Damsel in Distress: Difference between revisions

[[File:peach in distress.png|link=Super Mario RPG|frame|[[Save the Princess|Just another Wednesday for]] [[Super Mario Bros.|Princess Peach]].]]

 

 

A character, usually female and nubile, is portrayed as [[Neutral Female|helpless]] and in danger in order to put the cast in motion. In particular, the cast is unified, putting aside [[Divided We Fall|differences]] in pursuit of the rescue.

This works if the damsel in distress is a beloved character, but can be very annoying if the audience [[Damsel Scrappy|wouldn't mind her dead]], or sees the helplessness as [[Character Derailment]]. An [[Action Girl]] who [[Chickification|becomes a damsel in distress]] is likely a [[Faux Action Girl]], though not always; if they can reclaim their [[Action Girl]] credentials after being freed, they were just experiencing [[Badass in Distress]] after being thrown a [[Distress Ball]].

 

 

Sometimes the character gets kidnapped for the sake of her [[World's Most Beautiful Woman|good looks]] or [[Everything's Better with Princesses|royal blood]], but in recent works she's more likely doing something that is a threat to the party that kidnaps her ([[Intrepid Reporter|reporters are common]]), which allows her to look smart and independent [[Unfortunate Implications|before she needs to be saved]]. Alternatively, she can end up prisoner as a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]; realizing that there is only enough room to get all the children on the transport, or attempting to free other prisoners (which may or may not succeed before her capture) are popular.

If the kidnapper in question is particularly nasty, expect an [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]] situation to occur. If the character does not become a [[Damsel Scrappy]] but still is constantly captured, they are a [[Designated Victim]]. A more sexist version is the [[Disposable Woman]].

 

 

Not to be confused with the 2012 comedy film ''[[Damsels in Distress (film)|Damsels in Distress]]''.

 

{{examples}}

== Advertising ==

* Lola Bunny at the end of this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAB-zHpcmag UK advert for Walkers Crisps.]

 

* In ''[[Bleach]]'', Rukia Kuchiki gets to be the Distressed Damsel in the Soul Society arc, despite the fact that she was a bit of an [[Action Girl]] in previous episodes. In a sort-of subversion, though, {{spoiler|she agreed to go because she knew she'd be executed for giving her powers to a human... and Rukia actually ''[[Suicide by Cop|wanted to die]]'' in the first place}}.

** Despite her [[Quickly-Demoted Woman]] status, it could be argued that Rukia was actually just a [[Badass in Distress]]... for a ''really'' long time.

** Also subverted in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie|Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie]]'', where it becomes clear over time that Sara is just pretending to be Robotnik's hostage.

* Both in ''Burst Angel'' 's anime and manga, this is the official duty of Meg. And [[Berserk Button|invariably Jo goes tilt]] everytime the thing happens.

** Also, further subverted because instead of a [[Rescue Arc]], Kallen's time as a Prisoner Of War is used as ''[[Character Development]]''. She not only interacts with Nunnally and sees a different side of Lelouch through her, but also gets to [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!|punch the Hell out of Suzaku]] ''while wearing said frilly, cleavage heavy dress'', which makes Suzaku [[My God, What Have I Done?|realize he is]] [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]].

* Let's see... a [[Mysterious Waif]] who's below the [[Competence Zone]] and happens to be the daughter of the main character? Yup, Vivio of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' was destined for this role the moment she was introduced. Of course, with her now actively training [[Goo-Goo Godlike|on her powers]], and another [[Time Skip]] putting her into the [[Competence Zone]]'s minimum age, she likely won't end up as Damsel in Distress again.

* Happens several times in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' First is Konoka during the Kyoto arc, but that's a [[Justified Trope]] since she had not waken up her own powers and she didn't have any similar to self-defense training. Then a demon captures Asuna. Then it is inverted and the [[True Companions]] have to rescue Negi. Lastly, {{spoiler|Asuna and Anya are held captive by Fate. Unfortunately, the rest of the team is unaware of this, as Asuna is replaced by a doppleganger, and Anya is MIA to begin with.}}

