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{{trope}}
[[File:
A mysterious character, sometimes a temporary ally or enemy, sneaks behind the protagonist. We see as they lift a knife, take careful aim at the hero, and
Only to see it wasn't the hero they struck, but a [[Scary Scorpions|scorpion]] or snake poised to strike, or even an actual enemy. Either way, rather than killing the hero, the stranger has just saved their life. Sometimes, the target isn't even a threat, but is used to gain trust, the message being "[[If I Wanted You Dead...]], you would be by now".▼
▲A mysterious character, sometimes a temporary ally or enemy, sneaks behind the protagonist. We see as they lift a knife, take careful aim at the hero, and STAB.
Note that they aren't necessarily being sneaky about it -
▲Only to see it wasn't the hero they struck, but a [[Scary Scorpions|scorpion]] or snake poised to strike, or even an actual enemy. Either way, rather than killing the hero, the stranger has just saved their life. Sometimes, the target isn't even a threat, but is used to gain trust, the message being "[[If I Wanted You Dead]], you would be by now".
If misunderstood, it becomes a usual - if not outright mandatory - set-up for the [[Hero
▲Note that they aren't necessarily being sneaky about it--just less than straightforward. A hero cringing in fear or trying to reason with their ally happens just as often. Equally doable with a gun, or by throwing a knife which barely misses.
▲If misunderstood, it becomes a usual - if not outright mandatory - set-up for the [[Hero With Bad Publicity]].
The more [[Badass]] version of [[Pet the Dog]]. Can be parodied in more mundane series with a mosquito.
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'',
* Subverted in ''[[
* In the second episode of ''[[
* In an early episode of ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' before the pilots become allies, Heero points his [[BFG]] at Duo's Gundam during a battle. Duo assumes that the other pilot has turned on him and they get into a [[Humongous Mecha]] [[Mexican Standoff]]...only for Heero to blast the enemy machine that was sneaking up on Duo before flying off.
* Done in ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* A variation in ''[[
* Revy and Dutch from ''[[
* In one episode of [[The Anime of the Game]] adaptation of ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* At one point in ''[[Samurai
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The second Corinthian pulls this on Matthew - whom he had previously sworn to kill - in ''[[
* Similar to the ''[[
* [http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/6514922.html Here]{{Dead link}}, a [[Transformers|Decepticon]] is [[Strange Bedfellows|given a gun]] by an Autobot while the latter tries to switch off a Transformer zombie signal. After it's off, the Decepticon shoots - a zombie that evidently didn't need the signal and had gotten really close to the Autobot
* Subverted in an early ''[[X Wing Series]]'' comic. Two New Republic pilots holed up in a cave have been found rather suddenly by a New Republic agent, who holds a blaster on them as they work through suspicions. A pilot [http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1038/swrstro206.jpg tells the agent] that [[Look Behind You!|there's a predator creeping up behind her]]; she asks if he really thinks she'll fall for that. The pilot tells his friend to reach for his gun, so one of the two has a chance to wing it, if the agent doesn't fry them. The [http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1452/swrstro207.jpg next page] has the agent [[Badass Back|firing behind herself without looking]], hitting the predator. "I believe you," she says.
* During the [[Batman|Club of Heroes]] reunion that turned sour with the murder of host John Mayhew, el Gaucho literally stabbed the robot scorpion creeping up on the Musketeer, recognizing it not only as deadly, but as the calling card of his enemy Scorpiana, as seen in the page image.
* Subverted in the ''[[Sin City]]'' story, "A Dame to Kill For," where {{spoiler|1=Ava appears to have Dwight McCarthy at point blank range and instead aims upward and shoots Manute in the face.}} She then claims mind control so as to regain his already once-misplaced trust. It doesn't work, as evidenced by the last page where {{spoiler|Ava}} has a bullet through her head.
* In one ''[[Tintin
* Happens (almost literally) in ''The Legend of Red Wolf'' by Enrique Villagrin. Jessica Hartmann and her maid are [[Two-Person Pool Party|having sex by the swimming pool]] when Red Wolf creeps up on them. Instead of attacking them, however, he crushes a scorpion that was about to sting them.
* In the ''Inquisitor Ascendant'' Inquisitor Reiker and Gravier [[Teeth-Clenched Teamwork|don't get along very well]] in their search of Gravier's former master who ran off in mighty suspicious circumstances. Eventually —
{{quote|'''Reiker''': (while walking away) Don't think I can't see that weapon, pupil. Don't even ''consider'' using it.
