Line #142 Main/TrappedInVillainy


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6	->'''Freeza:''' You know, Zarbon, I'm starting to think my people don't understand what I pay them for.\
7	'''Zarbon:''' You don't pay us--\
8	'''Freeza:''' ''Allow them to live'' for.
9	-->-- ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''
10
11	So you've got yourself an AntiVillain. He's a pretty decent guy, and if you were on his side, [[AffablyEvil you'd probably be best buds]]. And yet he constantly wants to kill you. Why? Can't you guys just talk it out? I mean, [[MookFaceTurn surely you can come to an understanding]]. What's the worst that can happen?
12
13	Oh wait, that's right: ''[[YouHaveFailedMe his boss will kill him]]''.
14
15	See, many a BigBad [[IControlMyMinionsThrough rules through fear,]] and that includes his subordinates. As such, they'll often threaten their {{Mooks}}, their QuirkyMinibossSquad, and even their [[TheDragon Dragon]], with death ([[FateWorseThanDeath or some other severe punishment]]) should they [[YouHaveFailedMe fail in their tasks]]. That doesn't seem too bad to a villain if they see themselves working for the BigBad indefinitely, but if they have a HeelFaceTurn, a HeelRealization, or realize that they dug themselves too deep, what are they to do? Defy the BigBad and get killed for it? Or keep on doing the villain's dirty work, even if that means just digging themselves even deeper into their disastrous situation? It's quite a conundrum.
16
17	Sometimes, a villain will find protection from the BigBad ([[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil or those higher up on the food chain than him]]) by [[HeelFaceTurn joining up with the good guys]] and using them as his shields. However, this isn't quite as easy if [[IHaveYourWife the villain is stuck in a hostage situation]], or if their boss has the power to [[WhyAmITicking remotely kill off the former villain should they ever hesitate to perform their duties.]] But their strongest weapon is, again, fear. Even if it would be ridiculously easy to join the heroes ([[HonorBeforeReason clinging onto their honor aside]]), sometimes a BigBad will have [[TheMobBossIsScarier such a strong grip]] of ''fear'' over his minions, that they don't even dare to try to betray their master.
18
19	The "oppressive force" in question doesn't always have to be a BigBad, or even a villainous character. The former villain may have wielded a [[BadPowersGoodPeople dark power,]] and [[SuperpowerMeltdown failure to continue doing their job will]] [[PentUpPowerPeril cause the power to turn on them.]] This may be brought on by HorrorHunger, if an evil character has to feast on something...unpleasant, and after deciding he doesn't want to be evil anymore, will remain incapable of fighting his urges (at the risk of death).
20
21	See AntiVillain for other forms of non-evil villainy. Compare with the much darker PunchClockVillain, where the villain does their evil deeds just because it's a job, and hey, they have to be paid (but they don't feel anywhere near as much remorse for it), and with the smaller-scale PeerPressuredBully, who is mostly just afraid of being a bully victim themselves. This often occurs due to a character who is DrivenToVillainy, but then wants to get out. Contrast JustFollowingOrders, since that is used as an excuse after the fact, and in most cases they didn't have much of a problem with following orders at the time. These may often overlap with ForcedIntoEvil and/or become a RegretfulTraitor. A criminal-specific inversion is JustAGangster, where a criminal refuses to leave the world of crime when given the chance.
22
23	[[noreallife]]
24	----
25	!!Examples
26
27	[[foldercontrol]]
28
29	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
30	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
31	** [[spoiler:Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie]] are a case of this. They [[BecomingTheMask aren't particularly happy about]] what they're doing, but view it as absolutely necessary. [[spoiler:They hail from a totalitarian nation where their people are kept in {{Fantastic Ghetto}}s 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.
32	--->'''[[spoiler:Bertolt]]:''' 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!
33	** [[spoiler:Eren]] actually calls Hange out on doing this to them, pointing out that the entire military had ''four years'' to come up with alternate ways to save their home and ensure a peaceful resolution to things, but that they have done nothing, so of course they had to go with the only option originally given. [[spoiler:Their inactivity resulted in strong-arming Eren into having to attack Libero, killing innocent people, and making Historia a baby-making machine, to go along with Zeke's plan for the Eldrians on Paradis. Eren committed atrocious things in his attack on Libero, but at least he achieved ''something'' by eating the War-Hammer Titan and getting its abilities, compared to the ''nothing'' that the rest of the military had achieved.]] [[JerkassHasAPoint Hange later admits that she was incapable of saying anything in response, as they were absolutely right]].
