Line #86 Main/KidnappedScientist


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9	[[quoteright:300:[[TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kidnapping101_-_coc_ccg_2567.jpg]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:300:I was wondering where I'd put that [=CHCl=][[subscript:3]].]]
11
12	->'''Clank:''' You'd be surprised how often scientists get kidnapped.\
13	'''Scientist:''' Actually, this is mein ''third'' time. I'm starting to get used to it.
14	-->-- ''VideoGame/SecretAgentClank''
15
16	An occupational hazard of having a specialized talent in demand is that sometimes "demand" can be taken literally -- a professional such as a scientist or engineer is kidnapped and [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse coerced]] into working for the bad guys, under threat to their life or [[IHaveYourWife the lives of their loved ones]]. Although there should be some obvious inherent risks to letting someone hostile to your plans work so intimately with them, doing things no one else in your organization fully understands, the success rate for this method seems to be pretty high -- at least until the heroes get around to rescuing them, until the villain decides that they've [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived their usefulness]], or until the scientist takes advantage of everyone's ignorance to sabotage the evil plan or [[LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard craft a weapon that allows him to escape]].
17
18	Note that this is not the same as kidnapping someone for information, using them as a LivingMacGuffin, or having someone MadeASlave for menial (or sexual) tasks -- but having a professional work intimately with the most delicate aspects of a plan, requiring highly specialized skills.
19
20	SubTrope of AnOfferYouCantRefuse. Compare ReluctantMadScientist, KidnappedDoctor, and ForcedCreativity. Also see TheWormGuy, a (usually) more benign version, and DoctorVonTurncoat, a (usually) more amoral version. Inverted with KidnappedForExperimentation, where the scientist is the one ''doing'' the kidnapping.
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26	* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Megumi Takani lost her family in the war, and was trying to move on with her life to study their trade (medicine). She was promised an apprenticeship, but ended up being forced to produce opium (and concoct stronger and more addictive varieties of the drug, such as Spider's Web) for Kanryu Takeda.[[note]]This was slightly changed in the anime: she ''did'' become the apprentice of a Tokyo doctor, but her mentor (aka the one who produced opium) was killed and only then Megumi was caught up in Kanryu's web.[[/note]] More than once, she has [[DrivenToSuicide attempted suicide]] over the guilt, but Kenshin convinced her to pick up her medical studies and focus on healing as many people as possible.
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Comic Books]]
30	* Doctor Will Magnus, creator of the ComicBook/MetalMen, is kidnapped during ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' and taken to Oolong Island so he can build a new [[DoomsdayDevice Plutonium Man]] for Intergang against his will. He's even less happy when they take his medication for his manic/depressive bipolar disorder with delusional episodes (since [[NoMedicationForMe going off his meds]] last time was what caused him to create the first Plutonium Man), but he ultimately outsmarts them and brings down their whole scheme.
31	* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'':
32	** Getafix, {{druid}} of Asterix's village, is kidnapped quite often for his knowledge of the SuperStrength [[SuperSerum magic potion]]. The plot of ''Recap/AsterixAndTheBigFight'' is kicked off by one such kidnapping attempt being foiled... [[FromBadToWorse because Obelix accidentally clobbered Getafix with a menhir during the fight]].
33	** In ''Recap/AsterixAndTheGoldenSickle'', Obelix' cousin Metallurgix is kidnapped because of his talent for making high-quality golden sickles.
34	* In ''ComicBook/AthenaVoltaire and the Immortal Power'', Werner Lang is a German researcher, but would no longer be working with the Nazis if he had any say in the matter. However, the Nazis want his research, and Athena is sent to rescue him.
35	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': An interesting play on this trope appears in ''Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man'' volume 1, issue #57. The scientist in this case (Marla Madison) actually agrees to help once Will o' the Wisp's situation is explained, forcing Spider-Man to instead focus on fighting off the Brand Corporation's guards.
36	* Professor Calculus in ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' has been kidnapped on two different occasions.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Fan Works]]
40	[[AC:By source material:]]
41	* A FandomSpecificPlot for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' involves at least one of the titular duo being kidnapped and forced to use their talents for evil. This usually necessitates a rescue by Perry.
