History BatmanGambit / ComicBooks

!!!Dc

!!!Marvel

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'':

** In ''Curse of the Mutants'', Xarus's vampire army manages to turn Wolverine. Xarus then puts Logan in the lead of his attack on Utopia, as a psychological gambit to demoralise the mutants. Then, just when Xarus thinks he can't lose, Comicbook/{{Cyclops}} reveals the vampirism only worked because Dr Nemesis shut off Wolvie's HealingFactor, and turns it back on. Now Wolverine's back, very unhappy, knows where Xarus is based, and the vamps ''really'' aren't expecting him to turn on them.

** The Mickey Mouse story "Ticket to Bong" has an entire African tribe pull this on Black Pete. Pete is expecting to receive a priceless inheritance from his uncle, and is pretending that he's [[HeelFaceTurn abandoned the life of crime]] in order to [[OnOneCondition live up to the conditions of the will]]. Unbeknownst to Pete, his inheritance is an African diamond mine that the tribe was once cheated out of, and they concoct a scheme to get it back. They organize a quiz contest with the questions are specifically rigged so that only two people -- Black Pete and Mickey Mouse -- could possibly answer them all. The prize for both is an overseas trip to the tribe's village. In the end, the pressure of trying to act honest, having to endure Mickey's presence, and the temptation of the nearby diamond mine ripe for the robbing, all eventually drive Pete to drop his act and commit outright burglary -- thus losing all rights to the mine, exactly according to the tribesmen's plan.

* Interestingly enough, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, in his more serious interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable. And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's savvy enough to see through them. Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.

** Superman pulled one of these on ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''Comicbook/SupermanBatman: The Supergirl From Krypton''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.

%%* The [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]]-like villain from the horror comic ''ComicBook/LockeAndKey''. So far, he's been manipulating pretty much '''everyone''' into his agenda.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}: Origins'', Wolverine has a plan with ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}}. The first part of the plan requires Bucky to hire a mercenary to attack Wolverine. Bucky hires everyone's favorite fourth-wall destroying, partially insane, [[{{Deadpool}} merc with a mouth]], because Bucky knows how he hates that everyone thinks he's a Wolverine knock-off -- so Deadpool will draw Wolverine into a very noticeable battle. Deadpool is also the only guy who could have a chance against Wolverine. Hence, the battle ensues, and eventually [[spoiler:Deadpool has Wolverine hanging above a secret pool so that he can drown him, which may take a long time. But then, Wolverine's son, {{ComicBook/Daken}}, shows up, Bucky shoots Daken with a special bullet that will dull his healing factor, keeping him knocked out for a long time, so Wolverine can un-brainwash him.]] It turns out, that was the entire point of everything. [[TheChewToy Deadpool did not get paid.]]
* ComicBook/{{Jubilee}} was actually able to pull off one of these in an early issue of ''ComicBook/GenerationX'', the first time the team dealt with Emplate, the demonic mutant brother of the M-Twins, who could [[VampiricDraining feed off the genetic material]] of other mutants and assimilate their abilities. Emplate managed to capture and subdue the entire team (even Emma Frost, believe it or not) and had them at his mercy. So Jubilee suddenly decides to spend the time ''insulting'' him. (The best one? She parodies David Letterman with "The Top Ten Reasons Emplate is a Loser", number one being that despite all he's doing, he's ''still'' not as annoying as his sister M.) After enduring one and a half issues of this, Emplate loses his temper, and uses his draining power on her, only to find out that Jubilee was trying to make him angry on purpose, because ''she'' has been known to lose control of her powers when she's angry. Because she succeeds in tricking Emplate into assimilating her powers when he's enraged, well, the results are ''explosive'', and the team is able to fight back.
* ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'': If you know ''anything'' about Victor Von Doom, you can easily see why this trope could just as well be called ''The Doom Gambit'' (most of them involve him being ActuallyADoombot).
* ''ComicBook/LexLuthor'':
** This is the kind of planning that allows Lex Luthor, with no superpowers, to mop the floor with Superman nearly every time the two of them meet. (Until Supes eventually wins, of course.)
** A Pre-Crisis Superman story had Luthor falling in love, turning good, curing a deadly disease, marrying, and even allowing Superman to read his mind (with a machine) to convince his former foe that he'd changed- but it was all a trick; he erased his own memories of the plan and arranged it so that he ''genuinely'' believed he had reformed in order to lure Superman into an inescapable trap. His only error was that he had to make himself forget that ''he was already married'' (to an alien woman) for the plan to work... and Superman was aware of that.
** In ''Comicbook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', when Franchise/{{Superman}} shoves Comicbook/LexLuthor's robot into the ground, the mecha's head detaches from the body and blasts off. Superman flies after it and discovers that it is a decoy. Meanwhile, Lex gets away laughing loudly.

