Walking on Water: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''I have to pay the ferry, to cross the Galilee
''but not my brother (no not him) he walks across for free''
|'''[[The Arrogant Worms]]''', "Jesus' Brother Bob"}}
[[I Have the High Ground]], with a body of water substituted for the slender pole. As the name implies,
A common variant is the ability to only ''run'' across water (frequently by [[Super Speed]] characters such as [[The Flash]]), which is just as cool, and somewhat more scientifically
The most well-known water-walker is probably [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]] in the [[The Bible
Not to be confused with the [[Walk
{{examples
=== Advertising ===
* [[
▲=== Walking/standing on water ===
===
* Milked for all it's worth in ''[[
▲* [[The Man Your Man Could Smell Like (Advertising)|The Man Your Man Could Smell Like]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTIowBF0kE Check it out.]
* Subverted in ''[[Ranma
* Seems to be a standard ability for any sufficiently skilled mage or ninja in ''[[
* The first opening of ''[[
▲* Milked for all it's worth in ''[[Naruto (Manga)|Naruto]]''. Some of the most climactic battles of the series have taken place over a large body of water. Like their usage of [[I Have the High Ground]], it's related to the "standard" ninja ability to channel [[Ki Attacks|chakra]] into the feet. Sometimes the animators forget that everything else is meant to sink -- one filler episode showed huge clods of earth sitting happily on the surface. Perhaps they were ninja rocks?
▲* Subverted in ''[[Ranma One Half (Manga)|Ranma One Half]]'', in a scene in which Cologne is shown approaching the beach while apparently riding a wave, and the others comment on how a master of the martial arts can balance even on a twig floating on the water; at a suitably dramatic moment, however, the shark whose head Cologne has been standing on breaks the surface of the water.
▲* Seems to be a standard ability for any sufficiently skilled mage or ninja in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima (Manga)|Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' [[Lampshaded]] during the [[Tournament Arc]]:
▲{{quote| '''Spectator:''' Maybe it's just really shallow?}}
▲* The first opening of ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' has the title character tip-toeing on a sakura petal that lands on a body of water.
▲* ''[[Princess Tutu (Anime)|Princess Tutu]]''
** At the beginning of the first episode, Mytho dances, apparently naked, on top of a lake, with Ahiru watching hidden in the rushes.
** An underground lake is magically transformed into a dancing stage for the [[Magical Girl]] and her [[Dark Magical Girl]] rival to have a [[Swan Lake]] themed dance-off. ([[It Makes Sense in Context]].) [[Failure Knight|Fakir]] also uses it to fight crows, but when the battle turns in his favor, Kraehe causes the water beneath him to no longer magically hold his weight, which nearly causes him to drown.
* ''[[D
* Subverted in an episode of ''[[After War Gundam X
* Maybe more Moses than Jesus, but in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* In the ''[[Pokémon (
=== Comic Books ===
* Near the end of the graphic novel ''[[Watchmen (
** In [[The Movie]], the walking on water scene is visible in a commercial but lacks the symbolism.
* Subverted in an issue of ''[[Superman]]'': a priest asks him if he's able to walk on water, and Superman admits that yes, he can, but he wouldn't take advantage of the priest's faith like that.
** Although he does this in the Batcave in ''[[
* In the [[Franco
* In Marvel Comics, all of the Eternals can levitate, and while most use this power to fly, [[The Defenders|the Interloper]] uses it to walk on water.
=== Fan Works ===▼
* John does this a couple of times in ''[[
▲== Fan Works ==
▲* John does this a couple of times in ''[[With Strings Attached (Fanfic)|With Strings Attached]]''. Notably, the first time he does it, he screams [[Crowning Moment of Funny|“Look at me! Look at me! I'm Jesus!”]]