34	* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': Asa Mitaka, [[VillainProtagonist the protagonist]] of Part 2, only survived a critical injury thanks to [[DealWithTheDevil a contract]] with the War Devil, Yoru, giving the latter complete control of Asa's body as payment. Asa can only act when Yoru allows it, and is under constant threat of [[DeathOfPersonality mental erasure]]. Yoru promises to free Asa once they [[spoiler:restore the nuclear weapons Chainsaw Man had RetGone]], but [[TheCorrupter tries to make Asa]] [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil more willing to hurt people for her own sake]], especially when it comes to their shared power to turn people into weapons [[PoweredByAForsakenChild powered by the guilt for killing them]].
35	* Played with in ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'': after [[spoiler:becoming TheEmperor]], [[Characters/CodeGeassLelouchLamperouge Lelouch Lamperouge]] instructs his most faithful followers (particularly, [[spoiler:Sayoko]]) to surrender to his enemies and to claim that they only obeyed him out of fear. But then again, he is not [[ALighterShadeOfGrey exactly a villain]].
36	* Black Ghost in ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'' is fond of picking a hero, then going out and getting a nice and sympathetic guy (or tracking down the hero's loved ones if Black Ghost is feeling particularly mean), forcibly augmenting them with cybernetic parts, and ordering them to go kill said hero or the self-destruct mechanism in them will explode. He does this so often that it's practically his modus operandi.
37	* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'' has [[spoiler:Ruruka Andou]]. Their Deadly Action is "Letting anyone leave the game stage", forcing them into becoming a villain who has to keep everyone inside the building and hide the only way out. [[spoiler:This turns out to be completely pointless, as there's no exit and the "way out" actually leads to the power source of the building which can stop the game and deactivate her code, making her code unbreakable. The mastermind still uses this to manipulate her into SanitySlippage based on her already paranoid behavior.]]
38	* Many [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Contractors]] in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack''. They're extremely powerful, [[MutantDraftBoard so they're very in-demand as spies and assassins for various organizations]]; however, if they can't/won't do this, they aren't allowed to live. On their own, most have a LackOfEmpathy but are benign and unambitous.
39	* The main character of ''Gushing Over Magical Girls'' 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 [[PlayedForLaughs hilarity ensued]].
40	* In ''Manga/InuYasha'', Kagura quickly comes to hate Naraku, especially when she begins to develop sympathy for poor Kohaku (and eventually a crush on Seshomaru). Unfortunately for Kagura, Naraku has possession of her heart and can kill her easily at any time by crushing it.
41	* ''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]].
42	* Most of the villains in ''Manga/SnowWhiteAndSevenDwarfs''. It's part of the package when you're forced to work for a dictatorship.
43	* 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.]]
44	* ''Manga/VenusPutsFurOnMe'': Of a sort; Nakajima only bullies Shirosaki, regularly subjecting her to all sorts of humiliation and violence, because if he doesn't, ''[[TooKinkyToTorture she]]'' will, at minimum, torture ''him'' with her ice picks, and has flat-out threatened to kill him if he quits bullying her.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Comic Books]]
48	* Mikey Rhodes in ''{{ComicBook/Birthright}}'' made a deal with the BigBad to reunite with his family in exchange for paving the way for his conquest of Earth. To ensure his loyalty, he was infected with a parasitic spirit to ensure his loyalty by torturing him whenever he shows defiance or, if necessary, killing him if he tries to betray them. Removing the parasite is also dangerous, since their life forces are now tied and Mikey will die if separated from it for a long period of time. Mikey doesn't want to see Earth conquered, but he has no choice other than obeying.
49	* 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]].
50	* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: 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.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Fan Works]]
54	* Ignis Clover in ''Fanfic/BlazBlueAlternativeRemnant''. Her husband, Relius, stripped her of any free will when he forced her into the Detonator. As revealed after her fight with Penny and Noel, [[spoiler:she's very much NOT a willing participant in her husband's atrocities and wants to fight against him, but she's physically incapable of doing so and has to go along with his orders]].
55	* ''Fanfic/BlackenedMasks'' has [[VideoGame/Persona5 Ryuji]] forced into an assassin role by Shido in his chapter, since he threated to kill his mother if he refused. The entirety of his chapter shows how much he hates his line of work, but knows that stopping will result in him losing the only family he has left.
