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Combat Stilettos: Difference between revisions
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In [[Real Life]] however, tall stiletto heels are hard to walk in on a solid, level surface, let alone any natural terrain. Running and dancing in them requires extensive practice, let alone do the acrobatics needed in a fight. Debate rages as to whether combat stilettos are an [[Acceptable Break From Reality]], or if they push [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]] too far.
In comics this is often [[Depending on the Artist]]: artists A and B will use it in moderation, C will draw normal shoes, but artist D will insist on drawing high heels on all female characters regardless of reason, situation, or even if it's the character's usual style. While this can be part of [[Most Writers Are Male]] trend, this tend to appear equal often with Female Writers as well, [[Rule of Sexy|for]] [[Escapism|various]] [[Author Appeal|reasons]].
A common justification is when the woman in question is ''not'' trying to adventure at the time. If otherworldly beings start attacking while you're in your little black dress and sexy pumps, you generally don't have time to nip off home for fatigues and combat boots.
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* Averted in the 2010 film ''[[Red]]'' when Victoria slips off her dress high heels and trades them for a pair of sensible flat boots before the big operation.
* Cynthia Rothrock. Fighting in tall stiletto heels. On glass table-tops. On a CARGO NET stretched over a two-story tall stack of boxes. Then she moved to Australia and her films got a little calmer.
* ''[[Van Helsing]]'': Kate Beckinsale complained about the difficulty she had running about in high heels while filming action sequences.
* This leads to a bit of [[Fridge Logic]] and [[Hypocritical Humor]] in ''[[The Incredibles]]'', where Edna Mode berates capes for being impractical but still designs (and makes) high-heeled costumes for the heroines.
* In ''[[Ticked Off Trannys With Knives]],'' one of the "girls" manages to gouge her attacker's eye out by stabbing it with the heel of her shoe.
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== Literature ==
* ''[[Discworld]]''
** ''[[Discworld/Going Postal|Going Postal]]''. Adora Belle Dearheart wears high heels and notes that in pounds per square inch, it's "like being stepped on by a very pointy elephant" and that she can "kick like a mule". Combined with the fact she's not really an [[Action Girl]] (of the combat related type at least) and on a date at the time of first reference, it makes her footwear less impractical. She's also only ever described as kicking while sitting down. To make it simple, she stomps her heel down on the feet of annoying men, which thanks to her high and thin heels, has near armor-piercing qualities. It doesn't work on Trolls, though.
** Lampshaded in ''[[Discworld/Witches Abroad|Witches Abroad]]''. Magrat ends up wearing the high-heeled 'glass' slippers. She slips, loses a slipper, and screams, "How the hell is anybody supposed to walk in these?!" Then she pulls off the other one and runs for it.
* Cat Crawford, the heroine of the ''[[Night Huntress]]'' books, has been known to use a pair of solid silver stiletto heels to sneak stakes into vampire gatherings.
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== Live Action TV ==
* Fiona on ''[[Burn Notice]]'' always dresses as if she is going to a cocktail party, and ''still'' manages to kick serious ass about 98% of the time. Though when she is planning to get into trouble she generally wears more practical footwear.
* Sydney Bristow in ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' wore heels for many of her [[Wig, Dress, Accent|disguises]] while on assignment. Sometimes the outfits were Stripperific, sometimes they were conservative. But unless she was running laps around the track, she was in heels.
* Scully on ''[[The X-Files]]''. OK, so she's only 5'2", but the footgear issue was lampshaded in the episode "Hollywood A.D.", when the actress playing Scully asks her how it's possible to run in heels that high (which Scully does have to do on the job).
** What makes it better is that she actually [[Crowning Moment of Funny|demonstrates]], and can be seen running back and forth in the background while Mulder has a conversation with the actor playing him.
** Once, she [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|turned her heels into a self-defense weapon by kicking someone in the face while wearing them]].
* "Taffy" on ''[[Dollhouse]]''. It's probably a joke when she says it's important to wear comfortable shoes.
** No, they're probably just expensive heels - many people find them quite comfortable.
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* All of the girls in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' have heels on their footwear. The series featured a lot more high kicks and flips than the anime did, so it's noticeable when you can see the Senshi wearing flat-soled boots during the fight scenes.
