History Main / TrappedInVillainy

* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'',

* One of the [[EliteMook Devil Stars]] in ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' is a combination of this and PunchClockVillain. She goes racing when she's stressed and not on duty and had a fiancé who truly loved her. She also wanted to leave Galactor but was unable to do so because [[FamilyBusiness her parents and siblings all worked for Galactor]], so at the end of the episode where Joe rescues her from an accident at the racetrack, she is trying to [[VillainExitStageLeft get away for good]], when she spots Joe, now the Condor, waiting. [[spoiler: He kills her]].
* The main character of ''Manga/GushingOverMagicalGirls'' was offered to become a Magical Girl, which was her dream... only to find out that she would be fighting for the forces of evil and facing her heroes in battle. She tried to back off, but the magical envoy [[{{Blackmail}} threatened to release]] her TransformationSequence video to his Twitter account. Thus she had no choice but to keep fighting for the forces of evil... and [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity Ensued]].
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': The traitor in the UA who's been leaking intel to All For One is none other than [[spoiler:Aoyama, but not on his own volition. Turns out that he was born Quirkless, and while his parents loved him dearly, they were afraid [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer he'd be an outcast because of this]], and when they heard of someone giving out Quirks, they immediately jumped the chance to give their son one so he could fulfill his dream of being a hero. Since then, he's been forced to endanger his classmates lives on repeated ocassions, due to fearing for the lives of his parents]].

* In ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/Heirverse Heirverse,]]'' [[spoiler:Aizen, since if he doesn't play nice with Jac, he would be ruined. That's assuming that Jac wouldn't just take over altogether in revenge and Gin would likely face a FateWorseThanDeath. {{Inverted}} to an extent in that Aizen was a {{Sociopath}} to begin with]].
* ''FanFic/TheStoryOfTwilightGlow'': Moondancer would rather not work for [[EvilOverlord Nightmare Moon]], but can't disobey her, or else her friends and family will suffer.

* ''FanFic/OogwaysLittleOwl'': PlayedForLaughs. Fung and his gang of Croc Bandits decide to abandon the criminal lifestyle and ply their skills as law-abiding mercenaries. Unfortunately for them, everyone who hires them turns out to be a villain trying to take on the Furious Five, or otherwise commit crimes. First they're brought on by a corrupt aristocrat to rob Tigress's old orphanage, which they abandon as soon as they realize they're stealing from orphans, and then by an ape with a grudge against Master Viper, whom they ditch for her to take out.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has Draco Malfoy as a zig-zagged example who, for the first five books, is just [[StarterVillain a nuisance for Harry to deal with at school]]. Admittedly, he does pretty nasty stuff during those five books, from bullying and verbal abuse towards Harry's dead parents to starting a smear campaign against Hagrid and attempting to have his pet executed. Once he joins the Death Eaters, however, things change. He's given the job to [[spoiler:kill Dumbledore]], which seems simple enough in theory. But once Draco realizes that [[spoiler:he can't follow through with murder so easily]], he remains hesitant throughout the next book, and only stays in Voldemort's service because he's ''terrified'' of the man.
* In ''Literature/TheHidingPlace'', Corrie Ten Boom, as a prisoner, is interrogated by a Nazi, who at one point comments that he is "less free" than she is, and is generally shown to be quite human but forced into what he does by his superiors.
* Murtagh in the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' is bound by Galbatorix to serve under him, since the BigBad knows [[IKnowYourTrueName his true name]], and thus can control his actions. When he first encounters Eragon in battle, Murtagh manages to exploit a {{loophole|Abuse}} in Galbatorix's orders to spare Eragon, but warns that Galbatorix would have covered the loophole, and that he couldn't be as merciful the next time they meet.