56	* Inverted with [[WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss I.M.P.]] in ''Fanfic/ADivineRomanticComedy''. After Blitz and Loona accidentally stumble upon his date and he learns of their illegal assassin business, Lucifer conscripts them into serving as bodyguards for his daughter as well as extra security for her hotel, which has far more noble, heroic ambitions than what they normally get up to.
57	* ''Fanfic/GodOfWarChainsOfTheHeart'': Sindri wants nothing to do with Sinmara or her quest for vengeance against Kratos and Atreus. He'd rather just stay far away from his former colleagues. The only reason he finds himself assisting her is because he's trapped in her realm and she's threatening to kill him unless he helps her break out.
58	* 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]].
59	* Lenore Raven's ''[[https://lenoreofraven.tumblr.com/post/183647614073/ Mayura Marinette]]'' has this happen to Marinette after Lila tricks Master Fu by StealingTheCredit for saving his life. Lila proceeds to spread MaliciousSlander both as herself and as Ladybug, [[ConvictedByPublicOpinion turning all of Paris against her]] as people are convinced that she ''must'' be working with Hawkmoth. Gabriel [[OpportunisticBastard takes advantage of this]] to offer Marinette a job... and then {{Blackmail}}s her into ''actually'' working with him as Hawkmoth, with the threat of him using his connections to completely destroy her family's reputation hanging over her head.
60	* ''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.
61	* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', the sidestory [[VillainEpisode Cipher Interlude]] features a trainer named Shawn, who as a rookie [[PathOfMostResistance wanted to toughen himself up]] [[GlorySeeker to one day grow to become champion]]. Unfortunately, he chose ''[[WretchedHive Orre]]'' of all places to start his Pokémon journey, and it didn't take long before he lost all of his money, to the point the only choice he had to survive was to join Cipher as a Peon and do ''a lot'' of things he didn't want to (including [[spoiler:[[LeaveNoWitnesses having to kill an old friend of his]] [[HeKnowsTooMuch just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time]]]]).
62	* ''Fanfic/ServiceWithASmile'': ''Everyone'' in Cinder's faction. Roman and Neo would rather not destroy Vale [[EvilVersusOblivion because they can't steal anything if everyone is dead]], but Cinder will kill them if they try to leave. Adam feels terrorism is the only way to get Faunus rights, but would rather not destroy Beacon because [[EvenEvilHasStandards the fall of the Academy would benefit only the Grimm]], but Cinder will kill his people if he tries to leave. Mercury was mostly just [[ExtremeDoormat going with the flow]] until he found things he actually cared about, but Cinder will kill him if he tries to leave. [[spoiler:Even Cinder herself isn't really ''happy'' with her goals, but she still wants the Maiden's power and ambition is the only thing that really drives her.]]
63	* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'': Yakumo Kurama appears as an agent of Root under the command of Danzo Shimura. When her former teacher Kurenai confronts her, it's revealed that she's following Danzo's order simply because he offered her [[PowerIncontinence the means to control her powers after]] [[SelfMadeOrphan she accidentally killed her parents with them]], and she was so desperate that she felt she had no choice in the matter.
64	* ''Fanfic/TheStoryOfTwilightGlow'': Moondancer would rather not work for [[EvilOverlord Nightmare Moon]], but can't disobey her, or else her friends and family will suffer.
65	* ''Fanfic/AThingOfVikings'': [[spoiler:Valka]] is horrified by the Free Nests deciding to enslave humans, but recognizes that if she tried to escape, they'd just kill her, while if she stays as "head slave", she can communicate between humans and dragons, hopefully preventing deaths due to misunderstandings.
66	* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': One story’s guest star, Fiora the Forest Witch, has her entire backstory revolve around this. First her college bans her from becoming a graduate student because she’s poor, then she realizes her favorite professor had been co-opting her research to prime the school for demonic invasion. Left with seconds to act and nobody to turn to for help, she sells her soul to an opposing demon lord to stop him, and suffers for years as an unhappy abyssal thrall for her sacrifice. (Worst of all, since nobody else knows the true context, she’s remembered by everybody as only an insane/jealous demon worshipper who killed her teacher.)
67	* ''Fanfic/WhenLifeGivesYouLemonsWormPortal'': Aperture Science was very good at luring in scientists and then trapping them with contracts and threats that ensured they could never leave the company despite the horrifying nature of its experiments. Most of the AI cores Taylor works with were originally Aperture employees who wanted to escape the company and used their new status to eliminate its worst elements.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
71	* In ''Film/ThirtySixHours1965'', a woman is taken from a Nazi concentration camp and ordered to use her skills as part of an elaborate FakedRipVanWinkle deception against a captured American officer -- or she will be sent back to the camp.
