Throwing Down the Gauntlet

"They are titans, they are the true and indisputable masters of the universe, the lords of creation, and they are unhappy with us. They speak, and theirs is a voice that shatters mountains. "WHO. ARE. YOU?"

The captain's lips draw back over his teeth in a mirthless grin as he plants his fists on his hips, throws back his head, thrusts out his jaw. "Who wants to know?""

- Steven Utley, Upstart

Anybody can get into a fight, but it takes someone very confident, very desperate, or very pissed off to stand up and demand that someone fight them. And it takes a Badass to do it with style.

This is Throwing Down the Gauntlet -- so named for the medieval practice of literally throwing down one's actual gauntlet before the person one wanted to challenge, making it both Truth in Television and Older Than Print. It can take any number of forms, depending on the character and the reason for the challenge. It may include a Badass Boast or Badass Creed, a list of the reasons the challenger has for beating the challenged down, and a detailed description of the ways in which the challenged is now doomed. It might be a World of Cardboard Speech in which the challenger explains himself and how he's reached this point. It might be a calculated effort to goad the challenged into accepting the contest and fighting their hardest, either in order to test them or just because the challenger likes a good fight.

Whatever the form, Throwing Down the Gauntlet is the act of challenging someone to a fight or some other competition, preferably in the most Badass way possible.

If this involves actually throwing a glove of some sort on the ground, the challenge is accepted by picking it up. In some cases, this may overlap with the Glove Slap, as traditionally the glove was used to slap the challenged twice upon the chest before being thrown down (although this is mostly forgotten now).

When the recipient of the challenge is a parent, mentor, or other authority figure, this is Calling the Old Man Out. If the one being challenged is vastly above the challenger's level and fully capable of squashing him like a bug, it may resemble Smite Me O Mighty Smiter. If the character is particularly angry, they may say "Prepare to Die". If the character does it every time they begin a fight, it's In the Name of The Moon. If the challenge was unintended, it's Fumbling the Gauntlet.

Anime & Manga
"Aion: I'm disappointed. All these years and you haven't learned a thing. Get up! How long are you going to ? Rise and awaken your legion! Prepare to attack your enemy! Strike him down! Kill him! Your enemy is here. He's standing right before you. Kill me now... or you'll lose everything you care about, forever."
 * Happens a lot in Ranma One Half. Once, the "gauntlet" was a moist fish cake from a bowl of noodles.
 * Kamina of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is fond of doing this.
 * Naruto Uzumaki does this to Sasuke Uchiha and the Kyubi no Yoko in the latest arcs of Naruto.
 * L delivers a televised challenge to Kira in Death Note.
 * In Chrono Crusade, Aion does this to Chrono after he's.

"Mamoru: Fight me, Primevals!"
 * Alucard to Luke Valentine, in Hellsing. Between the imagery and Crispin Freeman's voice acting, the scene approaches Nightmare Fuel.
 * Mamoru does this once in Gao Gai Gar, just after saving the GGG bridge crew from being mind-controlled by the Ear and Nail Primevals. Bonus points for doing it in the middle of a Dynamic Entry / Big Damn Heroes moment as well.


 * In the manga Tough Kiichi Miyazawa drops fifty million yen in the middle of a Dojo to make sure he gets his practice in.
 * In Code Geass Nightmare of Nunnally, General Darlton takes off one of his gloves and throws it at Suzaku's feet to challenge him to a duel.
 * Immediately after Kyou Kara Maou's lead Yuuri becomes accidentally engaged to Wolfram by way of slap, Wolfram knocks a bunch of cutlery to the floor in a rage, and Yuuri kneeling to pick it up provokes a malevolent chuckle of victory: he just formally agreed to an honor duel.
 * Rather later Yuuri gets suckered by this again, this time by a girl who's challenging him for Wolfram. Bonus points for his accidental pointing of a spork at her, which turns out to be local code for 'I have stolen your lover.' Wolfram is touched. Yuuri is frazzled.
 * In Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, Beatrice does this at one point by throwing Ronove's white glove at Erika's face while being pursued by Laser Sword-wielding girls in Church Militant uniforms. And that's just the lead-up to the actual duel scene.

Comics

 * Elf Quest: After causing his rival Cutter incalculable grief and hardship, Rayek challenges him to a fight to settle their differences, despite knowing full well that Cutter will beat the living crap out of him.
 * There was also the Rayek's original challenge to Cutter (via a carved stick).

