| abstract | - A subtrope of BOTH Distressed Damsel and Distressed Dude. We all have the Distressed Damsel and Distressed Dude for our heroes and Badasses to save. But what if our Badass is slowly growing too powerful and invincible? Sure, it's really cool, but nobody likes a God Mode Sue. What shall we do?! For starters, we can have them trade places. What if the Badass (or Action Girl, if the character in question is female) gets put in the Distressed Dude's shoes? Suddenly our Badass finds himself in a situation where he cannot use his magnificent escape skills, and there's only one thing he can do: wait for someone else to rescue him. He's Not So Invincible After All... That said, has he really been subject to Badass Decay? Or if it's an Action Girl, was that a Chickification event, turning her into a Faux Action Girl? Not usually. Because it was only one event in the limelight, it's not happening often enough to become characteristic, and once rescued, the Badass is ready to kick some more ass. Sometimes, it goes even to more extremes that even his allies are barred from rescuing him, so the Badass says, "Let's Get Dangerous", breaks free on his own and kick some ass. Turns out that he could get out on his own, the timing just wasn't perfect enough. Done well, this turn of events can add realism to an otherwise invincible character. Done badly, it may leave the audience wondering if the Badass just caught the Distress Ball today. The Lancer is often subject to this, because aside from being the most likely candidate for Badassery, they're often hit with An Aesop about The Power of Friendship. Having butted heads with the hero once too often and stormed off to work on their own, they fail spectacularly and have to be rescued by The Hero, after which the Aesop has been taught and they can resume kicking ass. Examples of Badass in Distress include:
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