* Spider Jerusalem pulls one in the climax of ''Comicbook/{{Transmetropolitan}}''. The first time he meets [[PresidentEvil Gary Callahan]] he was able to record him with the use of "Source Gas". In their future meetings Callahan is smart enough to nullify such tricks, preventing Spider from getting any dirt on him. But as the story goes on Spider becomes less like a crusading journalist and more like an outright revolutionary, carrying real guns and using lethal force on assailants. After successfully ruining the president's career, he drives the final nail when Callahan meets him one last time to kill him. He has Spider repeatedly scanned for weapons and prepares to have him shot, claiming Spider nonetheless got a gun past security and it was self-defense. Unfortunately for the President, he was relying too much on his belief that Spider had lost it, and forgot the first trick he ever played on him. Spider is soaked in Source Gas, and Callahan is exposed.
* In [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Marvel's]] ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'' [[CrisisCrossover crossover]], the [[TheChessmaster coldly calculating]] ComicBook/AdamWarlock sets into motion several futile engagements against the omnipotent ComicBook/{{Thanos}} and his upstart successor Nebula, designed to exploit the villains' AchillesHeel and ineptitude (respectively), and ultimately transition the Infinity Gauntlet to Warlock himself.
** It's part of the same gambit, but it's worth pointing out that a substantial part of Warlock's gambit was to script an entire battle involving more than a dozen of the galaxy's strongest warriors sacrificing their lives, to get Thanos to ''raise his hand'' at the right moment.
** Warlock's [[EnemyWithout evil half]] the Magus is not to be outdone in the sequel [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] ''The Infinity War'', implementing an elaborate scheme geared towards the acquisition of the Infinity Gauntlet. Unfortunately, two [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]] (three, if you count Thanos' duplicitous doppelganger) are better than one, and after Warlock and Thanos discern the Magus' end game, they execute a counter-scheme that sabotages the villain's newfound godhood, and ultimately leads to his defeat.
* In [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel's]] ''Comicbook/{{Excalibur}}'', it is revealed that Merlyn arranged the formation of Excalibur and manipulated many subsequent events (including faking his own death), in order to ultimately prevent the collapse of Merlyn's Energy Matrix and destroy Merlyn's former teacher [[OmnicidalManiac Necrom]]. [[spoiler:The gambit is only half-successful: while Necrom ''is'' destroyed, Captain Britain and Meggan create a feedback loop in the Energy Matrix and destroy it, greatly reducing Merlyn's power.]]
-->''Was all this deception really necessary? - Merlyn's daughter Roma''
* In ''ComicBook/EarthX'', Comicbook/CaptainAmerica uses Alicia Master's Marvels (animated clay fashioned in the guise of Earth's heroes) to have an army immune to the Skull's mind-control, and to preoccupy the supervillain's superhuman slave army. Cap then disguises himself as a Marvel made in his image to fool the Skull into believing he's also immune to the boy's powers, allowing Cap to get in close and [[ShootTheDog snap the Skull's neck]]
* ComicBook/NickFury in the ''UltimateMarvel'' universe performs one of these. In order to eliminate a dangerous assassin and recover the high tech rifle he possesses, Fury anonymously contacts the assassin ''and orders a hit on himself''. He manages to successfully lure the assassin into the open and kill him.
** The best part. The assassin is armed with a gun with X Ray Vision and a [[BulletsDoNotWorkThatWay Magic Bullet that will phase through any barriers between him and his target.]] As he's setting up his aim, the last thing he sees is Nick Fury aiming the only other copy of this same rifle ''at him''. He didn't just call a hit on himself, he slipped the assassin just enough information about his own schedule so that he'd know exactly when and where the assassin would attack.
* A character in the ''Comicbook/{{Blacksad}}'' album "Artic Nation" is in the middle of one several decades in the making. A key factor in this plot is [[spoiler:marrying her own father, while keeping him from discovering this particular bit of information. She succeeds at most of her goals, but her sister is killed in the process and her niece rendered an orphan]].

