History Main / TimeLoopTrap

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'' has Amelia Chronos stick a device on Stanley Ipkiss that traps him in a GroundhogDayLoop, while she positions herself in specific spots on each loop as part of a plan to gain control over time. At the end of the episode, the Mask gets the device off, resets it to a loop of a few seconds, puts it on Chronos, and then drops a grandfather clock on her face. In her next appearance, Chronos states that, before she finally got the device off, she was put through the loop for the equivalent of ''a thousand years''. Naturally, she's ''royally'' pissed.

-->-- ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}''

* In ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}'', the main villain is ultimately defeated this way. As an EldritchAbomination from [[PlaceBeyondTime beyond time itself]], Dormammu has no concept of time, which works against him when the film's title protagonist traps him in a time loop. Doctor Strange offers to bargain with Dormammu but is easily killed by the MultiversalConqueror. Each time he's killed, the timeline resets and Strange offers to bargain again, and again, and again. Because Dormammu exists outside of time, he has a RippleEffectProofMemory '''''and''''' no idea how to counter the spell, meaning he sees each and every loop like it's a continuous thing, with Strange resurrecting each time he kills him, but he has no idea how to stop Strange from resurrecting. Ultimately realizing just how futile it is for him to keep killing Strange over and over, he agrees to hear out Strange's bargain; Dormammu and his {{mooks}} will leave the Earth alone and in exchange Strange will release him from the time loop. Faced with the alternative of remaining stuck in the Time Loop Trap, he agrees.

* In ''Literature/{{The Dark Tower|2004}}'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Roland]] is stuck in one of these, and is doomed to repeat [[spoiler:his quest for the Dark Tower]] again and again. However, the epilogue which starts a new loop shows that one small thing has changed ([[spoiler:Roland has regained the Horn of Eld this time]]) so there is a possibility that the trap will not be eternal.

* A version of this occurs in season 3 of ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'', where the main antagonist of the season, Savitar kills Barry's love interest, Iris. This causes Barry to create time remnants in an attempt to defeat Savitar, but it fails. The sole surviving time remnant, shunned by Team Flash for not being the original Barry, goes insane and travels back in time to become Savitar. Eventually, Barry traps Savitar inside of the Speed Force, and the loop begins again, with Savitar repeatedly getting imprisoned.

* In ''Series/{{Loki|2021}}'', Mobius puts Loki into one -- endlessly looping him through repeatedly getting beaten up by an angry Lady Sif -- when he thinks Loki is messing with him. Well, more than is usual for a Loki, at any rate. Loki has RippleEffectProofMemory, possibly deliberately imposed on him by Mobius, so that he's aware of the loop -- but nothing he can try can break him out of the pattern.
* This is how {{Hell}} works in ''Series/{{Lucifer|2016}}''. When someone enters Hell, they are placed in a torturous scenario (usually related to how they died), and once the scenario runs through, the loop starts over again, with a lot of the inhabitants not even consciously remembering the loop. This is also one of the rare examples of this trope where escape is possible, with the prisoner only having to [[EpiphanicPrison forgive themselves for what they've done in their life]]. Though, according to [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]], no one has ever done this during his tenure. [[spoiler:Lee Garner, better known as "Mister Said Out Bitch", escapes his loop with Lucifer's assistance, proving that it is possible. In the finale, Lucifer turns this into therapy, with the goal of eventually rehabilitating everyone in Hell]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', the one-shot villain Chronos, a time-traveling thief who [[TimeCrash nearly destroys time]] in his debut episode, is eventually dealt with in this fashion by Franchise/{{Batman}}. This is done by reprogramming his TimeMachine to bring him back to a few seconds before he used it, thus keeping him (and his wife) in an eternal loop.

->"Dormammu, I've come to bargain!"

* [[TheCollector Trazyn]] the [[ActuallyADoombot Infinite]] is doing this to a squad of Chaos Marines in Warhammer40000. Or rather, they are doing it to themselves: they broke into his storage vault to steal a time warping artifact and [[ILetYouWin he let them]]. He even pops by some loops to explain what they're doing to themselves, since activating the artifact sends them back in time as well, but naturally they don't believe him.

* [[TheCollector Traezyn]] the [[ActuallyADoombot Infinite]] is doing this to a squad of Chaos Marines in Warhammer40K. Or rather, they are doing it to themselves: Tlthey broke into his storage vault to steal a time warping artifact and [[MonkeysPaw he let them]]. He even pops by some loops to explain what they're doing to themselves, since activating the artifact sends them back in time as well, but naturally they don't believe him.