Grappling Hook Pistol: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"Ah, here we are. Kevlar utility harness. Gas-powered magnetic grapple gun. The three hundred and fifty pound test monofilament.''"|'''Lucius Fox''', ''[[Batman Begins]]''}}

 

 

In settings that predate firearms the alternative is the grappling arrow used by bow wielding protagonists. While it can be an arrow with a grappling hook more often it's just a standard arrow with a rope tied to it.

 

 

The hooks themselves are [[Plot-Sensitive Items]], capable of all three variants of [[Instant Knots]] - latching onto, wrapping the cable around, or piercing their target, depending on the needs of the script. The wrap-around cable is a strange effect, as it always attaches to the anchor point snugly enough to support whatever is on the other end of the cable on the first try. If the cord can automatically retract, the person can just hold on with one hand with inhuman strength to get pulled up; this is especially [[Rule of Cool|dramatic]] if they're holding someone else with their other arm. It's also very handy when you find yourself or an innocent civilian falling, but let's hope the cord [[Not the Fall That Kills You|has some elasticity]].

 

 

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

 

** Not to mention the ''Child of Dreams'' spinoff manga (which, surprisingly, isn't half bad).

* ''[[The Big O]]'', which took inspiration from Batman, has a set of Grappling Hook ''cannons'' on its waist, which are used to pull things around, pierce enemies, hoist gigantic robots hundreds of feet into the air supported by a thin latticework, and anchor it into the ground before using its ultimate cannon attack. Roger Smith also possesses a Grappling Hook Pistol in his ''watch'' that makes an appearance nearly every time his feet leave the ground.

* Joe the Condor's sidearm in ''[[Science Ninja Team Gatchaman]]''. Not only can it fire bullets or a hookline from the front, but also has a large weighted hook on the back and the gun can fire backwards. Joe will often use this to hit enemies that sneak up behind him. In one instance, he tricks someone who knocks him down, steals his gun, and tries to use it against him to kill himself by switching the triggers beforehand.

** Ryu the Owl carries a much smaller, normal one as well.

* Inexplicably, Hibari from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]!'' has one inside ''his tonfas''.

** Note that the jets aren't good for much afterwards.

** Hei's grapple line thing also seems to be anchored at one foot and at his waist on the same side, so there's no super-human arm strength involved.

* The [[Humongous Mecha|Knightmare Frames]] in ''[[Code Geass]]'' are usually equipped with one or more Slash Harkens. Even the ones that fly (though they are also used for offense and for tight turns like car grapnels, so this isn't entirely out of place). The Lancelot even has one that can act like a pole to [[Rocket Jump|boost itself up into the air]] before it gets a flight module.

*** Of course, that was made before Batman's grappling gun was standard fare.

* [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider Man]]'s webshooters are similar, but it uses a special strong adhesive chemical called "web-fluid" instead. [[Spider-Man (film)|The movie]] replaces the web fluid with "natural" spider webs.

** As a younger hero once pointed out: "Wirepoon. Sounds kinda dirty."

* Hilariously and realistically used in a recent issue of ''[[Deadpool]]''. Yes, he has the gun. But using it to go up 90 floors of a building takes ''forever''.

* Night Raven in the [[Marvel Universe]] wields one of these.

* In ''[[Le Scorpion]]'', the title character uses a grappling hook crossbow.

* [[Darkhawk]] has one built into his armor.

 

== Film ==

** In ''[[Batman Begins]]'', the titular character's wonderful toy (see the page quote for a more technical description) allows him to latch onto a monorail car as it makes its way towards Wayne Tower in the finale of the film. It also established a bit of slightly more realistic tech to the gun; the gun fires the projectile but it is anchored to the suit and the belt has a motor for the ascension. Since his costume is likely built with a harness that means it isn't reliant on his physical strength to hold on and allows him to snatch mooks and pull them to the ceiling.

