History Main / TheBait

* On the rare occasions on ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' where the kids need live bait for a plan, they either go for Team Rocket or Ash. The giant Claydol has Ash and James (dressed as eggplants no less).

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Alice, after learning that the BigBad is specifically targeting her, offers to serve as the bait for his forces. Alice's commander, mentor and father figure Bercouli agrees, but insists on accompanying her.

* In ''Film/TheFinalGirls'', one of the rules of [[TrappedInTVLand the horror movie]] is that the SerialKiller always [[DeathBySex shows up right when someone's about to have sex]]. Even a woman taking her top off is enough. So the protagonists set a trap, and the slutty party girl starts [[YouCanLeaveYourHatOn dancing]] to lure him in.

* Played with in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. The break-in of Dennis’s apartment requires that everyone knows when he’ll be out. The group enlists Amy, Dennis’s favorite girl in the summer school class, to talk to him and find out when he won’t be home.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Isabela's personal quest in chapter 3 requires her to take on the role of bait.

* A common strategy for Klingons in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', both in Player-versus-Player combat, and as [=NPCs=]. Since all Klingon ships can cloak, one of them will fly around as bait, while the rest cloak. When the enemy ship flies in, expecting to deal with a single target, the rest decloak and begin curb-stomping.

* Taunt creatures in ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' force enemies to attack them until they die. If the taunt creature has a good attack stat, that can end badly for the enemy.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' sees [[BirdPeople Teba]] filling this role for Link; he flies around drawing the fire of [[HumongousMecha Divine Beast Vah Medoh's]] cannons while Link destroys those cannons with Bomb Arrows.
* In ''VideoGame/SixteenWaysToKillAVampireAtMcdonalds'', player character Lucy is the designated bait for her team of vampire slayers.
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries''
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', while infiltrating the Remote Isle Ranch, the party has one person(the party member with the lowest affection) serve as the bait for the soldiers coming out of a door while Lloyd and the party member with the highest affection ambush them.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', late in the game, the party is investigating whether [[spoiler:Largo the Black Lion]] is Natalia's real father. Since they want to keep Natalia out of the loop, Jade suggests that Natalia take a distraught Anise around the marketplace. Tear disapproves of using Anise as the "bait", but in the end, Anise simply asks for a full report on what they heard in her absence.
* Several soldier abilities in ''VideoGame/{{XCOM 2}}'' allow a character, under specific circumstances, to be immune to an attack. Using soldiers immune to an attack to deliberately draw fire to them is a valid tactic.
** Failing that, you can always use [[HackYourEnemy Hacked robots]] or enemies under MindControl as bait. The AI usually takes it.

'''TheChick:''' If this is to succeed it will need both of you. I'll be the bait. (It's all I'm good for anyways.)\\

Of course, [[GilliganCut the bait ends up being]] TheSmartGuy (Cue the "Why do I always have to be The Bait?" whining) or TheChick. Occasionally it will end up being TheLancer, which is more likely if he and TheHero are {{Rival}}s.

Sometimes the argument between Hero and Lancer will get so fierce that, instead of volunteering to be bait, TheChick or whoever will just sneak out and make themselves bait, while the argument rages on. Or possibly the Hero or the Lancer may decide to use PercussivePrevention on the other so they can do it themselves. If anyone insists there is ''no way'' they will act as the bait, expect a GilliganCut to prove them wrong.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'': The main characters (minus [[TheLancer Cera]]) have a plan to kill the Sharptooth by leading him near a deep area of water and dropping a rock over him. They immediately choose [[TheChick Ducky]] to act as the bait.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', [[TheSmartGirl Chloe]] and [[TheChick Lana]] sometimes do this voluntarily, despite [[TheCape Clark]]'s protests.

* Lelouch Lamperouge of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' uses his [[MindControl Geass]] to make himself forget that his partner Suzaku is sneaking towards the detonator connected to the bomb keeping his [[DamselInDistress sister]] [[HostageSituation hostage]]. Using himself as The Bait to distract the MindReading Mao to buy time for Suzaku to get close enough to catch Mao without him realizing it.
* ''Manga/DororonEnmaKun''. In one chapter, everyone fights over who has to be The Bait to catch a Youkai. Nobody wants to be it, but Dororon, Yuki, and Chapeauji finally agree on Kappaeru, who is still refusing. However Hitomi took pity on him and volunteers. Given the followings events, maybe she should have shut her mouth.

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Alice, after learning that the BigBad is specifically targeting her, offers to serve as the bait for his forces. Alice's commander, mentor and father figure Bercouli agrees, but insists on accompanying her.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* As part of the GambitPileup during the assassination tournament ComicBook/RedRobin decides to use himself as bait since he knows he's been made a target and calls [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Cassandra Cain]] for backup, and to pretend to kill him in order to "win" the tournament after rescuing him from the other participants.