42	[[AC:By title:]]
43	* Fantasy variation in ''Fanfic/TheParselmouthOfGryffindor'', where the Alizor King wants to keep Hermione and her friends prisoner so they'll teach him magic.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
47	* ''WesternAnimation/AprilAndTheExtraordinaryWorld'': One of the reasons why scientific progress has been retarded is that renowned scientists such as UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein and Enrico Fermi mysteriously disappear just as they are becoming famous. The scientists are being held prisoner by the {{Big Bad}}s to work on their secret project.
48	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'', [[BigBad Ratigan]] rather unusually kidnapped a toymaker, in order to build a life-size automaton double of the queen. To be fair, he was unlikely to find an actual roboticist in Victorian London.
49	* In ''WesternAnimation/StitchTheMovie'', [[MadScientist Jumba]] is kidnapped by his old partner Dr. Hamsterviel as ransom for his 625 experiments. Closer to the spirit of the basic trope, in ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', Jumba is kidnapped again, this time in order to create a new genetic SuperSoldier ("Leroy") for Hamsterviel to make an army of clones of.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
53	* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension'', Lord John Whorfin demands that Buckaroo surrender to him or Penny Priddy will be killed. After Buckaroo does so, he's tortured to make him tell how to complete the missing circuit in Whorfin's oscillation overthruster.
54	* In ''Film/{{Bullshot}}'', Professor Fenton is kidnapped by that Hun swine Otto von Bruno for nefarious purposes.
55	* In ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'', after failing to get his hands on the eponymous flying car, [[Creator/GertFrobe Baron Bomburst]] of [[{{Ruritania}} Vulgaria]] imprisons several inventors and orders them to design a flying car of their own. The baron's BumblingHenchmanDuo also try to capture [[Creator/DickVanDyke Caractacus Potts]], the BunglingInventor who built the original Chitty, but they mistakenly abduct his father instead.
56	* The opening scene of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' shows Bane kidnapping Dr. Leonid Pavel, a Russian nuclear physicist, from a CIA transport plane, [[FakingTheDead which he then crashes]]. He later forces the doctor to convert a prototype fusion reactor into a neutron bomb.
57	* In ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', the Fantom captures German scientists and their families. He forces the scientists to build advanced technology (like tanks and assault rifles) and reverse engineer the secrets of the League's members [[IHaveYourWife by threatening their families if they don't cooperate]].
58	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
59	** In ''Film/IronMan1'', Tony Stark and Dr. Yinsen are abducted and told to build the Jericho missile by the Ten Rings or be executed. They TakeAThirdOption.
60	** In ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', astrophysicist Dr. Erik Selvig is kidnapped and brainwashed by Loki to help build a portal device powered by the Tesseract.
61	* ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'': A Russian nuclear scientist's family is taken hostage to force him to work for Cobalt.
62	* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' has Dr. Valdo Obruchev -- a Russian scientist who defected to [=MI6=] -- being snatched by a SPECTRE commando team because Blofeld wants to get his hands on the weapon he's making. In a subversion, Obruchev is actually working for the ''real'' BigBad of the movie, and plays along because it's convenient for their plans.
63	* ''Film/ThePinkPantherStrikesAgain'' has the now-evil and insane Dreyfus capturing a scientist (and his Beautiful Daughter) to build a disintegration ray.
64	%%* The capture of Jorn in ''Film/RobotHolocaust'', which sets off the plot.
65	* ''Film/RogueOne'': Galen Erso is forcibly recruited by the Empire to design the Death Star. Initially, he refused to cooperate (they killed his wife and attempted to kidnap his daughter to force his compliance) but after realizing they would still eventually complete the project without him, he changed his mind. Pretending to be a broken man, he secretly used his position to sabotage the Death Star by sneaking in a critical flaw that could be exploited to destroy the station.
66	* In ''Film/TheSuperInframan'', Princess Dragon-Mom kidnaps the scientist in the film who created Inframan. This leads to an unintentionally hilarious scene of the scientist on a boat, being taken to Princess Dragon-Mom's hideout, surrounded by the film's hilariously silly-looking monsters.