* ''Literature/TheZombieKnight''
** [[spoiler:Jeremiah Colt]] works for a crime boss because said boss is [[IHaveYourWife holding his children hostage]].
** General [[spoiler:Lawrence]] doesn't want to go along with the rogue Vanguards' plans, but his reaper will release him into death and get a new servant if he doesn't.
** House [[spoiler:Blackburn]] appears to be in the same boat as the General, implied to be because the orchestrator of the plot is blackmailing them.
* {{Invoked|Trope}} by the Black Ajah in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' books. They are magically bound by oaths that will kill them if they betray the organization, so even those who have second thoughts are stuck with them, [[spoiler:and one character's SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome involves realizing the wording includes [[LoopholeAbuse "Until the hour of my]] [[DyingMomentofAwesome death."]] ]]

* Officer Jeff in ''Literature/TheMentalState'' acts as an informant in the police force for Saif Dhu Hadin. He even provides him with the means to control the other prisoners. However, the only reason why he does this is because Saif is paying for his daughter's medical treatments and she would die without them. He is clearly unhappy with his current predicament but unable to do anything about it. [[spoiler:Once Zack devises a method by which Saif is forced to pay the medical bills anyway, Jeff happily accepts his punishment and even thanks Zack for what he did]].
* In ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Brightly Burning]]'', the leaders of the Karsite army are pyrokinetics who will burn deserting or troublesome subordinates just as gleefully as they burn foreign prisoners. They have also fed those subordinates propanganda all their lives about how the country they're invading is demonic. This is why they keep attacking even as it becomes clear how hopelessly outgunned they are. Unfortunately, there is no happy ending: after several hours of watching his countrymen get slaughtered, a mage on the Valdemaran side [[TheGlovesComeOff snaps]] and annihilates the Karsites.
* ''Literature/SpinningSilver'': [[spoiler:TheEvilPrince Mirnatius]] was ForcedIntoEvil when his mother [[DemonicPossession bound a demon to him]] in the womb, and is now stuck feeding human victims to the demon. Irina [[SympathyForTheDevil feels deeply sad for him]] when she realizes he would have preferred to be an artist and scholar, and ultimately [[spoiler:saves him by destroying the demon.]]

* In ''Series/TwentyFour'', this is the ultimate fate of [[PunchClockVillain Ira Gaines]]. As a mercenary for hire, he takes on the job to kill Jack Bauer and his family along with David Palmer for a large sum of money from [[TheMafia the Drazens]]. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize how unstoppable Jack Bauer really is. He seems to regret taking on the job by the end, but fights to the death anyway because he knows that getting killed by Jack is a better fate than what the Drazens would do him.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': In season 3, the FBI agents on Wilson Fisk's protection detail have been blackmailed into working for him. When Nadeem finds out that this includes his boss SAC Tammy Hattley, he asks why exactly she's chosen to do Fisk's bidding and hasn't bothered trying to blow the whistle to another law enforcement agency like the NYPD, and she states that she can't because Fisk makes sure that the only way you can get out of working for him is by a bullet to the head, and also is willing to threaten your family to keep you in line.

* Dr. Cossack from ''VideoGame/MegaMan4''. Sure, he's not threatened with death, but what about his daughter?
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'': It's revealed at one point that Tychus Findlay's armor is both unremoveable and can be remotely activated to kill him. [[spoiler:So at the climax, he's about to shoot the now deinfested Kerrigan or be killed by Mengsk (it's the only reason he was released from prison in the first place). Raynor shoots him. However, its implied that this was a SuicideByCop, as Tychus hesitates to shoot Kerrigan, giving Raynor time to reach for his gun and shoot him in the head.]]
* The Reapers in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' are mostly {{Punch Clock Villain}}s, but they do point out that if they don't erase players, then ''they'' get erased instead.
* During the events of ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur IV]]'', Sophitia Alexandra is threatened with the death of her daughter Pyrrha by the Soul Edge, and ends up fighting anyone who would destroy it.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem''

* The titular character and his brother Mugman from ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' after being suckered into a DealWithTheDevil are, in exchange for the Devil ''considering'' to let them off the hook, forced to hunt down his various debtors and claim the contracts for their souls, effectively [[DraggedOffToHell dragging every single one off to hell]] if they succeed. [[spoiler:In the end the duo [[TakeAThirdOption try a different idea]]: they get tough enough to beat the Devil's ass down and destroy the contracts, instead saving the souls of everyone and becoming heroes in the process]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:[[EvilChancellor Giliath Osborne]] had to make a DealWithTheDevil in order to save his [[TheHero son's life]]. He then has to do the whims of the curse and whatever the Black Records dictate to steer the course of history and try to find a way to get rid of the curse of Erebonia for good.]]