Fan Fiction

 * In Kyon Big Damn Hero Wataru gives one to Kyon by causing what it seemed like an earthquake and a simple "Kyon! Face me!" who arguably everyone in the school could hear.

Films
"Matrix: You don't want to pull the trigger, you want to put the knife in me and look me in the eye and see what's going on in there when you turn it. That's what you want to do, right? Come on, let the girl go. Just you and me. Don't deprive yourself of the pleasure. Come on, Bennett, let's party.
 * In Dark of the Moon, Megatron challenges Optimus to come and fight him as he sits on what is left of the Lincoln Memorial.
 * In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Aragorn calls for Sauron to meet him in battle at the gates of Mordor "that justice be done upon him."
 * He's bluffing (Legolas helpfully informs us that it's a diversion), yet the effect is undiminished.
 * The Joker calls Batman out via a TV broadcast in the 1989 Batman movie.
 * He does something similar in The Dark Knight Saga.
 * Kill Bill has The Bride calling out O-Ren Ishii, the first of the Deadly Vipers, at the House of Blue Leaves using her Catch Phrase. In Japanese.
 * In Scaramouche, when the National Assembly's noble delegates are reducing the numbers of the common delegates by challenging them to duels and killing them, Moreau is challenged several times by persistent nobles who want to improve his horrendously ugly face (an example of Hollywood Homely too) by slapping him with a glove.
 * Subverted in Robin Hood Men in Tights when the Sheriff of Nottingham challenges Robin Hood to a fight.. "mano a mano, man to man, just you... and me...and my GUARDS!" the last line being a shouted call for his many, many plate-armored guards to come in and surround the hero. Hilarity Ensues, of course.
 * It was parodied less than a minute prior, when the sheriff slaps Robin in the face with his glove and throws it down as a challenge. Robin responds by taking a metal gauntlet and smashing the Sheriff in the face while saying "I accept" (Bugs Bunny did it first).
 * Spoofed at the end of Beauty and The Beast. When Cogsworth and Lumiere are returned to their human forms, they squabble over who told whom so, and Lumiere slaps Cogsworth across the face with a glove.
 * In the finale of Commando, John Matrix gets Bennett to release his daughter by appealing to his inner Knife Nut and challenging him to a knife duel.

Bennett: I can beat you. I don't need the girl. Haha, I don't need the gun! I'M GONNA KILL YOU NOW!!"

""Peter! I swear to you, wherever you go, wherever you are, I vow there will always be daggers bearing those signs saying "Hook"! They will be flung at the doors of your children's children's children, do you hear me?""
 * In Hook, Peter tries to leave with his kids (whom Hook captured to bring him there), but Hook has no intention of letting his Worthy Opponent walk about without a final showdown. When Peter looks like he's ignoring him, Hook throws down a gauntlet he can't walk away from...a threat to his kids.

Live Action Television
"Locutus: There are no terms. Surrender your vessel and escort us to [Earth]. If you attempt to intervene....we will destroy you.
 * After stomping out the rest of Starfleet, the Borg are on their way to finish off Earth. They are intercepted by the Enterprise, a ship they nearly destroyed and whose captain they kidnapped. The ship arrives with the sole purpose of daring the Borg to attack them.

Captain William Riker: Well then...take your best shot Locutus because we're about to intervene."


 * This is fairly commonplace on BBC's Merlin and has, in fact, been the driving force behind several episode plots. Usually the issue addressed is Arthur's Honor Before Reason attitude. In many cases, it literally involves throwing down a gauntlet.
 * In an episode of Crownies, Richard does this to Tatum by pulling off a pair of imaginary gloves.
 * In the Babylon Five episode "Knives", a disgraced noble challenges Londo Mollari to a duel by stabbing a kutari (a Centauri shortsword) into a table and announcing his intentions in no uncertain terms. Mollari (who is familiar with this type of challenge) accepts by pulling the sword out.
 * It's not so much general Centauri tradition but specifically that of the unit where both of them served.

