History Main / EscalatingBrawl

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has [[InvokedTrope invoked]] these a few times.

See also BarBrawl, FoodFight, DinerBrawl and EveryoneJoinTheParty. Don't confuse with EscalatingWar.

* In Music/BarryLouisPolisar's "When Suzie's Sneeze", the titular Suzie's sneeze caused Emily to accidentally push Debbie, which somehow escalated into a massive brawl between them, Tommy, Richard, Jack, Johnny, Laura, Steve, Billy and Timmy. Somehow tanks and guns got involved in the fight, and after the narrator declines his friend's invitation to join in the fun, he laments that he's the only one left to sing the song, implying that all the others have somehow killed each other over a sneeze.

[[folder:VideoGames]]
* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'', Sully and Nate are jumped in a backroom transaction gone wrong. They fight their way out of the backroom only to be attacked by the patrons in the main room of the bar as well. Nate fights his way through the bar, behind the bar counter, into the bathroom, out of the bathroom, and ends up in the back alley of the bar. The closer he gets to escape, the stronger and more plentiful the mooks.

* ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'' has a scene where the Scarecrow punctures Warren White's hand with a fork to get him scream. Another inmate, annoyed that Crane's antics caused so much racket, wallops the ex-professor. A guard tries to stop him, and pretty soon the brawl escalates to involve virtually every inmate and guard, leaving the dining hall in a complete wreck.

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': Huge brawls between all the inhabitants of the Gaulish village are rather common. Usually, they start with just two characters getting into an argument--most often blacksmith Fulliautomatix insulting fishmonger Unhygenix's fish, but there are many different causes. Then everybody joins in. Purely because every male in the village is a BoisterousBruiser and there's an excuse to fight.

* ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' has a famous one that [[NoFourthWall (literally) crashes through the (in-universe) Fourth Wall]], starting out as a street battle pitting the townspeople against the {{Mooks}} hired by a crooked railroad tycoon to terrorize Rock Ridge. The combatants eventually brawl their way onto a movie soundstage, where one of them punches the director in the gut and all the castmembers join the fight in retaliation. ''Then'' the fight spills over into the studio commissary (packed with extras dressed in various ridiculous costumes, of course), and ''everyone'' begins [[PieInTheFace throwing pies at each other]].
* ''Film/{{Brannigan}}'' (1975). The idea is that a British detective will pretend to arrest a suspect, then the American detective (Brannigan) posing as a drunken tourist will intervene to save the man, earning his trust. Brannigan hits the British copper a bit too hard, so the return punch makes Brannigan stumble into someone who spills another person's beer. Soon the whole pub is involved including an InnocentBystander who keeps getting punched every time he walks in the door (worse, when the bobbies turn up [[ButtMonkey he's arrested for affray!]])

* In the ''Series/{{MASH}}'' episode "A Night at Rosie's", a dispute over a crap game turns an all-night party into a melee of violence that encompasses the entire bar.
* ''Series/TheNewEditionStory'' re-enacts the infamous ''Home Again'' tour brawl between Music/BobbyBrown & Bell Biv Devoe. Bobby, who was refusing to end his set and leave the stage, was eventually kicked off by a suitably pissed Ronnie Devoe. Infuriated, Bobby goes backstage, and tries to spray BBD with a fire hose (which was actually a fire extinguisher in the real-life fight). When that fails, he simply bumrushes the stage, and starts fighting with the group, prompting their respective entourages to get involved and start shooting guns at each other. The brouhaha results in the rest of the tour being cancelled, and Bobby and Mike Bivins quitting the group.

* The climax of ''Series/CobraKai'' season two culminates into one between students of the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do dojos. Though it starts off with a DesignatedGirlFight between Sam and Tory only, a misunderstanding between Robby and Miguel ensues after the former tries to break up the two girls, and it leads to an all-out brawl between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do.

* ''TheSimpsons'' can't get enough of this trope. The people of Springfield just can't help getting into fights over ''everything'', usually starting with one character becoming so offended by what another character said that he punches him in the face; somehow, this encourages every single person on the street to start brawling with whichever person is closest to them at the time (which backfired horribly on Moe the Bartender once when the person next to him turned out to be a heavyweight champion boxer).

