Run the Gauntlet: Difference between revisions

A [[Superhero]] has to face their entire [[Rogues Gallery]] one by one in rapid succession, leaving no time to rest. Race to stop this villain from blowing up the bridge, then dash to the other side of town to free the mayor from another villain...and the villains are almost always fought in order by the [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]] -- weakest—weakest first, strongest last. In the climax, the hero has to face the toughest villain, who is quite refreshed, while the hero is exhausted.

While it makes sense in theory, the scheme raises the question of why the villains [[Mook Chivalry|don't just attack all at once]]. The most common reason is that they didn't plan it -- theit—the [[Big Bad]] has manipulated them into doing it. That way, the hero and villains can weaken each other for the [[Big Bad]] to step in and win ([[Let's You and Him Fight]]).

Heroes with especially awesome [[Rogues Gallery|Rogues Galleries]] will run into this more often; Batman does it all the time. Made possible by [[Villain Decay]] -- the—the guy who almost killed you last time is taken out with a flick of your wrist while you move on to the next one.

* In an anime where [[Magic Music|singing]] is the (pretty much) only method of battle, [[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]] had a [[Run the Gauntlet|gauntlet run]]. And it was [[Played for Laughs]]. Why? In the first level of the tower the bad guys made as part of some ridiculous plan or other, the first 'boss', [[Kawaiiko|Alala]], was merely bypassed and ignored. In the second level was [[Dragon Lady|Lanhua]], who was [[Bowled Over]] by a bowling ball (don't ask how it go there, they don't know either). The third was [[Villainous Crossdresser|Lady Bat]] was 'repelled' when his [[Viewer Gender Confusion|(yes, his)]] breath [[It Makes Sense in Context|reeked of curry]]. The fourth level had [[Monster of the Week|the 'planner' Napoleon]], who let them by after the heroines threatened them with a beating (he was rather short). It was at the fifth and final level where the singing ensued. But not before a [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Crowning Music of Funny]] [[It Makes Sense in Context|from the hostage the heroines were trying to rescue]].

** This has been [[Hand Wave|explained]] as being so each villain would have a chance to get the 'honor' of killing Spidey himself. Spidey has since called this a "bone-headed method of teaming up" and in all subsequent fights, the Six attack en masse. Gently parodied in [[Spider-Girl]]'s fight with the Savage Six--theSix—the entire issue was one big homage to the entire first Sinister Six issue, the leader of the Savage Six employed the same method of attack, and his brother, also a super-villain, called him an idiot.

* Pretty much every arc [[Batman]] has been in lately, from ''[[Knightfall]]'' to ''Hush'' -- and—and also pretty much every non-canon miniseries he's ''ever'' been in, from ''Child of Dreams'' to ''The Long Halloween'' to ''Dark Victory.'' ''Child of Dreams'' is an interesting case - none of the villains he faces are the real deal. They're crazies who ''think'' they're his iconic arch enemies.

** ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]' and ''[[The Batman]]'' both had The Bat fight all of his villains one after the other. Deadly threats from previous episodes were reduced to petty [[Mook|Mooks]]s, [[Elite Mook|Elite Mooks]]s at best.

* In the [[Fairly Oddparents]] fanfic [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2973937/1/Discovery Discovery], Timmy Turner [[Run the Gauntlet]] of all his magical enemies and his [[Imaginary Friend]].