History Main / SealedArmyInACan

** Interestingly enough, the {{Beetleborgs}} did the same thing, since the MonsterOfTheWeek was always summoned out of a comic book, and [[NeverSayDie "returned to the printed page"]] at the end of the episode. The season finale featured newly-created VillainSue Nukus suggesting they summon them all again, this time all at once.
** ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' The Fearcat army in a magic mirror.

* ''{{Hellsing}}'': Alucard has the ability to summon people he's drained as familiars. Towards the end, he summons ''everybody he's ever eaten, ever'' [[spoiler: just FYI Alucard is '''The''' original Dracula; He's been around since the Crusades (back when he was "Vlad the Impaler"). [[OhCrap Think about that for a minute]].]]

* The Horn of Valere from TheWheelOfTime. Whoever blows it can summon the Heroes of the Ages to fight for him. Of course, everyone wants it.

* In ''Franchise/{{Starcraft}}'' the ancient Protoss built three Arkships housing thousands in stasis to ensure the continuation of their culture. In ''VideoGame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'' Amon mind controls the majority of the Protoss race, forcing Artanis to reactivate the sole surviving Arkship, the ''Spear of Adun'', and sever the nerve cords (that enabled Amon's control) of the Zealots in stasis before waking them up.

* The second to last scenario of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars: Kane's Wrath'' involves activating an army of cyborgs Kane has hidden away, and the last mission involves using said cyborgs to storm a massive GDI Complex. Background information suggests [[AIIsACrapshoot CABAL]] hid a ''lot'' of the things, along with backup copies of its program, in vaults around the world, but GDI [[GenreSavvy was typically vigilant]] in rooting them out.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode "Bustman's Holiday"; Ray inherits his uncle's castle in Scotland only to discover soon after that is curse after a battle between highlanders and lowlanders that happened centuries before and having both armies of ghosts reawaken to start the battle again.

* ''Film/LordOfTheRings'': In a variation on this trope Aragorn gains control of a ghost army of oathbreakers bound to serve the king, in both the film and the book ''The Return of the King'' [[spoiler: and uses it to save Minas Tirith]]. Different from most examples in that they retained their sapience and only agreed to serve him in the battle because he, as rightful heir to the throne, promised to accept it as fulfillment of their broken oath and thus make it possible for them to finally pass on.

* The Oni Army Orb in ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}} 3: Demon Siege'', which Samanosuke uses to help Jacques storm Nobunaga Oda's castle.

* The Bohrok swarms in ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}''. In a mild subversion of the trope, they didn't follow the commands of those that had released them, but their sole operative (demolishing the island of Mata Nui and everything that gets in their way, then going back to stasis) was put to good use both by the villains and the good guys at different points -- first when [[BigBad Makuta Teridax]] unleashed them to terrorize the Matoran people of Mata Nui, and then when the Matoran released them again to fight against the Makuta's ''real'' army.

* The [[NightOfTheLivingMooks Mariage]] in ''[[AudioAdaptation StrikerS Sound Stage X]]'' of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. Discovered during an archaeological dig. Beaten due to their {{Necromancer}} [[KingInTheMountain king]] having an anti-war point of view by that time and therefore not being too privy about sustaining their diminishing numbers.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', [[spoiler:[[AlexanderTheGreat Rider]] has the ability to call upon the spirits of everyone he has ever commanded when he unleashes his ultimate Noble Phantasm, Ionioi Hetairoi: Army of the King.]]

* The Terracotta Army is available as a wonder in ''RiseOfNations'', that grants a bonus of troops (unsealing a platoon?) after a while in the game during the campaign in another territory, and generates one light/modern infantry at regular intervals based on the number of existing infantry when present in a match.

* WolfensteinTheNewOrder is cast in an AlternateTimeline where Nazis rule the world. Where did they get the technology to build their robot army? Apparently, they found a cache of technology that is on par with Thule technology and twice as durable. This becomes heavily ironic, because (AND THIS IS A BIG SPOILER) [[spoiler:Not only was the technology designed by Jewish scientists, but the reason why their technology was hyper-advanced was because their scientists took a binding oath to God that they would never apply their technology to real life, and would only use it to help other scientists design even more advanced technology with the sole intent of understanding the universe; no civil wars, no sabotage, all discoveries are shared between all scientists in the project, and nine thousand years to build and evolve their tinkertoys in secrecy equals pure human potential. That means that their religion is SUPERIOR to the Nazi's philosophy, and yet they've been denounced as inferior by the Nazis the entire series, even after discovering what they're capable of.]]