* Subverted and likely deconstructed in ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'': Realizing that Johan has plans to meet up with (and presumably do [[Mind Rape|horrible, unspeakable things to]]) his estranged twin sister, Nina, Tenma rushes off to rescue her. The thing is, in the rush, the good doctor seems to have not accounted for two things—1) Being mostly a [[Non-Action Guy]], he is woefully unprepared for things like a crazed lackey stabbing him in the face with garden shears and 2) Nina is pretty damn awesome in the art of Aikido, which she immediately demonstrates by saving ''him''. Looks like she didn't need your help after all, Tenma. {{spoiler|Too bad the same couldn't be said for her ''parents''...}}

* Nia generally fits this role in the third and final arc of ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', while also somewhat subverted with being [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]. {{spoiler|Once she snaps out of this with the help of Simon however, she fits this trope to a T.}}

* Cho Kanan, Lirin, and Yaone all hold their own separate moments in ''[[Saiyuki]]''. Both Yaone and Lirin being saved successfully by Kougaiji. And Kanan becoming the traditional [[Disposable Woman]].

** Subverted with {{spoiler|Tsubaki Kasugano aka the 6th}}, who {{spoiler|''[[Decoy Damsel|pretends]]'' [[Decoy Damsel|to be one]] so she can gain Yukiteru's trust via [[The Dulcinea Effect]] and keep him away from Yuno.}}

* [[Rebellious Princess|Relena]] [[Plucky Girl|Peacecraft]] from ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' is ''falsely'' accused [[Die for Our Ship|by her]] [[Ron the Death Eater|detractors]] of being one. Since she's an [[Actual Pacifist]] she never fought her way out guns blazing, but she wasn't a [[Damsel Scrappy]] either, actually trying to [[Talking Your Way Out|talk down her captors]] in the three instances where she's in enemy hands throughout the anime,<ref>by Romefeller late in the TV show, White Fang near the end, and Mariemaia's in ''Endless Waltz''</ref> even showing her [[Guile Hero]] chops by turning the first instance into a '''massive''' payoff. She once even dissuaded Heero from killing or harming her ''with words alone.''

* Akiko Aoshika from ''[[Wolf Guy Wolfen Crest]]''. Haguro tries to invoke this trope with Ryuuko, but she points out that Inugami isn't interested in her.

* [[Child Ballad]] ''[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch095.htm The Maid Freed from the Gallows]'' has the heroine about to be hanged if she is not ransomed. Various relatives arrive and declare they are there to see her hanged. Finally, her true love arrives and ransoms her. (Most American versions of this ballad feature a [[Gender Flip]] version, of a man about to be hanged, but this is the older variant.)

 

** In the early days of ''[[Spider-Man]]'', Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy would serve this role. Then it was notoriously subverted in the 1973 ''[[Spider-Man|Amazing Spider-Man]]'' story "[[wikipedia:The Night Gwen Stacy Died|The Night Gwen Stacy Died]]", in which archvillain the Green Goblin kidnaps Spidey's girlfriend, Spidey goes to rescue her... and she dies, turning from Gwen Stacy into [[The Gwen Stacy|* The* Gwen Stacy]].

** Also subverted, in a different way, by Mary Jane Watson after her marriage to Peter. Whenever she's confronted by obsessive stalkers, she (almost) always manages to escape on her own, without any help from her super-powered husband. Even more subverted by the fact that, more often than not, ''Mary Jane'' is the one who bails out Spider-Man whenever one of his opponents has the upper hand in a fight.

*** Even before their marriage, when Mary Jane was witness to a Spidey fight going poorly, she'd often brazenly distract or sabotage the bad guy, relying on her charm and wit to save her from the dangerous consequences.

*** Even ''Aunt flippin' May'' has taken out bad guys. When (fairly) recently the Chameleon had assembled a group of Spider-Bad guys to go after Peter Parker (This is just before Civil War, natch) the Chameleon himself disguised himself as Peter to go and kidnap Aunt May. Aunt May opens the door, and lets her nephew in, and gives him some tea and biscuits while she has to finish her knitting {{spoiler|before revealing that she drugged the fucking tea cause she'd recognize her beloved nephew anywhere and Chameleon obviously was an impostor, holding up "OWNED" written across the sweater she just made in a}} [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|knitted moment of awesome]].

