Arrow Catch: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Like so many tropes, this one exists for one reason. [[Rule of Cool|It's cool]]. You don't have to be an arrow scientist to figure out that arrows go at speeds crazy. Very few people in the world can catch arrows. Although we have to admit, when they ''do'' do it, it's pretty [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLj8eK814o0 darn] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nCbJmjES4 cool]. It also shows that it would only be possible if the archer is on ''their side''.

Can be justified in some cases by giving a character actual supernatural powers. Most of the time, though, this kind of thing is the province of the [[Badass Normal]], or just the general [[Badass]] in works where everybody's going medieval on each other.

 

 

{{examples}}

* Kenshiro in ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' did this in the 2nd episode. It's called ''Hokuto Shinken Nishii Shinkuu Ha''.

** He used this technique in the following episode to save a boy whose father was being forced by one of Diamond's mooks to shoot a can off his head William Tell style. In both examples, [[Catch and Return|he returned the arrow at high speed into the mook responsible]].

* One of the samurai of ''[[Samurai 7]]'' could do this. He practiced it as a street performer.

* As pictured above, the various warriors in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' are capable of moving at speeds enough to catch quickly moving objects out of the air (the catcher in queston is Kaede, a super-powered [[Ninja]]).

* In ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' Kenshin does this in the manga during the Jinchu arc when Otowa Hyoko shot an arrow at him, albeit a small one from a hidden shooter, it's still impressive nonetheless.

* In ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'', Kyouya does an impressive feat of catching Belphegor's knives ''between his fingers''.

* Haru Glory catches one with his mouth ''at point-blank range'' in ''[[Rave Master]]''.

* Souma did this in ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]''. Unfortunately, the arrow immediately exploded in his face.

* {{spoiler|Bazette}} does this in ''[[Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya|Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya]]'' when Kuro attempts to use the Archer card on her. [[Catch and Return|She then throws it back to Kuro like a javelin]].

* Sting from ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' not only catches an arrow, but then eats it and shoots it back with a massive gust of wind using his Dragon Roar attack.

 

* This popped up in ''[[Young Justice (comics)|Young Justice]]'', where the villain Harm caught an arrow shot by Arrowette and used it to stab her in the shoulder. [[Superboy]] (who was enamored of Arrowette) spent the next issue or two trying and failing to catch her arrows. When an alarm comes, ''Robin'' is able to catch the arrow and get them on topic.

** Later, when Arrowette is about to kill a criminal, Superboy [[Chekhov's Skill|manages to catch it just in time.]]

* [[Batman]] once caught a [[Trick Arrow]] shot by Speedy (Roy) over his shoulder, without looking. It was meant as a joke by Roy, and it [[Badass|made a durable impression]] on him until long after he [[Sidekick Graduations Stick|became Arsenal]].

'''Arsenal''': He didn't even turn around and he ''caught'' the frickin' ''arrow''! }}

* This was a trademark move of villain Constantine Drakon in ''[[Green Arrow]]''; much to the Emerald Archer's annoyance.

 

* Mr. Miyagi in <s> ''[[The Karate Kid]] Part 3''</s> ''[[Karate Kid|TheNextKarateKid]]'' does the Zen Archery thing, catching an arrow before it hits him.

* ''[[The Swan Princess]]'': The [[Prince Charming]] was sometimes seen to practice this with his dopey [[Sidekick]]. The sidekick would shoot an arrow at him, then he'd spin around, grab the arrow out of the air, and shoot it back with his bow. [[Chekhov's Skill|At the right moment]], his sidekick fired the arrow at him, and he caught it and shot it at the monster.

* ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]'' has one of Robin's merry men save him by catching an arrow fired by a crossbow. Said catcher was ''blind''!

** Of course, this was distinctly meant as a parody -

'''Blinkin''': Pardon? Who's talking? }}

* Lucien does this once in the beginning of ''[[Underworld Rise of the Lycans]]'' He then spends the rest of movie getting shot in the back. Who says the bad guys never learn?

* Tigress does it in ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]''. Bonus points for the [[Arrows on Fire|arrows being on fire]], and her not even turning to face the arrow when she caught it.

* Michael Dudikoff's character does this in the second ''[[American Ninja]]'' film.

* In ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'', Loki very smugly catches one of Hawkeye's arrows a second before it can go through his eye, as Hawkeye has expressed a desire to do. {{spoiler|And then its explosive tip detonates.}}

 

** Vetinari didn't actually catch it, he stole it off the crossbow that {{spoiler|Vimes}} was holding just before he pulled the trigger (ironically, he pulled the trigger by reflex on feeling someone grabbing at his crossbow).

* Richard from the ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' series does this once in the second book, to intimidate a group of natives. He rarely gets the chance thereafter, since when arrows ''are'' fired at him, they tend to come [[Rain of Arrows|in larger numbers]].