* Done at least twice in ''ComicBook/SinCity'':
** In "A Dame to Kill For", Ava leaves Dwight [=McCarthy=] for millionaire Damien Lord; then, four years later, comes to Dwight pretending to be afraid of Damien and his servant Manute, playing on Dwight's [[TheDulcineaEffect Lancelot complex]] to get Dwight to investigate and ultimately kill Damien, leaving her Damien's money.
** In "That Yellow Bastard", Senator Roark keeps Detective Hartigan from receiving a few letters from the only friend he has left, "Cordelia" (Nancy Callahan, though Roark doesn't know it), then sends Hartigan a severed finger. Predictably, Hartigan, thinking Nancy's in danger, does what he has to in order to make parole so he can rescue Nancy, then goes looking for her, only to find she was safe and unharmed until that moment, when he accidentally revealed to Roark's son, who had been following him since he left prison, that "Cordelia" was Nancy.
* During the ComicBook/{{Onslaught}} CrisisCrossover of the ''Comicbook/XMen'' series, it was revealed that Professor X (like Batman) kept secret files on how to kill each X-Man in case they went rogue, including himself (which was good, since Onslaught was created from a combination of Xavier's and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s minds).
** Onslaught actually predates "Tower of Babel", the JLA story where Batman's files are revealed, by a few years (and even JLA: Year One, where [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn]] did much the same thing, by a period of time).
** The "Xavier Protocols", as these plans are known, eventually end up becoming important plot elements in various other arcs.
** In ''Curse of the Mutants'', Xarus's vampire army manages to turn Wolverine. Xarus then puts Logan in the lead of his attack on Utopia, as a psychological gambit to demoralise the mutants. Then, just when Xarus thinks he can't lose, Comicbook/{{Cyclops}} reveals the vampirism only worked because Dr Nemesis shut off Wolvie's HealingFactor, and turns it back on. Now Wolverine's back, very unhappy, knows where Xarus is based, and the vamps ''really'' aren't expecting him to turn on them.
-->'''Cyclops''': I had to assume the possibility that you'd get bitten and turned. In fact, I counted on it.
* In the 13-issue story "The Kindly Ones" from ''Comicbook/TheSandman'' series, Death calls Dream out on having orchestrated a Batman Gambit. This gambit is a [[spoiler: suicide.]] It's also implied that only two others in existence realize what's happened: Puck [[spoiler: who says that he could discuss the subject "endlessly"]], and [[spoiler: Loki, who doesn't realize he's been played until it's too late for him.]]
* Interestingly enough, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, in his more serious interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable. And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's savvy enough to see through them. Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.
* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'':
** Susie tricks Calvin [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/01/13 with an elegantly simple Batman Gambit]].
** [[http://assets.amuniversal.com/d52fdf68250b102d94d7001438c0f03b Susie pulls off a far-more complex one]] during a story arc in which Calvin steals Susie's "Binky Betsy" doll and holds it for ransom, demanding $100 for her return (via an "anonymous" note signed [[WhatAnIdiot "Sincerely, Calvin."]]) Susie puts an envelope by "the tree out front," as she was instructed to do, but hides behind the tree, out of Calvin's line of sight. Calvin sees the envelope and is overjoyed, thinking she caved and coughed up the money. However, just as Susie had planned, Calvin takes his eyes off of Hobbes for a few seconds to check the envelope, inside of which is no money, but a note that reads "Now we're even." Calvin is confused and has no idea what that means... until he turns to see [[{{Revenge}} Susie running off with Hobbes, whom SHE holds for ransom]]. Susie even comes out ahead, because in the ensuing [[PrisonerExchange toy exchange]], Susie gets both "Binky Betsy" ''and'' a quarter in exchange for Hobbes.
* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'':
** In ''The Black Knight [=GLORPS=] Again!'' by Creator/DonRosa, Arpin Lusene is out to regain his melts-anything-it-touches suit of armor from Scrooge [=McDuck=]. At the armor's supposed resting place, he finds that the armor has been replaced with a note stating that it is not there... which Arpin anticipated, and therefore brought a tiny saw along. With it, he saws silhouettes of a knight's armor in the walls, so Scrooge later believes that Arpin has regained his armor and walked through the walls. Worried, Scrooge goes to check out the armor at its true resting place, Arpin tailing him and stealing it.
** Scrooge [=McDuck=] has himself conducted Batman Gambits, of which his [[ArchEnemy archrival]], John D. Rockerduck, is frequently the victim.
*** [[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1718-A In one story]], Scrooge launches an epic scheme involving deliberately [[GlobalWarming cooling down the Earth]], risking '''100 billion Euros''' of his own money in the process, and using his understanding of Rockerduck's greediness (of which Scrooge himself is in no short supply) that Rockerduck will buy the whole project off of him in the hopes of reaping massive profits. The project is a money-loser, and Scrooge reveals this only after Rockerduck has paid Scrooge. The sole purpose of this risky scheme? Scrooge was worried that Rockerduck would soon pass him as Richest Duck in the World, and this was a way to get Rockerduck to burn some money on a lousy investment and remain in second place.
*** [[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL++715-B In another story]], Scrooge takes out a massive insurance policy on his ship from Rockerduck's insurance company, and he makes it look like he deliberately sank his own ship for the insurance proceeds. Scrooge counts on Rockerduck to take him to court for insurance fraud, where Scrooge reveals that his ship never sank and that he stands falsely accused by Rockerduck. He points out to the court that Rockerduck smeared Scrooge's good name with the fraud accusations, and demands compensation. The sole purpose of this convoluted scheme? To force Rockerduck to hand over ownership of a small, worthless[[labelnote:almost]](It did have some pearl oysters in the surrounding waters.)[[/labelnote]] island. An island that Scrooge wanted only because Rockerduck had it, and he didn't.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** Superman pulled one of these on {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''Comicbook/SupermanBatman: The Supergirl From Krypton''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.
** ''Comicbook/WarWorld'': Superman's plan to destroy the titular super-weapong was goading Mongul into firing at Supergirl and him until overloading Warworld's circuits.
--->'''Supergirl:''' Uh-Oh! Something tells me Mongul isn't kidding anymore!\\
'''Superman:''' Perfect! He's reacting exactly as I'd hoped he would!
* Marvel's Odin of ''Comicbook/TheMightyThor'' fame has one of his own, when it's revealed during the "Disassembled/Ragnarok" story arc that all of the trials and tribulations that Odin had put Thor through over the years (centuries, millennia) were preparing him to finally be the god to put an end to the Ragnarok Cycle once and for all.
* Udon Comics has a fun one, in ''Comicbook/StreetFighter Legends''. Karin challenges Sakura to a contest, ANY contest... and Sakura comes up with a Hot-Dog Eating Contest. Karin quickly comes up with the plan. She asks to, at least, be able to pick the time and place of the next contest. She cheats like mad, relying on Sakura to go all out. Sakura does so, and it looks like Karin might win, until it's revealed she was cheating. She goes to her back-up plan. Admit defeat in the stupid, stupid contest, and challenge Sakura IMMEDIATELY to a martial arts match, which Karin wanted. Handicapped. Right there, right now. Sakura, meanwhile, was busy trying not to throw up. It would be a good Xanatos Gambit, if it wasn't for the simple failure condition of Sakura calling foul. Sakura could have NOT exhausted herself in the hot-dog contest, or simply refused the fight. But Sakura is not the person to do that.