* This is basically Shinji's role against the 3rd Harbinger Asherah in ''Fanfic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion''.
* In the ''VideoGame/KanColle'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Eternity}}'', Nagato was the flagship of Operation Ten-Go instead of the damaged Yamato, and was captured by the Americans. Knowing that keeping her as a war trophy will enrage the japanese, they intentionally set her up to be a kamikaze bait, with William D. Porter as a lone escort. Despite orders to let the suicide bomber do as they wished, Willie D's Captain ordered them shot down since Nagato's skeleton crew haven't evacuated yet. This was the start of their friendship in their future lives as shipgirls.

* A horrible version in the ''Series/{{Arrow}} [=/=] Series/{{Supernatural}}'' fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1053817/chapters/2793109 God is Cruel]]''. Oliver and Sara used a completely unwitting Laurel as bait for Deathstroke. Specifically, they sent her to his hideout aware he'd open the door for her...because she was his next target. Unsurprisingly, it went ''[[GoneHorriblyWrong horribly]]'' wrong.

* In the original ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the main characters (minus [[TheLancer Cera]]) have a plan to kill the Sharptooth by leading him near a deep area of water and dropping a rock over him. They immediately choose [[TheChick Ducky]] to act as the bait.

--->'''The Mandalorian:''' They may be open to fresh ideas.

* ''Film/Prey2022'': A group of French trappers tie Naru and her brother to a tree in order to lure [[EgomaniacHunter the Predator]] out. This backfires horribly as [[FairPlayVillain the Predator]] has absolutely no interest in tied up prey that can't fight back and completely ignores them to [[CurbStompBattle slaughter the trappers]]. Naru pulls a more successful version of this later on the French leader. [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Having realized both that the Predator sees their body heat and only hunts worthy, armed prey]], she uses a flower to lower her body temperature and makes sure that the Frenchman will be holding onto a (sabotaged) musket.

* ''Film/Prey2022'': A group of French trappers tie Naru and her brother to a tree in order to lure [[EgomaniacHunter the Predator]] out. This backfires horribly as [[FairPlayVillain the Predator]] has absolutely no interest in tied up prey that can't fight back and completely ignores them to [[CurbStompBattle slaughter the trappers]]. Naru pulls a more successful version of this later on the French leader. Having realized both that the Predator can't see heat and only hunts worthy, armed prey, she uses a flower to lower her body temperature and makes sure that the Frenchman will be holding onto a (sabotaged) musket.

* ''Film/Prey2022'': A group of French trappers tie Naru and her brother to a tree in order to lure the Predator out. This backfires horribly as [[FairPlayVillain the Predator]] has absolutely no interest in tied up prey that can't fight back and completely ignores them to [[CurbStompBattle slaughter the trappers]]. Naru pulls a more successful version of this later on the French leader. Having realized both that the Predator can't see heat and only hunts worthy, armed prey, she uses a flower to lower her body temperature and makes sure that the Frenchman will be holding onto a (sabotaged) musket.

* ''Film/Prey2022'': A group of French trappers tie Naru and her brother to a tree in order to lure the Predator out. This backfires as [[FairPlayVillain the Predator]] has absolutely no interest in tied up prey that can't fight back. Naru pulls a more successful version of this later on the French leader. Having realized both that the Predator can't see heat and only hunts worthy, armed prey, she uses a flower to lower her body temperature and makes sure that the Frenchman will be holding onto a (sabotaged) musket.

* This is basically Shinji's role against the 3rd Harbinger Asherah in ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion''.
* In the ''VideoGame/KanColle'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{Eternity}}'', Nagato was the flagship of Operation Ten-Go instead of the damaged Yamato, and was captured by the Americans. Knowing that keeping her as a war trophy will enrage the japanese, they intentionally set her up to be a kamikaze bait, with William D. Porter as a lone escort. Despite orders to let the suicide bomber do as they wished, Willie D's Captain ordered them shot down since Nagato's skeleton crew haven't evacuated yet. This was the start of their friendship in their future lives as shipgirls.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', [[spoiler: Norman Osborn]] tricks Spider-Man into becoming bait, so [[spoiler: Osborn]] can take down the Frightful Four. Spidey's not happy when he realizes that he was tricked into becoming bait.

* ''VideoGame/SixteenWaysToKillAVampireAtMcdonalds'' The main character, Lucy, is an expert at this role.

* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', Chiaki is tasked with acting as bait in Chapter 5 during Kazuichi's ill-fated plan to apprehend the unstable Nagito. The entire thing doesn't work, however, because Nagito knows about the plan beforehand and promptly ruins everything [[spoiler:by blowing up the hotel]].