** The most noticeable flub was during Act 0: Birth of Sailor V! during which Sailor V's normal shoes are replaced by white sneakers for a few shots.
* [[She's Got Legs|Miss Parker]] of ''[[The Pretender]]'' likes her high heels.
* Detective Kate Beckett of ''[[Castle]]'' is known to constantly wear 4 inch stiletto heels, despite the fact that her job requires a good deal of walking and running, and she pulls it off surprisingly well. In "Nikki Heat", Natalie Rhodes postulates that she wears them because she needs the psychological edge that the height gives her against the men in her profession, to which Beckett replies that she doesn't need the edge. She just likes it.
* Subverted with Sophie on ''[[Leverage]]''. She's a grifter and therefore almost always wearing high heels, but kicks them off if the con goes awry and she needs to leg it, like "The Second David Job" and "The Reunion Job". Also in "The Reunion Job" both her and the female gun for hire kick their heels off before fighting each other. Played straight with Eliot's counterpart in "The Two Live-Crew Job", however.
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== Toys ==
* The action figure for comics lead Michiko Noguchi (a human [[Alien (franchise)|Weyland-Yutani]] employee adopted into a [[Predator]] clan) features ridiculous combat stilettos in Predator-armor fashion.
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* ''[[Blood Rayne]]''. Similar to Bayonetta, the heels are [[Shoe Phone|actual stilettos]].
* Averted in ''[[Tomb Raider]] Legend''. The bad guys attack while Lara is at a fancy dinner party, and she takes off her heels and [[Foot Focus|fights barefoot]].
* In the early ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' games, the women wore flat shoes due to being digitized live actors. Once gaming reached the 3D era though, Midway started adding progressively more [[Fan Service]] with each game. It got particularly bad in ''Mortal Kombat 9'', where Sonya--an Army commando who normally dressed relatively sensible--rocked the heel.
** Skarlett invokes this trope literally by stabbing her opponent in the [[Eye Scream|eye]] with her heel.
* Ivy Valentine from ''[[Soul Calibur]]''. Though she does actually make use of them by stamping on opponents while they're lying down and twisting her foot around. Ouch.
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* Averted in ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'' with [[Mysterious Waif|Fina]], who is a very slow character and fights with magic or by letting her [[Mon]] do the fighting. Played straight with [[Fragile Speedster]] Aika, but her heels are not as big as Fina's.
* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series: Pretty much every Viera ever. They have digitigrade feet, so their heels are off the ground with or without the shoes.
** Except in the artwork of ''Final Fantasy Tactics Advance'' and ''A2'', which take place in the same universe as XII, Viera have rather reasonable heels and some even walk flat like the Assassin.
** Due to the... ''unusual'' art design for ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'', it was long believed that Larsa Ferrinas Solidor's thigh-high boots were what have have been described as "cherry red high-heeled Sunday pumps." The contrast of the red and green on his boots actually makes it appear as if he's wearing high-heels, and red ones at that.
** Another male example with Luso in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics A2]]'', as he has heels in his official artwork. His [[Catgirl]] Adelle sports these as well.
** The [[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance|Tactics Advance]] series in general has several instances of this, most notoriously, the hume Black Mage.
* ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'': Lulu has been speculated to wear heels beneath her dress due to the sound her feet make on hard surfaces in the game.
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** But justified - sort of - in that he flies when in battle and thus there is nothing for him to trip on.
* Ada Wong in ''[[Resident Evil]] 4'' wears high heels to go along with her evening gown.
** The opening cutscene of ''[[Resident Evil]] 5'' introduces us to {{spoiler|Jill Valentine}}, who wears high-heeled boots through the entire game.
*** Sheva's BSAA outfit wears some boots with semi-reasonable heels and she does plenty of [[Kick Chick|high kicks and flips]]. All of her alternate costumes also include high heels. {{spoiler|Jill's}} BSAA outfit actually has some sensible boots. Excella Gionne wears high heels in her default costume and actually uses them on knocked down Majini during ''The Mercenaries Reunion'' minigame.
