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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''[[Lampshade Hanging|"I wonder if I qualify for some kind of hostage-based]] [[Prestige Class]] by now."''
|'''Elan'''|''[[The Order of the Stick]]''}}
The [[
▲{{quote|''[[Lampshade Hanging|"I wonder if I qualify for some kind of hostage-based]] [[Prestige Class]] by now."''|'''Elan''', ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]''}}
▲The [[Distressed Damsel]] is a dime a dozen in media since the beginning of time, but now that females are starting to take on a more active role, there's no one left for them to save!
Meet the [[Gender Flip|male]] [[Spear Counterpart|equivalent]] of the Damsel in Distress. He's usually the sidekick to a butt-kicking [[Action Girl]], always getting himself captured for the female lead to save. This may also occur in shows featuring a male protagonist. Even when the male protagonist is a total [[Badass]], they tend to get captured quite a bit... usually to demonstrate their awesome escape skills.
Sometimes regarded as a product of twentieth-century feminism. In fact, it is [[Older Than They Think]]. When classifying fairy tales according to the Aarne-Thompson system, one distinguishing mark of several types of tales is that a man (or men) is
Compared to the [[
The dude may have picked up the [[Distress Ball]]. If he was a [[Badass]] before getting kidnapped, he may suffer [[Badass Decay]]. If he continues to kick ass after being freed, he's [[Badass in Distress]]. Compare [[Non-Action Guy]].
{{examples}}
== General ==
* [[Santa Claus]], often leading into a [[Saving Christmas]] scenario.
* Children's
== Anime
* Mamoru Chiba, a.k.a. Tuxedo Kamen from ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', is probably the best example of this in [[Anime]] fandom. He started off as helpful and slightly badass, but after he and Usagi entered into a relationship, the poor guy descended rapidly into Distressed Dude territory. This also had some [[The Worf Effect|Worf Effect]] crossover just because the most common method of the villains to demonstrate their evil was to chuck the powerless guy in the tuxedo across the room and make off with him... or, in at least two cases, [[Brainwashed and Crazy|reprogram him]]. The evil version of him [[Evil Is Cool|seems much more powerful]].
** The manga tried to reduce this effect by giving him actual, useful powers, and he took care of a few villains by himself, but he'd still get kidnapped/killed/brainwashed whenever the plot needed to kick up the drama a few notches. {{spoiler|The Stars manga storyline even started off with Galaxia ''effortlessly'' killing the poor kid in front of Usagi}}.
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* Done a lot to the title character of ''[[Natsume Yuujinchou]]''. He gets captured by youkai and the Matoba clan on more than one occasion. Special mention to his first encounter with the head of the Matoba clan. Natsume is abducted and told that if he [[Bound and Gagged|tries to run, it will be made so that he can't run, and if he tries to yell, it'll be made so that he can't yell.]] Special mention also goes to season four, episode six, which plays with the trope before playing it straight: Natsume is trapped in a jar by an ayakashi that wishes to use him as an offering. Initially, the only issue is getting out of the jar since his guardian Nyanko-Sensei protects him, but the ayakashi does eventually make off with Natsume. [[Cliff Hanger|The episode ends as Natsume's friend runs off trying to save him.]]
** Slightly justified in that Natsume isn't necessarily ''weak'' - he's actually pretty strong for a non-exorcist human, and the fact that nearly ''everyone'' wants him (no, [[Even the Guys Want Him|not like that!]]) leads to him getting kidnapped quite often. That he can scatter ayakashi just by ''punching'' them is considered quite impressive. Still doesn't save him from this trope, though.
* ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'': [[Overshadowed by Awesome|Kazuma Kuwabara]] in the Sensui arc.
* Kaito Doumoto of ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' should really stop going overseas for surfing tournaments. The first time, he was kidnapped by {{spoiler|his long-lost brother}} Gackto, had his power almost stolen and got used to blackmail Lucia. The second time, he had [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|his memory wiped]] by Michel and was used to draw Lucia out of hiding and blackmail her again. Thankfully, though she may be [[The Ditz]], she's smarter than that.
* Genjyo Sanzo of ''[[Saiyuki]]'' gets abducted and restrained by baddies quite often in the anime. Doesn't stop him to be a badass, though. Then again, his original counterpart from ''[[Journey to the West]]'' gets this treatment way more than Sanzo.
** Not that that's hard given his original counterpart was pretty much a complete wuss compared to Saiyuki's loud, violent, arrogant, chain smoking, gambling, foul mouthed, violent version who on average threatens to kill his companions at least twice a chapter. Oh and did I mention foul mouthed and violent?
* Negi Springfield of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]!'' once got held captive by his fellow mages who wanted to turn him into an ermine and deport him to the Magic World for failing to maintain [[The Masquerade]]. He managed to get out of his cell, but his [[True Companions]] (mostly [[Action Girl
* In one arc of the ''[[Soul Eater]]'' manga, {{spoiler|Death the Kidd seems to be playing this role after a [[Collector of the Strange]] decides to add him to his collection. He manages to break out by himself, but only after a fight with Black Star which snaps him out of insanity.}}
* Parodied with North Italy of ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', who often gets in trouble and derails his partners' plans.
{{quote|
** This reaches a new level of absurdity when Italy needs rescuing from falling into a pit dug by "that jackass Britain". It wasn't an elaborate or hidden trap, it was just an ordinary hole dug in the ground.
** His brother South Italy plays it a bit straighter as a child, when Turkey kidnaps him. His boss/caretaker Spain goes [[Papa Wolf]] on Turkey. In return, Spain [[Ill Boy|falls gravely sick]] in another strip and the adult South Italy searches for a "cure", even having recourse to [[The Mafia]] to try help him.
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** [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|"Mokuba was supposed to be there with me, but he had been kidnapped for the fiftieth time that week so his seat was empty."]]
*** [[Little Kuriboh]] even saw fit to put together a '''''montage''''' of a few scenes in which he was kidnapped.
{{quote|
** Astonishingly averted in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! R]]'', where nobody even ''considers'' grabbing the kid.
* [[The Ace|Portgas D. Ace]] from ''[[One Piece]]'' is ''definitely'' this trope. Except that his younger brother Luffy is the one rescuing him, not a girl. {{spoiler|Luffy succeeded in freeing him. Unfortunately, it was in vain as soon Ace took a lava punch from Admiral Akainu to save Luffy and actually ''[[Not Quite Saved Enough|died]]''.}}
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* Tragic from ''Mythic Quest'' is threatened in exchange for Aramusha's good behavior so often that the one time someone claims to have [[I Have Your Wife|kidnapped her]], he knows they're bluffing, because ''that's not how things work''. Usually this is just an excuse to have Tragic and Aramusha agree not to use their [[Game Breaker]] powers for the duration of a fight, but once John is actually kidnapped and Anaya has to go rescue him.