'''Gravier''': Praise the Emperor, Inquisitor...
(shoots a spider the size of a small horse lurking above)
'''Gravier''': ...that I have wits to ''disobey''! }}
== [[Film]] ==
* Lampshaded in the German police-spoof ''[[
* The [[Trope Namer]] is ''[[
** [[Shout
* In ''[[Resident Evil (
** Used in ''[[Resident Evil
* In ''[[
** Melina's introduction in ''[[For Your Eyes Only (
* In ''[[Braveheart]]'', the Irishman is portrayed as a belligerent (and crazy) person in his first scene. In the very next scene, he charges towards the unsuspecting William Wallace... only to throw his sword at [[The Mole]] instead.
{{quote|
* ''[[Romancing the Stone]]''{{context}}
* [[Meg Ryan]] does this during an argument with Lou Diamond Philips in ''[[Courage Under Fire]]''. Tragically, {{spoiler|he believed that she was shooting at him, and he shoots her in the stomach}}.
* ''[[The Sting]]'', when a man steps around the corner into an alley and fires a silenced gun, apparently at Hooker. {{spoiler|He kills Loretta, the waitress from the diner, then reveals that she's actually the assassin Loretta '''Salino'', who's been assigned the hit on Hooker and was about to kill him}}.
* Murtagh does it in ''[[Eragon (
* ''[[Titan
{{quote|
'''Korso''': No. I won't. }}
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Holes]]'': Stanley (Caveman) is returning to his sleeping quarters after a late night of digging early on in his stay at Camp Greenlake. He turns to find Mr. Sir pointing his revolver seemingly at him, and thinks it's all over when Mr. Sir fires. Mr. Sir was not aiming at him, however, but at the deadly and extremely poisonous yellow spotted lizard that had snuck up behind him. Earlier in the movie and in the book, Mr. Sir says, when Stanley is seen eyeing his revolver nervously, "This is for yellow spotting lizards. Don't worry; I wouldn't waste a bullet on you."
* ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'':
{{quote|
'''Eddie Valiant''': I always knew I'd get it in Toontown.
(''as he turns around, A shadow of {{spoiler|Judge Doom}} with a gun appears on the wall'')
'''Jessica Rabbit''': Behind you!
(''Shoots at the shadow; it falls back and the gun drops on the floor'') }}
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Legend (
* Done in a hilarious verbal version in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]'', when Sgt. Angel first arrives at his hotel in Sandford:
{{quote|
'''Sgt. Angel''': ''I beg your pardon?''
'''Joyce Cooper''': (''writes in her crossword puzzle'') "System of Government characterised by extreme dictatorship." Seven across.
'''Sgt. Angel''': Oh, I see. It's "fascism."
'''Joyce Cooper''': Fascism. Wonderful. Now, we've put you in the Castle Suite. Bernard will escort you up there.
'''Sgt. Angel''': Well, actually, I could probably make my own way up. Hag!
'''Joyce Cooper''': ''I beg your pardon?''
'''Sgt. Angel''': "Evil old woman considered frightful or ugly." It's 12 down.
'''Joyce Cooper''': Oh, bless you! }}
** Like almost every bit of dialogue in that movie, it comes back again with them genuinely shouting those insults at each other during the climactic gun fight.
* Done early on in ''[[
* ''Paradise Road'' has a scene in which a Japanese prison guards dramatically holds up a sword as though about to decapitate Cate Blanchett's character after subjecting her to a day and night of torture, but brings the sword down and slices off a lock of hair instead.
== [[Literature]] ==
* In ''[[Deryni]] Rising'' Morgan kills a Stenrect crawler that was inches from Kelson's hand. A lady-in-waiting sees him draw and use his sword, but not the creature; she screams, guards come, and Morgan's [[Hero
* In the ''[[Warhammer
** Earlier, in ''Ghostmaker'', Rawne (who despises Gaunt and wants him dead) sneaks up on Gaunt while he's sleeping, holds his knife to Gaunt's throat, and quickly brings it
* In ''[[
* Lord Hong in ''[[
* Rennie does this to Wick in ''The Crush''. "Move and you're a dead man." Of course he does move, prompting Rennie to shoot the bobcat about to pounce on Wick from behind.
