History Main / CapturedSuperEntity

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', [[spoiler: Noah]] goes around capturing really powerful entities and keeping them inside the book of Eibon. Before his defeat, he'd captured [[spoiler: Death the Kid,]] an EldritchAbomination, [[spoiler: Excalibur,]] and even said he'd wanted to collect [[spoiler: Lord Death and Asura also.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' the Tailed Beasts are AnimalisticAbominations formed from the [[EldritchAbomination Ten Tailed Beast]]'s power. Doesn't stop people from trying to [[SealedEvilInACan weaponize them]].

* Averted in one of ''{{ComicBook/Rat-Man}}'''s more surreal stories. It featured an evil comic book publisher who gave Rat-Man (the character and the series) an award as part of his plan to capture '''God''' (represented as a humongous hand over the horizon) and turn Him into another of his characters. In the end it was [[BatmanGambit all part of God's plan]] to trick the publisher into crossing over to the comic book world and let him meet his end at the hands of a discarded comic book character. ItMakesSenseInContext, sort of.

* In the new ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek]]''[=/=]''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' crossover from [[IDWComics IDW]] and DCComics, [[TheConstant Vandal Savage]] is TheEmperor of a ''very'' powerful version of [[TheEmpire The Terran Empire]]. How did he do it? ''He captured Q''!

* In both ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' and appendices of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' the Numenorian King Al-Pharazon does this to none other than Sauron. Turns out a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], since Sauron allowed himself to be captured to corrupt and destroy his enemies from within.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the Blood Elves are holding a [[EnergyBeings Naaru]] captive within Silvermoon City; this is how they have harnessed the power of the Holy Light and made their own Paladins. (They also had Paladins in ''{{Warcraft}} 3'', but that's different.) This source of power is abandoned in Patch 2.4 [[spoiler:and replaced with the resurrected Sunwell]].

* In ''{{FLCL}}'', the phoenix-like alien with the power to steal planets, Atomsk, is imprisoned inside of the town's factory by robotic aliens.

** "Soft Light": Banton's power to suck people into his shadow was created in a FreakLabAccident. In the end, Banton is held in a government's science centre with sensors attached to his head and flashing light is casting shadows on a photoelectric panel. It looks like ElectricTorture.

This trope covers the idea of (usually) "lesser" beings [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin capturing an alien, a god, an angel, etc]], for some typically nefarious purpose. Obviously, some form of [[AppliedPhlebotinum powerful magic or advanced technology]] will be needed to pull this off, making it a more common plot in {{Fantasy}} or SpeculativeFiction.

* One of the many plots in ''TheXFiles''.

->'''Keller''': And you didn't think that the United States military might need to know that you're keeping a hostile alien robot frozen in the basement?
->'''Tom Banachek''': Until these events we had no credible threats to national security.
->'''Keller''': Well, you got one now!
->--''[[TransformersFilmSeries Transformers]]'' (2007)

* TheMenInBlack in ''{{Deadlands}}'' actually ''don't'' traffic much in [[CapturedSuperEntity Captured Super Entities]]. [[MegaCorp Hellstromme Industries]], on the other hand, uses one to power [[spoiler: the titular starship in an adventure titled ''The Unity.'' The [[TheLegionsOfHell demon]] named Apostolos requires a specific act to fuel the ship's [[SubspaceOrHyperspace faster-than-light]] engine, the aptly named "Faustian Drive."]] For more information, refer to the example listed in SadisticChoice. You were warned.
* The central idea behind {{Pokethulhu}}. Like in Pokémon, you capture and train monsters. Unlike Pokémon, they're all soul-eating [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] with horrifying and/or reality-bending powers.

* In the ''AeonFlux'' episode ''The Demiurge'', a war is fought over whether to keep a powerful, ostensibly-benevolent godlike being around for the good of all, or to blast it off into friggin' outer space on a rocket for the good of all.

