History Main / TheJailer

The most common CharacterAlignment for this villain is LawfulEvil.

** Rumour from ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' is similar.

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', "Lock-Up"

* Lock-Up from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (and CanonImmigrant to the Franchise/{{Batman}} comics). In the animated series, Lyle Bolton was once the new Head of Security at Arkham Asylum, but whose methods were so harsh and extreme that everyone at the asylum was afraid of him, particularly [[HorrifyingTheHorror Scarecrow]] of all people. After being relieved of his post, he would go on to "arrest" those who he deemed to be at the root of Gotham's problems, including the mayor, Commissioner Gordon, reporter Summer Gleeson and the chief doctor of Arkham -- the very same people who exposed his abuse of power at Arkham and got him fired -- before being stopped by Batman and Robin.

* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' had a villain named Leech who kidnapped and held captive other "Banged" super-humans, the reason being his Bang-induced powers was the ability to assimilate those of others - temporarily. (Kind of like Superman's foe Parasite, but it only worked on Bang Babies). Victims included the criminals Ebon, Talon, and Hotstreak, but he seriously messed up when he tried to go after Static himself, grabbing rapper and SpecialGuest Lil' Romeo instead, who had been wearing a Static costume.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Kanokon}}'', Yatsuka-sensei and the other nonhuman monsters' job is to make sure the nonhuman students stay put and don't break TheMasquerade until they've figured out how to fit in with humans.
* ''{{Manga/Oldboy}}'' features a prison for people who need to get rid of someone but don't have the skills or the will to kill. The main character, in Chapter 1, is dumped back into the real world after fifteen years in this prison.

* The ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' TabletopGame/FreedomCity villain Warden is one of these. He worked on making prisons as [[CardboardPrison non-cardboardy]] as possible, and got a bit fed up with people making that task harder by telling him that the prisoners have rights; didn't they forfeit those when they ended up in prison? His current goal is to overthrow "soft and corrupt" law and replace it with something altogether more draconian.

* Warden Kuril from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', who you have to deal with during Jack's recruitment mission. Turns out he likes to make a tidy profit in selling select prisoners as slaves, which Shepard and his/her crew do ''not'' take kindly to.

* Myglom, the warden of the Spider Guild prison in the ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Razer's Edge".

* Gigi, a VainSorceress and HornyDevil from ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee''; in order to stay young, she had to [[VampiricDraining drain the energy from other magical beings]], so she kidnapped them and turned them into animals before imprisoning them in the Orchid Bay Zoo. (June herself became a victim while trying to rescue them; a mistake on Gigi's part, as is often the case with this Trope.)

* Lyle Bolton, alias Lock-Up, from ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''. As this guy is a CanonImmigrant from the animated series, details about him are better provided in the Western Animation section.

* Hydraxon from ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''. To be fair, it is his job description, and he's hunting escapees in a place where he can expect to ''find'' only escapees, but he's still a little too quick to assume that everyone he meets is an escaped criminal. Botar, in charge of prisoner apprehension and transport, also liked his job a bit too much, trouble is he doesn't bother to look after his prisoners, or know that they might have escaped.

* Lock-Up from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (and CanonImmigrant to the Franchise/{{Batman}} comics). In the animated series, Lyle Bolton was once the new Head of Security at Arkham Asylum, but whose methods were so harsh and extreme that everyone at the asylum was afraid of him, particularly Scarecrow. After being relieved of his post, he would go on to "arrest" those who he deemed to be at the root of Gotham's problems, including the mayor, Commissioner Gordon, reporter Summer Gleeson and the chief doctor of Arkham -- the very same people who exposed his abuse of power at Arkham and got him fired -- before being stopped by Batman and Robin.

[[quoteright:250:[[Franchise/{{Batman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lockup_2944.jpg]]]]

The character alignment for this villain is LawfulEvil.

For jailers who actually abuse prisoners, see WardensAreEvil.

* Grimbor the Chainsman from ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}''.

* Castle Captive, who appeared on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', was another villain who was both the Jailer and the jail. [[GeniusLoci A living, intelligent castle]], it appeared in the human world once every hundred years, its appearance luring travelers to it, only to trap them inside and after 24 hours, carry them to whatever realm it called home, for... [[ForTheEvulz well, some reason known only to himself]] but he did seem to be [[{{Sadist}} a cruel creature who liked seeing victims suffer.]] Escaping it was almost impossible, because it could control every part of itself, doors, furniture, even items as small as silverware, and use them against anyone who caused trouble. One prisoner was Nanny Smurf, who was rescued after the Castle appeared a century after being kidnapped.

