History Main / PlayAlongPrisoner

* In the ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series, the girls deliberately get captured so they can trick Jack Frost.
* Elijah in ''Literature/LastMage'', being TheFettered paragon of virtue and responsibility, does not evaporate his prison. He does, however, try more [[ProtectorBehindBars mundane means]] to keep his friends from getting punished alongside him.
* ''Literature/TheElderEmpire'': Lucan could easily break himself out of prison, and Shera could break him out even easier. The only reason they don't is that going on the run would be a pain. At the end of the book, Shera says she'll pick the lock so she can kiss him, and the guard can't do anything but groan.
* ''Literature/HolmesOnTheRange'': In one short story, when an outlaw is arrested by a man who Old Red deduces is ImpersonatingAnOfficer, after they've exposed and captured that man, Old Red tells them to keep an eye on the prisoner who'd just been "arrested" and they catch him suddenly untied, and about to go for a gun, with Old Red pointing out that since they were staging the whole arrest it obviously made sense to leave the guy not tied very tight in case anything went wrong and he needed to fight or flee.

* ''Literature/TheLayOfPaulTwister'' opens with an encounter with an imprisoned Celestial who claims that she could have escaped at any time, and she was trying to stay as the bad guy's prisoner [[TrojanPrisoner to figure out who he was working with,]] until [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Paul came along and messed up the whole investigation.]]

* ''Series/WonderWoman1975'': In "Judgement from Outer Space", Andros is taken prisoner by the Nazis and actively refuses to be rescued by Wonder Woman. His goal is to interview the Nazis and doing it while imprisoned works as well for him as any other way.

* Mentioned in the ''Dungeons and Dragons'' supplement [[InterspeciesRomance/DungeonsAndDragons The Book Of Erotic Fantasy]] (which despite the name is primarily a work of comedy) as one of the few ways to bring a high-level character to justice (other than [[AlwaysABiggerFish hiring other high-level characters as bounty hunters]]):

* In ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}} 4'', Khyrk (a master Shaper) is captured by Shaper Monarch (a madman with dreams of world conquest). When the player character is sent to rescue him Khyrk reveals that he could have freed himself at any time, but chose to stay captive to learn Monarch's weaknesses and tell them to you.
* ''VideoGame/HeroKingQuestPeacemakerPrologue'': Spiderweb goads the Cerulean Land's inquisitor into imprisoning her at the capital, giving her the perfect opportunity to free Princess Spidervenom.
* Haedraline, in the final chapter of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'', implies that she only accepted the indignity of being locked up in Castle Never so that she could talk to you.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}''. Bobbin is put into a cage, which he unlocks easily with his magic Distaff. Turns out [[spoiler: that was just a plot to get the Opening draft out of him.]]

* In the [=PS2=]/XBOX game ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'', the Punisher surrenders to the police at the beginning of the story, with most of the game being a HowWeGotHere flashback. Turns out Frank allowed himself to be captured by his police buddy Soap so that he could be on Riker's Island when Jigsaw started a riot to cover his escape. Frank kills Jigsaw in the riot and escapes the prison easily.
* In ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsFromTheNewWorld'' [[spoiler: the party is captured by pirates]] after going through some interrogations [[spoiler: Natan simply rips the door off and walks out, much to the surprise of Johnny. They could have gotten out at any time but Shania and Natan wanted to assess the situation.]]
* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'', the party first encounters Piers when he is imprisoned in Madra after being WronglyAccused of association with the recent pirate raid. Not only does Piers ''have an alibi'', but he's also a powerful Mercury Adept... but he would rather wait for the mayor to prove his virtue because he doesn't want to use his powers inappropriately (and his alibi would [[{{Atlantis}} raise further questions]]).
* Dr. Wily comes along quietly at the end of ''VideoGame/MegaMan6'' because he has a DeadMansSwitch already set up, which awakens Burst Man, Cloud Man, Junk Man, and Freeze Man after six months of no contact. No wonder Mega Man is frustrated at the end of ''7''.
* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', when you're arrested, you can choose to serve your sentence, or pick the lock on either the cell door (which lets you out near the evidence chest with your inventory) or the floor grate (which is easier to pick but doesn't allow for easy item retrieval). You only get one pick, but with the Unbreakable perk, you can pick the cell lock without issues, and escape if you so choose.

* In ''VideoGame/Anthem2019'' event Echoes of Reality, the captured EvilGenius Doctor Harken is able to teleport out of his cell for a quick snack and come back to tell the player character that the necessary equipment is ready.

* [[spoiler:Roll, out of sheer boredom,]] does this in ''Webcomic/StageSelect''.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2300/fc02278.htm Florence actively goes to turn herself in.]] [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2300/fc02279.htm Then, part of it is needing the protection.]]
** Dr. Bowman is intelligent and skilled enough to be able to break out of the South Pole facility any time he wants, and ''wise'' enough to know that he's better off not doing so, since [[spoiler: as an uplifted chimpanzee]] he lacks the self-control to function in normal society.
* In ''Webcomic/AverageJoe'', the titular character [[http://ajcomic.com/?p=390 allows himself to be tied up and dakked]] rather than risking his secret identity by using his superpowers to resist...before realizing he's just a stranger to everyone there anyway so it wouldn't have mattered.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'':
** The page quote is Franchise/{{Batman}} [[BatmanGambit being Batman]][[note]]He'd allowed them to keep him captive because he knew [[WeAreStrugglingTogether he could sow the seeds of dissent]] and thus break apart a powerful villainous teamup[[/note]]. But he's not the only one to pull it off in the series. When Flash is arrested for robbery, Green Lantern comes to get him. Because the cops have video proof that Flash was performing the heists, they cannot believe another superhero is here to bail him out. GL just gives the guards a funny look. [[TooDumbToLive "If he were really guilty, do you think you could have held him here with a pair of handcuffs?"]] Cue Flash spinning the handcuffs on one finger, having removed them himself. This is, of course, on top of the fact that ''he's the'' '''[[SuperSpeed Flash.]]'''
** In the season two finale of ''Justice League Unlimited'', the main seven excluding Batman (who thinks it's a silly idea) allow themselves to be taken prisoner as an act of good faith to the US government. It's lampshaded by the guy in charge not bothering to handcuff them because it wouldn't stop them anyway.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' does this, though briefly. In the ''WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers'' movie, Timmy ties up [[spoiler: the older version of him]] who's secretly part of the resistance to prevent Vicky from obtaining power. When Vicky shows up about to blast them with a giant robot, he breaks free from the ropes and follows it up by saying 'For the record, I could have done that at any time'.

* In the fourth season of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Ikki definitely takes after her grandfather in this regard. She's captured by two of Kuvira's soldiers and tied to a chair with rope but is easily able to slip her arms in and out of her bonds at will. When Jinora and Meelo finally show up to rescue her she shimmies out the ropes and [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike complains that she had everything under control]].
* Near the end of ''[[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time]]'', several members of LaResistance are captured and put in chains, after which they are brought to the throne room where the rest of the characters are. As soon as the characters who are free start kicking ass, the captured ones break their chains like they were made of paper and join the fun.

* A small example of this occurs in episode 21 of the third season of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub''. Nabu had snuck onto one of the specialists ships when the Winx went to retrieve the water stars they needed to defeat Valtor. Since the Winx at this point weren't sure whether they could trust Nabu or not, they put shackles on him that would apparently prevent him from using his magic. Later when they are attacked by monsters, Nabu easily removes the shackles in order to save Aisha from a monster. Apparently, he could've gotten out of them at any time, but he didn't because Aisha had told him not to try anything. After the fight is over, he also tells her to put the shackles back on him since they have more important things to worry about than whether or not they can trust him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', Perry never makes any attempt to escape from Dr. Doofenshmirtz's traps until the very last second, at which point he does so easily. When he was trapped by chair-cuffs, he removed his hand to grab some popcorn, then ''put it back''. At another point, Doofenshmirtz mutters that Perry could have been considerate enough to get in his trap during a delay, which he immediately does.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/WildCATs1994'', a friend of Grifter's has just finished a jail sentence. The warden is proud of the fact that he was able to hold a notorious robber for his entire sentence. Grifter simply said "You weren't holding him. He was just serving his time." Said robber proves this right when he breaks out of the prison in a matter of minutes, with the breakout starting the moment his sentence officially ended - just to prove that he could have broken out at any time if he'd wanted to.
* One ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' episode, "Sonic Breakout", has Sonic pull this. In order to rescue a cartoonist who was put into Robotnik's [[TheAlcatraz heavily-fortified prison]] for an insulting cartoon, Sonic allows himself to be captured by Scratch and Grounder... but not before putting them through the usual shenanigans. Breaking out, however, proves to be tricky as Robotnik has built [[TailorMadePrison a specially-designed wing just for Sonic...]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' episode "The Giants of Doom", Bizarro, Sinestro, Toyman, and Captain Cold allow themselves to be captured by the Superfriends and placed in a specially designed cell. Once they are ready, Sinestro reveals that he can control his power ring even when it is not on his hand and they break free. Their goal was to gain access to the Justice League Computer. Amazingly, ''[[http://www.seanbaby.com/superfriends/bizarro.htm Bizarro]]'' was the one who came up with this plan.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'': Magneto attempts a prison break to free Beast... who calmly informs him that he has no desire to escape and expects to get his day in court and be exonerated. While Beast may or may not have been able to leave under his own power at any time, he certainly has plenty of powerful friends on the outside who could have sprung him, should he have been so inclined. A few episodes later the X-men break into the prison to free Colossus, who was wrongfully suspected of Juggernaut's crimes. Colossus himself was playing along, not wanting to get in more trouble, but they convince him to escape because they need his help stopping Juggernaut. They offer to free Beast as well, and while he's more receptive to the offer by his friends than Magneto, Beast gives the same response of wanting to get released legally. Still it's clear the X-men could break him out just as easily if they truly wanted.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien''/''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' crossover ''WesternAnimation/Ben10GeneratorRexHeroesUnited'', [[LetsYouAndHimFight after their initial skirmish]] resulting from Ben (inadvertently) hurting Six, Ben decides to let himself get captured by Rex and his allies to gather information on the situation. However, Rex gets a little too cocky and [[TemptingFate taunts him about being their prisoner]], to which Ben laughs and responds with "I stayed to see if I could help. But if that's your attitude..." before proceeding to turn into [[{{Intangibility}} Big Chill]] and walk out.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "The Magnifying Mixture", when giant Hefty decides to take Gargamel and Azrael with him inside a sack as his prisoner to the Smurf Village, the evil wizard and his cat decide to play along as Hefty's captives until they reach the village. Once that happens, Gargamel escapes and ends up trapping giant Hefty in a sack.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'':
** When Entrapta is captured by Catra and Scorpia for interrogation, she barely seems aware that she's a prisoner, freely leaving her bonds at multiple times to examine everything in the room, including Catra and Scorpia themselves. By the next episode, they've completely given up on the idea of restraining her, and by the end of the season see her more as an odd colleague than a prisoner. Though that second part is because her ForScience tendencies mesh really well with the Horde's goals.
** In the episode [[Recap/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerS2E02TiesThatBind "The Ties That Bind"]], Catra gets taken prisoner by Glimmer and Bow. While she can't just break free, she has an escape plan in motion from the minute she gets captured, forcing Glimmer to drain her magical energy so Glimmer can't just [[{{Teleportation}} teleport]] them straight back to Brightmoon, and using the TrackingDevice in her Force Captain badge to bring the Horde straight to her position. She spends most of the episode mocking and taunting her captors, basically playing a) for time and b) ForTheEvulz until her inevitable rescue.
* In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', Jerry is dropped off at a daycare where many other Ricks drop off their Jerrys because they would simply die if they continued with their surreal adventures. Jerry is put off by the daycare trying to serve his every need (to the point there's a person in a costume of Beth cooing them all) that he feels everyone is in a prison and so plots to escape with a seedy bunch of Jerrys...until they all reveal they're not exactly held captive and can walk out any time they want. Frustrated, Jerry walks out [[OhCrap and learns the hard way that the world outside the daycare itself is incredibly dangerous, so he goes back into the daycare for protection and luxury]].
* In the first season finale of ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', the Turtles are captured after following the Hamato Way. After hours of meditation fail to provide any answers, Raphael decides to ditch the Hamato Clan method and the Turtles just [[BeYourself be themselves]]...starting with him using his incredible strength to break the bars of the cage holding him and his brothers.
-->'''Leo:''' Wait a second, you could've done that the whole time?!

* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' issue 40, after Sonic is tried in a KangarooCourt for treason after the Mecha Madness scenario and declared guilty, he shreds off his handcuffs in a fit of rage, declaring he could have done so at any time.
* Whenever ComicBook/ThePunisher is jailed, it's usually because he allowed himself to be (usually he walks up to a police station and says "I surrender"), so he can kill one or more guys who are unreachable otherwise. Given that he's the friggin' ''Punisher'', only a few prisoners ever give him trouble.
* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}: In ''Adventure Comics #424'', Linda Danvers - the titular heroine - allows herself to be held prisoner by a mob gang so she can track down their boss. As soon as she gets what she wants, she breaks free, beats the whole mob up, and jails them.

** In ''Asterix the Gaul'', after the Roman army captured Getafix, Asterix went to rescue him. After a brief discussion, he decided to surrender (which took some effort since the Romans were scared) and have Getafix brew a special potion. The first one was a hair growth potion to trap the soldiers; the second was claimed to be a potion to stop the hair growth but was really a soup. The magic potion was brewed alongside the soup to make Asterix surprisingly powerful in an instant, just before a high-ranking official came to inspect the camp.
** In ''Asterix in Britain'' Obelix, after being captured while drunk and put in the Tower of Londinium, simply decides to walk out and effortlessly rips his chains from the walls and pushes down the door.
** In ''Asterix and Cleopatra'', the heroes are imprisoned after being falsely accused of attempting to poison the queen with the Special Iced Arsenic Cake. They use the time in prison to prepare a defense and when they are ready to present it to the queen, Obelix all but ignores their restraints and guards.
** In ''Asterix and the Goths'', Obelix repeatedly breaks down the prison door to request various ingredients from the guards ([[BigGuy are you noticing a trend?]])
** In ''Asterix in Switserland'', Getafix demands that Sinusitus (the sick Roman he offered to help) be kept at their village as a 'hostage' for Asterix and Obelix's safe return (they have to go to Helvetia to find [[FlowerFromTheMountaintop Silver Star]] for the cure). Sinusitus agrees since he has nothing to lose, and when Asterix objects this tactic, Getafix reveals it's actually just an excuse to take Sinusitus to safety since it's obvious he was poisoned on purpose.

* In ''ComicBook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'', young Loki saves Thor from a very dangerous parasitic influence and delivers it in a jar to the All-Mother, who promptly imprison it [[spoiler:(an older, more powerful, and unrepentantly evil version of Loki)]] in the most secure cell in the deepest dungeons of Asgardia. Where it, or rather they, pull an OrcusOnHisThrone while [[MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll occasionally engaging in evil schemes pretty much unrestricted]] just for the lulz.
* ''ComicBook/{{Aquila}}'': One of the gifts bestowed on Aquila by the evil goddess that resurrected him is that no lock or chain can hold or bind him for longer than he wishes. When he's first introduced having been chained up by an old man, he calmly listens to the man explaining his reasons for wanting revenge before casting off his chains and killing him.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'', Jessica Jones is taken in for questioning in a murder case (the murdered party being her client). The cops know she has superhuman strength and durability, and note that if she wanted to, she could just get up and walk out, with none of them able to stop her. Jessica agrees this is true, and when pressed as to why she doesn't do that, observes that at the moment, she's only being questioned, whereas leaving the precinct (with presumably at least ''some'' force needed) would get her in a lot more trouble.

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye:'' Overlord, who's been locked up in the ship's basement, reveals to Chromedome he could've broken free of his imprisonment any time he liked (the perils of trying to keep a super-soldier chained). The only reason he didn't was that he was suicidally despondent about the thought of Megatron being dead... and Chromedome just let slip Megatron's alive.
-->'''Overlord:''' Breaking free of these paper chains was never the problem. I just lacked ''motivation''.

* This is essentially the plot of ''Fanfic/PrincessCelestiaGetsMugged''. Celestia takes a day off and assumes pony form. As a result, she gets mugged and the muggers decide to kidnap her upon discovering proof of her nobility. She could escape and kick their collective flanks any time she wants, but decides to play along because [[ItAmusedMe she's bored and it looks like it will be exciting.]]

* Paul in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', when he's seemingly mind-controlled by Bayanis and plays along for a day to stall for time while he finds out where the others are. (“I didn't want to go off sort of half-cocked.”) As soon as he knows they're okay and coming to rescue him, he wraps up Bayanis.
* Paul again in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', at the White Tower, when again he's seemingly mind-controlled (the others definitely are), and he waits to see what their captors expect of them before dropping the pretense and scaring them away.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3627081/1/Who-s-The-Hostage Who's the Hostage]]'' Naruto thinks that the cliche "Naruto is banished and/or sentenced to death for not bringing back Sasuke" is going to happen to him. So he decides to 'defect' before they can carry it out. He also thinks that having a hostage would make them less likely to kill him. So he decides to kidnap Hinata for just long enough that he can buy some time to get away. '''''[[StalkerWithACrush Hinata]]'''''. As from the title, things quickly spiral out of control. Meanwhile, in Konoha Tsunade and Jiyara are torn between facepalming at the complete lack of critical thinking on Naruto's part or laughing at the whole circumstance. Before it became a DeadFic they were sending out Team 7 to one part to tell him to stop being an idiot, and one part to rescue him.

* ''Fanfic/ZimTheWarlordIrkenReversion'': When some unknown assailants attack his keynote speech to abduct him, Professor Membrane lets them do so in order to find out who sent them. When Zim intervenes to stop their escape and rescue the Professor, Membrane easily breaks free and knocks out his nearest captors while Zim is [[OneManArmy wiping the floor with the rest]].
* The [[GoodIsNotNice Renegade]] protagonist of ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'' turns himself in to the police after killing a Chaos Lord responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children. However, he refuses to hand over most of his equipment, since the police aren't qualified to handle artifacts on the level of an orange power ring or the Sword of the Fallen, meaning that he's sitting in an ordinary jail cell holding weapons that could destroy planets and kill gods. Even after Wonder Woman, who ''is'' qualified, turns up and collects most of it, he still has a personal computer capable of generating portals to practically anywhere (including distant planets), not to mention SuperStrength and SuperToughness that would allow him to walk out ''through the wall'' without batting an eye. And yet, he remains in his cell, because he wants to make a point about the need to reform the law to cope with PersonOfMassDestruction supervillains.

* ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'': Shortly after being introduced, [[StarfishAliens Q]] explains that the only reason he was captured by [[TheFederation the Syndicate]] was that he let them, as he wanted to use the resulting prisoner transport (which he could easily escape from) as a free lift to a neutral planet he could [[EmotionEater feed on]] without interference from the Syndicate or the Irkens.
* ''Fanfic/JWITCHSeries'': After Captain Black ends up with the Sumo Khan mask, Tarakudo conceives a plan where Cedric, Miranda, and Wong allow themselves to be CapturedOnPurpose, so that when Black is inevitably [[TheCorruption corrupted]] by the mask, they'll be in prime position to be handed the other three masks. When the heroes intervene to stop this, Cedric immediately busts himself and the others out of their cell to fight them, making it clear that they could have escaped at any time.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/SinCity'': Marv, bound by Gail, plays along with an interrogation until his captors understand he wasn't the one who killed the missing girls. Then he just gets up and shrugs off the ropes.
* Johnny 5 in ''Film/ShortCircuit2'', is handcuffed to a metal shelf in the stolen property room at the police station. When his buddy Ben shows up he tells Johnny "O.K. number Johnny 5, you can go now" at which point 5 just lifts his arm and the cuffs snap off.
* ''Film/InnocentBlood'': Marie (who's a vampire) asks her human companion to handcuff her so he'll feel safe making love to her. After they're finished she calmly uses her vampiric strength to break the handcuffs.
* Heroic example from the movie ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', where the eponymous superhero allows himself to be imprisoned to win back the hearts of his chosen town, after being a bit careless about property damage during his career. One scene involved him jumping over the prison fences to go fetch a basketball.
* The Joker in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' just wants his phone call. When they don't give it to him, he takes his interrogator hostage and breaks out of the room. The call he makes activates a bomb implanted in another prisoner.
* In the climactic battle of ''Film/TimeBandits'', [[EvilOverlord Evil]] faces the combined forces of good drawn from all history. He looks mildly annoyed as the first wave -- heroic cowboys -- surround him, lasso him and bind him securely. He then hands them their heads in a manner that only Terry Gilliam could have dreamed up.
-->'''Evil:''' '''''Next!'''''
* In ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', Riddick uses this trope with the {{bounty hunter}}s sent to collect him, in order to get to a specific prison planet to find someone, [[AwesomeByAnalysis knowing that the relatively short-ranged bounty hunter's spacecraft could only go to one of a few prison planets]].

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Roger handcuffs himself to Eddie at one point. Once Eddie gets a hold of a hacksaw to cut the cuff off with -- and a box to rest his cuffed hand on -- he notices Roger slipping out of the cuffs in order to hold the box steady.
-->'''Eddie:''' You mean to tell me you could have taken your hand out of that cuff at any time?!\\
'''Roger:''' No, not at ''any'' time, [[RuleOfFunny only when it was]] ''[[RuleOfFunny funny]]''.

* In ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', Film/JamesBond allows himself to be captured and brought to the BigBad, Silva. [[spoiler:He's activated a tracking device that's leading [=MI6=] right to them, and until they arrive, he's content to let Silva explain the hows and whys of his {{evil plan}}s. Once he's had enough, he quickly kills the guards and takes Silva captive until [=MI6=] arrive]]. For Silva, meanwhile, [[spoiler:getting captured is part of his plan all along.]]
* Clyde Sheldon in ''Film/LawAbidingCitizen''. First, he gets himself sent to prison, then he kills his cellmate to be sent to solitary. [[spoiler:This is because he dug tunnels to the cells in solitary confinement, so he could get locked up and send the cops on a wild-goose-chase looking for his "accomplice", while he was sneaking out and back in the whole time.]]

* In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Clark is naturally one of these when he willingly goes into military custody. Lois indicates that he agreed to be handcuffed, and he explains it as a way of allowing his captors to feel secure. Shortly afterward, he effortlessly breaks the handcuffs to show that he is complying out of good faith, not because the military could actually hold him.
* In ''Film/BringingUpBaby'', David is put in a jail cell that the guard forgets to lock. He casually opens the door at one point, and even gets the guard to join him ''inside'' the cell, but makes no attempt to escape.
* One of the eponymous entities in ''Film/KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace'' lets himself be locked up in the town jail, before finally killing the [[JerkassVictim arresting officer]] and turning him into a ventriloquist's dummy.

* ''Film/ThreeTenToYuma2007'': The film follows a poverty-stricken farmer who has agreed to escort an outlaw to the train which will transport him to prison (a prison from which the outlaw has previously escaped). At the end of the movie, [[spoiler: with almost everyone able to stop him dead, the outlaw willingly boards the train to make sure the farmer, whom he has come to respect, will earn the reward money. He then whistles for his horse who begins to run alongside the train, implying that his escape is imminent.]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian2011''. Looking to get into prison, Conan beats the crap out of a guard, stands over his prone form, and tells the still slightly concussed guy "I am your prisoner" while meekly extending his hands for cuffs.
* While the Beast in ''Film/KungFuHustle'' is actually broken out of the mental institution he was locked in by Sing, he says he only stayed in there [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction because he'd already killed all the worthwhile opponents]]. Given the incredible skill and power he displays, it's almost certainly true.
* ''Film/DeepRising'': Trillian is outed as a thief by the ''Argonautica'' crew and stuck inside a locked pantry since the normal brig was still under construction. When things go sideways, she's able to rig the electric door to open in such an easy manner that suggests she could have left whenever she felt like it. Presumably, she didn't because she's already been exposed and is on a ship with nowhere to run.
* During the final act of the first ''Film/OnceUponATimeInChina'' movie, Wong Fei-Hung and his students have been locked up for political reasons. The guards, disagreeing with the local governor's decision to do this, offer to let him escape, but Wong states that authority should not be disregarded casually. It isn't until [[spoiler:he learns that Aunt 13 has been captured by the Shar-Her Gang and is being sold into slavery]] that he decides that he has a valid reason to escape.

* Whenever Literature/ArseneLupin is arrested, he tends to stick around in prison as long as is convenient for him. At least once he continued to orchestrate crimes from the inside.

* This was the core of a Creator/HermanMelville short story called "Benito Cereno," in which an entire ship of slaves had revolted, but had to pretend to be slaves again when the main character and his crew boarded the ship. Meanwhile, their prisoners played the servants.

* Jan Guillou's spy hero Carl Hamilton does this towards the end of his career.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': [[spoiler: Zeddicus]] allows himself to be held in a [[{{Restrainingbolt}} Rada'han]] by [[spoiler: Prelate Annalina]] rather than bother her with the fact he can get out.
* Alvin Maker in ''[[Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker Heartfire]]'' happily stays in handcuffs all through his witchcraft trial, only to break them and casually walk out the moment he is acquitted.
* A more mundane version happens in ''Literature/InTheTimeOfTheButterflies'' by Julia Alvarez, a {{Dramatization}} of the lives of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic. When Minerva and Maria Teresa are put in prison for protesting against the government, they are given a pardon and allowed to leave, but they don't because Minerva thinks that implies that they committed a crime.

* ''WebAnimation/MurderDrones'': The end of the second episode reveals that [[TokenEvilTeammate V]] has already cut the chain that N was using to keep her in the ship and out of trouble. The only reason she doesn't immediately leave is because she [[{{Tsundere}} secretly has a soft spot for him]]. In the following episode, she flies off after failing to bargain with him; first that they can slaughter all the worker drones in Uzi's colony together light revenge for Uzi turning him away, and when that fails, promising to keep her murderous tendencies to a minimum if he'd just run away with her. Her [[LosingYourHead decapitating him]] before her escape was partly in response to N realizing that she actually remembers their shared past and trying to pry her for information, though.

* ''WesternAnimation/MurderDrones'': The end of the second episode reveals that [[TokenEvilTeammate V]] has already cut the chain that N was using to keep her in the ship and out of trouble. The only reason she doesn't immediately leave is because she [[{{Tsundere}} secretly has a soft spot for him]]. In the following episode, she flies off after failing to bargain with him; first that they can slaughter all the worker drones in Uzi's colony together light revenge for Uzi turning him away, and when that fails, promising to keep her murderous tendencies to a minimum if he'd just run away with her. Her [[LosingYourHead decapitating him]] before her escape was partly in response to N realizing that she actually remembers their shared past and trying to pry her for information, though.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': Lumalee could easily escape from his prison cell in Bowser's castle, being that he's one of the only prisoners who could fly and could fit through the gaps in the cages' bars, but he doesn't seem to care and would [[DeathSeeker rather die]].

* At one point in ''[[LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}} Nisemonogatari]]'', Araragi wakes up to find himself chained up and restrained by Senjogahara. Given their... interesting relationship, he plays along for a while trying to get her to tell him ''why'' she did this. But the moment he hears that his sister is in trouble, he snaps the chains and leaves, although it's later revealed to technically have been Shinobu who broke them for him.

* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':

** ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'':

* In the ''Series/BlakesSeven'' episode "Rumours of Death" Avon allows himself to be tortured for five days in Federation Central Security so as to get at Shrinker, the torture technician who killed his lover. On his signal, the ''Liberator'' crew teleport down for them.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' did this when Faith and Angel (who was pretending to be bad) captured her, in order to find out the Mayor's plot.

* ''Series/{{Lucifer}}''. In "A Good Day to Die", Dan insists that Lucifer go along with everything he does and not interfere. Unfortunately, this ends up with them handcuffed to chairs while Dan is being beaten by thugs. Lucifer wants to know if this is AllAccordingToPlan, and on discovering otherwise, releases his handcuffs and disarms the gun-toting thugs.
-->'''Dan:''' Are you kidding me?! You could've gotten out of those this whole time?!\\

* Due to [[TheMasquerade hiding his magical abilities from everyone]], the title character of ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' is this whenever he gets stuck in a cell. He can escape whenever he wants but chooses to make it look like he escaped by mundane means or never left at all. Of course, since this is a CardboardPrison staffed by [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy complete morons]], pretty much anyone can escape whenever they want.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Basics" (Part One), the crew finds a Kazon soldier in a damaged spacecraft whom their doctor confirms has been beaten, injured from weapons fire, and forced to breathe poisoned air for hours. He claims to have got injuries fleeing from the other Kazon, but the crew are still suspicious and have him put in the brig. Voyager is then ambushed by Kazon warships, whereupon the prisoner activates the chemical changes made to his body to [[SuicideAttack turn himself into a living bomb]].

* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': In "Judgement from Outer Space", Andros is taken prisoner by the Nazis and actively refuses to be rescued by Wonder Woman. His goal is to interview the Nazis and doing it while imprisoned works as well for him as any other way.

* Used to some ''awesome'' results in the second episode of [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', where Ed lets himself be captured to expose Father Cornello. Cue Cornello's surprised face when Ed casually starts eating his prison food, something that had been impossible moments earlier when he was chained up. Then he reveals the microphone that Ed used to broadcast their private conversation [[EngineeredPublicConfession to the entire town]].

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/WildCATS1994'', a friend of Grifter's has just finished a jail sentence. The warden is proud of the fact that he was able to hold a notorious robber for his entire sentence. Grifter simply said "You weren't holding him. He was just serving his time." Said robber proves this right when he breaks out of the prison in a matter of minutes, with the breakout starting the moment his sentence officially ended - just to prove that he could have broken out at any time if he'd wanted to.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' episode 60 ("[[Recap/TeenTitansS5E8Lightspeed Lightspeed]]"): the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Hive-Five]] "captures" Kid Flash and places him inside a metal cage. Instead of directly busting out, the superhero takes his time trying to convince Jinx [[HighHeelFaceTurn to redeem herself]], and only then does he make it obvious to the Five that he was never really their prisoner by dismantling their tower.

* In the first season finale of ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', the Turtles are captured after following the Hamato Way. After hours of meditation fail to provide any answers, Raphael decides to ditch the Hamato Clan method and the Turtles just be themselves...starting with him using his incredible strength to break the bars of the cage holding him and his brothers.

* In ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'', when Holo gets kidnapped, Lawrence carefully negotiates and then hires trained professionals to rescue her. When she is returned to him, she is extremely upset and reminds him that she is a goddess and could have escaped at any time. The only reason why she waited was that she wanted him to [[RescueRomance heroically bust in, defeat the bad guys, and sweep her off her feet]].

