History Main / WoundedHeroWeakerHelper

Compare: HeroicBSOD, where time or a stiff talking to is usually is all that's needed to recover. HeroicRROD, which is sometimes [[TheHeroDies fatal]] (Wounded Hero isn't) and can be recovered from on their own. The AfterActionPatchUp is similar as it's a quiet moment of healing between the hero and assistant, except Wounded Hero is absolutely needed and not just minor or cosmetic. Compare also: DistressedDude, HurtingHero.

* In one issue of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', a group of mobsters' wives (recently widowed by Frank) lay an ambush for him. He escapes and is patched up by a woman, who turns out to be the sister of one of the widows, married to a {{Domestic Abuse}}r (also killed by Frank) and looking for revenge. She handcuffs a wounded Frank to the bed, kills most of the widows, and drags her sister back to her apartment before beating her to death with a baseball bat. Then she shoots herself.

** ''ComicBook/EscapeFromThePhantomZone'': After being struck and brought to her knees by a powerful psychic attack, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} needs to ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} to carry her out of the prison complex where both heroines had broken into.

* During the final arc of ''{{Manga/Parasyte}}'' Shinichi and Migi are confronted by the FinalBoss Gotou and [[spoiler: Migi is seemingly absorbed by Gotou]] leaving Shinichi as a human amputee who runs away into the mountains before he is found and nursed by an elderly woman named Mitsuyo.

* Superman in the comics has been known to need help from his human loved ones (like ComicBook/LoisLane, [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]], or Franchise/{{Batman}}) when he encounters too much Kryptonite.
* ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen'': Multiple situations spring up in which Superman gets incapacitated and Jimmy ends up taking charge to save his life.
** "The Disappearance of Superman": A group of crooks pull a WoundedGazelleGambit on Superman and bury him in a mine with a hunk of Kryptonite. Luckily, Jimmy succeeds in tracking him down and digging him up. Jimmy even lampshades how bizarre the situation is as he's pulling rocks out of the way.
** One incident gets referenced passingly in "The Million-Dollar Question." Crooks tied Superman to a Kryptonite boulder and threw him into the ocean. Unfortunately for them, Jimmy arrived on his heels, expecting a news story. The young reporter dived a considerable distance after him and cut him loose.

** In "A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste", the Planeteers have to work together to rescue Captain Planet after Captain Pollution runs him ragged trying to stop his schemes and then pounces.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': In "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E17DontDrinkTheWater Don't Drink the Water]]", after Captain Planet gets drenched in polluted water, he can't do a thing to help himself. The non-powered Ma-Ti and Kwame have to find clean water before the contamination kills him.

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Frequently on ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}'', the eponymous superhero will lose access to his SuperSerum after [[CastFromHitPoints draining himself]], forcing the female lead Polly to find it and/or protect him so he can recharge.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'': In "Can a Luthor Change His Spots?", Luthor drops Superman with a bucket of Kryptonite-laced ink and puts him on the ''Planet's'' newspaper preparation belt to be crushed by the presses. Luckily, Jimmy (who was tied up on the same belt), frees himself with some of the machinery and stops the belt. Then he uses some ink remover to get the poisoned ink off.

* Superman in the comics has been known to need help from his human loved ones (like ComicBook/LoisLane, ComicBook/JimmyOlsen, or Franchise/{{Batman}}) when he encounters too much Kryptonite.

[[caption-width-right:350:Well, he's weaker now until he gets [[{{ComicBook/Steel}} his armor on.]]]]

The hero or main character is physically wounded or suffers from a PowerStrainBlackout or HeroicBSOD such that they require assistance from a much weaker or less capable character (often a woman, RedShirt, or kid, sometimes a combination thereof).

There is no safe way for the hero to get out of this situation by themself. Either the wounds would leave the hero vulnerable to discovery/attack/[[TheBadGuyWins losing to the villain]] or at the extreme [[TheHeroDies the hero would die]] without the assistance. This is never a case of toughing it out. In fact, if the hero is still able to plan and direct their assistant significantly, they don't qualify for this trope. The injury (whether physical, mental, or otherwise) should be severe enough that the hero is out of the game with the possible exception of cooperating with the assistant in their attempts to help.

* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', the [[NighInvulnerability nigh-invincible]] Vision and RealityWarper Scarlet Witch suffers a CurbStompBattle from Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, and have to be rescued by BadAssNormal heroes Captain America, Falcon and Black Widow.
* Aaron Cross in ''Film/TheBourneLegacy''. While sick from the retrovirus, he can't hide himself (let alone Dr. Marta Shearing) from Treadstone/Blackbriar/Outcome so she had to be the brains for a while.