* Many urban riots and similar outbreaks of civil unrest begin this way, with members of one social group bullying around members of another social group. Word begins to spread, and before long there's [[CycleOfRevenge escalating retaliation on everyone's part]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': Huge brawls between all the inhabitants of the Gaulish village are rather common. Usually, they start with just two characters getting into an argument--most often blacksmith Fulliautomatix insulting fishmonger Unhygenix's fish, but there are many different causes. Then everybody joins in.

* ''Brannigan'' (1975). The idea is that a British detective will pretend to arrest a suspect, then the American detective (Brannigan) posing as a drunken tourist will intervene to save the man, earning his trust. Brannigan hits the British copper a bit too hard, so the return punch makes Brannigan stumble into someone who spills another person's beer. Soon the whole pub is involved including an InnocentBystander who keeps getting punched every time he walks in the door (worse, when the bobbies turn up [[ButtMonkey he's arrested for affray!]])

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': Huge brawls between all the inhabitants of the Gaulish village are rather common. Usually, they start with just two characters getting into an argument. Then everybody joins in.

* ''Film/TheGreatRace''

** The pie fight scene in develops this way; people walk in to the bakery, see what's going on, get hit by a missile intended for someone else and join the scrum--except, of course, for The Great Leslie, who [[StrollingThroughTheChaos walks through the crossfire]] unscathed until someone gets him in the face at close quarters. Obviously, this is PlayedForLaughs.

* The infamous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacers%E2%80%93Pistons_brawl Piston-Pacers brawl]] of 2004 began after Detroit Pistons player Ben Wallace was bashed in the head by Indiana Pacers player Ron Artest as the former was going in for a layup, resulting in Wallace furiously shoving Artest and a fight between them and some of their respective teammates until Artest was separated from Wallace and the other Pistons players. Unfortunately, as Artest lay on the scorer's table trying to calm down and the other players continued to argue, a fan threw a drink at Artest and nailed him square in the chest. Artest sprang off the table after the fan with personnel and other Pacers players trying to stop him, and within seconds the situation had degenerated into a massive brawl between players and fans in both the stands and on the court. Eventually, the Pacers were extricated from the chaos and hastily removed from the court by security amidst booing fans who pelted them with [[ProducePelting snacks and drinks]]. Artest was suspended for the rest of the basketball season (while other players got varying levels of suspensions as well) and the offending fan was [[PersonaNonGrata was given a lifetime-ban from the arena where the brawl took place]].

* ''Any'' FlameWar almost by definition, especially once it reaches InternetBackdraft levels. True, a FlameWar can stay contained between two combatants, but it rarely, if ever, ''does'' and almost always instead drags in anyone who sees it -- which is why they tend to be so destructive to anywhere they start.

** The pie fight scene in develops this way; people walk in to the bakery, see what's going on, get hit by a missile intended for someone else and join the scrum--except, of course, for The Great Leslie, who walks through the crossfire unscathed until someone gets him in the face at close quarters. Obviously, this is PlayedForLaughs.

* The trope applies on a grand scale to a number of multi-belligerent wars throughout history, but UsefulNotes/WorldWarI probably exemplifies it the best. A handful of Serbian nationalists throw a lethal punch at one Austrian noble. Austria-Hungary beats up Serbia. Russia says, "Pick on someone your own size." Germany taps on Russia's shoulder, but then swings a fist at France. And Britain charges in with, "See here!" but is knocked over and can't stand back up for four years.

* ''Brannigan'' (1975). The idea is that a British detective will pretend to arrest a suspect, then the American detective (Brannigan) posing as a drunken tourist will intervene to save the man, earning his trust. Brannigan hits the British copper a bit too hard, so the return punch makes Brannigan stumble into someone who spills over another person's beer. Soon the whole pub is involved including an InnocentBystander who keeps getting punched every time he walks in the door (worse, when the bobbies turn up he's arrested for affray!)

* ''Brannigan'' (1975). Two detectives pretend to have a fight for a plot-related reason; unfortunately one stumbles back from the punch and bumps a sailor causing him to knock over someone else's drink. Soon the whole pub is involved including an InnocentBystander who keeps getting punched every time he walks in the door (worse, when the bobbies turn up he's arrested for affray!)