View source for Aerosol Flamethrower

{{trope}}
[[File:tonyp-crop.jpg|link=Mystery Men|right]]

{{quote|''"You can't hurt me, Baby Bowler. 'Cause I'm protected. By the God of Haircare."''|'''[[Eddie Izzard|Tony P]]''', ''[[Mystery Men]]''}}

Subtrope of [[Improvised Weapon]]. A character uses an aerosol can, such as hairspray, with a match or lighter as a makeshift [[Fire Breathing Weapon|flamethrower]]. A '''''serious''''' case of [[Don't Try This At Home]], because there's a very real risk that the flames will heat the canister up enough for it to rupture and explode. Also, the ingredients list is there for a reason, and is there for anyone to read. Read it before burning. See also [[Farts On Fire]] for a smaller, more comedic version of this.

See also [[Booze Flamethrower]], [[Molotov Cocktail]], and [[Arrows On Fire]].

Interestingly but for probably obvious reasons, the [[Media Classifications|BBFC]] (the British censorship board) doesn't allow this trope to be shown in their films and TV shows, as they are pretty strict in banning what they deem is "imitable" and likely to cause injury and/or death if some [[Viewers Are Morons|dumb viewer]] decided to copy an obviously dangerous action in a movie or TV show. 
{{examples|Examples:}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Kagome of ''[[Inuyasha (Manga)|Inuyasha]]'' did this once.
* Mousse of ''[[Ranma One Half (Manga)|Ranma One Half]]'' did this to a deaged Ranma and Ryoga once in the manga while trying to learn fire breathing. 
* Pretty much the weapon of choice for the [[Action Survivor|Action Survivors]] of ''[[Bio Meat (Manga)|Bio Meat]]''.
* Saburo draws one in the episode of ''[[Keroro Gunsou (Manga)|Keroro Gunsou]]'' where he was introduced to the Reality Pen.

== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Done by Rorschach in ''[[Watchmen (Comic Book)|Watchmen]]''.
* Other Beth threatens Yorick with this when they first meet in ''[[Y the Last Man]]''.
{{quote| Yorick (entering a church): Hello? [...] I need to make a confession.<br />
Beth ([[Click Hello|pointing aerosol at him]]): Well, you know the drill... repent or burn. }}
** Yorick warns Beth that the flame will come back at her. It doesn't.
* Bob claims to have improvised one to drive of a feral dog (or possibly a coyote) in the ''[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]'' strip "A Fish Story".

== [[Film]] ==
* [[James Bond]] uses this to kill a snake in ''[[Live and Let Die (Film)|Live and Let Die]]''.
* In ''[[Mystery Men]]'', this is the [[Weapon of Choice]] for Tony P, Leader of the [[Gang of Hats|Disco Boys]].
* Buffy does this (igniting it off a [[Cross Melting Aura|burning cross]]) in the original ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' movie.
{{quote| '''Lothos:''' So this is your defense? Your puny faith? (he grasps the crucifix; it bursts into flame.)<br />
'''Buffy:''' No. My keen fashion sense. (she pulls a can of hair spray out of her purse.) }}
* In ''[[True Lies]]'', [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] uses a gas-truck nozzle and the muzzle flash from his assault rifle to make a rather disturbingly powerful impromptu flamethrower.
* In ''[[Point Break]]'', the robbers use a gas pump to create a makeshift flamethrower to remove the evidence from their car.
* That guy from ''[[The Core]]'' did it to demonstrate what could happen to the earth before long if something wasn't done. 
* It's done in ''[[Dog Soldiers]]'' as a last resort weapon.
* In ''[[The Blues Brothers]]'', Elwood uses a can of epoxy spray to torch an elevator control panel.
* In ''[[Watchmen (Film)|Watchmen]]'', Rorschach uses a can of hairspray and a lighter to make a flamethrower to torch the police that are trying to arrest him
* Done in French action movie ''[[The Nest]]'' (''Nid de Guêpes''). It works pretty well.
* The flight attendant, of all people, makes one in ''[[Snakes On a Plane]]''. Apparently, she went through a pyromaniac phase as a kid. Of course, she's not nearly insane enough to ''use'' it, handing it off to [[Samuel L Jackson]] instead.
* Done in ''[[Arachnophobia]]'' when the hero fights the king spider.
* ''[[Leprechaun (Film)|Leprechaun]]: Back 2 tha Hood'', where a victim gets chased into her bathroom and attacks the leprechaun with one of these when he busts through the door.
* Charles Bishop Weyland from the first ''[[Alien vs. Predator]]'' movie does this as a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] with a flare and a medicine inhaler. He gets butchered by a Predator hunter because he had a weapon, trumping the fact that he's a sick old man who the hunter would ignore otherwise.
* A variant is used in ''[[The Scorpion King]]'', where the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] is getting the titular character out of being devoured alive by ants. To do this, he drinks something (that is presumably alcoholic), and sprays it past a lit torch. The end effect is the comic relief temporarily becoming an impromptu living flamethrower.
* The [[Final Girl]] of ''[[Psycho Cop]] Returns'' defends herself with one near the end.
* ''[[True Romance]]'': Alabama does one of these to {{spoiler|Virgil, aka [[The Sopranos|Tony Soprano]]}}, after his [[No Holds Barred Beatdown]] on her. She then finishes it off with a [[Agony of the Feet|corkscrew through the foot]].
* ''[[Tomorrow When the War Began (Film)|Tomorrow When the War Began]]''. Lee uses one to [[We Need a Distraction|start a cattle stampede]] after hissing like a snake fails to get them moving.

