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Breaking the Bonds: Difference between revisions
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Heroes showing off their power -- literally or symbolically -- by busting out of chains, ropes, or similar restraints. Sometimes it involves the "flex my pecs to bust these bindings" thing, or it can be "I'm so pissed off, it's like my handcuffs are made of lead." Whichever the case, [[Heroic Resolve]] or [[Unstoppable Rage]] is usually at work.
If it turns out that the prisoner could have busted out any time, he's a [[Play-Along Prisoner]]. If he ''already has'', and is only pretending to be still restrained, he's [[Slipped the Ropes]].
See also [[With My Hands Tied]], [[Chained to a Rock]], and [[Chained by Fashion]]. If a chair is involved, we might have a [[Bench Breaker]].
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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Chapter/Episode 1 of ''[[Bleach]]'', where Ichigo dramatically bursts out of a paralyzing spell, demonstrating his immense spiritual power.
* Kamina does a rather casual one in the first episode of ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''. Lordgenome does one in the 15th, where {{spoiler|he makes Lazengann break free of the Gurren Lagann's shades after the failed Giga Drill Breaker}}.
* [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] StrikerS'', where Fate cuts through her bonds only to have [[Big Bad|Jail]] entangle her with new energy threads.
* In ''[[Ranma ½
** In a much more serious, straight application of the trope, Akane ''ripped through'' the pantyhose binding her arms and wrists with sheer brute force (no mean feat, since she was wrapped up in so much pantyhose it was several inches thick, and her wrists were tied behind her back in a similar fashion.)
** Akane is rather effective at this. When captured by [[Cloudcuckoolander|Principal Kuno]] and suspended high above the ground in a [[Crucified Hero Shot]] (with brooms in lieu of a cross,) she easily snapped in half the broomstick binding her arms and used the rope to swing-kick the Principal.
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** Of course, that's usually a [[Most Common Superpower|female superpower]].
* [[The Punisher]] does this in "The Long, Cold Dark" arc, having been incapacitated by his nemesis Barracuda, who in addition to fulfilling this trope, also exhibits [[Bond Villain Stupidity]]. Barracuda {{spoiler|intends to kill the Punisher's daughter-he-didn't-know-he-had right in front of him}}, thus giving the Punisher the [[Unstoppable Rage]] he needed to burst out of the cuffs.
** Barracuda [[Not So Different|does this himself]] later in the arc, finally [[Villainous Breakdown|losing it]] after being shot, beaten, having his [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|crocodile clips wired from a car battery to his testicles for about an hour]], tied up in chains and thrown into the boot of Frank's car. Frank's response?
{{quote|'''The Punisher''': You have got to be fucking kidding me.}}
* In ''[[Asterix]] and the Goths'', after the Gothic chief Metric is deposed by Rhetoric with the aid of the Gauls' [[Super Serum|magic potion]], he is visited in the dungeon by Getafix, who offers him a dose of the magic potion so he can take revenge on Rhetoric. After Metric takes a drink, he bursts out of his chains, and Asterix quips, "He's got a free hand now!" (The original French edition relied on the double meaning of "déchaîné"; the English pun arguably doesn't warrant Obelix laughing over it for the rest of the book once he [[Late to the Punchline|gets it]].)
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== [[Film]] - Animated ==
* Quasimodo gets one at the end of Disney's ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''. The [[Ominous Latin Chanting]] in the background sings of [[Bilingual Bonus|breaking free of death]].
* In ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (animation)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' Stoic The Vast wrenches apart {{spoiler|the harness that Toothless was trapped inside}} while ''underwater''.
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* In ''[[Artemis Fowl|Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code]]'', Arno Blunt apparently "ripped those handcuffs apart as though they were links in a paper chain."
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** Subverted in ''[[Discworld/Thud|Thud]]'', when the Watch get captured by dwarfs, Detritus the troll makes a point of ''not'' breaking his chains, even though Vimes notices they're so crappy a human could break them.
** In ''[[Discworld/Unseen Academicals|Unseen Academicals]]'', Mr Nutt chains ''himself'' up after learning {{spoiler|he's an orc}}. When various "ordinary people" appear not to care about this, he is touched that they do not see him as a monster and stands up, casually smashing the chains in the process. Everyone flees.
* In ''[[Codex Alera]]'', Kitai shatters a chair she is tied to.
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* ''[[Cops (series)]]'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQTXawaAKNA "I can break these cuffs!" "You can't break those cuffs."] {{spoiler|He doesn't.}}
* An episode of ''[[Burn Notice]]'' has Michael doing this with handcuffs. They had been [[Xanatos Gambit|specifically rigged to allow this]], though.
** Another episode has Simon breaking through his handcuffs after hinting that he'd been working at them long enough to damage their structural integrity.
* Eliot does this in the second season finale of ''[[Leverage]]''. However, considering that he's the show's [[Lightning Bruiser]] and the cuffs were of the plasti-cuff variety, rather than metal cuffs, it's not surprising.
** [[Word of God]] says that their research showed that with plastic ties, this is possible given the right training and skills.
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* In ''[[Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World]]'' Regal has since stopped wearing the [[Handy Cuffs]] he wore in the first game, but ends up in some again for unrelated reasons. [[Self-Restraint|After being properly proven innocent]], the guards can't find the key, so he notes that the makers of these cuffs aren't known for being sturdy, breaks them, and recommends they buy some from his company next time.
* In ''[[Fate/stay night|Fate Stay Night]]'', Berserker, aka Hercules, have broke anti-divine chains (which supposed to bond him entireley) with his iron will. Manly man indeed.
* In ''[[Geneforge]] 4'', the player character is sent into Shaper Monarch's dungeons to rescue Khryk, a [[Old Master|senior Shaper]]. The rescue is entirely unneeded, since Khryk could have broken himself free at any time, but chose to remain in captivity to learn Monarch's weaknesses and pass them on to you.
* In ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' [[Boisterous Bruiser|Minsc]] getts to perform this task "The bars! They bend and twist with my berserker strength! Minsc and Boo are FREE!"
* In a flashback in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', Ganondorf does this. Set for execution at the hands (or sword rather), of the sages, he breaks free from his chains (AFTER he is already stabbed in the stomach) and in one swift move kills one of the sages. Of course, he had the Triforce of Power on his side, so he did have some help.
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* In ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'', in the episode "Bubblevicious", Mojo Jojo zaps Bubbles with a laser, and she breaks free and promptly beats the living crap out of Mojo.
* ''[[Thundarr the Barbarian]]'' [[Opening Narration]]: "But one man bursts his bonds to fight for justice!" He was apparently forced into [[Gladiator Games|gladiatorial sports]] until he broke free of his chains and devoted his life to battling sorcerers.
* Parodied in an early episode of ''[[The Tick (animation)]]''. The Tick initially had the power to swell his muscles to twice their size by flexing (this was quickly forgotten). In the first encounter against Chairface Chip'nDale, the Tick attempted to use this to break free of his ropes, but had to stop because he would have killed Arthur and American Maid in the process. Instead he saved the day with his "Good Dental Hygiene".
* On ''[[The Perils of Penelope Pitstop]]'', Penelope has been known to do this on a couple of occasions.
* In the ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' episode "Welcome to the Jungle", the mice are tied up by Brain's archnemesis Snowball, who intends to burn them at the stake. Brain tells Pinky, who has been displaying a surprising prowess at surviving in the wilderness, to rip his way free of the ropes, but Pinky is too weak to do it. But when Snowball kicks Pinky off the platform and into [[Quicksand Sucks|quicksand]], Brain suddenly goes into an [[Unstoppable Rage]] and rips the ropes off himself.
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