67	* ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIITheSecretOfTheOoze'' has Shredder and the Foot Clan kidnapping a scientist that was involved in the development of the Ooze responsible for transforming the Turtles into their present state so he could force said scientist to create an army of mutants. The scientist reluctantly obliges, but uses infant animals and contaminates the ooze so that they retain a child-like intelligence resulting in Tokka and Rahzar. After being rescued by the Turtles, the scientist works with them to formulate an anti-mutagen based on the contamination so that the two mutants can be turned back to normal.
68	%%* ''Film/TopSecret'' does this with Professor Flammond.
69	* In ''Film/WildWildWest'', Dr. Loveless captures America's top scientists in the fields of physics, hydraulics, and explosives and forces them to build an 80-foot-tall SpiderTank that can belch out fireballs.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Literature]]
73	* In the ''[[Franchise/SherlockHolmes Dr. Watson At War]]'' series by Robert Ryan, the villain cons a British scientist into ''kidnapping himself'', by posing as a sympathetic intelligence officer who's come to warn him that he's about to be involved in a homosexuality scandal, but he'll take him away to a "safe and secure location" where he can continue his work while the government works to repress the scandal.
74	* In Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Prostho Plus'', a group of space aliens with poor hygiene kidnap a dentist.
75	* ''Literature/TheRiseOfRenegadeX'': In the first book, Damien's MadScientist mom kidnaps Sarah's dad to force him to make a hypnotism device for her after reading about how "Dr. Kink" has invented such a device. Actually, Sarah herself is the one who invented that device, and her dad has no idea how to duplicate her experiment. Damien points out to his mom that she really should have realized that sooner, as the elder Kink is a biologist and not an engineer.
76	* In the ''Literature/SnarkoutBoys'' books, Uncle Flipping is a MadScientist who in every book is kidnapped by the bad guys so that his inventions can be used to further their evil schemes.
77	* A twist in ''Literature/TheTightropeMen'' by Desmond Bagley, which takes place from the point-of-view of a man brainwashed and [[SurgicalImpersonation altered by plastic surgery into taking the place of the kidnap victim]]. In a DramaticIrony, his ordeal is AllForNothing, as the scientist is drowned when the speedboat used to kidnap him strikes another vessel in the dark and sinks. The doppelganger then has to continue playing the role to find out who was behind the kidnapping.
78	* In ''Literature/{{Twig}}'', Sylvester and Mary are forced to work without Lillian, their [[DeadlyDoctor Academy supervisor]] in the prison-town of Warrick. Faced with a frustrating lack of access to bioscientific solutions, they perform a home invasion on three local scientist/guards and force them to help manufacture poison gas and enhancement drugs at knifepoint.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
82	* ''Series/{{Alias}}'': Omnidisciplinary tech guy/GadgeteerGenius Marshall is kidnapped for information twice. The first time he says he can recreate the computer code they're looking for, and uses his coding skills to send a message to SD-6. He's kidnapped again for similar reasons in the GrandFinale.
83	* In ''Series/TheAmericans'', the Soviets kidnap dissident and physicist Anton Baklanov so he can help create a stealth airplane for them.
84	* In one episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Spike kidnaps Willow and Xander to force then-novice witch Willow to cast a love spell on Drusilla.
85	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
86	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior The Time Warrior]]", a Sontaran kidnaps scientists from his future to make them repair his spaceship.
87	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E2TheGhostMonument The Ghost Monument]]", the Doctor finds a message in an AbandonedLaboratory from the scientists who used to work there, who were kidnapped, and their families held hostage, and forced to build horrific weapons for their captors.
88	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E4NikolaTeslasNightOfTerror Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror]]", UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla is targeted for abduction by the alien Skithra because [[spoiler:as {{Insufficiently Advanced\|Alien}} scavengers, they refuse to develop the skills to repair their stolen technology and, stuck at the early 20th century, judge Tesla the best mind on Earth to be able to repair their ship and weaponry]].
89	%%** Professor Watkins in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E3TheInvasion The Invasion]]".
90	* In the 1970s and '80s ''Franchise/KamenRider'' series, a highly common plot of the week is a scientist being forced to build some DoomsdayDevice or plague or whatever, either by kidnapping the scientist (and it's his kid who runs into the Rider by dumb luck) or the scientist's loved ones (then it's the scientist who runs into the Rider by dumb luck). Note to scientists: if you ever get kidnapped by any NebulousEvilOrganisation run by the disembodied voice of Creator/GoroNaya (and there's a lot of 'em!), do ''not'' expect them to actually keep their deal.
