History Main / UnwillingSuspension

* All the captive maidens in ''VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors''.

* ''Film/TenDeadmen'': After capturing Ryan, Bruiser and Stone hang him from the rafters. Bruiser uses him as a human punching bag until Stone [[BatterUp knocks him out with a baseball bat]] when it is time to transport him to the rest of the gang.

* When Gradriel from ''VideoGame/PrincessCrown'' is captured by a group of pirates, she is held captive from outside the ship this way, where her wrists is strung-up by a rope and stretched above her head.

* A recurring gag in ''ComicStrip/Peanuts'' has Charlie Brown trying to fly a kite only to get tangled up in the string and hanging upside down from a tree.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequels) as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all civilised inhabitants float in midair and she is tied up by bubble-shaped soldiers who suspend her just by holding each end of the rope.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'', Cody comes across a mouse tied up and hanging from a poacher's snare and tries to rescue it. In the climax, Cody himself is tied up and suspended from the crane on McLeach's truck over a crocodile-infested river.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequels) as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all civilised inhabitants can float in midair, allowing bubble-shaped soldiers to tie her up and hold on to each end of the rope to suspend her.

* Commonly used in the Anime series of ''Franchise/Pokémon''

* Happens to Ada Wong of all people in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''. Leon shows up and cuts her down before the FinalBoss.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequels'') as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all civilised inhabitants can float in midair, allowing bubble-shaped soldiers to tie her up and hold on to each end of the rope to suspend her.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesterAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequels'') as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all civilised inhabitants can float in midair, allowing bubble-shaped soldiers to tie her up and hold on to each end of the rope to suspend her.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesterAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequels'') as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all civilised inhabitants can float in midair, allowing bubble-shaped soldiers to tie her up and suspend her by holding on to each end of the rope.
* Near the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'', Cody is tied up and suspended from the crane on McLeach's truck over a crocodile-infested river.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesterAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequels'') as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all the inhabitants can float, allowing bubble-shaped soldiers to capture her and restrain her by her suspending her in midair under their own steam.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesterAnimation/DotandtheKangaroo'' sequels'') as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all the inhabitants can float, allowing bubble-shaped soldiers to capture her and restrain her by her suspending her in midair under their own steam.

* Played with in ''Dot in Space'' (the last of the ''WesterAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'' sequels'') as Dot ends up stranded on an alien planet where all the inhabitants can float, allowing bubble-shaped soldiers to capture her and restrain her by her suspending her in midair under their own steam.

* Commonly used in the Anime series of ''Franchise/Pokemon''

** At the end of ''The Flame Pokémon-athon'', Dario has Team Rocket tied up and suspended from a tree and then pecked repeatedly by his Dodrio after losing to Ash and Lara Laramie's recently-evolved Rapidash.

* ''Anime/Pokemon''
** In ''Here Comes The Squirtle Squad'', the titular squad ambushes Team Rocket and ties them up, suspending Meowth from a tree branch with Jessie and James tied to the tree itself.
** At the end of ''The Flame Pokémon-athon'', Dario has Team Rocket tied up and suspended from a tree and then pecked repeatedly by his Dodrio after losing to Ash and Lara Laramie's recently-evolved Rapidash.

* Near the end of ''WesternAnimation/[[TheRescuersDownUnder]]'', Cody is tied up and suspended from the crane on McLeach's truck over a crocodile-infested river.

* The [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] sequence in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' had Snake hanging from a hook on a track, and the momentum of his swing was used to increase the force of the blows he was receiving. This is repeated in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', only this time, his feet are off the floor, and we see him dangling in the cutscenes.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', Cacofonix the bard ([[DreadfulMusician whose singing could curdle fresh milk]]) is almost always BoundAndGagged during the ending feast. Often, he's suspended as well.
* In one of the stories within the ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZelda'' comics done by Valiant, Link is suspended by his wrists when captured by Ganon's minions.
* In ''ComicBook/SoulsearchersAndCompany'' #5, Kelly and Janocz are tied back to back and hung from the ceiling of the witch's cottage.
* In the comic series ''Storm'' by Don Lawrence, Ember is a victim of Unwilling Suspension a few times. In "The Living Planet" she is suspended above a sea of lava, while in "The Mutineers of Anchor" she is suspended by her wrists above an abyss. A variation can be seen in "The Hounds of Marduk", but this time an unconscious Ember is tied to a crane, and her legs are lowered into a ''healing'' vapour.
* In ''ComicBook/TheWarlord'' #131, Morgan is suspended by his ankles above a vat of boiling oil by his RivalTurnedEvil Maddox. Maddox places a burning candle beneath the hope suspending Morgan so that when the candle burns through the rope, Morgan will plunge headfirst into the oil.

** Both Griffith and Guts are subject to this trope, in fact this is how the reader is introduced to Guts on the ''first page'' of the manga...

* Happens to Kyo's girlfriend Yuki in the manga version of ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters KYO'', when a masked BadassBiker kidnaps her to force the recently depowered Kyo to a duel. [[spoiler:Subverted: the stranger is Saisyu, who's subjecting a borderline BrainwashedAndCrazy Kyo to a SecretTestOfCharacter. When Kyo "passes", wakes up from his state and recovers his flames, Saisyu is satisfied so he cuts the rope and Yuki falls down... [[FallingIntoHisArms and into]] [[BridalCarry Kyo's arms]].]]

* ''VisualNovel/LimeIroRyukitanX'': One episode has the girls captured, chained, and hanging with their arms above their head as one antagonist proceeds to torture them.

* In a more light-hearted version of this trope, Episode 5 of ''Manga/MinamiKe'' has Kana roll up Chiaki in a sheet and suspend her from a clothes line to make a rain charm.

** The X-Laws later captured Manta, put him inside another gibbet, then used him as a hostage to force Yoh and Co. meet with them. [[spoiler: Manta managed to break through with the help of Mosuke, then Ryu and Tokagero caught him mid-air safely. Then, a fight started. ''Then'', [[FromBadToWorse Hao stepped in]]...]]

* ''Manga/TricksDedicatedToWitches'' is a rare instance where it is used as a form of torture. The church's method in order to break Liese and cripple her hands is to string her up with her wrists pulled and stretched above her head, with the floorboard manacle cuffed to one of her ankles being used to apply pressure. Her expression make it clear that it's a painful experience and her wrists even start to bleed from it.

* This happens Maki in one episode from ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' where in addition to being gagged, she is hanging with her arms up while in captivity.

* In the comic series ''Storm'' by Don Lawrence, Ember is a victim of Unwilling Suspension a few times. In "The Living Planet" she is suspended above a sea of lava, while in "The Mutineers of Anchor" she is suspended by her wrists above an abyss. A variation can be seen in "The Hounds of Marduk", but this time an unconscious Ember is tied to a crane and her legs are lowered into a ''healing'' vapour.
* In ''ComicBook/TheWarlord'' #131, Morgan is suspended by his ankles above a vat of boiling oil by his RivalTurnedEvil Maddox. Maddox places a burning candle beneath the hope suspending Morgan, so that when the candle burns through the rope, Morgan will plunge headfirst into the oil.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'': Circe strings up Franchise/WonderWoman, Donna Troy, and ComicBook/WonderGirl above a boiling cauldron in preperation for stealing their powers.

* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. Because the RetroRocket has no ArtificialGravity unless under acceleration, any cargo is held in place by a spiderweb of elastic webbing throughout the cargo bay. The Maquis prisoners they're transporting are also kept there, heat-sealed between the layers of webbing [[ThrownOutTheAirlock over the cargo-loading hatches]]. However this also means that all of them survive when ''Voyager'' is hurled across the galaxy, because the webbing [[InertialDampening absorbs the force of the decelerating rocketship]].

* In ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', Roger and Jessica are tied together and suspended from a rope, and are menaced by an out-of-control jet of Dip.

* Joy is hung by her wrists over a two story drop in ''Film/BangkokKnockout'' to lure the heroes in. When Joy is rescued, she basically rubs her wrists and is fine. The behind-the-scenes footage shows that the actress was in a harness, but the drop was real.

