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16[[quoteright:300:[[Webcomic/GirlGenius https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvtds_5391.png]]]]
17[[caption-width-right:300:Also, she wants to [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill his girlfriend]].]]
18
19->''"You have a knack for getting in trouble."''
20-->-- '''ComicBook/SpiderMan''' (to Mary Jane), ''Film/SpiderMan1''
21
22The DamselInDistress is an age-old classic plot device, which places a character in danger to add tension to the story. Sometimes one character (usually a {{Love Interest|s}} or a [[TagalongKid relative]] of another character) seems to have no discernible purpose besides serving as the DesignatedVictim. If the character is popular with the audience, this can be effective. Other times, well... let's just say that the audience starts wishing that the BigDamnHeroes would get stuck in traffic, just so they won't have to put up with ''her'' anymore.
23
24The Damsel Scrappy is a combination of the Damsel in Distress (or in some cases, the DistressedDude) with TheScrappy. The result is a character that the fans dislike because she's perceived to be TheLoad or even TheMillstone of the group, not pulling her weight compared to the importance the story gives her as a plot device. It's especially irritating if the character is [[InformedAbility said to be a competent and valuable member of the team]]. Most of the time, this character's plight is due entirely to [[TooDumbToLive her own stupidity]]. She doesn't just pick up the DistressBall, she runs it into her own endzone and gets tackled for a safety. And she keeps on doing it, again and again and again. This may be due to being TheDitz, or a severe case of crippling GenreBlindness.
25
26Even if she's just unlucky, she may be disliked for other reasons. Perhaps the audience finds her [[SatelliteLoveInterest too bland]], or [[AlphaBitch too bitchy]]. Perhaps her presence seems [[TokenRomance shoehorned into the main plot]] (perhaps to attract a PeripheryDemographic or for blatant {{Fanservice}}), and the audience feels she [[SpotlightStealingSquad steals time]] from the story they're actually interested in. This is especially true when her subplot has [[TrappedByMountainLions nothing to do with the main plot]] at all. Or else she seems like [[TheLoad useless dead weight]] whose only purpose is to pad the plot by getting in trouble. And worst of all, the fans may just dislike her for [[DieForOurShip getting in the way]] of their FanPreferredCouple, and actually use this trope as an excuse to hate her without being called out for it.
27
28FauxActionGirl is frequently what you get when you mix this with an ActionGirl. {{Chickification}} is what happens if an actual ActionGirl gets retooled or [[CharacterDerailment derailed]] into this. Child characters can fall prey to this just as easily, especially the TagalongKid or a hero's ObliviousYoungerSibling. Large risk of being TrappedByMountainLions.
29
30See also TooDumbToLive. Compare TheScrappy and TheLoad. Compare DefiantCaptive and DamselOutOfDistress. See also RecklessSidekick, SympatheticSue. DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel can justify or subvert this trope.
31
32----
33!!Examples:
34
35[[foldercontrol]]
36
37[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
38* Meg from ''Anime/BurstAngel''. [[FauxActionGirl Supposedly an]] ActionGirl, but Jo must rescue her all the time.
39%% * ''Manga/BlackButler'': One of the reasons for Elizabeth's scrappy status. In the manga [[spoiler:this is eventually subverted, as Elizabeth is actually a LittleMissBadass more than capable of defending herself AND only acts this way [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon because she fears Ciel may reject her for being "unfeminine."]]]]
40* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Princess Rurichiyo. A bratty, spoiled rich kid who can't seem to stop getting kidnapped. After Ichigo and crew have the kidnapper cornered and it looks like the {{filler}} arc is over, a new villain is revealed and she's kidnapped ''again''.
41* Fumiko Mifune from ''Manga/ChainsawMan''. She's introduced as an eccentric yet presumably competent bodyguard to Denji. She promptly spends the rest of her screentime getting her ass handed to her--at one point by an ''old lady''--without doing anything even remotely helpful for Denji and Nayuta. [[spoiler:On top of that, her first onscreen action is ''sexually assaulting'' Denji, which later gets worse as she reveals her true colors as an [[BitchInSheepsClothing EXTREMELY shitty and self-centered person]] who has virtually zero impact on the narrative despite several chapters being spent on her. And on top of '''that''', Fumiko's presence in the story coincided with several other more popular characters getting more-or-less pushed to the side for extended periods of time. All that is to say, she's an [[{{Jerkass}} unlikable]], [[TheLoad incompetent]] [[DirtyCoward coward]] who [[SpotlightStealingSquad steals screentime]] from the characters who the audience is actually interested in and could be cut out entirely with the plot remaining exactly the same. While there are certainly other characters who fall into the HateSink category, they're all either [[LoveToHate engaging to watch]] and have an impact on the narrative ''or'' play such a minor role that the audience doesn't have enough time to get sick of them. Fumiko does neither, being both an absolutely detestable person '''and''' and absolute waste of time for the story.]]
42* Pan in ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' had this enforced upon her by the writers, who specifically claimed she'd been added to the show so that Goku could have someone to rescue. She continued to tag along with Goku long after there was any reason for her to do so, or when there were much stronger fighters who could have been following him. It was especially noticeable because Pan never achieved Super Saiyan, something her uncle was able to do as a five-year-old, which would have been a perfectly reasonable way to elevate her into a more competent fighter.
43* Miaka from ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'', despite being the series protagonist, has caught some fan hate for the numerous times she [[MartyrWithoutACause pointlessly]] rushes headfirst into dangerous situations, in some cases even ''actively sabotaging'' her protectors or [[PoorCommunicationKills not telling them important information]], then getting in trouble and needing them to come save her anyway.
44* One of the reasons why Akane Tendō from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' is considered by some to be a BaseBreakingCharacter is the fact that, sometimes, she comes off as one of these. It's not that she gets kidnapped a lot (in fact, Ranma Saotome himself is actually kidnapped more frequently than she is), but she does get into trouble frequently, often because of her own issues (temper issues, pride and blind distrust of Ranma/trust of her enemies, mainly), and usually ends up contributing nothing positive to the experience. The very earliest examples of this are the [[MartialArtsAndCrafts Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics and Martial Arts Figure Skating]] stories.
45* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
46** Molly (Naru) in the Creator/DiC English dub. Her horrible accent, combined with how she gets attacked by the MonsterOfTheWeek in almost every episode of the first season, makes her much more annoying than her original character.