** Deadpool's got moves.

* [[EvilAlbino Tombstone]] pulled one of these off in a ''Spider-Man Tangled Webs'' story that featured him as a VillainProtagonist. After suffering a heart attack (due to his very unhealthy diet) Tombstone was arrested and sent to [[TheAlcatraz the super-villain prison the Raft]], where he quickly developed an enmity with [[DirtyCop a crooked correction officer]] and the Kangaroo, who the correction officer used as his enforcer to keep the inmates in line. Tombstone planned to murder the Kangaroo, but he had a problem – his cellmate, the Spot, learned of the plan, and didn’t want to be an accessory to murder, seeing as he was up for parole soon. Tombstone threatened the much weaker man, but the Spot betrayed the plan to the guards anyway (even though turning stool-pigeon on any inmate, much less one like Tombstone, is usually suicide) and Tombstone was caught in the act. He was sent to solitary, where the crooked officer tormented him and kept his medication from him, while the Spot was granted parole for his act. Eventually, Tombstone got sicker and sicker, until he had a second heart attack. The crooked officer knew he was in trouble, because Tombstone would be transferred, and the Kangaroo wouldn’t work for him if Tombstone survived. So his NumberTwo arranged for the guy to personally guard the villain as the ambulance transferred him so he could kill the villain and MakeItLookLikeAnAccident. That’s when Tombstone’s long-prepared escape plan came to fruition, and it was revealed that the Number Two and the Spot had been in on it all along. The Spot opened a portal to Switzerland (where Tombstone could get better medical treatment with confidentiality) and the villain killed the correction officer during the transit. (Unfortunately for the Spot, Tombstone later repaid him by snapping his neck, showing that while his heart was healed, it was still black as pitch.)
* [[Creator/RobertCrumb Mr. Natural]] uses this on just about everyone, which makes them even madder when they realize how easily he's able to manipulate them.
* TheMole on the team in ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'' attributes this to the success of their plan near the end of the first volume - specifically, they let Nico suggest part of it after arranging things so there wouldn't be many other options.
* If you followed [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] since ComicBook/AvengersDisassembled, and through Comicbook/DarkReign and Comicbook/{{Siege}}, and up until now, you probably already know this. If you didn't, [[http://www.narutoforums.com/showthread.php?t=743153 read this]] and realize who the real orchestrator behind everything that happened was. [[spoiler:Loki]]. In short? [[spoiler:Loki was shown to ensure his own adoption by [[PhysicalGod Odin]], caused the last [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarok]], made sure Thor would revive all the gods, manipulated humans, gods, demons and Doom to ensure he won't have an afterlife and that he would be reincarnated, caused [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Osborn's]] downfall, made it possible for Asgard to exist without harming [[WorldTree Yggdrasil]], all with everyone around him being clueless.]] And the best part? No one has yet realized the magnitude of the plan that was executed or the reason behind it.
* ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'' had one that spectacularly failed. In the "New Power" arc, the Oracle learns that there's a new threat to Kandrakar, one so powerful that the girls wouldn't be able to handle it on their own. The big plan was to have the Oracle revive hidden memories inside Matt that made him realize he was once part of Kandrakar, have him ''take the girl's magic while they were asleep'' so the Oracle could give them brand new powers, have Matt train them in those new powers, then have them go and beat up the threat. And while they do that, ''he seals up Kandrakar'' and basically goes "It's on them, now. Let's wait and see." The Gambit fails due to the fact that the threat already had a foothold on Kandrakar way before he set things into motion and when the girls come to save the day, it takes Yan Lin to smack some sense into the suddenly-overly cocky team and get them to win. It's no wonder the Oracle stepped down and gave the position to Yan Lin after that.
* In ''ComicBook/HelOnEarth'', [[WellIntentionedExtremist H'el]] was counting on ComicBook/{{Superboy}} to destroy most of his [[TimeMachine Star Chamber]] because he was actually destroying the fueling station for his ship and freed his ship from its launchpad, helping H'el in his plan to resurrect Krypton at the expense of Earth.
