Pinned to the Ground

The many ways to pin someone down.^note Sources of the top images (left to right): Pokémon Adventures Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Ch. 2, Hawkgirl (2023) #5 cover and One Piece Ch. 720; Sources of the bottom images (left to right): My Hero Academia episode 54 and Big Hero 6 season 2 episode 13

Policeman Bob has been chasing the criminal Dennis for a while. He finally catches up to him, tackles him to the ground and holds him there until his fellow officers arrive with the handcuffs.

Whenever one character holds another to the ground, be it by sitting or laying on them or pressing them to the ground using their hands, knee or feet, in an effort to prevent them from escaping or outright moving, this trope applies. Note that this is not a hero-exclusive trope. Villains can engage in it, too, to prevent their victims from escaping or to prevent The Hero from stopping their plans or to deliver a Coup de Grâce.

If the characters involved have Unresolved Sexual Tension, one of them physically pressing the other to the ground could be seen as a Ship Tease.

Since the pinning requires pressure to be asserted onto the body of the person, this trope may overlap with Cruelty by Feet where someone, usually a villain, stomps on someone else to cause grievous bodily harm or even death. Please note, however, that an overlap with this or any other trope involving grievous bodily harm or death only occurs if there is an intent to hold the one pinned down in place. If the intent is to kill or torture the one pinned down with the pin down only being a side-product, it does not count.

Sister Trope of Dogpile Of Doom where a lot of people pin down a singular person as well as Pinned to the Wall where a character is pinned against a surface, usually a wall, by a pointy object, either through their body or clothes. Compare Victory Pose On Person where someone puts their foot on a defeated, sometimes still conscious opponent as part of their Victory Pose and which can look very similar. Contrast Neck Lift where someone is held in the air by their throat.

Not to be confused with Pinned Down which is when someone has to take cover from gunfire and can't safely move to another spot.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Code Geass:
  • This usually happens to Lelouch after Suzaku learns that he is Zero, the one who brainwashed Euphemia to massacre the Japanese and then, killed her. After their Mexican Standoff, Suzaku kicks off Lelouch's gun and pins him on the ground while removing the Sakuradite bomb on his chest. After capturing Lelouch, Suzaku brings him in front of Emperor Charles while pinning him on the throne room floor with a straitjacket. When Charles uses his Geass to erase Lelouch's memories of Marianne, Nunnally, and his alter ego Zero, Suzaku pulls Lelouch his head up by the hair so that he can force Lelouch to see Charles' eyes when he uses his Geass.
  • Jeremiah slams Rolo head-first on the school ground after he uses his Geass Canceller to negate Rolo's Geass ability of time freezing. Then, he demands Rolo to tell him where Lelouch is; though, the fighting stops when Viletta arrives.
• Dragon Ball Z: After tricking Goku into letting go of his tail, Raditz beats him to the ground and pins him down with his foot on his chest intending to crush it.
• My Hero Academia: During the Provisional Hero License Exam, Toga who is disguised as Camie attacks Midoriya from behind pinning him to the ground to talk to him.
• Naruto: While Kakashi reprimands Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke after they failed his test, Sasuke attacks Kakashi but is quickly subdued and pinned to the ground by Kakashi sitting on him holding one of Sasuke's arms behind his back.
• One Piece:
  • In Marineford, Sengoku slams Garp head-first into the ground holding him in place after Garp tried to kill Akainu for killing Ace.
  • When Rebecca attacks Luffy in the Corrida Colosseum, he dodges her attack, jumps into the air, and pushes her to the ground using his feet against her arms landing on her stomach and pinning her to the ground.
  • On Whole Cake island, after the plan to assassinate Big Mom has gone awry, Luffy clashes with Big Mom but quickly has his strength drained. He is caught by Sanji. Sanji then places him on the ground to fight. Galette, one of Big Mom's daughters, uses the opportunity to put her foot on Luffy's upper stomach, pinning him down and using her ability to bind his arms to his body.
  • After defeating Vinsmoke Judge, Big Mom pins him to the ground under her foot.
• At the start of the 13th saga of Pokémon Adventures, Ruby finds Zinnia in Sky Tower. After a short Pokémon battle, he throws her to the ground and pins her down, questioning her about a possible threat to the planet.

Audio Play

• Jan Tenner:
  • In episode 23 of the first series, Jan Tenner: Classic, Jan and General Forbett are climbing a seemingly endless set of stairs as part of the fifth test they have to pass before they can get the Stone of Power. When they suddenly reach the end of the stairs and fight spacecrafts waiting for them, Forbett is about to take one so that the two as well as their friends, whom they had to leave behind as part of the last test, can get back to Earth. But Jan, correctly deducing that this is part of the test, tackles him to the ground and pins him down with his knee pressing on Forbett's back until the General comes back to his senses.
  • The cover◊ of the episode "Schatten über Westland" (engl. "Shadows over Westland") shows Jan pinning down his son Jan Jr., ready to deliver a Coup de Grâce.