91	* In ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'', a geneticist named Susan Lee (played by Creator/JuliaNickson) falls under this trope not once, not twice, but ''three times'' she's appeared. In her first appearance, "Higher Power" (Season 5), she's kidnapped by a Chinese warrior named Chang who seeks instead to kidnap her son, Davey, who is the reincarnation of Master Rin's former master, Lama Dolgin. Then, in "Heart of the Dragon" (also in Season 5), she and her father, Dr. Henry Lee, are kidnapped by a Chinese gang led by Jiang Chu, when they're intending to kidnap Henry's student, Henry Wu, who has stolen an ancient Jade Dragon from them hoping that it'll heal his sister, who was left in a coma after their parents were killed by a drunk driver. Lastly, in "Warriors" (Season 6), she -- and later, Davey -- is kidnapped by [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic a gang of conspirators bent on world domination]] to use her research and both their DNA to create and clone a race of [[NoSell powerful]] {{Super Soldier}}s.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Mythology]]
95	* Possibly the UrExample is the genius inventor Daedalus from Myth/ClassicalMythology, who was kept prisoner by King Minos both for his further work and to keep the secrets of his former work, i.e. the Labyrinth.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
99	* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' supplement ''The Blood and Dr. [=McQuark=]'', the brilliant scientist Dr. [=McQuark=] is kidnapped by the villain group VIPER and forced to create new technology for them. He pretends to go along with them while hoping for rescue. Just when VIPER's patience runs out, Dr. [=McQuark=] is rescued by the superhero Radion.
100	* In the ''TabletopGame/GURPSSupers'' supplement ''Supertemps'', when Harold Wilkesom created a prototype of a weapon that could silently throw metal playing cards, he was kidnapped by the villain group TRADE and forced to continue his research on it. When he learned he would be killed when it was complete, he used the prototype to escape.
101	* Sometimes, in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', an extraction job is helping a scientist who wants to change to a new company. Sometimes, it's this trope -- kidnapping somebody from their current employer because somebody else wants their knowledge and/or skills.
102	* ''TabletopGame/VillainsAndVigilantes'': Characters are only allowed to have a certain number of insightful ideas (Invention Points). Villains therefore kidnap scientists and other experts and force them to use their Invention Points to create new technology for the villains' use.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Video Games]]
106	* The climax of ''VideoGame/AnotherCode R'' is [[spoiler:Ashley attempting to save her father from Ryan, who kidnapped him to strong-arm her into getting full access to Another's abilities]].
107	* ''VideoGame/{{Arcanum}}'':
108	** There's an in-universe short story about some poachers who tried to hunt the mythical Stillwater Giant. They had planned to kidnap a gunsmith to maintain their weapons, but settle on the story's narrator, a chemist, instead.
109	** Late in the game, this is revealed to be a key component of the BigBad's evil plan: [[spoiler:he enslaved the Black Mountain clan shortly after their banishment, and has forced them to construct a technological portal which will rip a hole in the SealedEvilInACan he's trapped inside]].
110	* A coercion version occurs in ''Franchise/BlazBlue''. Litchi Faye-Ling, a talented scientist who used to work for the even more genius Kokonoe, has a certain breakthrough research. The bad guys, Hazama, want that, so they coerce her to joining 'on her own will' by dangling the cure for her actual target, her friend-turned-monster Lotte Carmine/Arakune, someone she feels it's her duty (out of grief and guilt) to save. It's clear that [[ForcedIntoEvil she dislikes the prospect of working with the bad guys with aims for world destruction, but she ends up having to do it, unless she wants danger to happen to Lotte if she just leaves him be without her supervision (they also have him in custody)]].
111	* ''VideoGame/CaptainSkyhawk'': Every fourth mission has you rescuing an apparently kidnapped scientist from an enemy battle station.