47** Chibi-Usa/Rini, too. Over half of the MonsterOfTheWeek plots in the second season are kicked off by her running off and getting herself into trouble. You'd think the girl would catch on after it happens so many times, but nope. The villains of that season have the easiest job in the world - they don't have to try and find her at all, they just need to wait for her to run off and inevitably reveal herself, which happens every time. Again, the [=DiC=] dub makes her even less tolerable with a grating voice and editing out scenes the moral guardians would object to, usually of Usagi punishing Chibi-Usa. Rini came off as an utter KarmaHoudini sometimes.
48* Saori Kido from ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', who has to be saved by the main characters about five times in the original manga, four other times in the movies, twice in the spin-off anime, and once in the manga sequel, much to fans' dislike.
49* ''Manga/YuGiOh'': Also invoked in the early manga somewhat with Anzu. She is first held hostage by a restaurant owner and then nearly assaulted by a classmate. Yami Yugi rescues her both times and she promptly develops a crush on him. Then she herself invokes the trope, trying to put herself in danger in one chapter to make him appear. She isn't usually held hostage any more than anyone else in Yugi's immediate circle of friends, though, and given that she gives friendship speeches much less than she does in the anime, the extent of her scrappy-ness is debatable.
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Comic Books]]
53* ComicBook/{{Empowered}} has a very sturdy reputation as this in-universe, as a "[[ButtMonkey D-list superchica prone to capture and bondage]]", despite the fact that when the villains she faces upgrade from obnoxious, but not very harmful pervs to actively threatening the safety of her friends and/or the world, she is [[TheHero one of the most effective and powerful]] heroes (and a good battlefield leader even), [[TookALevelInBadass especially in the later stories]]. She becomes increasingly effective against the pervs too. It's finally revealed that she let the harmless pervs tie her up because [[spoiler:they had a tendency to forget she was there and start gossiping about more powerful villains' secrets.]] It later turns out to be an Enforced Trope in that she was ''cursed'' [[spoiler: by Sistah Spooky]] so that villains feel compelled to try and take her hostage -- and what's worse, the caster actually ''felt remorse'' for the curse and tried undoing it to no avail.
54* Franco-Belgian comic book ''Kid Paddle'' and its spin-off ''Game Over'' give us the [[EveryOneCallsHimBarkeep Princess]], a video-game DamselInDistress who always has to be rescued by her PintSizedPowerhouse barbarian boyfriend. The Princess is so stupid and lacking in common sense that most of the time, she ends up getting herself and/or the [[EveryOneCallsHimBarkeep Little Barbarian]] killed, generally in a [[EpicFail particularly]] [[TooDumbToLive stupid way]]. Good thing NegativeContinuity is in full effect, as they are video-game characters...
55* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
56** This is the characteristic once strongly associated with [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]]. In 1940s-era issues, she needs to be rescued a lot (usually while pursuing a news story), but is fairly intelligent and can sometimes get herself out of scrapes by kicking ass and taking names. In the '50s issues, though, she is constantly putting herself in danger for no reason, and her main goal in life in her own book ''Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane'' is to trick Superman into marrying her. In the early '70s issues, she becomes a much more well-rounded and developed character, who just needs a little help against superpowered aggressors from time to time, and she is written to be more assertive in her ''ComicBook/SupermanFamily'''s solo stories. This includes Lois mastering a Kryptonian form of martial arts named "Klurkor."
57** Being associated with this trope is probably what spurred John Byrne, in his ComicBook/PostCrisis retelling of Superman's origin, to make it very, very obvious that Lois was now a borderline ActionGirl. This eventually led to an Inversion immediately after her wedding to Clark [[spoiler: when he is kidnapped after temporarily losing his powers]]. Lois takes her Army brat background to extremes, becoming a G.I. Jane in order to come to the rescue.
58** It's played for laughs in ''ComicBook/Supergirl2005 #60'', which shows there are quite a few guys like this in Metropolis; they will literally jump off of buildings so ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} has to catch and rescue them (and they often ask for her phone number afterward).
59* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': Rick Jones was this from his first appearance, in which he stupidly drove out into an active military testing site, causing Bruce Banner being subjected to Gamma radiation while saving him, turning him into the Hulk. This tendency tends to annoy the Hulk, especially during his grey, intelligent phases, and is lampshaded by Rick himself in one issue where he manages to beat his captor and escape on his own.
60* The ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' version of ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson fits this so well that even Spidey notices in-universe, breaking up with her because he can't trust her to handle herself intelligently [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies when a supervillain is wrecking up the place]]. Unusually, she takes this as a spur for CharacterDevelopment and resolves to [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap do better in the future]].
61[[/folder]]
62
63%% [[folder:Comic Strips]]
64%% * Olive Oyl from ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}''. Much more so in the cartoons, ''especially'' the Famous/Paramount Studios ones.
65%% [[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Fan Works]]
68* Krysta from ''Fanfic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic'' rarely does anything aside from being kidnapped and having someone rescue her.
69* The eponymous Ariana from the ''Fanfic/TheArianaBlackSeries'', who continuously stumbles into extremely obvious traps and then the canon characters have to rush in to save her. Ariana is ''never'' called out on her idiocy, despite her kidnappings taking place at least once a year at minimum and her supposedly having a power that is coveted by Voldemort.
70* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, the Guild of Trespassers of Ankh-Morpork considers this is a legitimate job role, and when sending an expedition into, for instance, [[DarkestAfrica Darkest Howondaland]], it actively recruits for the position of ''Girl Who Frequently Gets Into Dangerous Situations Where She Screams, Flounders Ineffectually, And Requires Rescue''.
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
74* What happened to Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's ''Film/Batman1989''. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Originally it was going to be quite different]], but after the [[TheOtherMarty first actress cast as Vicki]] (Sean Young) fell off a horse and broke her arm in a scene that was cut from the film, it was decided that the replacement (Creator/KimBasinger) shouldn't be put at such risks.
75* The real Blanche Barrow felt this way about how she was portrayed in ''Film/BonnieAndClyde'', declaring that the film "made me look like a screaming horse's ass!"