'''Lock-Up:''' And you actually care for those creatures? You're just as crazy as they are!

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'': When Sonic disappears in "Tails's Tale," Tails discovers Robotnik has paid a small fortune for a magical bat to lock the hedgehog up in his temple which will disappear shortly. Played with in that while the bat does charge a fee for his services, his victims are supposed to be actual criminals and villains and Robotnik had tricked him into imprisoning Sonic. Tails wins the day by proving Sonic's heroic nature, thus causing the angry bat to turn on Robotnik.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'': When Sonic disappears in "Tails's Tale," Tails discovers Robotnik has paid a small fortune for a magical bat to lock the hedgehog up in his temple which will disappear shortly. Played with in that while the bat does charge a fee for his services, his victims are supposed to be actual criminals and villains and Robotnik had tricked him into imprisoning Sonic. Tails wins the day by proving Sonic's heroic nature, thus causing the angry bat to turn in Robotnik.

* Lock-Up from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (and CanonImmigrant to the Franchise/{{Batman}} comics). In the animated series, Lyle Bolton was once the new Head of Security at Arkham Asylum, but whose methods were so harsh and extreme that everyone at the asylum was afraid of him, particularly Scarecrow. After being relieved of his post, he would go on to "arrest" those who he deemed to be at the root of Gotham's problems, including the mayor, Commissioner Gordon, reporter Summer Gleeson and the chief doctor of Arkham -- the very same people who exposed his abuse of power and got him fired -- before being stopped by Batman and Robin.

* Lock-Up from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (and CanonImmigrant to the Franchise/{{Batman}} comics). In the animated series, Lyle Bolton was once the new Head of Security at Arkham Asylum, but whose methods were so harsh and extreme that everyone at the asylum was afraid of him, particularly Scarecrow. After being relieved of his post, he would go on to "arrest" those who he deemed to be at the root of Gotham's problems, including the mayor, Commissioner Gordon, reporter Summer Gleeson and the chief doctor of Arkham -- the very same people who exposed his abuse of power and had him fired -- before being stopped by Batman and Robin.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' has Rhombulus from the High Magical Commission; his primary magic ability is to trap people in stasis inside near-indestructible crystals, which he uses to [[SealedEvilInACan imprison various highly dangerous criminals]]. Unfortunately, he happens to also be a trigger happy, hot-headed DumbMuscle who relies on his guts too much and dislikes having his opinions questioned. [[spoiler:This eventually causes him to go full-blown KnightTemplar because he refuses to accept [[DarkIsNotEvil Eclipsa]] was a victim of racist prejudices rather than the EvilSorcerer she was made out to be.]]

* Lock-Up from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' (and CanonImmigrant to the Franchise/{{Batman}} comics). In the animated series, Lyle Bolton was once the new Head of Security at Arkham Asylum, but whose methods were so harsh and extreme that everyone at the asylum was afraid of him, particularly Scarecrow. After being relieved of his post, he would go on to "arrest" those who he deemed to be at the root of Gotham's problems, including the mayor, Commissioner Gordon, reporter Summer Gleeson and the chief doctor of Arkham (the very same people who exposed his abuse of power and had him fired, making this a case of revenge) before being stopped by Batman and Robin.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': At the start of the Golden Age Diana left her villains to the cops and the legal system to deal with, but after Paula von Gunther's attack on Paradise Island she and the Amazons build a prison and start dumping all of Diana's female foes there indefinitely without trial regardless of what their alleged crimes or where they took place. This includes locking them into mind altering devices that force them to obey all orders and act happy about it. While most are brainwashed into HappinessInSlavery the rest desperately want the girdles off but cannot remove them themselves. The only character to ever try to point out how unlawful this is is Byrna Brilyant, who is also the only known character to hold onto their own mind enough to subvert orders while locked in a Venus Girdle since she built herself a new and improved set of PoweredArmor. No "good" character ever acknowledges that there might be anything wrong with this set-up.

* In ''Film/{{Antebellum}}'', [[spoiler:Senator Denton and his daughter Elizabeth are running a slave camp where kidnapped black people are forced to live and as slaves in the antebellum South.]]

