History Main / FreefallFight

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt-pB1R64mI this video]], the two cats Tumblr off the roof while fighting and continue fighting on the way down and when they hit the ground.

* Done during judo and sambo matches between astronauts on the International Space Station.

* Anime/AfroSamurai vs. Afro-Droid, part 2. Afro-Droid could fly, so the freefall portion was entirely its choice. This fight is also carried over to the video game adaptation.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DucktalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'': The climactic battle between Scrooge and the villain Merlock takes place like this after Scrooge and the lamp fall off Merlock's flying fortress and Merlock flies after them.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'', Gandalf fights the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Balrog]] while falling into the [[DugTooDeep chasms of Moria.]] In both this and the book, they hit a lake on the bottom, but they are both too powerful to be killed by the impact. Instead, they ''keep fighting'' out of the lake, out of the caverns and back up the mountains which are now in the middle of a storm. [[spoiler:Gandalf eventually fatally wounds the Balrog and sends it toppling back down the mountain where its corpse crashes on the rock.]]

* ''Franchise/TheMatrix'':
** Happens in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', when Trinity is thrown out of a window, and the agent jumps after her. They are both shooting at each other. This is one of the examples of where not only does she hit the ground, but it's a significant plot point.
** In ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', Neo has a climactic battle against Agent Smith where both combatants fly and float in the air, at one point one slamming the other into the ground. This and some other acrobatic scenes were filmed on NASA's Vomit Comet zero-G training plane.
* ''Film/ShootEmUp'' has this one toward the end of the movie as its second-to-last major shoot-out.
%%* ''Film/SpiderMan2'' and ''3'' has lots of these.
* In ''Film/HaroldAndKumarEscapeFromGuantanamoBay'', Agent Fox (Rob Corddry) leaps out of an airplane without wearing a parachute just so he can shoot at the title heroes on the way down.
* Happens between Johnny and Bohdi in ''Film/PointBreak1991''.

* In ''Film/TronLegacy'', happens between Clu and Rinzler after the latter crashes their Lightjets together, to seize the remaining Lightjet rod.
* The beginning of ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. Although this fight was actually over a parachute.

* In ''Film/BladeII'', Blade and Nomak fall off a gantry mid-fight and fall all the way to the floor, each still grappling and punching all the way down.
* In ''Film/PacificRim'', Gipsy Danger and [[FinalBoss Slattern]] continue duking it out while they plummet into [[spoiler:the rift]], ending with [[spoiler:Gipsy Danger killing Slattern by frying him with its ChestBlaster.]]

* ''Film/TheGrayMan2022'' has the "stealing a parachute in mid-air" version, though shot with JitterCam to portray just how confusing and difficult that would be.
* The 2022 South Korean action movie ''Carter'' has the added complication that the villain is tandem-jumping with a [[LivingMacGuffin child]], so the hero has to both steal his parachute ''and'' rescue the kid as well.

* When in ''[[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Wyvern's Spur]]'' the hero transformed into a big wyvern fights another guy in the dragon form, they ends up wrestling, and can't keep their altitude.

* ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'': In "Enter Zoom", since Zoom is faster than Barry, Barry attempts to even the odds by making them both run off a building. Since neither of them can fly, Zoom's speed advantage is negated since both can only fall at terminal velocity. Unfortunately, Zoom gets the better of the midair brawl and forces Barry to take the brunt of the impact with the ground.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': In the penultimate episode, "The Bells", the Hound and the Mountain are locked in a DuelToTheDeath amidst [[spoiler:the collapsing Red Keep]], which culminates with Sandor charging his brother Gregor through a brick wall in a final attempt to kill him. They continue fighting all the way down until [[spoiler:they're both engulfed by a sea of dragonfire.]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'':
** In ''Metal Slug 3'', the final boss fight with Rootmars. You end up falling through the atmosphere while battling the alien mastermind. And you use his [[spoiler: possibly]] dead body as a platform to protect yourself from the impact of hitting the ocean.
** The final boss of ''6'' also does this once it takes enough damage. Interestingly, the Invader Queen becomes invulnerable during this part of the fight, and you're supposed to HoldTheLine while it fires showers of destructible projectiles. Eventually, it falls to its death while you manage to cling onto the side of the shaft.
* Get close enough to a dragon in [=PS3=]'s ''VideoGame/{{Lair}}'' and you can enter a grappling match during freefall.

