History Main / FlippingHelpless

* In Jules Verne's ''Literature/TheMysteriousIsland'', the protagonists found a giant sea turtle in this condition. However, while they went to bring a cart and carry it home, the turtle was carried away by a high tide.

* Beetles are very vulnerable to this, especially if they’re on a smooth surface, since, unlike pill bugs, beetles have very flat backs and a stiff carapace. Even flying beetles can fall victim to this because their own weight can keep them from opening their wings. If on dirt however, they can usually dig the spines on their legs into the dirt and use it as a lever to right themselves. If on a smooth, hard surface however, such as a rock, this method falls flat and they will stay there until something steps on them, a bird snatches it up, or worse, [[DeathByAThousandCuts ants find them.]]

* Ash's Squirtle from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has frequently wound up helpless after landing on its back--until Ash taught it how to use Hydro Pump to both free himself and counterattack from that position.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': Armogohma lands on her back when you shoot her in the eye with an arrow. This gives you an opportunity to control the nearest statue to her and deal a damaging blow by smashing her belly with its hammer. Also, the giant insect in twilit Lanayru lands this way once you've gotten it twice, allowing you to jump on it and use the area attack on its legs, thus dealing the finishing blow.

* Played very straight for sheep, and some other ruminants, especially when pregnant or with a thick, heavy fleece. Shepherds call this deadly state being "cast", "kessing" or "kewped". A cast sheep needs only the slightest dip in the ground, sometimes none at all, to become fatally trapped. Their inability to "eructate" gases from the rumen in this position makes them "gas up", swelling to make it even harder to right them. Death, especially in summer, can be swift due to overheating, dehydration, exhaustion, and inability to flee predators such as birds and badgers who will happily feast on exhausted sheep. Travelers in sheep-farming areas are encouraged to watch for this, and to right any cast sheep if found. [[https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/farming/how-you-can-save-sheeps-12825619 Here's how to save a sheep's life.]]

** ''VideoGame/BowsersFury'': When doing battle against Fury Bowser, the player can use one of several methods to knock him onto his back, and then GroundPound do deal damage. However, Fury Bowser is capable of rocking back and forth enough to reorient himself if the player dawdles too long.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Flumphs are saucer-shaped and not terribly strong, and if knocked prone have a chance to land upside-down and remain helpless and incapacitated until they're able to rock themselves rightside-up again.

* A ''ComicStrip/Peanuts'' strip had Charlie Brown slip on the ice and land on his back, becoming "trapped like a turtle" due to his heavy winter coat. Lucy and another girl walk past discussing Spin the Bottle, and are oblivious to his distress, only noticing him at all when Lucy spins him to illustrate how the game works.

* In ''VideoGame/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', To defeat the fire crabs, Harry must cast ''Rictusempra'' to flip it over on its back, and then cast ''Flipendo'' while it's on its back to push it somewhere it can't reach him.

* In ''Anime/AmadaAnimeSeriesSuperMarioBros'', Mario helps a Boomerang Brother who was stuck on his shell. In his gratitude, the Boomerang Brother travels with Mario to defeat Bowser.

** ''VideoGame/MarioBros'': Mario and Luigi could flip turtles (Shellcreepers) over by jumping up from directly below and hitting the level the turtle was walking on. If neither Mario nor Luigi ran into the turtle and knocked it off, it would eventually [[RemovableShell jump out of its shell]], kick the shell over, get back in and continue walking. This could be done with crabs (Sidesteppers) as well, but required two hits.
** Similarly, in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', the brothers can't get past the giant Koopas (known as Ankoopas, as in anchor Koopas) until [[spoiler:they've learned the fire dash attack]].
** In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'', certain enemy attacks could knock Bowser on his back, costing him several turns.
** Whenever Mario or his friends defeat him in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64 (DS)'' by throwing him into a bomb, Bowser lands on his shell and groans in exhaustion in the original version, and helplessly flaps his arms and legs in the DS version. Bowser realizes there's nothing else he can do and promptly escapes while leaving behind a special key or the Giant Star.
** ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series: Koopas can be flipped on their backs when Mario jumps on them, which also lowers their defense. Beware, though: This can happen to Koopas in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', which includes your own [[MonsterAllies Koopa ally]], Koops. This is subverted by the "Shady Koopa" enemy in this game, as they gain a more dangerous attack when flipped on their backs.