* While he doesn't get caught ''every'' single episode... well, if there's a [[Gundam Wing|Wing Boy]] liable to get captured, that's Duo Maxwell. [[Flanderization|Flanderized]] to death by fandom via utter [[Wimpification]].
* Ciel of ''[[Black Butler (manga)|Black Butler]]''.{{context}}
* Rock in ''[[Black Lagoon]]''. Revy at one point makes a sarcastic quip when his latest kidnapper turns out to be a Japanese high-school girl.
* Alviss of ''[[MAR]]'', in the anime.{{context}}
* Taki from ''[[Yellow]]'' gets this a bit, although it happens to Goh at least once.{{context}}
* ''[[Change 123]]'': Played straight in the Chapter 2 where Hibiki eventually rescues Kosukegawa. A variation happens during the "Zero revealing" plot arc where Kosukegawa's kidnapping serves only as a bait for HiFuMi to lure them into a [[Xanatos Gambit|Xanatos-style trap]].
* Mamoru Amami from [[GaoGaiGar]]. specifically in it's epilogue OVA, FINAL. When trying to make the preperations that would allow 3G to win against the 11 Planetary Lords of Sol, Mamoru created a replicant of himself to use as a decoy so he could get to the G-Crystal without being caught by the Sol Lords, said replicant is...very [[Tear Jerker|gut-wrenchingly]] chained and given [http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/8793/vlcsnap2010121204h28m09.png mind-altering drugs by Palparepa.] It's pretty scary, honestly, and adds more to Mamoru's [[The Woobie|woobie factor.]]
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* Yuuen from ''[[Wild Rock]]'' is small, weak, and looks like a girl, and basically helpless against most giant [[Prehistoric Monster|prehistoric animals]]. Luckily for him Emba's the opposite.
* [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]. Yeah, Shinji's a pretty easy target who cries and whines compared to his two female companions (a [[Stoic Woobie]] and [[Fiery Redhead]]). Yet he deserves mention for one episode where he takes charge, gets in trouble, and screams for help from the main female characters.
* Subverted in episode 88 of [[Ranma
== Comic Books ==
== Ballads ==▼
* In the [[Child Ballad]] "[[Tam Lin]]" (Child #39), Fair Janet rescues Tam Lin from [[The Fair Folk]].▼
* In the Child Ballad "[http://www.bartleby.com/243/76.html The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward]", the young lord saves his life by promising to never to tell that his servant robbed him; the servant turns him into a servant, until the daughter of a local lord figures out how to get the story out of him. ([[Gender Flip]] version of the [[Damsel in Distress]] in ''The Goose-girl'').▼
* In the Child Ballad "Geordie" (Child #209), a woman pleads for her husband Geordie who is condemned to hang, convincing the King to commute the sentence to a fine. In the Scottish version sung by Maddy Prior and June Tabor (as the Silly Sisters), she doesn't merely plead-- she brings all the fighting men of Clan Gordon ready for action, to make sure the King listens. In Joan Baez's version, presumably related to others called "The Death of Geordie", her plea fails. See also http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/ballads/C209.html▼
* There are versions of Child Ballad #95, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows", where the condemned is male, ransomed by his female lover.▼
* [[Wonder Woman]]'s old boyfriend Steve Trevor also got into a fair share of trouble.
** Her new boyfrriend, Tom Tresser a.k.a. Nemesis, is generally portrayed as more competent. But he's still not in WW's league, and thus still needs saving on occasion.
* Dick Grayson used to get captured and tied up a lot during his old Robin days, in order to play the [[Sidekick]] in danger and get rescued by [[Batman]]. Now, as [[Estrogen Brigade Bait|Nightwing]], this has evolved into a tendency to end up bound and [[Shirtless Scene|stripped down to his underpants]] by the [[Villain]]. [[Fan Service|Not that we're complaining]].
** Lampshaded in (IIRC){{verify}} ''The Dark Night Returns'' comic, when Joker refers to "Robin, the Boy Hostage".
** Hey, Dick isn't the only one who gets tied up. {{spoiler|Even [http://i44.tinypic.com/vhb6rq.jpg Batman] gets it sometimes.}}
* Pick an issue of Will Eisner's ''[[The Spirit]]''. Any issue.
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* [[X Factor|Rictor]]'s first appearance in comics consisted of his being saved from the [[A Nazi by Any Other Name|Right]], who'd kidnapped him in order to use his powers to wreak havoc on San Francisco. Since then, in his two stints in X-Factor and his time in X-Force, he's often the go-to guy to be kidnapped.
* In the climax of one issue of ''[[Runaways]]'', Chase is captured and held at knifepoint by {{spoiler|Geoffrey Wilder}}, while trying to see if Nico and Xavin escaped from the burning planetarium. He's rescued by Gertrude. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, Geoffrey decides to just kill Gert instead, making it a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] on her part.}}
== Fairy Tales ==
* "The Search for the Lost Husband": The heroine [[Forbidden Fruit|breaks a prohibition]] and her husband is lost to magic. She must track him down and rescue him. Tales of this type include:
** "[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon]]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130718151232/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/norroway.html The Black Bull of Norroway]"
** "[
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140322063941/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/brownbear.html The Brown Bear of Norway]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20141014105718/http://
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140322062349/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/whitewolf.html The White Wolf]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130718153153/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/beautybeast/stories/lark.html The Singing, Spring Lark]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130718152946/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/sprigrosemary.html The Sprig of Rosemary]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140322064734/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/daughterskies.html The Daughter of the Skies]"
* "The Girl Helps the Hero Flee": a hero falls under the villain's power. The heroine, often the villain's daughter, tells him how to escape the impossible tasks, or performs the magic to allow his escape, and usually both. Afterward, he often [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|loses his memory of her]] and she must disenchant him.
** "[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/075.htm The Grateful Prince]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130313091106/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/celtic/battleofbirds.html The Battle of the Birds]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130708093355/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/crane/snowfirered.html Snow-White-Fire-Red]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130621050640/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/asbjornsenmoe/mastermaid.html The Mastermaid]"
* "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131017031044/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/twelvedancing/stories/katiecrackernuts.html Katie Crackernuts]" saves a prince from [[The Fair Folk]].