*** At least he was smart enough not to think of Robin's real name.

** Batman ''sometimes'' has a Distressed Damsel love interest. Julie Madison and Vicki Vale in [[The Golden Age of Comic Books]]; Silver St. Cloud in the Seventies, and Jezebel Jet in the modern age. No, wait, scratch that last one...

* Stephanie Brown, star of the current ''[[Batgirl]]'' series, is [[The Commissioner Gordon|growing a relationship]] with Detective Nicholas Gage. [[Dude in Distress|She comes to his rescue]] relatively often, as befits a superhero, and [[Lampshade Hanging|points out]] that he is a damsel in distress in their relationship.

* Most of the women in ''[[Sin City]]'' due to its Noir roots.

{{quote|'''Black Canary:''' Lian honey? Show Mr. Savage the finger trick that Auntie Dinah taught you.

(Lian reaches over with both hands and dislocates Vandal Savage's thumb, forcing him to drop her.)}}

* Stories like "[[Sleeping Beauty]]", "[[Bluebeard]]", "[[Rapunzel]]", "[[Little Red Riding Hood]]" and "[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]]" are often this, because the heroines are actually not in a position to do anything when their rescuers arrive... other than stay in their comatose state. Even though the POV is theirs and not the [[Prince Charming]]'s, the role is the same.

** "Rapunzel" is actually an inversion - the prince does not rescue Rapunzel, he just gets her pregnant, and later on it is her tears that cure his blindness. Also note that in "Little Red Riding Hood" the eponymous character is too young and the grandmother too old to be really considered a damsel in distress and that the story originally ended unhappily, getting two endings tacked on later (first the wolf being killed by the passing huntsman, later the cutting-open and revelation that the Little Red Riding Hood and granny had survived).

* In "[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/009.htm The Blue Mountains]", the hero must suffer a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]] for three nights to free the heroine.

* In ''[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/075.htm The Grateful Prince]'', the king [[promise]]s his baby to an ogre, and so takes a peasant girl and leaves his son with peasants. The ogre takes the girl and leaves, but the boy, on growing up, decides he can't possibly live on such a sacrifice and goes to rescue her.

 

* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] and averted in ''[[Shrek]]'', especially in a scene where Robin Hood and his Merry Men try to "rescue" Fiona from the ogre they believe has kidnapped her, only to have her rebuff him and beat up all his men in a combination of styles from ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' and ''[[The Matrix]]''.

** And in ''Shrek Forever After'', where in an alternate universe where Shrek was never born and never came for her, Fiona eventually decided to rescue ''herself''.

* Disney is rather infamous for this in their earlier princess movies (''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|Snow White]]'', ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'', ''[[Cinderella (Disney film)|Cinderella]]'', etc.).

** Aurora (sleeping beauty) has the excuse of being in a magical sleep at the time, though.

* Subverted in ''[[Titan A.E.]]'', when Akima is jettisoned into space, captured, and held to be sold into slavery. The rest of the crew undergoes a makeshift rescue operation, only to find out that she successfully knocked out all of her captors and is patiently waiting to be picked up.

* Played with in ''[[Happily N'Ever After]]'', in which The Prince (whose name is revealed to be Humperdink) is searching for one of these (or a lady in waiting or whatever else is a typical princess) and sounds excited that [[Cinderella (novel)|Ella]] could be one of those things. When he asks if she's a damsel in distress, her response is "I will be. Kind of. At midnight". To say the least, Ella does more ass-kicking than servant boy Rick or Humperdink.

* The [[Ur Example]] of this in film would probably be the protagonist of the 1914 silent melodrama serial ''The Perils of Pauline''. A "talkie" version of the series was made in the '30s; the title was later used for a 1947 biopic of original ''Pauline'' actress Pearl White, and a 1967 film that was basically a camp spoof of the genre.

** Pearl White also starred in a nearly-identical series, ''The Exploits of Elaine'', around the same time.

* A large number of [[James Bond (film)|Bond Girls]] fit this trope.

** For example, Honey Rider in ''[[Dr. No]]''. Dr. No decides to execute her by cuffing her to the inclined side of a [[Drowning Pit|pool with water pouring in from a large pipe]]. [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] finds her and releases her.

* ''Live Free or [[Die Hard]]'' attempts to make this one more feminist-friendly by having Lucy McClane reject this role at every turn.