== [[Literature]] ==
* Done in ''[[The Mist]]'', by [[Stephen King]], in both the book and the movie.
* Happens in ''[[Forgotten Realms|Daughter of the Drow]]''. Guy wanted to avoid either becoming captive of a drow or attacking her (she just saved his ass, after all). He has {{spoiler|a torch and an alcoholic beverage. Drow eyes are very sensitive to light and heat, and a burning puddle is a good makeshift barrier.}}
* ''The Tango Briefing'' by Adam Hall. British spy [[Quiller]] is being held at gunpoint by Egyptian intelligence mooks, waiting for their [[Big Bad]] to arrive. He's next to his car, so he removes the fuelcap (hidden behind his back) and drops a lit match into the petrol tank, turning it into an impromptu flamethrower.

== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Used by a naked ''[[La Femme Nikita|Nikita]]'' when her house is invaded.
* Used in ''[[Lost]]'' by Locke to kill a polar bear in a season three episode.
* [[Deadliest Catch|Edgar Hansen]], deck boss on the crab boat ''Northwestern'', likes to torment other crewmembers with these.
* Frances' daughters make one out of Dawn's deodorant in a flashback in ''[[The Librarians]]''.
* ''[[Burn Notice]]'''s Fiona Glennane has pulled this trick a number of times, but in "Fast Friends", she combines this with a trashcan full of nail polish remover (which is largely made of acetate and extremely flammable) for a quick - and distractionary - bomb.
* ''[[My Name Is Earl]]'', Joy threatens to torch a childhood enemy with this and Earl mentions that she tried to cook a Thanksgiving turkey that way.
* Nate creates one in the ''[[Leverage]]'' episode "The Zanzibar Marketplace Job".
* Faith made one using a stove lighter and a can of kitchen oil in ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'' in order to torture Wesley.
* In the dutch reality TV series ''Oh Oh Tirol'' (basically a dutch ''Jersey Shore'') Tatjana uses this to light a cigarette when she can't find a lighter. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvGEUwULoVQ&feature=player_detailpage video at 0:24]
* Victoria plans to use a can of hairspray and a lighter on an ex-boyfriend in an episode of ''[[Mike and Molly]]''. Mike manages to talk her down and take the can and lighter away from her.
* Sam and Dean of ''[[Supernatural (TV)|Supernatural]]'' have been known to fall back on this tactic when their guns and other weapons don't do the job. Not very often (they've only done it twice), but when the situation calls for fire, they do what they have to.

== Music ==
* In the music video for [[Bon Jovi|Bon Jovi's]] ''Always'', the jealous boyfriend torches the artist's studio with the help of one. The versions of the video that can be viewed online have this part cut out, which results in the place going up in flames for no apparent reason.

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* They show up in ''[[GURPS]]: High-Tech'' but are unreliable, lack range and get five seconds of firing time at best. They're still better than most improvised weapons, scarier too.
* Stories have gone around of ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' players doing this. Based on standard game mechanics, this should be a brutally effective tactic against all but the most powerful vampires -- if it doesn't outright kill your opponent, it will hurt them a ''lot'' worse than it would hurt a human, and will likely scare the living daylights out of them. However, the [[Game Master]] may have other ideas.
** In the [[New World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|New World of Darkness]] setting, ''[[Hunter: The Vigil (Tabletop Game)|Hunter: The Vigil]]'' actually has rather in-depth rules for finding the supplies for and utilizing an aerosol flamethrower. Even against creatures who aren't particularly vulnerable to flames, a lucky Hunter can set them on fire which is one of the most effective ways to kill almost anything.

