety about the romantic possibility.]]
* ''Webcomic/WhiteDarkLife'' has [[Anime/SonicX Cosmo]] get captured constantly by Dark Matt purely to spite the regular Matt(her guardian angel). Of course given that these plans are [[spoiler:[[ThePowerOfHate actually just tricks to get the two to hate Dark Matt and extend his "lifeforce"]]]] and thus, not always thought that far out, results in Cosmo being more than capable of [[DamselOutOfDistress just walking out of trouble]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Amarawyn and [[TheSpymaster Marya]] both get in trouble a few times, prompting heroes to save them from kidnappers.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEVU-YLpM8A This video]] is probaly the best [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstruction]] of this trope in the history of anything ever.
* ''WhateleyUniverse'': Jinn Sinclair in "Bottle a Jinn", when she is "absorbed" by RichBitch Solange (Jinn is a protagonist, but is non-corporeal, and Solange has the power of being able to absorb spirits and steal their powers). [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when [[BigDamnHeroes Team Kimba]] try to rescue her and end up in a huge brawl that gets them into serious trouble with the school administration. They realize afterward that Jinn isn't helpless, is manipulating Solange against her will, and needed a much smarter plan from her team. Ultimately, [[spoiler: Jinn cons Solange into letting her go just seconds before Solange will most need her powers.]]
* Tania in ''WebVideo/WormtoothNation'' starts off as one after being nixed.
* The [[DistressBall normally competent]] Lord of the Supreme Council of ''TheQuestportChronicles'', winds up as [[spoiler:her sister]]'s prisoner. [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike She's not happy]] [[UnwantedRescue to be rescued]].
* The frequent abductions of Princesses Peach and Zelda are playfully deconstructed in [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6386756/peach-and-zelda-catch-up this]] ''Website/CollegeHumor'' video.
-->'''Zelda:''' Ganondorf has an ''entire army'' of loyal minions, and they do whatever I say! Link just has that stupid fairy...
* In WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's Dark Nella Saga, the titular BigBad tied the Makeover Fairy up the bathtub and tortured her by scraping her make-up off. She looked exactly the same afterwards.
* {{Discussed}} by Blog/WorstMuse: "Your protagonist is just a little too perfect? Maybe consider making her adorably clumsy and in need of frequent rescue."
* Miss Stockholm in ''WebVideo/PopQuizHotshot'', who is kept in the basement with a low cut dress and handcuffs. Notably she existed just for the pilot and got retconned out in episodes after, even Tamara (her actress) didn't enjoy being her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts, ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', Popeye, and other vintage theatrical cartoons used this trope to ''death''.
** ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} saves Olive from Bluto/Brutus...
*** Subverted at least once in an old cartoon - Bluto enters Olive's room, and a scuffle breaks out, Olive is crying for help - when Popeye enters, Olive is still yelling while clubbing an unconscious Bluto with a skillet.
** Buddy saves Cookie from a Bluto-like character...
** Mighty Mouse saves Pearl Pureheart from Oil Can Harry...
** Bimbo or Koko saves Betty Boop from various baddies...
** Bosko saves Honey from more various baddies...
** The pre-Mighty Mouse ''Terrytoons'' mouse lead saves his girlfriend from more various baddies...
** Toby the Pup saves Tessie from more various baddies...
** Flip the Frog saves Flap, Kitty, and Fifi from even more various baddies...
** Julius saves Alice from Pegleg Pete...
** Oswald saves Sadie from Pegleg Pete....
** Mickey Mouse saves Minnie from Pegleg Pete (Disney only had one recurring villain... pass it on).
*** Subverted in ''Pioneer Days'' and ''Building a Building'', where Mickey tries to rescue Minnie but is captured himself, whereupon Minnie breaks free on her own and rescues Mickey.
*** But played straight as recently as ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers''
*** Even his dog, Pluto, gets in on the trope, saving love interests Dinah and Fifi a few odd times.
** Subverted along with everything else in Creator/ChuckJones' melodrama parody ''WesternAnimation/TheDoverBoys'' as their fiancée, Dora Standpipe, is abducted by villain Dan Backslide - she doesn't break the pace of her cries for help even as she demolishes Dan.
* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' special, "Destination Imagination"; the plot was to save Frankie after she was kidnapped by an imaginary friend who controls a trippy world inside a toy box, but near the end it's revealed that she wasn't kidnapped at all, and that she willingly stayed with the imaginary friend to keep him company. But at the climax, when the imaginary friend has a VillainousBreakdown and becomes a monster (thanks to a verbal lashing by Mr. Herriman), the characters fight him to protect Frankie from being trapped in the imaginary world forever. However, the gang are roundly defeated by the monster, and ultimately it's Frankie who becomes [[RedheadedHero the hero of the story]]: not only does she distract the monster so that the gang can escape the toybox -- she briefly stays behind but soon escapes on her own, thus completing the subversion -- but she chooses to free the lonely friend as well, having offered to bring him to Foster's, [[DefeatMeansFriendship where he can have all the friends in the world]].
* Nell Fenwick on ''WesternAnimation/DudleyDoRight'' is a parodic composite of the woman tied to train tracks in the gothic genre.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop'' is a parody of this genre, since often Penny is more capable than the guys supposed to rescue her.
* Ursula in no fewer than three episodes of the original ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle''.
* April O'Neil in ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', at least in the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 first animated series]]. To the point that they can recognize her "mumbles" when she's gagged, without seeing her.
** Eventually {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Shredder:
--->'''Shredder:''' And while we're at it, let's kidnap April O'Neil. Sure, we've done that 20 or 30 times already, but why mess with what works?
** Also lampshaded in the ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'' crossover movie. The 1980s turtles stop to save April in their home dimension and explain that they save April at least once a day.
** In [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 the Nick series]] April starts out as this, but as her fighting skills have been improving she's growing out of it.
* Princess Aruzia for the first part of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTeddyRuxpin''. She is an ActionGirl for the rest of the series.
* Elita One gets this with her love interest Optimus Prime in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGeneration1''. To lure Optimus to his doom, the Decepticons capture Elita. However, when Optimus arrives, he [[DistressedDude gets captured himself]] and Elita first has to save him before he can manage to save her. It's pretty 50/50 with them.
* This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', when Spider-Man cheerily points out to an ungrateful Norman Osborn that he is Spidey's very first rescue of this type. It's played straight in regards to LoveInterest Liz Allan, an InnocentBystander who gets used as part of a HostageForMcGuffin scenario.
** Also with [[spoiler:Gwen]] when she is kidnapped by Venom in the season 1 finale.
* The entire episode of "Beauty Marked" in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' was made in order to ''subvert'' this as much as possible. While Danny and Tucker are under the mindset that the kidnapped Sam needs rescuing, she managed to figure a way out just fine. It is their meddling that gets her captured again/still.
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Every main character (and some of the villains) have been in this situation. [[BadassInDistress Kim]]. [[DistressedDude Ron.]] The Cheerleaders. Bonnie. Kim's Dad. Kim's Grandmother. The Tweebs. Ron's Dad. Shego. Drakken. Shego's little brothers. It's a requirement of this show that you get captured at least once.
* Daphne Blake from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' is often kidnapped by the villain of the week in most incarnations, and earned the ''InSeriesNickname'' "Danger-Prone Daphne". Later incarnations such as the live action movies have her [[DamselOutOfDistress saving herself or fighting off her attackers.]] Many of the later animated movies and series have followed suit in terms of upgrading Daphne's combat competency.
* Subverted in the movie ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Batman & Mr. Freeze - Subzero]]''. Yes, PluckyGirl Barbara a.k.a. Batgirl gets kidnapped, but [[ActionGirl she's so competent]] that she kicks the asses of her captors (Mr. Freeze being one of them) [[ActionSurvivor multiple times]], and would have escaped on her own just fine if it wasn't for the fact that she was in the middle of the friggin' ocean. In fact, she is probably more useful in the movie than even Batman and Robin.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', Padme has been captured three times in the first season alone. She's usually well on her way to escaping on her own by the time the cavalry shows up.
* In the shows ''Tom and Jerry Kids'' and ''Droopy Master Detective'', Miss Vavoom is always getting kidnapped by [=McWolf=] or any other villain who lusts after her.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheHerculoids''. Tarra, in many episodes.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost''. Jan, in most episodes. To be fair, Jace was a DistressedDude.
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends''. Wonder Woman, oddly enough, in some episodes.
* ''The Mighty Mightor''. Sheera, in most episodes.
* Jez on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes''. She quickly develops StockholmSyndrome, though.
* Subverted on ''WesternAnimation/{{ReBoot}}''. One game sets up this plot with Bob as the rescuing knight and implies Dot is the distressed damsel. The subversion is that ''Enzo'' is the distressed damsel and Dot is another rescuing knight.
-->'''Enzo''': "I don't want to be a damsel in this dress!"
* When is [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs Smurfette]] never in need of being rescued by somebody? Only in the [[Film/TheSmurfs live-action movie]], where she is finally promoted to ActionGirl status.
* In the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' parody episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', Isabella calls herself a "certified Damsel in Distress" (handing the boys her business card). [[spoiler: Though this later appears to be part of the ploy to earn the boy's trust so she can save her mother from Doofinshmirtz's character]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'' cartoon, poor Susan Richards, the Invisible Woman, would be hit with this trope, especially in the first season. An episode in the second season would have Sue admonish Doctor Doom for using this trope. He [[EvenEvilHasStandards apologizes for doing so,]] but explains [[PragmaticVillainy that this is the quickest, most effective way to get what he wants.]]
* There were a few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' in which the girls themselves needed to be rescued (e.g., "Buttercrush," "Twisted Sister," "Stray Bullet").
* ComicBook/LoisLane from "WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries" as usual.
* In a episode of ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' called ''Fortress of Squallitude'', Amy is captured by Eggman and Amy is forced to make Eggman's fortress beautiful. Sonic and co. have to save Amy.
** In the episode ''Sleeping Giant,'' after Rocky takes a liking to Sticks' singing, Sticks is captured by Rocky and she is forced to sing for Rocky. Sonic and co. have to save Sticks.
** In the episode ''Closed Door Policy,'' Sticks is captured by the frog warriors, leaving Sonic and co. to rescue Sticks.
* Talking of the Sonic series, ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'', Sally also becomes this in a few episodes, most notable in "Sonic and Sally" where she had a robot take her place and where she was almost turned into a robot herself, but was rescued by Sonic JustInTime. The second season tried harder to make her Sonic's equal so this didn't happen.
* Xandir P Whifflebottom in ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' is a video game character "on a neverending quest to save my girlfriend". When she discovers he's gay she refuses to be rescued by him. Shortly afterwards his boyfriend is kidnapped and he remarks "Dare I say it? I, Xandir, am on a never ending quest to save my boyfriend!".
* Esmeralda sometimes plays this role in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicalAdventuresOfQuasimodo''.
* The WesternAnimation/CartoonNetworkGroovies short for ''WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}'' has Shelly being kidnapped by mutant eels and robots. She is rescued by Jabberjaw but, much to his disappointment, she isn't interested in a RescueRomance because he's a [[InterspeciesRomance shark who smells of bait]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Lola Bunny at the end of this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAB-zHpcmag UK advert for Walkers Crisps]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ballads]]
* Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''[[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch060.htm King Estmere]]''. The king goes wooing on the recommendation of his brother, and arrives to find the lady is being forced to marry. He rescues her.
* Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''[[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch095.htm The Maid Freed from the Gallows]]'' has the heroine about to be hanged if she is not ransomed. Various relatives arrive and declare they are there to see her hanged. Finally, her true love arrives and ransoms her. (Most American versions of this ballad feature a GenderFlip version, of a man about to be hanged, but this is the older variant.)
%%* In the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''Literature/SirAldingar'', the queen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* [[MarySue Ariana Black]] of Fanfic/TheArianaBlackSeries gets kidnapped or otherwise endangered by Voldemort at least once per fic.
* Nala is this at times in Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures, most notably when she's kidnapped by Scar and Hago in ''King's Ransom''.
* ''FanFic/TalesOfTheEmperasque'' has Isha, Eldar fertility and life goddess, kept in prison by Nurgle. Her rescue is the first CrowningMomentOfAwesome of many.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* Music/MichaelJackson's "Thriller" video had this twice, in the movie the Michael and his date are watching at the start, then again the date's dream. It's implied that it happens a third time once she wakes up.
* Tasha in LLCoolJ's "I'm Bad" video.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/RandySavage has twice seen his valet, Wrestling/MissElizabeth, kidnapped by [[Wrestling/GeorgeSteele George "The Animal" Steele]] and Wrestling/KingKongBundy. Wrestling/HulkHogan in the Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldorder}}Wo even forced her to say she no longer loved Savage on camera.
* Mountain Fiji was practically {{invincible|hero}}, so her enemies in Wrestling/{{GLOW}} frequently resorted to attacking and or kidnapping her little sister, often resulting in Mt Fiji losing matches by forfeit or count out as she left the arena to go save her.
* Later in Wrestling/{{WCW}}, the nWo would try to send a message to David Flair by kidnapping his LoonyFan Wrestling/DaffneyUnger. Wrestling/ScottSteiner actually acknowledged [[YouCanKeepHer that it might not have been the best idea]].
* [[Wrestling/WWESmackdown Smackdown]] did an angle revolving around Wrestling/KurtAngle admitting that he wanted to have sex with Wrestling/BookerT's wife Sharmell, leading to many scenes of her failing to fight off or out run Angle before Booker came to the rescue, although he usually got beaten up too, until the very end.
* Wrestling/TrishStratus was once abducted by MNM on an episode of [[Wrestling/WWERaw Monday Night Raw]], causing Wrestling/JerryLawler to abandon his commentary duties to go find her.
* Wrestling/{{TNA}} would later revisit the assault someone else's wife I want to have sex with angle with Wrestling/ScottSteiner going after Kristal Lashley until her husband Wrestling/{{Bobby|Lashley}} made the save.
* At SHINE 15, Valkyrie used a beaten up Solo Darling to lure Wrestling/AmazingKong away from their leader, The Radiant Rain.[[/folder]]