*** The Joker's men use one in the opening bank robbery in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', though it is the size of a rocket launcher instead of a pistol because they're [[Law of Inverse Recoil|not as]] [[Rule of Cool|cool]] as Batman. This is also because the current film franchise is doing its best to be realistic, and the Joker's thugs don't have the benefit of Bruce Wayne's company providing them with innovative technological solutions (read: supersience); they have to go with the tools they can snag off the black market or build themselves.

** Luke had one of these all the way back in ''[[A New Hope]]''. He and Leia used it to swing across a chasm in the Death Star.

** There's also the [[BFG]] versions mounted on the snowspeeders in ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', proof that a properly utilized grappling hook can be the bane of any [[Humongous Mecha]].

*** It was retroactively justified by saying that the speeders were used to tow cargo containers, thus the name [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|tow cable]].

* Chodaboy has a sex toy variant in ''[[Orgazmo]]''.

* ''[[The World Is Not Enough]]'' has [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] utilizing one built into his '''''wristwatch'''''.

*** At the start of ''Goldeneye'' when he bungie jumps off the dam, he uses a grappling hook pistol to pull himself to the bottom.

*** Even earlier was ''[[Diamonds Are Forever]],'' where he uses an almost plausible gun that fires pitons. How it's able to pierce the building when it travels as relatively slow as it does and support Bond's weight is anybody's guess.

* In Disney's ''[[Robin Hood (Disney film)|Robin Hood]]'', [[Robin Hood]] and Little John would fire rope arrows to set up escape paths to move themselves and money. Done with a bit of realism, in that once the arrow was fired, somebody on the other end had to tie it off, instead of relying on the arrow to support the weight.

* In ''[[The Naked Gun]] 2 1/2'', Drebin shoots a bulky grappling hook gun to get to the top of a building, but it hits the side of the building and falls. On his second try, the grapnel snags the collar of an angry guard dog, which then chases him around the roof.

* The evil Marines from ''[[The Rock (film)|The Rock]]'' use a grappling hook rifle to set up ziplines, in order to infiltrate and steal the Chemical Weapons.

* ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'': Lucy Liu uses a grappling hook bow repeatedly throughout the movie, most notably at the end when she hooks it into the fuselage of an airborne helicopter with enough force that it can hold all three of the girls.

* Generator (Jade Sinclair) at the [[Super-Hero School]] Whateley Academy in the [[Whateley Universe]] has one in an arm bracer. But she can cheat. {{spoiler|She can cast a psychokinetic copy of herself into objects, so she can always make the "grappler" end do what she wants.}}

* A grappling-hook arrow was used to enter a building in one of the ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' novels. [[Psychic Powers|Telekinesis]] was used to ensure it made it to the target.

* During the siege on a town in the [[Belgariad]], they use catapults to launch grappling hooks over the city walls. Of course instead of using them to scale the walls, they use them to pull them down.

** [[The Belgariad|Malloreon]] actually. But not before Belgarion and {{spoiler|Durnik}} soak the ground good by magically creating a spring under it and turn the foundation to mud. Still, very cool.

* One of the realistic prop gadgets Jett has on the set is a compact grappling hook, which to rescue his best friend who's trapped in a well in the pilot episode of ''[[The Famous Jett Jackson]]''.

* Downplayed in the second ''[[Angel]]'' episode, "Lonely Hearts". Angel tries to use a Grappling Hook Gun to get himself and Detective Kate Lockley (prompting the response "...who ''are'' you?") out of a room they are trapped in, but the wooden beam the wire attaches to crumbles under their weight. He did use it once again, without incident in "She" to gain entry to an office building. It worked fine that time; obviously he learned from his mistake. Probably it was too expensive or cliched a stunt to replicate again. Wesley had a grapnel-launcher at the end of Season 4/beginning of Season 5, which he used at least once.

* Delta Runner Two in ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'' has a magnetic grappler. The [[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]] were also equipped with "OO zip shooters".