== [[Theatre]] ==
* Link broke Tracey out of prison in the stage musical of ''[[Hairspray]]'' using this method.

== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[Metal Gear]] 2: Solid Snake'', you have to do this against the final boss.
** A spectacular example in that you have to [[MacGyver]] the weapon out of bits and pieces lying around, after being ''set on fire'', all the while being hunted by a machine-gun wielding enemy...whom you then have to burn to death with your jury-rigged flamethrower. An early [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Crowning Moment Of Awesome]] in Snake's career.
* This is one of the many weapons you can find in ''[[Blood]]''. You can either use the traditional method, or light it and toss it like a grenade.
* Of the many weapons in the ''[[Die Hard (Film)|Die Hard]]'' arcade game, the lighter and especially the spray can seem all but useless at first. Then you put them together...
* You can do this with cans of hair spray in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]''.
* The game ''[[Arachnophobia]]'' had this as one of your most useful weapons against the spider menace. Getting both the matches and the aerosol can in the same level would make you extremely dangerous.
* In [[Jak and Daxter|Daxter's]] self-titled [[Gaiden Game]], he wields a spray gun that can paralyze metal bugs. Partway through the game, he gets an upgrade that lights the spray and makes it function as a flamethrower.
* ''[[Resident Evil Outbreak]]'' allows you to fashion a hairspray flamethrower together as a weapon.
* It's one of the weapon in the 2008 version of the game ''[[Alone in The Dark]]''.
* In ''[[Police Quest]] IV: Open Season'', you take out the [[Big Bad|serial killer]] this way after you were knocked out and stripped of your inventory.
* ''[[Postal]] 2'' gets one with the ''A Week in Paradise'' mod. The effect looks more like slow-moving clouds of flame rather than a stream, which actually makes it useful for short-term area denial.
* ''[[Toy Soldiers (Video Game)|Toy Soldiers: Cold War]]'', Levels 2 and 3 of the makeshift unit are different versions of these.
* In the Mercenaries Reunion mode of Resident Evil 5, Rebecca Chambers uses an aerosal can flamethrower as her special attack when an enemy is shot in the head. Especially hilarious because she is depicted as a small, weak and fragile girl.

== [[Web Comic]] ==
* ''[[Something Positive]]'' did this one - it's how Kharisma got her burn scars (being [[The Ditz]] and possibly [[Too Dumb to Live]], she ended up doing it to herself).
** While describing how to do it.
* This is the basis for a short arc in the early days of ''[[Sequential Art (Webcomic)|Sequential Art]]'', starting [http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=8 here].
* Used by Bun-Bun from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' against [http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=990324 Mecha Easter Bunny].
* ''[[The Class Menagerie]]'' had a segment involving fighting man-eating ants with hairspray.
* ''[[Last Res 0 rt]]'' has a scene that features a young Celeste trying to threaten an Efreet with one of these. [[Too Dumb to Live|It doesn't work.]]

== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[Madagascar]]: Escape 2 Africa'' Nana uses this technique to light a campfire in the African bush.
* The ''[[South Park]]'' episode, The Ungroundable, ends with the [[Goth|goths]] torching down a Hot Topic in this manner.
* In ''[[Home Movies]]'', Melissa puts a can of hairy spray in a microwave to explode the kitchen to make a daring escape.

== [[Web Original]] ==
* A Web series called ''[[Hyperboy]]'' did this with the title character's evil twin. And it was [[Badass]].

== [[Real Life]] ==
* Torches / power lighters based on cans (normally lighter refill, not aerosol). The one [http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/06/diy-mosquito-killing.html most advanced so far] was featured on BoingBoing. Safe only if both made and used with care, of course. But aside of overkilling pesky insects, these things are powerful enough to dry up wet firewood and thus good at starting campfires.
* Flamethrowers that use gas instead of liquid fuel are basically this, but more controlled and intentional.
* Silly String is prone to this-- which people don't always realize. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8efguf0XOs Watch out around birthday candles.]

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Improvised Index]]
[[Category:Television Is Trying to Kill Us]]
[[Category:Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty]]
[[Category:Fight Scene]]
[[Category:This Index Is On Fire]]
[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]
[[Category:Aerosol Flamethrower]]
[[Category:Trope]]