History Main / TakingOverTheTown

* ''TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'': The pirates do this in "100 Percensus".

* Cobra does it to the town of Millville in issue 100 of MarvelComics' ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' series.

* In an episode of ''BrunoBrazil'', a gang of thieves knocks out the entire population of a town with a large-scale SonicStunner.
* This was Blacksmith's plan for taking over Central and Keystone Cities in ''TheFlash''. She had Murmur and Mirror Master attack radio stations and reprogram their antennas to broadcast a mirror shield around the twin cities to prevent anyone from coming in or getting out.
* This is more or less the backstory of SinCity.

* Stealth example: In the Franchise/{{Batman}} story arc "[[Comicbook/BatmanNoMansLand No Man's Land]]", SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor uses his connections in the US government to shut Gotham City off from outside aid after a cataclysmic earthquake so he can swoop in, buy up most of the real estate, and look like a hero.

* In a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] JusticeSocietyOfAmerica story, [[LegionOfDoom The Injustice Society of the World]] did this to Washington DC.

* In a [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] JusticeSocietyOfAmerica story, [[LegionOfDoom The Injustice Society of the World]] did this to Washington DC.

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' has a variation in its finale; Johan plans to give himself the "perfect suicide" where he and some of his accomplices move to a rural town right before it gets isolated by seasonal bad weather, cut off communications with the outside world, provide guns to some of the civilians and then just watch them go crazy with paranoia and kill each other. [[spoiler: He is stopped before casualties get too high, but there were still plenty of deaths from it.]] While this is a case of KillEmAll rather than trying to take control, the tactics he uses are quite normal for this trope, and in a way, he is taking over the town by infecting them with his own nihilism and hopelessness.

->"We're takin' over this town!"
--> '''Cowboys from Hell''', ''Music/{{Pantera}}''

* Goldfinger's plan to loot Fort Knox in the novel ''[[Literature/JamesBond Goldfinger]]'' has elements of this (the plan in the movie is different).

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' has Bane and Friends cut Gotham City off from the rest of the world, threatening to nuke the town if anyone disobeys.

* Stealth example: In the {{Batman}} story arc "[[Comicbook/BatmanNoMansLand No Man's Land]]", LexLuthor uses his connections in the US government to shut Gotham City off from outside aid after a cataclysmic earthquake so he can swoop in, buy up most of the real estate, and look like a hero.

* {{Monster}} has a variation in its finale; Johan plans to give himself the "perfect suicide" where he and some of his accomplices move to a rural town right before it gets isolated by seasonal bad weather, cut off communications with the outside world, provide guns to some of the civilians and then just watch them go crazy with paranoia and kill each other. [[spoiler: He is stopped before casualties get too high, but there were still plenty of deaths from it.]] While this is a case of KillEmAll rather than trying to take control, the tactics he uses are quite normal for this trope, and in a way, he is taking over the town by infecting them with his own nihilism and hopelessness.

* ''The Gutting of Couffignal'' by DashiellHammett

* ''DayOfTheWolves'', a 1971 heist movie that could almost be the TropeCodifier.
* In ''HighPlainsDrifter'', this is what the gang of outlaws wanted to do.
* In the Australian film ''RedHill'' the escaped convict destroys the communications tower preventing contact with the outside world, and goes on a killing spree with the town's officers.
* ''[[ThirtyDaysOfNight 30 Days of Night]]'' (and the original comic it was based on) featured a clan of vampires that essentially invoked this trope on a town on the arctic circle when the sun would be down for a full month.

* This was the set-up for ''MadDogMcCree''. The stranger (i.e. the player) is told that "Mad Dog [=McCree=] and his gang have taken over the town" and that both the mayor and his daughter are imprisoned in the gunfighter's hideout, while the sheriff has been locked up in his own jail by the gang.

* ''TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'': The pirates do this in "100 Per census".

* On ''{{Jericho}}'' this is what the Ravenwood mercenaries do to a town they invade. They take all the supplies and shoot anyone who opposes them. Since the towns are isolated from the outside world, they do not have to worry about anyone coming to help the townpeople. The people of Jericho try to preempt this by blowing the bridge into town themselves before Ravenwood crosses it.

* In the ''DarkwingDuck'' episode "Just Us Justice Ducks", Negaduck uses an electronic device to create a force wall cutting St. Canard off from the rest of the world.

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* Cobra does it to the town of Millville in issue 100 of MarvelComics' ''GIJoe'' series.

* ''TheDarkKnightRises'' has Bane and Friends cut Gotham City off from the rest of the world, threatening to nuke the town if anyone disobeys.

* ''The Dark Knight Rises'' has Bane and Friends cut Gotham City off from the rest of the world, threatening to nuke the town if anyone disobeys.