Comic Books

• In the final issue of Amazons Attack! Vol. 1, Wonder Woman confronts Circe over her manipulations which caused the Amazons to attack the US knocking her down and pinning her to the floor with her foot.
• The Avengers:
  • In issue #18 of Avengers Arena, Death Locket, a cyborg who has been used as a puppet by the sociopathic technopath Apex, gets freed and delivers a beat down to Apex which ends with Death Locket pinning her down with her foot on her chest ready to deliver the Coup de Grâce.
  • In issue #3 of Avengers: The Children's Crusade, Wiccan tries to rescue his amnestic mother, Wanda Maximoff from Dr. Doom. He breaks into her room but she surprises him from behind, knocking him out. When he regains consciousness, he finds her foot on his chest pinning him down.
• In the first issue of the Batman spin-off Batman Secret Files: The Signal, Signal meets up with some of his former friends from their time in We Are Robin. Unfortunately, since they see him leaving their group as a betrayal, they attack him. During the fight, one of them, Rook, kicks him to the ground and pins him down with her foot on the side of his head.
• The cover of Green Lantern Vol. 3 #112 shows Fatality pinning down Jade with her foot intending to kill her.
• Grimm Fairy Tales:
  • In Vol. 1 #112 of the mainline comic, Maka, who has been posing as her sister Duranna, surprises Sela Mathers when she reveals her true allegiances and throws her to the ground. She then proceeds to pin Sela down by stomping with her foot on the back of Sela's head.
  • In the first issue of the first comic of Robyn Hood, Shang interrupts a ritual where some unnamed villains use Robyn as a baby. During the fight, one of the villains manages to pin Shang to the ground with her foot on his chest.
  • In the special Robyn Hood Age Of Darkness, Robyn encounters the witch Avella, an old enemy of hers. Robyn immediately attacks her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her down with her foot on Avella's chest.
• Hawkgirl (2023): As seen above on the page image (top middle image), the cover for issue 5 shows the villain Vulpecula pinning down Hawkgirl with her foot on Hawkgirl's back as Hawkgirl desperately tries to reach for her mace.
• In the 14th issue of He-Man: The Eternity War, Evil Lyn defeats Teela and pins her down with her foot on her head raising her staff for a Coup de Grâce.
• Invincible: In issue 110, Anissa beats down Mark after having her advances rejected by him and holds him to the ground as she proceeds to rape him continuing to hold him down throughout the ordeal.
• Overwatch Expanded Universe: In the comic Searching, Zarya is charged with tracking down Sombra for threatening Chairman Volskaya in the animated short Infiltration. She eventually finds her and manages to counter her fighting style using a gravatonic surge. With Sombra helplessly on the ground before her, Zarya walks over and pins her down with her foot on Sombra's upper body ready to deliver a Coup de Grâce.
• Power Girl (2023): In issue 8, Power Girl spots Crush in Metropolis. Mistaking her for one of the Czarnians Brainiac recently let loose on the city, she attacks her but is surprised by Crush's chain which ties her up. As she falls to the ground with the front of her body, Crush pins her to the ground with her foot on her back to prevent her from getting back up.
• She-Hulk: In issue 15 of Volume 4, She-Hulk ties up The Scoundrel for selling a bomb to some aliens to blow up New York and pins him to the ground with her foot on his back.
• Star Wars: In issue 6 of Star Wars: The High Republic 2023, Tey uses a dark side artifact to stop a crazed force user and gets corrupted by it. In response, Master Vildar slashes at him, throwing him onto the ground, and pins him down with his foot on his chest.
• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow: In the first issue, Supergirl beats a bounty hunter by throwing him onto the ground and pinning him down with her foot on his chest after witnessing him mistreat a young girl.
• Teen Titans:
  • The cover◊ of The Return of Donna Troy #3 shows Donna Troy pinning down Wonder Girl strangling her with her lasso.
  • At the beginning of the first annual of Teen Titans (New 52), Red Robin finds himself in N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s Colony, pinned down with a foot on his chest by Artemis, one of the metahuman captives there.
• Witchblood: The cover◊ of issue 3 depicts Atlacoya pinning down Yonna with her foot on the back of her head ready to deliver a Coup de Grâce.
• Wonder Woman:
  • In Vol. 1 #006 of the mainline comic, Wonder Woman meets Cheetah for the first time as she pins down a rich guy she's in the middle of robbing.
  • In Vol. 1 #795 of the mainline comic, Wonder Woman and Yara Flor tie up Eros' physical avatar with the Lasso of Truth to stop his plan and pin him down with Diana's foot on his chest.
  • In Vol. 2 #214 of the mainline comic, Cheetah and Zoom attacked Flash and Wonder Woman. While Zoom battles Wonder Woman, Cheetah manages to defeat Flash and pin him down with her foot against his chest.
  • In Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia, Diana pins Batman to the ground with her foot on his head to end the fight over Danny.
    Wonder Woman: Don't. Get. Up.
  • In Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman Wonder Woman speaks with an athlete and her friends. Suddenly, Superwoman attacks her, managing to beat her to the ground, pinning her down with her foot against the side of her head, raising her whip to attack her.