%%[[folder:Theatre]]
%%* Alice Faulkner in ''Theatre/SherlockHolmes''.
%%* The sister in Creator/JohnMilton's ''Theatre/{{Comus}}'',
%%[[/folder]]


----

* ConanTheBarbarian. Very often

** Pikachu often gets [[AmbiguousGender itself]][[note]]It's canonically male, as seen when a female Pokémon affects it with Attract.[[/note]] caught in Team Rocket's traps. However, it often gets itself out, so this is an aversion.

** In ''PokemonSpecial'', [[TheChick Platinum]] initially seems to be the living embodiment of the trope, as she rarely goes '''ANYWHERE''' without getting herself into trouble. It was so obvious that [[IdiotHero Diamond]] was able to point out and lampshade this only after ''4 chapters into the story''; most anime and manga characters don't realise this sort of thing ''ever''.

* It can be argued that Anhura from the musical-in-album-form ''RaziasShadow'' fits this trope. She argues against her father and seems to have the same sense of a greater destiny as Adakias, but she doesn't do anything about it except sit around singing wistfully (Adakias has his share of wistful singing, but he's much more proactive). She's first a damsel when [[spoiler: her father refuses to let her marry Adakias]], but Adakias rescues her by [[spoiler: eloping with her]]. This causes her to [[spoiler: grow ill]], and a third of the second act is therefore spent trying to [[spoiler: cure her illness]]. ''Then'' once they do, [[spoiler: Pallis bursts in]], and Adakias [[spoiler: sacrifices himself to save her when Pallis attempts to murder her]]. Depending what you think happened directly after the end of the song and before the narrator's epilogue, Anhura either [[spoiler: [[HeelFaceTurn ends up with Pallis]]]], staying a damsel, just a rescued one, [[spoiler: fixes everything herself while Pallis retreats]], getting out of the trope, or [[spoiler: everything fixes itself without her help]], which keeps Anhura thoroughly useless and in this trope.

* Alex Cahill is kidnapped in almost every other episode of ''WalkerTexasRanger''.

!!Example subpages

[[index]]
* DamselInDistress/AnimeAndManga
* DamselInDistress/ComicBooks
* DamselInDistress/FairyTales
[[/index]]

[[folder:Animated Films]]
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', especially in a scene where Robin Hood and his Merry Men try to "rescue" Fiona from the ogre they believe has kidnapped her, only to have her rebuff him and beat up all his men in a combination of styles from ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' and ''Film/TheMatrix''.
** And in ''Shrek Forever After'', where in an alternate universe where Shrek was never born and never came for her, Fiona eventually decided to rescue ''herself''.
** Played straight at first but later subverted with Fiona in ''WesternAnimation/ShrekFourD'', who at first is helpless after Thelonius kidnaps her, but eventually gains the upper hand and beats him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', Andy purposely has Bo Peep play this role, so Woody could save her. [[SickeninglySweethearts Not that she minds]]...
* Disney is rather infamous for this in their movies.
** Parodied in Disney's ''Disney/{{Hercules}}''.
--->'''Hercules:''' Aren't you a damsel in distress?\\
'''Megara:''' I'm a damsel... I'm in distress... I can handle this. Have a nice day.
** A more recent straight example would be [[spoiler: Kida]] from 2001's ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', who spends the last third of the film crystallized by the villain, and that her boyfriend and his teammates actually had to rescue her and change her back.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'', when Akima is jettisoned into space, captured, and held to be sold into slavery. The rest of the crew undergoes a makeshift rescue operation, only to find out that she [[RedundantRescue successfully knocked out all]] of her captors and is patiently waiting to be picked up.
* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/HappilyNeverAfter'', in which The Prince (whose name is revealed to be Humperdink) is searching for one of these (or a lady in waiting or whatever else is a typical princess) and sounds excited that [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} Ella]] could be one of those things. When he asks if she's a damsel in distress, her response is "I will be. Kind of. At midnight". To say the least, Ella does more ass-kicking than servant boy Rick or Humperdink.
* Straight example in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'', where Red Puckett is BoundAndGagged and loaded into a tramway cabin filled with dynamite, and it's up to Granny to rescue her.
* Michelle, the little badger from ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAForest'', inhales a poisonous gas and falls ill. Thus, it's up to her friends Edgar, Russel, and Abigail to find the herbs to heal her. Her damsel status stands in a bit of contrast to Abigail, an ActionGirl who fights an owl while trying to save her.
* Odette from ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess'' is under an enchantment by Rothbart that causes her to turn into a swan when moonlight leaves the lake by his castle in the morning and she needs Derek to break the enchantment, but she also turns down Rothbart's marriage proposals without a hint of remorse or fear even though she knows he's a powerful sorcerer and he ''killed'' her father. Also, she doesn't exactly wait for Derek to show up and does everything she can to try and let him know where she is and what he has to do.
* ''Anime/TheFumaConspiracy'': Murasaki, who twice found herself the target of kidnapping and/or traps. The first was when she was captured by a Fuma Ninja during her wedding, and demanded the MacGuffin in exchange for her life. The demand motivated Goemon and company to steal the vase and deliver it to the Fuma.
* ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles'' shows an example of Fujiko being a DamselInDistress ''and'' a {{Badass}}, but without being a BadassInDistress. During the opening, she loses her memory, and her entire personality changes. She's terrified of nearly everything, and everyone is a stranger to her. When she contributed to part of her rescue via pure Muscle Memory, that also terrifies her.
* ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'': Dawn, being a {{Princess Classic}} is kidnapped by [[EvilOverLord The Bog King]] as a hostage to exchange for a stolen {{love potion}}.

* DamselInDistress/AnimatedFilms
* DamselInDistress/LiveActionFilms
* DamselInDistress/{{Literature}}