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', this is the reason Hedge, Guineas, and Vlad stuck with Damien. After his death, they immediately made {{Heel Face Turn}}s.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' prequel ''Start of Darkness'', Xykon {{invoke|dTrope}}s this on Redcloak with a merciless BreakingSpeech. As he says, if Redcloak wants to betray Xykon and abandon the Plan, he'd have to face the crushing HeelRealization that every evil thing he did, [[spoiler:including murdering his own little brother]], was his own fault. Effectively, Redcloak traps himself in villainy with the SunkCostFallacy and the delusion that Xykon, as a more powerful CardCarryingVillain, [[JustFollowingOrders can be blamed]] for the things Redcloak does as his lackey.
* Jin from ''{{Webcomic/Bastard|2014}}'' is trapped into helping [[SerialKiller his father]] commit and cover up his crimes because the alternative for him [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness isn't pretty]].
* Poor Isauro from ''WebComic/SidekickGirl'' is trapped as a henchman. A villain tricked him into essentially being an accessory to mass murder in Mexico. The villain's organization then made his green card contingent on working for them and only for them, so he will be deported back to Mexico and be executed for the crime if he doesn't.
* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': More than one of [[GodEmperor the Seven Demiurges]] are sick of the demands of being one of the most powerful gods in the multiverse and weary after countless millennia of miserable immortality. However, none dare give up their position for fear of upsetting the delicate balance of power between them. Specifically, [[spoiler:six of them are roughly equal in strength to the seventh member (Jagganoth) alone, who wants to bring about an all-encompassing war to [[OmnicidalManiac annihilate all of existence]] and has the power to do it, and [[EvilVersusOblivion they need to be around to stop him from doing so]].]]

* The ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' quote at the top of the page' suggests that some of [[BadBoss Freeza]]'s men, including [[TheDragon Zarbon]], are this.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Jake vs. Me-Mow", kitty assassin Me-Mow forces Jake into killing Wildberry Princess with the threat of death.

* Helga from ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' is a variant: she's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold actually a pretty nice person]], and part of her wants to be nice, but she still acts like an obnoxious bitch most of the time as she fears that the other kids will lose respect for her if they find out what's she's really like.
* Lena from ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' has no interest in her aunt's evil plans and hates the fact that she's forced to manipulate and lie to her best friend, but a combination of them being magically bound together and [[AbusiveParents emotional abuse]] keeps her under Magica's thumb. [[spoiler:And when she finally does muster up the courage to turn on Magica and try to warn Scrooge of her plans, Magica decides to cut out the middle man and [[FamilialBodySnatcher take control of her body directly]].]]
* Titan from ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' is an AntiVillain who would rather not be involved in crime at all, wanting to reform and support his wife and daughter. Unfortunately for him, he is [[TheAce very good at crime]] and owes money to a powerful supervillain named Machinehead, who forces him to work in his gang by [[ShameIfSomethingHappened threatening his family]] and refuses to let him quit out of fear he could be poached by rival villains. [[spoiler:Titan retaliates by selling out Machinehead and his crew to [[SuperTeam the Guardians of the Globe]], resulting in all of them except his lieutenant being arrested. Unfortunately for ''everyone else'', Titan's experiences have convinced him to not reform after all, but instead take Machinehead's now empty throne and become the new local crimelord in the name of [[WellIntentionedExtremist looking out for his family and community]].]]

* In ''Film/BabyDriver'', Baby only works as a getaway driver for bank robbers (who are not a particularly nice group) because he owes a debt to Doc, an underworld kingpin.

[[folder:Film]]

** [[spoiler:Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie]] are a case of this. They [[TearsOfRemorse aren't]] [[BecomingTheMask particularly]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone happy]] [[VillainousBSOD about]] what they're doing, but view it as absolutely necessary. [[spoiler:They hail from a totalitarian nation where their people are kept in Internment camps, and have absolutely no rights as human beings. Should they fail their mission or be ''suspected'' of rebellious thoughts, their superiors will [[EatenAlive kill them]] and condemn their ''entire'' family to AFateWorseThanDeath]]. If they won't complete their mission, their superiors will simply [[WeHaveReserves find someone else]] to do it.
--->'''[[spoiler:Bertholdt]]:''' Tell me! Who the hell would want to kill people, by their own choice?! Who the hell would like doing this sort of thing?! Do you think I wanted to do this?! Our friends hate and despise us. We've done such terrible things, we deserve to die. Things we'll never be able to take back. But we... just couldn't... come to terms with our sins. The only time we had some respite... was when we pretended to be soldiers. That's not a lie! Conny! Jean! It's true we may have deceived everyone, but it's not all a lie. We really considered you comrades! Neither of us have any right to even apologize. But... Someone... Please... Someone, please... Someone find us!