** ''Legend'', another [[David Gemmell]] book has Druss cut an arrow out of the air with a huge double bladed axe, and it too leads too [[Defeat Means Friendship]]. Of course, being Druss, he meant to do it.

* Kellhus in ''[[Second Apocalypse]]'' can pick up arrows from the air without much trouble because he's just that good. Not only can he pluck them from the air, the first time he was shot at he went on to curiously study the arrow (having never seen them before) whilst simultaneously dodging round the hundreds of other arrows landing around him.

* Both Nawat and Liam demonstrated this power in [[Tamora Pierce|Tamora Pierce's]] novels. While Nawat only did it as entertainment, Liam gains extra badass points for being able to do it in combat.

* Jiang Wei in ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'' is capable of this.

* Lanik, the protagonist of the book ''Treason'' by [[Orson Scott Card]] does this in a sense, but ups the badass level to impossible by slowing time (really just speeding himself up so that everyone else appears to be moving in 100x slow motion) right as a squad of archers shoot at his friend. In quicktime, he grabs the arrows and sticks them into the wall behind his friend. The archers, which are an execution squad, are perplexed, but fire again. This time, he goes into quicktime just after they fire, takes the arrows out of midair, and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|stabs them back through the respective archers' hands!]]

* ''[[Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures]]'': Rumo can do this, thanks to wolpertings' prodigious speed. It does, however, hurt his hand.

* Eragon does one near the end of ''[[Inheritance Cycle|Eldest]]''.

 

** A quick reminder is that ''busted'' doesn't mean impossible, but instead incredibly unlikely or impractical. They brought in a martial artist to test the myth, and he did manage to catch a few arrows, but would have been killed by the other two dozen that hit him (if not for the safety precautions). The main thing they did note was that if you had the skill it would be more practical (just less badass) to either dodge the arrow entirely or deflect it.

* Earlier than ''Mythbusters'' was ''Ripley's Believe It Or Not''. The man in question was in his 50s and barely missed the arrow, having the head cut into his palm. Although, he did manage to stop the arrow at least.

* In the ''Merlin'' TV movie Mordred shoots an arrow at Maab and she just catches it. She's an elemental being (sorceress/witch, just like the Lady of the Lake), so she has an excuse.

* ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' did this all the time, and so did Hercules in ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''. He at least has the excuse of [[Super Strength]], though.

* One episode of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' had Buffy catching a crossbow bolt that was fired by an automated trap, and in the first season finale, the [[Big Bad|Master]] catches a bolt from ''her'' crossbow.

** He also attempted it with a [[Bullet Catch|nail gun.]] That one... [[Epic Fail|Didn't go so well.]]

 

 

* One of the powers of Odin in [[Norse Mythology]] was, that he could catch arrows.

** The Vikings would catch thrown javelins and then throw them back at their enemies.

* [[Robin Hood]]'s companion Friar Tuck is sometimes said to have trained his dogs to catch arrows (though Little John's shafts were too fast for them).

 

** In 3.5, this is changed to a combination of two feats: Deflect Arrows and Snatch Arrows, and specifically said that it wouldn't work for things like boulders and ballistae. You could also only use it once per round...until you were epic levelled.

 

* Also, in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'', the 'Archer' class can gain the ability 'Arrow Catch', which effectively allows them to block and counter any arrow-based attack by doing this. Ninja have the ability catch any thrown projectile, but not arrows. On a similar note, due to a bug, the 'Sword Grasp' ability of the Samurai Class, works against EVERYTHING - swords, maces, fists, arrows, and yes - bullets too.

* If you [[Screw Destiny]] in ''[[Dynasty Warriors]] 5'' and save Sun Jian during the battle of Jing province, he'll do one of these to intimidate the archers who were firing on him.

* Theoretically possible in ''[[Skyrim]]'' as arrows in flight can be interacted with and *picked up*, but to do so would require inhuman reflexes.

** [[Freddie Wong]] uses this trope in his ''Skyrim Badass'' video to defy the tired "arrow to the knee" meme.

 

* Guere [http://miamaska.tidalcomics.com/?strip_id=55 pulls this off] in ''[[Miamaska]]''.

* The webcomic ''[[Goblins]]'' also alludes to the Monk class goblin as having this ability, which is not surprising since it's based on D&D.

** [http://www.goblinscomic.com/06212009/ Confirmed].

* ''[[Keychain of Creation]]'' features the badass Dragon-blooded monk Ten Winds pulling this off [http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0366.html here]. While being a [[Deadpan Snarker]].

* [[Super Soldier|Jenka]] of ''[[Girl Genius]]'', with an actual arrow..

 

* John Redcorn caught an arrow in an episode of ''[[King of the Hill]].'' It probably helped that he was standing right next to the archer at the time.

* Finn in ''[[Adventure Time]]'' catches an arrow of ''ice'' in the episode "Chamber of Frozen Blades" where Finn and Jake were in a ninja fad.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Older Than Print]]

[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]