History Main / TerrifyingRescuer

* ZigZagged in the original ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' movie: at first, Fiona is not happy about being rescued by an ogre, but then comes to like Shrek. Then a gang of a handsome RobinHood-wannabes attack them, ostensibly with intent of saving Fiona from the "beast", but she dislikes him even more than she disliked Shrek. However, instead of calling for help, she [[LetsGetDangerous dispatches all the attackers herself]], leaving Shrek awed.

* ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds:'' In "[[Recap/StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS1E03GhostsOfIllyria Ghosts of Illyria]]", Pike and Spock are trapped in a building on a deserted space colony, threatened by a violent "ion storm". When plasma creatures living in the storm try to force their way into the building, they see this as another threat. However, when the storm and the creatures break through, the creatures huddle around the two of them, shielding them from the storm and saving their lives. [[spoiler:It's strongly implied that the plasma creatures are the mutated survivors of the missing colony.]]

-->-- '''Shane Walsh''' to '''Daryl Dixon''', ''Series/{{The Walking Dead|2010}}''

Usually it'll only be temporary until someone fills the rescuee in on current events, although it may lead to ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike. Sometimes it'll turn out they actually ''are'' in worse danger now such as with a VillainousRescue or DestructiveSavior.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "The Night of the Doctor"]], this is Cass' reaction upon realizing what species the Eighth Doctor is from. Despite not fighting in the Time War himself (thus far), his [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen people's actions]] have damaged their reputation [[FallenHero so badly]] that [[spoiler:Cass elects to ''die'' rather than be saved by a Time Lord]].

* ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'': In "Ghosts of Illyria", Pike and Spock are trapped in a building on a deserted space colony, threatened by a violent "ion storm". When plasma creatures living in the storm try to force their way into the building, they see this as another threat. However, when the storm and the creatures break through, the creatures huddle around the two of them, shielding them from the storm and saving their lives. [[spoiler:It's strongly implied that the plasma creatures are the mutated survivors of the missing colony.]]

** In "Heroes", the hero [[MagmaMan Magma]] terrifies a little girl when he rescues her from kidnappers.
** In "Unmasked", Batman tries to pull a small child out of a burning building, but the boy keeps crawling away, thinking he's some kind of monster. In order to get the boy to take his hand, Batman removes his mask to show that he's human. Unfortunately, this results in an evil organization trying to kidnap the boy in order to find out Batman's true identity.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, averted and played straight with the same character. The first time, despite previous actions the heroes are more than willing to accept assistance from someone who had been terrorizing them for the better part of a year due to [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]] and an [[BreakTheHaughty attitude adjustment]]. The second time, the character's previous actions are recalled and cause even a BadassInDistress to wonder why ''this'' individual would want to save them. However, they are called out on this due to being unaware of a HeelFaceTurn.

-->-- '''Shane Walsh''' to Daryl Dixon, ''Series/{{The Walking Dead|2010}}''

* ZigZagged in the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' movie: at first, Fiona is not happy about being rescued by an ogre, but then comes to like Shrek. Then a gang of a handsome RobinHood-wannabes attack them, ostensibly with intent of saving Fiona from the "beast", but she dislikes him even more than she disliked Shrek. However, instead of calling for help, she [[LetsGetDangerous dispatches all the attackers herself]], leaving Shrek awed.

* ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'': In "Ghosts of Illyria", Pike and Spock are trapped in a building on a deserted space colony, threatened by a violent "ion storm". When plasma creatures living in the storm try to force their way into the building, they see this as another threat. However, when the storm and the creatures break through, the creatures huddle around the two of them, shielding them from the storm and saving their lives.

* In ''{{Literature/Overlord}}'', Momonga becomes this for the people of Carne Village, the first natives he encounters after coming to a new world. He discovers a small army is threatening to wipe out a defenseless village, and decides on a whim to come to their rescue, partly to test his strength. In his old world, he encountered some FantasticRacism due to being a skeletal lich, but in this new world, the undead are rare, always malevolent, often mindless killing machines. When he first shows up, he saves a pair of village girls by effortlessly slaughtering the enemy soldiers that had attacked them. When he offers a healing potion to the injured girl, she doesn't trust him at all. Afterward, Momonga puts on a mask and hides the fact that he himself is undead, but when he turns one of the dead soldiers into an undead [[EliteMook death knight]] and sends it to deal with the rest of the soldiers and save the village, the ensuing massacre is terrifying to the soldiers ''and'' the village.

Compare StockholmSyndrome, UnwantedRescue, EmbarrassingRescue.

