History Main / StepIntoTheBlindingFight

You'll want to run and hide.\\

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[[caption-width-right:350:Trapped in a pitch-black basement plus being stalked by a SerialKiller equals NightmareFuel.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Trapped in a pitch-black basement plus being stalked by a SerialKiller equals NightmareFuel]]

* Possible to invoke using the [[CastingAShadow Obtenebration Discipline]] of Clan Lasombra in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', as the second power "Shroud of Night", allows the Vampire to create a pitch black darkness that blinds everyone within it but themselves.

* ''Franchise/{{Zatoichi}}'' has this as one of its signature tropes, since it stars BlindWeaponmaster TropeCodifier Ichi. While he's more than capable of fighting in the light, Ichi prefers to cut out any light sources, leaving his attackers stumbling around while he has a lifetime's experience fighting blind. He even has a CatchPhrase: "Darkness is my advantage".

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* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': [[spoiler: Irys]] summons a cloud of shadow to let her [[spoiler: temporarily]] gain an edge over [[spoiler: Ghidorah]], using her comparatively smaller size to dart around him while he cannot see her.

* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': [[spoiler: Irys]] summons a cloud of shadow to let her [[spoiler: temporarily]] gain an edge over [[spoiler: Kaizer Ghidorah]], using her comparatively smaller size to dart around him while he cannot see her.

* In ''Anime/RebornToMasterTheBlade'', the protagonist Inglis quickly realizes that a rich merchant's son, Rahl, is using a magical curse that slows down the reaction speed of anyone looking directly at him, rendering them easy prey in a "fair" duel. Inglis advises her brother, Rafael, to beat Rahl without looking directly at him, and it works... until Rafeal [[LogicalWeakness runs into a wall from not looking at Rahl's position]] and is defeated. With her ChosenOne power from the Goddess and her mastery over Aether, Inglis realizes that she could just nullify Rahl's power and render it harmless... but, instead chooses to literally fight him with her eyes closed as that would be [[BloodKnight more entertaining and Inglis lives for challenging fights.]] She wins, fending off Inglis until he trips, is struck, and forfeits in shame and exhaustion.

* Cleverly used in the ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "Samurai Vs Ninja": Jack matches an assassin's mastery of the dark by using identical tactics, [[BlindedByTheLight only wearing stark white and hidden in the glare of sunlight.]]

* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': [[spoiler: Irys]] summons a cloud of shadow to let her [[spoiler: temporarily]] gain an edge over [[spoiler: Kaizer Ghidorah]]

* Franchise/HowToTrainYourDragon: Two examples, both in the first film:

* Film/HowToTrainYourDragon:

* ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'': The ultimate skill of the [[HornyDevils Succubus]] class is called "Nightmare", and it involves surrounding the enemy with darkness and launch an unseen beatdown. Can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilgik3s0tY4#t=03m03s here]].

* Often invoked by ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' with his use of shadows and smoke pellets to scare criminals. It disorients his enemies and make them easier to pick off one by one. In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' Bane was a member of the League Of Shadows and knows of their tricks of using darkness to distract enemies in battle, so when Batman tries to use these same tactics on Bane, he mocks him for it and goes into a BadassBoast about how he is made of Shadows.

* The ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' villain Blackout suppresses all light sources in his presence.
* In ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', Shadow Lass can manipulate darkness and see in the dark, and so often blinds enemies with darkness. Night Girl can also see in the dark, and carries smoke bombs and devices that can shut off lights both to blind enemies and allow her to use her SuperStrength that only works in the dark.

* The Blind Master Training occurs in a book of the ''Literature/{{Pendragon}}'' series. Bobby is blindfolded and asked to ''feel'' his trainers' presences.

** ''{{VideoGame/The Legend of Zelda Oracle|Games}} of Seasons'':

* For Robin in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' he went on a quest and one of the trials was to fight a blind snake in his own element, a dark cave with zero light. He eventually has to learn to try to stop seeing his enemy and start hearing and ''feeling'' where the master is.

* In ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', Spider-Man and White Tiger turned off the lights and used night-vision to get an advantage over Taskmaster. Taskmaster boasted that he could easily navigate the room with his PhotographicMemory, only to find that the two heroes moved everything in the room after turning off the lights.

* In the David Morrell thriller ''The Fraternity of the Stone'', the assassin is shown in a flashback being trained via a dark room exercise -- the lesson is to not blunder around looking for the enemy but remain perfectly still and wait for him to make a noise. Unfortunately later in the novel he's lured into a dark room by someone who had the exact same training that he did. So who moves first?

* In ''Film/{{Ultraviolet}}'', the final villain plunges the room into total darkness, explaining that he can see in the dark. Violet counters by [[FlamingSword lighting her sword on fire]].

* In ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'', Shadow Lass can manipulate darkness and see in the dark, and so often blinds enemies with darkness. Night Girl can also see in the dark, and carries smoke bombs and devices that can shut off lights both to blind enemies and allow her to use her SuperStrength that only works in the dark.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfSeasons'':

* The ultimate skill of the [[HornyDevils Succubus]] class in ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' is called 'Nightmare', and it involves surrounding the enemy with darkness and launch an unseen beatdown. Can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilgik3s0tY4#t=03m03s here]].

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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' naturally has both invisibility and darkness spells and creatures that can create either effect as a natural ability; dark elf warriors in particular are somewhat infamous for just dropping darkness on both themselves and their enemies in battle, knowing ''they'' have trained for that situation and their foes (especially surface dwellers) probably have not. And even if their opponent *was* trained to fight while blind, it was still often a useful tactic for the dark elves due to their [[BlindedByTheLight sensitivity to sunlight]].