History Main / AchillesPowerCord

If a device requires a power cord to work, it presents a weakness, especially in the case of a KillerRobot, PoweredArmor or other machine that needs to move around. But even stationary ones that have the cords running where people can trip on them can play this one for drama or laughs.

* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers,'' the D-Reaper starts out as an amorphous blob of goo, but learns to make solid constructs by absorbing a video camera. Because it was plugged in, all of the D-Reaper's "[[{{Mooks}} Agents]]" are attached to the main mass by very long cords. Cutting the cords at first greatly weakens Agents, but eventually cutting a cord is all it takes to make any Agent instantly revert to gunk. However, the larger ones have ''multiple, gigantic'' cords and so it's easier said than done.

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'': Mikazuki is unable to use his right eye, right arm, and right leg after using Gundam Barbatos past its safety limits unless he is directly linked to it. This does make it awkward yet humorous when he asks Kudelia for a hug and then asking her to walk towards him due to reaching the end of the cable.

** In the third film, ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion 3.0 Q'', this problem had been overcame with portable batteries (granted, they had [[spoiler:a 14-year]] time frame to invent one).

* ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMystery'' has one story about a society that ran on the directions of a MasterComputer. Too much like a human, it gradually seized power by building its own robot servitors until it enslaved humanity into being nothing but its janitors. It was ultimately defeated, bypassing all its security measures, when a janitor accidentally unplugged its power line, something it [[SwissCheeseSecurity never bothered to upgraded]].

* ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy''. In the [[http://www.gocomics.com/getfuzzy/2013/02/26#mutable_891486 strip for February 26, 2013,]] Bucky has come up with a wacky invention: a fan that's attached to a person's backside to keep their wallet from overheating their bottom. Rob Wilco wears it as a test, but complains that he can't move far due to the 3-foot power cord plugged into a wall socket.
* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'': During a ''Hacknoia'' game, B.A. proves to Bob that he is not making things up on the fly by showing him the schematic for the bomb he is trying to defuse. Bob as what the seperate piece to one side is, and B.A. says it is the battery pack for the bomb's timer. Bob immediately unplugs it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'', the appliances need to find a way to leave their cabin to find their master, but need to stay close to an outlet to stay alive. The solution: a car battery attached to a rolling chair.

* In the film ''Film/{{Help}}'', a MadScientist has a lab full of assorted devices, but keeps having to change the plugs to work with the power supply.

%%* A science fiction story involved an experiment gone wrong that suspends the entire world in time, the only exception being those at the moment of death -- the narrator who was committing suicide and the scientist who was killed by his own experiment. The two of them have to restart the experiment to put the world back to normal, but they discover they can't move any object, including a nearby power cable. They then have to construct a chain of metal objects using only the items on their possession when they were killed.

* According to ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', the first [[LaserBlade lightsabers]] suffered from this. They had to be connected to a belt-worn battery by a power cord, as depicted in the fan-art shown above. They were almost purely ceremonial until this issue was solved.

* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' special "[[Recap/RedDwarfThePromisedLand The Promised Land]]", Rimmer the hologram burns out his light-bee battery, and is forced to string a chain of these across the ship in order to stay powered up.

** Adventure ''Send in the Clones''. One of the R&D devices the Troubleshooters must test is a belt device that generates a force field around the wearer. One of its limitations is that it has to be plugged in to work, which will severely limit the user's mobility.

* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'', Starfire [[TimeTravel travels to]] a BadFuture where the Titans ended up splitting. Cyborg was the only one who stayed at the tower, because he had burned all of his internal batteries long ago, so he had to be constantly plugged to a large machine to keep functioning, and couldn't go anywhere. [[spoiler:He comes back to help by toting around a large external battery and repairs them at the end of the episode. Starfire returning to her time possibly preventing said future from happening in the first place]].

* The page quote is from Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries''. Master Mold, attempting to escape from the dam-based factory in Genosha, takes a few steps from his chair, but finds out that he's plugged in by the back of his leg. The page quote is his last words before he's swept away by the raging waters. It's one of the most {{Narm}}-filled villain defeats in the series.

* According to ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', the first [[LaserBlade lightsabers]] suffered from this. They had to be connected to a belt-worn battery by a power cord, as depicted in the fan-art shown above.

** In the third film, ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion 3.0 Q'', this problem had been overcame with portable batteries (granted they had [[spoiler:a 14-year]] time frame to invent one).