76* Nicole from the ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004'' draws a lot of ire for a scene in which she ends up in trouble because she drives a truck into a store full of zombies to rescue ''a dog'' when it's already been established that the zombies have no interest in animals. The protagonists then decide to rescue her, which results in more survivors being killed, and them having to flee the mall - although in Nicole's defence, the shop she was hiding in was a gun shop and they go there to stock up as well and were intending to leave the mall anyway (and had already fortified some abandoned buses that they immediately go to). [[spoiler: While she doesn't prove herself useless, and apparently [[BolivianArmyEnding survives the end]], she doesn't necessarily redeem herself either]].
77* Lori from ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. The one character that could have died in the first five minutes [[FinalGirl ends up surviving the whole movie]].
78%%* Grace Andrews from the ''Film/TheHitcher'' remake
79%%* Erin from ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2003''.
80* ''Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'' is an odd example where the Damsel Scrappy - in this case Julie - starts out as a proactive character who drives the plot and is able to take care of herself. But once she's trapped on a boat with the killer in the third act, she does nothing but scream and be useless while having to be rescued by Ray twice. At one point she just calls out his name, which distracts him and allows the killer to knock him overboard. It's especially egregious when she's put in comparison to Helen, who's presented as the weaker, daintier GirlyGirl, who ends up [[SilkHidingSteel putting up a good fight against the killer]], [[spoiler: and Helen dies while Julie survives]].
81* Parker from ''Film/{{Frozen 2010}}''. Audiences blamed her for getting herself, her boyfriend, and his best friend all stuck on a ski lift during a snowstorm. [[spoiler:She survives the ordeal and has the massive luck of finding a road where she can be rescued]].
82* Willie Scott (Creator/KateCapshaw) in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom.'' Some fans view her as the UrExample of this trope; the character and Ms. Capshaw's portrayal embody ''all'' of the negative aspects mentioned in the trope description above -- except, to be fair, there is no evidence that [[Creator/StevenSpielberg her director]] intended her to attract a PeripheryDemographic or for {{Fanservice}}. She's an especially jarring example in comparison to [[ActionGirl Marion Ravenwood]] of [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk the previous movie]].
83* Even Bond girls from the Film/JamesBond movies are not immune, despite trying to help more than once.
84** [[Film/AViewToAKill Stacy Sutton]]... seriously, woman, ''Creator/ChristopherWalken'' is able to sneak up [[TooDumbToLive on you]] in a ''zeppelin''. And the [[CuteButCacophonic screeching]]...
85** Mary Goodnight from ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' is ''[[InformedAbility supposedly]]'' [[FauxActionGirl an intrepid agent sent along to aid Bond.]] All she manages to do is get caught by Scaramanga in a particularly stupid way, with the MacGuffin in her possession, and then [[GoGoEnslavement lie around on a beach]] wearing [[{{Fanservice}} a bikini]].
86** There's also Tiffany Case in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', who at one point ''falls off the edge of an oil rig'' after trying to use a submachine gun and failing epically. [[FridgeLogic From the way she held the gun, one would assume she had no prior firearms training, so she didn't know what kickback was.]]
87%% * ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'' (2004) recreates the style of a 1930s PulpMagazine story - right down to putting Gwyneth Paltrow in one of these roles as the PluckyGirl reporter.
88* ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'':
89** Mary Jane Watson. Three movies. Three times kidnapped to be used as bait to lure Spidey out. It's particularly egregious in the first movie; Spidey rescues her ''three times'' in it alone.
90** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the third movie novelization by Mary Jane who asks if she has bait stamped across her forehead when she's locked in Venom's falling car.
91** In the sequels, she makes a couple of attempts to become a HeroicBystander. She drops a block of cement on Venom's head as he fights with Spider-Man in the third film and tries to attack Doc Ock from behind in the second film -- but Aunt May had already successfully done the same thing earlier on, [[GenreSavvy and Doc Ock doesn't repeat his mistakes]].
92** Interestingly enough, Gwen Stacy was originally going to be the one abducted for the final battle in the third film, not Mary Jane, and Mary Jane would have been the one who helped Harry come to his senses. A line from this was included in the trailer: "We've all done terrible things to each other, but we have to learn to forgive each other or else everything we ever were will have meant nothing."
93** If you listen to the DVD commentary, you can hear the irritation in Creator/SamRaimi's voice while he recalls having to A) put MJ back in the damsel role because of time constraints and B) having to apologize profusely to Creator/KirstenDunst after he promised her before the filming of the movie that she wouldn't be doing that again. To make up for it, he gave her more action to do in the scene and used recycled audio of her past screaming rather than make her scream again.
94* [[Creator/TommyLeeJones Michael Roarke]]'s teenage daughter Kelly in ''Film/{{Volcano}}'', who has a snarky attitude and hates that her dad hired a babysitter to watch out for her because she assures him that she can take care of herself, but otherwise spends the rest of the movie as TheLoad, due to her habit of freezing like a deer in headlights whenever danger arises. (One egregious scene has her wander out of the car despite her father's orders, indirectly getting two firefighters, including one Michael was trying to save, '''killed'''.) She's nearly consumed by a slow-moving river of lava, stands stiff while her leg is on fire, and wanders right into the path of a falling building because she's incapable of doing anything but waiting for her dad to pull her out of the way.
95* Depending on how you feel about her, Creator/DakotaFanning's character in the 2005 remake of ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' is this. Due to being a young child, she's ill-equipped to fight the aliens or be useful in any way while her father and brother have to protect her. She tends to be a polarizing character, with some viewers finding her useless and others sympathising with her apparent anxiety disorder and claustrophobia.
96* Carly from ''Film/WrongTurn''. She spends the entire movie screaming "I CAN'T!" at the top of her lungs and doing absolutely nothing useful.
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Literature]]
100* A good chunk of Creator/CatherineAnderson's heroines follow the same pattern: Get mad at the hero, run off in a hissy fit, get in trouble, scream for help, get rescued by the hero. The biggest examples are ''Baby Love'', ''Cherish'' and ''Phantom Waltz''.
101* Nora Grey, the heroine of ''Literature/HushHush''. Over the course of three books, she repeatedly walks into dangerous situations without telling anyone else where she's going (so no hope of a rescue if a plan goes wrong), no weapons of any kind, and usually no actual planned course of action beyond "I'll break into that place and wing it". The author seemed to be trying to channel ''Franchise/NancyDrew'', but failed to give Nora any competency. Really, Nora's stupidity can be summed up near the end of the first book [[spoiler:when she ''willingly'' walks into an empty school and plays into the bad guy's hands, even though (A) she knows she's being lured into a trap, (B) her super-powered, invincible boyfriend is already rescuing the hostage being used as bait for Nora, and (C) the bad guy doesn't even know said boyfriend is on the case, meaning that if Nora had stayed put, the entire climax probably would never have happened. And then, when she's in the school, she gives up and says that she hopes her boyfriend will rescue her. Even though ''he has no idea she is inside'' because ''he told her to wait outside for him'']].