* Ditto for Elizabeth Swann in the first ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'', except the feminist-friendly parts were ''added by the actress herself''. Said actress gets a much more [[Action Girl|fitting role]] in the sequels.

** If Elizabeth is this in the first movie, then Will must be as well, because he ends up having to be rescued from the ''exact same situation''. She manages to instigate his rescue despite being marooned on a deserted island, and then actively fights alongside him in the final battle.

* Played entirely straight, and yet done remarkably effectively in "Superman: The Movie" (1978) - I'm referring to the famous helicopter rescue, but basically all of the climaxes in the movie involve this trope. Also used in the sequels.

* Cheryl in ''[[I'm Gonna Git You Sucka]]'' when she's kidnapped by Mr. Big's [[Mooks]].

* [[Double Subversion|Double subverted]] in ''[[True Grit]]'' western: the main character is a 14-year old girl trying to prove her companions she doesn't need babysitting, and succeeding. However, eventually she does, in a perfectly classical way: first getting kidnapped by outlaws, than falling into a snake pit.

* In ''[[Perfume]]'', the [[Villain Protagonist]] sets his murderous sights on Laura Richis, a beautiful, virginal young lady. Her father becomes wary of the danger and does everything in his power to protect his daughter.

* ''[[Tank Girl]]''. Sam (a 10-year-old girl) is captured several times, with Tank Girl spending the movie tracking her down in order to save her. Subverted at one point when Sam cleverly uses a deadly toy to puncture a child molester's hand.

* Subverted with {{spoiler|Kelly}} in ''[[Mystery Team]]''. Yes, she DOES get kidnapped... {{spoiler|but it's not like the Mystery Team were much help in saving her}}.

* [[Reconstructed Trope|Reconstructed]] in the [[Scooby Doo]] movie. They point out that while, yes, Daphne did get kidnapped a lot, she never let that discourage her from joining the gang in their latest mystery.

 

== Literature ==

* How about Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve from the earlier books of ''[[The Wheel of Time]]''? They have a strange ability to get shielded, tied up and locked away only to be rescued by someone, though they did manage to get themselves away from the Seanchan in Book 2. Not to mention the time they actually berated Mat for saving them. They do get called on that later on by Birgitte however, who tore each of them a verbal new one and forced them to apologize. They'd also just about broken themselves out of there when Mat showed up.

* In [[James Thurber]]'s ''[[The 13 Clocks]]'', the Princess Saralinda is kept in her [[Evil Uncle]]'s castle. {{spoiler|In fact, she is [[Changeling Fantasy|not his niece]], and he intends to force her to marry him once he is free of a curse.}}

* ''[[The Silmarillion]]'': Played straight with Finduilas, killed by the orcs, Nienor Niniel (when Glaurung wipes her memories off). But very much subverted with Lúthien: when imprisoned by her father, she frees herself. Although she is then captured a second time and needs some help to escape, she then proceeds to almost single-handedly free her lover Beren (and a number of other prisoners) from Sauron—yes, that [[The Lord of the Rings|Sauron]]. Another example from Tolkien is Celebrian, the wife of Elrond, killed and possibly raped by the orcs.

* [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]. To be just, he has a lot of [[Dude in Distress]] as well, but:

* In [[Patricia A. McKillip]]'s ''The Book of Atrix Wolfe'', Saro is trapped in a spell, rendered [[The Speechless]], and [[Fallen Princess|ends up]] a [[Scullery Maid]] in [[Cinderella Circumstances]].

* In Andy Hoare's [[White Scars]] novel ''Hunt for Voldorius'', the Bloodtide tells the White Scars and Raven Guard that Malya is being subjected to being made a new Bloodtide, and begs them to rescue her.

* [[Conan the Barbarian]]. Very often

** The queen in "[[A Witch Shall Be Born]]"

* Lampshaded in [[Soon I Will Be Invincible]], where it is noted the Corefire has the requisite "reporter girlfriend who always needed rescuing."

* Subverted most of the time by Jenna Heap in ''[[Septimus Heap]]'', as she usually manages to get safe by herself.

* In Teresa Frohock's ''[[Miserere: An Autumn Tale|Miserere an Autumn Tale]]'', Lindsey is in [[Hell]]. Lucian realizes he must open a Gate, which has been forbidden to him, to rescue her.