The canonical alignment for this villain is LawfulEvil.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has Quilge Opie, a Vandenreich's Quincy general. Although he is extremely powerful, capable of tanking many attacks and doing extreme damage, his greatest ability lies in imprisioning his enemies in a nearly indestructible jail made from reishi, which was capable of holding [[TheHero Ichigo Kurosaki]] for a really long time. He is not called "Quilge of the Jail" for nothing.

* Locksmith in the Marvel Universe who used to imprison super-humans, feeling their feats overshadowed the achievements of ordinary humans. Most of his victims were {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s who ComicBook/SpiderWoman (Jessica Drew) had fought during the run of her own comic, but eventually he managed to capture Tigra and Spider-Woman herself. While the design of his prison to prevent his captives from using their powers to escape was considerable, the heroine managed to outsmart him. (First she had Tigra insult Poltergeist to start a fight, which shorted out the power that maintained the cells. Then she convinced Gypsy Moth, to use her powers of cloth to switch their costumes. The Locksmith was fooled, and put Spider-Woman and Gypsy Moth in the wrong cells after the power was restored, and the one designed for Gypsy Moth couldn't hold Spider-Woman. Once everyone was free, the Locksmith stood no chance.
* The Hangman, another Marvel Universe vigilante, would murder male evildoers but imprison female ones to 'protect them from corruption'. Unfortunately, he had a nasty habit of forgetting about them, leaving them without food or water...
* In the ''ComicBook/Marvel2099'' universe, [[Comicbook/ThePunisher2099 the Punisher]] (2099 version) had his own private prison. Of course, in his {{Cyberpunk}} {{Dystopia}} CrapsackWorld, anyone who could shell out the fine could get away with ''any'' crime, including murder. This made him - relatively speaking - as much an extremist in his world as the original Punisher (who just shoots everybody) was in his. Possibly more so; his prison came with a torture chamber. By the way, he reserved his prison for offenders whose crimes he felt didn't quite deserve the lethal approach - this was actually his idea of mercy! He also had his own version of the electric chair in case he ever changed his mind.
** As the legal system has turned into a for-profit business, prisons aren't around anymore due to the expenses involved, and convicts instead get a shot that removes a certain number of years from their life; this means the Punisher's private prison is also the only one in town. New arrivals have rarely even heard of locking criminals up before.
* Rayek in ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'', who never wanted to kill Winnowill (partly because he loves her, but mostly because if she dies her evil soul will be free to wreak havoc), and in the end becomes her living jailer, [[spoiler: keeping her spirit within his own body as he tries to teach her to love.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** The Master Jailer (Deathtrap in ComicBook/PostCrisis continuity) is a sort of example, except he's an out and out villain who just likes the power trips provided by his powers. And of course he's an unusual example because he actually has powers to facilitate his fascination with incarceration. Also of note is the fact that he was the architect who designed the supermax prison in Metropolis, Stryker's Island.
** His daughter [[LegacyCharacter carries on the family business]] under the names Snare and Locksmith.
** Faora Hu-Ul was a Phantom Zone villain introduced in ''[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Action Comics]]'' #471. She was a beautiful Kryptonian woman whose unexplained hatred for men led her to torture and kill 23 men at a secret concentration camp in her home.
* Mr Smyth from ''ComicBook/SecretSix'', a slave trader who was building what he hoped would be the world's biggest and only prison.
* Grimbor the Chainsman from ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}''.

* The eponymous Chain Gang from the short-lived Creator/DCComics title ''ChainGangWar''.

* Peter Bellamy serves this role in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal. He rises to the second-top job in Ankh-Morpork's prison service and effectively runs the Tanty prison in the City. [[note]]The Governor, Dame Amorine Maccalariat, lets him get on with most of the day-to-day management[[/note]]. Bellamy runs a fair and relaxed prison regime, administering prison officers and other staff, and dealing with Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch. He is respected by the prisoners, and when one was ''not'' respectful and threatened his family, Bellamy asked if he had a pencil and paper and gave his home address, just to make sure. [[note]] [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Mrs Bellamy]] is an Assassin. ''And'' a MamaBear.[[/note]]. Peter Bellamy is not now threatened by prisoners.