Literature
"''His hopeless challenge dauntless cried
 * In Prince Caspian, Peter delivers a formal challenge to King Miraz, in which he establishes his credentials as High King, lists the crimes for which he plans to hold Miraz accountable, declares his intention to "prove upon your Lordship's body" Caspian's rightful claim to the throne, and concludes by giving the year as the first year of Caspian's reign as though his victory is a forgone conclusion.
 * Fingolfin, one of the many, many tragic heroes in Tolkien's massive Backstory, challenged Satan to personal combat at the gates of Hell:

Fingolfin there: "Come, open wide,

dark king, your ghastly brazen doors!

Come forth, whom earth and heaven abhors!

Come forth, O monstrous craven lord,

and fight with thine own hand and sword,

thou wielder of hosts of banded thralls,

thou tyrant leaguered with strong walls,

thou foe of Gods and elvish race!

I wait thee here. Come! Show thy face!''"


 * In Deryni Rising, Charissa literally throws down a mailed gauntlet to interrupt Kelson's coronation and challenge him for the throne of Gwynedd.
 * After being accused of treason, the villain of the Honor Harrington novel Flag in Exile challenges his accuser to a trial by combat, reasoning that if his accuser can use ancient laws to accuse him, he can use them to defend himself. He also assumed that Honor Harrington was a novice with no real skill at the swords that were the traditional weapon of choice for such duels. He was very, very wrong.
 * Also done in the preceding novel Field of Dishonor where Manticoran societies dueling practices were both the instigation of the big bad's plot to kill Honor and the final resolution where she gets him on the field. Much like the Flag in Exile example, people who end up across a dueling field from her tend to wind up leaving the field in a body bag.
 * Done in a non-badass way in The L-Shaped Room, set in the '50s: the protagonist gets pregnant after a one night stand, and although she refuses the father's offer to marry her, he still feels guilty and wants to help. After helping her get back in contact with her "boyfriend," the father deliberately provokes a fight so that the boyfriend can beat him up and, having taken his beating, feels absolved of all guilt or responsibility in the pregnancy.
 * Mandorallen formally challenges another Mimbrate knight in The Malloreon, who insulted Mandorallen's Asturian friend. After a lengthy insinuation of the other's parentage, he makes the challenge by throwing his gauntlet... into the challenged knight's face. And then proceeds to humiliate and thoroughly defeat him.
 * In the Codex Alera series, this involves challenging the offender to what is called a "juris macto" - essentially a Duel to The Death. Its not terribly complicated, simply by having the challenger confront and declare the name of the person they wish to duel, naming their offenses, then declaring that "May the crows feast on the unjust!"
 * Juris macto comes up often- something like ten times per book. 80% of these are just threats, and somebody backs down before the formal challenge. 10% of the time, the crows do indeed feast on the unjust. The remaining 10%, Tavi or his kin are doing something or other overly clever.
 * Ciaphas Cain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM challenges another Commissar to a duel over an insult to Colonel Kasteen. The other Commissar chooses to apologize instead after watching Cain fight a Chaos Space Marine in hand to hand combat.
 * In Michael Crichton's novel "Timeline", there is a segment 33 hours, 12 minutes, and 51 seconds into the plot where Sir Guy literally throws down a gauntlet of mail to challenge Chris, the witless woobie made of steel, to a duel, mostly because Chris seems like someone fun to stab in the gut with a gigantic spear made of wood. Being witless, Chris doesn't get it and picks the gauntlet up, so accepting a challenge to a duel given by a gigantic man capable of swinging a very large sword effortlessly.

Mythology

 * One of the King Arthur stories involves the Green Knight challenging any of Arthur's knights to chop of his head and, one year hence, return to have his own head chopped off. In some versions, only Gawain was brave enough to answer the challenge. In others, Arthur himself stepped up to the plate, but Gawain begged to do it instead because he didn't want to risk his king coming to harm.
 * There's also an Irish version of the Green Knight tale with Cúchullain.

Tabletop Games

 * Bound to happen in Battle Tech when there are Kuritans, Clanners, or (some of the more honorable) Mercenaries around.

Theater
"Cyrano::... I order silence, all!
 * "And a brand new knight-errant with banners unfurled/hurls down the gauntlet to thee!" Yes, it's done by Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha: he slams down his glove on the stage when the Knight of the Mirrors insulted his lady, and provoked Don Quixote's rage.
 * Cyrano De Bergerac: Subverted with Cyrano: when he challenges someone to a fight is not in the most Badass way possible, but the most Jerkass way possible too:
 * Act I Scene IV: Cyrano challenge the whole pit of the Burgundy Teather collectively! Of course he is a Badass, but this is more because he is a Jerkass that decided to interrumpt the play.

