Bulletproof Human Shield/Playing With

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Basic Trope: A character is shielded from bullets by hiding behind someone else.

  • Straight: Duke saves himself from the Big Bad's gunfire by grabbing and hiding behind a nearby mook.
  • Exaggerated: Duke saves himself from a nuclear warhead by grabbing and hiding behind a nearby mook.
  • Justified:
    • The mook is a humanoid robot Made of Iron, or wearing pretty good armor.
    • The mooks shooting at Duke only have small 9mm pistols, for which a human body is sufficient to stop or deflect.
  • Inverted:
  • Subverted:
    • Duke grabs a nearby mook for protection when the Big Bad opens fire, but both Duke and the mook get shot.
    • Alternatively: Duke grabs the mook to absorb the gunfire, only for the Mook to elbow him in the face.
  • Double Subverted:
    • After Duke collapses, the Big Bad walks over... then gets sucker-punched when Duke jumps up and attacks.
    • Alternatively: And yet he still gets shot, inadvertently shielding Duke from gunfire.
  • Zig Zagged: Duke grabs the mook to absorb the gunfire but it passes right through him. As Duke collapses, Duke's friend grabs Duke and the mook, and proceeds to use the two of them to absorb gunfire successfully.
  • Parodied: Duke, a broad-shouldered Action Hero, is saved by a rail-thin mook who absorbs the hundreds of bullets fired at them.
  • Deconstructed: Duke's callous disregard for human life gets him in trouble with the law.
  • Reconstructed: Duke is sentenced to execution by gunfire, and at the last moment he hides behind another inmate, who takes the bullet. He then escapes prison and continues to disregard human life.
  • Averted: Duke knows that this tactic won't work and doesn't use it.
  • Enforced: "Duke's the Action Hero star of our six-movie franchise, he's supposed to do stuff like this!"
  • Lampshaded: "Thank you for your squad of walking bulletproof shields."
  • Invoked: Duke deliberately hides until a Mook is in arm's reach before attacking the Big Bad.
  • Defied: The Big Bad arms his minions with guns of sufficient firepower to penetrate multiple targets.
  • Discussed: Before they attack the enemy, Duke reminds his sidekick to grab a Mook for protection.
  • Conversed: "It's amazing how bullets from automatic weapons conveniently stop after hitting the first target."

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