* In the 1987 Hong Kong movie ''Film/CityOnFire'', undercover cop Chow is arrested and tortured by other police officers (who are unaware he's a cop), including being handcuffed from a bar in a locker room. Unlike most examples of this trope he's shown to be in visible pain both during and afterwards.

* ''Film/DayOfTheEvilGun'': After being captured by the Apaches, Warfield and Forbes being strung up by their wrists in the {{Bandito}} camp.

* In ''Film/DressedToKill1946'', Holmes suspended by his wrists from a hook in the ceiling of a garage, and then left there to asphyxiate.
* Yun Fei, the hero of ''Film/HandOfDeath'' was captured alive by the villains and tortured while hung from his ankles. Only to escape on his own later on by bending his own waist while suspended and untying the rope using ''his teeth''.

* The climax of ''Film/InTheLineOfDuty4Witness'', when Donnie, Rachel and Luk have to rescue Luk's mother, who was captured alive and suspended from a tall balcony.

* The famous meat locker scene in ''Film/TheLongGoodFriday''. LondonGangster Harold Shand sends his men out to grab local hoods and haul them in for interrogation to find out who is bombing his businesses. They're pulled out of a truck and trundled along the pulley system hanging upside down. The actors had to keep being supported between takes to prevent them passing out.

* ''Film/NoRetreatNoSurrender2'': The climax have the hero's love interest and the resident ActionGirl being dangled by their wrists over a pit of crocodiles.

* The hostage standoff in ''Film/RoyalWarriors'', where the sidekick Michael gets hung byb his wrists on the top floor of a high-rise building. Michael ultimately decides to BetterToDieThanBeKilled and cuts the rope, allowing himself to fall to death.

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': At the start of the movie, Thor is chained and held in a suspended cage in Muspelheim. Then the cage open and he falls down until the chain brutally stops him (a shock that would certainly have killed a human, but he's Asgardian). Hence Thor is left dangling before the realm's master, Surtur. The ensuing conversation is a bit impaired by the chain slowly spinning Thor away from facing Surtur, forcing the villain to stop monologuing until Thor turns around again.

* ''Film/{{Train}}'': After being stabbed through the chest, Todd wakes up to find himself hanging from his wrists in on of the train cars.
* The BadassBiker gang hung one of the ''Film/WildHogs'' from a tree this way. They tried to rescue him by driving their bikes under him and yanking as they went by. It didn't work.

* ''Film/{{Yellowbeard}}'': Following TheMutiny lead by Mr. Moon, Captain Hughes has a rope wrapped around his legs and is hoist into the rigging.
* ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'': Ushitora's gang do that to Gonji in the climax for the help he gave to Sanjuro. The coffin maker frees him when Ushitora and his remaining men are busy in the final showdown with Sanjuro.

* In ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'', the villain Zhao Jiang is defeated by the Immortal Jiuliusun, snatched by his Immortal-Binding Rope and hung from the roof of the Reed Pavillion where the Kunlun Immortals have their headquarters for the rest of the war, much to the ire of the enemies. Later, the Shang forces try to get even by capturing Huanglong Zhenren and subjecting him to the same fate, but he's released by Yang Jian. Later, the three Xiao Sisters try to pull this trope on Lu Ya Daoren, as well as having archers shot him dead, but he's able to NoSell their attempts and leave by turning himself into rainbow-colored lightbeams.

* In Episode 6 of ''Literature/HighSchoolProdigiesHaveItEasyEvenInAnotherWorld'', Shinobu allows herself to be captured by the Imperial Army in exchange for not harming an [[LittleBitBeastly animal eared villager]]. While [[LockedInTheDungeon imprisoned inside the dungeon]], Shinobu, who is stripped to her lingerie, is suspended in chains with her arms above her head.

* ''Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}'': After King Gunther won Queen Brunhild's EngagementChallenge by cheating, he tried to consumate their marriage. She was displeased when she realized he wasn't actually strong, beat him up, and hung him from the ceiling to humiliate him.
* In ''Literature/{{Relativity}},'' August Moon holds Melody hostage in this way as bait to lure-in her husband. At one point he threatens to release the chain and let her drop.

* In the first story of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', Count Olaf suspends Sunny in a cage, and blackmails the other Baudelaire children into playing along him by constantly reminding them that he can make the cage fall on walkie-talkie command.

* Happens to a car thief in ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' ("Car Jacked"). When he tried to steal a rich man's car and got into his garage via descending from the ceiling, his leg got tangled in a rope and he ended up hanging ''upside down'' for several hours, which killed him in the end.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E14FirstDate First Date]]", Xander is suspended above the Hellmouth by a demon. Really, Xander, you shouldn't have suggested that use for the rope yourself....

* ''Seires/GodsOfHonor'', the TVB adaptation of ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'', has Nezha (depicted as an adult in this version) ordering this punishment on Yin Shih-Niang, ''his own mother'', still blaming her for abandoning him as a child two decades ago and not realizing she's forced to leave him because of a prophecy.

* Happens to Barnaby in the ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' episode "Death in the Slow Lane" after he is knocked out by the murderer. The killer plans to drop Barnaby on to a sharp set of ploughs at the end of their conversation.

** In ''Series/DaiSentaiGoggleFive'', Miki gets trapped into an evil picture diary and gets suspended with a spread-eagle position, then the picture diary gets burned, which in turn, surrounds her in flames. Instead, she makes a flip, then uses the fire to burn the ropes.

* The mediaeval torture described in Real Life, below, is probably the origin of the Tarot card called the Hanged man, in which a bound man swings from a gibbet by one foot.

** If you interrogate a Riddler informant near a ledge, Batman will naturally perform a HighAltitudeInterrogation on them. Once he has his information he'll drop them, leaving them hanging upside down from a cable. If the fall is short enough however, they'll just fall.
* Episode 4 of ''VideoGame/BanzaiPecan'' has most of the Hunnie Bunnies tied up like this. Pecan can [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential optionally beat em up]] despite being rendered helpless.
* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma'', if [[LadyOfWar Tsubaki Yayoi]] is hit by [[MadScientist Relius's]] Astral Heat, she's shown in this position ''and'' with [[BoobsAndButtPose her back turned as well as her butt at the viewer]]. Similarly, [[BloodKnight Azrael]] is seen bound upside down, [[HandsomeLech Kagura]] is tied up from what looks a LOT like a gallow (only he's bound rather than "properly hanged"), [[spoiler: Izayoi]] is restrained by a pillar "made" of mechanical hands, and Kagura's BattleButler Hibiki is strapped to a device that strongly reminds of a breaking wheel.

** In ''Revenge of Death Adder'' the main heroes at one point is captured by dropping a cage huge on them. And in the next scene, all of them are bound by ropes and suspended with their wrists above their head, which they managed to free themselves by wriggling the rope until it snaps.

* The [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] sequence in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' had Snake hanging from a hook on a track, and the momentum of his swing was used to increase the force of the blows he was receiving. This is repeated in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', only this time, his feet off the floor, and we see him dangling in the cutscenes.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'': In "The Ghost of Kilbane Castle", Lois and Jimmy are left suspended above razor sharp blades.

* Back in the day, orthotists used to mold back braces by hanging people from the ceiling and relying on gravity to help them get the basis of a reliable plaster mold, wrapping clients in plaster while they hung. By the mid-2000's, however, they switched to taking measurements while clients are on solid ground [[note]] if the client is a woman, they'll also ask her bra size [[/note]] and using a 3D printer.

* In ''Kouryuu no Mimi'', this happens to [[TheHero Natsume]]'s [[DatingCatwoman forbidden]] LoveInterest [[DistressedDamsel Kanako]]. Even more, [[http://dezaki.tumblr.com/post/167822124321 she's tied up and hung in the middle of a construction site.]] Subverted since it's soon revealed [[spoiler: that it isn't actually her, but one of the villains Noriko in disguise, and Natsume ain't fooled for one second, though the real Kanako shows up after the battle is over to give Natsume a hug though.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Vigilante}}'', [[DistressedDamsel Madonna]] can be seen before the final level and during the final battle hanging like this from a construction hook.