* In ''{{LightNovel/Overlord}}'', Momonga becomes this for the people of Carne Village, the first natives he encounters after coming to a new world. He discovers a small army is threatening to wipe out a defenseless village, and decides on a whim to come to their rescue, partly to test his strength. In his old world, he encountered some FantasticRacism due to being a skeletal lich, but in this new world, the undead are rare, always malevolent, often mindless killing machines. When he first shows up, he saves a pair of village girls by effortlessly slaughtering the enemy soldiers that had attacked them. When he offers a healing potion to the injured girl, she doesn't trust him at all. Afterward, Momonga puts on a mask and hides the fact that he himself is undead, but when he turns one of the dead soldiers into an undead [[EliteMook death knight]] and sends it to deal with the rest of the soldiers and save the village, the ensuing massacre is terrifying to the soldiers ''and'' the village.

* In ''[[LightNovel/TsukimichiMoonlitFantasy Tsukimichi]]'', when Makoto gets summoned to a fantasy world to help humanity in its war against the demons, the first time he tries to fight, it's to rescue a random woman from a giant wolf monster. When he was first summoned, Makoto had been told that [[NewLifeInAnotherWorldBonus his strength got boosted significantly]] upon coming to this new world, so he tries hitting the monster with a flying kick... and ends up [[LudicrousGibs tearing through it]] like it's made of wet paper. Naturally, the woman he saved is even more terrified of him than she was of the monster.

The DistressedDamsel and/or [[DistressedDude Dude]] is sitting in their cell with head in hands, or hanging by a thread from a cliff, when suddenly, the door is broken down, or a head peeps over the cliff edge. Joy turns to terror as he or she realizes it's TheDragon (who unbeknownst to them has made a HeelFaceTurn), an EldritchAbomination, FluffyTheTerrible, a KillerRobot... and so on.

* In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury]]'' Suletta saves her fiancee Miorine from being killed by a terrorist in the first season finale. [[spoiler:Unfortunately she does so by ''[[LudicrousGibs brutally crushing him with her Gundam's hand]]'' and that grisly sight, coupled with Suletta's complete [[DissonantSerenity dissociation]] from the carnage, only serves to traumatize and horrify Miorine.]]

* A ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' comic has Blue Devil suffer a HeroicBSOD when he tries to save a child who's too scared of his demonic appearance to go with him. Dr. Fate tries to cheer him up by telling him that ''{{Superman}}'' actually had the same problem once, while trying to save a girl from a flaming plane wreck.

* ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'': Protagonist Seina is only rescued from the SpacePirate Tarant Shank (KnightOfCerebus[[note]][[VillainDecay you'd think, anyway]][[/note]] and KnifeNut) by [[BettyAndVeronica the Betty]] of his LoveDodecahedron, Kiriko -- [[LetsGetDangerous covered in the blood of every mook between her and Seina]]. His first reaction is terror -- which upsets her, and Seina spends most of his screentime in the rest of the episode upset at himself ''for'' being scared of his childhood friend[=/=]crush when she'd just saved his life.

** Hugh's [[MadnessMantra reaction]] when Kyril saves him and Sanakan by [[spoiler:[[DeathGlare staring]] Shamuhaza [[UpToEleven to an agonising death]]]]. He is very lucky that he is not in the vicinity of [[spoiler:his master's [[EldritchAbomination eldritch]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation power]]]].

* In the ''Series/{{Bones}}'' episode "The Woman in the Car", where the child Booth was rescuing was terrified until Booth told him his father's code word (Paladin).

*** Hugh's [[MadnessMantra reaction]] when Kyril saves him and Sanakan by [[spoiler:[[DeathGlare staring]] Shamuhaza [[UpToEleven to an agonising death]]]]. He is very lucky that he is not in the vicinity of [[spoiler:his master's [[EldritchAbomination eldritch]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation power]]]].

* ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'': Protagonist Seina is only rescued from the SpacePirate Tarant Shank (KnightOfCerebus[[note]][[VillainDecay you'd think, anyway]][[/note]]. and KnifeNut) by [[BettyAndVeronica the Betty]] of his LoveDodecahedron, Kiriko -- [[LetsGetDangerous covered in the blood of every mook between her and Seina]]. His first reaction is terror -- which upsets her, and Seina spends most of his screentime in the rest of the episode upset at himself ''for'' being scared of his childhood friend[=/=]crush when she'd just saved his life.

** Shepard's initial reaction to Legion, after realising that a ''Geth'' not only sniped the Husk that was [[StabTheScorpion about to attack them]], but more importantly, is able to speak and knows who they are.

** In "Unmasked", Batman tries to pull a small child out of a burning building, but the boy keeps crawling away, thinking he's some kind of monster. Batman has no choice but to remove his mask to show that he's human, before the boy will take his hand.

-->-- '''Shane Walsh''' to Daryl Dixon, ''Series/TheWalkingDead''