112	* Subverted in ''VideoGame/ClassifiedTheSentinelCrisis''. Your mission revolves around your attempts to rescue Dr. Landau, the Sentinel program's developer, who's been abducted by Balkan insurgents who want him to recreate the tech for them. When you manage to find him, [[spoiler:it turns out that Landau is a defector secretly working for the BigBad]].
113	* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'':
114	** Occurs semi-regularly in the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'', the most notable examples being Dr. Ignatio Moebius and Dr. Alphonse Giraud. Thing is, Nod scientists are treated ''very'' well and have practically limitless resources, so it is not uncommon for kidnapped scientists to pull a FaceHeelTurn, which is implied to have happened with Dr. Giraud.
115	** In the campaign of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', the Pacifier (an artillery HoverTank) was built by [=FutureTech=] with some degree of input from captured ''Soviet'' scientists. Why the Soviets don't try making their own once the scientists are rescued is unexplained.
116	* In ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'', the player can kidnap specialists -- including scientists -- and interrogate them to unlock new minion types.
117	* ''VideoGame/Fallout2'': Downplayed with Vic the repairman, who is first found being held captive by slavers using him to construct a radio, except that it wasn't so much that he did the job unwillingly as that he'd been paid for it, failed to get it right the first time and was held prisoner until he could finish it properly.
118	* Dr. Fielder from ''VideoGame/HourOfVictory'' is a benevolent Danish geneticist kidnapped by a Nazi InsaneAdmiral to create a biological weapon, and one of your missions have you retrieving him from the Nazi's fortress in the Austrian Alps.
119	* The Trash-Men in ''VideoGame/InFamous'' kidnap engineers to help them interfere with the power supply and construct their giant tower of junk.
120	* In ''VideoGame/InFamous2'', Dr. Wolfe, the inventor of the Ray Sphere is kidnapped and forced to work for Bertrand.
121	* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
122	** Used partially in ''VideoGame/MegaMan4''. While he is not the victim of the kidnapping himself, but rather his daughter, Dr. Mikhail Cossack is blackmailed by Dr. Wily to build him an army of robots to defeat Mega Man and take over the world. Played straight in ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'' with Dr. Light.
123	** The fifth ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' game used this as well, with Dr. Yuuichiro Hikari kidnapped by the Nebula syndicate for the duration of the game.
124	* Happens all the time in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'', including (but not limited to):
125	** Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar in ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'', original inventor of the eponymous battletank ([[{{Retcon}} or at least a more compact version of the concept]]).
126	** Dr. Pettrovich again in ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake''. [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn He's faking it this time]].]]
127	** Otacon in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', whose plans for a defensive missile system are used to build a nuclear-equipped WalkingTank.
128	** Emma Emmerich, the former's sister in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', who engineered one of the Patriots' [=AIs=].
129	** Nikolai Sokolov in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', a Soviet scientist who defected, but was rekidnapped by Colonel Volgin so that he can finish the Shagohod.
130	** Dr. Naomi Hunter in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', who has been abducted by Liquid Ocelot and forced to continue her bioengineering research to put Liquid's insurrection into motion.
131	** Dr. Huey Emmerich in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', who is kidnapped by [[spoiler:(and is actually quite happy to work for)]] Skull Face, who forces him to build a new WalkingTank.
132	* In ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', [[spoiler:Raven Beak]] kidnaps Quiet Robe after the former kills the latter's tribe. He needs Quiet Robe alive long enough to learn how to control the Metroids.
133	* Prof. Theo, the inventor of the robotic cleaning maid Marina Liteyears, in ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers''. The premise of the game involves Marina and Theo visiting Planet Clancer, and when Theo ends up kidnapped by an evil empire, [[spoiler:revealed to be led by [[CainAndAbel his brother, Leo]],]] Marina sets out to rescue him.
134	* Happens within the first 20 minutes of ''VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness''. Professor Krane is kidnapped by a couple of [[TheSyndicate Cipher]] [[{{Mooks}} Peons]] to forcibly help with their [[TheCorruption Shadow Pokémon]] research.
135	* The BigBad of ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture'' has a team of these working to fulfill his goals. In a twist, it's never made entirely clear if the scientists are actually aware that they have been kidnapped.
136	* In the ''VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}'' series, more often than not the plot is set in motion with Dr. Cinnamon being kidnapped.
