Incredibly Obvious Bomb: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

''It's a bomb! Duck and cover!''

 

 

The same goes for [[Time Bomb|time bombs]] or other explosive devices. On TV they always have blinking lights (red is a popular color), audible beepers and/or a [[Magic Countdown|timer]] counting down on them. Some bombs have all three. Older depictions have a loudly ticking alarm clock taped to a bundle of dynamite.

This is [[Older Than Television]]; if you look at animated cartoons from the early to mid 20th Century, one of the more common mayhem-related props is a bomb--[[Cartoon Bomb|black, bowling-ball-sized, with burning fuse stuck in the top, and possibly the word BOMB on it in big happy white letters.]]

 

 

This trope may be justified, however, if the Incredibly Obvious Bomb was never meant to be a weapon in the first place. Civilian explosive charges used for excavation and demolition are brightly colored, festooned with techy bits, and clearly labeled as explosive for ''exactly'' the reasons military explosives are ''not''. This trope may also be justified if the Incredibly Obvious Bomb's ''primary'' purpose is to draw your attention away from the ''real'' bomb, or even to lure you into an ideal position for it or some other attack.

An incredibly obvious bomb will also have incredibly obvious [[Wire Dilemma|wires to cut]]. See also [[Cartoon Bomb]].

 

 

== Anime ==

* Similar to the Moonites example listed at the top, the events in ''Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'' are set into motion when Kumar brings an Incredibly Obvious ''Bong'' onto the plane, which to anyone not expecting it would easily see it as a '''bomb'''.

* ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'' had the bowling-ball type, complete with "Bomb" written on the side.

* ''Revenge of the Pink Panther'' (1978): Inspector Clouseau, being [[Sarcasm Mode|his usual genius self]], has a mook put what is '''''very''''' obviously a bomb ''right into his hands''. His reaction?

** Heck, these bombs started being a problem for Inspector Clouseau two films prior (''Return of...'').

 

== Literature ==

* In the novel ''Big Trouble'' by [[Dave Barry]], idiotic airport staff allow the villains to pass their mysterious valuable metal suitcase, which is actually a nuclear [[Time Bomb]], through the security checkpoint, only asking them to turn it on first to prove that it is a laptop computer or some other innocuous device. The villains explain that the [[Magic Countdown|digital countdown]] that starts up is sort of like a VCR clock.

 

== Live Action Television ==

** To be fair, The Master loves these kind of clichés.

*** Especially since such booby traps are planted more to put pressure on the Doctor and endanger his friends than in a serious belief that they'll kill him.

* ''[[MacGyver]]'' is made of this trope. The early episodes have bombs everywhere. The intro sequence for the first season or so has one with a nice big digital timer. The pilot has a ''missile'' with a timer inside it. Just about every explosive device (there are lots of them) has a timer, unless [[MacGyvering|Mac made it himself]]. Of course, those are usually highly visible, but rarely incredibly obvious. One whole episode revolves around bombs actually well-disguised as electrical panels... which are nevertheless quickly identified as bombs by Mac.

** Subverted in one of the earlier episodes. Mac spends most of the episode disarming the bomb, and when he finally disarms it a set of blinking LEDs switch off and the apparatus falls silent... but the real bomb is underneath the entire rig (which was merely a detonator) and still ticking.

* Used deliberately in ''[[Burn Notice]]'' when Michael sends a fake bomb to his handler to get his attention.

* Subverted in ''[[Night Court]]''. When someone is apparently trying to kill Harry, he finds a device much like the one shown in the picture above, but as the bomb-squad member sent to take care of it informs him it was just an alarm clock attached by wires to some road flares.

** Subverted in a later episode when a bomber goes on a rampage through the station. We never see what the bombs look like (except the final one {{spoiler|attached to the station's fusion reactor}}), but the first one is found by a bunch of lurkers who find it interesting enough to get right next to it just before it goes off. Otherwise we just see explosions occur, taking everyone in the vicinity completely by surprise.

* The ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' and ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' teams like putting big blocks of C4 in the middle of the walls on hallways on enemy ships. It's only been a few times they've bothered to put it under things or tucked away in a corner.