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Everybody is Distressed sooner or later. There's even episodes where Buffy takes this role. In the first few seasons, Willow is the main Distressed Damsel. In second two, she and Xander share the role. As Willow grows in power in seasons three and four, Xander, Giles, and Spike end up in this position more often than the others. In seasons 5 and 6, it's Dawn. In season 7, it's the potentials.
--> '''Buffy:''' Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday.
** Buffy was this in the Season 2 episode Halloween, when an enchanted costume causes her to become a very helpless 18th century noblewoman.
** Subverted by the show itself, however, as Buffy appears to be the stereotypical petite, blonde girl who is constantly in need of rescue, which she almost never is and on the rare times that she is captured, she almost always gets herself out of trouble.
** Also the Season Three episode "Choices" plays with this trope as Willow gets captured by The Mayor and does eventually need rescuing but only because her attempts to liberate herself fell through when she got distracted gathering intelligence about The Mayor's plan which was arguably good trade off since she knew Buffy would get her out anyway.
** Cordelia was this when she was on the show. Not so much after she moved to ''Angel''.
** Anne was this twice. She appears again on ''Angel'', a good deal tougher.
* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'''s "A Hole in the World", Fred tries to fight her status as DistressedDamsel:
-->'''Wesley:''' You have to lie down.\\
'''Fred:''' I am not -- I am not the damsel in distress. I am not some case. I have to work this. I lived in a cave for 5 years in a world where they killed my kind like cattle. I am not going to be cut down by some monster flu. I am better than that!
** The gang takes off to save her anyway.
* Alex Cahill is kidnapped in almost every other episode of ''WalkerTexasRanger''.
* ''Series/LazyTown'' sometimes has Stephanie being kidnapped by the "evil dude".
* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', it seems that every episode that centers on River has her in serious danger, needing some BigDamnHeroes to save the day...except for "Objects in Space," where she hits the villain with a {{plan}}.
** The ironic part is that by ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', she's activated hidden WaifFu powers that would have let her handily deal with ''every one'' of the bad guys gunning for her in the series.
*** River in the series got so smart and powerful that Serenity's own crew starts to worry about whether she's safe to keep around.
*** It makes sense, given that ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' was used to tie up loose ends in the story. Given how "Objects in Space" went, it seems that the next season would have had River slowly regain her former fierce intellect and use it far more often.
** She showed some signs of her impending badassery earlier on in the episode "War Stories" when she gunned down three of Niska's men with her eyes closed in order to save Kaylee, who would have shared DistressedDamsel duty had the series actually continued. Joss Whedon has said something to the tune of, "Whenever we wanted to up the suspense, we just put the [[WrenchWench cute engineer]] in danger."
** And it's been similarly commented that anytime a man infiltrates the ship he does so by befriending Kaylee, flirting with her and then threatening her at gunpoint. (This happens twice, with Simon in the pilot and then Tracy in "The Message", and probably would've been a continuing trend.)
* Lana Lang in ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. The whole first season was one big Lana capture-fest. And most of the second. Usually by [[GreenRock kryptonite]] mutants who [[StalkerWithACrush ''loved'' her]]. And once they had her, they often tried to kill her, for no better reason than to give Clark a chance to arrive [[JustInTime JUST IN TIME]]! One later-season character actually commented sardonically to his obsessed stalkermutant friend "Lana Lang? Gee, how original."
** Subverted with Chloe Sullivan. While she needs to be rescued now and then, as Clark puts it himself, she saved him more times than he could have ever saved her.
** Subverted with Lois Lane in more recent episodes; while she tends to need rescuing on a semi-regular basis, she often ends up saving her own skin, and will never be defined as "helpless". She also lampshaded this trope in the Season 10 episode "Harvest", when she ended up getting kidnapped by a rural community who wanted to sacrifice her in a harvest ritual, after wanting to prove to Clark that she didn't need protecting:
--->"I promise to eat a heaping helping of crow when we get back home, but right now, do your super-speedy thing because this fair lady needs some rescuing big time."
* ''Series/GossipGirl'' does it at least once per season, when characters put aside their problems to help Serena: in season 1, when the Nate/Blair/Chuck love triangle takes second place to Serena's confession that she (allegedly) killed somebody; in season 2, when again the aforementioned love triangle is paused when the three characters try to get her out of jail, and in season 3 when all pending matters (Chuck's grief over his father's death anniversary, Lily's postponed confession to Rufus about a night with her ex-husband, Eric's and Jenny's constant fighting, Dan's lingering feelings for Vanessa) are frozen (and then solved or exposed, one by one) when she's on a car accident and over half of the cast go to the hospital to be with her.
* The game show version of The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop has Penelope in distress in the same manner as the cartoon where H.C. wants her dead, missing & never found, etc.
* Often done in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' about a patient's dying or miraculously recovering ending bickering about less important matters.
** One episode turns the plot of that episode into a medieval fantasy. In it, the patient becomes a damsel in distress that everyone works together to save.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', just try to count how many times ''the Rangers themselves'' get tied up, to either figure a way out in time for the big fight, or be rescued by the one Ranger who wasn't there at the time.
** How many other times did the ''Series/PowerRangers'' have a damsel in distress?
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' tends to apply this trope so much it gets annoying after a while. The Victim Of The Week (usually female) is either being threatened and can't help herself out or Sam is pinned to something and helpless against the MOTW or Dean is doing something stupid/going off on his own, getting nabbed and needing Sam to save his arse.
** They've subverted it twice with Sam, though. In ''Bloodlust'', the vampires capture him but let him go after they've given him a good talking to and in ''The Benders'', he manages to get out of his cage without Dean's help and Dean ends up being the tied up one in need of saving.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' put every character, male and female, hero and villain, into such a situation--notably John, who is captured and [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] at the end of the first season and is rescued by Aeryn (with help), and Aeryn, who is captured and tortured at the end of the final season and is rescued by John (with help). This makes sense, as she is the ActionGirl at the start of the show, and while he's not quite an action hero by the end he has [[TookALevelInBadass gotten badass enough]] to return the favor.
* Subverted (a bit) in ''Series/DoctorWho'' (notorious for women who needed rescuing from bug-eyed monsters at every cliffhanger) with Jo Grant (UNIT assistant to the Pertwee Doctor) who was a trained spy/escapologist, and thus was the one who freed the Doctor when they were captured. (Lampshaded also by Sarah Jane Smith when she rescues the Doctor from a cell in ''The Android Invasion'' and quips: "This time I'm saving you!" She'd also done it in the first episode she was in, ''The Time Warrior''.) Jo Grant was originally conceived as an [[Series/TheAvengers Emma Peel-type]] ActionGirl but they cast Katy Manning after her somewhat ditzy audition, a classic example of the difference between what the producers say they want and [[TheDitz what they actually want]].
