• About

The Reclusive Essayist

~ Rants about the 80s, 90s, 00s, and today

The Reclusive Essayist

Tag Archives: Return of the Jedi

Villain Dress Up

17 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by pcclsky in Trope Suggestions, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

batman, brainwashing, Dark Phoenix, dress up, humiliation, james bond, kidnapping, Lunar: Silver Star Story, Monsters vs. Aliens, Princess Leia, Return of the Jedi, Star Trek, trope, trope suggestions, villains, X-Men

(Again, I’m pretty sure this one has already been done. If so, please tell me so I can deny it.)

What was a villain’s favorite childhood game? Here’s a hint…they keep playing it as an adult.

“Villain Dress Up” refers to the tendency of villains in media to dress kidnapped protagonists/civilians in different attire, usually when the kidnapping involves brainwashing and/or involving ironic and potentially humiliating clothing. Occasionally it is an act of being Affably Evil, but often times it’s the villain either being perverted or seeking to humiliate the kidnapped individual. Occasionally it’s to help “rub in” brainwashing when the individual is turned on the other protagonists.

In almost every case, it’s pointless. It serves no useful advantage to the villain in most cases and doesn’t offer a detriment to the protagonists. It might be a sign of Joining the Team for brainwashed heroes, but often it has no other purpose other than to show off that the villain is deranged or creepy. This is especially the implication in ones with male villains who dress-up female protagonists, as this usually happens while the protagonist was unconscious…implying the villain stripped them nude to do it.

Examples:

  • Both of the original animated series for “Batman” and “Superman” were involved in this. One of the Mad Hatter’s signature schticks was to dress up people he brainwashed to look more “thematic” and “campy”, just like him. In one of the early Superman episodes, the Toyman kidnapped Lois Lane and dressed her up as a doll.
  • James Bond villains are rather notorious for this, especially in the Connery and Moore eras. In addition to capturing Bond rather than outright killing him, they’d often treat him by giving him a nice outfit.
  • The second story arc in “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” featured Prince Diamond dressing up Usagi on capturing her even though he literally only planned to kill her or watch her die shortly thereafter.
  • One of the quirks of the Thriller Bark arc in “One Piece” is Nami finding herself in a wedding dress as a result of a villain trying to marry her while she’s unconscious.
  • In the infamous “Dark Phoenix Saga” of X-Men, the brainwashed Phoenix was clad in the now-infamous, dominatrix-like “Black Queen” getup.
  • Also in X-Men, Arcade dressed all of the “second generation” X-Men up in their uniforms before officially beginning his “game” after abducting them for Murderworld.
  • In “Monsters vs. Aliens”, Susan finds that her clothes have been changed on waking up after being abducted by Gallaxhar. This actually ends up being beneficial for a change as they end up being clothes that can shrink and grow with her.
  • In “Lunar: Silver Star Story”, Luna gets dressed in a skimpy, revealing outfit when brainwashed by Ghaleon to be a puppet goddess. The fact that this is nothing like what Althena ever originally wore implies Ghaleon himself is rather perverted.
  • One of the most infamous dress-ups ever happened in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” when the captured Princess Leia was forced to dress in what amounted to a metal bikini.
  • In the Star Trek original series episode “Plato’s Stepchildren”, the captured Enterprise crew members are further humiliated not only by being manipulated as puppets on strings, but made to dress up for their captor’s amusement.

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013

Categories

  • Cinema Sins Knockoffs
  • Final Fantasy Ramblissida
  • Honest Fake Trailers
  • My Little Devotional: Christianity is Magic
  • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews
    • My Little Pony: Fiendship is Magic
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Equestria Girls
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ IDW Comic Friends Forever Series
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ IDW Comic Legends of Magic Series
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ IDW Comic Main Series
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ IDW Comic Micro-Series
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Eight
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Five
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season One
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Seven
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Six
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Three
    • My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Two
  • Nostalgia Related
  • The Reclusive Essayist's Anime Junk Bin
  • Trope Suggestions
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy