History Main / WalkIntoMordor

** Later, the Mordor to not walk into becomes Hueco Mundo, a place where Shinigami wouldn't be caught [[StealthPun dead]] in, without a ''really'' good reason. They even [[spoiler:apparently]] refuse to accompany Ichigo & co there. Equipped with its own castle in the center (Las Noches) and "the all seeing eye" of Szayel's laboratory security cameras, it is a vast barren desert inhabited by TheHeartless and an all-round dangerous place to be.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', owing to the fact that Syndrome's [[ElaborateUndergroundBase base]] is on an [[UnderwaterBase island volcano]], the heroes end up having to swim to get there after their plane gets shot down. Vehicular access seems to be a big no-no, there is no ferry, and only monorails are allowed on the island (accessibility on foot is not necessary for this trope to apply, if more grueling methods of transportation are available). [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because [[spoiler:Syndrome did plan his base with the intention to kill superhumans, so he made sure it would be impossible to easily reach or leave.]]

* Every ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' ever has the Sinister Continent Completely Surrounded By Mountains And Reefs that the regular [[GetOnTheBoat Boat]] can't get you to. Sometimes even the GlobalAirship can't get in, and it requires teleportation or traveling the deadly [[DungeonCrawling dungeon]] beneath the mountains.

* {{Inverted}} in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom''. The only way to enter Hakugyokurou is by flying there. [[spoiler:The other option is to die a virtuous death.]]

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', one doesn't simply walk into The Abyss. One must first drain the flooded New Londo and equip a certain ring before jumping into it. One must also be considerate of the [[DemonicSpider inhabitants]] one might find on the way.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''

** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' The gate to the Divide of ''Lonesome Road'' is a short walk from Primm, but the Sierra Madre Villa of ''Dead Money'' is unreachable on foot, at least in gameplay, and the only way into the Big Empty(''Old World Blues'') is by teleportation. Zion Canyon from ''Honest Hearts'' is reached through two weeks of hiking through slot canyons. In the main game, Legate Lanius's camp is completely surrounded by mountains and is only reachable by crossing the Hoover Dam, which you can only do during the final battle after the PointOfNoReturn.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The meme is also referenced in ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'', where the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]] Platinum Trophy boasts that "one has walked in Mordor".

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, the French considered the Ardennes forest impassable for the tank-heavy German army, which would force them to go the slow route through the French defenses. The German army crossing the forest was a major factor in their rapid defeat. The Germans even tried it again for their grand 1944 counterattack in the Battle of the Bulge, with less success.

* One {{Website/YouTube}}r has turned [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5rtT29AHTU "One Does Not Simply ROCK into Mordor"]] into an actual rock song.
* Another Website/{{YouTube}}r referenced this with another meme for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fndX_7PqQ "Leo Strut."]]

* In the anime adaptation of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Kirito tries twice to reach the top of the [[HiddenElfVillage World Tree]] in the game "Alfheim Online" [[spoiler:to save Asuna, trapped above.]] The lore says that the first race to reach the top of the World Tree and go to the city in the sky will become Alfs (Alves?), and be granted the power of infinite flight. [[spoiler:The insanely powerful boss monsters that the players would have to pass/defeat have a rapid spawn rate, and easily kill his avatar on the first attempt]]. On a second effort [[spoiler:(with LOTS of backup)]] he reaches the door, but encounters a surprise; [[spoiler:''[[UnwinnableByDesign the door does not open without an administrator passkey]]''. This is due to Nobuyuki Sugou and his team using the tree to hold and experiment on the 300 minds they captured from SAO. Luckily, Asuna stole a passkey and threw it off the tree when she [[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling sensed Kirito was near]].]]

