Kneel Before Zod: Difference between revisions

** The Digimon Kaiser threatens to kill Daisuke's friends unless he bows down and begs for their lives. Daisuke actually complies. And then he gives Daisuke a sadistic choice (choose one friend to be spared), leading the poor kid to attempt a heroic sacrifice/take the third option.

** The same character is later defied by a [[Tranquil Fury|tranquil yet furious]] TK.

'''TK:''' Sorry, the floor's kinda' dirty. }}

* ''[[Berserk]]'': Guts being pinned to the ground by some demons before Femto, so that he's forced to watch as Femto {{spoiler|rapes Casca}}.

* Somewhat subverted in the ''Infinity War'' epic-over from Marvel, in which the Magus, who has the eponymous gauntlet forces Thanos the [[Magnificent Bastard]] to his knees. Thanos dryly notes that he isn't doing it willingly, nor will he continue doing it unless forced before explaining to the Magus just how badly the villain had miscalculated.

* Max Lord in his fully evil head of Checkmate phase liked using his [[Compelling Voice]] for this.

** And then {{spoiler|she snapped his neck}}. And then {{spoiler|[[Blackest Night|he came back]]}}.

* In the ''Spider-Man / Human Torch: I'm with Stupid'' miniseries, a publicity-craving Torch tries to single-handedly storm the Latverian embassy. He's promptly frozen solid by "subthermic cannons", forcing Spidey to rescue him by pretending to join forces with [[Doctor Doom]]. Doom demands that Spidey kneel and swear his eternal allegiance. When Spidey does so without any fuss, Doom realises that they're just words and asks him to back it up. Spidey lifts up the frozen Torch as though he's going to dash him on the ground, then web-swings out.

* In Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', after Jafar gains the Genie's lamp and wishes for the Sultanate and the powers of a sorcerer: "We will never bow to you!" ("[[Lampshade Hanging|Why am I]] [[Genre Savvy|not surprised]]?") Naturally, the evil Jafar can magically compel obedience from the Sultan and Princess Jasmine. However, prior to Jasmine's defiance, the Sultan noticeably begins to bow.

* ''[[Prince of Egypt]]''. The priests have a [[Villain Song]] based around this. Oddly, they're addressing Moses, who is a titular, well, Prince.

But first, boy, it's time to '''BOW!''''' }}

* Saddam Hussein does it to the American and Canadian armies near the end of the ''[[South Park]]'' film.

* During the climactic battle of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]: Advent Children'', Sephiroth orders it to Cloud:

* The sequel movie to Disney's ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' has Morgana, the sister of Ursula, using the power of the trident to force most of the main characters to bow down before her, including King Triton.

 

== Films -- Live-Action ==

* General Zod of ''[[Superman (film)|Superman]] the Movie''. Here's the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKDFop0aqYQ clip].

** And here's the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUORL-bvwA0&feature=related one] that provides the page caption. The latter is a play on this trope {{spoiler|as Supes has secretly weakened Zod at that point}} .

** Zod also has the President kneel, with this classic exchange:

'''Zod:''' ''(correcting)'' '''''Zod.''''' }}

* From the ''[[300]]'' film, best illustrated by Xerxes' speech to Ephialtes. Note that Ephialtes wanted revenge on Leonidas, who had -- justifiably -- not allowed [[Sorry, Billy, But You Just Don't Have Legs|the physically unable hunchback]] to become a Spartan, and so the former ''gladly'' bowed down to Xerxes the first chance he got.

** Leonidas [i]does[/i] kneel in the end; only so that he can get one last shot at Xerxes. He doesn't kill him, but he does make him bleed.

* In ''[[Gladiator (film)|Gladiator]]'', Commodus offers Maximus the chance at first, but once turned down, Commodus just orders Maximus and his family's execution.

* In ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' [[The Movie]], Dr. Forester forces Mike and the bots to bow down to him. When they try to bluff their way out, he cuts off the oxygen supply in the Satellite of Love so all have to bow to Dr. Forester to save Mike.

* Naturally, [[Monty Python]] have some fun with this in ''[[Life of Brian]]''.

''(Brian is already kneeling on the floor, so they pick him up and throw him back down again)'' }}

* Inverted and hilariously parodied in ''[[Monty Python and The Holy Grail]]'', as the traveling band of adventurers quickly throw themselves down before God as He appears to them. Only for The Almighty to be upset by this gesture, being fed up with His subjects constantly bowing and grovelling before Him.