* In "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130814130639/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/186truesweetheart.html The True Sweetheart]", the heroine must find the prince, who has been enchanted into forgetting her, and break the spell.
* "The Brothers As Birds": the heroine's brothers have been [[Baleful Polymorph|turned into birds]], and she must rescue them. This can range from [[The Quest|a quest]] to making magical shirts to disenchant them, remaining silent the whole time.
** "[
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140324084118/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/sevendoves.html The Seven Doves]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131204105124/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/sevenravens.html The Seven Ravens]"
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130718151344/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/twelvebrothers.html The Twelve Brothers]"
** "[
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130718151144/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sixswans/stories/twelvewilducks.html The Twelve Wild Ducks]"
* "The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird": After they have been abandoned and grew up, the heroine's brothers are turned to stone. She must follow them to restore them.
** "[
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140413155236/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/aulnoy/1892/princessbelleetoile.html Princess Belle-Etoile]"
** "[
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20130603131735/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/facetiousnights/night4_fable3.html Ancilotto, King of Provino]"
* In "[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/117.htm The Death of Koshchei the Deathless]", Koshchei chops Prince Ivan into little pieces, throws them into a barrel, and throws the barrel into the sea. His brothers-in-law must retrieve the barrel and fetch the Water of Death to put him back together and the Water of Life to revive him.
* [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s "[[The Snow Queen]]": Kay is rescued by Gerda, who, before she finds him, obtains some features of an [[Action Girl]]. Princess Eliza does the same (though in the non-action way) to her brothers, transformed into wild swans by their stepmother. [[The Seven Basic Plots|Christopher Booker]] goes into great detail on the symbolism behind his bondage, and the symbolism inherent in the heroine coming to free him.
* Hansel from "[[Hansel and Gretel]]" is put in a cage [[I'm a Humanitarian|to be fattened]], and it is up to his sister Gretel to kill the witch and rescue him.
== Fan Works ==
* There is a genre of fanfiction called "whump", which almost exclusively involves having the [[Complete Monster|bad guys]] kidnapping [[The Woobie|one of the guys]] and doing painful things to them, often leaving them emotionally scarred, all so that they will be saved in the end.
** Naturally, this propensity led one fic writer to do a [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Zuko]] [http://beckyh2112.livejournal.com/403217.html Anti-Whumping Meme], where she would only fill prompts about cuddling, kittens, fluffy ships, friendship, tea... All of the resulting ficlets are quite good.
* A
* The ''[[Good Omens]]'' fandom seems to have a thing for Aziraphale being dragged into Hell for some torture scenes with the option of making Aziraphale Fall. This got parodied in ''[[
* The ''[[That Guy With The Glasses
* In the ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers|Galaxy Rangers]]'' story ''Chrysalis'', Niko was the only one who managed to escape the [[Supervillain Lair]]
* How
* Parodied in this [http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=22384 adult but fairly cracky] ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fic. The Doctor's tendency to get tied up
* In the ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' fanfic
* This crops up quote a lot in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' fanfiction. They tend to fall into one of two camps:
** The nations are discovered by the public at large or some shady organization, and are abducted and imprisoned. This usually leads to some sort of experimentation on them.
** One or more of the nations kidnaps another or several nations and holds them hostage, usually for some dark and disturbing purposes. This can be used to represent historic events, like an occupation or invasion. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120410004204/http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2468569/BeatriceTheGolden Beatrice The Golden] (NSFW) has written some of the more graphic ones, including ''Debt'' and '[[My Little Chicken]]''.
==
* Princess Aurora/Briar Rose is the [[
* In ''[[Tangled]]'', it's always Flynn who has to be rescued by [[Rapunzel]], not the other way round! {{spoiler|Even when Rapunzel gets [[Bound and Gagged]] toward the end of the film, she's able to save Flynn from his mortal knife wound by working off her gag and begging Mother Gothel to let her heal him, which gives Flynn a chance to pull off his would-be [[Heroic Sacrifice]].}}
* [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] seems to get himself captured almost every movie. Hence the title that this trope ''used'' to have: James Bondage.
** That iconic ''[[Goldfinger]]'' scene where James is strapped down to a table with a giant laser [[Groin Attack|slowly making its way toward his groin.]]
** Bond is captured by the North Koreans in ''[[Die Another Day]]'' and spends the title sequence being beaten and tortured.
** The recent ''[[Casino Royale]]'' has the poor guy tied naked to a chair and [[Groin Attack|whacked repeatedly in the groin by a knotted rope]].
* The [[Scaled Up]] antagonist of ''[[Enchanted]]'' intends to grab the female lead as a [[Damsel in Distress]], but the male lead makes the mistake of proclaiming that this will happen "over my dead body
* This happens to a wounded Hannibal King in ''[[Blade Trinity]]'' when he gets captured by vampires.
* The last twenty minutes of ''[[Audition]]''.
* Rescuing Han Solo in ''[[
* [[Indiana Jones]]. Tied to a light pole in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', tied to a chair in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade|The Last Crusade]]'', kidnapped and stuffed in a car trunk ''and'' tied to a chair in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]''...
** Practically Lampshaded with this exchange between Marion and Indy about them both being kidnapped
{{quote|
'''Marion:''' Well, you didn't do any better yourself. }}
* In the first ''[[The Matrix|Matrix]]'' movie, Agent Smith and a few other agents ambushed Morpheus's crew in an old building. The rest of the crew (except for the dearly departed Mouse) escape, but Morpheus was abducted. With him in his custody, Agent Smith attempted to interrogate him into giving them the codes to get into Zion's mainframe.
* Happens at the end of ''[[Mission: Impossible (film)||Mission Impossible
* ''[[The A-Team (film)|The
** Also Hannibal at the very beginning of the movie, getting punched by two [[Dirty Cop|corrupt]] Mexican cops while handcuffed. Unfortunately for their boss, they're dumb enough to leave him alive. This ends badly for them.
* [[Clint Eastwood]]'s character has gotten captured and beat up to varying degrees of seriousness in all three ''[[Dollars Trilogy]]'' films. He's escaped from them in a variety of ways, ranging from his own quick thinking, [[Deus Ex Machina]], or [[Bond Villain Stupidity
* This happens to the character of Kale in the movie ''[[Disturbia]]'', and his [[Love Interest]] Ashley rescues him.