* Similar to the ''Yoshi's Island'' example but [[MemeticMutation more infamous]]: the GiantEnemyCrab from ''VideoGame/{{Genji}}: Days of the Blade''.
* The Spiked Beetle, Terrorpin, and Snapper are various enemies in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series that are based on turtles and thus have this weakness. Typically they can be flipped with the hammer or the shield, or in the latter case, by getting underneath them using a Deku flower.
** The boss of the fourth dungeon in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages]]'', beaten by flipping it with the Switch Hook.
** Walking Skullatulas in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', unlike their more difficult to hit hanging cousins, are easily flipped to expose their soft under belly for a [[FinishingBlow Finishing Strike]].
** Armogohma from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' lands this way when you shoot her in the eye with an arrow. This gives you an opportunity to control the nearest statue to her and deal a damaging blow. Also, the giant insect in twilit Lanayru lands this way once you've gotten it twice, allowing you to jump on it and use the area attack on its legs, thus dealing the finishing blow.
* In ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', this is the weakness of two bosses. The eighth Colossus is only vulnerable when it falls and lands on its back, while the ninth is flipped.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'', the MascotMook Mettaurs are flipped over when hit by an ArmorPiercingAttack.
* The Hobby Horse and, in a NewGamePlus, the Teapot Cannon, are good for inflicting this on Cannon Crabs in ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns''.
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', this is a status effect called "Topple" which can only be activated after triggering another status called "Break".

* In ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'', Makoa is a bipedal turtle whose "stunned" animation has him flailing about while stuck on the back of his turtle shell.
* Teddie from ''VideoGame/Persona4'' has a nearly spherical body, so struggles to get up when pushed on his back.

--> And he's down! Don't worry, he's not hurt at all. He just can't get back up from that position.

* In ''Videogame/DeBlob'', Graydians can be seen rolling around on their backs trying to right themselves, as the heavy metal suits they're trapped in barely allow them to move.
* One [[FinishingMove Glory Kill]] in ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' has Doomguy grab an Arachnotron by the legs and flip it upside-down. Given that an Arachnotron's organic body is mostly exposed brain matter and it's mounted on a heavy, robotic spider chassis, this instantly squishes the monster dead.
* In the ''TabletopGame/BloodBowl'' video game versions, you can see a player get knocked down for whatever reason. When that happens, they need to get back on their feet otherwise they're vulnerable to getting stomped on. It's especially bad if a player with a drawback like Stupidity gets knocked over, as their condition might kick in and prevent them from getting up that turn.

** ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series: Koopas can be flipped on their backs when Mario jumps on them, which also lowers their defense. Beware, though: This can happen to Koopas in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''. This is subverted by the "Shady Koopa" enemy in this game, as they gain a more dangerous attack when flipped on their backs.

* This was a common weakness in the early seasons of ''Series/RobotWars'', which made wedges a popular shape and hydraulic flippers their WeaponOfChoice. However, eventually competitors started entering robots which were either able to work both ways up, rolled or (for maximum RuleOfCool) use a SRIMECH[[note]][=Self RIghting MECHanism=][[/note]] to flip themselves back over ([[FollowTheLeader after Cassius was able to do so with its flipper in the second season]]).

A problem that tends to happens to [[TurtlePower turtles and tortoises]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} (and Bender)]] from time to time.

* [[CluckingFunny Chickens]], particularly breeds raised for meat, may have this problem. For examples, the Ross Breed is bred for its white meat (the chicken breasts), so the birds become particularly top-heavy. If the chicken falls over, it will likely not be able to get up again.

* In ''WebVideo/TierZoo[='s=]'' episode on the Dinosaur Tier List, this trope was the AchillesHeel of ''Ankylosaurus''. While ''Ankylosaurus'' had superb defence in its armord back and a powerful club tail that could easily cripple enemies, it was left helpless and vulnerable if it was flipped over. For this glaring weakness, [=TierZoo=] placed it in A-Tier and not S-Tier.

* Beetles are very vulnerable to this, especially if they’re on a smooth surface, since, unlike pill bugs, beetles have very flat backs and a stiff carapace. Even flying beetles can fall victim to this because their own weight can keep them from opening their wings, If on dirt however, they can usually dig the spines on their legs into the dirt and use it as a lever to right themselves. If on a smooth, hard surface however, such as a rock, this method falls flat and they will stay there until something steps on them, a bird snatches it up, or worse, [[DeathByAThousandCuts ants find them.]]

* Played very straight for sheep, and some other ruminants, especially when pregnant or with a thick, heavy fleece. Shepherds call this deadly state being "cast", "kessing" or "kewped". A cast sheep needs only the slightest dip in the ground, sometimes none at all, to become fatally trapped. Their inability to "eructate" gases from the rumen in this position makes them "gas up", swelling to make it even harder to right them. Death, especially in summer, can be swift due to overheating, dehydration, exhaustion, and inability to flee predators such birds and badgers who will happily feast on exhausted sheep. Travelers in sheep-farming areas are encouraged to watch for this, and to right any cast sheep if found. [[https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/farming/how-you-can-save-sheeps-12825619 Here's how to save a sheep's life.]]

* Discussed in the Anne Lamott novel "Imperfect Birds". The POV character, along with several other teens, is hiking in extreme cold-weather gear with a 50-pound pack [[Spoiler: as part of a substance abuse rehab program]]. One of the teens keeps flipping over onto her back and complaining that she cannot walk another step, and the POV character compares her to a turtle. [[Spoiler: She gets better.]]