History Main / TheAlcatraz

* ''PrisonerOfWar'' has you escaping out of a fictional nazi POW camp, Stalag Luft and Colditz Castle (see Real Life below). The latter two ''twice''.

* An old Xbox game called 'Prisoner of War' has the character escape from ''five'' German prison camps from WWII, while foiling a Nazi rocket program at the same time. In fact, he escapes from the fourth prison camp, just so he can go to the fifth! Guy is a damn Houdini.

* While somewhat more famous in Britain, Colditz Castle was another 'inescapable' WWII POW camp. The population was composed entirely of men who had already escaped from other prisons.

** Arguably, all of West Berlin. East Germany spent enormous amounts of money to keep people from ''breaking in''.
*** The entire GDR probably fits this trope even better. With an over 1300 km long border, complete with cleared death zones and spring guns, guarded by a 50,000 man strong paramilitary unit, all of it only to stop people from leaving the country.

*** Among other things, you sign a contract. Supposedly you can walk away at any point up until the moment you set foot on the plane or bus headed to Boot Camp, though that is doubtful. Also, at any point in your first 12 months in the Corps, you can request a 'Failure to adapt to military lifestyle' discharge - which counts as a General Discharge, not an Honorable Discharge. Neither of these options applied when the Draft was active.

* Elba was supposed to be this for Napoleon. Despite being an island guarded by the British Navy, he manaaged to escape after 300 days. After Waterloo, he was exiled to Saint Helena, a barrern and isolated chunk of rock in the South Atlantic. He didn't escape that time.

** There was also the Big House, where villains were shrunk down to action figure size so that even if they do escape, what harm could they do? DiabolicalMastermind the Mad Thinker organized a mass breakout, but the indication is given that nobody below his nearly superhuman level of intelligence could've done the same.
** Marvel also has the Raft, which was introduced way back in New Avengers #1.

* Plenty of RealLife examples:
** The prison (and escape) in ''TheGreatEscape'' was based off a real one, Stalag Luft III.
** While somewhat more famous in Britain, Colditz Castle was another 'inescapable' WWII POW camp. The population was composed entirely of men who had already escaped from other prisons.

** Devil's Island

*** Would it not have been easier to just have made East Germany more pleasant?
**** [[HumansAreBastards No.]]
** The British prison on the Rock of Gibraltar.

** You can't quit?
*** Possible but very difficult and very expensive.

** Not a marine myself, but I assume that they are looking more for a few days (hours?) of relaxation rather than to leave the Corps altogether, so they are planning to sneak back in afterwards (Many a whacky boot camp film has covered the shenanigans of a group of soldiers that sneak off base one night). Also, it could be they do want to leave forever, but don't want to face the shame or stigma of admitting to their CO's and fellow trainees that they are not up to snuff, so they instead sneak out in the middle of the night...or I could be wrong on all counts, since I have not lived it myself.
*** A formerly Active Duty US Marine myself, nope. People who try to escape want OUT of the Corps, as they realize it is a LOT harder (mentally AND physically) than they expected. It's a completely different environment than they expected, a totally different lifestyle, and it is NOT easy in the slightest. This Marine knows of at least one person who DIED trying to escape Parris Island, so those who try must want out pretty durn badly. On the other hand, this Marine knows of a recruit who did manage to leave legitimately by responding to every order with "This recruit refuses to train, sir." He was recycled and recycled, but after (I think) 8-9 months (three times longer than Boot Camp itself), he was given a 'Failure to Adapt' discharge.

* Corel Prison in ''FinalFantasyVII'' ''can'' be escaped from...the problem is, it's in the middle of an endless desert and you'd probably die of thirst before you made it out.
* The D-District Prison in ''FinalFantasyVIII'' is pretty hard to escape from, given that it sics guards with Sleep spell training on you, lots of monsters and mechs of varying types, has powerful anti magic barriers, and even requires heavy machinery to even reach certain parts of the place. Like Corel prison, it is also in the middle of a desert - so even if the prisoner escapes, without any way of getting back safely, they're not going to be surviving.