102%% * Clio Marsden starts out like this in E.E. "Doc" Smith's ''Triplanetary'' (the first of the Literature/{{Lensman}} novels) but gets a lot better as the book goes on. In her case, the threats ("a research upon sex") are anything but vague.[[note]]Except that her captor is, unbeknownst to her, an alien to whom sex is an entirely foreign concept; they reproduce by binary fission. Which doesn't mean there's no chance he might want to ''watch'' (for purely scientific reasons) while one of his human subordinates "performs the experiments," which isn't a whole lot better from her point of view.[[/note]]
103%% ** In fairness to Clio, she's nothing more than an ordinary civilian at the start; needing to be rescued from a gang of highly organised and very professional space pirates is entirely justified; and while she's no Clarissa Kinnison, the levelling-up she does is reasonably impressive for the era in which the books were written.
104* Clary Fray from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' mostly. Indeed, [[ExtremeDoormat Simon]] would be leading a happily mundane life were it not for his determination to protect her, even though she just [[LoveMartyr sees him as a friend]]. [[DeathSeeker Jace]] could be argued as being a male version of this trope as well, since a great deal of effort on the part of Clary, Alec, Isabelle, Magnus, the Lightwoods, and others centers on saving him from some life-threatening situation that could have been avoided were it not for his nasty independent streak.
105* ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'': Bella Swan pretty much epitomizes this trope, even commenting in her own narrative that "I guess my brain will never work right. At least I'm pretty." Add in the fact that she can't seem to get out of ''any'' scrape without the intervention of a man, and you've got a textbook example of this trope. Alice Cullen sums it up: [[LampshadeHanging "I have never seen anyone more prone to life-threatening idiocy."]]
106* The entire Tribe Of Rushing Water in ''Literature/WarriorCats''. In only one of their four appearances did they not need to be saved from something by the clans, yet they are rude to the clans and tell them to go away. In ''Sign of the Moon'', the cats come for a visit when the Tribe doesn't think they need help and the Tribe actually attacks them!
107* Determinedly invoked by Millie in ''[[Literature/{{Xanth}} Castle Roogna]]''. She repeatedly gets kidnapped or attacked and never does anything to defend herself other than by kicking (not kicking the assailant, mind you, just kicking in the air) and screaming. She seems to believe that's how she ''should'' act, and no one can convince her otherwise.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
111* ''Series/TwentyFour'':
112** Kimberly Bauer, former {{Trope Namer|s}}, has an annoying habit of getting TrappedByMountainLions, wandering around potential rapists, and doing everything in her power to anger men with guns. Kim is sometimes known as "Bathroom-Break Bauer", due to a nearly unbroken string of kidnappings, confinements and hostage-takings, which make it possible to take a bathroom break whenever she's on-screen without missing anything truly important. The writers admitted, in essence, that she couldn't be killed off because Jack had already lost [[spoiler:Teri, his wife,]] and it would destroy him. Jack also says this much late in Season 7, when [[spoiler:the only way to save his life puts Kim at risk of losing hers]].
113%% ** [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=070121 This]] ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' strip shows the Damsel Scrappy in action, in the context of a ''24'' parody.
114** Then in the final season, Kim finally kicked this to the curb. She managed to get out without being kidnapped, and she sent Jack off to do his thing.
115%%* ''Series/AllyMcBeal'': The title character in the show of the same name.
116* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' has Colonel Tigh's wife Ellen. The woman is essentially a [[TheMillstone walking plot complication]]. They eventually had to [[spoiler: put her down]] because of it.
117%% * ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'' updated this trope in the form of rich girl Kelly Taylor. Just read her Wikipedia article. Then again, maybe they're right: [[TheChewToy being stalked, burned, brainwashed, raped, addicted to cocaine, and shot]] does enable one to become a stronger person.
118* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Dawn is put in peril often enough to be notable in-universe; in the MusicalEpisode "Once More With Feeling," Buffy quips, "[[LampshadeHanging Dawn's in trouble]], must be Tuesday." When local theaters used to play this episode as a singalong, some also passed out lists of Rocky Horror-style audience-participation phrases to yell out; among them was "Shut up, Dawn!" every time Dawn is on-screen. By the final season, however, Dawn grows up, becomes a full member of the Scooby gang, and doesn't exist purely to get rescued and give Buffy unconditional love.
119* ''Series/{{Charmed 1998}}'': Jenny Gordon was already considered annoying for her whiny behaviour, but in "The Devil's Music", she sneaks into a nightclub she was specifically forbidden from going to and ends up as the next victim of the MonsterOfTheWeek. This tends to be the biggest strike against her, as she only appeared in one more episode before being written out.
120%% * ''Series/DesperateHousewives'': Susan Mayer (Creator/TeriHatcher). Hilariously, Hatcher also played Lois Lane in the '90s Superman drama ''Series/LoisAndClark''.
121* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
122** There is a common misconception among media commentators and some post-2005-only fans that every female companion before 1989 was nothing but helpless shoulder-candy for villains. This is [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer completely wrong]], and the few companions who genuinely did approach that tend not to be very popular.
123** Susan is a ScreamingWoman well-known for twisting her ankle, freaking out hysterically, and (in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E8TheReignOfTerror one story]]) refusing Barbara's plan of escape from a Revolutionary France DeathRow because she's scared of the rats in the cell. She has occasional stories where she is useful ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites The Sensorites]]") but most of these are not followed up on. Amusingly, the actress had been cast to be a telepathic [[ActionGirl martial artist]] and was instead given a character who spent all her time being captured, which contributed to her decision to quit.