** Barbara Wright alternately played this trope straight and subverted it. The most memorable straight example would be in the very first ''Who'' serial ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild An Unearthly Child]]'', where she spends most of the last two episodes screaming and crying. She seems to have gotten it out of her system by the next serial, where she's perfectly happy to go on a commando raid into the Dalek city. Her most memorable subversion is probably ''The Crusade'', where she does get kidnapped, but rescues herself and is on her way back to rescue everyone else by the time Ian shows up to save her.
** Mary Tamm was initially leery of taking a companion role in the series for this very reason, but she was assured that her character, Romana, would be an intellectual equal to the Doctor and a competent woman to boot. Supposedly, she left the role later on because she felt it had reverted to this trope (although possibly she left because she was having a baby -- the internet is not very clear on the matter.)
** Lampshaded in the new series episode "The Empty Child", when the Doctor learned that Rose was hanging from a barrage balloon during a Nazi Blitz attack. "I've travelled with a number of people, but you're setting new standards for being peril-friendly."
** On a whole, the companions in the new series seem to swing between playing this trope straight and subverting it. In the event that the companions ''are'' captured and can't save themselves, they at least ''try'' to, or find information, or help the Doctor, or at least sass their captors.
*** It at least makes sense why this would happen. To create tension you ''need'' someone to be captured, and since the Doctor's companions are 90% female, it unfortunately becomes this trope.
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons The Krotons]]'', Vara -- and later Zoe, when she too is chosen for a "companion".
** Think what you will about Stephen Moffat but River Song almost never needs rescuing. The few times she does it's typically because she's flung herself off of a building or into the vacuum of space in an attempt to evade capture, specifically because she knows The Doctor will come show up in his handy time machine.
* Parodied in the [[ShowWithinAShow Captain Proton]] holoprogram in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' with secretary Constance Goodheart, whose only function is to be captured by the villainous Dr Chaotica so Captain Proton can rescue her, and whose only dialogue is an ear-splitting scream. When Seven of Nine [[OffTheRails is roped in to play Constance]] she asks what her function is. Tom Paris (playing Proton) replies awkwardly that her job is to "tag along on all the missions".
* Topanga plays with this trope in the second season's Halloween episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'':
-->'''Cory:''' ''(seeing Topanga in a long gauzy dress)'' Why'd you have to wear that?\\
'''Topanga:''' I'm a damsel. But not the distressed kind, one who's totally calm and in complete control of her own destiny.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Gillian Anderson may consider [[AgentScully Scully]] to be a good feminine role model, but there's no getting away from the fact that the character spent a worrying amount of time (especially in seasons 1 to 4) being kidnapped, tied up and drooled over by freaks and fruitcakes. [[AgentMulder Mulder]] had a tendency to rush headlong into dangerous situations which usually lead to Scully having to save his ass, so maybe it doesn't count.
** Yeah, Mulder seems to get captured/injured/drugged/whatever just as much as Scully does, often because he doesn't stop to actually think before he does something. It was one of the earliest shows to divvy up the proportion of Distressed Damsel and DistressedDude pretty equally between the male and female protagonists.
** Scully did seem to get BoundAndGagged more often than Mulder, Doggett, or any of the other main characters though, so there may still have been some AuthorAppeal at play.
* Mrs. Peel from the original ''Series/TheAvengers'' series. Almost all of the episodes feature her in some kind of predicament, generally clad in tight fitting (not to say clinging...) apparel and bound in a weird situation. Examples are: tied in aluminium foil to act as an electric conductor to electrocute Steed when he touches her, tied to train tracks (classical but effective), bound to a Mad Scientist patented reclining table to act as guinea pig for his super strong laser, tied, scantily clad in a harem outfit...
** The episode where she's locked in a gilded cage wearing a ''very'' skimpy feathered costume.
* Possibly the only reason why [[DamselScrappy Kate]] exists on ''Series/RobinHood''. Partially justified in that she's just a simple peasant girl who has been thrown into a guerilla-style war, but which inevitably leads to FridgeLogic when one wonders [[TheSmurfettePrinciple why on earth]] the outlaws keep letting her [[TagalongKid tag along]] with them on dangerous missions that [[FauxActionGirl she's obviously not equipped to handle]].
* Jeremy Clarkson tried to take advantage of this on ''TopGear'' when he drove his Toyota into a ditch and then called emergency services, claiming to be a pregnant woman about to be eaten by dogs (rather than a fat, old man who can't judge terrain).
** This works if you're not Jeremy Clarkson -- the AA prioritises "lone woman" calls, as well as some other categories like disabled drivers.
* Frequently subverted on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', where Team Gibbs often race to rescue the damsel in question (usually Abby), only to find she's overcome the villain by her own efforts. That's a testimonial to team spirit.
* Used not infrequently with Gwen in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''. It hasn't started becoming annoying ''quite'' yet, but the jury is still out on how many more times a plot can revolve either around her putting herself in a situation (however morally justifiable) that requires Arthur to half-kill himself just to get her out of it (a la ''The Last Dragonlord''), or around her being rescued successfully, only to ''fall over'' about seven seconds later and end up needing saving all over again (''Lancelot and Guinevere'', I'm looking at you.), before things start getting really tiresome. She's the only main character in the show to lack either magic powers, or having been trained to be a KnightInShiningArmour since childhood. And, like ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', every character that's not Merlin ends up with the role in at least one episode, including the future KingArthur.
** As of ''Servant of Two Masters'' and ''Tears of Uther Pendragon Part One'', Merlin has joined the roster. The show is a WorldOfBadass[[BadassInDistress In Distress]].
* Elena in ''TheVampireDiaries'', more often than not. Justified as she is the only main character who doesn't have any sort of magic ability. She is constantly being threatened and/or kidnapped to enrage Stefan or sometimes Damon.
** Then again, the first time a vampire tried to kidnap her, she didn't just take it and wait for Stefan to save her, she fought back and tried to ''kill the vampire with a pencil''.
** Caroline also filled this role, especially in early Season 1, but since she TookALevelInBadass, not so much...
* Though Veronica, Sarah, and Sofia all get this at one point or another in ''Series/PrisonBreak'', LJ is the epitome of this trope. Any time he's on screen he's either being used as a bargaining chip against his dad and uncle or being rescued by his dad and uncle; the kid spends most of the series tied to a chair. All of them though are justified, since they're average citizens stuck in a mass conspiracy against people trained to make them this.
* As the one on the show who puts himself in situations he's not equipped for, [[Series/{{Castle}} Rick Castle]] is usually the one in distress, but in the fifth season episode "Target", [[spoiler:his daughter gets kidnapped.]]
* Series/TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries: Nancy Drew was reduced to this in second season, once Janet Louise Johnson took over the character, in cross-over episodes with the Hardys. Nancy only existed to be placed in situations that required Frank Hardy to rescue her:
** ''Arson & Old Lace'': Nancy gets kidnapped and needs Frank to rescue her.
** ''Voodoo Doll'': Nancy wanders into the BigBad's lair, gets caught, and needs Frank and Joe to rescue her.
** ''Mystery on the Avalanche Express'': Nancy gets cornered on a train by two men -- a passenger train, in a hallway where there's plenty other passengers in compartments -- and can't simply push past them until Frank comes to her rescue.
* ''Series/MastersOfHorror'':
** "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road":
*** Subverted with Ellen. When the killer tries to hunt her down, she shows that she's a survival expert who lays several traps for him and outsmarts him several times.
*** Played straight with the Young Woman, who isn't able to defend herself and becomes easy prey for the psycho.
** "Valerie on the Stairs": Justified with Valerie, [[RefugeeFromTVLand who was created by the writers in the boarding house as a fictional character]] whose only reason for existing is to be saved from The Beast. [[spoiler:She vanishes completely after she's rescued, having finished playing her role.]]
* ''Series/{{The 100}}'' has almost every character need rescuing at one point or another, but the most notable example is when 48 of the delinquents are held captive inside Mount Weather. [[TheProtagonist Clarke]] escapes on her own, but [[RescueArc rescuing the other 47 is the main focus of Season 2.]]
* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' had Maddie (and later Carey), tied up (and later kidnapped) by their captors, hoping that Zack (and later Cody) to rescue them both (because they are really twin brothers).
* In ''Series/NightAndDay'', Jane Harper's mysterious disappearance forms the backbone of the show, although the irony is that her dysfunctional friends and family need saving just as much as she does.