* In the fourth level of ''Cybernator'', you have to survive atmospheric reentry and freefall, chuteless, while fending of waves of assault suits until your rescue arrives.
* The final level of ''VideoGame/BatmanVengeance'' is this. Simply put, the Joker has jumped out of his airship with Batman in hot pursuit. Batsy has to contend with thrown Joker cards, exploding balloons, and hot lead from the Joker's tommy-gun. [[spoiler: At the end, when he's thrown the last punch and grabbed the Joker in time, the Batwing appears and Batman grapples his way into the cockpit.]] This fight is timed. Bats would survive but not the Joker. The HaveANiceDeath message reminds you, "[[ThouShaltNotKill Death is]] [[SaveTheVillain no substitute for justice.]]"
* ''VideoGame/BoogieWings'' have you in the middle of a BattleshipRaid on foot inside an airship, when said airship suddenly loses altitude, leading to everyone onscreen getting thrown in mid-air in the middle of a gunfight.
* ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed II'' has Starkiller fighting a Gorog with Force Lightning while they free fall to the surface of Cato Neimoidia.

* In ''VideoGame/TheDeadlyTowerOfMonsters'' after fighting a boss for a while you and the boss will fall off the titular tower and fall to the ground, still locked in combat.
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', [[spoiler:Prince Ahmet]], is fought while he and Ezio are falling from a ''very'' tall cliff. He is not that tough, but adjusting to the controls may cost you a few synch bars.
* The final battle against Tiberius in ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising'' during his OneWingedAngel form.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroDawnOfTheDragon'' has the second part of the FinalBattle with [[BigBad Malefor]] take place as the entire stage the battle is taking place on plummets down a volcano to the core of the world. Probably justified by the fact that Malefor ''has'' to be stopped and Spyro and Cynder can't afford to risk him surviving. It's every bit as epic as it sounds. [[spoiler:They stop when they reach the core and end the fight with a BeamOWar that Spyro and Cynder win.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures'', the fight against a demon[=/=]{{Satan}} takes this approach, and you have to dodge Death Blocks while falling.
* [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name suggests]], the entire gameplay of ''Freefall 3050 A.D.'' revolves around this. In the [[LayeredMetropolis vertical cities]] of the future the quickest way for the police to reach a crime scene is jumping down the chasms between the buildings. Unfortunately you and your fellow cops aren't the only ones equipped with jump suits, so you have to deal with all sorts of punks and criminals on your way down.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bonesaw}}'', the second stage of the final boss has you falling from ''orbit'' before landing in the Clarkson University hockey rink.
* The Kratos versus Icarus battle in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII''. The winner gets a pair of wings to make a safe landing with. [[LudicrousGibs The loser...]]

* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' has Asura and Yasha in Episode 21 during their younger years fighting from a tower. Asura punches Yasha out of said tower with the former jumping and pursuing him. You then fight Yasha in a free fall style. ''[[RuleOfCool It is awesome.]]''
* Featured in the trailer VideoGame/{{Deadpool}} video game. Deadpool and a mook happen to be falling from a skyscraper while the Merc punches him in the face. Clearly he's enjoying it as much as the [[RuleOfCool fans]].
-->'''Deadpool''': "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Best. Ride. Ever!]]"

* The end of Sanae Kochiya's storyline in ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensokuChoudokyuuGinyoruNoNazoOOe'' has one of these, specifically Suwako's final attack. Also, the previous attack of the same fight is fought on a rising shockwave from an explosion.
* The Freefall Kombat feature of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' involves one of the fighters breaking the walls of a specific stage and trading blows with their opponent while falling until they reach the floor. Only a handful of stages have this feature, among them [[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Hell/Netherrealm, the Graveyard]], [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Batcave, the transition between Rooftop and Streets of the Gotham City stage]], [[Franchise/{{Superman}} the Fortress of Solitude]], the Special Forces' Base, the transition between Raiden's Temple and the Rock of Solitude (Captain Marvel's half of the stage), the Outer Space, and Apokolips (the fusion between Darkseid's Throne Room and the Outworld Throne Room), a.k.a. Dark Kahn's stage.
* Wolverine's stage in ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'' is a bridge over a canyon in Alaska, with a waterfall in the background. At the start of Round 2, the ropes supporting it snap, and it falls into the gap, smashing to pieces at the end of the match. The winner stands on a rock for the VictoryPose; the loser is washed away.