Tv tropes baited me for years and now I can’t see anything properly because all I see is tropes

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1568486631084496300
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to discuss a new image.
%%
->'''Timon:''' So what's your plan for getting past those guys?\\
'''Simba:''' Live bait.\\
'''Timon:''' Good idea--HEY!\\
'''Simba:''' Come on, Timon. You guys have to create a diversion.\\
'''Timon:''' What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula? ''[GilliganCut to him doing exactly that]'' Luau!
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994''

The Heroes need to lure the BigBad into a trap.

For this you are going to need bait. While you could use a MacGuffin, we all know that the best bait is ''live'' bait.

But [[WhoWillBellTheCat who is going to take on this wonderful job]]?

If you're the Heroes then you need to look for volunteers. There are two versions that pop up. The first is one of the Heroes agrees to be The Bait risking a HeroicSacrifice. The other version is for the resident ButtMonkey or [[TheChewToy Chew Toy]] to become a [[GotVolunteered Less Than Willing Volunteer]]. [[MoreHeroThanThou A common resulting conversation]] in a FiveManBand is as follows:

->'''TheHero:''' I'll be the bait.\\
'''TheLancer:''' What are you talking about? I'll be the bait, you need to lead the attack. Just make sure you don't screw it up, 'cause if I end up dead I'll kill you.\\
'''TheChick:''' If this is to succeed it will need both of you. I'll be the bait. (It's all I'm good for anyways.)\\
''[Hero and Lancer strenuously disagree with this idea.]''\\
'''TheBigGuy:''' I could be the bait.\\
''[Everybody else looks at him like he's crazy because who would even''''''' think '''''''of the Big Guy as bait?]''\\
'''Comic Relief Guy''' or '''TheSmartGuy:''' Hey, don't look at me, I'm not gonna be the bait!

Of course, [[GilliganCut the bait ends up being]] TheSmartGuy (Cue the "Why do I always have to be The Bait?" whining) or TheChick. Occasionally it will end up being TheLancer, which is more likely if he and TheHero are {{Rival}}s.

Sometimes the argument between Hero and Lancer will get so fierce that, instead of volunteering to be bait, TheChick or whoever will just sneak out and make themselves bait, while the argument rages on. Or possibly the Hero or the Lancer may decide to use PercussivePrevention on the other so they can do it themselves. If anyone insists there is ''no way'' they will act as the bait, expect a GilliganCut to prove them wrong.

Villains usually just get themselves a hostage for bait--although occasionally a Mook will get stuck with the job. Being villains, they usually are not happy about it.

SuperTrope to SerialKillerBaiting. Compare WeNeedADistraction. Sometimes overlaps with WhyAreYouLookingAtMeLikeThat on the part of the bait.