=== Films -- Animation ===▼
* In ''[[
* Metro Man from ''[[
▲== Films -- Animation ==
▲* In ''[[Princess Mononoke (Anime)|Princess Mononoke]]'', Shishigami the Forest Spirit, being a spirit of nature, is able to walk on the surface of his pond. Then again, Shishigami certainly ''is'' [[Crystal Dragon Jesus]].
▲* Metro Man from ''[[Megamind (Film)|Megamind]]'' walks on water towards the beginning of the movie. All though he is in fact just floating directly above it. Watch his heels: they never actually touch the surface, only his toes do.
=== Films -- Live-Action ===▼
▲== Films -- Live-Action ==
* In ''[[Superman II]]'', in contrast to most alien visitations, when the three Kryptonian criminals touch down on planet "Houston", they land in a lake. They then proceed, using their gravity-defying abilities, to rise above and walk on top of the surface of the lake, freaking out any onlookers nearby.
* ''[[
* In the ''[[X-Men (
* Metatron does this at a pivotal moment in the movie ''[[Dogma]]''.
* Featured heavily in [[Wire Fu]] movies, particularly those which focus on the theme of spiritual enlightenment.
** A [[Sword Fight]] takes place over a lake in one of the several [[The Rashomon|Rashomon]] stories in ''[[Hero (
* A great way to symbolically finish the movie ''[[Being There]]'' with [[Peter Sellers]].
* In ''[[Lawrence of Arabia]]'', Ali tells Lawrence that instead of wanting the Arabs to do reasonable things, he wants them to walk on water. Later in Deraa, Lawrence walks across a puddle and laughs.
* Klaatu shortly demonstrates this in the remake of ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]''.
=== Literature ===
* Used in one episode of the children's series ''[[Halfway Across the Galaxy
* In [[Peter F. Hamilton]]'s ''[[The
* From the same author, the ''[[Void Trilogy]]'' actually has a ''character'' called Waterwalker (it's a nickname, actually, but he ''did'' do it). His ability is derived from the fact that he lives in a universe which allows [[Psychic Powers]], and he's a very powerful telekinetic.
* In the ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series by Diane Duane, a fairly simple spell will allow a wizard to walk on water, although one has to be careful to maintain the [[Masquerade]] and not let the [[Muggles]] notice. Given a reasonably logical
* Elphaba does it in ''[[Wicked (
* [[Belgariad|Polgara]] of the works of David Eddings manages it, in order to make a point. Her adversary, Chabat, has a much harder time of it when trying to copy her. Still, the characters in question [[A Wizard Did It|are sorceresses...]]
* In ''[[Miss
* {{spoiler|Saber}} can do so in ''[[Fate
* A line in the spy novel ''The Hungarian Game'' invoked this as a statement of implausibility: the narrator's co-worker claims to have done something subtle, and the narrator notes that a vision of this fellow acting subtly is instantly followed by a vision of their boss walking across Lake Tahoe.
* In ''Illusions'', [[The Messiah|Donald Shimoda]] does this trick to demonstrate his powers...and then follows it up by ''swimming in land''.
* In ''[[
* In the ''[[
=== Live-Action TV ===
* In ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'', Michael's (developmentally disabled) love interest Rita leaves both him and the series as a whole by walking thoughtlessly across the surface of a swimming pool (in a [[Shout
* Most seasons of ''[[Power Rangers]]'' (and, by default, ''[[Super Sentai]]'') where the Rangers' powers revolve around the elements have the liquid-controlling Blue Ranger able to stand/walk/run on water. A rare few seasons with ninjas may do it too, but if a season has both elements ''and'' ninjas, it will never be a generic ninja ability.
* Rory Bremner portrayed [[Tony Blair]] as walking on water in one sketch, soon after Blair was elected.
* On the ''[[
* On an episode of ''[[
===
* Ric Ocasek stands on the surface of a swimming pool in the video for [[The Cars]]' song "Magic".
* For obvious, [[The Bible (Literature)|Biblical-related reasons]], this one is [[Older Than Feudalism]].▼
* Marc Cohn's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DEjAhahh7o "Walk on Water"] invokes the trope from its first lines with the image of low tide on sandflats allowing the illusion of walking on top of the water.