* Considering that they're part of the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe, it shouldn't be too difficult to believe that the ''{{Eisenhorn}}'' novels feature this; when a number of captured Alpha-level [[PsychicPowers Chaos Psykers]] are paraded through a large hive on a victory march, they manage to escape and wreak considerable havoc, including [[spoiler: crippling recently-promoted Inquisitor {{Ravenor}} for life]]. Several of Eisenhorn's opponents ([[spoiler:and later, Eisenhorn himself]]) also make use of daemonhosts: [[SealedEvilInACan immensely powerful daemons bound into human bodies]], which are both immensely dangerous and intensely displeased with their enforced servitude.

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', SG-1 found an advanced human named Khalek who demonstrated telekinetic and telepathic abilities in the episode 'Prototype'. He's a HalfHumanHybrid created by BigBad Anubis, with all of his "father's" memories, to the point that it's 95% of the way to having the EvilOverlord himself on your base. WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong The SGC at first attempted to study him, and for security restrained him in a chair over an electrified floor in an isolated room whose only exit was through a Tok'ra one-way forcefield, on a dopamine inhibitor to restrain his powers with it set up to dump a massive dose into his system if he were to try anything funny. It didn't work. He telekinetically pinched the dopamine tube by effectively melting it with his mind, and then he yanked the guards through the forcefield onto the electrified floor. The electrified floor was shut down from outside by Colonel Mitchell to make it safe to step in the doorway to shoot at him, but he never got any shots off - just got shoved into the wall. From that point on Khalek basically just went through the SGC to the stargate, weaponless, telekinetically deflecting all the bullets that were fired at him and shoving all the guards into walls, knocking them out (or worse). In the end, he reached the stargate, dialed home, and walked through triumphant... Only to have his home's dialing defenses dial back, resulting in him stepping back into the SGC, befuddled. Seconds later, he was being shot at from two different angles, and failed to block one of the two sets of bullets, resulting in his demise.

* In ''DragonQuestIX'', a villain captures Celestrians (the equivalent of angels) and uses their abilities to benefit his kingdom.

* Inverted in the Gordon R. Dickson short story [[http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0743471741/0743471741___1.htm "Danger—Human"]]—the captors are aliens and the "super-entity" is a ''human''.

* In NeverwinterNights Hordes of the Underdark, the bad guys have somehow caged an angel and are using her to create an army of bone golems. If you free her, she'll help you out at the end of chapter 2.
** There is also a caged arch devil, who manages to escape after you kill it's 'jailer', a drow matron.

* [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the first Film/{{Ghostbusters}} movie. With all the capturing of ghosts, when they encounter an actual god, you expect them to capture it and contain it like all the ghosts. But all they end up being able to do is close the portal that is giving it access to our universe.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', the entity known as the Wave Existence is trapped within the Zohar Modifier and used as a power source for the [[DeusEstMachina Deus Superweapon]].

If the entity is forced to obey commands, this becomes OlympusMons. If the entity is a PowerSource, it may be PoweredByAForsakenChild. If the focus is on simple containment of the entity or its power, you wind up with SealedEvilInACan or SealedGoodInACan.

* In both ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' and Appendixes of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' the Numenorian King Al-Pharazon does this to none other than Sauron. Turns out a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], since Sauron allowed himself to be captured to corrupt and destroy his enemies from within.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' had the organization NERV capturing two Angels, resulting in the rest of them attacking; the only defense is HumongousMecha [[strike:created]] cloned from said captives. That is exactly what various sides wanted.
** And interestingly, Lilith appears to be pretty docile but its "offspring" is a bloodthirsty MamaBear.
*** Actually, Lilith is implied to be suffering from a case of SealedEvilInACan - her soul was locked into Rei's body. Of course, when Rei - bearing the embryonic Adam in her womb - merges with her in ''End of Evangelion'', Lilith's hands simply flow around the nails pinning her to the cross. Cue ApocalypseWow.
** Also, Adam is not really a super entity - at least not any more. 15 years have elapsed since its death and it managed to regenerate back into a palm-sized, vaguely hominid embryo but that's a far cry from it's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH5UHDSWoZo&fmt=18#t=35s original form]].

* In both ''TheSilmarillion'' and Appendixes of ''TheLordOfTheRings'' the Numenorian King Al-Pharazon does this to none other than Sauron. Turns out a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], since Sauron allowed himself to be captured to corrupt and destroy his enemies from within.