History Main / PlayingPossum

* ''ComicBook/{{Commando}}''. One story features an American soldier who specialises in disarming the {{Booby Trap}}s left behind by the retreating Germans. He starts discovering taunting messages inside the traps, left for him personally by the German soldier who planted them. Eventually he comes across the 'corpse' of a German soldier that suddenly leaps up and attacks him. As the American had defused all his bombs, the German had decided to use himself as the ultimate booby trap.

* This is [[LargeHam Ozzie the opossum's]] schtick in ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'' and he tries to get his daughter Heather to do the same.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': In ''Secrets of the Furious Five'', Po relates how Mantis [[AnAesop had to learn Patience]] after getting captured and being unable to escape until he played dead and tricked his captors into opening his cage to remove his body. Po of course treats this like an awesome kung fu technique instead of an obvious ploy.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': During the Arlong Park Arc, Usopp is chased by one of [[ArcVillain Arlong]]'s men, but manages to escape him by covering himself in ketchup and pretending to have been hit by one of the fishman's water bullets. However, Usopp becomes ashamed of how cowardly he's being while everyone else is fighting for their lives and calls the fishman back for a ''real'' fight. [[spoiler:He gets beaten up a bit, but perseveres and actually manages to win.]]

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'': You get a phone call from your predecessor mentioning that if push comes to shove, playing dead can fool the animatronics into thinking you're an empty costume, saving you from getting stuffed into a metal-laden costume, though he doesn't think it the best idea. [[spoiler:In the event that you run out of power, though, playing possum could buy you enough time to make it to the end of your shift ... key word being "''could''". If it comes to this, don't move a single muscle, or Freddy will kill you.]] Contrary to what Phone Guy says though, [[spoiler:playing possum is practically the only way to survive 4/20 mode, because you will most likely run out of power near the end]].

* In ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', you get a phone call from your predecessor mentioning that if push comes to shove, playing dead can fool the animatronics into thinking you're an empty costume, saving you from getting stuffed into a metal-laden costume, though he doesn't think it the best idea. [[spoiler:In the event that you run out of power, though, playing possum could buy you enough time to make it to the end of your shift ... key word being "''could''". If it comes to this, don't move a single muscle, or Freddy will kill you.]]
** Contrary to what Phone Guy says though, [[spoiler:playing possum is practically the only way to survive 4/20 mode, because you will most likely run out of power near the end]].

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' gives us [[spoiler:Soul Master]], who goes down with a long and flashy death sequence, before collapsing and dropping your reward like most other bosses. You get as far as walking up to your new spell and watching half of the absorption animation before he pops out of it and breaks the arena floor for another round.

* ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'': When the Indoraptor is [[spoiler:shot with a tranq dart by GreatWhiteHunter wannabe Wheatly, the dart [[ImmuneToDrugs actually has no effect]] but the hybrid pretends it worked and when he comes in to [[CreepySouvenir take one of its teeth]], the raptor messes with him for a bit before ripping his arm off]].

-->'''Ratchet''': The humans call it "playing possum". Don't ask me what a possum is.
* WesternAnimation/YogiBear'':

** In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', Marty fakes his death when Buford Tannen shoots him, wearing a make-shift bullet-proof vest -- foreshadowed in the [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII second movie]] in the Creator/ClintEastwood scene on the TV in the hot-tub scene.
** Doc Brown does it in the [[Film/BackToTheFuture1 first movie]] -- at least in the new timeline.

* ''[[Series/Community]]'': this seems to be Troy's go-to move when caught in an awkward situation or confronted by someone angry with him, typically with him saying something along the lines of "pretend like you're asleep", such as when he and Abed caught mocking other students during the end tag of "Social Psychology".

** Doc Brown does it in the [[Film/BackToTheFuture first movie]] -- at least in the new timeline.

* In ''Film/ThePatriot'', Col. Tavington does this at least once.

* ''Series/Community'': this seems to be Troy's go-to move when caught in an awkward situation or confronted by someone angry with him, typically with him saying something along the lines of "pretend like you're asleep.