[[folder:Music]]
* It can be argued that Anhura from the musical-in-album-form ''RaziasShadow'' fits this trope. She argues against her father and seems to have the same sense of a greater destiny as Adakias, but she doesn't do anything about it except sit around singing wistfully (Adakias has his share of wistful singing, but he's much more proactive). She's first a damsel when [[spoiler: her father refuses to let her marry Adakias]], but Adakias rescues her by [[spoiler: eloping with her]]. This causes her to [[spoiler: grow ill]], and a third of the second act is therefore spent trying to [[spoiler: cure her illness]]. ''Then'' once they do, [[spoiler: Pallis bursts in]], and Adakias [[spoiler: sacrifices himself to save her when Pallis attempts to murder her]]. Depending what you think happened directly after the end of the song and before the narrator's epilogue, Anhura either [[spoiler: [[HeelFaceTurn ends up with Pallis]]]], staying a damsel, just a rescued one, [[spoiler: fixes everything herself while Pallis retreats]], getting out of the trope, or [[spoiler: everything fixes itself without her help]], which keeps Anhura thoroughly useless and in this trope.
* Mentioned in Creator/WillSmith's song ''Film/WildWildWest'':
-->''Any damsel that's in distress\\
Be out of that dress when she meet Jim West''
* Subverted in the video of ''Mean'' by TaylorSwift. Taylor is shown [[ChainedToARailway tied up on railroad tracks]] by a [[DastardlyWhiplash villain]], who is all [[EvilGloating gloating]] over her predicament. Not long after, a friend of the villain's comes along, the two villains get [[DrinkingOnDuty drunk]], fall asleep, after which Taylor simply gets out of her ropes and heads off.