* "Joyride 2 Dead Ahead" is exactly this trope. When the character of Bobby is kidnapped by Rusty Nails, his fiance Melissa must save him. Later on the other male protagonist is kidnapped.
* The eponymous ''[[Mystery Team]]'' has this happen to them a lot.
* In ''[[Kick-Ass]]'', Dave and Big Daddy get tortured on streaming video, before Hit Girl arrives to stop the show.
== Literature ==
* In one of the less known fragments of ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur
* [[Nancy Drew]]'s boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, gets kidnapped a lot. Nancy and Ned took turns getting kidnapped and coming to the other one's rescue.
* Lee in the ''[[Smoke and Shadows]]'' trilogy by [[Tanya Huff]]. In this case, he's Tony's Mary Jane. Lee gets ''very'' tired of being the damsel by book 3. Also in the fourth book of the ''[[Blood Books|Blood]]'' series, Henry, the vampire is captured and held prisoner by mad scientists and it is up to Vicky and Mike to rescue him. In the fifth book it is Mike who is captured and bound, but since he is rescued by two vampires, I do not know if that would count.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', Harry Dresden seems to end up manacled, bound or otherwise restrained once a book at least.
* Prince Rilian in [[C. S.
** And Edmund, between Jadis revealing her true colors and his rescue by Aslan's troupe.
* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[Warhammer
** Also, when a Marine vanishes on a town they are investigating for Chaos cults, they search for him, find him [[Cold-Blooded Torture|being]] [[Human Sacrifice|sacrificed to the daemon]], and rescue him.
* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[Gaunt's Ghosts]]'' novel ''First & Only'', the Ghosts' [[Revenge]] raid on the Jantine Patricians is partly to see if they can find Rawne alive. They do, and he is being [[Cold-Blooded Torture|tortured]], so the raid quickly turns to a rescue. {{spoiler|Similarly, at the end of ''Only In Death'', Mkoll and Eszarah rescue Gaunt as soon as they find him alive.}}
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** In ''Thuvia, Maid of Mars'', Carthoris and Kar Komak are captured first by green men and then by great apes.
** In ''The Chessman of Mars'', Turan is captured by the city of Matador. Tara tries to shield him by denying knowledge of him.
{{quote|
''"It was to save me, then?" he cried, his face suddenly lighting.
''"It was to save my brave panthan," she said in a low voice.'' }}
** In ''The Master Mind of Mars'', Ulysses Paxton rescues some men from [[Faux Death]], and they all escape the [[Mad Scientist]]. Later, one of them is captured in the city where he had been betrayed and threatened with [[Human Sacrifice]]; Ulysses rescues him.
* In [[Wen Spencer]]'s ''Endless Blue'', Paige finds Turk bound by spider web on the civ raft. He pleads with her to [[I Cannot Self-Terminate|kill him]] if she can't free him; she has to leave him for a time in hopes of getting what she's after, [[Despair Event Horizon|plunging him in despair]], but returns to rescue him.
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* In the first ''[[Kingdom Keepers]]'' book, there's a subplot about [[The Lancer|Maybeck]] getting kidnapped and needing to be rescued.
* In [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[The Golden Oecumene|The Phoenix Exultant]]'', Daphne Tercius goes into exile herself to bring Phaethon what he needs to escape rescue. Later, when faced with a problem, he asks her what to do: she came to rescue him, and he needs rescue.
* Ruggiero, a heroic knight in many medieval French [[Chivalric Romance
* In [[Patricia A. McKillip]]'s ''The Book of Atrix Wolfe'', Tanis is trapped in the [[Lost Woods]]. Where a woman reveals {{spoiler|that the omninous Hunter is her consort, trapped in a dire spell}}.
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "[[A Witch Shall Be Born]]", [[Conan the Barbarian]] is crucified. He even needs someone to get him down.
** In "[[Iron Shadows in the Moon|Shadows in The Moonlight]]", Olivia rescues him from [[
** In ''[[The Hour of the Dragon]]'', Zenobia rescues him from the [[Evil Sorcerer]].
** In "[[The Scarlet Citadel]]", he manages an escape because a man taunted him with the keys got eaten by a snake and drops the keys. He also finds Pelias prisoner to a [[Man-Eating Plant]] and rescues him.
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* Septimus in ''[[Septimus Heap|Physik]]''.
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** In ''[[
** Verence in ''[[
* In Teresa Frohock's ''[[Miserere: An
* In the climatic scene of Stieg Larsson's
* In the second last chapter of ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'', Piglet is [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming|Entirely Surrounded by Water]] and has to be rescued by Pooh and Christopher Robin.
* Michael in the ''[[Knight and Rogue Series]]''. Even though he's the stronger of the two main characters, he's also the one with almost no sense of self presvation or legal rights.
== Live-Action TV ==
* The title character in the show ''[[Chuck]]'', featuring a hapless electronics-store worker who gets thrown into the world of spies and danger. He tends to get thrown into car trunks quite a bit, forcing him to await rescue from his [[Action Girl]] partner.
** Casey and Sarah also get captured a lot and need to be rescued. More than one would expect, given that they are the trained professional elite spies and Chuck is the schmuck they're supposed to be guarding, but he ''is'' the title character... And he [[Running Gag|never stays in the car when they tell him to...]]
{{quote|
* ''[[24
* [[MacGyver]] is legendary for this, with escape skills surpassing even those of Jack
* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'': James T. Kirk not only gets manacled, but stripped to the waist and rubbed down with oil. Several times. [[Fan Service]], anyone?
** Quite often, Spock and/or McCoy would get captured with him, also. But they never got the oil treatment, though we did get to see Spock shirtless and whipped in "Patterns of Force".
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** Oh, Spike does this all the damn time. In particular; a good chunk of season 7 features him chained to a wall, at least 10 episodes on-again-off-again chained.
** This trope was also [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in the [[Musical Episode]] "Once More, With Feeling". In the opening number, Buffy rescues a tied-up young man with a distinct resemblance to Fabio, then brushes him off:
{{quote|
'''Young Man:''' How can I repay--
'''Buffy:''' Whatever. }}
* This seems to be a very popular trope in the Whedonverse. In ''[[Firefly]]'', Wash and Mal get tied up and tortured by Niska and are saved by [[Action Girl|Zoe]] and the crew.
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* Tony Hill from ''[[Wire in The Blood]]'' has a tendency to get into this kind of thing.