* Amy Goodenough in the [[Young Bond]] novel ''Blood Fever''.

* Agnes and Antonia both get their chance to fill this roll in ''[[The Monk]]''. One will live to be rescued, one will not.

 

* In the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' TV series, everybody is the Distressed Damsel sooner or later. There's even episodes where Buffy takes this role. In the first few seasons, Willow is the main Distressed Damsel. In second two, she and Xander share the role. As Willow grows in power in seasons three and four, Xander, Giles, and even Spike end up in this position more often than the others. In seasons five and six, it's Dawn. In season seven, it's the potentials.

** Buffy was quite literally this in the Season Two episode Halloween, when an enchanted costume causes her to become a very helpless 18th century noblewoman.

* Often done in ''[[Scrubs]]'' about a patient's dying or miraculously recovering ending bickering about less important matters.

** One episode turns the plot of that episode into a medieval fantasy. In it, the patient becomes a damsel in distress that everyone works together to save.

* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' tends to apply this trope so much it gets annoying after a while. The Victim Of The Week (usually female) is either being threatened and can't help herself out or Sam is pinned to something and helpless against the MOTW or Dean is doing something stupid/going off on his own, getting nabbed and needing Sam to save his arse.

** They've subverted it twice with Sam, though. In ''Bloodlust'', the vampires capture him but let him go after they've given him a good talking to and in ''The Benders'', he manages to get out of his cage without Dean's help and Dean ends up being the tied up one in need of saving.

* Subverted (a bit) in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (notorious for women who needed rescuing from bug-eyed monsters at every cliffhanger) with Jo Grant (UNIT assistant to the Pertwee Doctor) who was a trained spy/escapologist, and thus was the one who freed the Doctor when they were captured. (Lampshaded also by Sarah Jane Smith when she rescues the Doctor from a cell in ''The Android Invasion'' and quips: "This time I'm saving you!" She'd also done it in the first episode she was in, ''The Time Warrior''.) Jo Grant was originally conceived as an [[The Avengers (TV series)|Emma Peel-type]] [[Action Girl]] but they cast Katy Manning after her somewhat ditzy audition, a classic example of the difference between what the producers say they want and [[The Ditz|what they actually want]].

** Barbara Wright alternately played this trope straight and subverted it. The most memorable straight example would be in the very first ''Who'' serial ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S1/E01 An Unearthly Child|An Unearthly Child]]'', where she spends most of the last two episodes screaming and crying. She seems to have gotten it out of her system by the next serial, where she's perfectly happy to go on a commando raid into the Dalek city. Her most memorable subversion is probably ''The Crusade'', where she does get kidnapped, but rescues herself and is on her way back to rescue everyone else by the time Ian shows up to save her.

* Though Veronica, Sarah, and Sofia all get this at one point or another in ''[[Prison Break]]'', LJ is the epitome of this trope. Any time he's on screen he's either being used as a bargaining chip against his dad and uncle or being rescued by his dad and uncle; the kid spends most of the series tied to a chair. All of them though are justified, since they're basically average citizens stuck in a mass conspiracy against people trained to make them this.

 

 

== Music ==

* Mentioned in [[Will Smith]]'s song ''[[Wild Wild West]]'':

{{quote|''Any damsel that's in distress

* Subverted in the video of ''Mean'' by [[Taylor Swift]]. Taylor is shown [[Chained to a Railway|tied up on railroad tracks]] by a [[Dastardly Whiplash|villain]], who is all [[Evil Gloating|gloating]] over her predicament. Not long after, a friend of the villain's comes along, the two villains get [[Drinking on Duty|drunk]], fall asleep, after which Taylor simply gets out of her ropes and heads off.

 

* This is [[Older Than Feudalism]], dating back at least to the Greek myth of Perseus and Andromeda.

** The story of Hesione and Heracles is very similar to that of Perseus and Andromeda. However, Deianeira, another woman in Heracles' [[Chick Magnet|adventurous]] life, subverts it by [[Green-Eyed Monster|taking matters in her hands]] shortly after the rescue.

* In ''[[Ramayana]]'', Sita is a crown example.

* In Celtic mythology (''[[Mabinogion]]''), Branwen finds herself in this position. Subverted with Deirdre, who voluntarily put herself in the situation which was considered as distress by her fiance.