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

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Lelouch Lamperouge of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' uses his [[MindControl Geass]] to make himself forget that his partner Suzaku is sneaking towards the detonator connected to the bomb keeping his [[DamselInDistress sister]] [[HostageSituation hostage]]. Using himself as The Bait to distract the MindReading Mao to buy time for Suzaku to get close enough to catch Mao without him realizing it.
* ''Manga/DororonEnmaKun''. In one chapter, everyone fights over who has to be The Bait to catch a Youkai. Nobody wants to be it, but Dororon, Yuki, and Chapeauji finally agree on Kappaeru, who is still refusing. However Hitomi took pity on him and volunteers. Given the followings events, maybe she should have shut her mouth.
* In ''Anime/MazingerZ'', often Kouji volunteers to be The Bait. Sayaka, too. Boss is more willing or more reluctant to play bait depending on the situation.
* In one {{Crossover}} movie between ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' and ''Manga/GetterRobo'', Boss plays bait to lure a monster to a deserted island.
* On the rare occasions on ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' where the kids need live bait for a plan, they either go for Team Rocket or Ash. The giant Claydol has Ash and James (dressed as eggplants no less).
* In one {{Flashback}} episode of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Team Satisfaction set a trap to ambush the Magician's Four. Unfortunately for Crow, he has to be the bait. (It isn't revealed who decided he'd get that role. ''Fortunately'' for him, the plan worked.)
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', this is the standard operating procedure, where one group distracts the titan and the second group (usually more skilled) goes for the kill. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.
** ''[[TheAce Mikasa]]'' ends up being decoy for the Female Titan as [[WorldsStrongestMan Levi]] demonstrates why he deserves his title of Humanity's Strongest.
** Armin uses this to deal with the titans invading the supply room.
** This is the primary mission of the surviving soldiers in the Battle of Trost, to lure the titans to the opposite side of the city so the elite team can plug the wall.
** This turns out to be [[spoiler:Eren's ''true'' role in the 57th Expedition, with Erwin secretly using him to lure out titan shifters infiltrating the military]].
* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'': The Major uses First Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle as bait to draw Alucard away from London, trapping him aboard the ship she commandeered using his weakness regarding running water to keep the powerful vampire away from London as the Major's forces make their assault on the Hellsing headquarters and London itself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/SinCity'', Marv draws Kevin out into a series of traps by firebombing his house. Dwight draws Manute and his men out to a back alley by using Miho's archery skills.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Superman and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} do this in ''ComicBook/WarWorld''. Superman volunteers to test how powerful Warworld's missiles are. Later on, he keeps the satellite's defense systems occupied while Kara gets ready to attack.
** In ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'', the eponymous Queenpin poses in society and fashion magazines as the mysterious and rich beauty Starfire to lure Supergirl out and into a trap.
* As part of the GambitPileup during the assassination tournament ComicBook/RedRobin decides to use himself as bait since he knows he's been made a target and calls [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Cassandra Cain]] for backup, and to pretend to kill him in order to "win" the tournament after rescuing him from the other participants.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* This is basically Shinji's role against the 3rd Harbinger Asherah in ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion''.
* In the ''VideoGame/KanColle'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{Eternity}}'', Nagato was the flagship of Operation Ten-Go instead of the damaged Yamato, and was captured by the Americans. Knowing that keeping her as a war trophy will enrage the japanese, they intentionally set her up to be a kamikaze bait, with William D. Porter as a lone escort. Despite orders to let the suicide bomber do as they wished, Willie D's Captain ordered them shot down since Nagato's skeleton crew haven't evacuated yet. This was the start of their friendship in their future lives as shipgirls.
* A {{Flashback}} in ''Fanfic/ShadowchasersTorment'' shows Nichole as a young girl following her brother--who's been running with gangs--without his permission, and having to watch as he's beaten up by a rival gang. Then it turns out that he was the bait for an ambush on the attackers by ''his'' gang members. Her brother tells her sternly to listen to him next time, although his friends tell him not to blame her, seeing as it can't hurt. (A crucial turning point in Nichole's life was when she had to choose between this type of life (which her brother didn't recommend) and something better. She chose the latter.)
* A horrible version in the ''Series/{{Arrow}} [=/=] Series/{{Supernatural}}'' fic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1053817/chapters/2793109 God is Cruel]]''. Oliver and Sara used a completely unwitting Laurel as bait for Deathstroke. Specifically, they sent her to his hideout aware he'd open the door for her...because she was his next target. Unsurprisingly, it went ''[[GoneHorriblyWrong horribly]]'' wrong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': Iago, much to his everlasting chagrin.
* In the original ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the main characters (minus [[TheLancer Cera]]) have a plan to kill the Sharptooth by leading him near a deep area of water and dropping a rock over him. They immediately choose [[TheChick Ducky]] to act as the bait.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/TheFinalGirls'', one of the rules of [[TrappedInTVLand the horror movie]] is that the SerialKiller always [[DeathBySex shows up right when someone's about to have sex]]. Even a woman taking her top off is enough. So the protagonists set a trap, and the slutty party girl starts [[YouCanLeaveYourHatOn dancing]] to lure him in.
* In ''Film/JasonX'', a virtual reality simulation meant to distract Jason creates a pair of scantily clad teenage girls who exclaim (among other things), "We love premarital sex!" (It works, temporarily.)
* ''Film/NobodySleepsInTheWoodsTonightII'': The group's initial plan to kill Zosia is to have one of them stand outside and lure her to them so the rest can open fire on her. The one who fills this role is Janeczka.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Avalanche Express'' by Colin Forbes involves Western intelligence escorting a defecting Soviet general across Europe on the Orient Express. The Soviet wartime sabotage network along the route is activated to kill him, giving counter-intelligence agencies a unique opportunity to round up these cells in peacetime.