Fan Works

• Hunters of Justice: After being beaten down by Brainiac, Ruby tries to get up only for the villain to pin her back down with his foot on her head mocking her attempt as futile.

Film — Animation

• Green Lantern: First Flight: After a ringless Hal Jordan refuses to join Sinestro, Sinestro's accomplice Bootikka captures him in a tight force field and pins him down with her foot on his chest while he slowly suffocates.
• The Lion King (1994): Nala pinned down Simba twice while they played together as cubs. When they encounter each other again as adults, Simba recognizes his best friend after such a long time apart when she does so again.
• The Powerpuff Girls Movie: After Mojo Jojo and his army conquer the city of Townsville, Mojo throws the Mayor to the ground and pins him down under his foot.

Film — Live-Action

• In The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, at a climactic moment when Sinbad finds himself being attacked by an angry Roc Bird, he suddenly sees Baronni the genie's lamp fall over, and Evil Sorcerer Sokurah make a move for it. Sinbad immediately alerts his second-in-command Harufa, who runs for the lamp as well. However, Sokurah proves that he's no slouch in physical combat by wrestling Harufa to the ground, pinning him down with his body to prevent him from reaching the lamp. In spite of this, Harufa does manage to reach the lamp, and throw it over towards Sinbad, ensuring that even when the Roc grabs him, he still has the genie on his side. Furious at being denied what he sees as rightfully being his, Sokurah furiously punches Harufa while he's still lying down, then gets up, grabs a spear, and impales him with it.

Literature

• Discworld: The History Monks use a martial arts move called "the Straddle of the Fish" to pin down opponents. The only escape is by dislocating one's own shoulders.
• The Hunger Games: At the feast, Katniss is ambushed and held down by Clove. The career tribute is large enough and heavy enough to keep her on the ground with just her knees, and she uses that time to prepare to kill Katniss - intending to hold her down all the while. Luckily, Thresh, overhearing her taunts about the deceased Rue, grabs Clove and kills her, sparing Katniss.
• In I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, Sakura tries pressuring the protagonist into sex, then laughs it off as a prank. Thinking she was mocking him, he grabs and slams her onto the bed holding her down. It's only after she begins to cry that he realizes what he's done and proceeds to run away.
• In The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, Fredda would repeatedly sit on Bluebear's back during break time shoving pencils into his nose and ears until he agreed to marry her.

Live-Action TV

• The Brittas Empire: When Suzie learns that she is seemingly pregnant at the start of "Pregnant!", she reacts so poorly to this that Brittas ends up pinning her down using his hands on her back until her brother from the dog-handling unit can show up to take her away.
• Power Rangers:
  • In episode 33 of Power Rangers in Space, as the Rangers battle the Psycho Rangers, the Yellow Ranger falls to the ground. Psycho Pink proceeds to stomp on her pinning her down.
  • In the fifth episode of Power Rangers Megaforce, the Monster of the Week throws the Pink Ranger to the ground, pinning her down with her foot on her stomach.

Puppet Shows

• Fraggle Rock: In "Boober's Dream", Boober brings his friends into his dream to meet Sidebottom, his goofy alter-ego. During a game of Fraggle Freeze, in which he causes Boober's friends to freeze in place, Sidebottom reveals that he intends to keep them there forever. Boober tackles him and demands that he unfreeze his friends.
  Boober: Listen, if I let you up, will you let my friends go?
  Sidebottom: Knock, knock.
  Boober: Who's there?
  Sidebottom: Lettuce.
  Boober: Lettuce who?
  Sidebottom: Let us up and you'll find out.
  [Boober pushes Sidebottom's head to the ground.]
  Boober: Notice I am not laughing. Notice I am still sitting on top of you!
  Sidebottom: Notice you're no fun at all.
  Boober: Will you let my friends go, or do I sit here forever? I could do it, you know. It's my sort of activity.
  Sidebottom: Okay, okay, you win! You always win in the end.

