History Main / TentacleRope

[[caption-width-right:350:Looks like [[ActionMom Ariel]] is [[JustForPun all tied up]] at the moment.]]

* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} is in the habit of using octopi to bind up his foes.
* ComicBook/DoctorOctopus humiliates Franchise/SpiderMan this way during their first encounter before throwing him out a window. [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk The Hulk]] turned this against him.
* ''[[ComicBook/TheUltraverse Freex]]'', a series from Malibu Comics. One of the shy teens, a female, was just full of all long, fleshy tentacles. Fortunately they wrapped around her body so a loose T-shirt meant she could pass.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

* ''ComicBook/TheUmbrellaAcademy'' has Benjamin Hargreeves AKA The Horror, who possessed [[BodyHorror tentacles coming out from his stomach]]. His generally sweet demeanor meant that there were no Naughty Tentacles, and not even any proper CombatTentacles, instead he settled for grabbing and constricting his foes. Or more often than not, just using his tentacles as handy rope for pulling and holding onto things.

* In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', Kalliv binds the [[BigCreepyCrawlies king centipede]] with magic vines, allowing Mao a clear shot to cast the {{fireball|s}} which killed it.

A SubTrope to BoundAndGagged. Compare VariableLengthChain, StandardFemaleGrabArea, SpiderLimbs. Contrast KnottyTentacles, where the one with the appendages is the one being tied instead.

* Tentacle Rope is a famous trope among people people who know ''hentai''. ''[[TooMuchInformation And this is all we'll say about that here]]''.

* In the final battle of ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove''[='s=] first season, Nyarko is captured by Lloiger in this fashion and squeezed hard enough to crack her HenshinHero form's armor (as well as breaking her helmet); she's able to break free after Mahiro throws her her [[CrowbarCombatant crowbar]]. Of course, since the series is inspired by the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, this trope's use should come as no surprise.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Pandorica Opens", a Cyberman's severed head attempts to grab Amy with some metal cables from its neck.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'': [[spoiler: Vecna ties Max to a pillar with his tentacles while she's mentally trapped in his realm. Twice. He also ties Eleven to a door and Nancy to a chair. Robin, Nancy and Steve also get secured to a wall and half-choked by tentacles in the Upside Down. This is four of the five female regular cast we're talking about, with Joyce getting just plain BoundAndGagged in the Russia plot.]]

A SubTrope to BoundAndGagged. Compare VariableLengthChain, WhipItGood, StandardFemaleGrabArea, SpiderLimbs. Contrast KnottyTentacles, where the one with the appendages is the one being tied instead.

* In ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', one episode deals with Lala cooking AlienLunch in (as always) a misguided attempt to please Rito. Somewhere mid-attempt, a huge Octopus and Kraken leave her ingridents box and begin tying her up, as well as Rito and Haruna. Hilariously, the two cetalopods then begin bickering over who gets whom, with one offering Rito only to receive a slap in the face from the pissed-off other.

* Many [[HornyDevils 'Cubi]] in ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' use this, or at least something like it. Their fighting style and the context often blurs the lines between Tentacle Rope and CombatTentacles. Some of them like [[spoiler:Dan's mom]] also bring in elements of RomanticizedAbuse. All three aspects are shown in Abel's (spoilerific) confrontation with [[spoiler:Destania]]. Starts [[http://missmab.com/Comics/Ab_101.php here]].

* Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} is in the habit of using octopi to bind up his foes.
* ComicBook/DoctorOctopus humiliates Franchise/SpiderMan this way during their first encounter before throwing him out a window. [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]] turned this against him.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'': Vecna ties Max to a pillar with his tentacles while she's mentally trapped in his realm.

* Most of the creatures from the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series that learn Wrap, Bind, or Constrict, such as Tangela and Tentacool, are this way when they use those attacks, binding their foes in their tentacles. Needless to say, much illicit fan art has been made of this very concept.

* There are unnamed plant tentacles in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' that rise from the ground when Link draws near and latch onto him. They don't inflict damage and merely tether him to the spot, steadily sapping his MP so long as they are attached. They'll respawn indefinitely but can be killed in one shot and aren't much of a threat.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' got ''really'' carried away with this in Season 4. The season premiere had the black vines which did this to all of Ponyville (and a couple ''residents'' in one scene), then we got the Mane-Iac who inflicted this on the [[FanNickname Mane 6]] with her PrehensileHair, and then we got the Tatzlwurm that had three tongues it used to snare and drag prey into it's mouth a'la [[Film/{{Tremors}} the Graboids]].