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', Princess Odelia is hit over the head by bandits and left to die in a creek. She is found by a child, Heria, and is carried to safety by Heria's older brother Jerin, who, while not exactly ^weak^ is arguably somewhat less badass than she and her sisters. She does not get to have a RescueRomance due to being unconscious most of the time. Her sister Ren, however, takes advantage of the situation.
* In ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'', at one point in the story, [[spoiler: Tisala]] kills several bandits with a tiny knife when she is already badly wounded beforehand. A farmer family finds her unconscious body, figure out what happened and carry her into their house, then inform Ward.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman''. In "The Magic Secret", Superman is trapped at the bottom of a concrete bunker where TheWallsAreClosingIn and there is a Kryptonite ray pointed down to keep Superman drained of powers. Jimmy crawls up the bunker to the top and changes the direction the ray is pointing so it won't affect Superman any more, leading to his quick recovery.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In his introduction episode, "[[Recap/DoctorWho2005CSTheChristmasInvasion The Christmas Invasion]]", the Tenth Doctor needs to be cared for by Rose (and to a lesser extent Mickey and Jackie), and they have to try to deal with the alien invasion for him while he recuperates.
* ''Series/MacGyver1985''. In the episode "To Be a Man," [=MacGyver=], who can always work his way out of anything on his own, is bedridden and helped by a lady and her son.
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries''. In the episode "The Murdoch Identity", the title character stumbles into a closed pub clutching an arm wound and suffering from amnesia. He begs for help from the female proprietor, who cleans and bandages his wound, gives him food and ale, and spends much of the rest of the episode helping him evade his pursuers and figure out who he is and why he's an ocean away from his home.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. Throughout the series, pretty much all of the heroes have their turn, especially Castiel having fairly regular PowerStrainBlackout and other injuries (mostly relying on Sam and/or Dean who are mere humans), as well as Sam and Dean (relying on non-hunter civilians).

* Myth/GreekMythology: One of Aesop's fables has a rat beg to be spared by a lion, the lion lets him go. Later the lion is ensnared in a net, and is only freed when the rat comes and gnaws him free.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Lalli experiences a PowerStrainBlackout after killing a giant that was going after him and Emil. After that, Emil is the one transporting Lalli's unconscious body, while being the one of the two with the less field experience by a margin of several years.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. The episode "I've Got Batman in my Basement" has Batman convalescing from being exposed to toxic gas in the basement of some kids, and he needs them to pick up some counter-agent capsules from a first-aid kit on the Batmobile (and while he's still recovering, the Penguin and some goons arrive to the house, forcing the kids to improvise some HomeAloneAntics with the contents of the Bat-Belt).
* Exploited by the Red Guy of David Feiss' ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' as a ruse to expose Cow's SecretIdentity. He rings the doorbell, and Cow responds to see a Superman {{expy}} lying prone on her doorstep with a huge green rock embedded in his spine. The expy pleads for Cow's help to remove the kryptonite, but Cow defers, saying, "I'm just a widdle cow." She may have seen through Red Guy's hammy acting, or Cow may be TooDumbToFool.

[[folder:Film]]

The SingleEpisodeHandicap has similarities, but that is escaped by the hero relying on other abilities. Here, they don't have that option. The hero must have someone else's help or die (or at least runs a heavy risk of making things worse).

The SingleEpisodeHandicap has similarities, but that is escaped by the hero relying on other abilities. Here, he doesn't have that option. He must have someone else's help or he dies (or at least runs a heavy risk of making things worse).

* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', the nigh-invincible Vision and RealityWarper Scarlet Witch suffers a CurbStompBattle from Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, and have to be rescued by BadAssNormal heroes Captain America, Falcon and Black Widow.

* Superman in the comics has been known to need help from his human friends (often involving ComicBook/JimmyOlsen) when he encounters too much Kryptonite.

* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Peter is badly wounded by the Prowler and his attempts to limit collateral to the surrounding area. When Prowler takes a hostage to keep the Pro Heroes from intervening, the cowardly and insecure Izuku (who had only just gotten his spider powers that same day) is the only one to rush in to help Peter.

* In the climax of ''Film/MissionImpossible3'', Ethan Hunt is incapacitated after he uses a makeshift defibrillator to shock himself in order to disable the mini-bomb planted inside his head, leaving his wife Julia to hold out against the bad guys coming after them. Fortunately, there weren't many and Julia is able to hold her own just fine, even managing to kill TheMole in the process.