* Creator/AgathaChristie often had the villains of her books caught in sting operations where someone would offer to play the bait in order to trick the murderer into trying to kill them. Examples include ''Literature/TheMovingFinger'' and ''Literature/AMurderIsAnnounced''.
* In "Literature/ClockpunkAndTheVitalizer" it's [[TheProtagonist Clockpunk]] herself who comes up with the idea and decides to be the bait for The Vitalizer, whose tirade will hopefully stop if he believes she's the Bull he's seeking.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' story "Literature/TheDevilInIron", Octavia is used to lure Conan.
** In "Literature/TheFrostGiantsDaughter", the title character lures Conan into a trap--and discovers this is not wise unless you know that your defenders can take him.
* In ''Literature/TheFatalDream'', Steven's cousin Charles volunteers to be this when it becomes apparent that he is the Pteranodon's next target.
* ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'': Rephaim gets [[GotVolunteered volunteered]] as this for Stevie Rae in ''Tempted''.
* Both played straight (with Tracy) and subverted (with Lindsey) in ''Into the Storm''. The girls' employer is conducting training sessions against Navy SEALS, and at different times they get tapped to play the hostage. In Lindsey's case, she was told to make sure both teams ''lost'' by sneaking out of the field.
* In Creator/JackCampbell's ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' novel ''Invincible'', Geary sets up the fleet in a compact formation to provide the bear-cows with a nice, neat target.
* ''Literature/MrsSmithsSpySchoolForGirls'': When [[TheProtagonist Abigail]]'s mother, Jennifer, goes off the grid, Mrs. Smith's plan to lure her out is to have Abigail walk around in open areas and hope she comes to her.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion in ''Literature/NewJediOrder'', Jaina Solo used herself as bait to lure the Vong into a trap in the Deep Core; it was a success, destroying the Vong fleet and scoring a big victory for the New Republic.
* In Creator/BrandonSanderson's ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', Sadeas' bridgemen are this. They charge the enemy lines, unarmored and unprotected, carrying a bridge to span the chasm the army needs to cross. The Parshendi fire on them, but Sadeas fields so many bridge crews that they rarely kill enough to make a serious dent. Furthermore, while the Parshendi are killing bridgemen, they ''aren't'' killing soldiers who are far more expensive to equip and train.
* ''Literature/TheTripods'': In order to capture one of the Masters, the protagonist rides a horse (painted green to catch their attention) past one of their Tripods, and when it gives chase lures it into a hidden pit.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
** In Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''First & Only'', Larkin wanders into the Jantine Patrician quarters and runs when he spots some of them. They give chase and are struck down by his companions. Only then does Larkin complain that he always gets to be the bait.
*** And in one of the short stories that make up the majority of ''Ghostmaker'' Bragg (TheBigGuy of the Ghosts) is used as "big dumb trooper" bait to get a traitorous supply convoy driver to feel safe enough to tip off his bandit friends to raid the convoy.
** In Creator/JamesSwallow's ''Literature/BloodAngels'' novel ''Deus Encarmine'', Iskavan is told that his force has been sacrificed as bait to draw the Blood Angels in--and is jeered at for not even being able to die when he ought.
** In Chris Roberson's novel ''Literature/SonsOfDorn'', Captain Taelos suspects something about his being left with the scouts on-planet. He learns in due course that the rest of their force had lurked until the scouts had drawn out the full Chaos force (and died nearly to the last man).
** In the ''Literature/AstraMilitarum'' novel ''Baneblade'', the taskforce led by ''Mars Triumphant'' is this, distracting Ork forces from one side while other Imperial forces attack elsewhere.
* ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheSpaceBeagle''. The Ixtl has been abducting people to serve as hosts for its eggs, so the crew of the ''Space Beagle'' act as bait to lure it into an ambush of forcefields and atomic {{disintegrator ray}}s. Unfortunately a crewman in the line-of-fire panics and, instead of throwing himself to the ground, opens fire on the weapons crew. This ends up killing a whole bunch of people and tips off the Ixtl as to their plans. The captain had advised the 'bait' not be armed for exactly this reason, but was overruled by the expedition commander, who ends up getting killed himself in the disaster.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** In ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsADangerousPath A Dangerous Path]]'', the way that the [=ThunderClan=] cats decide to deal with the dogs loose in the forest is to set up a relay line of cats for the dogs to chase toward the gorge; Fireheart is at the end and hopes to either veer away at the last moment or leap into the gorge himself to get them to fall in.
** In ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsTwilight Twilight]]'', a pair of vicious house cats has been causing trouble for [=ShadowClan=], attacking and killing any that they can catch on their own. To lure the cats out into the forest and away from their Twolegs, Tawnypelt pretends to be injured and alone while her Clanmates lie in wait.
** In ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsSignOfTheMoon Sign of the Moon]]'', Jayfeather volunteers himself as bait to lure an eagle down to the ground so that the ancient Tribe cats can learn to hunt birds of prey.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Bait duty debates happen a lot on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', and usually Xander gets the job, being as he's the ButtMonkey of the series. This was reversed at the beginning of season three: Because Buffy was "absent", the Scoobies had to work without her, and the role of bait was passed to Cordelia. Subverted when Xander and Cordelia are too busy arguing over this, they fail to notice the vampire is sneaking up on Willow.
** In Season 4, the Initiative is searching for Spike and come across Buffy sitting on a park bench, waiting for Spike to [[ArchEnemy come and challenge her]]. Unaware of her superhero role, the soldiers get into an argument over whether to use this hot-looking chick as vampire bait. Riley Finn, who fancies Buffy as a LoveInterest, refuses to play along, and so tries to persuade Buffy to go home. HilarityEnsues as each tries to get rid of the other (Buffy is equally ignorant of Riley's demon-fighting role) while waiting for Spike to jump out of the shadows. As before, said vampire ends up attacking Willow instead.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E6TheLazarusExperiment "The Lazarus Experiment"]]: Martha and her sister Tish do this to lure the mutated Professor Lazarus up to the bell tower of Southwark Cathedral, where the acoustics will be just right for the Doctor to use the cathedral's organ to revert him to human form.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E2TheWitchsFamiliar "The Witch's Familiar"]]: Missy uses Clara to get a Dalek's attention so she can sneak up on it. "You're the bait, I'm the hook."
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E4ArachnidsInTheUK "Arachnids in the UK"]]: Graham serves as bait when he and Ryan are sent out to capture one of the [[BigCreepyCrawlies abnormally large spiders]] roaming a hotel.