[[folder:Myths and Religion]]
* This is OlderThanFeudalism, dating back at least to the Greek myth of Perseus and Andromeda.
** The story of Hesione and Heracles is very similar to that of Perseus and Andromeda. However, Deianeira, another woman in Heracles' [[ChickMagnet adventurous]] life, subverts it by [[GreenEyedMonster taking matters in her hands]] shortly after the rescue.
** Eurydice is in a classic DamselInDistress situation. Unfortunately, Orpheus does not come up to expectations.
** Subverted with Helen of Troy, who is anything but innocent in what happens to her.
* In ''Literature/{{Ramayana}}'', Sita is a crown example.
* In Celtic mythology (''Literature/{{Mabinogion}}''), Branwen finds herself in this position. Subverted with Deirdre, who voluntarily put herself in the situation which was considered as distress by her fiancé.
* Downplayed in the legend of [[Myth/SaintGeorge St. George and the Dragon]] (a tale that has otherwise many parallels with the myth of Perseus and Andromeda): The princess is delivered to the dragon and saved by St. George, but she is not [[ChainedToARock physically constrained]], does not ask for help, and there is no [[RescueRomance romance between the princess and George]], nor does the king [[StandardHeroReward offer her up in marriage.]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* Mary Jane Watson from Creator/{{Stern}}'s ''[[Pinball/SpiderManStern Spider-Man]]'' pinball.
* Appropriately enough, Princess Peach from Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/SuperMarioBros''.
* ''Pinball/MedievalMadness'' has five princesses that must be rescued from fire-breathing dragons.
* The queen in ''Pinball/BigGuns''.
* The girl in the aptly-named "Save the Girl" VideoMode in ''Pinball/JunkYard''.
* April O'Neal, unsurprisingly, serves this role in ''Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''.
* Unsurprisingly, the only party member in ''Pinball/DungeonsAndDragons'' captured by the fire-breathing dragon is the Valkyrie.
* The ultimate goal of ''Pinball/PopeyeSavesTheEarth'' is to rescue Olive Oyl from Bluto -- after saving the Earth, of course.
* Nell is this in ''Pinball/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkleAndFriends'', awaiting rescue from Dudley Do-Right.
* Miss Polly in ''Pinball/CactusCanyon'', who not only regularly gets into trouble, but also gets an entire mode ("Polly Peril") where she is ChainedToARailway.
* There's a captured princess in the "Dragon's Keep" table of ''VideoGame/FullTiltPinball''
* The backbox translite for ''Pinball/BoneBusters'' shows one of the female team members being grabbed by an [[DemBones animated skeleton.]]
* Christine Dae from ''Pinball/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''
* ''Pinball/StrangeScience'' has Jodi, a teenager who's been kidnapped by a MadScientist as part of his FreakyFridayFlip experiment.
* Princess Ball in ''VideoGame/PinballQuest''
* The princess from ''Pinball/TalesOfTheArabianNights''

* DamselInDistress/LiveActionTV
* DamselInDistress/{{Music}}
* DamselInDistress/MythsAndReligion

[[folder:Pinball]]
* Mary Jane Watson from Creator/{{Stern}}'s ''[[Pinball/SpiderManStern Spider-Man]]'' pinball.
* Appropriately enough, Princess Peach from Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/SuperMarioBros''.
* ''Pinball/MedievalMadness'' has five princesses that must be rescued from fire-breathing dragons.
* The queen in ''Pinball/BigGuns''.
* The girl in the aptly-named "Save the Girl" VideoMode in ''Pinball/JunkYard''.
* April O'Neal, unsurprisingly, serves this role in ''Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''.
* Unsurprisingly, the only party member in ''Pinball/DungeonsAndDragons'' captured by the fire-breathing dragon is the Valkyrie.
* The ultimate goal of ''Pinball/PopeyeSavesTheEarth'' is to rescue Olive Oyl from Bluto -- after saving the Earth, of course.
* Nell is this in ''Pinball/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkleAndFriends'', awaiting rescue from Dudley Do-Right.
* Miss Polly in ''Pinball/CactusCanyon'', who not only regularly gets into trouble, but also gets an entire mode ("Polly Peril") where she is ChainedToARailway.
* There's a captured princess in the "Dragon's Keep" table of ''VideoGame/FullTiltPinball''
* The backbox translite for ''Pinball/BoneBusters'' shows one of the female team members being grabbed by an [[DemBones animated skeleton.]]
* Christine Dae from ''Pinball/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''
* ''Pinball/StrangeScience'' has Jodi, a teenager who's been kidnapped by a MadScientist as part of his FreakyFridayFlip experiment.
* Princess Ball in ''VideoGame/PinballQuest''
* The princess from ''Pinball/TalesOfTheArabianNights''

* DamselInDistress/{{Pinball}}
* DamselInDistress/VideoGames
* DamselInDistress/WebComics