** Cindy from the ''Outbreak'' games also wears heels. Made all the more peculiar in the fact that she's a waitress, who normally wear comfortable shoes due to all the walking involved in that job.
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** As does [[Complete Monster|Bad]] [[Serial Killer|Girl]]
* Most of the females in the ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' series, including Trish/{{spoiler|Gloria}} and Lucia.
* In ''[[Dirge of Cerberus]]'', Rosso clicks around in stiletto, thigh-high boots. To say nothing about her butt-cape.
* Evelynn in ''[[League of Legends]]'' sports a pair of noticeable heels, even in the game.
** She points out the difficulty of walking in them as well.
* Many [[Game Mod|custom outfits]] for ''[[The Sims]]'' have gratuitous heels, even with swimwear.
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* Hel, the main antagonist of ''[[Viking: Battle for Asgard]]''.
* ''Ninja Gaiden''; even more so in ''Sigma 2''. Ninjas in heels, anyone?
* In ''[[Saints Row the Third]]'', you can wear 5 inch platforms without having difficulty moving. But then again, this is the game which allows you to juggle pedestrians 50 feet in the air using explosive ammo. Realism isn't particularly high on it's list of priorities.
* Shiki's boots in ''[[The World Ends With You]]'' are heeled, but not ridiculously so. The most amusing example of this trope, though, comes in the form of the footwear equipment that, given a high enough Bravery stat, [[Cross Dresser|anyone can wear]]. Of these, the best would have to be the Enamel Pumps -- their stats in terms of defense aren't impressive, but the wearer ''keeps their balance when hit by enemy attacks that would otherwise knock them around.'' Oh, irony.
** ''[[Dragon Quest IX]]'' does something similar. There are several high heel pieces of equipment that female characters can wear and they actually increase evasion rate. The high heels don't look any different than other footwear, though, even though equipment actually shows up on your character in this game.
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* Sakuya Izayoi, the [[Character Title|Perfect and Elegant]] [[Meido|Maid]] of the ''[[Touhou]]'' franchise. Especially noticeable in the fighting games, where she uses those high heels to kick and stomp on her opponents.
* Ange Serena of ''[[Tales of Innocence]]'' wears high heels to go along with her large white dress. Which is really quite odd, given that she's a speedy melee character who jumps and moves around a lot with her combos.
* Peach and, to a more practical extent, Zelda in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''. Zelda loses the pumps for some uggs in ''Brawl'', however.
* [[Action Girl|Judith]] of ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'' equips these in her secondary weapon slot.
* Millenia from ''[[Grandia II]]'' takes this to utter extremes. Not only does she always fight in her high-heel boots (to be fair, with her stats, she is less of a melee fighter, and more of a [[Squishy Wizard]] and [[The Archer]]), but she also has a [[Limit Break]] attack called "Heel Crush", wherein she walks up to an enemy, uses a platform of [[Hard Light]] to lift herself just above their head, then stomps it viciously [[For Massive Damage]]. Did we mention she is a full-time [[Fetish Fuel Station Attendant]]?
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* ''[[Persona 3]]'' has Mitsuru Kirijo, being the local [[Badass]] [[Ojou]], wearing some very sexy heeled boots into battle, and even kicks her opponent during her Critical Attack.
* A couple of [[Castlevania]] examples: In [[Castlevania Judgment]], Carmilla has literal combat stilettos, as her guard break attack actually involves her leaping into the air and stomping on her opponent. Also, while they aren't pointy stilettos, [[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night|Alucard]] wears high-heeled boots. While unequipped, you can press down and attack while falling and he'll do a kick.
* [[Starcraft II|Sarah Kerrigan]]'s infestation somehow resulted in her growing a pair of bone stiletto heels out of her feet.
* ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'' exudes this trope when you put on the disguise of one particular civilian female wearing high heels, especially while executing attacks with your feet/legs.
* The [[Dhampyr]] assassin Evelynn the Widowmaker from the online game ''[[League of Legends]]'' attacks by kicking with her stiletto shoes, while [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshading]] the general impracticality of it:
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* ''[[I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space]]''
* Evil [[Spinnerette]] has an actual stiletto in her heel. Seen [http://www.krakowstudios.com/spinnerette/2010/06/11/06112010/ here].
