Poisonous Captive: Difference between revisions

Captured doesn't necessarily mean cowed. A '''Poisonous Captive''' is a villain held prisoner by the heroes who continues to undermine their objectives through their toxic influence. They have a tendency to spark disagreements between allies (up to and including the spread of a [[Hate Plague]]), to shake the good guys' confidence in themselves [[Hannibal Lecture|just by talking]], or just to make them feel uneasy by virtue of being closer around than they were as a free agent. Despite the heroes' best efforts, it's usually difficult to keep the villain in the dark about everything that's going on or prevent them from divining weak spots, so the longer they're held the more of a danger they pose, especially should they escape -- meaningescape—meaning it's all but inevitable that they will.

* In ''[[The Three Musketeers (novel)|The Three Musketeers]]'' [[Femme FatalFatale]] Milady de Winter pulls this by seducing her jailer when captured in England, twisting the guy so much that he becomes an assassin, attacking The Duke of Buckingham (also a [[Historical In-Joke]], as this event really happened).