* A very common power for a MonsterOfTheWeek in the ''Franchise/PrettyCure'' franchise.

A SubTrope to BoundAndGagged. Compare VariableLengthChain, WhipItGood, StandardFemaleGrabArea, SpiderLimbs. Contrast KnottyTentacles.

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* ''Manga/SgtFrog'' has tentacle-like creatures which are used as living rope to capture prisoners.
* Haruna from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' uses it on Nodoka and Yue to prevent them from fleeing before a misunderstanding could be cleared.

* Green Shocks, a plant-like Sorkin Kaiju from ''Anime/UltramanTheAdventureBegins'' uses this technique among his other attacks to ensnare Ultrawoman Beth’s arms and try to drag her within range of the boiling acid hidden atop his head. When Beth manages to sever the tendrils, they grow back extremely quickly, and can even regenerate his entire body when the situation requires it, making him quite the challenge to face.

* Used a lot in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' by the bad guys to bind the senshi.
* Sometimes is used by the bad guys as a weapon in ''Manga/WeddingPeach''.

* Used in an episode of ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' when MadScientist Masafumi Takatori mutates into a be-tentacled ape-creature and uses his new appendages to restrain most of the rest of the characters in the room.
* ''Literature/DemonCityShinjuku'': One of the three demons used tentacles to grab Mephisto.
* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' Jeri is tied up by the tentacles of the D-Reaper. In the original she is tied in a cross shape. This was edited (badly) in the dub to be less religious looking.

* ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'':
** During the finale of the RS arc, Winona ends up captured by Maxie and Archie, held by Archie's Tentacruel. She ends up nearly suffocating to death as well.
** Various grass types' Vine Whip ability has been used as rope to pull other people up from cliffsides all throughout the entire anime.
* ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' features the three penguins, in the background, fighting three octopus to make takoyaki (fried octopus). Naturally, one of the octopus manages to hold two penguins up with its tentacles at one point.
* In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', this happened to Yusei in his first duel with Aki during the Fortune Cup, when she summoned her appropriately-named Rose Tentacles, but it was worse than most examples; it combined the trope with CombatTentacles restraining him with four of them so it could ''hit'' him with a fifth. (And it was dangerous business, seeing as Aki is a powerful RealityWarper who could not fully control her powers at the time, making the summoned monsters every bit as capable of actually injuring him as they can in a Shadow Duel.)
* In ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'', No. 96 has used his tentacles to restrain both Yuma and Astral on separate occasions.

* In the final battle of ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove''[='s=] first season, Nyarko is captured by Lloiger in this fashion and squeezed hard enough to crack her HenshinHero form's armor (as well as breaking her helmet); she's able to break free after Mahiro throws her her [[CrowbarCombatant crowbar]]. Of course, since the series is inspired by the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, this trope's use should come as no surprise.

* ''ComicBook/TheUmbrellaAcademy'' has Benjamin Hargreeves AKA The Horror, who possessed [[BodyHorror tentacles coming out from his stomach]]. His generally sweet demeanor meant that there were no Naughty Tentacles, and not even any proper CombatTentacles, instead he settled for grabbing and constricting his foes. Or more often than not, just using his tentacles as handy rope for pulling and holding onto things.
* ''[[ComicBook/TheUltraverse Freex]]'', a series from Malibu Comics. One of the shy teens, a female, was just full of all long, fleshy tentacles. Fortunately they wrapped around her body so a loose T-shirt meant she could pass.

* ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'': Booster's tentacled copilot tried to restrain a young Wedge Antilles this way, but Wedge [[KnottyTentacles turned this against him]] off-panel.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'' music number [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOeK0Ig-H9g B-Movie]] features a variant: power cords. They pull the heroes away from the light and lift the crazed appliances into the air at the end for a creepy crescendo.

* ''Literature/TheMagicTreehouse'': [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mth_1661.jpg This cover]] for the Japanese book #25.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode The Pandorica Opens, a Cyberman's severed head attempts to grab Amy with some metal cables from its neck.

* There are tentacles in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' and TheRemake of the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil first game]], which grab the female protagonist at one point in each.
** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', the flower-ish growth that devours and assimilates Salazar and his "left hand" does so by wrapping tentacles around them and pulling them into itself.
* The boss Smorg in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' is both this AND CombatTentacles, being some weird tentacled creature that kidnaps pretty much all the passengers on the Excess Express in this way and attacking with its tentacles and whatnot.

* Most of the creatures from the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series that learn Wrap, Bind, or Constrict, such as Tangela and Tentacool, are this way when they use those attacks, binding their foes in their tentacles. Needless to say, much illicit fan art has been made of this very concept.