-->'''Mustafa:''' So be it! Those of you who are unwilling to fight are dismissed!\\

** In the first game and its remakes, Minerva is forced to fight against Marth and his allies because her younger sister Maria is being held prisoner. If Marth rescues Maria, he can talk Minerva into a HeelFaceTurn.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' prequel ''Start of Darkness'', Xykon {{invoke|dTrope}}s this on Redcloak with a merciless BreakingSpeech. As he says, if Redcloak wants to betray Xykon and abandon the Plan, he'd have to face the crushing HeelRealization that every evil thing he did, [[spoiler:including murdering his own little brother]], was his own fault. Effectively, Redcloak traps himself in villainy with the SunkCostFallacy and the delusion that Xykon, as a more powerful CardCarryingVillain, can be blamed for the things Redcloak does as his lackey.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has Draco Malfoy as zig-zagged example who, for the first five books, is just [[StarterVillain a nuisance for Harry to deal with at school]]. Admittedly, he does pretty nasty stuff during those five books, from bullying and verbal abuse towards Harry's dead parents to starting a smear campaign against Hagrid and attempting to have his pet executed. Once he joins the Death Eaters, however, things change. He's given the job to [[spoiler:kill Dumbledore]], which seems simple enough in theory. But once Draco realizes that [[spoiler:he can't follow through with murder so easily]], he remains hesitant throughout the next book, and only stays in Voldemort's service because he's ''terrified'' of the man.
* In ''TheHidingPlace'', Corrie Ten Boom, as a prisoner, is interrogated by a Nazi, who at one point comments that he is "less free" than she is, and is generally shown to be quite human but forced into what he does by his superiors.

* Loki in ''{{ComicBook/LokiAgentOfAsgard}}''. His [[{{Reincarnation}} first, evil self]] decided to play the role of the villain, but since gods are creatures of magic and thus creatures of story, First!Loki was stuck like that. He became predictable (and, as he said, "No god of chaos could stand such a thing"), but he couldn't escape that role until the day he died, so...[[ExactWords he died]]. Through his [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnation]] into a younger body, he was able to escape and be the hero for once, but [[spoiler:the villain of his solo series is none other than his evil future self, slipped back into villainy for good]].

[[folder: Anime And Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Fan Works ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''Film/BabyDriver'', Baby only works as a getaway driver for bank robbers (who are not a particularly nice group) because he owes a debt to Doc, an underworld kingpin.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Mythology and Folk-Tales ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Theater ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The main character of ''Manga/LookingUpToMagicalGirls'' was offered to become a Magical Girl, which was her dream... only to find out that she would be fighting for the forces of evil and facing her heroes in battle. She tried to back off, but the magical envoy [[{{Blackmail}} threatened to release]] her TransformationSequence video to his Twitter account. Thus she had no choice but to keep fighting for the forces of evil... and [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity Ensued]].

** [[spoiler:Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie]] are a case of this. They [[TearsOfRemorse aren't]] [[BecomingTheMask particularly]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone happy]] [[VillainousBSOD about]] what they're doing, but view it as absolutely necessary. [[spoiler:They hail from a totalitarian nation where their people are kept in Internment camps, and have absolutely no rights as human beings. Should they fail their mission or be ''suspected'' of rebellious thoughts, their superiors will [[EatenAlive kill them]] and condemn their ''entire'' family to AFateWorseThanDeath]]. If they won't complete their mission, their superiors will simply [[WeHaveReserves find someone else]] to do it.

* Jin from ''{{Webcomic/Bastard}}'' is trapped into helping [[SerialKiller his father]] commit and cover up his crimes because the alternative for him [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness isn't pretty]].