* ''Series/TheMandalorian''. In "The Marshall", the Tuskens demonstrate to Mando and Cobb Vanth how they've been placating the Krayt Dragon by periodically sacrificing a Bantha to it. A Tusken Raider leashes a Bantha in front of the cave, shouts at the dragon to wake it up, then makes a run for it. The dragon comes out of the cave... and eats the Tusken, leaving the Bantha perfectly fine.
--->'''The Mandalorian:''' They may be open to fresh ideas.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', the first time Rita Repulsa's brother Rito Revolto appeared, Rita "suggested" that he lead a gang of monsters against the Rangers. Actually, he was meant to be the bait for an ambush by said monsters, which wasn't mentioned until he had left. (This actually proved a far more clever plan, because while the villains actually scored a victory there, when Rito ''did'' face them by himself the next time, he had his ass handed to him.)
** In ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'', Damon ends up playing the bait/decoy at least twice, and is vocally unhappy about it both times.
* In ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'', Sailor Venus takes on this role for much of the show. [[spoiler:She sees this as a good use of her life because she has a terminal illness and knows she'll reincarnate before long anyway]].
* Used for a BaitAndSwitch gag in ''Series/ShadowAndBone''. The Conductor tells the Crows to buy a goat for when they're crossing the Shadow Fold, which is assumed to be bait for the flying monsters that exist there. Turns out it's in case one of their own panics--they can then [[SecurityBlanket pet the goat to calm themselves down]].
* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', [[TheSmartGirl Chloe]] and [[TheChick Lana]] sometimes do this voluntarily, despite [[TheCape Clark]]'s protests.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Obsession", the plan to draw the vampire cloud with a tank of blood goes awry when the cloud consumes the blood before the antimatter bomb is ready. Kirk orders Ensign Garrovick to beam up while he stays to bait the creature, Garrovick instead tries to knock him out and [[MoreExpendableThanYou take the risk himself]]. They both end up serving as bait until beamed up just in time.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Sam and Dean sometimes use someone as bait [[GodzillaThreshold when they don't have a better plan]]. Bait duty (if necessary) usually goes to Dean (unless there's some reason it has to be someone else), both because he looks the part more (Sam's got three or four inches on him) and because if he can keep [[{{Protectorate}} Sam]] out of danger, [[BigBrotherInstinct he will]].
** In "Unforgiven", Sam discovers that while soulless, he used a VictimOfTheWeek as bait to catch the MonsterOfTheWeek. Unfortunately the victim has [[NotQuiteDead come back]] as a demon and wants revenge.
* ''Series/Titans2018''. Jason Todd thinks this is why Robin wears his colorful costume, so he can distract the villains while Batman sneaks up and does his thing. He's entirely OK with this, whereas Dick Grayson (the previous Robin) is not, having a more cynical attitude to his former mentor.
* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': Steve Trevor's main job. In "Fausta the Nazi Wonder Woman", Steve is [[KnockoutGas gassed]] by Fausta and locked in a crate solely to draw out Wonder Woman and watch her beat up some {{Mooks}}. Later in the same episode, he's chained to a wall to capture Wonder Woman with crushing walls. [[spoiler: She's stronger than the walls and the engine pushing the walls together]]. In "Knockout", Steve spends the entire episode tied up and in the evil terrorist's clutches. [[spoiler: Thus dooming the group to be destroyed by Wonder Woman]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* In the song "Captain Beaky" by Keith Michell (on the album ''Captain Beaky & His Band (Not Forgetting Hissing Sid!!!), Vol. I''), Captain Beaky uses Timid Toad as bait to lure out the snake Hissing Sid. The plan works, although not in the way it was originally intended.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The function of several cards in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. One of the best examples is the Taunting Elf, which has the ability that when it attacks, everything capable of blocking it has to. This can be used to allow all the other creatures to attack unimpeded or to lure out a creature that normally wouldn't be used as a blocker. Since the elf is a 0/1 and thus, unless enhanced, is incapable of dealing or taking any damage, it generally doesn't survive the process. Of course, you can enchant with something like Venom to make it kill everything that blocks it (a combo sometimes called "Creature Sweeper", since it will sweep all your opponent's creatures off the board).
** Some strategies are built around getting your opponent to take the bait and then swooping in for the kill.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/SixteenWaysToKillAVampireAtMcdonalds'' The main character, Lucy, is an expert at this role.
* Played with in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. The break-in of Dennis’s apartment requires that everyone knows when he’ll be out. The group enlists Amy, Dennis’s favorite girl in the summer school class, to talk to him and find out when he won’t be home.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Isabela's personal quest in chapter 3 requires her to take on the role of bait.
* ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'' [[spoiler:Beatrice. The whole "drag one innocent human's soul into hell" thing was just a means of getting the ultimate killer in the Crusades, strong enough to kill a grim reaper after dying, to inadvertently break Lucifer's chains scattered around Hell]].
* This was the reason the villains went after [[spoiler:Kyrie]] in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4''. [[spoiler:They wanted to use Dante to power the Savior, but weren't quite equal to the task of capturing him, so after Agnus discovered that Nero had demonic power of his own and a relationship with Kyrie, he and Sanctus used her as bait to lure Nero into their trap so that the two of them could be used instead]].
* A long and cherished tradition in ''VideoGame/EVEOnline''. Poorly-equipped ship flown by a 'newbie' presents easy kill, enemies go for kill, react in surprise and alarm as six battleships jump in and snipe them to death. Heartwarming.