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Amarawyn and [[TheSpymaster Marya]] both get in trouble a few times, prompting heroes to save them from kidnappers.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEVU-YLpM8A This video]] is probaly the best [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstruction]] of this trope in the history of anything ever.
* ''WhateleyUniverse'': Jinn Sinclair in "Bottle a Jinn", when she is "absorbed" by RichBitch Solange (Jinn is a protagonist, but is non-corporeal, and Solange has the power of being able to absorb spirits and steal their powers). [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when [[BigDamnHeroes Team Kimba]] try to rescue her and end up in a huge brawl that gets them into serious trouble with the school administration. They realize afterward that Jinn isn't helpless, is manipulating Solange against her will, and needed a much smarter plan from her team. Ultimately, [[spoiler: Jinn cons Solange into letting her go just seconds before Solange will most need her powers.]]
* Tania in ''WebVideo/WormtoothNation'' starts off as one after being nixed.
* The [[DistressBall normally competent]] Lord of the Supreme Council of ''TheQuestportChronicles'', winds up as [[spoiler:her sister]]'s prisoner. [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike She's not happy]] [[UnwantedRescue to be rescued]].
* The frequent abductions of Princesses Peach and Zelda are playfully deconstructed in [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6386756/peach-and-zelda-catch-up this]] ''Website/CollegeHumor'' video.
-->'''Zelda:''' Ganondorf has an ''entire army'' of loyal minions, and they do whatever I say! Link just has that stupid fairy...
* In WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's Dark Nella Saga, the titular BigBad tied the Makeover Fairy up the bathtub and tortured her by scraping her make-up off. She looked exactly the same afterwards.
* {{Discussed}} by Blog/WorstMuse: "Your protagonist is just a little too perfect? Maybe consider making her adorably clumsy and in need of frequent rescue."
* Miss Stockholm in ''WebVideo/PopQuizHotshot'', who is kept in the basement with a low cut dress and handcuffs. Notably she existed just for the pilot and got retconned out in episodes after, even Tamara (her actress) didn't enjoy being her.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts, ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', Popeye, and other vintage theatrical cartoons used this trope to ''death''.
** ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} saves Olive from Bluto/Brutus...
*** Subverted at least once in an old cartoon - Bluto enters Olive's room, and a scuffle breaks out, Olive is crying for help - when Popeye enters, Olive is still yelling while clubbing an unconscious Bluto with a skillet.
** Buddy saves Cookie from a Bluto-like character...
** Mighty Mouse saves Pearl Pureheart from Oil Can Harry...
** Bimbo or Koko saves Betty Boop from various baddies...
** Bosko saves Honey from more various baddies...
** The pre-Mighty Mouse ''Terrytoons'' mouse lead saves his girlfriend from more various baddies...
** Toby the Pup saves Tessie from more various baddies...
** Flip the Frog saves Flap, Kitty, and Fifi from even more various baddies...
** Julius saves Alice from Pegleg Pete...
** Oswald saves Sadie from Pegleg Pete....
** Mickey Mouse saves Minnie from Pegleg Pete (Disney only had one recurring villain... pass it on).
*** Subverted in ''Pioneer Days'' and ''Building a Building'', where Mickey tries to rescue Minnie but is captured himself, whereupon Minnie breaks free on her own and rescues Mickey.
*** But played straight as recently as ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers''
*** Even his dog, Pluto, gets in on the trope, saving love interests Dinah and Fifi a few odd times.
** Subverted along with everything else in Creator/ChuckJones' melodrama parody ''WesternAnimation/TheDoverBoys'' as their fiancée, Dora Standpipe, is abducted by villain Dan Backslide - she doesn't break the pace of her cries for help even as she demolishes Dan.
* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' special, "Destination Imagination"; the plot was to save Frankie after she was kidnapped by an imaginary friend who controls a trippy world inside a toy box, but near the end it's revealed that she wasn't kidnapped at all, and that she willingly stayed with the imaginary friend to keep him company. But at the climax, when the imaginary friend has a VillainousBreakdown and becomes a monster (thanks to a verbal lashing by Mr. Herriman), the characters fight him to protect Frankie from being trapped in the imaginary world forever. However, the gang are roundly defeated by the monster, and ultimately it's Frankie who becomes [[RedheadedHero the hero of the story]]: not only does she distract the monster so that the gang can escape the toybox -- she briefly stays behind but soon escapes on her own, thus completing the subversion -- but she chooses to free the lonely friend as well, having offered to bring him to Foster's, [[DefeatMeansFriendship where he can have all the friends in the world]].
* Nell Fenwick on ''WesternAnimation/DudleyDoRight'' is a parodic composite of the woman tied to train tracks in the gothic genre.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop'' is a parody of this genre, since often Penny is more capable than the guys supposed to rescue her.
* Ursula in no fewer than three episodes of the original ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle''.
* April O'Neil in ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', at least in the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 first animated series]]. To the point that they can recognize her "mumbles" when she's gagged, without seeing her.
** Eventually {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Shredder:
--->'''Shredder:''' And while we're at it, let's kidnap April O'Neil. Sure, we've done that 20 or 30 times already, but why mess with what works?
** Also lampshaded in the ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'' crossover movie. The 1980s turtles stop to save April in their home dimension and explain that they save April at least once a day.
** In [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 the Nick series]] April starts out as this, but as her fighting skills have been improving she's growing out of it.
* Princess Aruzia for the first part of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTeddyRuxpin''. She is an ActionGirl for the rest of the series.
* Elita One gets this with her love interest Optimus Prime in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGeneration1''. To lure Optimus to his doom, the Decepticons capture Elita. However, when Optimus arrives, he [[DistressedDude gets captured himself]] and Elita first has to save him before he can manage to save her. It's pretty 50/50 with them.
* This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', when Spider-Man cheerily points out to an ungrateful Norman Osborn that he is Spidey's very first rescue of this type. It's played straight in regards to LoveInterest Liz Allan, an InnocentBystander who gets used as part of a HostageForMcGuffin scenario.
** Also with [[spoiler:Gwen]] when she is kidnapped by Venom in the season 1 finale.
* The entire episode of "Beauty Marked" in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' was made in order to ''subvert'' this as much as possible. While Danny and Tucker are under the mindset that the kidnapped Sam needs rescuing, she managed to figure a way out just fine. It is their meddling that gets her captured again/still.
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Every main character (and some of the villains) have been in this situation. [[BadassInDistress Kim]]. [[DistressedDude Ron.]] The Cheerleaders. Bonnie. Kim's Dad. Kim's Grandmother. The Tweebs. Ron's Dad. Shego. Drakken. Shego's little brothers. It's a requirement of this show that you get captured at least once.
* Daphne Blake from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' is often kidnapped by the villain of the week in most incarnations, and earned the ''InSeriesNickname'' "Danger-Prone Daphne". Later incarnations such as the live action movies have her [[DamselOutOfDistress saving herself or fighting off her attackers.]] Many of the later animated movies and series have followed suit in terms of upgrading Daphne's combat competency.
* Subverted in the movie ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Batman & Mr. Freeze - Subzero]]''. Yes, PluckyGirl Barbara a.k.a. Batgirl gets kidnapped, but [[ActionGirl she's so competent]] that she kicks the asses of her captors (Mr. Freeze being one of them) [[ActionSurvivor multiple times]], and would have escaped on her own just fine if it wasn't for the fact that she was in the middle of the friggin' ocean. In fact, she is probably more useful in the movie than even Batman and Robin.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', Padme has been captured three times in the first season alone. She's usually well on her way to escaping on her own by the time the cavalry shows up.
* In the shows ''Tom and Jerry Kids'' and ''Droopy Master Detective'', Miss Vavoom is always getting kidnapped by [=McWolf=] or any other villain who lusts after her.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheHerculoids''. Tarra, in many episodes.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost''. Jan, in most episodes. To be fair, Jace was a DistressedDude.
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends''. Wonder Woman, oddly enough, in some episodes.
* ''The Mighty Mightor''. Sheera, in most episodes.
* Jez on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes''. She quickly develops StockholmSyndrome, though.
* Subverted on ''WesternAnimation/{{ReBoot}}''. One game sets up this plot with Bob as the rescuing knight and implies Dot is the distressed damsel. The subversion is that ''Enzo'' is the distressed damsel and Dot is another rescuing knight.
-->'''Enzo''': "I don't want to be a damsel in this dress!"
* When is [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs Smurfette]] never in need of being rescued by somebody? Only in the [[Film/TheSmurfs live-action movie]], where she is finally promoted to ActionGirl status.
* In the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' parody episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', Isabella calls herself a "certified Damsel in Distress" (handing the boys her business card). [[spoiler: Though this later appears to be part of the ploy to earn the boy's trust so she can save her mother from Doofinshmirtz's character]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'' cartoon, poor Susan Richards, the Invisible Woman, would be hit with this trope, especially in the first season. An episode in the second season would have Sue admonish Doctor Doom for using this trope. He [[EvenEvilHasStandards apologizes for doing so,]] but explains [[PragmaticVillainy that this is the quickest, most effective way to get what he wants.]]
* There were a few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' in which the girls themselves needed to be rescued (e.g., "Buttercrush," "Twisted Sister," "Stray Bullet").
* ComicBook/LoisLane from "WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries" as usual.
* In a episode of ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' called ''Fortress of Squallitude'', Amy is captured by Eggman and Amy is forced to make Eggman's fortress beautiful. Sonic and co. have to save Amy.
** In the episode ''Sleeping Giant,'' after Rocky takes a liking to Sticks' singing, Sticks is captured by Rocky and she is forced to sing for Rocky. Sonic and co. have to save Sticks.
** In the episode ''Closed Door Policy,'' Sticks is captured by the frog warriors, leaving Sonic and co. to rescue Sticks.
* Talking of the Sonic series, ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'', Sally also becomes this in a few episodes, most notable in "Sonic and Sally" where she had a robot take her place and where she was almost turned into a robot herself, but was rescued by Sonic JustInTime. The second season tried harder to make her Sonic's equal so this didn't happen.
* Xandir P Whifflebottom in ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' is a video game character "on a neverending quest to save my girlfriend". When she discovers he's gay she refuses to be rescued by him. Shortly afterwards his boyfriend is kidnapped and he remarks "Dare I say it? I, Xandir, am on a never ending quest to save my boyfriend!".
* Esmeralda sometimes plays this role in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicalAdventuresOfQuasimodo''.

