History Main / TruthSerums

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', Joker [[PoliceBrutality is forcefully injected with one by the police]], most likely to make him more susceptible to the request to sign his confession, [[PoliceBrutality though they do resort to outright assault and threats to get him to do so should he refuse]]. Notably, Sae calls the validity of Joker's statements into question multiple times during the interrogation, wondering if he's hallucinating [[spoiler:Which, if you get one of the bad endings, he ''is'']] or outright lying, and actually taking him more seriously when it started to wear off. [[spoiler:The serum nearly screwed up a straightforward plan to foil an assassination attempt directed at him made beforehand since it's wrecked his memory in several points which results in him nearly forgetting there ''was'' a plan, the identity of the Traitor and what he had to do, resulting in an insane GambitRoulette. He barely manages to pull through and perform his part of the plan which saves his life and fakes his death.]]

* ''ComicBook/Valerian'': In "Empire of a Thousand Planets", Valerian is captured and strapped to a machine that "simply makes people talk". He initially expects torture, but instead finds himself mind-controlled into answering his captors' questions, unable to lie or shut up.

** However, as fast-penta is a drug, not everyone reacts the same way. Most exceptions are fatal allergies. People whose work involves sensitive or classified information can have the allergy artificially induced unless their lives are deemed more important than the secrets they know. Bujold often uses artificial allergies to keep the characters from learning too much too soon. Another exception to the norm is Miles Vorkosigan. Due to his screwed up body chemistry, fast-penta induces a temporary mania in addition to the typical long-windedness. He uses this to his advantage, forcing himself to be discursive and bouncing off the walls reciting ''[[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Richard III]]'' until his interrogators give up and put him back in his cell (And he still doesn't shut up until he finishes reciting the entire play, to his cellmate's discomfort).

* ''Series/AlexRider'': When Dr. Greif finds out Alex isn't who he says he is, he [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable Straps Him To An Operating Table]] and drugs him. Alex is able to resist, partly by confusing the experience with the ''previous'' kidnapping and shouting gibberish related to that.

-->'''Lurk''': This could be ''very'' interesting. Now, what ''vital'' questions shall I ask?
-->'''Mata Hari''': 36-22-36.
-->'''Lurk''': Oh, I 'aven't asked you yet, dear.

* In ''Literature/{{DocSavage}}'' Doc has occasionally used truth serum, but usually as a last resort because he's well aware of its' limitations. It does not magically make someone tell the truth, it just makes them so groggy and confused that they can't concentrate enough to think up a lie, but it's still hard to get useful information from anyone. He also has to watch the dose very carefully, as the amount needed to make it nearly impossible for them to think up a lie is uncomfortably close to the dose that will either render them unconscious or kill them outright.

* Creator/EEDocSmith offers us nitrobarb in the ''Family D'Alembert'' series. Nitrobarb eliminates the subject's ability to lie or withhold information, but it's difficult to use because the questioning has to be specific and directed. The other big problem is that it ''carries a 50% fatality rate''. That's right -- half the people who get given it die as a result. Lampshaded in-universe by one of the heroes, who makes it clear that generally speaking they ''all'' die, because the information extracted invariably leads to a successful conviction for treason, with the death penalty to follow. When the bad guys use it, the subjects all die because once they've milked you of what you know, you're too dangerous to leave alive.\\
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* Webcomic/TalesFromAlderwood: A truth spell has Katherine blurt out the truth every time she tries to lie.

* In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/291812/sunset-reset Sunset Reset]]'', Sunset puts a Speak Your Mind spell on Shining Armor, forcing him to say anything that pops into his head, and forgets to lift it before he has a meeting with Princess Celestia. Within seconds, Shining makes a remark about the size of Celestia's butt. Celestia thankfully takes it in good humor and even finds it amusing once she realizes what's going on. She is decidedly less amused when the spell makes Shining admit that he's dating Sunset Shimmer - [[LoveObstructingParent Celestia's daughter.]]

* Cole is given truth serum in the ''{{Series/Tracker}}'' episode 'Dark Road Home'. He snuck into a mental hospital to find a dangerous fugitive who was hiding out there in the body of a psychologically troubled human. The nurses give Cole the serum to see if he'll tell something, but it backfires. He starts talking about the alien stuff and just seems to be saying more crazy things.

* ''ComicBook/TheBeezer'': In a ''The Numskulls'' strip, Brainy accidentally switched Edd's truth control from 'true' to 'false'. When the other numskulls find out, he resets it to 'as truthful as can be.' Ed immediately insults an enormous violent thug.

* A variation features in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2172417/1/False-Smiles "False Smiles,"]] when Xander and Faith believe that Faith is pregnant with Xander's baby, when Xander is in hospital after a fight, he lets himself get "high" on pain medication so that Faith will know he's telling her the truth that he wants to be there for her and the baby.

* The ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books feature a magical truth serum called Veritaserum. It's mentioned quite a lot, but the only time it's actually used was on an unconscious [[spoiler:Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Mad-Eye Moody]]. However, [[WordOfGod according to J. K. Rowling,]] all magical truth serums are fallible when used on a victim who is prepared for it, and its effects can be counteracted. Of course, this still makes you wonder why they didn't administer it to more unconscious people, as ''that'' worked entirely well. In [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix the film version]] of ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', Umbridge uses veritaserum successfully on Cho Chang, off-screen. [[AdaptationDistillation This serves to streamline the plot,]] giving Harry a reason to break up with Cho without having her ultimately responsible for the betrayal. It also writes out Marietta Edgecombe, the original (serum-less) tattle-tale, as well as Hermione's "SNEAK" jinx.

* An episode of the ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' cartoon had Jay accidentally injected with a truth serum, which resulted in him speaking everything that popped into his head. He was perfectly capable of telling a direct lie unless asked a direct question-when first asked by some Muggles what's going on in this whole crisis here, he gives them one of the standard-issue weird-but-believable cover stories. When one of the bystanders finds himself impressed by this, he says, "Wow! Really?" and Jay admits that no, it's actually a cover story to hide the fact that he's a government agent meant to protect them from this threat and cover up the fact that it was ever there.

** Bethany's MagicMusic is also capable of complelling people to tell the truth.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Gargamel captures the Smurfette and prepares a truth serum to force her to reveal the Smurf village's location. Unfortunately for him, Azrael steps on the potions book and accidentally turns the page to a potion of compulsive lying. In another episode, Papa Smurf gives a SnakeOilSalesman an ointment that acted like this to prevent him from ever lying about his products.