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1391173841081023700
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

-->-- '''Master Mold''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5v2RdxYGqk#t=2m42s stopped from escaping a doomed base]] by this trope, on ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries''

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'':
** The titular [=EVAs=] need an external power source to operate for more than a minute at full capacity or five minutes in a weakened state, and an early episode even has Shinji do a power cord transfer at one point to move into an area that his current cord doesn't reach. An attempt was made to copy the S[[superscript:2]] engines the Angels used, [[GoneHorriblyWrong with disastrous results]]--although it was implied to have been sabotaged. [[spoiler:Unit 01 ends up [[CannibalismSuperpower just taking one directly FROM an Angel.]]]]
** In the third film, ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion 3.0 Q'', this problem had been overcame with portable batteries (granted they had [[spoiler:a 14-year]] time frame to invent one).

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' had an episode in which Meowth got a HumongousMecha in his own image (it's actually somewhat closer to a tank with a big Mecha-Meowth strapped on). Clemont pulls the plug on it, only for Meowth to subvert the trope by [[CrazyPrepared switching to a diesel generator]].
* In ''Manga/SquidGirl'', when Ika is facing a robotic version of herself, it would beaten her if it hadn't been for its power cord stopping it.
* Parodied in ''Anime/HayateTheCombatButler'' much like everything else, in an early arc featuring Hayate battling a massive robot piloted by the arc's villain -- yet another strange person with a weird grudge towards the lady he serves -- when the robot suddenly stops dead in its tracks. Hayate and the villain look over and see Hinagiku standing next to an oversized wall outlet holding a giant plug and looking almost embarrassed. Then the villain yelled at Hina that she could have damaged the robot by unplugging it so suddenly while it was on.
* Subverted during the finale of ''Manga/TokyoGhoul''. During his battle against Mougan, Koma spots a cord attaching the {{BFG}} to its power source and closes the distance to slice it apart. Turns out, Mougan doesn't ''need'' the cord and is simply using it to lure his more agile opponent into position for a sneak attack.

* In the 90's ''Anime/SailorMoon'' series, one of the Witches 5 invented a machine that could transport a person into a television screen, giving them tremendous power. But the screen still had to be plugged in, and if the plug was pulled while a person was inside, they would be sealed inside the machine forever. [[spoiler:A rival member of Witches 5 intentionally pulled the plug on Mimete, sending her to her doom.]]

* Not an ''electrical'' power cord, but ComicBook/{{Bane}}'s venom-tubes are a ''very'' vulnerable point. In most of his appearances throughout all '' Franchise/{{Batman}}'' media, expect them to get severed or damaged at some point.

* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'': During a ''Hacknoia'' game, B.A. proves to Bob that he is not making things up on the fly by showing him the schematic for the bomb he is trying to defuse. Bob as what the seperate piece to one side is, and B.A. says it is the battery pack for the bomb's timer. Bob immediately unplugs it.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* Lynxara's MegaCrossover ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' fanfic Mobile Battalion Gundam Wars gave a little more thought to ''Anime/GundamWing's'' Epyon, a case noted above. In battle with ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'s'' Shining Gundam, it's revealed that Epyon builder Treize Khushrenada built the machine to have a big exposed power cord ''purposefully'', reasoning that it would serve as a lure to enemy aces and programming the Epyon's titular Epyon System with dozens of ways to anticipate and counter attacks targeting the cord. Shining pilot Domon Kasshu finds this out the hard way.
* ''Fanfic/AShadowOfTheTitans'': In the Interlude chapter, [[NotSoHarmlessVillain Evil Dick's]] unstoppable doomsday weapon is defeated when [[spoiler:[[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood Star Chan]]]] pulls its power cord. The Titans are seriously unimpressed

[[folder:Film]]

--> "All this American rig. Wrong voltage. That's what foxes me!"
* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'': Doc Brown needs to connect a power line from the top of the clock tower, where a lightning bolt will strike, to ground level, where the [=DeLorean=] will use the energy to travel through time. Unfortunately, a random lightning strike knocks a tree branch onto the power cord so it isn't long enough to do the job, so he has to improvise.

* ''Film/TheAdventuresOfSharkboyAndLavagirl'' contains perhaps the most literal example; some of the cronies utilized by Mr. Electricidad are ''literally'' powercords. This seems too easy, right? Reach the maximum distance they can stretch and you can beat them easily. Have no fear, though: They can plug into ''other'' powercord mooks for a shocking train of baddies.
* In ''Film/TheNakedGunTwoAndAHalf'', Drebin accidentally defuses a nuclear bomb by tripping over its power cord, after shouting 'Let's get out of here!' with only 2 seconds left on the countdown timer.
* Hiding in the basement from the drill-toting killer, the main character in ''Film/TheSlumberPartyMassacre'' picks up a portable circular saw and tries to run with it upstairs to confront him, but it comes unplugged before she manages to get on top of the stairs. She then picks up a machete instead.
* In ''Film/MrNiceGuy'', while fighting in a construction site, a mook tries to attack Creator/JackieChan with a circular saw, but the cord is too short.

* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'': Subverted when Ciaphas ends up dueling a malfunctioning combat servitor. He aims for one of its power cables, but it's armored too thickly for his chainsword to go through.
* According to ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', the first [[LaserBlade lightsabers]] suffered from this. They had to be connected to a belt-worn battery by a power cord, as depicted in the fan art shown above.

* In the very first ''Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse'' novel, "Decision At Thunder Rift", thanks to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, personal laser weapons required bulky, ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' style backpacks as power sources, with a cable that ran to the weapon. A guard is equipped with such a weapon when he's attacked by someone with a [[{{Vibroweapon}} vibroknife]]. [[NeverBringAGunToAKnifeFight Naturally, the power cord is cut before he can fire]].

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* In one ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' arc, Roger bought a giant mobile phone that needed to be plugged into the mains to work (or 23 cigar lighters in case of a highway accident). Andy pointed out how that defeated the 'mobile' part of 'mobile phone'.
* ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy''. In the [[http://www.gocomics.com/getfuzzy/2013/02/26#mutable_891486 strip for February 26, 2013,]] Bucky has come up with a wacky invention: a fan that's attached to a person's backside to keep their wallet from overheating their bottom. Rob Wilco wears it as a test, but complains that he can't move far due to the 3-foot power cord plugged into a wall socket.
* In [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1992/12/20 one]] ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' strip, Jon has strung Christmas lights around his yard, the inside of his house, and the Christmas tree. However, the plug is a few inches short of the outlet, much to Jon's frustration and Garfield's amusement.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'', according to one of the Sunken Scrolls, the Great Octoweapons used by the Octarians during the Great Turf War would have secured their victory over the Inklings if it hadn't been for one key weakness: A plug being carelessly pulled from its socket. Learning from their mistake, the Octarians rebuilt the Great Octoweapons to use internal power sources for the next war.

* In most of ''VideoGame/FromTheDepths''' instant action missions, the player is confined to being within range of a Heartstone on their ships, aircraft, or fortresses; step outside the radius or lose the heartstone to damage, and the player will slowly run out of power [[InterfaceScrew as their vision fades]] until they die. This naturally prevents the player from engaging in BoardingParty actions on enemy ships, as they'll die from power loss before they can take over the ship. However, in the WideOpenSandbox campaign and in a few instant action missions the player is free to move around without needing a heartstone on a craft.
* In the ''Horizons'' expansion pack for ''Videogame/EliteDangerous'', the ship-launched fighters are actually AttackDrones controlled via telepresence. Jumping out or moving more than 30 kilometers away will cause the fighter to self-destruct, and if the mothership is destroyed -- with your body still in it -- you get booted out of the fighter and ejected back to the insurance ship rebuy screen.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', Starfire [[TimeTravel travels to]] a BadFuture where the Titans ended up splitting. Cyborg was the only one who stayed at the tower, because he had burned all of his internal batteries long ago, so he had to be constantly plugged to a large machine to keep functioning, and couldn't go anywhere. [[spoiler:He comes back to help by toting around a large external battery and repairs them at the end of the episode. Starfire returning to her time possibly preventing said future from happening in the first place]].
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/CarlSquared'' has the protagonists being chased by a doctor wielding a power drill. He chases them across the street and the power cord reaches its limit and pulls the plug out of the outlet. The doctor laments about not spending a few extra bucks to purchase the cordless version of the drill.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Ducking the Devil", WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck tries to [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast calm down the Tasmanian Devil with music]] and lure him back to the zoo. His first attempt is with a radio... except the cord doesn't reach all the way.
* One ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner'' short had, as one of the Coyote's ideas to catch the Roadrunner, to chase after him on a skateboard with a sail, which would be funneled with an electric fan. The absurdity of him somehow finding a power outlet in the middle of the desert aside, there's only so much cord that will allow him to travel... And yep, it unplugs just before the Coyote sails over yet another cliff. Inertia and gravity then do the rest.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'', the appliances need to find a way to leave their cabin to find their master, but need to stay close to an outlet to stay alive. The solution: a car battery attached to a rolling chair.
* A strange mystical example happened in the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/ConanTheAdventurer'' in which Conan fights a near-invincible foe only to learn he is powered by a wizard using what is essentially a magic, invisible power chord of mystical energy. Defeating the foe involved finding a way to sever the energy connection.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE59BlindAsABat Blind as a Bat]]", an explosion temporarily blinds Bruce Wayne. He carries on anyway with a headset that sends visual information directly into the brain that plugs into a power-cell on his belt or a port on the Batwing's main console. Naturally, the power cord breaks right before the climax. Batman still saves the day by determining the Penguin's location with sound (banging on walls, throwing wrenches, etc.)
* In the ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode "Sug' Night," when Dale learns that Hank had an EroticDream of Nancy, he angrily threatens to throw a toaster into Hank's hot tub while he's in it, but the cord is too short.