72	* 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. He pays off the last of that debt midway through the film, and assumes Doc will let him walk away. Doc refuses, as he's realised how valuable Baby's skills are, wants him to join the team full-time, and won't take no for an answer.
73	-->'''Doc''': You're even, but did you think you were ''out''?
74	* In ''Film/BloodForDracula'', we get perhaps the most sympathetic version of the count: a sickly, dying vampire that needs the blood of a virgin in order to avoid a very painful death. He considers this a curse and doesn't seem to enjoy killing.
75	* Felix Gillie in ''Film/TheComedyOfTerrors'' only goes along in Trumbull's schemes because he escaped from prison and Trumbull is blackmailing him into compliance. He would much rather conduct their mortuary business ethically and be with Amaryllis. [[spoiler:It is subverted when he and Amaryllis run away together while Trumbull is accidentally poisoned.]]
76	* [[DragonWithAnAgenda Darth Vader]] in ''Franchise/StarWars'' started out as a WellIntentionedExtremist, but after being crippled by Obi-Wan and [[CyberneticsWillEatYourSoul limited by his prosthetics]], he was prevented from rebelling against his new master and tried to [[BrokenAce cope with it all]] by [[ThatManIsDead burying his old life as much as possible]] and doing whatever he could to avoid [[YouHaveFailedMe Sidious' wrath]] while [[TheStarscream waiting for the right moment to usurp him]]. It wasn't until meeting his son that he realized that [[HeroicSacrifice some things are worth dying for]] and [[RedemptionEqualsDeath gave his life to protect him, returning to the Light in his last moments]].
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Literature]]
80	* The heroine and her {{cult}}-sisters in ''Literature/TheAssassinsOfTamurin'' are cursed to be tortured by wraiths should they undergo a HeelRealization and turn on their "Mother"... which she, naturally, does, and is why she's so terrified when she realizes how "trapped" she is.
81	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'':
82	** 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 society, up until Torak took back the reins and sent them into a genocidal war.
83	** Zedar the Apostate made the ill-advised choice to [[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.
84	* ''Literature/TheCurseWorkers'': Despite having no magic "work" of his own, [[MuggleBornOfMages Cassel Sharpe]] is born into a family with close ties to [[TheMafia a powerful magical crime family]], and his earliest memories are of his mother sending him to break into houses, and his father teaching him how to lockpick. Even when he tries to live a normal life by attending private school, his ties to the magical underworld prevent him from succeeding.
85	* ''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]] on his own accord. Admittedly, he does some [[KickTheDog pretty nasty stuff]] during those five books, from [[ThinSkinnedBully bullying]] and verbal abuse towards Harry's dead parents to starting a smear campaign against Hagrid and attempting to have his pet [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals 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 direct murder so easily]], he remains hesitant throughout the next book, and only stays in Voldemort's service because he's ''terrified'' of the man.
86	* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': In ''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 propaganda 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.
87	* 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.
88	* 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.
89	* 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]].
90	* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', [[SinsOfTheFather the spirits that control the world don't differentiate between different members of the same bloodlines, (regardless of how moral the descendant in question might be)]], and breaking any oath (even one made when the person is impaired, coerced or a young child) leaves you open to a FateWorseThanDeath. Throw a load of ancient wizarding clans into the mix, and you have a whole lot of people who are ''thoroughly'' miserable with the status quo of being forced into an ArrangedMarriage with a BigScrewedUpFamily of practitioners, or servitude to a malevolent AnthropomorphicPersonification of conquest, but are as trapped as their own parents were, and their own children inevitably will be.
91	* ''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:destroys the demon to save him]].
92	* ''Literature/TressOfTheEmeraldSea'': Captain Crow attempts to {{invoke\|dTrope}} this on her FriendlyPirate crew to force their loyalty by sinking a ship they planned to loot. Ordinary piracy is prosecuted like theft, but deadrunning -- sinking their victims to LeaveNoSurvivors -- is a death sentence from both the government [[EvenEvilHasStandards and other pirates]]. In the end, Tress [[spoiler:disposes of Crow and negotiates [[ThePardon a royal pardon]].]]
93	* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': {{Invoked\|Trope}} by the [[AncientConspiracy Black Ajah]]. Their [[{{Geas}} magically binding oaths]] prevent them from betraying the organization, so even those who have second thoughts are stuck with them. [[spoiler:The wording includes "[[LoopholeAbuse until the hour of my death]]", so one member pulls a DyingMomentOfAwesome that dismantles the entire Ajah.]]