* ''[[Andromeda]]'''s Eureka Maru used nigh-unbreakable Fullerene "buckycables" to collect <s>anything not nailed down</s> salvage. And the force lances could be rigged for grapple-launching as well (Though it doesn't quite qualify as a "pistol" since the lance is extened for grapple-launching.)

* One of the gadgets used by ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'' protagonist Shotaro is the Spider Shock, a wristwatch that can turn into a robot spider and has this as one of its functions.

 

 

== Real Life ==

 

== Tabletop Games ==

 

* There is a grappling hook coil gun in ''[[GURPS]]: Ultra-Tech''. Rather than a pistol it's counted as a form of grenade launcher. You can use it to play [[Batman]].

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Lego Adaptation Game|Lego Batman]]''.

** In the sequel, Arkham City, you can even upgrade it with a version equipped with a more powerful motor that not only elevates him, but launches him in the air.

** And the ''[[Batman Forever]]'' game for the Super NES. [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]] comments on how Batman's "grappling dick" (since he shoots it out of his crotch) is activated by the freaking ''Select'' button.

** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass|The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass]]'', the Grapple Hook is back, and also has the ability to pull things together (or form a rope bridge, or a slingshot) by connecting them. And it's elastic.

** Link's whip in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks]]'' can be used to form an [[Instant Knots|instant loop]] around a big log suspended in the air to swing off it. And appears to be an elastic red snake on the end of a stick.

* Functionally, this was the main power of the main character in the NES game ''[[Bionic Commando]].'' Unique in how the writers recognized the inhuman strength required and explained that he had to be a cyborg with the grappling hook built in with ''hydraulics'' for this to work.

** Not only that, but Radd couldn't jump. ''In an NES platformer''. The programmers took a ''huge'' leap of faith here, but [[Rule of Fun|it paid off]].

* The Special Forces expansion pack for ''[[Battlefield (series)|Battlefield 2]]'' gives some classes a crossbow that fires a cable that can be used as a zipline. Grappling hooks are also available to some classes, though they're the old-school hand-thrown variety.

* The ''[[Half-Life]]: Opposing Force'' expansion features a grappling hook weapon, although not a pistol. Rather, it's an alien barnacle that's been detached and that can be used on some maps to latch onto biological outcroppings.

* Ada Wong frequently uses one in ''[[Resident Evil]] 4''.

** And Leon uses a grapple belt to escape one of [[The Dragon]]'s traps in the same game.

* The ''[[Worms]]'' series of games feature a "ninja rope" that can be lengthened and retracted at will, plus released and refired while in midair over and over to replicate [[Spider-Man]]'s method of travel. Mastery of the ninja rope is necessary to become a true worm warrior.

* In ''007: Agent Under Fire'', Bond actually has one of these '''''inside his cell phone!'''''

*** In The World is not Enough, Bond gets a watch with several functions, including a grappling hook. Of course, in single player you had to aim for a large yellow and black block on the ceiling, after which a rope would "fall down" for Bond to climb.

**** ''[[From Russia with Love]]'' featured the "Rappel Belt." True to the '60s flair of the game, this was a hook that detached from Bond's belt and had to be thrown onto ledges, and climbing would retract it. It was a little more flexible than ''[[Eon]]'s'' rappel gun in that Bond could swing across ledges with it.

* They appear as a Crusader weapon in ''[[Hellgate:London]]''... however, instead of being used for anything remotely plausible, they're used to grab enemies and ''[[Mortal Kombat|drag them to you]].''. Why? [[Rule of Cool|Because it's cool.]]

* Goemon from the ''[[Legend of the Mystical Ninja]]'' games never left home without his chain pipe.

** The Rope Snake was originally used by Duster in ''Mother 3''; he used it to swing across gaps in a dilapidated castle. In a later chapter, the entire party has to hang onto the snake {{spoiler|while it hangs from the Pig Army's main aircraft}}, but it can't support the weight. Having thus dishonored its ancestors, it changes its name to Snake Rope and mopes.

* ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' series: Three words, Chaos/Athena Blades.

* The ''[[Metroid]]'' series' Grapple Beam. In both ''[[Metroid Prime]] 1 and 2'', the beam when acquired takes the form of a literal gun that clips under Samus' left arm. In 3 it takes the form of a disc attachment to the back of Samus' left hand - but adds being able to latch onto ''and yank away'' certain obstacles...metal bars, plates, enemy deflector shields...

** Later in ''Corruption'', Samus gets the Grapple Voltage device which augments the functionality further by allowing her to siphon energy from her tanks into another device to power it up, or siphon it away from a device or enemy to recharge her own reserves. A Phazon-based version allows her to dump Phazon into the target; {{spoiler|she can use this to prolong her purity on Phaaze as well.}}

* The Thunder Claw in ''[[Mega Man 8]]'' functioned similarly. It would extend its normal firing range if a grabbable object was nearby.

** The Wire Adapter from ''4'' could only be fired straight up, but otherwise followed the trope.

* The bonus levels of the first ''[[Alien vs. Predator]]'' game on the PC gave a grappling hook to the marine to allow him to traverse the Alien levels.

* Adding a grappling hook is a common mod for first-person shooters such as ''[[Unreal Tournament]]'' and ''[[Quake]]''.

* Alex Mercer from ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'' does not really need a grapple device, being an excellent ''[[Le Parkour|traceur]]''. However, his upgraded Whipfist does allow him to reach out and snag stuff to either pull to him or, if it's bigger, pull himself to it.

* The Japan-only [[Konami]] [[Nintendo DS|NDS]] platformer ''Arumana no Kiseki'' (''Miracle of Almana'') features an Indiana Jones-like adventurer who navigates a cave by grappling hook.

* The protagonist of ''[[Nitrome|Frost Bite]]'', a would-be mountain climber, uses this as both her only mountain-climbing equipment and her primary defense against [[Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti|yeti]]s and the like.

* ''[[Rocket Jockey]]'' gives each rocket bike two grappling hooks-mostly for better turning, but the two cables can also be joined together, creating clotheslines and attaching objects to each other. [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|The greatest uses for them are on other jockeys, of course!]]

* In ''[[Strife]]'' this is used against you by a boss. It doesn't do much damage on its own but he likely throws you off high ledges in the process.

* The fishing pole in ''[[Minecraft]]'' isn't meant for this purpose, but it has the ability to stick to mobs and when you yank the reel back, the mob is dragged to you, making it extremely handy to drag flying mobs like Ghasts and Blazes to you so you can whack them with your sword, or hook the line to a mob across a cliff and yank the line to make them fall in the abyss or even a lava pit.

 

== Western Animation ==

** [[Harley Quinn]] attempted to use her own device for that. It didn't have enough punch to throw the hook high enough, but turned out useful for knocking people out.

* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' has one of these, as seen in the page pic. It's [[Shoe Phone|shaped like a hair dryer]]. Her use of [[Shoe Phone]] tech is probably based more on fashion sense than stealth, though, because everyone knows she's a superhero.

** [[Fridge Brilliance|When you think about it]], this makes lots of sense, more so then the Batman-style GHP, as it's usually depicted. And the tech's [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|not that out of reach]], either.

* This is one of the most commonly used attachments for [[Darkwing Duck]]'s all-purpose "gas gun."

* [[Wrench Wench|Gadget]] from ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (animation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'' uses something similar in the pilot "To the Rescue"; however, instead of a grappling hook, it uses a suction cup (as do most of her inventions). In other episodes, she uses a self-made crossbow with the same function.

* Although not named, it's in fairly common usage in ''[[Max Steel]]'': The titular character has a gun version in hammer-space, while one of his partners, Kat Ryan, has a small version built in to her watch.