* Like Supernatural, ''[[Smallville]]'' also had this in its early years to the point of being female [[Fan Service]]. Ads for the premiere showed Clark tied to a cross with his shirt ripped off and a big "S" painted on his chest in what seemed to be blood.
** Not to mention during the first 4 seasons or so, Lex needed Clark to save him as many times, or perhaps even more, than Clark's official love interest, Lana!
* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the Doctor gets tied up ''all the freaking time''.
** The First Doctor is help prisoner by [[A Disgrace to Blackbeard]] in ''The Smugglers''. He does trick and overpower the pirate guarding him and the innkeeper, though. [[You Have Failed Me...]] ensues.
** The Third, Fourth and Fifth Doctors were tied up and tortured far more than their modern counterparts. There was only one Third Doctor serial in which he ''wasn't'' tortured, strangled, or held in bondage. Plus, the Third Doctor is the only Doctor to have been tied up and gagged too. (The Fifth Doctor came close with being blindfolded and chained in ''The Caves of Androzani''). This may have been due to his companion Jo Grant. Originally written as an [[The Avengers (TV series)|Emma Peel-type character]], she became [[The Ditz]] in a [[Ms. Fanservice|miniskirt]] instead, but one aspect of her
** The Third Doctor also holds the current record for "number of times entrapped/bound to a wall by alien tentacles". (Twice, incidentally.)
** Five definitely spent more time sprawled on the floor (or on his knees, or strapped to something, or being manhandled) than he did, well, standing upright.
** The Sixth Doctor didn't do any better. Out of his 11 stories, he was tied up or locked up (and held hostage once) in six of his stories. In fact, he was tied up ''three times'' alone in ''The Mysterious Planet''.
** Even Eight gets in on the action in the [[Made for TV Movie]], what with the Master chaining him up to {{spoiler|steal his regenerations}}, ''and'' putting this weird
** The Ninth Doctor seemed to get cornered by enemies much more often than the other Doctors of the 2005 revival. And he seems to be the only Doctor who has been chained ''and'' shirtless (concurrently) in an episode ("Dalek"). You'd think one of the writers had a [[Fetish]] for [[Christopher Eccleston]] or something.
** The Tenth Doctor was chained to a chair designed for use as a restraint and very thoroughly gagged by {{spoiler|the Master}} at the same time in the ''The End of Time'' Part 2. Bonus points for fleeing the scene (down a flight of stairs!) with the Doctor still tied to the wheeled chair, finally un-gagged and screaming bloody murder the whole way to stop and untie him first. More bondage happened in "The Sound of Drums"/"Last of the Time Lords", "Voyage of the Damned", "Midnight" and of course, "Planet of the Ood," much to the delight of fangirls. Ten got his fair share of it in the comics as well. [http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s86/Cygnia/motivations/cowbondage2.jpg Here] and [http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0907/09/doctorwho1b.jpg here] are just two such examples. He also got handcuffed by River Song at the end of [[Doctor Who
** The Eleventh Doctor has been getting in on the action from the get go, getting handcuffed to the heater by {{spoiler|Amy Pond}} right away in ''The Eleventh Hour'', and being strapped into {{spoiler|the Pandorica}} by most of his usual foes in {{spoiler|"The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang"}}.
** Let us not limit the discussion to the Doctor's incarnations. Many a male companion or innocent bystander got this.
*** Steven is taken captive, tied up, or otherwise incapacitated at least once per serial, on average.
*** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S3
*** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S18
*** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S22
*** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S21
*** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S20
*** In ''[[Doctor Who
* At least one of protagonists of ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'' would usually be tied up by the the villain(s) in just about every episode, often while confined in a [[Death Trap]].
* ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''. Captain Archer got thrown into a cell and/or beaten up by interrogators so many times it became a series cliché.
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* ''[[NCIS]]'' also has a designated "damsel" in Tony DiNozzo, though he usually rescues himself.
* Rimmer in the ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' episode "Terrorform":
{{quote|
* The boys of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' invoke this trope fairly often. Daniel winds up kidnapped disproportionately often in the first season or two. He's also the [[Woobie]], so...
* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'': Spencer Reid. He ends up separated from the rest of the team and in danger very frequently, especially in early seasons. In one such instance he was actually held hostage and ended up addicted to painkillers, he's also been caught in a cult compound while investigating child abuse (along with another agent), he and Hotch were trapped in a cell with a serial killer during the guard's shift change, and in one episode he didn't start out in danger, but ended up in it during an attempt to rescue the female agent trapped on a train with an unstable man.
** This has gotten so bad, Matthew Gray Gubler (Reid's actor) has commented on it:
{{quote|
* Intrepid reporter Mike Axford in the ''[[The Green Hornet]]'' is kidnapped and held as some kind of leverage tool on the Hornet on pretty much every third episode. Lampshaded lightly in "Eat, Drink, and Be Dead" at the closer when Mike insisted on a raise after being kidnapped yet again.
* Despite his status as [[God Mode Sue]] for the series, Tommy Oliver from ''[[Power Rangers]]'' is a magnet for getting his powers stolen/getting [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]/turning into a [[Sealed Good in a Can]]. Currently, his most egregious brush with this trope happens in ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]'', where he is frozen in amber, stuck in his Black Dino Ranger form, turned invisible, and ''put into a deathly coma, '''all in that order, in the course of 15 episodes'''''.
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** In ''[[Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger]]'', it happens pretty frequently to [[Sixth Ranger]] Tetsu.
* ''[[The Prisoner]]'' episode "The Girl Who Was Death" plays inexplicably like a loopy spy-adventure movie. Number Six is eventually caught in the villain's lair and is bound to a chair.
{{quote|
'''No. 6:''' I must remember that next time I go climbing with one. }}
* Will Zimmerman from ''[[Sanctuary]]'' constantly gets kidnapped or stuck in a situation where Helen Magnus (and sometimes her team as well) generally has to come to his rescue. So much so that some fans have even dubbed him the "Dude in Distress".
* Will Tippin in ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''. The first real incident was in "Rendezvous". Will, a [[Muggle]] who is gradually losing his status via investigating SD-6, and Sydney saves him in France. He doesn't know about her high-kicking spy job and screams when he sees her. He is then kidnapped by [[Evil Brit|Julian]] [[Blondes Are Evil|Sark]]. Will ends up in [[Yellow Peril|China]] being tortured by a [[Depraved Dentist]], and then gets rescued by Jack. Jack later needs to be rescued by Sydney from Sloane's replacement [[The Hitcher|Rutger Hauer]]. Marshal is up next when he is tortured by the same [[Depraved Dentist]], who threatens to fill Marshal's guts with a gel that will expand and crush his internal organs, and then threatens Marshal's mother. Vaughn and Dixon are also rescued by Sydney to a lesser extent a couple of times.