94	* ''Literature/TheZombieKnight'':
95	** [[spoiler:Jeremiah Colt]] works for a crime boss because said boss is [[IHaveYourWife holding his children hostage]].
96	** 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.
97	** 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.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
101	* 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 [[OneManArmy 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.
102	* In the ''Series/{{Bones}}'' episode "The Goop on the Girl", the Perp[=/=]VictimOfTheWeek is [[ExplosiveLeash strapped into a bomb vest]] and forced to rob a bank or else the bomb would be set off.
103	* ''Series/BreakingBad'': After Walter [[spoiler:kills Gus and blows up the superlab]], and helping Walt destroy the incriminating evidence with him, Mike decides to hang up the towel because he knows working with someone as prideful as Walt is a very bad idea. However, he discovers that the DEA found and confiscated the offshore bank accounts Gus was using to pay Mike's men, and with no one paying them to keep quiet, some of them are getting desperate. With no other recourse, Mike reluctantly agrees to work with Walt and Jesse in order to get the funds needed to continue paying off his former workers.
104	* [[spoiler:Rebecca]] in ''Series/BurnNotice''. The only reason she was working for [[spoiler:Anson]] was because he had her brother captive.
105	* ''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.
106	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
107	** In season 2, Theon Greyjoy feels this way (in contrast to the book, where he's ''much'' less sympathetic). He has not outright been threatened with death by his father, but he felt compelled by family loyalty to fight for them against his friends, and though he initially thinks he can be a PunchClockVillain, he finds himself [[KickTheDog kicking dogs]] left and right as he struggles not to lose the respect of the mutinous killers he has for subordinates. When Maester Luwin gently confronts him about the brutal facade he's been putting up, Theon replies that he's "[[IHaveComeTooFar gone too far]]" to let go of it. [[spoiler:His fear of his underlings proves justified, as they turn on him in a second when he's proven his incompetence and it's their lives or his.]]
108	** Tyrion feels compelled to serve his power-hungry and ruthless family. Eventually, he manages to break free from the Lannisters, still leaving in this trope older brother Jaime, who TookALevelInIdealism after suffering a lot, but due to even closer bonds to the royal family, is still forced to do bad things for them.
109	** Stannis really and truly wants to serve the Realm, purge corruption, and restore order, and he's the only one of the Five Kings who responds and comes to the aid of the Night's Watch and places the White Walker invasion on priority. However, circumstances, bad luck, and cruel fate forces him to rely on Melisandre's magic powers and the great price that comes with it. She herself tells Stannis that he will be forced to betray everything he holds dear to save the realm. He never finds out all that it implies until he realizes that he has to sacrifice his daughter in order to win the campaign to liberate the North from the Boltons to better help the Night's Watch.
110	* When Londo becomes Emperor of the Centauri in ''Series/BabylonFive'', he is forced to take on a [[PuppeteerParasite Drakh Keeper]], upon threat of the Drakh detonating fusion bombs they'd hidden all over Centauri Prime, which would kill millions of his subjects. He thus spends his 15-odd year reign as Emperor forced to either rubberstamp or stay out of the way of Drakh policy in their shadow-rule of the Centauri Republic, which they use as a seat of power to subvert and make war on the [[TheFederation Interstellar Alliance]]. Per [[ExpandedUniverse the Centauri Trilogy]] of novels (and the flashforward scene in the episode "War Without End"), Londo does have moments where he manages to discreetly work around the Keeper, generally when he's inebriated since alcohol can temporarily put it to sleep.
111	* ''Series/PrisonBreak'': Quite a few people who work for the Company and the General are being coerced in some way. For instance Mahone's child is injured when he refuses to play ball.
112	* [[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, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he's promptly killed by the archangel Raphael]]. [[FirstLawOfResurrection He gets better.]]
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Music]]
116	* Music/{{Coolio}}: The singer character of "Gangsta's Paradise" feels trapped in his criminal lifestyle because nobody is willing to help him change for the better.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Mythology and Folk-Tales]]
120	* [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]] have to drink blood, either killing the victim outright or turning their victim, like it or not, or they starve to death.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
124	* ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': Prior to his apotheosis, the mercenary Kelemvor Lyonsbane would transform into a dangerous werepanther due to a family curse if he did something out of kindness.