* ''[[James Bond (film)|James Bond]]''

** The first thing psychopathic assassin Red Grant does to James Bond when he captures him in ''[[From Russia with Love]]'':

'''Grant:''' The first one won't kill you. Not the second. Not even the third. Not till you crawl over here and you '''kiss my foot'''. }}

** In ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'', Fatima Blush has a twist on it, demanding Bond write that she was the best lay he ever had -- before she shoots him in the groin.

** It happens in the book version of ''The Man with the Golden Gun" -- or at least, it's a crime Bond charges Scaramanga with having committed in the past.

* ''[[Cleopatra]]'' featured a scene like this between the fair lady of the title and her future boy toy Mark Antony. Interesting inversion, in that it's a main character demanding the kneeling and it actually counts as a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].

'''Cleopatra VII:''' I ''asked'' it of [[Julius Caesar]]. I '''demand''' it of you. }}

* ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'' has a rare heroic example.

'''Jen:''' '''''Never!''' (jumps off waterfall)'' }}

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh4Si6GxDgI Shouted by Jay] after cold-cocking a guard with a baseball bat in ''[[Mallrats]]''.

* In ''[[Return to Oz]]'', the Nome King is a bit too [[Affably Evil]] to demand this sort of thing from Dorothy, but he's more than happy to demand it of [[Vain Sorceress|Mombi.]]

'''The Nome King: ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|LOWER!]]'' '''<br />

''(Mombi flinches as she tries and fails to lower herself further, while the Nome King bellows with laughter)'' }}

* In ''[[The Last Dragon]]'', Sho-Nuff tells Leroy to bend down and kiss his Converses. Slightly subverted when Sho-Nuff then proceeds to kick Leroy in the face.

* ''[[Puma Man]]''

'''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000|Servo]]:''' ''(as Tony)'' [[Stealth Pun|No, it's]] ''[[A Worldwide Punomenon|Tony]]''! }}

* Defied in ''[[The Ten Commandments]]'', the Charleton Heston one. Ramses tells Moses to command the conquered Ethiopians to kneel before Pharoah, but Moses informs him that he's brought the Ethiopians in friendship and sort of tells Ramses to mind his own business.

* Loki demands this of a crowd in Stuttgart, Germany in ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'', {{spoiler|showing himself to be reasonably [[Genre Savvy]], as having the heroes defeat him and take him captive is part of his plan}}. This was given [[Villain Song|a musical treatment]] by [[Tumblr]] [http://meganphntmgrl.tumblr.com/post/14680944313/bow-to-me-music-by-sylvester-levay-lyrics-by member MeganPhntmGrl].

** During the subsequent fight in Stuttgart, he even attempts to forcefully make Captain America bow before him, but to no avail.

** One of the most memorable comes from the Book of Esther, where the Jew Mordecai refuses to bow to the [[Evil Chancellor|evil advisor]] Haman.

** As well as Satan's final temptation of Christ:

Then Jesus said to him, "[[Shut UP, Hannibal|Away with you, Satan]]! For it is written, ''You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.''" ~ '''Matthew 4:9-10 NKJV''' }}

** There's also the bit in the Book of Daniel where Darius wants everyone to worship him, but Daniel refuses and gets thrown into a lion pit. The lions leave him alone, and Darius is impressed enough to convert to worshiping the Abrahamic [[God]].

* ''[[The Wheel of Time]]''

** Protagonists do this too. Rand at one point snaps at the Aes Sedai:

'''Taim:''' Kneel before the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt. }}

** Before that, Ishamael (as Ba'alzamon) did this a lot in the first book.

* [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]

** In the ''[[New Jedi Order]]'' series, [[Evil Overlord|Supreme Overlord Shimrra]] uses a gravity-controlling creature called a dovin basal to force Luke Skywalker to bow to him when they meet face-to-face during the climax. Then subverted because between his own formidable Force powers and his nephew Jacen's rapport with the Vonglife, Luke is able to resist gravity and pull himself back to his feet, to the stunned amazement of Shimrra and his court.

** [[The Master]], having sadly forgotten everything he'd read on the [[Evil Overlord List]], demanded this of Martha. Which she did, [[The Plan|but then began to laugh because her capture was part of an elaborate plan]]. Notable for being a rare occasion when the hero ordered to kneel just sucks it up and ''does'' it rather than go through a lot of gritted "Never!" posturing first.

** And years earlier in ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S26 E3 The Curse of Fenric|The Curse of Fenric]]'':

'''Seventh Doctor:''' ... {{spoiler|Kill her.}} }}

** Years earlier, in the First Doctor episode "Assassin in Peking", the First Doctor is ordered to kowtow before Kublai Khan. He refuses, but not out of pride -- he's an old man and very stiff from having just walked most of the way across China. Fortunately, the great Khan, who is also quite elderly, finds the scene amusing.