* [[Handsome Lech|Face]] got captured more than anyone else on ''[[The A-Team]]''. Bad guys ''loved'' to tie him up.
* Demetri Noh on ''[[
* [[Stephen Colbert]] chains ''himself'' to his desk in an early 2010 episode during a word segment where Obama's advocating bipartisanship - the word was 'siren song' and he was kindly demonstrating.
* Peter Bishop from ''[[Fringe]]'' is constantly getting rescued or saved by [[Action Girl|Olivia Dunham]].
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* In season 2 of [[Veronica Mars]], when Logan gets kidnapped by the PCH gang.
* ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]'' [[The Reveal|reveals]], near the end of the pilot, [[Prince Charming]] stuck in a coma much the same way Snow White was at the beginning when he rescued her.
* On ''[[Leverage]]'', [[Playful Hacker|Hardison]] often fills this role given his status as a [[Non-Action Guy]].
* In ''[[Torchwood]]'', their [[What Exactly Is His Job?|archivist]] Ianto Jones spends a fair bit of time getting caught unawares, threatened and tied up in the first series, but after {{spoiler|Jack leaves between series 1 and 2}} he gets more field experience and avoids this trope more frequently.
* Happens pretty much every second episode in ''[[The Mentalist]]'' - Jane gets himself into all sorts of scrapes; but as he's not allowed a gun and has no physical defence training whatsoever, he has to resort to [[Talking Your Way Out|reasoning with his enemies]] until [[The Cavalry|Lisbon and the team]] arrive.
== Manhwa ==
* Minwoo from ''[[Metal Heart (Manhwa)|Metal Heart]]'' gets kidnapped by Nova in order to use him as bait for Sia.
* [[Child Ballad]]s:
▲** In the [[Child Ballad]] "[[Tam Lin]]" (Child #39), Fair Janet rescues Tam Lin from [[The Fair Folk]].
▲** In the Child Ballad "[http://www.bartleby.com/243/76.html The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward]", the young lord saves his life by promising to never to tell that his servant robbed him; the servant turns him into a servant, until the daughter of a local lord figures out how to get the story out of him. ([[Gender Flip]] version of the [[Damsel in Distress]] in ''The Goose-girl'').
▲** In the Child Ballad "Geordie" (Child #209), a woman pleads for her husband Geordie who is condemned to hang, convincing the King to commute the sentence to a fine. In the Scottish version sung by Maddy Prior and June Tabor (as the Silly Sisters), she doesn't merely
▲** There are versions of Child Ballad #95, "The Maid Freed from the Gallows", where the condemned is male, ransomed by his female lover.
* The video of the Brandon Flowers song - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AhU12zC8fc Crossfire] has the guy repeatedly rescued from ninjas by the female leader.
** In all fairness, most guys would probably be willing to be captured over and over if Charlize Theron is the one rescuing them.
== Oral Tradition ==
* [[Older Than Dirt]]: In what may be the first recorded example of this trope, a central point of Ancient Egyptian religion is the rescue of Osiris by [[wikipedia:Isis#Sister-wife to Osiris|Isis]], after he's killed by his brother Set.
* [[Classical Mythology|Prometheus]], rescued by
* Although Theseus was ready to face the Minotaur alone, he would have never found his way back through the Labyrinth if not for the trick Ariadne taught him.
== Video Games ==
* In ''[[
* Most gamers expecting to see [[
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' games almost always have a scene where the protagonist is captured, tortured, then given the means to escape by a woman (okay, [[Ho Yay|Otacon or Gray Fox]] in ''Metal Gear Solid 1'', but they're Snake's [[Not Love Interest
** ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' has Olga free Raiden, with Snake on standby to give him his clothes back later.
** In ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', means to escape are given by The Boss, but you can flirt it out of Johnny instead if you want.
** Elisa spends most of ''Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops''
*** Not to mention, several
* Both of Jade's (male) sidekicks in ''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'' have the nasty habit of getting themselves into trouble and needing Jade (female) to rescue them. Torture? Poisoning by an [[The Virus|evil alien virus?]] Kidnapping? {{spoiler|Death itself (or not)?}} Even in ordinary combat, not necessitated by the plot, they seem incapable of getting themselves up if pinned by a certain type of enemy.
** Although Jade ''is'' freed from [[Naughty Tentacles]] by Pey'J at the start of the game.
* Mario, Luigi and Toad become these in ''[[Super Princess Peach]]''.
** Mario and Luigi (along with Wario) in ''Super Mario 64 DS'' actually start out trapped by Bowser. The player starts off as Yoshi and has to rescue them first in order to unlock them.
** As of late, Luigi seems to have been put in the unenviable position of 'Character everybody would rather play as'. In an effort to make players work for their reward, he's been made unavailable throughout [[Super Mario Galaxy|several of the]] [[Super Mario 3D Land|recent games]]. The easy way to accomplish this is, of course, kidnapping.
** Mario in ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]''
* There's a lot of these in the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series.
** ''Fire Emblem'' (a.k.a. ''Fire Emblem: The Sword of Flame'') has Nils the Bard and his Distressed Damsel sister Ninian. They ''do'' join the fight... but as [[Spoony Bard]] types (they're damn useful once you get the hang of it, though).
*** Let's not forget Raven and Lucius' own brief stunt as Distressed Dudes. When they appear in either Eliwood's or Hector's path, it's in a cell of Lyn's castle. Raven subverts the trope as he forces the guards let him go and check what goes on, becoming an enemy unit that you have to recruit with his sister Priscilla; Lucius, however, stays in the cell until a freshly recruited Raven goes to recruit ''him''.
** ''Genealogy of Holy War'' has Prince Shanan of Isaac, Ayra's nephew and protegée. Though the second part, settled 17 years in the future, shows him and his best friend Oifaye as adults who have taken [[Took a Level
** ''Path of Radiance'' featured the Heron Prince Reyson held hostage as a pet by a crazy noble. Ike's mercenaries are hired to rescue him. He ''would'' be a [[Spoony Bard]] if he wasn't, quite frankly, one of the most powerful utility characters in the game. He also essentially rescues ''himself'' before Ike's mercenaries arrive.