* A common strategy for Klingons in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', both in Player-versus-Player combat, and as [=NPCs=]. Since all Klingon ships can cloak, one of them will fly around as bait, while the rest cloak. When the enemy ship flies in, expecting to deal with a single target, the rest decloak and begin curb-stomping.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Shepard is used as the bait by Samara to lure her serial killer daughter into a place where Samara can safely kill her.
** In [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 the third game]]'s ''Citadel' DLC, Shepard uses Joker as bait when [=CAT6=] starts shooting up the sushi restaurant by telling him to go warn the crew, then grabbing and killing the first merc who sees him to acquire a weapon. Joker is pretty furious about it.
--->'''Joker:''' You used me as ''bait''? You used me as bait! Did everybody see that? Savior of the Citadel uses the brittle bones guy as bait!
* A villainous example in ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2''. Izebel use the freaking [[KrakenAndLeviathan Kraken]] as bait when she intercepts the party on the high seas.
* Taunt creatures in ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' force enemies to attack them until they die. If the taunt creature has a good attack stat, that can end badly for the enemy.
* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', Chiaki is tasked with acting as bait in Chapter 5 during Kazuichi's ill-fated plan to apprehend the unstable Nagito. The entire thing doesn't work, however, because Nagito knows about the plan beforehand and promptly ruins everything [[spoiler:by blowing up the hotel]].
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' sees [[BirdPeople Teba]] filling this role for Link; he flies around drawing the fire of [[HumongousMecha Divine Beast Vah Medoh's]] cannons while Link destroys those cannons with Bomb Arrows.
* In ''VideoGame/SixteenWaysToKillAVampireAtMcdonalds'', player character Lucy is the designated bait for her team of vampire slayers.
* Several soldier abilities in ''VideoGame/{{XCOM 2}}'' allow a character, under specific circumstances, to be immune to an attack. Using soldiers immune to an attack to deliberately draw fire to them is a valid tactic.
** Failing that, you can always use [[HackYourEnemy Hacked robots]] or enemies under MindControl as bait. The AI usually takes it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheRemarkableRabbitBoy'': The character Foxline gets her bones broken by the powerful villain Bloodarm, and figures out that the only reason Bloodarm didn't instantly kill her instead is because he wanted to use her as bait to lure out the main character, Rabbit Boy, who Foxline had ordered to hide.*
* In ''Webcomic/BlueYonder'', Jared wants to escape to the open so that the attackers who took his parents and sister will come after him. [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1327214/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-33/ He succeeds.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Endstone}}'', [[http://endstone.net/2010/06/03/issue-3-webpage-39/ Pablo proposes it, for dragons.]]
* In ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', Han and Luke propose using the entire [[http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0867.html moon of Yavin 4]] as bait for the Peace Moon, so that it can be vulnerable while charging its superlaser.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Pacificators}}'', [[FieryRedhead Cinna]] was [[LaserGuidedKarma forced]] [[HoistByHerOwnPetard to become]] The Bait in order to draw away [[PsychoElectro Rendo]] away from his comrades. It's, thus far, one of the funniest scenes in the entire work.
* Because pretty much everyone in ''Webcomic/NerfNow'' thinks that GirlOnGirlIsHot, Chun-Li and Kammy are able to use themselves as bait in [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/578 this comic.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'', this role is in a henchman's job description.
* In ''Webcomic/TheFarSideOfUtopia'' Peter is clearly trying to bait the people looking for him to come after him, as he had no other reason to use his real name (he can clearly make fake ones, since he did for Mium).
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': When there are nanite-converted supersoldiers running around trying to turn scientists into more supersoldiers, the mercenaries put the survivors all in a single room and have them lay down on the floor.
-->'''Scientist:''' Shouldn't we be somewhere safer? Why are we out in the open?\\
'''Tailor:''' This way, we can see all the entrances and have clear lines of fire on any hostiles.\\
'''Scientist:''' Wait... ''we're bait!''\\
'''Tailor:''' Don't be ridiculous.\\
'''Schlock:''' ''[into comm]'' Sir, the bait is panicking.
* In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', Mao [[https://yokokasquest.com/comic/chapter-4-page-56/ uses Kalliv in mouse form]] to bait the [[BigCreepyCrawlies king centipede]] into biting him, so he can shoot a {{fireball|s}} [[AttackTheMouth inside its mouth]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' TOS episode "The Invisible Monster". In order to lure the title creature into the trap, Dr. Quest must act as the bait. He turns on a flashlight to lure his energy-eating opponent to its doom.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E17LaunchpadsFirstCrash Launchpad's First Crash]]" a matriarchal tribe hunts giant crabs using their diminutive men as a bait. When Scrooge and Launchpad arrive, all the men have just had it and left, thus amazons use Scrooge and Launchpad. In the end Granta tells that men and women reconciled with each other and now take turns as a bait.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "Final Cut", where Society of Assassins member Mutro Botha persuades (okay, blackmails) Terry into helping him apprehend Curare, Botha doesn't see himself as bait for the plan, but Terry clearly does. (It ends ''very'' badly for Botha, but it's [[AssholeVictim hard for anyone to feel sorry for him.]])
* Both April and Michelangelo serve as bait for less intelligent mutants in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''. Mikey even fails to notice what's happening on one occasion and just thinks the plan is an excuse to wear a silly costume.
* In ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', [[spoiler: Norman Osborn]] tricks Spider-Man into becoming bait, so [[spoiler: Osborn]] can take down the Frightful Four. Spidey's not happy when he realizes that he was tricked into becoming bait.
* In the "King Homer" segment of the "Treehouse of Horror III" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Mr. Burns and Smithers bring Marge to Skull Island to use as bait for King Homer, which leads to an awkward situation for Burns when they get there:
-->'''Marge:''' Am I coming too?
-->'''Burns:''' Of course! We wouldn't dream of going ashore without the bait...Er... ing... beauty, the... bathing beauty! That's it. ''[Aside, to Smithers]'' Think I covered that rather well...
* WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo and Shaggy usually get elected to be the live bait in catching the week's villain in a monster suit.
* The animated ''WesternAnimation/PunkyBrewster'' debut episode "Punky To The Rescue" had Margaux posed as bait to catch a supposed swamp monster that Punky thinks kidnapped Henry.
[[/folder]]