* In ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'', on hearing that a team of strong contenders will not feature in the University's Physics Bowl Tournament, Leonard invokes this trope.

* Parodied in an episode of ''[[Mock the Week]]'', discussing the recent Church of [[wikipedia:General Synod of the Church of England|England Synod]]:

* ''[[Mortal Kombat: Conquest|Mortal Kombat Conquest]]'': From Shao Kahn to Raiden in the series finale episode:

* ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'': Parodied using General Drayfox, an incredibly PC supervillain, who wants [[Politically Incorrect Hero|his enemy]] to kneel before him -- unless he objects to it for religious reasons.

* The 1960's ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' series episode "The Spell of Tut". King Tut does this to Robin the Boy Wonder.

* In an episode of ''[[Charmed]]'', the valkyries of Norse legend arrive in San Francisco. Then, they meet a perverted biker.

'''Valkyrie:''' ''(begins [[Star Wars|choking him with her mind]], he falls to his knees in pain)'' Foolish man, you do not command us. WE COMMAND YOU! }}

* ''[[Space: 1999]]''. A female mind-controlling villain forces a character to do so [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abzRfOj7LZ0&feature=related in this scene from "The Lambda Factor"], followed by an [[Evil Laugh]].

== Music ==

* Whacked-out rock band Electric Six quotes this in their song "Rip It!":

Might as well kneel before Zod'' }}

* Westside Connection's hip hop song "Bow Down".

== Radio ==

* Spoofed in the ''Captain Kremmen'' radio serial, when our noble hero is about to meet Gort, ruler of the evil Thargoids.

'''Kremmen:''' You transistorized twit; no-one tells Kremmen to kneel!<br />

'''Thargoid Guard:''' You will ENTER on your KNEES!<br />

* Happened on ''[[Mitadake High]]''. They said no. Badguy shot them in the face.

* [[George Takei]]'s huge [[Large Ham]] intro speech in ''[[Command and Conquer Red Alert 3]]'':

* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', {{spoiler|the protagonist gets the option to demand people to bow down to him once it is revealed that he was the former Big Bad.}}

** In the Imperial Agent storyline of [[Star Wars: The Old Republic]], Darth Jadus will demand that Cipher 9 bow before him. You're given the option to refuse, after which he electrocutes you for defiance.

* In ''[[Battle Realms]]'', one of Serpent Clan Kenji's [[Bond One-Liner|lines when he slays a foe]] is "bow before '''me'''!". If you choose to "ally" with the monks instead of the ninja, Kenji also forces the monks to kneel before him in the post-battle cutscene.

* Happens in ''[[The Force Unleashed]] 2''.

'''Starkiller:''' Wait! Wait! ''(drops his lightsabers and kneels)'' I will do your bidding. Just let her go. }}

* ''[[Jedi Academy]]'': Near the end ([[Multiple Endings|one of them]]), {{spoiler|the ghost of Marka Ragnos}} declares the [[Player Character]] ''will'' kneel before him. Instead of whining at you to do it, which wouldn't be likely to work, he immediately sets out to beat the crap out of you to make you submit/dead.

* Shao Kahn of ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' is fond of this trope, being the Emperor of Outworld and all. "Bow to me!"

* In the Story Mode of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha As Portable]]: The Gears of Destiny'', [[Large Ham]] Lord Dearche commands this to practically anyone she's about to fight.

 

 

* ''[[Pibgorn]]'': "[http://www.gocomics.com/pibgorn/2011/04/22/ Now, in acknowledgement of my supremacy, prostrate yourself before me.]"

* ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]''

'''Bob:''' ''(sitting in cramped spaceship cockpit)'' Bow? I barely have room to scratch my nose in here. }}

 

* ''[[X-Men (animation)|X-Men]]''

** Vertigo in the two-parter "Reunion", when using her powers on [[Wolverine]]:

'''Wolverine:''' [[Defiant to the End|Never!]] }}

** Here's another:

* The episode "Betrothed" of ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' had Blackfire telling Starfire: "That's right. Bow down before your Grand Ruler!" Cue Starfire retaliating with "You may be the ruler of this planet, but you are ''not'' the ruler of ME!"

* The ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die" has the eponymous Scott force Cartman to get down on his knees, beg him for his money back, and act like a "little piggy".

 

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"''[[Smith Will Suffice|Zod]]''." }}