124** A male example of this trope is Harry Sullivan, who tends to catch the IdiotBall a lot and [[DistressedDude gets himself and the Doctor captured]], with even the Doctor picking up on it and complaining. His character had been written in as complement to the elderly NonActionGuy the Fourth Doctor had originally been pitched as before the role was cast with a huge, highly energetic, and physically fit forty-year-old who could [[MinoredInAsskicking comfortably do action]]. The result of this is that the writers were [[CastSpeciation not quite sure what he (or his co-companion Sarah Jane) was supposed to be for]] other than to catch the DistressBall, but Sarah Jane has the benefit of being a previously established character and having writing that portrays her as consistently sympathetic and intelligent, whereas Harry happily ploughs into obvious traps and fails to notice things the Doctor had pointed out to him thirty seconds ago. Both the Doctor and Sarah moan at him about this in various scenes.
125** Peri is the single most notorious example. Her first appearance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E5PlanetOfFire Planet of Fire]]" has her being very self-possessed and one of only two characters ever to NoSell the Master's mind-control abilities, but the rest of her tenure hardly ever has her achieve anything except being an object to be fought over. Due to the DarkerAndEdgier tendencies of the era, she comes in for an unprecedented and uncharacteristic amount of [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty explicitly sexualised menace]] from villains, which comes across as particularly disturbing given the [[MsFanservice unusual degree of sexualisation]] in her portrayal and her borderline-abusive relationship with the Doctor. Her brutal (possibly averted) death comes across as not so much shocking as the inevitable climax of her character arc. She certainly would have been more bearable, if not for that fake American accent.
126** Mel was the only companion during her tenure and thus had the duty of getting captured. This would be fine if she were useful or likable. And then she was followed by Ace. Who killed Daleks with homemade explosives (stored in deodorant cans) and a super-charged baseball bat.
127%%* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': Maya.
128* ''Series/{{Matlock}}'': Charlene Matlock, who almost every episode gets herself into some sort of trouble by trying to investigate/snoop around alone and either Ben or Tyler needs to come to her rescue.
129* Drove some fans to dislike Tessa in season 1 of ''{{Series/Highlander}}''. It was all too common for Duncan to have to rescue her from whichever immortal opponent was targeting him in the episode. She did have a few good moments to be fair and was seen to use mental smarts against villains a time or two, but she wasn’t much of a fighter, and some found it repetitive after a while.
130%% * ''Series/Revenge2011'': Charlotte. People were not fond of her by the end of the series, but she arguably got the most blowback from every revelation Emily reveals.
131* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Charlie. She needs to be rescued in "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E4ThePlagueDogs The Plague Dogs]]", and again in "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E5SoulTrain Soul Train]]". There is something seriously wrong if '''''Danny''''' has to save your ass from getting choked to death. Fortunately, they did end up redeeming her; Spiridakos is a little less wooden in later seasons, and the character becomes really effective with her weapons. It is pretty funny when [[spoiler: General Monroe]] actually saves her life in "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E19ChildrenOfMen Children of Men]]".
132* ''Series/RobinHood'': A number of viewers feel that the replacement for Marian, Kate, fits this. She's pushy, loud, and generally useless, where in contrast the previous character in the love interest role is an ActionGirl who at least has the dignity to be right when she's pushy and is never louder than needed. And yes, true to the trope, all of Kate's numerous kidnappings are due to her inability to keep up, [[FauxActionGirl defend herself]], or know when to keep her mouth shut. In her capacity as a "damsel" scrappy, she is captured by guards more times in one season than any of the other outlaws were in ''three''. The words "Where's Kate?" could be a drinking game.
133%% * ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Lana Lang, for quite a while. And when they decided to fix it in later seasons, [[GodModeSue they went too far in the opposite direction]]. The kid ''can't'' win, really.
134* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': Jennifer Keller is completely useless outside sickbay, on top of being [[CreatorsPet shoehorned into as many episodes as possible]] -- even [[CharacterShilling having two characters fall in love with her]], so we'd realize we are supposed to love her too as if they thought they could bludgeon the audience with her until they surrendered and decided they may as well like her. (The writers have [[WordOfGod admitted to doing this.]]) Didn't work. She at least learns to fight in the final season.
135* ''Series/StargateUniverse'': Chloe, a character that was only there because she was a Senator's daughter, had absolutely ''no'' useful purpose whatsoever and repeatedly put the rest of the crew in danger. She was also a central part of the LoveDodecahedron that most of the viewers were disinterested in. Eventually the viewers began to warm to her when she starts some character development and is [[spoiler: temporarily CursedWithAwesome by an alien infection that gives her superpowers.]]
136* ''Series/{{The Vampire Diaries}}'': Elena Gilbert becomes this later on after she is turned into a vampire (which was polarizing for the fans). She becomes all whiny and boring, she keeps getting kidnapped, attacked, or threatened and still needs to get saved all the time by the Salvatore brothers.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
140* One of the most annoying is Sharmell Sullivan, 1991 Miss Black America and the wife (both [[{{Kayfabe}} on-screen]] and [[RealitySubtext off]]) of former Wrestling/{{WCW}} great Wrestling/BookerT. Beginning in 2005, Sharmell accompanied Booker to all his matches dressed "beauty queen" style in a fashionable gown and tiara, and sometimes petticoats as well. Her only purpose when she and Booker were {{face}}s seemed to be getting menaced by her husband's {{heel}} opponents (including Wrestling/KurtAngle, who notoriously threatened to rape her). While Sharmell was capable of giving some of the weaker villains a good slap across the face from time to time, for the most part she was reduced to shrieking "BOOK-ERRR!" until her husband could come in to save her. After the pair's FaceHeelTurn (and especially after Booker became "King Booker"), Sharmell became more of a FauxActionGirl (with a bit of the AlphaBitch thrown in). At the 2006 ''[=WrestleMania=]'' she even joined Booker in a handicap match against The Wrestling/{{Boogeyman}} - but the pair lost when Boogey grabbed Sharmell and shoved a handful of worms down her throat!
141* Wrestling/VickieGuerrero as well, with a side order of MilesGloriosus to boot. As General Manager of ''Friday Night [=SmackDown=]'', Vickie would boss around all the fan favorites in her obnoxiously whiny voice and generally act like a bitch... until someone like Wrestling/TheUndertaker would threaten her, and Vickie would turn into a cowardly ScreamingWoman who was helpless until her love interest of the moment could come rushing to her rescue. She eventually did [[TookALevelInBadass Take a Level in Badass]] and even wrestles occasionally, but at heart, she remained a man-hungry MrsRobinson [[CasanovaWannabe Wannabe]] who pouts when she doesn't get her way and still screams all the time (particularly when her newest boyfriend, Wrestling/DolphZiggler, is losing a match).