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Lola Bunny at the end of this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAB-zHpcmag UK advert for Walkers Crisps]].

[[folder:Ballads]]
* Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''[[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch060.htm King Estmere]]''. The king goes wooing on the recommendation of his brother, and arrives to find the lady is being forced to marry. He rescues her.
* Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''[[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch095.htm The Maid Freed from the Gallows]]'' has the heroine about to be hanged if she is not ransomed. Various relatives arrive and declare they are there to see her hanged. Finally, her true love arrives and ransoms her. (Most American versions of this ballad feature a GenderFlip version, of a man about to be hanged, but this is the older variant.)
%%* In the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''Literature/SirAldingar'', the queen.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* [[MarySue Ariana Black]] of Fanfic/TheArianaBlackSeries gets kidnapped or otherwise endangered by Voldemort at least once per fic.
* Nala is this at times in Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures, most notably when she's kidnapped by Scar and Hago in ''King's Ransom''.
* ''FanFic/TalesOfTheEmperasque'' has Isha, Eldar fertility and life goddess, kept in prison by Nurgle. Her rescue is the first CrowningMomentOfAwesome of many.

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* Music/MichaelJackson's "Thriller" video had this twice, in the movie the Michael and his date are watching at the start, then again the date's dream. It's implied that it happens a third time once she wakes up.
* Tasha in LLCoolJ's "I'm Bad" video.

* DamselInDistress/WebOriginal
* DamselInDistress/WesternAnimation

!!Other examples

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Lola Bunny at the end of this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAB-zHpcmag UK advert for Walkers Crisps]].

[[folder:Ballads]]
* Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''[[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch060.htm King Estmere]]''. The king goes wooing on the recommendation of his brother, and arrives to find the lady is being forced to marry. He rescues her.
* Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''[[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch095.htm The Maid Freed from the Gallows]]'' has the heroine about to be hanged if she is not ransomed. Various relatives arrive and declare they are there to see her hanged. Finally, her true love arrives and ransoms her. (Most American versions of this ballad feature a GenderFlip version, of a man about to be hanged, but this is the older variant.)
%%* In the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''Literature/SirAldingar'', the queen.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* [[MarySue Ariana Black]] of Fanfic/TheArianaBlackSeries gets kidnapped or otherwise endangered by Voldemort at least once per fic.
* Nala is this at times in Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures, most notably when she's kidnapped by Scar and Hago in ''King's Ransom''.
* ''FanFic/TalesOfTheEmperasque'' has Isha, Eldar fertility and life goddess, kept in prison by Nurgle. Her rescue is the first CrowningMomentOfAwesome of many.

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* Music/MichaelJackson's "Thriller" video had this twice, in the movie the Michael and his date are watching at the start, then again the date's dream. It's implied that it happens a third time once she wakes up.
* Tasha in LLCoolJ's "I'm Bad" video.

----

* In the Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} ''Literature/SirAldingar'', the queen.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* Alice Faulkner in ''Theatre/SherlockHolmes''.
* The sister in Creator/JohnMilton's ''Theatre/{{Comus}}'',
[[/folder]]

->''"Why is she always the one getting kidnapped?'' I'm ''the princess!"''

For the GenderFlip, see DistressedDude. See also DistressBall, StandardFemaleGrabArea, DeterminedWidow, IHaveYourWife, ThePresidentsDaughter, SaveThePrincess. If the girl is actually ''faking'' this for her own benefits, depending on her purposes she's either a DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel or a DecoyDamsel. A typical damsel that rescues herself is a DamselOutOfDistress. If she has a strong spirit despite captivity then he/she is a DefiantCaptive. If the hero leaves the damsel in distress, that's DelayingTheRescue. See also TheCaptivityNarrative for a plot based on this.