* Parodied in ''Anime/HayateTheCombatButler'' much like everything else, in an early arc featuring Hayate battling a massive robot piloted by the arc's villain - yet another strange person with a weird grudge towards the lady he serves - when the robot suddenly stops dead in its tracks. Hayate and the villain look over and see Hinagiku standing next to an over-sized wall outlet holding a giant plug and looking almost embarrassed. Then the villain yelled at Hina that she could have damaged the robot by unplugging it so suddenly while it was on.

* ''Fanfic/AShadowOfTheTitans'': In the Interlude chapter, [[NotSoHarmlessVillain Evil Dick's]] unstoppable doomsday weapon is defeated when [[spoiler: [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood Star Chan]]]] pulls its power cord. The Titans are seriously unimpressed

* In the ''Horizons'' expansion pack for ''Videogame/EliteDangerous'', the ship-launched fighters are actually AttackDrones controlled via telepresence. Jumping out or moving more than 30 kilometers away will cause the fighter to self-destruct, and if the mothership is destroyed - with your body still in it - you get booted out of the fighter and ejected back to the insurance ship rebuy screen.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', during the boss battle with [[spoiler:Shakhan]]'s gear, he counterattacks every time he's hit by the heroes. He's also able to connect a cable from his gear to the large generator behind him to restore his health, but while he's plugged into it, he's unable to counterattack because the cable is to short for him to reach where the heroes are standing.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'': Doc Brown needs to connect a power line from the top of the clock tower, where a lightning bolt will strike, to ground level, where the [=DeLorean=] will use the energy to travel through time. Unfortunately, the power cord isn't long enough to do the job, so he has to improvise.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Anevka is a clank (robot) body created for a fatally injured noblewoman. She needs to stay connected to the large container where her actual body is kept in stasis. [[spoiler:Near the climax of the story arc, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060908 the cables are cut]] and she freaks out when she feels no different -- it turns out the real body is long dead inside the container and she has become an autonomous A.I. with Anevka's memories]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'', according to one of the Sunken Scrolls, the Great Octoweapons used by the Octarians during the Great Turf War would have secured their victory over the Inklings if it hadn't been for one key weakness: A plug being carelessly pulled from its socket.

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'': According to one of the Sunken Scrolls, the Great Octoweapons used by the Octarians during the Great Turf War would have secured their victory over the Inklings if it hadn't been for one key weakness: A plug being carelessly pulled from its socket.

* ''Anime/{{Gundam}}'':

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Ducking the Devil", WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck tries to [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBEast calm down the Tasmanian Devil with music]] and lure him back to the zoo. His first attempt is with a radio... except the cord doesn't reach all the way.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''

** In the third film, ''Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 Q'', this problem had been overcame with portable batteries (granted they had [[spoiler:a 14-year]] time frame to invent one).

* ''Anime/GundamWing'' has the Gundam Epyon, with a beam saber powerful enough to need a direct connection to the mecha's reactor.
* In ''VisualNovel/RoboticsNotes'', the [=GunPro 2=] and [=GunPro=] 1 [[spoiler:as refit for the final battle]] use a laser power link that makes them reliant on a truck-mounted laser for energy. The truck itself carries a reel of cable that connects it to a power line somewhere. [[spoiler:A near-miss during the battle knocks the truck over, severing the cable and leaving [=GunPro 1=] with five minutes of battery power.]]
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'': Mikazuki is unable to use his right eye, right arm, and right leg after using Gundam Barbatos past its safety limits unless he is directly linked to it. This does make it awkward yet humorous when he asks Kudelia for a hug and then asking her to walk towards him due to reaching the end of the cable.

* In ''[[Film/TheNakedGun The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear]]'', Drebin accidentally defuses a nuclear bomb by tripping over its power cord, after shouting 'Let's get out of here!' with only 2 seconds left on the countdown timer.