142[[/folder]]
143
144[[folder:Video Games]]
145* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
146** Rosa from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', who spends the whole first half of the game in distress, gets this reception from some, even though she makes up for it in the game's second half as the WhiteMagicianGirl. Rosa potentially gets worse by the sequel, ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears the After Years]]'' as she now only exists as a DamselInDistress to give character development to "Ceodore! Cecil! Kain!" and spends one climax getting dragged around forcefully by [[spoiler:Dark Kain.]]
147** Rinoa from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' gets blamed for this, managing to get herself kidnapped ''four'' times through the course of the game. However, only in the first instance does her own foolishness get her into the situation; the rest is unfortunate circumstance. The thing that grates most players is how accepting the rest of the cast becomes afterward--at one point, even [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl choosing to save Rinoa]] despite the fact that saving her conflicts with Squall's current task as leader. They get mad at you for even ''considering'' that the mission may be more important than saving her. It doesn't help her case that the other two playable women, Quistis and Selphie, are highly trained military professionals, while Rinoa is an untrained teenage girl (though ironically, she's a huge GameBreaker gameplay-wise). Also, there's a whole extended chunk of the game during which Squall must literally carry Rinoa on his back, complete with a slower walking speed.
148** Minfillia in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' is seen as this by most players due to her not fighting back with her mythril knife when she is captured twice (first by TheEmpire and the second being an Ascian with immense magical strength) and that she also doesn't do anything beyond playing politics with the city-state leaders and telling the player character what to do next.
149** Terra in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', though in her case it's more due to CharacterDerailment from her original personality to fit this character type than due to the number of times she needs to be saved. While she's often victimised and confused in the original, she becomes confident as soon as it becomes clear that Edgar sees her as a person, growing more so once she regains her memories, and often finds time for teasing Sabin and showing open enjoyment about fighting the Empire. In ''Dissidia'', Kefka's menace takes on an IHaveYouNowMyPretty tone, her personality becomes much more negative and serious, and she is constantly rescued by male characters for their benefit, or getting lectured by Cloud ([[FakeMemories of all people]]) about the importance of knowing who you really are. The fact that Terra is the [[TheSmurfettePrinciple only woman]] of Cosmos' Warriors [[{{Chickification}} doesn't make this seem any more classy]]; the remake mitigates this somewhat by altering Terra's dialogue as much as the recordings allow and adding some other female characters to soften the UnfortunateImplications. In ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy2015 Dissidia NT]]'', she is as confident as any of the other heroes and gets her MamaBear protectiveness back.
150* Ninian from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' often gets lumped into this category, even though she's only ever captured ''twice'' and the third time she goes with the BigBad willingly to spare her friends' lives. Not to mention she ''is'' a very useful member of the party with her ability to give an extra turn.
151* Rosie in ''VideoGame/FossilFighters'' seems to exist solely to get kidnapped a lot, and to have various other [[ButtMonkey humorous problems]] befall her. It wouldn't seem quite so bad if she and the hero weren't getting StrangledByTheRedString. [[spoiler: You, however, can eventually choose to deny the red string and be with ActionGirl alien Duna if you want.]]
152* Yukimura Chizuru from ''VideoGame/{{Hakuouki}}'' comes in for a lot of frustration from players for her lack of combat ability and reluctance to fight, which - since she spends all her time in the company of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi and is herself the target of kidnapping attempts by demons - makes her TheLoad and means she repeatedly has to be rescued by others.
153** To make it even worse, she's a pure-blood demon. It's emphasized many times that pure-bloods are far stronger than any human [[spoiler:except Hijikata]]. While she wouldn't be on the level of the rest of the Shinsengumi, training would easily make her very capable of holding her own.
154* Kairi from ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' becomes one in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII''. [[spoiler:Despite being trained to use her Keyblade, Kairi is once again kidnapped and [[StuffedInTheFridge then killed by Xehanort to motivate Sora]]]]. One of the biggest complaints about it is [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter how Kairi’s potential was wasted.]] What makes this example unusual is that the character herself is fairly well liked, what's loathed is [[FauxActionGirl the way the story refuses to allow her to be a badass.]]
155** Mercifully, the backlash toward this got so bad that a [[AuthorsSavingThrow course correction]] transpires in the ''Re:Mind'' DLC, where Kairi is [[spoiler: shown to be as strong as Xemnas which forces him to drain her energy ''before'' kidnapping her, and after Sora resurrects her, she fights Xehanort alongside him as, by player's choice, either a party member or [[PromotedToPlayable the playable character.]]]] As a result, public opinion on Kairi has shifted back toward positive.
156%% * Shana in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon''. However, most people prefer her over [[ReplacementScrappy Miranda]], who never gets kidnapped or sick but ''still'' turned out to be more annoying.
157* Shandra Jerro in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' starts out like one of these (first barn, then house burned, then kidnapped by [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Githyanki]]), but subverts it when she joins the party and [[TookALevelInBadass Takes a Level in Badass]]. (Almost literally: she's a Fighter.) The player's party even lampshades the scenario, commenting that if they're going to keep her around, they have ''got'' to teach her how to fight. [[spoiler:Her DyingMomentOfAwesome is arguably an inversion of the trope: it's the ''party'' that has to be rescued by ''her''.]]
158* Ashley Graham from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''. You're forced to save her multiple times throughout the story and protect her from enemies for about a third of the game, and anytime the player starts wanting to cut her some slack for being a defenseless young woman stuck in such a nightmarish situation, she'll go and do something [[IdiotBall eye-twitchingly stupid]] like shove Leon (i.e. the only thing keeping her safe) away and run headlong into an obvious booby trap. This is only made worse by her repetitive, irritating cries for help. The ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4Remake'' [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap fixes this]] mainly by removing her IdiotBall moments, giving her less annoying voice acting, and making her much more proactive and capable (though still a DamselInDistress). If anything the remake genuinely makes you like and care about Ashely with one poll even putting her above the more capable Ada Wong.
159* Princess Elise from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''. Throughout the course of the game, she gets kidnapped by Dr. Eggman ''five times'' (although for the fifth one, she allowed herself to go in Eggman's Egg Carrier to prevent him from destroying Soleanna).
