History Main / AntiInterferenceLockUp

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

* In ''ComicBook/{{Justice}}'', the bad guys have to get very creative in locking away the ComicBook/GreenLantern because [[spoiler: his ring is pretty much the only effective countermeasure against Brainiac's MindControl bugs]]. As they cannot just kill him (because then his ring would just pass on to the next GL candidate), they instead teleport him outside the confines of the known universe -- so far that even his ring wouldn't have the energy to bring him back or even to contact other Green Lanterns.

[[folder: Comic Strips]]

[[folder: Fanfiction]]
* ''Fanfic/LyrasUltimateItemEmporium'': [[spoiler: Trixie]] is locked in her shop by [[spoiler: Amber Glow]] to stop her from sacrificing herself, and [[spoiler: then Amber goes off to sacrifice herself instead]].
* A ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' illustrated fanfiction by Lenmue0 (viewable [[https://nickjudy.postype.com/post/118101/ here]], though mostly in Korean) depicts an alternate DarkerAndEdgier ending to the Disney story. Trapped in the storage section of the museum, Nick and Judy are being hunted by the rams. Nick places a badly wounded Judy in a cage and locks it as a protective measure. Nick then eats a Joker Serum pellet, wondering if the effects will be permanent. Regardless, the sheep are about to discover why foxes are hated and feared. ''Bon appetit.''

[[folder: Films -- Animated]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', the rats cooking in the kitchen chase after the health inspector and another witness and toss them BoundAndGagged into the food storage room so that the restaurant won't be forcibly closed right in the middle of a food critic's visit. The rats have to let their captives go afterward, and the restaurant is shut down, but not before the critic published his review.
-->'''Remy:''' Stop that health inspector!

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

* Literature/DirkPittAdventures. In ''Dragon'', Dirk Pitt is about to go on a dangerous mission and tells his friend Al Giordino to use the toilet on the plane to avoid bursting his bladder when they para-jump into the water. Then Pitt has the flight crew chain up the toilet door so Al can't get out.

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

* In the Season 2 finale of ''Series/VeronicaMars'', the BigBad [[spoiler: Cassidy Casablancas]] does this to [[spoiler: his girlfriend Mac, to prevent her from intervening when he goes to kill Veronica, as she's found out it was him who crashed the bus.]] To make sure she doesn't leave, [[spoiler: he takes her clothes out of the room so she's also trapped in there naked.]]
* A season 1 ''{{Series/Highlander}}'' episode had the immortal VillainOfTheWeek lock his adopted daughter in a shed because she was trying to stop him from getting revenge on the kid who raped her. Richie heard her and let her out just in time for her to shoot the kid when the kid threatens her dad.

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

There comes a time when characters are planning something big. Maybe they're planning to TakeOverTheWorld, or steal someone's boyfriend, or win a contest. Whatever their goal is, someone else threatens to prevent that goal from happening--perhaps TheHero, or the boy's girlfriend, or the contest frontrunner. To ensure their plan goes off without a hitch, this other character needs to be dealt with somehow. While sometimes MurderIsTheBestSolution, softer works or less aggressive characters will instead decide to lock up or restrain their enemy instead, keeping them out of the way, but alive, unable to stop them but also otherwise unharmed--well, usually.

This trope pops up when a character's plan hinges on someone else not interfering. It can be malicious, often with bullies or villains locking the hero away in a room so their evil plan can work. It can also be done with more heroic or neutral intentions, in which case the audience is more likely to root for the victim to stay locked away. However, it's important that the plan isn't ''about'' locking someone up; that's just an important factor, a step toward success, not the end goal in and of itself. Regardless of who is behind it or why, it's just a part of their plan, not ''the'' plan. It is, however, a very ''important'' part of the plan--it won't work if the victim isn't removed from the equation.

Of course, the most common scenario involves the culprit being an antagonist or villain, and this is because the victim is entirely sidelined. While an outsider can easily help them escape, while locked up, the victim is at the complete mercy of whoever locked them in, and in some cases, this very scenario can be incredibly isolating, humiliating, or discrediting. There are also some dark implications for what would happen to the victim if they don't get rescued--which, luckily, they almost always do. So, if a character is pretty nasty, but also pragmatic and not as willing to get their hands dirty, they're more likely to pull this sort of trick than a more heroic character. But heroes can do this as well, and it's ultimately not portrayed as an inherently good or evil act--the morality of the act depends solely on who is doing the locking, and what they hope to gain from it.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Literature/TheBrotherbandChronicles'' when Hal locks Jesper in a storage cupboard to stop him performing the latest instalment of [[RunningGag The Saga Of Hal And The Heron Brotherband]].

* ''LightNovel/DateALive'': After [[DealWithTheDevil joining DEM]], [[RevengeBeforeReason Origami]] leaves [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Shido]] tied to a chair in an isolated room to keep him out of the way while she goes after the [[HeWhoFightsMonsters already sealed Spirits]].

Compare ThrownDownAWell, which is a similar concept but on a more extreme and isolating level, as well as LockedUpAndLeftBehind, where someone is just trapped and forgotten about. Both concepts might overlap with this one. The character may wind up LockedInTheDungeon.

* Princess Leia from ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'' gets captured by TheEmpire, and is held prisoner on the Death Star. The Imperial military doesn't want her blabbing to the Senate about their ultimate weapon, and they'd like to extract from her the whereabouts of the Rebel Alliance headquarters. However, when {{The Hero}}es jailbreak Leia from her cell, Grand Moff Tarkin devises a BatmanGambit: let the Princess escape. She'll make a bee-line for the rebel base, where "we will then crush the rebellion with one swift stroke."

* ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'': Sibuna tries to pull this off on Victor and Denby in order to stop the eclipse ceremony from taking place. While Fabian kidnaps Corbierre in order to lure and lock Victor in the boys' locker room, KT lures Denby into Anubis House to try and trap her in a room. It backfires; Victor manages to escape through a vent, and Denby winds up locking ''KT'' in the room instead.

* In the eighth volume of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', the plan to save the people first requires getting the leadership out of the way before it can be enacted. Phase 1 consists of capture and lock-up before moving on to Phase 2. [[spoiler:James Ironwood is defeated and locked up so the heroes can evacuate the citizens to safety. Although Arthur Watts interferes by releasing Ironwood, it's too late to stop the plan. At this point, he tries killing Winter Schnee for her betrayal.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 8, the plan to save the people first requires getting the leadership out of the way before it can be enacted. Phase 1 consists of capture and lock-up before moving on to Phase 2. [[spoiler:Ironwood is defeated and locked up to give the heroes time to evacuate the citizens to safety. Although Watts interferes by setting Ironwood free, it's too late to stop the plan. All he can do is try and kill Winter for her betrayal.]]

* ''Theatre/CinderellaRodgersAndHammerstein'', in the 1997 version, Cinderella gets locked in the kitchen when the prince arrives in an effort to prevent her from revealing herself to him. However, she manages to meet up with him outside anyway, easily foiling her stepmother's plans despite her efforts.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':In Volume 8, the plan to save the people first requires getting the leadership out of the way before it can be enacted. Phase 1 consists of capture and lock-up before moving on to Phase 2. [[spoiler:Ironwood is defeated and locked to give the heroes time to evacuate the citizens to safety. Although Watts interferes by setting Ironwood free, it's too late to stop the plan. All he can do is try and kill Winter for her betrayal.]]