* At the end of the final mission in ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany Battlefield: Bad Company 2]]'', you have to shoot the game's BigBad Arkady Kirilenko while in freefall so you can get your parachute from Sweetwater, who's trying to keep the parachute from Kirilenko.
* A variation of it happens in ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 3'' in the level "Turbulence". The plane you are in itself goes into free fall, leading to you having a shootout with {{Mooks}} in zero gravity before the plane is stabilized. You even get an achievement for killing all of the Mooks.
* The fight with the Heretic Leader in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' takes place while the gas mine is in freefall, although there's [[TakeYourTime no time limit]].
* In ''VideoGame/AgentUnderFire'' in the 8th mission "Fire and Water" James Bond is pushed off the edge of an oil platform by Bloch after watching a sexy lady do a dive. He grabs him as he falls and both punch each other as they fall into the water. They both survive.

* Both ''VideoGame/BattleClash'' and its sequel, ''Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge'' feature one. ''Battle Clash'' has the stage in the Andes Mountains against ST Artemis, and ''Metal Combat'' has the battle atop the TowerOfBabel SpaceElevator against ST Griffin.

* Moltz the Very Goonie in ''VideoGame/YoshisIslandDS''. This can be tricky because the only way to damage it is by doing a GroundPound, but the move takes a while to execute during which it can still move. If you miss, Yoshi falls to its death.
* The second boss of ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'', Hoo, takes out the platform you fight him on halfway through the fight, turning the battle into this and forcing you to utilize the Joy vibe to fly up above him to land the last couple of hits.

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''
** In ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', you fight the Egg Dragoon while standing on a standard platform, but that platform (along with everything else) is in freefall ''towards the earth's core''. On occasion, Eggman destroys the platform you're on, turning it into an actual freefall fight until Sonic lands on another one. By the final part of the fight, Sonic and the Egg Dragoon are inside the planet's core fighting directly above the magma [[spoiler:in order to set up the FinalBoss battle with Dark Gaia]].
** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'': The Final boss combines this with ColonyDrop. The final battle is [[SpaceZone in space]], fighting a lizard attached to the [[SpaceStation Space Colony Ark]] [[ColonyDrop as it's falling to Earth]]; if you take more than 5 minutes to beat the fight, you lose... Although you'd deliberately have to drag out the entire fight in order to lose that way. Far more likely is that you'll lose from the '''other''' time limit that is your rings, which your SuperMode needed for flight runs on.
** ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' features another fight against the Egg Dragoon. The fight is half chasing it along a track, and half aiming for its core and dodging missiles as you freefall.
** ''VideoGame/SonicRush'''s penultimate boss fight has you fighting Eggman/Nega as the remains of his space station [[ColonyDrop falls out of the sky.]] Interestingly, the time limit doesn't kick in until the second to last hit, where Eggman/Nega rams into the ship three times and threatens to destroy the platform unless you deliver the final blow.

* In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsofShadowMirrorofFate'' has Trevor eventually do this when he fights Dracula. [[spoiler:He loses...]]
* A couple of phases of the final boss battle is done this way in ''VideoGame/FreedomFall''.

* In ''VideoGame/TazInEscapeFromMars'', in the third act of [[UndergroundLevel Mole World]], Taz fights the giant drilling machine [[AdvancingWallofDoom that chased him throughout the second act]] this way.

* The one-on-one fight between Sten and Trubo in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' starts on a bridge, but midway through the battle the bridge collapses, sending the two plummeting towards the ground. The battle needs to be finished before three turns are up; otherwise, they hit the ground.

* The intro to ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' features [[TheHero Adell]] engaging in one of these with a bunch of random people.

* The final boss fight in the original ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs}}'' could be seen as a mixture of this and FinalBossNewDimension. The fight takes place as you travel from a space colony to the planet surface after thwarting Ziekfried [[spoiler:and Mother's plan. Mostly Mother's]]. Zeik interrupts you as you are teleported down, and you fight essentially in free fall in a strange teleportation dimension.

* ''VideoGame/{{WET}}'' has a level dedicated to this trope. In short, a gunfight destroys the plane everyone is standing in, nobody has a parachute, and they all decide to keep shooting at each other on the way down for lack of anything better to do.