 

== Radio ==

* ''The Shadow'''s companion Margot Lane served the function of designated hostage more often than not...especially if a [[Mad Scientist]] needed a "test subject."

** Margot Lane is also an example of [[Flanderization]]. In the early episodes with Orson Welles, she was fairly competent and saved The Shadow almost as much as he saved her.

 

== Theatre ==

* Alice Faulkner in ''[[Sherlock Holmes (theatre)|Sherlock Holmes]]''.

 

== Video Games ==

** Princess Peach Toadstool has been kidnapped too many times to count. And yet she's [[Power Creep, Power Seep|perfectly capable of kicking butt]] in such games as ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', ''[[Super Mario RPG]]'', ''[[Super Princess Peach]]'', ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', and the ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' series. [[Super Mario Bros./WMG|Go figure]]. Adaptations sometimes try to turn her into an [[Action Girl]], but her tendency to get kidnapped is such a major part of the ''Mario'' tradition that it becomes very hard to omit or work around. ''[[Super Mario Bros Z]]'' takes this to the logical extreme: when Peach is kidnapped by Bowser ''again'', it's pointed out that nobody in the Mushroom Kingdom is panicking, because they're all so used to it. In recent games such as ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' and its [[Super Mario Galaxy 2|sequel]], the tables have been turned and Bowser's kidnapping of Peach does more damage to him and his self-deluded plot of creating an galactic empire than her, as Peach, despite her peacefulness, has become a huge monkey wrench and being in Bowser's clutches is an obvious mistake on his part that inevitably leads him to be defeated again by Mario.

** [[Exposition Fairy|Tippi]] also plays Distressed Damsel for all of one chapter in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', though her capturer only wants to post pictures of her on the Internet. (No, really.)

** But subverted in MANY ways as well. For example, she helps you out when she can and despite her constant ordeals {{spoiler|(her dad dying, then her mother disappearing, then her sister being murder with her as the accused, then her being accused again with her own family trying to kill her, then Pearls being in danger, then her mother getting murdered in front of her right after she was about to be murdered herself)}}, she stills comes out smiling and full of life, something that Phoenix can't seem to understand. Plus let's not forget that at one point in case 3:5 she saves her own life from the [[Big Bad]] by {{spoiler|channelling said [[Big Bad]]'s spirit, thus making it impossible for them to kill her}}; something which is very clever.

* In ''[[The House of the Dead (series)|House of the Dead]] 1'', the thing that draws the heroes to the mansion in the first place is a distress call from Tom Rogan's girlfriend Sophie, who, despite apparently being a fellow [[The Men in Black|AMS]] agent and the only survivor of her group, is mostly useless. Depending on how you fared, she [[Multiple Endings|may or may not survive]]. In the later games, you can rescue citizens or your partner from marauding zombies for extra lives.

* ''[[Super Robot Wars]]:''

** [[Lethal Chef|Kusuha Mizuha]]—her face just screams that she is a perfect target to make a Distressed Damsel, and in every installment of ''Original Generation'', starting from ''OG 1, OG 2, OG Gaiden'', there is always a scenario where she is kidnapped, first by Ingram in ''OG 1'', then by Lorenzo & Murata in ''OG 2'' (only in the remake. The scenario was not featured in the GBA version), and finally by the Bartoll units in ''OG Gaiden''. Not even saying 'I'm not just some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued!' in battles can rectify this...

** In ''Order of Ecclesia'', while there are distressed damsels, but there are also distressed children and distressed men as well.

* Marian in the original ''[[Double Dragon]]'', where the main objective was to rescue her from the Black Warriors.

** She's a no-show in the arcade version of ''Double Dragon 3'', but in the NES version the game's plot was rewritten (specifically for the localized version) so that the final boss turns out to be a possessed version of Marian named Queen Noiram ("[[Spell My Name with an "S"|Marion]]" spelled backwards).

** ''Super Double Dragon'' was about saving Marian too, but you wouldn't know [[All There in the Manual|unless you read the manual]] (mainly because the game was released [[Obvious Beta|incomplete]]).

** Averted in the Neo-Geo fighting game, where she's one of the playable fighters.

** Ness himself was captured the second time along with Paula.

* Dana Mercer becomes one about midway through ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]''. Given that the one kidnapping her is {{spoiler|a freaking ''Leader Hunter''}} she is excused for screeching in panic.