125	* Played with in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''; Liliana Vess is a ruthless, selfish woman in general, and freely manipulates the rest of the Gatewatch to her will, but would not voluntarily betray them. [[spoiler:At the end of the 2018 Dominaria storyline, Nicol Bolas reveals that by killing all of the fiends [[DealWithTheDevil she bartered with for eternal youth and beauty]], her debt has defaulted to him instead. If she disobeys him, she will immediately return to her true age, which, given the centuries she has spent as a Planeswalker prior to the Mending, will kill her all but instantly. Since she is, at heart, [[MortalityPhobia too much of a coward to let herself die]], she is forced to serve Bolas and betray her former comrades.]]
126	** And then, in the War of the Spark storyline, [[spoiler:Liliana decides she can't stand being Bolas' thrall after everything she's gone through with the Gatewatch, turns against him, [[HeroicSacrifice and she begins to burn from the inside]] as her centuries catch up with her. But before the breaking of the contract can take hold, Gideon [[TakingTheBullet takes the damage unto himself, dying in her place]]]].
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Theater]]
130	* There's a Creator/GilbertAndSullivan opera with this premise, ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}''. There's a baron who is cursed so that he has to commit a crime daily or die. The resolution is [[spoiler:he reasons that, by the terms of the curse, if he refuses to commit a crime, he is courting death by his own act, that is to say, attempting suicide. [[LogicBomb But attempting suicide is a crime.]] [[LoopholeAbuse So he fulfills the terms of the curse by refusing to do so.]]]]
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Video Games]]
134	* [[spoiler:Yoshimo]] from ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII''. He can't go against his boss, Irenicus, because he has a {{geas}} placed on his heart that will kill him, painfully, if he does not carry out his orders. [[spoiler:He either dies at your hands or is killed instantly after he sees you again, depending on whether you take him with you to Spellhold.]]
135	* 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.]]
136	* ''VideoGame/{{Dungeonmans}}'': He never really explains why, but it's made quite clear that Mazzik the Grieving is bound to Dread Foom's service whether he likes it or not. The player can point out that he doesn't seem "into it", and he'll state that his own opinion on the subject doesn't matter — though if he did have a choice, he'd rather have an alpaca farm.
137	* ''VideoGame/FableI'': TheDragon [[spoiler:Maze, your own mentor and the MoleInCharge of the Heroes Guild,]] combines this with IOweYouMyLife. The villain saved him from a Balverine attack in his youth, but then [[HeroKiller butchered a pair of heroes]] in front of him as a show of force and made clear that he'd meet the same fate as soon as [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness]].
138	-->''"For some of us, the quest -- the only quest -- is to escape death, whatever the cost."''
139	* Marcoh in ''VideoGame/FearAndHungerTermina'' was forced to work as a thug for the mobster Riccardo, with threatened to harm his sister if he refused. He eventually ended up solving the issue by killing Riccardo, then taking the first available train out of town.
140	* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'':
141	** From Chapter 10 of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': This conversation between a Plegian general and his soldiers after [[spoiler:Emmeryn's HeroicSacrifice]] is the result of a HeelFaceDoorSlam amongst the Plegian army:
142	--->'''Mustafa:''' So be it! Those of you who are unwilling to fight are dismissed!\
143	'''Soldier:''' But I don't wish to abandon you, sir!\
144	'''Mustafa:''' I cannot defy the king, lad. I know him well. He would murder my wife and child to set an example. I will accept the blame for your actions today. Now go!\
145	'''Soldier:''' W-wait, General! I see a cause worth fighting for, one I believe in: [[UndyingLoyalty loyalty to my general]].\
146	'''Mustafa:''' ...Aye. That's a good lad.
147	** This goes for the Avatar's Nohrian siblings in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates''. They're not evil themselves, just jaded from lives spent in the DecadentCourt, 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.
148	** In [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight 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.
149	* ''VideoGame/KnightEternal'': In the ending, [[spoiler:the queen of Zamaste reveals that she has been cursed to start a world war with Halonia that will eventually destroy all of humanity, and she wants her daughter Adalia to replace her as soon as possible so that the latter can lead Zamaste onto a more peaceful path. ''VideoGame/KnightBewitched2'' reveals that this was due to the Vulcan Stone curse]].
150	* 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]].
151	* In ''Videogame/LostJudgment'' the accomplices of [[spoiler:[[VigilanteMan Jin Kuwana]]]] are [[spoiler:his former high school students back when he was a teacher]] that he's blackmailed into being his lackies. Unlike other examples, they're treated fairly unsympathetically since [[spoiler:they're responsible for driving a kid to suicide (for which they don't show any regret)]] and [[spoiler:Kuwana]] treats forcing them to act as his goons as a form of atonement.