* ''Fanfic/JWITCHSeason1'': After Captain Black ends up with the Sumo Khan mask, Tarakudo conceives a plan where Cedric, Miranda, and Wong allow themselves to be CapturedOnPurpose, so that when Black is inevitably [[TheCorruption corrupted]] by the mask, they'll be in prime position to be handed the other three masks. When the heroes intervene to stop this, Cedric immediately busts himself and the others out of their cell to fight them, making it clear that they could have escaped at any time.

* Magneto in ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' attempts a prison break to free Beast... who calmly informs him that he has no desire to escape and expects to get his day in court and be exonerated. While Beast may or may not have been able to leave under his own power at any time, he certainly has plenty of powerful friends on the outside who could have sprung him, should he have been so inclined.
** In fact a few episodes later the X-men do break into the same prison to free Colossus, who was wrongfully suspected of Juggernaut's crimes. Colossus himself was playing along, not wanting to get in more trouble, but they convince him to escape because they need his help stopping Juggernaut. They offer to free Beast as well, and while he's more receptive to the offer by his friends than Magneto, Beast gives the same response of wanting to get released legally. Still it's clear the X-men could break him out just as easily if they truly wanted.

* In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero'', the Red Ribbon Army's plan to lure Gohan to their lair is to kidnap his daughter Pan. Problem for them is that [[BadassAdorable Pan is already a skilled fighter at just three years old]], so their attempt to take her just results in an unconscious goon. That said, she agrees to fake her capture for an undercover Piccolo to get Gohan to the base anyway, namely because Piccolo sees it as an opportunity for Gohan to start training again via his PapaWolf instinct.

* Kyosuke Hyobu in ''Manga/PsychicSquad'' sat imprisoned, letting B.A.B.E.L. think their countermeasures against him were effective until it was time to set his plans in motion. When one of his people was captured, he simply told him to rest up and that they'll bust him out when they need him.
* A funny moment in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry Kai'', when Rena tries twice to [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe take Hanyuu home with her.]] The rest of the class ties her up. Rena waits until she decides it'd be funniest, then easily bursts out of her ropes and tries for a ''third'' time to steal Hanyuu.
* [[spoiler:Isis Eaglet]] in ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce''. Her GenreSavvy captor even lampshaded it, noting that she has a "these restraints are no big deal, but I should hear you out for now" expression. Naturally, her captor was right, and the moment that the place she's in came under attack, she proceeded to casually snap her restraints in half.

* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': During World War I, Germany captures Italy. He then becomes so annoyed by Italy's antics that he demands why Italy is not trying to escape, walks him to the door, opens it, and tells him he can go. Italy's reaction? He walks outside, flirts with a few girls, and comes back in. This is most likely because they are AMatchMadeInStockholm. Italy himself says "As long as I'm with you, I get fed and nobody picks on me. I like living here!"

* In ''Manga/ImmortalRain'', Rain is this in the rare times he gets caught. The warden [[LampshadeHAnging lampshades]] this by getting angry that he uses the high-security zeppelin-prison as a taxi, getting caught only when he needs to get someplace far.

* Mikoto does this to some extent in ''Anime/{{K}}'', because he's way stronger than anyone in SCEPTER 4 besides Reisi. Mikoto only breaks free after finding out where Totsuka's killer was and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge setting off to find him]].
* At one point in ''[[LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}} Nisemonogatari]]'', Araragi wakes up to find himself chained up and restrained by Senjogahara. Given their... interesting relationship, he plays along for a while trying to get her to tell him ''why'' she did this. But the moment he hears that his sister is in trouble, he snaps the chains and leaves, although it's later revealed to technically have been Shinobu who broke them for him.
* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': If the title character is ever caught, he treats the prison as this. Although sometimes the prison may show [[ButtMonkey him]] it isn't that easy. This is even assuming he didn't plan this as a GetIntoJailFree gambit. Similar to his ancestor (see the Literature examples), if Lupin the Third is in prison, it's because he ''wants'' to be.
* In ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'', when Holo gets kidnapped, Lawrence carefully negotiates and then hires trained professionals to rescue her. When she is returned to him, she is extremely upset and reminds him that she is a goddess and could have escaped at any time. The only reason why she waited was that she wanted him to [[RescueRomance heroically bust in, defeat the bad guys, and sweep her off her feet]].
* Dazai sort of does this in ''Manga/BungoStrayDogs'' when captured by the Port Mafia. Chuya comes along and, after some talking, breaks Dazai's chains off of the wall so they can fight. Dazai then reveals that he'd actually managed to unlock the shackles on his wrists and thus could've gotten out whenever he wanted.
* Ban from ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'' spent five years in prison, being nailed to a wall with huge steel stakes. He was deprived of sunlight, food, and even movement. However, after he heard about his captain's return, he pulled the stakes out of his limbs, kicked the door down, and went to the exit, while effortlessly defeating anyone who tried to stop him. When the knight who originally caught him attempted to stop his escape, he revealed that he let himself be jailed and tortured out of boredom, and proceeded to kill the knight with his own weapon.
* Princess Syalis from ''Manga/SleepyPrincessInTheDemonCastle'' leaves her cell [[CardboardPrison every single chapter]], and has, on several occasions, left the Demon King Castle grounds entirely without anyone trying to stop her. Why she keeps coming back is anyone's guess, with fan theories suggesting she does it because she wouldn't be able to sleep all the time if she went home, or that she's a GeniusDitz obsessed with getting to sleep to the exclusion of all else, and it's just never occurred to her she could go home.
* One of the Class S Heroes in ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', Puri-Puri Prisoner, is a towering HardGay stereotype dressed in classic prison jammies... because he's serving a life sentence for ''repeated sexual assault''. Not that that, or his old-school ball-and-chain, stops him from breaking out whenever there's a call for high-level heroes, PARTICULARLY if any of the handsome, young, male heroes he's got his eyes on (hint: that would be ALL of the young, male heroes) are in danger or have been injured (It's okay, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint he breaks back in afterwards]]). "I broke out of prison just to see you..." is basically his catchphrase.
* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'', the gangster Polpo is perpetually in prison, which doesn't stop him from running the criminal underground of Naples. He could get out whenever he'd want (assuming he'd [[FatBastard fit through the door]], but then again, he got in ''somehow''), but why would he when he gets food, bed, and security for free?