137	* ''VideoGame/WillYouSnail'' features Amelia, an AI researcher who was captured by a corrupt government (known only as The Regime) under false accusations of terrorism so she could develop an AI supercomputer for the purposes of war and surveillance. The Regime forced her to sleep in a prison cell and threatened her family in order to get her to comply with their demands.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
141	* The heroine of ''VisualNovel/StarshipPromise'' is held prisoner by a couple different antagonists who force her to work for them. On at least one occasion, she builds a secret failsafe into the device she's forced to work on.
142	* In ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'''s backstory, [[spoiler:Alice's father]] was kidnapped along with several other scientists and forced to research [[spoiler:human cloning for the Free the Soul cult]].
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Webcomics]]
146	* [[TheAtoner Charles]] in ''Webcomic/AntiheroForHire''.
147	-->"Think: Your power suits keep them alive and give them the edge. Back them up with bipedal weapons platforms and actually expendable robot troops. And of course... something to transport them to battle... What do you think? You in? (Note, this is a rhetorical question as I'm forcing you in under pain of murder. Sorry for any confusion)"
148	* In the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20210819002230/http://www.heroicmultiverse.com/flare/webcomic/index.php?pn=500 crossover comic]] between ''ComicBook/{{Flare}}'' and ''Webcomic/SpyingWithLana'', the two heroines work together to rescue a Belorussian scientist from the CorruptCorporateExecutive J. Reginald Butte.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Western Animation]]
152	* In ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'', Hector the Forgemaster is not so much kidnapped as manipulated into working for Carmilla. Once he's irrevocably on her side, she drops any pretense of diplomacy and [[MadeASlave treats him like an animal]] while still expecting him to create an army for her.
153	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', the MadScientist Professor Nimnul was kidnapped by a mob boss so he could use Nimnul's shrinking ray to go on a crime spree. Ironic in that Nimnul was already evil, but he still hated not being given credit for the crime spree.
154	* Terran Prof. Algernon from ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'' was captured by the Neosapiens early in the war and constructed a number of fantastic weapons for them (most notably, the GRAF Shield) until his recapture by the Exofleet. Being somewhat of a MadScientist, however, he is rather indifferent towards his employees and cares more about lab equipment than about who uses his inventions and to what ends.
155	* Actually used by the ''good guys'' once in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', when Goliath kidnaps [[EvilutionaryBiologist Sevarius]] to find a cure for the mutants he'd created. Elisa calls him out on it and in the end Xanatos rescues Sevarius anyway. It's never made clear whether the serum Sevarius made was truly a cure or would have been a poison.
156	* All the time in ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''. It seems like half of M.A.D.'s plans involve kidnapping scientists, although the unwilling ones are just about never shown actually working.
157	* In ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', there is an entire race of kidnapped scientists... whose inventions always seem to go horribly wrong for some inexplicable reason.
158	* A common occurrence in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', due to the fact that the titular spy ''is'' the daughter of a rocket scientist (her father, James) and a brain surgeon (her mother, Ann):
159	** Played with in "[[Recap/KimPossibleS1E7NumberOne Number One]]", Duff Killigan's first (and only, as a solo villain) episode. Killigan kidnaps a scientist who had developed a top-secret missile-defense system... a technology that is now obsolete and readily available on the Internet. The [[IKnowMaddenKombat golf-obsessed]] villain was actually after the now-retired scientist's quick-grass-growing formula.
160	** Subverted in [[Recap/KimPossibleS1E9AttackOfTheKillerBebes "Attack of the Killer Bebes"]], where Dr. Drakken's eponymous robots kidnap multiple scientists, among them Kim's father ([[spoiler:though they actually got Ron impersonating him]]). It turns out Drakken's doesn't want their expertise (which, in a subversion of OmnidisciplinaryScientist, are pointed out as irrelevant to the situation), he's seeking revenge on [[EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether his old college friends]] after they mocked him over his scientific skills way back when.