160* The Damsels in ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' are pretty much based on Willie Scott and manage to work this trope into game mechanics. Though they aren't ''that'' annoying, some players still delight in throwing her at spiders, attaching a sticky bomb to her and sending her charging toward enemies, and then throwing her corpse at more spiders.
161* Princess Peach in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series has this reputation. While she gets to participate in spin-offs like ''VideoGame/MarioKart'', [[TookALevelInBadass Takes a Level in Badass]] in the the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games series and various RPG games,[[note]]especially ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', the first three ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games, and the ''Mario + Rabbids'' games; also note that she has magic powers in the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series[[/note]] and [[VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach is the heroine of a spin-off]], it's heavily undermined by the vast majority of the mainline games, where she plays the DamselInDistress trope straight, [[FridgeLogic which makes you wonder]] if the GrandfatherClause is the only reason she's utterly incompetent in defending herself in most of the main series games. While some think the series wouldn't be the same without this SaveThePrincess ExcusePlot, most people do agree that it's better off without it as it has become rather stale and annoying over the years and makes Peach a major BaseBreakingCharacter for a very frustrating reason that could be easily fixed by making her playable. It's also rather jarring that the most important and most recurring female character of the most popular video game series of all time has to play this role in most of her appearances. However, as of the 2020s, things seem to be getting better for her, with an increase in her playable appearances (e.g. ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'', as well as another spin-off in ''VideoGame/PrincessPeachShowtime'').
162%% * Princess Shine starts out as one of these in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'', [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap but becomes less so]] [[CharacterDevelopment as we get to know her better]]. [[LittleMissBadass Then we find out she has special powers that allow her to use a super-advanced]] HumongousMecha.
163* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries''
164** Shirley Fennes from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' gets kidnapped constantly and does nothing to help herself despite having a bunch of powers, eventually making a full FaceHeelTurn under MoreThanMindControl. She is also considered the game's plain [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] for her {{Yandere}} tendencies.
165** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''
166*** Colette Brunel. Protecting her is the entire point of the game since she's TheChosenOne, and it becomes a major plot point at the end when she's kidnapped (although it can potentially be anyone[[note]]The BigBad possesses the body of Lloyd's best friend after said friend thwarts the villain's attempt to steal Lloyd's body. If Kratos is closest to Lloyd, the villain will possess Colette[[/note]]) by the BigBad. Fans especially dislike it because early on, Colette is granted angel powers, which include SuperStrength, SuperSenses, [[PowerGivesYouWings wings]] and [[LightEmUp light-based techniques]], yet Colette getting kidnapped or sick takes up a large chunk of the game, and she often hands over the decision-making to [[TheUnchosenOne Lloyd]].
167*** Chocolat. The party has to save her twice, mostly thanks to Chocolat intentionally antagonizing the bad guys and generally being out of her depth. Also, when she learns that [[spoiler:Lloyd and Genis had to perform a MercyKill on Chocolat's grandmother Marble, something Marble asked them to do]], Chocolat sides with the bad guys and refuses to be rescued. She's viewed as UnintentionallyUnsympathetic for how needlessly she keeps making things worse.
168** Estelle is a bit of a BaseBreakingCharacter in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', but those who dislike her consider her as one of these for much of the same reasons as Shirley and Colette - being PurityPersonified and getting kidnapped and doing nothing to help herself, and finally fighting against the heroes after {{Brainwashing}}.
169** Cheria from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' gets viewed this way by a VocalMinority of ''Tales'' fans who dislike her. While Cheria gets kidnapped, it's only once at the beginning of the game, the plotline to resolve her kidnapping takes about ten minutes, and she's an active party member for the rest of the game (and one of the more useful ones, since she has group healing spells). Doesn't stop the complaints, though.
170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Webcomics]]
173* ''Webcomic/CiemWebcomicSeries''. One of Denny Levens' basic purposes is to give Candi someone to constantly protect/rescue.
174* The idiot damsel in the trope image is Zola from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. Not a true example, as while she starts out appearing to be a picture-perfect Damsel Scrappy, [[spoiler: it is later revealed she was a DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel hiding her true ambitions and skills behind a mask of uselessness. She is actually one of the most dangerous antagonists of the series]]. But before the reveal, she sure has to get rescued. A lot.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:Web Original]]
178* In ''Series/FlandersCompany'' episode "Pegasus Fantasy", this is how LawyerFriendlyCameo Seiya sees Saori Kido from ''Manga/SaintSeiya''. It's part of the reason for his FaceHeelTurn (the other part being that he's fed up with the [[HomoeroticSubtext yaoi innuendos]] of his teammates).
179-->'''Seiya:''' Oh yeah? And spending your whole life running after princess Whatshername, who's so dumb, so DUMB that she gets kidnapped every five minutes, you think it's a soft job?\
180'''Hippolyte:''' Indeed... seen like this...\
181'''Seiya:''' Miss is supposed to be the incarnation of a warrior goddess, but as soon as she goes to the Walmart to take advantage of discounts for the Pig Feast, slam! Two mooks drop on her, and she can't even send them flying. And of course, who has to climb 6000 steps and beat up 142 assholes to get her back? Muggins here! And in half a day, to boot, otherwise Miss could end up dead cold.
182* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic summed this trope up in his [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/30723-top-11-dumbasses-in-distress "Top 11 Dumbasses in Distress"]] video: that the DamselInDistress and DistressedDude are old tropes and [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools not inherently bad at all]], unless it's a character the audience is annoyed with rather than cares about.
183* ''Website/{{Superdickery}}.com'':
184** ''Young Allies'', according to the site: "[[http://www.superdickery.com/young-allies/ Near as I can figure, the premise [...] is that group of kids [...] keep getting captured by the Axis forces, and keep needing to be rescued by Bucky and Toro.]]", and the covers confirm this impression.
185** Also ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}}, but well before [[ComicBook/CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier he was brought back]] by Creator/EdBrubaker having taken a ''massive'' [[TookALevelInBadass level in badass]].
186--->[[http://www.superdickery.com/buckys-true-purpose-revealed/ I'm starting to think]] that Bucky must have a tracer planted on him that allows Captain America to track down these hidden enclaves of enemy combatants. That's the only possible use I can think of for a sidekick whose only contribution to the war is to get captured every month...