* In ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis tricks the Mane Six into getting into a huge argument, knowing full well that they will inevitably reconcile and strengthen their bond, [[INeedYouStronger thereby giving the Changelings more energy to feed on]], and making Twilight's magic more powerful for when [[ManaDrain she needs to drain it]].]]
* Snively pulls something like this a few times in trying to get rid of his dear uncle Robotnik/Eggman in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'', befitting his role as TheStarscream. The first Robotnik, his "dear" Uncle Julian, was killed when his superweapon, the Ultimate Annihilator, is destroyed - Snively had sabotaged it and knew it was a matter of time before the Freedom Fighters would find a way to aim it at him, as he was now the only one who could be killed. The second Robotnik, Dr. Eggman, was slowly being driven insane by his constant losses. All he had to do was call his new love, the Iron Queen, and let her know when the Egg finally broke.
* The ''ComicBook/IronMan'' comic showed that Howard Stark pulled an epic one during "The Secret Origin of Tony Stark". Howard and Maria Stark were expecting a child, but they come to find out that their child was very ill. He wouldn't be able to be active at all if not be dead. Enter the Rigellian Recorder robot 451, who promises that he can heal him in exchange for using him for a powerful robot that is said to help lead humanity into a golden age of peace and prosperity. However, Howard realizes that all of 451's talks of this use Alexander the Great as an example and realizes that his son would live, only to die years later. What does he do? [[spoiler:He finds a way to negate 451's modifications, then, while hiding the child away, adopts another and proclaims him to be his son. The boy he adopted? ''Tony Stark''.]] When 451 came to collect, he had no idea of what had happened.
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'':
** Ozymandias needs super-powerful Dr. Manhattan out of the picture in order to carry out his plan. To accomplish this, Ozymandias connives to induce cancer in several of Manhattan's associates, then arranges for him to appear on a live television talk show where a journalist will ambush him with the accusation of having ''caused'' the cancers. This predictably drives Manhattan (whose emotional connection to humanity had been weakening for years) to decide that life on Earth isn't worth the hassle and teleport to Mars.
** The Comedian's murder had already left Rorschach wondering whether someone was "gunning for masks" (i.e., planning to kill all the active and retired superheroes). When Dr. Manhattan is forced into exile, Rorschach recognizes that he was framed, and becomes ''convinced'' that a mask-killer is at work. He's wrong, but Ozymandias decides to encourage Rorschach's belief by making ''himself'' the next target. Through intermediaries, he hires an assassin to kill him, then evades the attack, disarms the assassin, and kills him in a way that looks like suicide. This not only convinces Nite Owl and the others that Rorschach is right, but also puts Ozymandias himself beyond suspicion. Later, Ozymandias contrives to have Rorschach arrested under circumstances that make ''him'' appear to be the mask-killer.
** In the end, Nite Owl and Rorschach discover that Ozymandias is responsible, but when they (along with Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre) confront him with the evidence, he reveals that his plot has averted World War III, and the others can't ever disclose what they know without jeopardizing the peace and possibly bringing about the destruction of all life on Earth. They are forced to help him cover up his crimes. It's also implied that Nite Owl and Rorschach only uncover the truth because Ozymandias has left the evidence for them to find on his office computer, protected only by a very weak password (and a user interface that actually ''tells'' them when they have a partial match and encourages them to keep guessing). By luring them to his Antarctic headquarters while Ozymandias's masterstroke is being carried out in New York, he ensures that they can't interfere with it (and, in fact, don't even know it's happening until too late).
* In ''[[ComicBook/LokiAgentOfAsgard Loki: Agent of Asgard]]'', the main villain of the piece manages to pull off one of these that involves time-travel, murdering a shapeshifter who looks like an otter, setting the shapeshifter's brothers against each other, a young Odin, Asgard's greatest hero, and shooting a giant fish that's actually a dwarf with a bazooka, all to cause the creation of a sword that the current Loki acquired before the series began.