* Dazai sort of does this in ''Manga/BungouStrayDogs'' when captured by the Port Mafia. Chuya comes along and, after some talking, breaks Dazai's chains off of the wall so they can fight. Dazai then reveals that he'd actually managed to unlock the shackles on his wrists and thus could've gotten out whenever he wanted.

* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}: In ''Adventure Comics #424'', Linda Danvers - the titular heroine - allows herself to be held prisoner by a mob gang so she can track down their boss. As soon as she gets what she wants, she breaks free, beats the whole mob up, and jails them.

* In ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'', young Loki saves Thor from a very dangerous parasitic influence and delivers it in a jar to the All-Mother, who promptly imprison it [[spoiler:(an older, more powerful, and unrepentantly evil version of Loki)]] in the most secure cell in the deepest dungeons of Asgardia. Where it, or rather they, pull an OrcusOnHisThrone while [[MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll occasionally engaging in evil schemes pretty much unrestricted]] just for the lulz.

* Mentioned in the Dungeons and Dragons supplement [[InterspeciesRomance/DungeonsAndDragons The Book Of Erotic Fantasy]] (which despite the name is primarily a work of comedy) as one of the few ways to bring a high-level character to justice (other than [[AlwaysABiggerFish hiring other high-level characters as bounty hunters]]):

* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSun: The Lost Age'', the party first encounters Piers when he is imprisoned in Madra after being WronglyAccused of association with the recent pirate raid. Not only does Piers ''have an alibi'', but he's also a powerful Mercury Adept... but he would rather wait for the mayor to prove his virtue because he doesn't want to use his powers inappropriately (and his alibi would [[{{Atlantis}} raise further questions]]).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the Ruby-Spears ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon, one episode had Mega Man get arrested by humans who, thanks to Wily, thought he was behind the EvilScheme of the week. As he didn't want to harm the humans he let himself be handcuffed. Soon after his name was cleared, he snapped the cuffs like they were nothing.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' episode 60 ("[[Recap/TeenTitansS5E8Lightspeed Lightspeed]]"): the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Hive-Five]] "captures" Kid Flash and places him inside a metal cage. Instead of directly busting out, the superhero takes his time trying to convince Jinx [[HighHeelFaceTurn to redeem herself]], and only then does he make it obvious to the Five that he was never really their prisoner by dismantling their tower.

--->'''Speck:''' Yeah! Nice food, clean air... but the portions suck! -then he goes out, buys some Chinese buns, goes to the policemen [=WCs=], gets the police chief to eat a bun (without washing his hands) and goes back to the jail to take a nap.

* In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', the climax of the Yorknew Arc is when Kurapika finally catches the leader of the Phantom Troupe, Chrollo, but on the other hand, his friends Gon and Killua are captured by the Troupe. Kurapika demands a prisoner trade, with Troupe member Pakunoda as the intermediate. In their way to his location, Pakunoda observes that, weakened as she was, the two kids could easily overpower her, letting Kurapika free to kill Chrollo. The kids then say they are playing along so Kurapika does not go on the dark path revenge is leading him, to which Pakunoda thanks.

* Ban from ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'' spent five years in prison, being nailed to a wall with huge steel stakes. He was deprived of sunlight, food and even movement. However, after he heard about his captain's return, he pulled the stakes out of his limbs, kicked the door down and went to the exit, while effortlessly defeating anyone who tried to stop him. When the knight who originally caught him attempted to stop his escape, he revealed that he let himself be jailed and tortured out of boredom, and proceeded to kill the knight with his own weapon.

* One of the Class S Heroes in ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', Puri-Puri Prisoner, is a towering HardGay stereotype dressed in classic prison jammies... because he's serving a life-sentence for ''repeated sexual assault''. Not that that, or his old-school ball-and-chain, stops him from breaking out whenever there's a call for high-level heroes, PARTICULARLY if any of the handsome, young, male heroes he's got his eyes on (hint: that would be ALL of the young, male heroes) are in danger or have been injured (It's okay, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint he breaks back in afterwards]]). "I broke out of prison just to see you..." is basically his catchphrase.

* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}: In ''Adventure Comics #424'', Linda Danvers - the titular heroine - allows herself to be held prisoner by a mob gang so she can track down their boss. As soon as she gets what she wants, she breaks free, beats the whole mob up and jails them.

* In ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'' young Loki saves Thor from a very dangerous parasitic influence, and delivers it in a jar to the All-Mother, who promptly imprison it [[spoiler:(an older, more powerful and unrepentantly evil version of Loki)]] in the most secure cell in the deepest dungeons of Asgardia. Where it, or rather they, pull an OrcusOnHisThrone while [[MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll occasionally engaging in evil schemes pretty much unrestricted]] just for the lulz.

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Morgan La Fey captures and chains ComicBook/{{Artemis}} and [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie]] and Cassie complains about not being able to escape as Morgan expounds on her evil plot. However as soon as Cassie deems Morgan's speech over she easily snaps the chains binding her to take down the villain and save her mother, revealing she was lying and that the witch is overconfident.

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye:'' Overlord, who's been locked up in the ship's basement, reveals to Chromedome he could've broken free of his imprisonment any time he liked (the perils of trying to keep a super-soldier chained). The only reason he didn't was because he was suicidally despondent about the thought of Megatron being dead... and Chromedome just let slip Megatron's alive.

* Taylor is most certainly this in ''[[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/crouching-tiger-goes-to-prison-worm-au-of-an-au.480139/ Crouching Tiger Goes to Prison]]''. Given her abilities, the juvenile prison she's sent to doesn't have a hope of containing her if she decided to break out- luckily for them, she's willing to serve out her sentence.

* In ''Fanfic/ThePowerOfTheEquinox'', Dimmed Star discovers in her cell that she can easily free herself from chains and the [[PowerNullifier magic supression ring]] placed on her horn. When guards come to take her to her trial, she allows them to put her in new chains and place two rings on her horn. During the trial, she remains in these restraints to the point of falling asleep, but she removes them once she's had enough of Hasty Vote's arrogant attitude and proceeds to command the courtroom.

* ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'': Shortly after being introduced, [[StarfishAliens Q]] explains that the only reason he was captured by [[TheFederation the Syndicate]] was because he let them, as he wanted to use the resulting prisoner transport (which he could easily escape from) as a free lift to a neutral planet he could [[EmotionEater feed on]] without interference from the Syndicate or the Irkens.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', Hiccup attempts this by surrendering himself, Astrid and their respective dragons to Eret in hopes of meeting Drago Bludvist in order to reason with him. Stoick and the other dragon riders "rescue" him before his plan gets past Step 1. Judging from his later meeting with Drago, it wouldn't have worked anyway.

** This is part of [[Comicbook/BlackWidow Black Widow's]] MO. In ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', she's tried to a chair in a warehouse, being slapped around by Russian thugs who want to know what she knows, when Coulson calls:

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian2011''. Looking to get into a prison, Conan beats the crap out of a guard, stands over his prone form and tells the still slightly concussed guy "I am your prisoner" while meekly extending his hands for cuffs.

* ''Literature/TheElderEmpire'': Lucan could easily break himself out of prison, and Shera could break him out even easier. The only reason they don't is because going on the run would be a pain. At the end of the book, Shera says she'll pick the lock so she can kiss him, and the guard can't do anything but groan.

** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': In season 4, Nora turns herself into the Time Bureau to atone for some of the things she's done. While their jail is reasonably secure, it's made clear that the main reason they can hold her is that she refuses to use her magic any more.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Basics" (Part One), the crew finds a Kazon soldier in a damaged spacecraft whom their doctor confirms has been beaten, injured from weapons fire, and forced to breathe poisoned air for hours. He claims to have got him injuries fleeing from the other Kazon, but the crew are still suspicious and have him put in the brig. Voyager is then ambushed by Kazon warships, whereupon the prisoner activates the chemical changes made to his body to [[SuicideAttack turn himself into a living bomb]].

* In the [=PS2=]/XBOX game ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'', the Punisher surrenders to the police at the beginning of the story, with most of the game being a HowWeGotHere flashback. Turns out Frank allowed himself to be captured by his police buddy Soap so that he could be in Riker's Island when Jigsaw started a riot to cover his escape. Frank kills Jigsaw in the riot and escapes the prison easily.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', when you're arrested, you can choose to serve your sentence, or pick the lock on either the cell door (which lets you out near the evidence chest with your inventory) or the floor grate (which is easier to pick, but doesn't allow for easy item retrieval). You only get one pick, but with the Unbreakable perk, you can pick the cell lock without issues, and escape if you so choose.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' has Cody Travers, previously the hero of ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' who started to get into all sorts of legal trouble because he kept on brawling on the street and ended up in prision. He stays there by his own choice, but when he gets too bored, he easily breaks out to find people to fight. To add another layer of this, he fights [[WithMyHandsTied still cuffed by his hands and legs]]. One of his victory poses even has him easily open the handcuffs to rest his hands for a moment.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' Mel'arnach's debut in the remade chapter one has her knocking out one of her guards and slipping out of her handcuffs easily to she can talk to Ariel. This is also {{foreshadowing}} for events later where she [[spoiler:absconds from her lair and runs off (being returned once and on the run currently)]], with the heavy implication that she could have broken out anytime. Her conversations with her brother point to this as well, and it seems that the only reason she has been staying was to [[spoiler:wait for Ariel, who is really her daughter, so they could run off together]].

** In "Avatar Day" Aang is kept in stocks that he's small enough to slip in and out of at will, while in "The Earth King" he's bound by earthbender-made cuffs which, because he can use earthbending, he can take off and on at will. In both cases, Aang played along out of principle and to make a good impression on the people who were holding him.

** In fact a few episodes later the X-men do break into the same prison to free Colossus, who was wrongfully suspected of Juggernaut's crimes. Colossus himself was playing along, not wanting to get in more trouble, but they convince him to escape because they need his help stopping Juggernaut. They offer to free Beast as well, and while he's more receptive to the offer by his friends than Magneto, Beast gives the same response of wanting to get released legally. Still it's clear the X-men could break him out just as easily if they truely wanted.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' episode 60 ("[[Recap/TeenTitansS5E8Lightspeed Lightspeed]]"): the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Hive-Five]] "captures" Kid Flash and places him inside a metal cage. Instead of directly busting out, the superhero takes his time trying to convince Jinx [[HighHeelFaceTurn to redeem herself]], and only then he makes it obvious for the Five he was never really their prisoner by dismantling their tower.

* In the Creator/FritzLeiber novel ''The Knight and Knave of Swords'', [[Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser the Grey Mouser]] captures a girl and ties her up. She submits to this at the time, but later she grows spines out of her body and uses them to cut through the bindings.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' does this, though briefly. In the Channel Chasers story arc, Timmy ties up [[spoiler: the older version of him]] who's secretly part of the resistance to prevent Vicky from obtaining power. When Vicky shows up about to blast them with a giant robot, he breaks free from the ropes and follows it up by saying 'For the record, I could have done that at any time'.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10GeneratorRexHeroesUnited'': Providence is trying to figure out what the rift was, and Ben Tennyson, whom they don't yet trust, is insisting they go out to find out. Rex points out that they're holding him under house arrest. Ben says they weren't holding him, then turns into Big Chill and phases out of the cell.
-> ''"You weren't holding me. I was staying to see how I could help."''

* The [[GoodIsNotNice Renegade]] protagonist of ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'' turns himself in to the police after killing a Chaos Lord responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children. However, he refuses to hand over most of his equipment, since the police aren't qualified to handle artifacts on the level of an orange power ring or the Sword of the Fallen. Even after Wonder Woman, who ''is'' qualified, turns up and collects most of it, he still has a personal computer capable of generating portals to practically anywhere, not to mention SuperStrength and SuperToughness that would allow him to walk out ''through the wall'' without batting an eye. And yet, he remains in his cell, because he wants to make a point about the need to reform the law to cope with supervillains.

* In the Prime series ''Series/{{Reacher}}'', Jack Reacher quietly allows the officers arresting him to bind his hands in front with plastic zip ties ("Regular cuffs didn't fit him"). As soon as he's given permission, he breaks the ties himself and asks if they recycle. From what we later see of his fighting skills, it's clear the arresting officers would never have been able to secure him if Reacher had chosen to resist.