** For those who haven't played the game, {{spoiler|a Leader Hunter is about the size of an elephant, and can throw down with Dana's big brother Alex. [[Person of Mass Destruction|Alex can tear tanks apart barehanded, and survive ''anything'']]. Dana can't do that.}}

** {{spoiler|Yeoman Kelly Chambers}} gets this treatment late in ''[[Mass Effect]] 2'', complete with {{spoiler|getting dragged away by monsters, screaming her head off. Of course the entire non-specialist crew of the Normandy meets the same fate at the same time.}}

*** {{spoiler|And [[Squick|god help the poor girl]] if you [[What Kept You?|don't go to her rescue right away]]}}.

* In ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'', after you rescue Neeshka from the Fort Locke guards, she says "Does that make me a damsel in distress? I hope not, I ''hate'' those women!"

* Miyu in ''[[Red Steel]]'' is kidnapped on the first level, and the rest of the game revolves around bringing down the [[Yakuza]] in order to save her.

** Also occasionally played straight with Cream.

** Amy Rose a few odd times, most prominantly in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog CD]]''.

* Wonderfully averted in ''[[BioShock (series)]] 2''. {{spoiler|Eleanor Lamb is setup to be one, but stick her in a combat situation and she absolutely massacres every Mook in her way.}}

* Raven inverts this a few times in ''[[Ultima IX]]'', then lampshades it when she has to play it straight. She later puts the Avatar into [[Dude in Distress]] territory herself...and makes him like it.

* Subverted in ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. For the Alliance, you get a quest to rescue the dwarven princess from Blackrock Depths. For the Horde, you're given the same quest in the hopes of improving relations with the dwarves. Not only she does not want to leave, but she is pregnant. And you just killed the father.

* Flora Reinhold, [[Professor Layton]]'s foster daughter, gets stuck in this role in his games. In the original game of the series, she's more of a [[Barrier Maiden]] than a Damsel in Distress, but in the other two games where she appears so far, she has great aptitude for being kidnapped. She also goes missing in ''Professor Layton's London Life'', the bonus RPG packaged with some releases of ''[[Professor Layton and The Specters Flute]]'' {{spoiler|- but she hasn't been kidnapped. She's preparing to sacrifice herself to prevent [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. Poor kid.}}

* Kaori plays this role in ''[[Eien no Aselia]]'' despite theoretically having the same ass kicking potential as any stranger would. But she never even acquires a weapon and is instead held hostage for almost the entirety of the game by one person or another.

* If you romance a Governor's Daughter enough in the 2004 version of ''[[Sid Meier's Pirates!]]'', then when you next visit the port the Governor will tearfully tell you that she has been kidnapped by the Evil Colonel Mendoza and beg you to hunt him down and rescue her. (Successfully doing so leads to the opportunity to propose marriage shortly after.)

* ''[[Breath of Fire]]'':

** ''[[Breath of Fire I]]'' has Nina serve this role in her initial arc, when she's captured by the [[Evil Sorcerer|Karma Wizard]] while [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|looking for a cure for her father]], who said wizard poisoned. After the rescue, she never goes through it again. The first manga adaptation, however, just ''loved'' to turn her into a [[Faux Action Girl]], even having another party member accuse her of being a [[The Load|load]] to the rest of the group.

* Lola Tigerbelly becomes one towards the end of the first game in ''[[The Spellcasting Series]]'', having been placed in a swinging blade trap by the [[Big Bad]].

* Subverted to ''hell'' in ''[[Dragon Age]]''. In the "Paragon of Her Kind" quest, one of your goals is to rescue party member [[Boisterous Bruiser|Oghren's]] wife, Branka, from the [[Beneath the Earth|Deep Roads]], where she is missing. {{spoiler|It turns out that she deliberately led her entire clan there in search of an ancient [[Artifact of Doom]]. When it turned out the artifact was protected by lots of golems, ghosts, and deathtraps, she deliberately let Darkspawn kill all the men and attempt to turn all the women into Broodmothers, a process that involves force-feeding them the flesh of poisonous monsters and their own relatives, gang-rape by monsters, and lots of [[Body Horror]], so that she'd have a vast supply of monsters to set off the traps and kill the guardians. She's raving insane as well as utterly evil by the time you find her. You ''can'' spare her life and take the artifact for yourself, but the better choice, both morally and gameplay-wise, involves fighting and killing her, then destroying it. Even if you spare her, she refuses to be rescued, and stays in the Deep Roads with her prize.}}