[[folder:Franchise]]
* According to Franchise/StarWarsLegends, the first [[LaserBlade lightsabers]] suffered from this. They had to be connected to a belt-worn battery by a power cord, as depicted in the fan art shown above.
[[/folder]]

* In the very first ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' novel, ''Decision At Thunder Rift'', thanks to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, personal laser weapons required bulky, ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' style backpacks as power sources, with a cable that ran to the weapon. A guard is equipped with such a weapon when he's attacked by someone with a [[{{Vibroweapon}} vibroknife]]. [[NeverBringAGunToAKnifeFight Naturally, the power cord is cut before he can fire]].

* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' special [[Recap/RedDwarfThePromisedLand The Promised Land]], Rimmer the hologram burns out his light-bee battery, and is forced to string a chain of these across the ship in order to stay powered up.

* In ''Videogame/{{Xenogears}}'', during the boss battle with [[spoiler:Shakhan]]'s gear, he counterattacks every time he's hit by the heroes. He's also able to connect a cable from his gear to the large generator behind him to restore his health, but while he's plugged into it, he's unable to counterattack because the cable is to short for him to reach where the heroes are standing.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', Starfire [[TimeTravel travels to]] a BadFuture where the Titans ended up splitting. Cyborg was the only one who stayed on the tower, because he had long ago burned all of his internal batteries, so he had to be constantly plugged to a large machine to keep functioning, and couldn't go anywhere. [[spoiler:He comes back to help by toting around a large external battery and repairs them at the end of the episode--Starfire returning to her time possibly preventing said future from happening in the first place]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Ducking the Devil," WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck tries to [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBEast calm down the Tasmanian Devil with music]] and lure him back to the zoo. His first attempt is with a radio ... except the cord doesn't reach all the way.
* One ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner'' short had, as one of the Coyote's ideas to catch the Roadrunner, to chase after him on a skateboard with a sail, which would be funneled with an electric fan. The absurdity of him somehow finding a power outlet in the middle of the desert aside, there's only so much cord that will allow him to travel... And yep, it unplugs just before the Coyote sails over yet another cliff. Inertia and gravity then do the rest.

* In the Creator/MarvelComics ComicBook/TheNewUniverse title ''Spitfire and the Troubleshooters'', where the fugitives are attacked by a robot tank. While the heroine fights it in her {{Mecha}}, the Troubleshooters frantically try to stop it themselves by trying to hack into its remote control frequency, but they can't find it. It turns out that the tank is controlled and powered through a really long physical power cord from the operator, so hacking into its control function through radio waves is impossible. Fortunately, once they know this trick method, that means Spitfire then just needs to find the cord to cut it and stop the tank.

->''"[[AC:I am STILL PLUGGED IN!]]"''

->''[[AC:I am STILL PLUGGED IN!]]''

[-[[caption-width-right:250:[[http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/056/a/e/StarWars__ProtoSaber_by_GraphicGeek.jpg Image]] by [[http://www.graphicgeek.deviantart.com GraphicGeek]]]]-]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* The page quote is from Season 1 of ''[[WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries]]''. Master Mold, attempting to escape from the dam-based factory in Genosha, takes a few steps from his chair, but finds out that he's plugged in by the back of his leg. The page quote is his last words before he's swept away by the raging waters. It's one of the most {{Narm}}-filled villain defeats in the series.

* Subverted in the ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' series, where Ciaphas ends up dueling a malfunctioning combat servitor. He aims for one of its power cables, but it's armored too thickly for his chainsword to go through.

* The page quote is from Season 1 of ''[[WesternAnimation/XMen X-Men: The Animated Series]]''. Master Mold, attempting to escape from the dam-based factory in Genosha, takes a few steps from his chair, but finds out that he's plugged in by the back of his leg. The page quote is his last words before he's swept away by the raging waters. It's one of the most {{Narm}}-filled villain defeats in the series.

-->-- '''Master Mold''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5v2RdxYGqk#t=2m42s stopped from escaping a doomed base]] by a ''literal'' example of this trope, on ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries''

* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Starfire [[TimeTravel travels to]] a BadFuture where the Titans ended up splitting. Cyborg was the only one who stayed on the tower, because he had long ago burned all of his internal batteries, so he had to be constantly plugged to a large machine to keep functioning, and couldn't go anywhere. [[spoiler:He comes back to help by toting around a large external battery and repairs them at the end of the episode--Starfire returning to her time possibly preventing said future from happening in the first place]].

-->-- '''Master Mold''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5v2RdxYGqk#t=2m42s stopped from escaping a doomed base]] by a ''literal'' example of this trope, on ''[[WesternAnimation/XMen X-Men: The Animated Series]]''

* In [[Recap/RedDwarfThePromisedLand one episode]] of ''Series/RedDwarf'', Rimmer the hologram burns out his light-bee battery, and is forced to string a chain of these across the ship in order to stay powered up.