* In a crossover with ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} and ComicBook/TheDefenders, the hero and team find themselves at the mercy of the Grandmaster and an old Doctor Doom robot called the Prime Mover and the Grandmaster is able to beat the Prime Mover and obtain the Earth. When he decides he wants to turn Earth into a breeding ground for super-powered pawns, Daredevil challenges him to a game of heads or tails, double or nothing, playing with the Grandmaster's addiction to gambling. Though Daredevil cheats to win, the entire plan hinged on Grandmaster accepting. ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} would pull the same trick years later with even ''more'' blatant cheating.
** Grandmaster is one of the Elders of the Universe, each is the last survivor of an ancient race that has adopt a particular [[Main/PlanetOfHats hat]] in order to have a focus and be ablet to survive the boredom of immortality. Likewise, the particular obsession can be used to turn the tables on them (e.g. threaten to start smashing The Collector's stuff).
* A Mickey Mouse story showed the Phantom Blot pulling off a magnificent gambit. It gets complicated, so listen carefully:
** The police know that the Phantom Blot will be leaving town from either the harbour, the airport or the train station, but aren't sure which of the places he'll choose.
** The Blot kidnaps Mickey, and forces him to tell the police that the Blot will be travelling by train. If Mickey reveals that this is a lie, the Blot will murder him with a bomb.
** Mickey manages to avoid the bomb, and tells the police that the train-thing was a lie and that the Blot will actually be travelling by plane or by boat. The police immediately send all available troops to the harbour and the airport, completely abandoning the train station.
** This is exactly what the Phantom Blot expected would happen, so he's travelling by train as the police are scouring the harbour and airport.
* The [[ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse Mickey Mouse]] story "Ticket to Bong" has an entire African tribe pull this on Black Pete. Pete is expecting to receive a priceless inheritance from his uncle, and is pretending that he's [[HeelFaceTurn abandoned the life of crime]] in order to [[OnOneCondition live up to the conditions of the will]]. Unbeknownst to Pete, his inheritance is an African diamond mine that the tribe was once cheated out of, and they concoct a scheme to get it back. They organize a quiz contest with the questions are specifically rigged so that only two people -- Black Pete and Mickey Mouse -- could possibly answer them all. The prize for both is an overseas trip to the tribe's village. In the end, the pressure of trying to act honest, having to endure Mickey's presence, and the temptation of the nearby diamond mine ripe for the robbing, all eventually drive Pete to drop his act and commit outright burglary -- thus losing all rights to the mine, exactly according to the tribesmen's plan.

* If you know ''anything'' about Victor Von Doom, you can easily see why this trope could just as well be called ''The Doom Gambit''.
** Most of them involve him being ActuallyADoombot.

** [[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL++715-B In another story]], Scrooge takes out a massive insurance policy on his ship from Rockerduck's insurance company, and he makes it look like he deliberately sank his own ship for the insurance proceeds. Scrooge counts on Rockerduck to take him to court for insurance fraud, where Scrooge reveals that his ship never sank and that he stands falsely accused by Rockerduck. He points out to the court that Rockerduck smeared Scrooge's good name with the fraud accusations, and demands compensation. The sole purpose of this convoluted scheme? To force Rockerduck to hand over ownership of a small, worthless[[labelnote:almost]](It did have some pearl oysters in the surrounding waters.)[[/labelnote]] island. An island that Scrooge wanted only because Rockerduck had it, and he didn't.