** Early on in ''Shadow Dragon'', new character Gordin is bound and gagged in an enemy uniform in hopes that Marth will mistakenly kill him and be branded a murderous tyrant. You can choose to rescue him. Oh, and the villain behind it even calls him "Gaggles", which is now his [[Fan Nickname]].
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* Squall at the start of the second disc of ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]''.
* Fon Master Ion from ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' manages to get kidnapped a grand total of {{spoiler|four}} times in the course of a single game.
* Richter Belmont from ''[[Castlevania
* The plot of ''[[Rhapsody:
** Similarly, Croix of ''[[La Pucelle|La Pucelle Tactics]]'' spends the last chapter of the game kidnapped and strapped to a sacrificial alter, waiting for the heroine Prier to rescue him.
* [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], as far as ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' is concerned. Starting the second installment, this trope practically becomes Ieyasu's gimmick, to the point that the whole purpose of Tadakatsu/[[Fan Nickname|Hondam]]'s Story Mode is to have various character race to kidnap Ieyasu, [[Bound and Gagged|tie him up]] and get their ass kicked by Tadakatsu, only to have him witness ANOTHER batch of [[Ninja]] kidnap Ieyasu in front of him! While in the expansion Ieyasu takes a break from this routine, he goes back to this routine of constantly kidnapped again in the fighting game spinoff Sengoku Basara X, and worse, if you leave him be, it will cause disadvantages for your character (Tadakatsu). You're telling me, the future of Japan lies in this male version of [[Super Mario Bros.|Princess Peach?]]
** This is actually justified because in those times Ieyasu gets kidnapped, his men refer him as "Takechiyo", his child name, whereupon he spent his childhood being a hostage of Imagawa. And we all know [[Sengoku Basara]] is the king of [[Flanderization
*** Gloriously averted in the third game, where Ieyasu is shown all grown up after [[Took a Level
* Throughout the course of the first ''[[Warriors Orochi]]'', Liu Bei spends his time being held hostage in Orochi's prison and be the focus of the battle for the rest of the Shu characters, whereas other rulers like Nobunaga, Cao Cao and Sun Jian eventually broke out and join in kicking Orochi's ass. In the sequel, however, Liu Bei is able to return to kick some ass to make up for his Distressed Dude time from the prequel.
** The first cutscene of Shu's story mode in the first game is Zhao Yun in prison with his hands tied behind his back; then Xing Cai, Yoshihiro Shimazu, and Zuo Ci [[Big Damn Heroes|show up and break him out]].
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* ''[[Mischief Makers]]'' on the N64 had the heroine Marina ''constantly'' having to save her perverted mentor. The final time he's kidnapped, he [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades it]] when he decides getting kidnapped is his destiny and doesn't even resist.
* Super Joe in the NES version of ''[[Bionic Commando]]'' and its [[Enhanced Remake]] and the [[Game Boy]] version '''and''' ''Bionic Commando: Elite Forces''. Pretty much the only games in the series in which he wasn't kidnapped are the original arcade game and the next-gen title.
* ''[[Bad Dudes]]'': [[Ronald Reagan|The President]] has been kidnapped by [[Ninja
* Subverted in the ''[[Destroy All Humans!]]!'' series. Crypto, the main protagonist, gets captured once in each game. He often then breaks out of his containment himself. Played straight in ''Destroy All Humans! 2'', where Crypto is rescued by his love interest, [[Spy Catsuit|Natalya]].
* In ''[[Dragon Age
** ''[[Dragon Age II]]'': During the "Best Served Cold" quest, one of your party members is hostage. This will be either one of your [[Mutually Exclusive Party Members|mutually-exclusive]] siblings or, {{spoiler|if they died during the Deep Roads exhibition}}, the party member you're closest to. All in all, there's an equal chance of the hostage being male or female. If it's Anders, he'll quip that he's never thought of himself as a damsel in distress up til now.
* During the concluding sequence of Nar Shadda in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]] 2'', the player gets captured and imprisoned by G0-T0 on his orbital yacht, and you get to choose two party members who break in and rescue you.
** And in the first ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', you and a couple party members are kidnapped by [[The Dragon]], and have to pick a party member to stage a jailbreak.
*** Also, remember that your [[Player Character]] could be Distressed Dude or [[
* In the arcade version of ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'', <s>Ryu Hayabusa</s> your nameless ninja gets chained on the floor during the Game Over sequence while a buzzsaw is descending from the ceiling.
* In ''[[Final Fight]]'', your character will be shown chained to a chair with a live dynamite in front of him during the Game Over countdown sequence. ''Final Fight 2'' and ''3'' on the SNES feature similar Game Over sequences, but it adds the possibility of switching one of the male heroes with the token girl (Maki in ''2'' and Lucia in ''3''), turning it into a [[
* ''[[King's Quest]]'' has Edgar...who spends most of his first appearance as a [[Mook]] of Lolotte's, and his second appearance {{spoiler|transmogrified into a troll}}.
* In ''[[Secret of Mana]]'', Purim's reason for joining the party is to rescue Dyluck.
* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls|The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire]]'', a fellow trainee and friend who leaves you clues and supplies through the first part of the game but eventually gets captured and has to be saved from [[Big Bad]] is of an opposite gender than player character. So if the player character is a female, this trope manifests. Complete with dramatic carrying the rescuee with both hands towards an exit.
* ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]]'': [[The Hero|Matthew]] and Amiti are the only male player characters not subject to this trope.
** Tyrell crashes a borrowed soarwing in the Tanglewood out of his own overconfidence and stupidity. He happens upon a Psynergy Vortex, gets drained, and remains unconscious until the party shows up to save him.
** Rief [[Don't Touch It, You Idiot!|nearly repeats Tyrell's mistake]] involving a nearby Vortex, only for the Tuaparang to come along and some [[Mooks]] distract you while he gets kidnapped by the leaders. You later find him [[Bound and Gagged]] [[Girl in a Box|in a box.]]
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* The first ''[[Fairly Oddparents]]'' game on the [[Game Boy Advance]], ''Enter the Cleft!'', is about Timmy having to rescue the Crimson Chin.
* Koltira Deathweaver is showing a disturbing propensity for this in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', despite ostensibly being a [[Badass]]. The first time we meet him is in the Death Knight starting zone, where he's been abducted and tortured by a Scarlet inquisitor, and has to be rescued. One expansion later, in Cataclysm: {{spoiler|he gets abducted ''again'', this time by Sylvanas Windrunner, who's implied to be "re-educating" him to be more loyal to her after he intentionally let his enemy counterpart go after a battle, because they were friends}}. Dude can't catch a break.