----

* ''Film/NobodySleepsInTheWoodsTonight'': The group's initial plan to kill Zosia is to have one of them stand outside and lure her to them so the rest can open fire on her. The one who fills this role is Janeczka.

* In ''Film/TheFinalGirls'', one of the rules of [[TrappedInTVLand the horror movie]] is that the SerialKiller always [[DeathBySex shows up right when someone's about to have sex]]. Even a woman taking her top off is enough. So the protagonists set a trap, and the slutty party girl starts [[YouCanLeaveYourHatOn dancing]] to lure him in.

* In one {{Crossover}} movie between ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' and ''Manga/GetterRobo'', he plays bait to lure a monster to a deserted island.

* In ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', The Major uses First Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle as bait to draw Alucard away from London, trapping him aboard the ship she commandeered using his weakness regarding running water to keep the powerful vampire away from London as the Major's forces make their assault on the Hellsing headquarters and London itself.
** ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged'' makes this explicit by calling this phase of the plan "Operation Bait Van Winkle."

* Marv and Dwight both do this in ''ComicBook/SinCity''. Marv draws Kevin out into a series of traps by firebombing his house. Dwight draws Manute and his men out to a back alley by using Miho's archery skills.
* Franchise/{{Superman}} and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} do this in ''Comicbook/WarWorld''. Superman volunteers to test how powerful Warworld's missiles are. Later on, he keeps the satellite's defense systems occupied while Kara gets ready to attack.
* As part of the GambitPileup during the assassination tournament ComicBook/RedRobin decides to use himself as bait since he knows he's been made a target and calls in his sister [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cass]] for backup, and to pretend to kill him in order to "win" the tournament after rescuing him from the other participants.

* In the ''VideoGame/KantaiCollection'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{Eternity}}'', Nagato was the flagship of Operation Ten-Go instead of the damaged Yamato, and was captured by the Americans. Knowing that keeping her as a war trophy will enrage the japanese, they intentionally set her up to be a kamikaze bait, with William D. Porter as a lone escort. Despite orders to let the suicide bomber do as they wished, Willie D's Captain ordered them shot down since Nagato's skeleton crew haven't evacuated yet. This was the start of their friendship in their future lives as shipgirls.

Compare WeNeedADistraction. Sometimes overlaps with WhyAreYouLookingAtMeLikeThat on the part of the bait.