161	** Dr. Wanda Wong in "[[Recap/KimPossibleS2E25SickDayTheTruthHurts The Truth Hurts]]". She is kidnapped by Dr. Drakken and Shego, demanding she reveal her scientific secrets to them, threatening to make her talk with a [[TruthSerum Truth Ray]], but the Ray hits Kim and Ron instead while they rescue her. [[spoiler:At the end of the episode, when [[DinnerWithTheBoss Mr. Dr. Possible's bosses come over for dinner]] and [[BrutalHonesty Kim is unable to keep everything her father said about them to herself due to her having been hit by the Ray]] (one has [[DodgyToupee a bad hairpiece]], one is a [[TheBore crashing bore]], and one is [[InsufferableGenius an annoying know-it-all]]) in spite of her attempts [[CannotTellALie to avoid blurting it all out]], Wong is revealed to be the board chairwoman of the space center, and clears up the whole issue when the other board members refused to believe Kim.]]
162	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': When Mr. Burns tries to capture the Loch Ness Monster in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E21MontyCantBuyMeLove Monty Can't Buy Me Love]]", he kidnaps Professor Frink for help.
163	* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E14WelcomeToTheChumBucketFrankendoodle Welcome to the Chum Bucket]]", Plankton -- tired of going to the trouble of stealing the Krabby Patty formula -- "kidnaps" [=SpongeBob=] (albeit in a completely legal way, since he tricks Mr. Krabs into betting [=SpongeBob=]'s contract [[LostHimInACardGame in a card game]]) to work at the Chum Bucket and make him one.
164	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': "[[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS4E02InTheNameOfTheRebellionPartII In the Name of the Rebellion, Part II]]" has Ezra, Sabine and Chopper rescue a group of technicians who were kidnapped by the Empire during a mission with Saw Gerrera. The technicians decide to join the Rebellion at the end, and it is heavily implied that they were kidnapped to work on the Death Star.
165	* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': In "[[Recap/TangledTheSeriesS3E12CassandrasRevenge Cassandra's Revenge]]", Cassandra is after a scroll that contains an incantation that will allow her to control the mysterious black rocks. Said scroll is written in a long-forgotten language, with the only one capable of translating it being [[TeenGenius Varian]]. She abducts him and forces him via TruthSerum to translate the scroll, then uses him as [[HostageForMacGuffin bait to lure Rapunzel to her]].
166	* The ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' cartoons have had this happen a few times. Most of the time, the abducted scientist is [[MadScientist Baxter Stockman]]. A notable example happens in the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 2012]] episode "[[Recap/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012S2E5MikeyGetsShellacne Mikey Gets Shellacne]]", in which Dogpound and Fishface [[IJustWantToBeNormal become desperate to be human again]] and kidnap Stockman to try and make him change them back.
167	* This has happens at least once per series in the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' TV shows:
168	** There are several episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' in which the Decepticons capture or steal from human scientists to further their own goals.
169	** An important plot point in Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' is that Professor Sumdac (both as revenge for reverse-engineering Megatron's head and because he's the most intelligent human in the show) is held prisoner by the Decepticons so he can help them construct their space bridge. [[spoiler:When it's revealed that Bulkhead is ''the'' expert on space bridges, the Decepticons kidnap him, too.]]
170	** Towards the very end of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', [[spoiler:Ratchet is kidnapped by Soundwave and taken aboard the ''Nemesis'' due to his inventing synthetic Energon. Megatron manages to coerce him to help them create a stable formula (although Ratchet is trying to escape the entire time and manages to turn Preda-King against Megatron)]].
171	* Serling Roquette from ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' was kidnapped in order to produce a nano-robotic "fog" capable of stealing information and destroying the computers that held it. She's freed within the episode and later is instrumental in producing Cure-Tech.
172	[[/folder]]
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174	[[folder:Real Life]]
175	* [[OnlyInFlorida Florida man]] [[https://themotherofallnerds.com/man-abducts-scientist-to-make-his-dog-immortal/ kidnaps scientist to make]] [[CanineCompanion his dog]] [[{{Immortality}} immortal]].
176	* Los Zetas, a major [[TheCartel Mexican crime syndicate]], has been known to [[http://www.insightcrime.org/slavery-in-latin-america/zetas-enslave-engineers-in-mexico kidnap telecoms engineers]] to build and maintain their communications network. Unlike their usual kidnapping victims, ransoms are not offered, and the victims are believed to be killed when they have [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived their usefulness]].
177	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / KidnappedScientist