* Although more of a GrapplingHookPistol than a TentacleRope in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', the Whipfist power enables such a utility in order to latch onto distant objects, but does not in anyway tie them up. Similarly with the consume-tendrils that hold onto lesser organic beings, which take a moment to be assimilated.
** In the [[VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}} sequel]], Heller gets the "Tendril" power early into the game, which he uses as CombatTentacles in addition to this.
* In the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' series, the Smoker's main attack is doing this with his tongue.

* ''VideoGame/TheLurkingHorror'' has a very literal example. You climb down a rope and then realize that it's a tentacle.
* Morpha in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'' has a tendency to grab Link and throw him across the room.
* There are unnamed plant tentacles in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' that rise from the ground when Link draws near and latch onto him. They don't inflict damage and merely tether him to the spot, steadily sapping his MP so long as they are attached. They'll respawn indefinitely but can be killed in one shot and aren't much of a threat.
* Several of the tentacles used by the Watcher in the Water from ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' are strangling tentacles which a DPS character must destroy.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' series has octopi and plants that behave in almost the same manner. Both grab Django and squeeze some health out of him, while the octopus also drags him underwater to pummel him before letting go.
* In the Day 12 flashback scene in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Final Fantasy XIII]]'', Serah is surrounded and grabbed by liquid metal tendrils that pull her into the Pulse Vestige, making her the fal'Cie's prisoner.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Magical vines tie up [[CuteGhostGirl Ecta]] in Webcomic/TheFourth. In her indignation, she claims never to have been "violated" in such a way.

* The Creator/{{Toonami}} webcomic ''Endgame'' has Orcelot Rex (a robotic SpacePirate) tie up TOM with his tentacles and electrocute him. It leads to TOM dying. [[YouDoNotWantToKnow At least in]] [[TooMuchInformation the actual canon]].

* In the episode "Unity" from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', Supergirl [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDht1UU0ARM has been captured by Unity as shown in this clip]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'': A common Sadida tactic when fighting with vines. Also used by Desherboss, Nox's puppet from episode 24.

* ''WesternAnimation/CosmicQuantumRay'': Played most [[IncrediblyLamePun cheesy]] in episode 12 "Mr Charm's Bad Vibration".
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' got ''really'' carried away with this in Season 4. The season premiere had the black vines which did this to all of Ponyville (and a couple ''residents'' in one scene), then we got the Mane-Iac who inflicted this on the [[FanNickname Mane 6]] with her PrehensileHair, and then we got the Tatzlwurm that had three tongues it used to snare and drag prey into it's mouth a'la [[Film/{{Tremors}} the Graboids]].

* ''Film/SeedingOfAGhost'' has the Demon Fetus' final form, which has numerous tentacles allowing it to grab and ensnare victims. It's tentacles even impales a guy who tried hiding from it's rampage through a door.
* ''Film/TokyoGorePolice'' has an... ''interesting'' example towards the end.
* An exploded headless torso does this with its ''intestines'' in ''Film/ReAnimator''.

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': At the Holliday College dance in "Ectoplasmic Death" Dr. Psycho manages to ensnare all of his enemies in tentacle like strips of pink ectoplasm.

* Haruna from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' uses it on Nodoka and Yue to prevent them from fleeing before a misunderstanding could be cleared.

* Mammon (née Viper) from ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' is a particularly... interesting example of this trope. S/he is, physically, ''a baby'' -- somewhere around one or two years old -- and carries around what looks like a roll of toilet paper, using illusions to turn the paper into what is a cross between this trope and CombatTentacles.

* ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' features the three penguins, in the background, fighting three octopus to make takoyaki (fried octopus). Naturally, one of the octopus manages to hold two penguins up with its tentacles at one point.

* [[HiveQueen The Goddess]] in ''FanFic/FalloutEquestria'' uses psychically projected blue tentacles to force ponies into the [[PsychoSerum Impelled Metamorphosis Potion]] vats in Maripony, turning them into [[SlaveMooks alicorn drones]]. [[spoiler:Or, in the case of Twilight Sparkle, to pull her [[FusionDance into her "body"]] and [[CannibalismSuperpower absorb her.]]]]

* In the final battle of ''LightNovel/HaiyoreNyarkoSan''[='s=] first season, Nyarko is captured by Lloiger in this fashion and squeezed hard enough to crack her HenshinHero form's armor (as well as breaking her helmet); she's able to break free after Mahiro throws her her [[CrowbarCombatant crowbar]]. Of course, since the series is inspired by the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, this trope's use should come as no surprise.