*** Notable in that aiding the release of a fellow prisoner was show to be a very bad thing when they turned out to be insane and evil, making it a prime example of why you should be careful when [[NiceJobBreakingItHero freeing people]] from a super prison.

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* ''Rainbow Islands'', a sequel to ''BubbleBobble'' features [[spoiler:eleven victims who've been [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting transformed into bubble dragons]] and locked in small individual cells atop a mountain on an island that has been ''fully underwater'' with no hope of escape... unless Bub can reach them and not [[ItsAWonderfulFailure suffer that fate himself.]]]]

* ''{{Superjail}}!'', from the series of the same name, seems almost ''ridiculously'' inescapable. For one thing, it's on top of a volcano... which apparently grew right in the middle of ''another'' volcano (so, you know, lava moat), which is on a desert island and it's probly in another dimension. The main character manages to escape by the end of the first episode. It's a good thing, too; In Superjail, you go in... and that's about it.

* The Slab in TheDCU. How secure was it? It was designed my Shiloh Norman, the greatest escape artist in history, to be escape proof. This man escaped from a black hole, but specifically designed the Slab to be too much even for him. The Joker organized a mass breakout in the Joker's Last Laugh event.

Oh, and just so you scum know- This ain't your daddy's CardboardPrison. Folks have been breaking out of that one for years now. No, this is a grade A {{Oubliette}} for all you super freaks, ain't no one gonna remember you now. Might as well go to a [[EpiphanicPrison happy place]] now, scum.

* The Boiling Rock in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is probably the most over-the-top example that isn't for humor: It's a maximum security prison, on a tiny island, in a lake ''heated to boiling'' by hydrothermal vents, [[BeyondTheImpossible in the caldera of a remote volcanic island]], so that the only way in or out is an aerial tram to the docks. [[spoiler:Sokka and Zuko break out Suki, Hakoda, and a random inmate name Chit Sang ("Hey, I'm new")]].

* The Boiling Rock prison in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is probably the most over-the-top example that isn't for humor: It's a maximum security, on an island, the water around it is ''a boiling lake'', the lake is ''inside of a crater'' (that is probably a volcano), the only exits being two cable carts, and finally ''all of that'' is on a remote island. [[spoiler:Sokka and Zuko break out Suki, Hakoda, and a random inmate name Chit Sang ("Hey, I'm new")]].

* ''PrisonerOfWar'' has you escaping out of a fictional nazi POW camp, Stalag Luft and Castle Colditz. The latter two ''twice''.

* The computergame ''PrisonerOfWar'' is all about you doing this. 5 different times at three different prisons.

* Portlaois Prison in the Republic of Ireland contains Ireland's most dangerous criminals, members of dangerous drug gangs and criminals serving life sentences for serious crime. A number of Irish Republican prisoners are still in the old E Block. Anyone charged under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act must be sent to the prison because of its unique security measures.The prison has a capacity for 203 prisoners, but because of the security sensitive nature of its inmates, it operates below this capacity. A large number of well armed Irish Defence Forces soldiers guard the prison 24 hours a day, making it one of the most secure prisons in Europe.
The security features include a army detachment consisting of approx Company strength, armed with assault rifles and anti-aircraft machine guns, who guard the prison complex. An air exclusion zone operates over the entire complex. The perimeter consists of high walls, cameras, sensors and acres of tank traps.

** Portlaois Prison in the Republic of Ireland contains Ireland's most dangerous criminals, members of dangerous drug gangs and criminals serving life sentences for serious crime. A number of Irish Republican prisoners are still in the old E Block. Anyone charged under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act must be sent to the prison because of its unique security measures.The prison has a capacity for 203 prisoners, but because of the security sensitive nature of its inmates, it operates below this capacity. A large number of well armed Irish Defence Forces soldiers guard the prison 24 hours a day, making it one of the most secure prisons in Europe.

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