* [[Its Been Done|Buddha did it first.]]▼
* [[Greek Mythology|Orion came before either.]]▼
** With Euphemus the [[Jason and The Argonauts|Argonaut]] coming straight after; helped along by the fact his father was Poseidon, and his maternal grandfather was possibly the aforementioned Orion.▼
===
▲* For obvious, [[The Bible
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]''▼
▲** With Euphemus the [[Jason and
=== Tabletop Games ===
** The boots of water-walking, a magical item which has since turned up in many ''D&D'' homages.
** Also the ring of water-walking and a water-walking spell starting 2nd edition.
** The Body Equilibrium psionic power allowed this already in the 1st edition.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[
=== Theater ===
* Several very skilled magicians and illusionists have performed this particularly showy trick. It gets a good reaction.
**
** British magician Dynamo (real name Steven Frayne) once walked on the Thames, attracting quite the crowd. A canoe paddled through the path he had walked through.
=== Video Games ===
* ''[[Doom (
** For the first time in video gaming history ever, an [[First
** ''Doom II'', ''Heretic'' and ''Hexen'' copy the ability to stand, walk and run on water. At the very least, that's until ''[[
* Vamp in ''[[
* ''[[
** ''[[
** The ability to move over water without sinking (and thus being unable to act) is a support ability of the Ninja class in ''[[
** ''[[
* In the game ''[[Startopia]]'', every species has a swimming animation, except the Zedem Monks, who walk across the surface. Their planet's [[Planet of Hats|hat]] is a papal miter, it seems.
* Soma Cruz in ''[[Castlevania
* ''[[
** Shamans have a spell to that effect. It's almost useless, except to kill annoying guildmates when battling a boss that requires frequent submersion, escape certain monster, and impress new players. Nonetheless, this, coupled with the class' unique ability to resurrect themselves, has spawned many "Jesus was a Shaman" jokes. It's also useful when fishing pools, or doing any quest which sends you to the middle of a
** The new Death Knight class does it in a slightly different way, freezing the water below them.
** There is also a water walking potion. You get them as rewards for the daily fishing quests in Dalaran, or from fishing in certain areas.
* In ''[[
* ''[[
** Amaterasu can walk on water after she obtains the Water Tablet. She ''is'' [[Physical God|a goddess]], after all. Otherwise, she has [[Super Drowning Skills]].
** Waka can do this too. It can be assumed all heavenly beings can.
* [[
* Water-walking in ''[[Achaea]]'' is accomplished using enchanted footwear or potions of levitation, which allow easy, quick movement just as on land. Without it, swimming is slow, hard work (for those who can't, for example, [[Animorphism|turn into a turtle...]])
* A player of ''Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08'' (X360) discovered a glitch that allowed the player to stand and shoot on water hazards (dubbed, naturally, "The Jesus Shot") and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h42UeR-f8ZA posted video of it to YouTube.] Electronic Arts's (the games's publisher) response: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ1st1Vw2kY It's not a glitch. He's just that good.]"
* The ''[[
* In ''[[
* Fisherman-cum-[[Making a Splash|Tempest]] Devon has this ability in ''[[
* A pair of magical boots allows Link to do this in ''[[Zelda II:
* In the original ''[[Creatures]]'', the title creatures can actually walk around on the ocean's surface. However, one needs to [[Good Bad Bugs|abuse certain objects]] to get them onto the sea in the first place, so it's rather obvious that walking on water was due to programming limitations and not deliberately invoked.
* Possible in ''[[Nethack]]'' with a pair of [[Exactly What It Says
* A puzzle in ''[[Tomb Raider]]: Revelation'' is solved by dumping some ancient Egyptian chemicals into water that allows you to walk on it (okay, ankle-deep, but that's more due to engine limitations).
