The Lethal Connotation of Guns and Others: Difference between revisions

Knives, swords, arrows, etc., can hit square-on but [[Only a Flesh Wound|leave flesh wounds that cause little more trouble than paper cuts]]. Blunt weapons may just bruise, if that, even when they hit. Lasers are often [[Family -Friendly Firearms]] that just stun, or leave burns with little more effect than a burn from a hot stove. Bombs sometimes leave just a soot layer on their targets; more realistic works will let a character [[Outrun the Fireball]]. If a building falls on top of a character, he may crawl out of the rubble with nothing more than a layer of gray dust -- yes, even in works that are superficially realistic. Tornadoes will just fling a character aside even if he [[Do Not Touch the Funnel Cloud|does touch the funnel cloud]], and [[Convection Schmonvection]] gives enough protection from fire that almost anyone can escape it. Poisonous gas has antidotes, and the worst effects can be escaped if you hold your breath as soon as you know it's there. Even the radiation from a nuclear bomb, the other scariest weapon a character is likely to run into, sometimes causes [[I Love Nuclear Power|beneficial mutations]]; even when it doesn't, it often leaves few side effects between the radiation poisoning and death.

See also [[Non -Fatal Explosions]].

{{examples|Examples}}

* Taken to an almost humorous extreme in [[Wanted]], where Wesley's skill with firearms is treated as an unstoppable trump card. At one point, as the [[Big Bad]] urges his minions to "do something" about the oncoming [[Anti -Hero]], Wesley muses to himself "like what? stop a bullet with their faces?" It seems to not occur to the writer that, in fact, many super villains are more than capable of exactly that.

* The characters in ''[[Bionicle]]'' never have realistic guns, but they do carry explosives, rocket launchers, lasers, swords, chainsaws and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|squid launchers.]]

* Mocked in ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja (Webcomic)|The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'' in an [[April Fools' Day]] one-shot where his family of ninja (and gunslinging sidekick) are murdered by their only weakness: "Bullets...from a gun."