* Much of the plot of [[Asura's Wrath]] is this; about Asura's hellish struggle to save his daughter Mithra. In the end, no one could stop him from saving her, {{spoiler|not even the creator of life itself.}}

* ''[[Dark Souls]]'' has several. Rhea is trapped in the Tomb of the Giants after her companions either all abandoned her or died. Dusk of Oolacile and Sieglinde are trapped in golden crystal golems. Anastacia of Astora is murdered and you have to retrieve her soul to revive her. Then again, most of the dudes you meet need rescuing you as well.

 

== Web Comics ==

* Gleefully mocked (if not outright subverted) in ''[http://www.adventurers-comic.com Adventurers]'', where (lead character) Karn's mother (a White Mage) scolds neophyte White Mage, Lumi, for (among other things) "not being taught how to be kidnapped properly."

** And in another strip, where Karashi is kidnapped, and has already freed herself and made it back to camp by the time Drecker finds the note left by the kidnapper and announces that they have to rescue her.

* [[Wooden Rose]]: Starts with Nessa taking a spill from her horse in the middle of a wintery woods, and twisting her ankle.

* [[The Phoenix Requiem]]: [http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=143 When Jonas abducts Anya to make her go riding, he declares he could persuade the authorities that he was rescuing a damsel in distress].

* [[Roza]] [http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2007-05-11 a plea]

* In ''[[Endstone]]'', Kyri defeats the bad guy [http://endstone.net/2011/04/04/5-23/ to drop, unconscious, in the midst of a horde of dinosaurs. Jon reacts swiftly.]

* In the [[Fake Action Prologue]] of Chapter 2 of ''[[The Specialists]]'', [http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-62/ Lady Liberty is taken hostage.]

* ''[[Exiern]]'' has Peonie as the recipient of the frequent kidnapping card. Although it wasn't the first or the last time, it seems that [[Evil Sorcerer]] Faden was the nastiest as she complained "I was really scared ''this'' time". She hasn't managed to stop other people targeting her for an abduction yet though, and Tiff can generally tell what time it is by whether Peonie has been kidnapped yet or not.

 

== Web Original ==

{{quote|'''Zelda:''' Ganondorf has an ''entire army'' of loyal minions, and they do whatever I say! Link just has that stupid fairy...}}

* In [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s Dark Nella Saga, the titular [[Big Bad]] tied the Makeover Fairy up the bathtub and tortured her by scraping her make-up off. It should be noted that she looked exactly the same afterwards.

 

== Western Animation ==

* The Distressed Damsel is pretty common in ''[[Kim Possible]]''. Pretty much every main character (and some of the villains) have been in this situation. Kim. Ron. The Cheerleaders. Bonnie. Kim's Dad. Kim's Grandmother. The Tweebs. Ron's Dad. Shego. Drakken. Shego's little brothers. It's pretty much a requirement of this show that you get captured at least once.

* Daphne Blake from ''[[Scooby Doo]]'' is often getting kidnapped by the villain of the week in most incarnations, and earned the ''in-series nickname'' "Danger-Prone Daphne". Later incarnations such as the live action movies have her saving herself or fighting off her attackers.

*** It does, but considering that {{spoiler|the monsters are all real in the movies}}, it possibly is more justified.

** Many of the more recent animated movies and series have followed suit in terms of upgrading Daphne's combat competency.

* ''[[Mighty Mightor]]''. Sheera, in most episodes.

* Jez on an episode of ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]''. She quickly develops [[Stockholm Syndrome]], though.

{{quote|'''Enzo''': "I don't want to be a damsel in this dress!"}}

* When is [[The Smurfs|Smurfette]] never in need of being rescued by somebody? Only in the [[The Smurfs (film)|live-action movie]], where she is finally promoted to [[Action Girl]] status.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Always Female]]

[[Category:Double Standard]]

[[Category:Horror Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]

[[Category:Turn-On Tropes]]