* The main ''[[Pokémon]]'' series doesn't use Suicune's ability to walk on water outside of cut scenes, but it is used in the third ''[[
* ''[[
* The yellow ninja from ''G. G. [[Shinobi]]'' walks on water as his special power.
* In ''[[
=== Web Comics ===
* The saintly hermit Calin can do this in ''[[Bruno the Bandit]]''. He also reminisces fondly about playing "[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/20030117.html Walk-On-Water Hockey]" back in divinity school.
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Daigo:''' You had Water Walk prepared?
'''Durkon:''' I live onna boat an' wear heavy armor.
'''Daigo:''' Good point. }}
* In the comic ''Triquetra Cats'', Rain Soricha being a magic user in the realm of complete control over the domain of water does this frequently, even going as far as creating floating disks of water that she can use as ledges to leap on to gain access to high points.
=== Western Animation ===
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* Brother Blood in ''[[Teen Titans (
▲* In ''[[Code Lyoko (Animation)|Code Lyoko]]'', people possessed by XANA's specters in the real world gain the ability to move atop water.
▲* Brother Blood in ''[[Teen Titans (Animation)|Teen Titans]]'' could do this, while strangely Aqualad could not!
* Clam does it in one episode of ''[[Camp Lazlo]]'', complete with heavenly choir and the onlooker's response "[[Incredibly Lame Pun|Holy mackerel]]".
* Played with in ''[[I Am Weasel]]''. At the end of an episode where everyone had been shunning Weasal only for him to prove himself a hero afterwards, he walks out onto a lake. The crowd rushes out after him and sink right down, prompting Weasal to quip "You know, I really need to teach these guys to stick to the shallow part."
=== Real Life ===
* Certain insects, like the [
* This can be possible in dreams without even particularly trying due to a poor representation of physics leaving the surface of dream water to behave for one's dream self almost as it does for the abovementioned insects.
* Real life aversion: A priest tried to prove that one could walk on water if one only had enough faith. He demonstrated using himself as the example. It didn't go as well as he expected, earning him a [http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-49.html Darwin Award].
* A self-proclaimed messiah in early 20th-century Australia took his followers out on a boat into the middle of a lake and asked them if they believed he could walk on water. When they replied "yes", he said, "Then there is no need for me to do it."
* [[Captain Obvious|Of course]], everyone can walk on water as long as it's solid. Make sure you have at least six inches thickness of ice before trying this on a river, though. (The ''Old Farmer’s Almanac'' has [https://www.almanac.com/content/ice-thickness-safety-chart more details on what is and isn't safe].)
==
=== Advertising ===
* [[Two Words: Obvious Trope|Two words:]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe3St1GgoHQ Liquid mountaineering.] [[Two Words: Obvious Trope|Two more words:]] [http://www.mediaite.com/online/great-moments-in-journalism-local-news-team-duped-by-walking-on-water-hoax/ Not real.]
=== Anime & Manga ===
* ''[[
** Brook. One of the few upsides to being a walking skeleton is being light enough to run on water.
** Aokiji rides his bike across water, but he's [[An Ice Person]] so he's actually freezing a path across the ocean.
* Whereas the straight-out walking version is subverted in the ''[[Ranma
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* Cherry demonstrates this ability in an episode of ''[[
=== Comic Books ===
* Pretty much all super-speedsters in any [[Superhero]] continuity will be able to do this -- [[The Flash]] and [[Quicksilver]] being perhaps the two most prominent. This is supposed to be physically possible, if you can sustain a speed in excess of 60 miles per hour, obviously a snap for these guys who consider going supersonic essentially just a brisk walk to them.