And challenge the whole pit collectively!

I write your names!—Approach, young heroes, here!

Each in his turn! I cry the numbers out!

Now which of you will come to ope the lists?

You, Sir? No! You? No! The first duellist

Shall be dispatched by me with honors due!

Let all who long for death hold up their hands!

(A silence):

Modest? You fear to see my naked blade?

Not one name?—Not one hand?—Good, I proceed!"

"Cyrano (with grimaces of pain): It must be moved—it's getting stiff, I vow,
 * Later, Cyrano challenges… if that is the word… Viscount de Valvert

This comes of leaving it in idleness!

Aie!...

The Viscount: What ails you?

Cyrano: The cramp! cramp in my sword!

The Viscount (drawing his sword): Good!"

Video Games

 * In the introductory battle to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (which replicates the final battle of Castlevania: Dracula X), Richter throws down a challenge to Dracula, shouting out all the reasons why the vampire lord is unfit to rule the world. Dracula responds by throwing down his wine glass and a hearty "Have at you!" and the battle begins.
 * In the beginning of Assassin's Creed, Altaïr makes the prideful error of challenging Robert de Sable openly before attempting to assassinate him. Naturally, he gets his ass handed to him. He does it again in the endgame, and has to fight his entire personal guard.
 * In King's Quest VI Heir Today Gone Tomorrow, Alexander literally throws down a gauntlet before the Lord of the Dead. This makes it a cross of this trope and Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu.
 * In Dragon Age II, this is an actual ability that the Rogue class can use with the Duelist specialization, which draws a single selected enemy to the rogue. Upgrades to this ability make the enemy so enraged that he attacks recklessly and has reduced chance to hit. Coupled with the Parry combat mode, and the selected enemy has a roughly -50% chance to hit, before factoring in all the other defensive advantages of being a Rogue, such has high cunning and other passive abilities that reduce chance-to-hit.
 * In Dark Souls. when using the Grave Lord's spell you place a marker that show up in three random people's worlds. While the gave sign persists much stronger than normal phantoms spawn and you steal half of a player's soul amount when they die. But if ANY or maybe even ALL of them find where you hid the sign and feel like having vengeance...
 * There is also an item in the game specifically meant for this, the Red Sign Soapstone. It has infinite uses and its only purpose is to leave a sign on the ground others can touch if they wish to challenge you.

Western Animation

 * In one Simpsons episode, Homer sees the glove-slap in a movie and starts using it in real life to get whatever he wants. This goes really well until he tries it on a Southern Gentleman -- who accepts his offer of a duel.
 * Later in the episode, he runs away after being challenged to a duel by Jimmy Carter.
 * The "formal duel" episode of Tom and Jerry starts with Jerry stealing a glove and slapping Tom with it. When he tries it again after all the botched duels, Tom just snatches the glove and chases Jerry around with it.
 * In the second episode of The Legend of Tarzan, Tarzan challenges a rhinoceros by throwing mud in it's face in a very gauntlet-like manner.
 * Avenger Penguins Big Bad Doom does this in the first season finale.

Real Life

 * Contrary to popular perception, you do not slap someone across the face with your glove when you challenge them- you slap them twice lightly across the chest with it then throw it down.
 * And the slap isn't actually the challenge - it's the provocation for the slappee to challenge you. Being struck was the one insult which could only result in a duel.
 * England's last legal occurrence of this was in 1818, in the famous case of Ashford v Thornton. Thornton was tried for murdering Ashford's sister and, after proving an alibi, was acquitted. Ashford was talked into demanding a private murder retrial. However, there was an ancient, very rare option for the defendant in such cases. The defendant (barring certain exceptions, which didn't apply here), could demand a trial by combat. Thompson demanded such a trial, throwing down a gauntlet having been brought to him, and Ashford backed down.
 * When hockey players prepare to brawl, they quite literally throw down the gauntlet -- namely, stripping off their gloves and throwing them to the ice. Fighting with gloves on is a separate penalty. Those gloves are sturdier than they look, you can tear skin open with them once they're cold enough. That and removing the helmet are the only official rules on fighting, though there are a lot of unwritten ones.
 * In japan striking your sword's scabard against another one is a challenge for a duel to the death
 * Even accidental ones cause this