* Every VideoGame/DragonQuest ever has the Sinister Continent Completely Surrounded By Mountains And Reefs that the regular [[GetOnTheBoat Boat]] can't get you to. Sometimes even the GlobalAirship can't get in, and it requires teleportation or traveling the deadly [[DungeonCrawling dungeon]] beneath the mountains.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', owing to the fact that Syndrome's [[ElaborateUndergroundBase base]] is on an [[UnderwaterBase island volcano]], the heroes end up having to swim to get there after their plane gets shot down. Vehicular access seems to be a big no-no, there is no ferry, and only monorails are allowed on the island (accessibility on foot is not necessary for this trope to apply, if more grueling methods of transportation are available). [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because [[spoiler: Syndrome did plan his base with the intention to kill superhumans, so he made sure it would be impossible to easily reach or leave.]]

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'': If simply driving in to the Enemy Stronghold through a back road is ''absolutely'' necessary, at least do it with a motorcycle or something similarly stylish. ([[http://upload.moldova.org/movie/movies/i/indiana_jones_and_the_last_crusade/thumbnails/tn2_indiana_jones_and_the_last_crusade_4.jpg tanks]] will [[http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/onedoesnottankmordor.jpg draw unwanted attention]])...

* Another Website/{{YouTube}}r referenced this with another meme for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8fndX_7PqQ Leo Strut]]".

* {{Inverted}} in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom''. The only way to enter Hakugyokurou is by flying there. [[spoiler: The other option is to die a virtuous death.]]

* Striking at the monsters' home base in ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}'' would require this, and did in the canonical ending to the war. Specifically, it requires [[spoiler: dropping into [[{{FTL}} Cherenkov Space]] and then punching a hole into another adjacent dimension.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{Constantine}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Walk_Into_Mordor_4286.jpg]]]]

* The Forbidden Zone in ''Film/{{Cherry 2000}}''. The ridiculous checkpoints in the Forbidden Zone that Trackers routinely manage to sneak through. There's only one way to enter the Zone, really: get picked up by the crazed desert militia's magnetic wrecking crane, get carried over the remains of the Hoover Dam and get deposited over the spillway; ''then'' shoot your captors while suspended in midair, deactivate the wrecking crane and safely land in the spillway, cut your car loose from the flimsy rope... works every time. This is apparently the "usual way" to get in. May cause engine trouble to your Mustang after repeated journeys through the spillway.

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, the French considered the Ardennes forest impassable for the tank-heavy German army, which would force them to go the GradualGrinder route through the French defenses. The German army crossing the forest was a major factor in their rapid defeat. The Germans even tried it again for their grand 1944 counterattack in the Battle of the Bulge, with less success.

* Creator/RoosterTeeth had A Simple Walk Into Mordor, where Kerry Shawcross and Chris Demairis actually tried to walk from Hobbiton to Mt. Doom (or at least their filming locations) in the span of five days. By the end of their journey, they're worn and blistered, almost in too much pain to keep walking. They were able to prove that one really doesn't simply walk from Hobbiton to Mordor.

* The American assault on Iwo Jima, which itself is not only a real-life Mordor lookalike with it's black sulfur sands but also one of the most heavily defended Japanese-held islands, definitely fits this trope.

* Every VideoGame/DragonQuest ever has the Sinister Continent Completely Surrounded By Mountains And Reefs that the regular [[GetOnTheBoat Boat]] can't get you to. Sometimes even the GlobalAirship can't get in, and it requires teleportation or traveling the deadly [[LockedInTheDungeon dungeon]] beneath the mountains.
** Every one [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness but the first, of course]] - no airships, no boats, no horse-drawn carts; one must simply walk into ''everywhere''.

* In January 1925, when a diphtheria epidemic struck the children of Nome, Alaska, weather conditions made it impossible to fly in the nearest supply of antitoxin. Instead, twenty sled-dog teams relayed it across 674 miles of brutal Artcic wilderness in ''five and a half days.'' The feat has never been duplicated, despite a decades-running annual race on the same route commemorating the event.

* The American assault on Iwo Jima, which itself is not only a real-life Mordor lookalike with it's black sulfur sands but also one of the most heavily defended islands in Japanese islands, definitely fits this trope.

-->'''Boromir:''' Maybe some ninjas... and wizards... [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ninja Wizards!]] Maybe [[BearsAreBadNews some bears]], too... bears that shoot FrickinLaserBeams out of their eyes! Oh, man, that would be so awesome.