Video Games

• Star Wars: The Old Republic: Bounty Hunter players have the option to pin down two people throughout their story:
  • On Taris, Torian tries to sneak up on the player. They can choose to throw him to the ground and pin them down with their feet on his chest.
  • On Quesh, the player can choose to throw a Jedi[[note]]Depending on a previous choice, the Jedi can be either male or female wanting to arrest them to the ground and pin them down with their foot before killing them.

Web Animation

• RWBY:
  • During the penultimate episode of season 2, after Blake's use of Dust in combination with her Semblance results in Torchwick getting thrown to the ground, he tries to get back up only for her to pin him back down with her foot on his chest.
  • After Ruby's use of her silver eyes leaves Cinder vulnerable, Jaune goes in for the kill trying to stab her. Cinder manages to dodge at the last moment causing Jaune to lose his balance and fall to the ground. As he tries to get back up, Cinder, angry that he almost managed to kill her, stomps on his chest pinning him back down to the ground.
  • After their first battle, Salem pins down Oz before killing him.

Western Animation

• American Dragon: Jake Long: While infiltrating Hunter Academy, Jake is pinned down twice by Rose:
  • The first time, he is pinned down in a lesson to demonstrate how to keep dragons in place before going in for the kill.
  • The second time, Rose finds him sneaking around and pins him to the ground to remove his mask.
• Avengers Assemble: In episode 14 of season 3, Black Widow follows Hydra after they kidnap Bruce Banner. After discovering where they took him, she gets into a fight with the Hydra agent Yelena Belova. During the fight, she manages to throw Yelena onto a glass panel above the room where Bruce is being held. As Baron Strucker talks about his plans for Bruce, Black Widow holds Yelena down onto the glass panel before pinning her down with her foot on her back until Yelena destroys the glass underneath them causing them to fall.
• The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: During a fight against Hydra in episode 16 of season 1, Madame Hydra manages to tie up Mockingbird with her whip. When Mockingbird tries to get back up, Madame Hydra pins her back down with her foot on the side of her head.
• Big Hero 6: The Series:
  • During a fight, Momakase manages to destroy Wasabi's weapons. He then slips on a bottle giving Momakase an opening to pin him to the ground with her foot on his chest.
  • During their final confrontation, Hiro is thrown in front of Liv /Di Amara, who proceeds to pin him to the ground with her knee on his stomach and attempt to plant a chip on him which would turn him into a monster under her control.
• Code Lyoko: After kidnapping her, the possessed Wiliam lays Aelita sideways down on the back of a Manta, climbs onto it himself, and then puts his foot onto the side of her upper body pinning her to the back of the Manta preventing her from escaping.
• Danny Phantom:
  • While trying to get Kitty and Jonny 13 back together in episode 16 of season 1, Danny and Jonny come up with a plan that sees Danny beating Jonny before pinning him down with his foot on his lower chest and raising his hand pretending to prepare to deliver the Coup de Grâce.
  • Following her regaining her youth in season 2 episode 2, Penelope Spectra pins down Danny Phantom by stomping on his chest with her foot thinking about how to destroy him.
• Dragons: Riders of Berk: In the 7th episode of the 7th season, Astrid and Hiccup are training together. Eventually, Astrid throws him onto the ground and pins him down with her foot on his chest winning the match.
• Jade Armor: After the Crimson Lord trapped her mother in a lightbulb, Lan Jun furiously attacks him pinning him to the ground demanding to know what he did to her mother.
• Transformers: Animated: In the episode "Nanosec", Prowl briefly manages to stop the Villain of the Week by stunning him and pinning him to the street with his foot. However, Nanosec manages to escape a second later via his newly-acquired super-speed.
• Trollhunters: After accidentally splitting himself into multiple clones of himself, Jim finds himself fighting one of these clones who is singular-minded towards his duty as a Trollhunter. Said clone, determined to get rid of him, eventually pins him to the ground preparing to finish him.
• In the second episode of Ultimate Spider-Man (2012), the Frightful Four get the drop on Spiderman with Thundra pinning him down with her foot on his chest so that The Wizard places one of his discs on its chest to make him float.
• Young Justice:
  • In episode 4 of season 1 Kobra throws Robin onto the ground and pins him down with his foot on his chest slowly crushing it.
  • In episode 14 of season 3, Big Barda throws Superman onto the ground and pins him down with her foot on his stomach before blasting him in his face with her weapon.

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