* In ''[[Primeval]]'', a bomb with a flashing red display is placed under a car. A flashing red display that is '''so''' bright that the characters first notice it by seeing where the display lights up the floor below.

* In the ''[[Leverage]]'' episode "The Two Live Crew Job," the bomb sent to Sophie is very subtle, as it's motion sensitive and hidden in the bottom of a vase. No timer, no wires, just the bomb.

 

== Video Game ==

** Played straight with the semtex bombs in a few areas (mainly the one walkway and that one room) - with the explosives labelled as such. This series is a little schizophrenic with this trope.

*** Somewhat justified in that the explosives weren't meant to blow up the bridge, but rather act as a personnel deterrent (in other words, "You don't go through here unless you want to be blown up").

** To be fair it's on the side that we look at; given that the troops are marching in formation and probably not looking over the handrailless side it's kind of hard to see. Also it's the kind of stealth thing that makes them ignore neon-green clothed riflemen standing ''right in front of them'', in the ''desert'' if they have the right upgrade.

** Also, the Chrono Bombs in ''Red Alert 3''.

** The Demoman's grenade launcher also shoots obvious grenades, that flash his team color for a few seconds before exploding. The sticky bombs don't flash, but they're still somewhat obvious.

** The Spy's sapper also counts - a large, grey rectangle placed on an Engineers building. To blow them up. Almost impossible not to notice a building that has been "sapped"

* When planting the bomb (oddly enough, as either side) in ''[[Call of Duty]] Modern Warfare'', you get a brief look at it - a suitcase with stacked bricks of plastic explosive attached to a cell phone with "[[Cartoon Bomb|BOOM]]" taped over the screen.

* Justified in ''[[Left 4 Dead]]''. The pipe bomb in the game has a bright blinking red light and a loud beep. The zombies in the game are attracted to light and sound, so making it incredibly obvious means that they'll actually '''try''' to get into the blast radius.

* ''[[No One Lives Forever]]'' follows this trope in the second game with the high explosives used at various points in the game. The explosives closely resemble the image above, except the analog timer is directly on top of the explosives themselves, and they're armed with a safety key and a couple switches, and they're set up in a brick of six sticks of dynamite.

* Both the player's and enemy's explosives in ''[[Medal of Honor]]'' are the "clock on a bundle of dynamite" type.

* Human frag grenades in the ''[[Resistance]]'' series make a lot of smoke and noise before exploding, though both how and why is [[Justified Trope]]: the grenade's fuse is exposed, and the resulting smoke, sparks, and whatnot are a deterrent against enemies [[Grenade Hot Potato|picking it up and tossing it back]].

* Terrorist bombs in the ''[[Rainbow Six]]'' series are usually big, cylindrical, and have the obligatory beeping timers and flashing lights. Averted with explosives used by the player teams.

 

== Western Animation ==

* In the pilot episode of ''[[Transformers Animated]]'', Starscream attaches a bomb to Megatron's back. It's about the size a softball would be in a human's hands, it's dominated by a red flashing light, and it emits a beeping sound which increases in intensity towards detonation. How Megatron failed to notice it is a mystery up there with "Where does Optimus Prime's trailer go?"

* There was an ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'' episode where the bad guys are trying to blow up a space shuttle ... using a bomb clearly labeled as such ... and its design is ''included in the blueprints for the shuttle.'' The plucky sidekick simply finds the right page in the [[Great Big Book of Everything|Big Book Of Blueprints]] and yanks out the right wire.

** Averted in the carnival episode, where the bomb is hidden in a prize toy.

** Played straight in the arctic episode, where a MAD agent rigs Gadget's car with "rockets to advance even in snow" and "special snow tires" that are bright red [[Sigil Spam|with the MAD logo]].

 

== Web Comics ==

 

== Web Original ==

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4 "It's a pipe bomb!"] [[Potter Puppet Pals|Yaay!!]]

* [http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0907/id-say-its-licking-a-very-potter-musical-dumbledore-hermione-demotivational-poster-1248378302.jpg This incredibly obvious bomb] Snape gives Dumbledore inside a sandwich in ''[[A Very Potter Musical]]''.

 

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[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]