* Whenever the King of Hyrule hasn't been killed by the [[Big Bad]], he usually ends up as this. See ''[[
* The village elder of the bear village gets kidnapped by the Evil Guy in ''[[Something|Something Else]]'' because he can open a portal to ultimate power.
== Web Comics ==
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* Happens to ''[[Terinu]]'' fairly often, so far being capture and strapped half-naked to a [[Wave Motion Gun]], stripped completely and tossed into a cell in a biological testing facility and now basically being being treated as the pampered pet of the [[Big Bad]].
* This is how [[Large Ham|OTHAR TRYGGVASSEN]], [[Gentleman Adventurer]], makes his [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031008 first] appearance in ''[[Girl Genius]]''.
** And apparently it happened once to Bill: "Why am I tied to this table? [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050527 And where are my PANTS?!]"
* Lampshaded in ''[[The
{{quote|
'''Daigo:''' Yes, it's a big day for gender equality all around. ''(glancing at his pregnant wife who has just wiped the floor with a whole squad of ninjas)'' }}
* ''[[Erfworld]]'': Ansom. Jillian just ''knows'' it.
{{quote|
* ''[[Bob and George]]'': [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/010902 Bob] and [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/010919 Mike]
** And George [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/020114 here], [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/020517 not quite escaping here], and [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/020601 back].
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** [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/031201c Mega Man] and [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/031207c George again] for a [[Fate Worse Than Death]].
** But [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000909c first of all of them -- the author.]
* ''[[Knifestone]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20110117191554/http://knifestone.net/comic/page019/ Isn't getting kidnapped kinda a girl thing?]
* ''[[Memoria (2010 webcomic)|Memoria]]'': [http://memoria.valice.net/?p=436 Matty, here]
* In ''[[Roza]]'', [http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2007-05-04 she goes to rescue the horse-prince.]
* In ''[[American Barbarian]]'', [http://www.ambarb.com/?p=180 even Rick needs some help sometimes.]
* Atticus Brent from ''[[
* In ''[[Blue Yonder]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20150920154440/http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1280031/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-25/ Jared is familiar with the process, even though it's reversed at the moment.]
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [
== Web Original ==
* In ''[[The Gamers Alliance]]'', the [[Lizard Folk|Sirithai]] capture [[Loveable Rogue|Refan]] and tie him into the arena where he is to be sacrificed to the monstrous [[Fluffy the Terrible|Plushiebunny]]. [[The Ladette|Ax]] ends up saving him and can't help but keep teasing him about it because usually Refan has been the one doing the rescuing.
* A few ''[[That Guy With The Glasses]]'' guys have been this. [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Linkara]] has been tied up twice, once by Sage to torture him with an [[Old Shame]] fanfic and the other time by Mechakara... just to torture him. Paw was tied up in a recent video and covered in blood while [[The Nostalgia Critic]] was kidnapped by the Game Heroes and made to promote their stuff at gunpoint.
** This happens to [[The Nostalgia Critic]] quite a lot; chloroformed and fondled by [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]]-looking [[The Nostalgia Chick]], drugged and raped by Spoony, having to get saved in the Brawl and so on.
* Rakion Kalsa in ''[[Chaos Fighters]]: Chemical Warriors-RAKSA''.
* ''[[Kaizo Trap (Web Animation)|Kaizo Trap]]'' has a girl rescuing her significant other from a video game.
* In this ''[[Killer Instinct]]''-inspired [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deAIujSXgmc short video seen here], Sabrewolf has Jago on the ropes until Black Orchid decides to step in.
== Western Animation ==
* Optimus Prime gets this with his love interest Elita One in ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]''. When arriving to [[
** A similar incident occurs with Blurr in "The Face of the Nijika" (minus the whole "save my girlfriend" thing).
* Ron Stoppable in ''[[Kim Possible]]'' gets this quite a bit as [[Sidekick]] to the show's hero Kim. She, of course, has her moments of helplessness, but Ron gets himself into trouble even more, occasionally leading to situations when they're both captured and tied up at the same time.
** One episode centred on Ron learning an Aesop about "becoming a man," and featured one of his teachers pointing out that he can't be very good at being a "real man"
* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|Ma-Ti]] on ''[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers]]'' gets captured and [[Bound and Gagged]] or nearly killed more often than a [[Faux Action Girl]].
** Wheeler also got into trouble more than once, for being [[Hot-Blooded]] as well as being a [[Commander Contrarian]].
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** Kinda makes sense when you realize that Robin is the leader of the team, so if you take down the leader, the rest of the team is most likely to fall apart. Many villains try to follow this tactic, but usually, it doesn't work that well.
*** In fact, Cyborg and Beast Boy usually [[I Always Wanted to Say That|gleefully]] take the opportunity to shout [[Catch Phrase|"Titans! GO!"]] while Robin is out of commission.
* ''[[Totally Spies!]]!'', known mostly for its heroines getting into distress situations, actually features a couple of scenes where the girls' male spy helpers, Blaine and Dean, get captured by the bad guys.
** The spinoff series ''[[The Amazing Spiez]]'' will have a scene featuring one or more of the three Clark boys from time to time.
* The [[Distress Ball]] was passed around pretty evenly in ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers|Galaxy Rangers]]'', as was the rescuer card. It helps that they're a [[Badass Crew]].
* Played for laughs in one episode of ''[[
* In ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', the "[[
* [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]] in the ''[[She-Ra: Princess of Power]]'' movie. Let's have [[The Nostalgia Chick]] talk about it, shall we?
{{quote|
* Sadlygrove, the [[Idiot Hero]] from ''[[Wakfu]]'', thinks of himself as a [[Knight in Shining Armor]] and thus is on the lookout for [[
* Mark Lily from ''[[Ugly Americans]]'' manages to get himself into all kinds of horrifying and distressful situations.
* All the guys in ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'' have gone through distressing situations, but the the honor has to go to Superboy.
* [[Downplayed]] in
* In the Season 2 finale of ''[[My Little Pony:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
[[Category:Always Male]]
[[Category:Bound and Gagged]]▼
[[Category:Fairy Tale Tropes]]▼
[[Category:I Have Your Index]]
▲[[Category:Bound and Gagged]]
[[Category:Index to The Rescue]]
[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]
▲[[Category:Fairy Tale Tropes]]
[[Category:Turn-On Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Distressed Dude]]
| |||