152	* Dr. Cossack from ''VideoGame/MegaMan4''. Sure, he's not threatened with death, but what about his daughter?
153	* In ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'', the noble dragon Belial is forced to do the Three Wise Mens' bidding since they control his heart with magic. Belial is only freed when Cornelius mortally wounds the dragon by piercing his heart. Belial uses his last remaining seconds of life to devour one of the Wise Men.
154	* 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.
155	* ''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.]]
156	* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', [[spoiler:Leon]] did genuinely see the party as friends, albeit begrudgingly. [[spoiler:Shame Hugo was holding Marian hostage, forcing him to steal the Eye of Atamoni for him and sending him to delay his friends and try to kill them.]]
157	* 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.
158	[[/folder]]
159
160	[[folder:Web Animation]]
161	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
162	** Roman Torchwick was [[DownplayedTrope already Vale's crime boss]], but he never sought the world-changing death and destruction [[TheHeavy Cinder Fall]] was planning. By the time he realised what Cinder was doing, he was in too deep to get out. In Volume 3, he tells Ruby Rose no-one can stop these super-villains; you have to join them or die.
163	** Ilia Amitola is not a fan of the extreme methods that the White Fang employ and doesn't relish the idea of hurting people. However, she has long since crossed the DespairEventHorizon and genuinely doesn't know how else to help the Faunus aside from violence. While dueling each other in the Volume 5 episode "[[Recap/RWBYV5E10TrueColors True Colors]]", Blake Belladona points out to Ilia she keeps making the wrong choices. [[spoiler:Eventually, a tearful Ilia asks Blake what she is supposed to do. She finds her answer after stopping Corsac Albain from attacking the Belladonnas, and pulls a HeelFaceTurn.]]
164	** Hazel Rainart hates [[BigGood Ozpin]] because he feels the Huntsman Academies are throwing away the lives of children. Though Ozpin [[GuiltComplex accepts]] Hazel's perception of him, he's baffled by Hazel's conclusion that opposing him means siding with the monstrous [[BigBad Salem]]. [[spoiler:While torturing Ozpin for the password to the [[ArtifactOfPower Relic of Knowledge]], Hazel admits he did go after Salem first. She let him [[CompleteImmortality kill her repeatedly]] until he [[DespairEventHorizon broke]] from the futility of fighting her. She redirected his rage at Ozpin, promising him a Huntsman-free world. Hazel's true problem with Ozpin is his determination to encourage opposition to an InvincibleVillain instead of accepting its futility; when he refuses to believe Ozpin's explanation that Salem's true end-game is planetary destruction, [[SharingABody Oscar Pine intervenes]] to give Hazel the password to the Relic of Knowledge in the hope that Hazel will use it to discover the truth for himself.]]
165	** Tyrian Callows believes that Mercury Black's boast about being fine with serving Salem because he's a trained assassin is hiding the fear of leaving the cycle of pain and violence his abusive father trapped him into. [[spoiler:After Salem promotes him out of Cinder's group, Tyrian confirms to him and Emerald that Salem's true end-game is to destroy the world. A visibly hesitant Mercury is whisked away to Vacuo by Tyrian before he can discuss it further with Emerald; these leaves her free to defect, but not him.]]
166	[[/folder]]
167
168	[[folder:Webcomics]]
169	* Knull Snow, nephew of the dreaded captain Snow, bloodthirsty pirate and the scourge of ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'', has been abducted by his uncle to serve on the pirating crew, because he has a powerful AntiMagic talent that makes kidnapping people so much easier. He's a NervousWreck, hates himself for not standing up to the captain, and manages to slip in a few acts of sabotage here and there, because he ''doesn't'' want to kill anyone, but nevertheless, without his cooperation, the villains' job would be much harder.
170	* Jin from ''Webcomic/Bastard2014'' is trapped into helping [[SerialKiller his father]] commit and cover up his crimes because the alternative for him [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness isn't pretty]].
171	* This turns out to be the reason why the [[TheDreaded Nightmare Knight]] from ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'' has not made peace with the rest of Dreamside. [[spoiler:Due to the circumstances when he created them, the Disaster Masters depend on his overwhelming magical powers to stay alive. Unfortunately, his powers scale with the amount of terror that his name inflicts on the populace, so despite wanting peace [[SlaveToPR he's stuck putting on the act]] of an imposing BigBad while secretly sabotaging the efforts of what are effectively his own children.]]