* The Warden who puts Young in the hole in ''Film/MurderInTheFirst'' is an unusual example, since he serves this purpose within a jail.

* The big twist of ''Film/TheSecretInTheirEyes'' when it's revealed that [[spoiler:the protagonist has locked up the murderer of his wife for twenty-five years.]]
* In ''Film/HouseOfWhipcord'', Margaret runs a secret illegal prison for 'morally corrupt' and 'delinquent' young women, replete with a group of tough female wardens who administer a harsh regime of corporal punishment upon their prisoners. Despite how this premise may sound at first glance, it is worth noting that this is ''not'' your bog-standard GirlsBehindBars exploitation flick, and what Margaret's victims go through is instead played for all the horror of what an ''actual'' situation like this would look like.

* In ''Film/{{Antebellum}}'', [[spoiler:Senator Denton and his daughter Elizabeth are a slave camp where kidnapped black people are forced to live and as slaves in the antebellum South.]]

* In the ''Literature/BulldogDrummond'' novel ''The Black Gang'', Drummond and his friends set up a [[ValuesDissonance concentration camp]] in Scotland for Communists.

* In ''Series/TheFlash2014'', the heroes turn part of STAR Labs into a private prison for metahumans who they think are too powerful for the criminal justice system to deal with.

* [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Torog]], Evil God of the Underdark. Patron of Jailors and Torturers.

* Warden Kuril from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', who you have to deal with during Jack's recruitment mission. Turns out he likes to make a tidy profit in selling select prisoners as slaves, which Shepard and his/her crew do ''not'' take kindly to.

* Mr Moss from ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks''.
* The Warden of ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' It's not like he's trying to uphold the law or anything. It's mostly because he loves incarcerating people '''that freaking much.'''
* Hama from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was a waterbender who was imprisoned by the Fire Nation during the Southern Water Tribe raids, but escaped through the use of Bloodbending, a creepy variant of Waterbending she developed while she was incarcerated. Upon her escape, she fled to a Fire Nation town and vented her hatred of the Fire Nation by imprisoning people herself in a mountain.
* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' when Megabyte imprisons Hexadecimal when he's not exploiting her power. When the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin firewall]] goes up imprisoning Megabyte, Hexadecimal remarks "now it is the jailer who has been jailed."
* Kampe, the jailer of Tartarus in ''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans''. Cronus was the only prisoner to have ever escaped under her watch. She hopes to correct this, even if it means sacrificing others to do so.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'': As a culmination of his angst, in "Yellowjacket", Hank Pym abandons his interest in rehabilitating criminals and as Yellowjacket, starts appearing to kill them, but actually transports them to a miniature prison he created by himself. However, he abandons this project by the end of the episode.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko''; when XANA has a reason to take an enemy alive, he uses a Guardian, a monster Aelita describes as a "digital jail". Exactly how it captures a victim isn't known, as both times, it happened offscreen (although Aelita's reaction suggests it isn't pleasant) and once that happens, the prisoner is kept in an unconscious state inside the Guardian, which seems almost indestructible from outside force. However, it seems even dumber than XANA's other mooks, and can be fooled easily if presented with a clone or illusion of the intended target.
* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' had a villain named Leech who kidnapped and held captive other "Banged" super-humans, the reason being his Bang-induced powers was the ability to assimilate those of others - temporarily. (Kind of like Superman's foe Parasite, but it only worked on Bang Babies). Victims included the criminals Ebon, Talon, and Hotstreak, but he seriously messed up when he tried to go after Static himself, grabbing rapper and SpecialGuest Lil' Romeo instead, who had been wearing a Static costume.

* Gigi, a VainSorceress and HornyDevil from ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee''; in order to stay young, she had to [[VampiricDraining drain the energy from other magical beings]], so she kidnapped them and turned them into animals before imprisoning them in the Orchid Bay Zoo. (June herself became a victim while trying to rescue them; a mistake on Gigi's part, as is often the case with this Trope.)
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'': General Tsin in "The Most Dangerous Po", who is capturing the most dangerous villains in China and imprisoning them as his personal collection. Also an example of HuntingTheMostDangerousGame and TheCollector.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' the Justice Knight (He's a [[LargeHam KNIGHT]] [[HeroAntagonist OF JUSTICE]]!) fights and imprisons shushu. To be fair, shushu ''are'' highly destructive demons.