* The Golden Army from ''Film/HellboyII''. An army of 4900 (More accurately, 70 times 70 soldiers) invincible, untireable, clockwork warriors, to be precise. They're controlled by a MacGuffin that was split into three pieces to prevent it from ever being used again.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', [[spoiler: this is the Noble Phantasm of [[AlexanderTheGreat Rider]].]]

* The Spirit Army from ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''. Resurrecting it was the villains' plot for ''Deadly Alliance'', and it was completely and totally destroyed in the opening of the following installment, ''Deception''.
* The Chimera from ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}'' are a bit of a variation in that they aren't sealed away, the means by which they get more soldiers is.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'', the Archbishop Mandible has a grand plan to release an army of [[spoiler:dead from the afterlife]]. This turned out to be not such a great idea.
* The Terracotta Army is available as a wonder in ''RiseOfNations'', that grants a bonus of troops (unsealing a platoon?) after a while in the game during the campaign in another territory, and generates one light/modern infantry at regular intervals based on the number of existing infantry when present in a match.

* It's heavily implied that this happens to the [[EvilArmy Iron Legion]] of Xylvania in ''VideoGame/BattalionWars'' when the Solar Empire uses its [[KillSat super weapon]] to defeat them.
** Confirmed in the last leg of the game in which [[spoiler: you have to fight the ressurected Iron legion with a battalion of somewhat more modern troops]]
* [[spoiler:There's Mr. House's Securitron army]] hidden in Fortification Hill in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the door to which can only be opened by [[ChekhovsGun the thing you were mugged for at the start of the game]].
* The Oni Army Orb in ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}} 3: Demon Siege'', which Samanosuke uses to help Jacques storm Nobunaga Oda's castle.
* The Minion Hives in ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}} 1 & 2'' have to be recovered to grant the Overlord a replenishing supply of various forces.

* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series, this was ''supposed'' to be the result of the Prothean facilities on Ilos and Eden Prime ([[ParanoiaFuel and possible elsewhere...]]). Unfortunately, the extremely long time span involved (50000 years, give or take), the [[DarkestHour poor condition of the Protheans]], and active sabotage by [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Indoctrinated]] agents meant that both were heavily damaged. The Ilos facility managed to preserve a tiny corps of scientists, who sabotaged [[spoiler: the Citadel]] in hopes of hampering future Reaper invasions and [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture left behind their VI, Vigil, to give testament to what happened]]. The Eden Prime facility was less lucky; [[LastOfHisKind there was one survivor]].

* In ''RomSpaceKnight'', Rom's preferred weapon, The Neutralizer, banishes his enemies into Limbo. Thus some Dire Wraiths stole the gun, and later captured Rom, in the hopes of finding a means of returning the many Dire Wraiths he banished and thus create an big renewal of their forces.

* The Oni Army Orb in ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha 3: Demon Siege}}'', which Samanosuke uses to help Jacques storm Nobunaga Oda's castle.

* The Oni Army Orb in "VideoGame/{{Onimusha 3: Demon Siege}}", which Samanosuke uses to help Jacques storm Nobunaga Oda's castle.

** The events of the Last Great Time War are "time locked" so that time travel is impossible to or from it. The one time the time lock is nearly broken the Doctor notes that the entire cosmos would burn if all the horrors of the War were to escape.

* [[GreekMythology Jason]] was given the task to sow a field with [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon's teeth]], which sprouted into a huge, invincible army. However, he defeated them by [[spoiler: throwing a stone into the army, causing them all to kill each other in an escalating brawl]]. There's probably [[AnAesop a message in that somewhere]].

* In [[FateZero Fate/Zero]], [[spoiler: this is the Noble Phantasm of [[AlexanderTheGreat Rider]].]]

* In ''[[FateZero Fate/Zero]]'', Alexander the Great, A.K.A. Iskander, can summon a regiment of his former army at will as his Noble Phantasm. They all manifest as lesser Heroic Spirits, and some of them are ''genuine'' Heroic Spirits as well. [[spoiler:He uses it to kill 80 Assassins in approximately an eighth of a second. Later, it's destroyed by Gilgamesh blasting all the soldiers and disrupting it.]]

* Some strategic nuclear missile silos are estimated to be able remain functional for decades if not centuries without maintenance. A silo in Russia was recently discovered to have not only survived for two decades of abandonment, but was also able to keep the critical launch systems powered for all that time. The nukes themselves however have markedly shorter shelf life, as modern thermonuclear bombs require a can only maintain functionally for a maximum of ten years without having the tritium changed.