** This applies to most of the Angarak people ruled by the MadGod Torak. Apart from the priests and the more zealous warriors, most just pay lip service to his ReligionOfEvil except when coerced, and many are quietly on quite good terms with their Western "enemies." Notably, the Mallorean Empire displaced the priests and developed a cosmopolitan, bureaucratic, moderate system before Torak took back the reins and sent them into a genocidal war.
** Zedar the Apostate made the ill-advised choice [[TheMole infiltrate the evil god Torak's inner circle]], only to find that an ''evil god'' simply enslaves his minions to his will rather than hope they'll stay loyal. Even after Torak was crippled and [[SealedEvilInACan left comatose]], Zedar is still forced to serve his agenda.

* ''Literature/SpinningSilver'': [[TheEvilPrince Mirnatius]] was ForcedIntoEvil when his mother [[DemonicPossession bound a demon to him]] in the womb, and is now stuck feeding human victims to the demon. Irina [[SympathyForTheDevil feels deeply sad for him]] when she realizes he would have preferred to be an artist and scholar, and ultimately [[spoiler:saves him by destroying the demon.]]

* ''FanFic/OogwaysLittleOwl'': PlayedForLaughs. Fung and his gang of Croc Bandits decide to abandon the criminal lifestyle and ply their skills as law-abiding mercenaries. Unfortunately for them, everyone who hires them turns out to be a villain trying to take on the Furious Five, or otherwise commit crimes. First they're brought on by a corrupt arristocrat to rob Tigress's old orphanage, which they abandon as soon as they realize they're stealing from orphans, and then by an ape with a grudge against Master Viper, whom they ditch for her to take out.

* In [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/Heirverse Heirverse]], [[spoiler:Aizen, since if he doesn't play nice with Jac, he would be ruined. That's assuming that Jac wouldn't just take over altogether in revenge and Gin would likely face a FateWorseThanDeath. {{Inverted}} to an extent in that Aizen was a {{Sociopath}} to begin with]].

* [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Castiel]] has this problem near the end of season four of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. He comes to realize that the angels are not the righteous good guys they claim to be, and wants to help Dean against them. Unfortunately, he knows damn well what will happen if he actually does turn against them (at one point, he simply tried to warn Dean about their plans and it's heavily implied that [[ColdBloodedTorture they tortured him for it]]). When he finally throws caution to the wind and sides with Dean, [[RealityEnsues he's promptly killed by the archangel Raphael]]. [[FirstLawOfResurrection He gets better.]]

* Lena from ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' has no interest in her aunt's evil plans and in fact downright hates the fact that she's forced to manipulate and lie to her best friend, but a combination of them being magically bound together and [[AbusiveParents emotional abuse]] keeps her under Magica's thumb. [[spoiler:And when she finally does muster up the courage to turn on Magica and try to warn Scrooge of her plans, Magica decides to cut out the middle man and [[FamilialBodySnatcher take control of her body directly]].]]

* Lena from ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' has no interest in her aunt's evil plans and in fact downright hates the fact that she's forced to manipulate and lie to her best friend, but a combination of them being magically bound together and [[AbusiveParents emotional abuse]] keeps her under Magica's thumb. [[spoiler:And when she finally does muster up the courage to turn on Magica and warn Scrooge of her plans, Magica decides to cut out the middle man and [[FamilialBodySnatcher take control of her body directly]].]]

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' episode "Super Silly Swamp Sprint". Dick Dastardly says that it was the other racers who force him to be a bad guy, by making him use his mechanical mosquitoes to eliminate them. He claims that he doesn't want to, in a very unconvincing tone.

** This goes for the Avatar's Nohrian siblings in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates''. They're not evil themselves, just jaded from lives spent in the DeadlyDecadentCourt, and most of their less savory actions are ordered by their cruel father. A Nohr-aligned Avatar also counts since they follow said cruel father out of loyalty to said siblings.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Paula hates the Nazis, but she's working for them because when she first refused, they murdered her husband and took her daughter hostage. Paula decided she cared more for her daughter than the rest of humanity, and by the end is even getting a measure of sadistic pleasure from the torture and murder she's inflicting for the Nazis, even if she still hates the Nazis themselves.

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''