* At a certain strip of ''[[8-Bit Theater
* [[Wholesome Crossdresser|Tip]] from ''[[Skin Horse]]'' is a rare male example of this.
* In ''[[Endstone]]'', [http://endstone.net/2010/03/15/issue-3-webpage-16/ Cole wears such shoes. Kyri comments on her error in wearing such bizarre clothing, and that the shoes were not made for combat.]
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* Sam, Clover and Alex in ''[[Totally Spies]]'' have high heel boots as part of their standard uniforms. However it doesn't prevent Alex from complaining that an armour she is wearing as a disguise is harder to walk in than her high heel shoes.
* [[Wonder Woman]] in ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]''. [[Lampshaded]] in an episode which sees her thrown back in time and having to don cowboy boots, to which she complains. Batman teases that "you fight crime in high heels." to which she responds, "High heels that fit".
** Wonder Woman is probably justified in that ''[[Flying Brick|she can fly]]''. She's already mobile, balance is redundant and walking is practically unnecessary. She's in a win-win situation when it comes to footwear.
* Due to the [[Silver Age]] aesthetic, ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold]]'' has [[Black Canary]], [[Huntress]], [[Vixen (comics)|Vixen]] and pretty much every other female hero and villain effectively fighting in high heels.
* Katana looks to have them in ''[[Beware the Batman]]'', at least going off the promo poster.
* In ''[[Megas XLR]]'', Kiva's boots have heels, but the heels are much thicker than most examples on this page, so it may be slightly more combat-appropriate than other examples.
* American Maid from ''[[The Tick (animation)]]''. With her they really are Combat Stilettos because she uses them as throwing weapons.
* Subverted in ''[[Samurai Jack]]''. In one episode, Jack's geta are destroyed, and he tries on a pair of stilettos that remind him of his old shoes. He manages to still be a great fighter wearing them, but changes shoes when he's mocked for wearing women's footwear.
* The girls from ''[[Winx Club]]'' wear these in their fairy forms, and sometimes run while wearing them. Not very often tough, because they fly more. They loose them in the third season and [[Foot Focus|go barefoot]]. They come back in the fourth season.
* Hyena in ''[[Gargoyles]]'' gains a pair after she becomes a cyborg.
* ''[[Re Boot]]'': Whether tormenting Megabyte, flirting with Bob, or just relaxing in her lair, Hexadecimal is never seen without her trademark stiletto-heeled boots, knee-high in some forms, and thigh-high in others.
* [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|Princess Mandie]] on ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'' wears high heels all the time, even though she's hunting Mark.
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' and Shego's fight in the Bermuda Triangle club in ''[[The Movie|So The Drama]]'', where their heels don't impede their usual jumping-about [[She Fu]]. However, it's the only example from the series; usually they wear more sensible boots.
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* If one of the ladies of ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' were working undercover, and their disguise included heeled shoes, they'd become [[Combat Stilettos]] should the need arise (as in the epsiode "Glamour Girls"). Otherwise, they'd would be seen in more tactically appropriate footwear.
* Dr. Karbunkle from ''[[Biker Mice From Mars]]''. A rare male example.
* Tossed a [[Lampshade Hanging]] in ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]''. [[Squishy Wizard]] Zatanna's normal costume includes square-heeled boots, which aren't as bad as they could be, but when Harm begins chasing her, she casts a spell to turn them into flats.
== Real Life ==
* All right, so there was no combat involved, but there was a time after 9/11 that Manolo Blahniks were not allowed on certain airlines. Why? Because the heels came down to such a fine point, they could ''easily'' go through a man's foot with the right amount of pressure.
* Stilettos are ''lethal'' if used correctly, and especially if the heel is strong enough. Sure you can't run fast in stilettos, but that doesn't usually matter when your opponent needs reconstructive foot surgery and rehab to be able to walk again.
** In his book ''Coroner'', Medical Examiner Thomas Noguchi detailed an unsolved case involving an apparent gunshot wound to the head. As there was no bullet, there was a mystery as to how the wound could have occured. He realized that stilettos, employed with enough force, could have made the wound.
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