* In ''The Black Knight [=GLORPS=] Again!'' by Creator/DonRosa, Arpin Lusene is out to regain his melts-anything-it-touches suit of armor from Scrooge [=McDuck=]. At the armor's supposed resting place, he finds that the armor has been replaced with a note stating that it is not there... which Arpin anticipated, and therefore brought a tiny saw along. With it, he saws silhouettes of a knight's armor in the walls, so Scrooge later believes that Arpin has regained his armor and walked through the walls. Worried, Scrooge goes to check out the armor at its true resting place, Arpin tailing him and stealing it.
* Scrooge [=McDuck=] has himself conducted Batman Gambits, of which his [[ArchEnemy archrival]], John D. Rockerduck, is frequently the victim. [[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1718-A In one story]], Scrooge launches an epic scheme involving deliberately [[GlobalWarming cooling down the Earth]], risking '''100 billion Euros''' of his own money in the process, and using his understanding of Rockerduck's greediness (of which Scrooge himself is in no short supply) that Rockerduck will buy the whole project off of him in the hopes of reaping massive profits. The project is a money-loser, and Scrooge reveals this only after Rockerduck has paid Scrooge. The sole purpose of this risky scheme? Scrooge was worried that Rockerduck would soon pass him as Richest Duck in the World, and this was a way to get Rockerduck to burn some money on a lousy investment and remain in second place. [[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL++715-B In another story]], Scrooge takes out a massive insurance policy on his ship from Rockerduck's insurance company, and he makes it look like he deliberately sank his own ship for the insurance proceeds. Scrooge counts on Rockerduck to take him to court for insurance fraud, where Scrooge reveals that his ship never sank and that he stands falsely accused by Rockerduck. He points out to the court that Rockerduck smeared Scrooge's good name with the fraud accusations, and demands compensation. The sole purpose of this convoluted scheme? To force Rockerduck to hand over ownership of a small, worthless[[labelnote:almost]](It did have some pearl oysters in the surrounding waters.)[[/labelnote]] island. An island that Scrooge wanted only because Rockerduck had it, and he didn't.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} once pulled one of these on {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, ''and himself''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.

** The Blot kidnapps Mickey, and forces him to tell the police that the Blot will be travelling by train. If Mickey reveals that this is a lie, the Blot will murder him with a bomb.

* This is the kind of planning that allows ComicBook/LexLuthor, with no superpowers, to mop the floor with Superman nearly every time the two of them meet. (Until Supes eventually wins, of course.)

* Franchise/{{Superman}} once pulled one of these on {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, ''and himself''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant]].

* Interestingly enough, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, in his more serious interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable. And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's DangerouslyGenreSavvy enough to see through them. Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.

* A double subversion occurs in a ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} story from the [[TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl’s direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) including visiting the bottled city of Kandor, and eventually decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping'' Supergirl would depower herself. After listening to the powerless heroine her beg a little, she shoves Supergirl into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so it seems. [[spoiler: Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl actually figured the plan out, and was [[OutGambit outgambitting her]] with her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed while investigating records in a Kandor dental clinic, something a superpowered descendant would not have,]]

* In [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Marvel's]] ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'' [[CrisisCrossover crossover]], the [[TheChessmaster coldly calculating]] ComicBook/AdamWarlock sets into motion several futile engagements against the omnipotent {{Thanos}} and his upstart successor Nebula, designed to exploit the villains' AchillesHeel and ineptitude (respectively), and ultimately transition the Infinity Gauntlet to Warlock himself.

* During the ComicBook/{{Onslaught}} CrisisCrossover of the ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' series, it was revealed that Professor X (like Batman) kept secret files on how to kill each X-Man in case they went rogue, including himself (which was good, since Onslaught was created from a combination of Xavier's and ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s minds).

* In ''{{Wolverine}}: Origins'', Wolverine has a plan with ComicBook/{{Bucky|Barnes}}. The first part of the plan requires Bucky to hire a mercenary to attack Wolverine. Bucky hires everyone's favorite fourth-wall destroying, partially insane, [[{{Deadpool}} merc with a mouth]], because Bucky knows how he hates that everyone thinks he's a Wolverine knock-off -- so Deadpool will draw Wolverine into a very noticeable battle. Deadpool is also the only guy who could have a chance against Wolverine. Hence, the battle ensues, and eventually [[spoiler:Deadpool has Wolverine hanging above a secret pool so that he can drown him, which may take a long time. But then, Wolverine's son, {{ComicBook/Daken}}, shows up, Bucky shoots Daken with a special bullet that will dull his healing factor, keeping him knocked out for a long time, so Wolverine can un-brainwash him.]] It turns out, that was the entire point of everything. [[TheChewToy Deadpool did not get paid.]]

* Done at least twice in ''SinCity'':

** [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/01/13 shows a elegantly simple Batman Gambit]].

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/01/13 shows a elegantly simple Batman Gambit]].