187[[/folder]]
188
189[[folder:Western Animation]]
190* Max Gibson in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' is often considered this by her detractors. This tendency is best displayed in the episode "Final Cut", where she ignores Terry's instructions and snoops around for clues, leading to her getting attacked by an assassin. Terry has to leave his post protecting the assassin's target to rescue her, which results in the target getting mind-wiped with a hidden bomb ready to explode thanks to his DeadMansSwitch.
191* Aelita from ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', big time. She is this for the first two seasons, as she is completely useless in battle and is mostly escorted safely to deactivate towers while the others fend off attacking monsters to protect her. In fact, it's very easy to make a drinking game out of how many times she gets endangered in the series as a whole. While she does TakeALevelInBadass in the third season via Energy Fields, she [[DoomMagnet still manages to get in a lot of trouble]] due to either: A) The Scyphozoa, or B) XANA-William (Though it is justifiable in both cases, given that the Scyphozoa is NighInvulnerable and XANA-William is basically a [[OneManArmy tank]]) and requires rescuing from the other warriors.
192* Norman Price in ''WesternAnimation/FiremanSam''. Even on the rare occasions that someone else needs rescuing, he's usually the cause of the trouble.
193* Pepper Potts in ''WesternAnimation/IronManArmoredAdventures'' has two purposes for her existence: help Tony out on occasion, and get captured and rescued constantly even in situations she should be able to escape from on her own. Her behavior is consistently damsel-like despite her aspirations to be a kick-ass S.H.I.E.L.D. agent -- at one point she's in the middle of an abandoned warehouse where two different factions of Chinese assassins are fighting, and she sits there waiting to be rescued instead of getting away from the fighting. [[FauxActionGirl Yeah, real S.H.I.E.L.D. material.]] She begins to grow out of this in season 2 [[spoiler:after using the Stealth armor and eventually getting one of her own, making her a bonafide ActionGirl.]]
194* ''WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats'': Never mind that Alexandra's schemes fail disastrously each time, she is the first to shout for help when disaster strikes her!
195* Daphne Blake from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' is well known for falling into traps, being kidnapped by the villain, or angering the villain in some way, leading to the nickname "Danger-prone Daphne" in the original ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'' series. However, WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic did call this reputation into question in his review of the first live-action movie, pointing out that Scooby and Shaggy (and even Scrappy) seem to actually get into more danger than Daphne ever does, and saying her real major issue is that she never really does much of anything, at least in the original show.
196** The aforementioned live-action film plays with the concept and has Daphne [[{{Xenafication}} pick up martial arts skills]] [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap and become generally more useful]] after the gang breaks up as a direct result of being called out for being the DamselInDistress. In virtually all ''Scooby-Doo'' series and films since then, Daphne has been portrayed as a {{MacGyver|ing}} with her makeup kit and accessories. Her martial arts skills from the live-action film carry over to the animated film ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheSamuraiSword''.
197** In an interview, the staff of that movie said that changing Daphne ''was'' necessary for the sake of proper method acting. The goal established from the start was for live actors to do the best interpretations they could of the cartoon characters, but they ran into a roadblock with Daphne because in the cartoon she essentially had no personality. The natural choice was for Creator/SarahMichelleGellar to channel her [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer greatest-known role]].
198** Daphne [[TookALevelInBadass became more competent well before the live-action movie]]. In the 1980s ''Scooby-Doo'' series when the group was reduced to just her, Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy, she became the leader of the group. That also was true in the ''13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo'' series, where she is the TeamMom. Unfortunately, she quickly lost accumulated goodwill with the horrendous character design and jumpsuit she had in that series.
199* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': Richie is constantly getting kidnapped, and his help is mostly ineffectual except for a few episodes. His tendency to be ineffectual begins in episode 1 when he tries to protect Frieda (herself an example) from Hotstreak and gets his shirt burned to a cinder, and he is first kidnapped in the episode "Sons of the Fathers" by Ebon. After that, he becomes a mind-slave twice and is kidnapped at least three more times. That, and the fact that Richie gets superpowers of his own later on, so he's actually able to help out more in combat and rescues Virgil a few times.
200%% ** Daisy.
201%% ** Frieda. Her role in the cartoon was downplayed after giving Virgil a guy best friend instead of letting her be the best friend. She was replaced by Richie Foley, who is basically her except male and blonde - according to WordOfGod, he's also gay.
202* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}, on the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'', sometimes falls into this role. He seems to exist only as someone to get captured by the Legion of Doom so that the rest of the Justice League can rescue him.
203* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
204** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''. [[EntitledBastard Sentinel Prime]] is an unusual male (not to mention giant alien robot) example. Most of his time onscreen involves him getting into some scrape or another, usually thanks to his massive stupidity, and having the [[BeingGoodSucks long-suffering Optimus]] get him out. It seems the only thing that keeps Optimus from abandoning him is a sense of guilt about their shared past, some level of fondness for his old Academy-mate, and the hope that Sentinel gets it through his thick head that his arrogance is a Bad Thing. But StatusQuoIsGod, and he always rubber bands back to being a jackass by his next appearance. Even Jazz, who has long tolerated (or ignored) it as his second in command, finally gives up and more or less defects to Prime's crew.
205** Miko of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. [[AesopAmnesia No matter how many times she is told by her friends]] not to sneak off to see the titular robots fight and get caught in the crossfire, [[TooDumbToLive she sneaks off anyway]], has to get rescued, and in some cases nearly kills her friends. After doing so, she can be counted on to ''laugh'' about how ''awesome'' it all was even as the Autobots are trying to make her understand that nearly getting people killed or causing important missions to fail is in fact not a good thing. Being merely TooDumbToLive would be bad enough, but knowing and not caring because your amusement is more important... she makes people say "[[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers I guess Daniel Witwicky wasn't all bad]]..." Also, she's another one the creators love far more than the viewers, so we get a ''lot'' of screentime devoted to someone whose "wacky antics" were unamusing.[[note]]''Greatly'' improved in season two. She's gone from underfoot and proud of it to actually helpful, ''caring'' when people almost get killed, and ''not being the most common cause of people almost getting killed.'' All while not becoming unrecognizable. The arc with Bulkhead's injury and recovery have been especially good for her, and prove that ''anyone'' can be RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. Then in season 3 [[spoiler: she goes one on one with Starscream with the Apex Armor. And wins!]][[/note]]
206[[/folder]]

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