=== Films -- Animation ===
* The utter [[Rule of Cool|coolness]] of being able to run on water is repeatedly stressed in ''[[
{{quote|
'''Mr. Incredible:''' Not as cool as you ''[[Lampshade Hanging|running on water!]]'' }}
=== Films -- Live-Action ===
* The very end of the movie ''[[The Destroyer|Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins]]'', a [[Pilot Movie]] that never became a show, has Remo's [[Old Master|mentor]] Chiun doing this to escape some villains and to show Remo he's still got a lot to learn. (The trick, it seems, is to run ''really'' fast.) Remo himself earlier runs across ''wet cement'', while the [[Mook]] following him falls in and [[Nightmare Fuel|drowns]]. This is shown as being a kind of mind-over-matter trick of becoming lighter, not really faster.
* ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'' includes a number of scenes of characters skimming across ponds.
=== Literature ===
* By ''[[
* in ''[[The Destroyer]]'', Remo Williams can also run over water.
* In David Farland's ''[[The Runelords|Runelords]]'' series, there is at one point a story told about a messenger who used magic to become a [[Super Speed|speedster]] and run across a sea in order to deliver a warning. And then promptly died of old age, in a clear reference to the run of Marathon.
=== Live-Action TV ===
* ''[[
** ''[[Time Warp]]'' replicates this trick for their show.
** ''[[Brainiac: Science Abuse]]'' did it even earlier.
* In ''[[
* Daphne in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' claims to be able to run all the way from the US to Paris at super-speed. Then again, this was all in her head, but it is possible she could still do it.
=== Video Games ===
* ''[[Super Mario Bros. (
** The "Tiny Mushroom" powerup in ''[[New Super Mario Bros
** A power-up in ''[[
** In ''[[
** There is also a certain enemy based on a water-strider bug that can freely stand on water.
** Luigi can do this briefly in ''[[
** In ''[[
** In ''[[
* Hahli can do this in ''[[Bionicle]] Heroes'', despite no Toa of Water demonstrating this ability in the main canon.
* Similar to Naruto, Ryu Hayabusa from ''[[
* ''[[
** Sonic, as a speedster, has been able to do this in some games. He kind of ''has''
** Other characters in the series, such as Tails and Knuckles, are also capable of this.
* Jude of ''[[Wild
* In ''[[
* Donkey from ''[[Donkey Kong Country (
* Link could do this in the [[Bubblegloop Swamp]] area of ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
* Runman in ''[[
* The new ''[[DC Universe Online]]'' allows their speedsters to run across water. If you stop moving, you drop back to swimming mode.
* In ''[[Freedom Force]]'', [[The Flash]] [[Expy]] Bullet's [[Super
* In ''[[Final Fantasy IV:
* The best Ninja Spy-enhanced Monk class in ''[[
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV
=== Web Comics ===
* ''[[
* An basic trick in ''[[
=== Western Animation ===
* [[Seen It a Million Times]] in Western
* This naturally had to be executed at some point in the ''[[
* ''[[
** Aang is able to decrease wind resistance in front of himself to increase his speed to perform feats such as running up vertical walls and across bodies of water, nicknamed "Wind on Waves" in the TCG.
** Fire Nation characters also utilize Mongoose Lizards, giant reptilian creatures modeled after Basilisk Lizards that possess the ability to naturally run on water (see [[Real Life]] below).
* ''[[
* ''[[
* In an episode of ''[[Superman:
=== Real Life ===
* A particular kind of lizard called the [
▲* A particular kind of lizard called the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_basilisk Basilisk Lizard] can [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yabrnryXk sprint across water], leading to it also being known as the "Jesus Lizard".
* Water is what scientists call a Newtonian fluid. Non-Newtonian fluids (like, say, water plus lots of starch) exhibit properties more cool for purposes of [[Real Life]] water walking, like you can run on their surface, but sink while standing. {{spoiler|1=It is doubtful that Lake Genesareth was full of starch during that storm, if you're curious--but the idea of Jesus having to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2XQ97XHjVw do this just to stay afloat] is, depending on your point of view, sacrilegious and/or pretty funny.}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Instant Index, Just Add Water]]
[[Category:Rule of Cool]]
[[Category:Stock Super Powers]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
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