* A double subversion occurs in a ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} story from the [[TheSilverAgeOfComics Silver Age]]. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl’s direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the bottle city of Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping Supergirl'' would depower herself, and now, after listening to her beg a little, shoves the heroine into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so she thinks. Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl figured the plan out, and was pulling her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed, something a superpowered descendant would not have,

* This is the kind of planning that allows SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor, with no superpowers, to mop the floor with Superman nearly every time the two of them meet. (Until Supes eventually wins, of course.)

* If you know ''anything'' about [[SelfDemonstrating/DoctorDoom Victor Von Doom]], you can easily see why this trope could just as well be called ''The Doom Gambit''.

* If you followed [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] since ComicBook/AvengersDisassembled, and through Comicbook/DarkReign and Comicbook/{{Siege}}, and up until now, you probably already know this. If you didn't, [[http://www.narutoforums.com/showthread.php?t=743153 read this]] and realize who the real orchestrator behind everything that happened was. [[spoiler:Loki]]. In short? [[spoiler:Loki was shown to ensure his own adoption by [[PhysicalGod Odin]], caused the last [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarok]], made sure Thor would revive all the gods, manipulated humans, gods, demons and [[SelfDemonstrating/DoctorDoom Doom]] to ensure he won't have an afterlife and that he would be reincarnated, caused [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Osborn's]] downfall, made it possible for Asgard to exist without harming [[WorldTree Yggdrasil]], all with everyone around him being clueless.]] And the best part? No one has yet realized the magnitude of the plan that was executed or the reason behind it.

* In a crossover with ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} and ComicBook/TheDefenders, the hero and team find themselves at the mercy of the Grandmaster and an old SelfDemonstrating/DoctorDoom robot called the Prime Mover and the Grandmaster is able to beat the Prime Mover and obtain the Earth. When he decides he wants to turn Earth into a breeding ground for super-powered pawns, Daredevil challenges him to a game of heads or tails, double or nothing, playing with the Grandmaster's addiction to gambling. Though Daredevil cheats to win, the entire plan hinged on Grandmaster accepting. ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} would pull the same trick years later with even ''more'' blatant cheating.

*** [[SugarWiki/MostTriumphantExample Most Triumphant Example]]: Triumph and Torment. The Agamotti are holding a sorcerer's tournament, DoctorDoom and Comicbook/DoctorStrange are among the participants. Whomever wins gets bequeathed power, the runner up? Gets owed a boon by the winner. Doom loses to Strange.[[ItGetsBetter This is the start of the story]]. Doom requests from Strange that he train him and help rescue his [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas mother's soul from]] [[BigRedDevil Mephisto]] which is trapped in his hell because of a DealWithTheDevil. Doom and Strange go to Mephisto's hell, Doom betrays Doctor Strange in exchange for his Mother's soul, she spurns him because of his evil deed, she [[TakenForGranite petrifies]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Doom betrays Mephisto]], Doctor Strange frees Cynthia von Doom, her [[CareBearStare now redeemed soul burns Mephisto]], [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence and ascends to heaven]]. [[LikeABadassOutOfHell Doom and Strange get the hell out of dodge]]. [[PyrrhicVictory This is all according to plan]]. [[http://s52.beta.photobucket.com/user/Dutchtica/media/Scans/Insinuation0.jpg.html?sort=3&o=33 Doom sacrificed his mother's love for him in order to free her soul from Hell]]. [[http://s52.beta.photobucket.com/user/Dutchtica/media/Scans/Insinuation.jpg.html?sort=3&o=32 Strange is left bewildered, and wonders if this was Doom's plan from the get go.]]

* In the 13-issue story "The Kindly Ones" from ''Comicbook/TheSandman'' series, Death calls Dream out on having orchestrated a Batman Gambit.
** What makes it even more amazing is that it's quite possible that he did it unconsciously.
*** As he is the embodiment of Story, it is only natural that [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy tropes would bend to his unconscious will]].
**** It's also worth noting that this gambit is a [[spoiler: suicide.]] It's also implied that only two others in existence realize what's happened: Puck [[spoiler: who says that he could discuss the subject "endlessly"]], and [[spoiler: Loki, who doesn't realize he's been played until it's too late for him.]]
* Interestingly enough, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, in his more serious interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable.
** And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's DangerouslyGenreSavvy enough to see through them.
** Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.

* The [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]]-like villain from the horror comic ''ComicBook/LockeAndKey''. So far, he's been manipulating pretty much '''everyone''' into his agenda.

* [[RobertCrumb Mr. Natural]] uses this on just about everyone, which makes them even madder when they realize how easily he's able to manipulate them.