Blow Gun: Difference between revisions

 

It's near-silence makes it an ideal exotic weapon for an assassin. It's surprisingly common for the user to accidentally inhale the dart. Another regular gag is for the target to grab the end of the gun and blow the dart ''back''.

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== Anime and Manga ==

* Used by a guy in ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'', who uses it to shoot a paralyzing dart at Gon.

* [[Ranma ½]] uses one to shoot down the Principal's hot air balloon in the manga

 

== Comic Books ==

* A group of onetime villains in ''[[Spider-Man]]'' comic (four criminals who learned to copy Vulture's wings) used those. The curare was fatal for humans—Spider Man was too tough to die, but would get stiffer with every dart and actually got close to succumbing. The next issue, he had to save their lives when the real Vulture came to town.

* In one ''[[Batman]]'' storyline during the ''[[Zero Hour]]'' series, [[The Joker]] frames Batman for the Penguin's murder by having a henchman shoot a poison dart this way, thus making it appear as if Batman knocked Penguin off a side railing with his Batarang and made the villain fall to his death.

 

== Film ==

* Used in ''[[Hudson Hawk]]'' (by CIA agents, who should logically have something better), with explicit mention of [[wikipedia:Curare|curare]], which is treated as a temporary paralyser. Because it was improperly prepared, the victims recover sooner than anticipated.

* Used in ''[[Ace Ventura]]: When Nature Calls''. Ace is shot with dozens of little darts (with [[Hilarity Ensues|hilarious effects]]) before he passes out.

 

== Literature ==

* In ''[[Sherlock Holmes|The Sign of the Four]]'', Tonga uses poison blow darts.

* In one ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' novel, the pirate hunter Captain Deudermont is darted by a thug who wanted to claim the black-market bounty on him. Apparently, his darts are made from cat claws<ref>don't ask how those could be used as darts at all — it's from R.A. Salvatore, just like that [[Improbable Weapon User|crystal yo-yo weapon]]</ref> and no other ammunition is compatible with his blowgun.

* In ''[[Humanx Commonwealth|Midworld]]'' and its sequel, human hunters on the green world use rifle-like blow guns called "snufflers", modeled on [[Lost Technology|distant memories]] of their colonial ancestors' firearms. They're powered by tank seeds, which contain air bladders that burst when punctured, propelling their toxic-thorn projectiles with great force.

 

* ''[[MythBusters]]'' made these in the ninja special.

* Parodied in a TV sketch of the comic trio Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo, where the blowgun is used to anesthetize a patient.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] Fantasy'' has these as a Wargear option for Skinks, and a Huge version for mounting on dinosaurs.

* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'': The ''Unearthed Arcana'' (1985) supplement introduced the blowgun (which was 4–7 feet long) as an available weapon. The needle did only one [[Hit Point]] of damage, and was therefore only effective if poisoned.

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Little Big Adventure]]'': Twinsen, the player character, uses one in the second installment.

* ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'': Lanky's Grape Blowgun

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[The Cinema Snob]]'' has this in ''[[Kickassia]]'' ([[Improbable Weapon User|mostly because Brad wanted to stand out with everybody wielding fake weapons]], so his weapon was a packet of straws he bought in a gas station.

** [[Crowning Moment of Funny|And he inhales one of the darts.]]

 

* In ''[[Strays]]'', Feral starts putting one together, before the [[Tagalong Kid]] botches his assassination job.

* ''[[Girl Genius]]'' has [[McNinja|Smoke Knights]] as the group most infamous for using poisons, so at least some of them carry blowguns. Thus far, at least Violetta and Varpa used these.

 

== Western Animation ==

* In a ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short, a Wacky Native tries to use a blowgun on [[Bugs Bunny]], but Bugs blows in the other end just before the native does, so it ends up going down the native's throat. The same gag was also used against prehistoric Elmer Fudd.

* In the ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' episode "The Deadly Doll", the villain Korbay uses a blowgun to fire darts that have a poison that causes its victims to enter a coma.

 

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[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]