* In a rare double-sided version, the climax of ''[[The Dresden Files
* In a [[Sarah Dessen]] novel ''Just Listen'', Annabel gets into a car with Owen, who has a reputation for anger management issues. He takes out a hammer and she starts imagining headlines of her murder when he carefully buckles her
* Happens in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', almost literally. Daenerys is given a box from a stranger. She opens it, when an old man hits her hands with a staff, knocking the box out of them. It turns out that the box contained a manticore, a highly venomous, (possibly) scorpion-like creature.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* In the pilot for ''[[
* ''[[
** Also done by the Master as a threat to a lesser vampire. He makes a swift motion that could've easily left a ''nasty'' mark, and then says "bug".
* ''[[
** In a later episode, Ana-Lucia approaches tied-up Sayid with a knife. She's going to kill him! Nope. She's going to cut his ropes and free him.
* ''[[
** "[[Doctor Who
** The older Amy's introduction in "The Girl Who Waited" involves stabbing a Handbot over Rory's shoulder.
* Kate Lockley pulls a really violent version of this on ''[[
* Seriously, almost every time anyone does ''anything'' in ''[[
* ''[[Castle]]'' has a double Stab The Scorpion. Beckett and Castle are facing each other, both apparently pointing guns at the other. They fire simultaneously, and both hit a bad guy that was sneaking up to take the other unawares.
** For impact, the setup to
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[
* Something like this occurs in ''[[
* In ''[[Prince of Persia]]: Warrior Within'', the Prince evades an axe thrown at him by a strange creature. Later it is revealed that the creature is {{spoiler|[[Stable Time Loop|the Prince from the future]]}}, who threw the axe at an enemy sneaking up behind the Prince.
** Also done by {{spoiler|Farah}} in ''The Two Thrones''.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* The opening cutscene of ''[[
** Dante and Lady also do this to each other in 3 right before going [[Back-to-Back Badasses]].
* Amaterasu in ''[[
== [[Web Animation]] ==
* Smoke of ''[[
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* Happens in ''[[Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire]]'', after Al manages to knock out the assassin that was send to seduce and trick him into selling his bar wakes up again in the middle of a big fight, gun aimed at Al. She angrily states no-one ever managed to knock her out. [[It Meant Something to Me|Because she never let anyone get close!]] She then shoots an enemy behind Al.
* Scott's Penguin in ''[[Ctrl
* In ''[[General Protection Fault]]'', this is inverted when Fooker and Maddie are on a mission against Dr. Nefarious; a scuba diver comes up behind them, but then gets shot by a woman. Fooker later reveals that he knew that the woman was one of Dr. Nefarious' men because the diver belonged to a friendly intelligence agency.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* In ''[[Trinton Chronicles]]'', Aurora performs this act in the first scene of her meeting Sara. While in the ice maze Sara is walking by herself after leaving another group of people in a huff. She runs into Aurora, who promptly throws a knife at Sara's head. The knife misses by a few centimeters and it turns out Aurora saved her from some [[Big Creepy
* Late in V3 of ''[[RWBY]]'', Qrow lunges at General Ironwood with his scythe; Ironwood, whose robotic army had been compromised by a secret enemy, thought Qrow was intending to kill him for attacking Beacon and Vale. Qrow was actually attacking a Gryphon which was about to strike Ironwood from behind.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In the cult classic series ''[[
* In Disney's ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]'', the title character is presented with one in regards to bullish rhinos that have forcefully moved into the apes' territory after being driven out of their homes by human civilization. After learning that he purchased large amounts of dynamite to resolve the rhino issue, Jane and the others rush stop Tarzan from doing the deed, which turns out to be blowing up a new section of river. Aware that he could've killed them all if he wanted to, the rhinos accept their new home.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Ben 10
* In ''[[Codename
* ''[[
* ''[[
* Done in an episode of ''[[Mighty Max]]''. When the main heroes are gathering a team of heroes, one of them is an old man with a bow. When Max tries to doubt his skills, the guy aims the bow at his direction...
* In the second season opening for ''[[The
* On the ''[[
* ''[[
* In an episode of ''[[
* In ''[[Scooby
* In the ''[[Justice League (
** ''Superman'' saves Vandal Savage from a monster this way in ''Hereafter.''
== Real Life ==
* An odd inversion was [https://web.archive.org/web/20140131094339/http://scams.wikispaces.com/Salted+Mine performed] by one audacious [[Con Man]]: while selling a "salted" mine, he let his mark choose the place to check, then dropped a dead snake and shot it, "saving" his mark and spraying the area with golden dust from shotgun.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Action Adventure Tropes]]
[[Category:Index to The Rescue]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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