172	* In ''WebComic/DragonBallMultiverse'', the novelization implies this is pretty much the only reason why Bujin still hangs out with Bojack.
173	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', this is the reason Hedge, Guineas, and Vlad stuck with Damien. After his death, they immediately made {{Heel Face Turn}}s.
174	* In one arc of ''Webcomic/JackDavidHopkins'', a man becomes the assistant of a doctor who is working on a new treatment that could save the man's wife from dying of cancer. The man eventually discovers that the doctor is a twisted paedophile who is molesting child patients in his "care". He immediately threatens to go to the authorities, but the doctor reminds him that his research is the only hope his wife has and he is weeks away from completing it. The man reluctantly chooses his wife's life over the well-being of the children. [[spoiler:This becomes a ShootTheShaggyDogStory when the doctor eventually ''murders'' all of the children to cover his tracks, and the man's wife dies of shock when he confesses what he did. The only bright spot is that a hidden camera placed by a suspicious security guard exposed the doctor's crimes and he gets executed via lethal injection while whimpering in fear.]] The powers that be are sympathetic to the man's plight; though his sin denies him entry to Heaven, he is sent to Purgatory instead of Hell.
175	* ''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]].]]
176	* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' prequel ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'', Xykon {{invoke\|dTrope}}s this on Redcloak with a merciless BreakThemByTalking speech. 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.
177	* In ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy'', Sam isn't exactly happy being the Ninja Mafia Emperor. He can't just up and retire since the Mafia doesn't have a retirement policy that doesn't involve a bodybag.
178	* 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.
179	* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'':
180	** Dr. Irving Schlock decided the only alternative to years of running for his life from [[EvilInc Hereti Corp]] to be a hostile takeover of the company. After acknowledging his StartOfDarkness, he's in charge of the same agents who had been out to kill him.
181	** After taking in Oasis, Kareen Zapata felt her family was becoming more and more burdened with accessory to her slaughter of criminals. Though at first the town owned Oasis for cleaning up organized crime, she remained a ruthless vigilante and compulsive killer.
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Web Original]]
185	* The ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' quote at the top of the page suggests that some of [[BadBoss Freeza]]'s men, including [[TheDragon Zarbon]], are this.
186	[[/folder]]
187
188	[[folder:Western Animation]]
189	* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Jake vs. Me-Mow", kitty assassin Me-Mow forces Jake into killing Wildberry Princess with the threat of death.
190	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', hard [[ThisLoserIsYou luck civilian Charlie Collins]] goes through this when he cusses out a driver after getting cut off on the highway while already having a bad day. That driver turned out to be the Joker, who then forces Charlie to help him in an assassination plot against Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham police department during his birthday celebration. Charlie changed his name and moved his family to another location far away, hoping the Joker couldn't find him, but as the Joker pointed out, he was watching him and his family the whole time after their encounter. Charlie was able to turn the tables, however, and get the Joker off of his back by beating him at this own game.
191	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'', most of the Urpneys are [[MinionWithAnFInEvil impersonal dimwits]] who only follow [[BigBad Zordrak's]] orders because of his tendency to turn {{Mooks}} [[TakenForGranite into stone]] or feed them to his carnivorous pets should they annoy him. Granted, they do not have their conscience bothering them over their actions during military service. They would just prefer not to be sent out on dangerous missions with ridiculous gadgets in tow, to steal from angry Noops and Wuts. They change to {{Punch Clock Villain}}s in later episodes, even sabotaging one of Zordrak's schemes so he won't relieve them of their duties. Frizz and Nug would still rather not be dragged into missions, however.
192	* 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]].]]
193	* In ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'', Skeletor traps He-Man with a gem that forces him to be evil or else die. The heroes eventually reverse-engineers this to get Skeletor to only be good, but in the end, both devices break, as nothing would really change from this.
194	* [[Characters/HeyArnoldHelgaGPataki Helga G. Pataki]] 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.
195	* 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]].]]
196	* In the first season finale of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', Slade forces Robin to become his apprentice and turn on his comrades or else they will die.
197	* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' episode "Super Silly Swamp Sprint". Dick Dastardly, as always, is preparing a trap, making robotic mosquitoes to attack the other racers. He says that it was the other racers who force him to be a bad guy and claims that he doesn't want to, in a very unconvincing tone.
198	[[/folder]]
199

Context Main / TrappedInVillainy