* In the ''Franchise/JamesBond'' game ''VideoGame/EverythingOrNothing'', the BondGirl is thrown off a cliff, so naturally Bond jumps off after her, and then has to dodge outcrops from the cliff manned by rocket-launcher equipped mooks Bond has to shoot on the way down.

* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' season 9 episode 15 brings us the scene (appropriately, with "Falling Towards the Sky" in the background), where Tex, Wash, Carolina, and York battle the flying mooks and ''Hornets'' to get the Package into 479er's Pelican. Wash shoots one of the Hornet pilots out while standing on the falling package.

* The GuestFighter [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]] boss fight in ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' becomes this in the second phase of the fight. Kratos shatters the floor of the temple the fight takes place in, and both fighters must leap on falling debris. Notably, this is the one area of the game where falling off the bottom of the screen isn't lethal; you'll just fall from the top of the screen, taking half your life bar in damage.

* ''WesternAnimation/DucktalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'': The climactic battle between Scrooge and the villain Merlock takes place like this after Scrooge and the lamp fall off Merlock's FlyingFortress and Merlock flies after them.

* Happens towards the end of the fight between Shifu and Tai Lung in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda''.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}} Madgascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted]]'' features a climatic mid-air fight between Alex and Captain [=DuBois=].

* Played with in ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'':

* ''LightNovel/SwordOratoria'': In [=S1E11=], Lefiya got thrown into the big hole that connect the floor 52 to floor 58. Bete, Tiona and Tione jump in to rescue her while fighting wyverns that come into the hole to greet them.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' for the inclusion of GuestFighter Bayonetta, they take the famous scene mentioned above from both games of fighting on the face of the Umbra Clock Tower, as it plummets down an endless cliff face.

** The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' stage "Castle Siege" has a portion where the floor falls out from under you and everyone seems to be falling into the basement. However, the floor is still there, just invisible (characters walk on it like any other platform).
** Similarly subverted on ''Brawl'''s Final Destination, which starts in space, goes through re-entry, and ultimately looks like it's on a collision course for the ground, before it whites out and starts over. Interestingly enough, the white out happens at exactly 5 minutes, which is how long you have to beat the boss fight, implying that you did crash.
** The Umbran Clock Tower stage, taken from ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', takes place on the face of a clock tower as it plummets endlessly towards the ground, similar to the opening stage of the game it hails from.

* The [=PS1=] game of ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' had its final battle as this. The final boss, on top of the tallest skyscraper in the city, proceeds to blow up like any other....before ramming THROUGH the explosion to shove both of you off the building, whereby you have to defeat him in 90 seconds while slowly turning in midair before you hit the bottom and die.

* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'', Gandalf fights the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Balrog]] while falling into the [[DugTooDeep chasms of Moria.]] In both this and the book, they hit a lake on the bottom, but they are both too powerful to be killed by the impact.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' season 9 episode 15 brings us the scene (appropriately, with "Falling Towards the Sky" in the background), where Tex, Wash, Carolina, and York battle the flying mooks and ''Hornets'' to get the Package into 479er's Pelican. Wash shoots one of the Hornet pilots out while standing on the falling package.

** ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}: [[spoiler:As a result of the Red Room aerial complex being destroyed, Natasha and Taskmaster fall towards the ground while dodging debris and seeking parachutes.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. In the episode "Winner Takes All", between the two {{Badass Normal}}s: [[TheHero Robin]] and Speedy.
* One ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch begins as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL2qKeR6gmw skydiving marriage proposal]] but eventually becomes this.
* The climax of ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'''s Christmas special features a free fall fight over a lava pit for the sake of all Christmas, with the Music/TransSiberianOrchestra's version of "Carol of The Bells" playing.

** ChefofIron Sanji has had the most examples of this trope so far. The first is during his fight with [[WolfMan Jabra]]. During the climax of this fight, they are falling down the Tower of Justice. Jabra stabs Sanji with his claws but Sanji uses his burning leg to kick Jabra so he hits the ground first, and then lands on his feet like a badass. During the TimeSkip Sanji learned the [[NotQuiteFlight Sky Walk technique]], letting him give the finger to physics and kick the air so fast that he can move around in the air. This is how Sanji defeats the giant Wadatsumi by kicking him into the sky, falling alongside him and then finishing him off with a hell fire kick.

* This happens in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' if one [[DieChairDie damages the "walls" of the arena]] enough.

* The penultimate boss battle of ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' and its remake is an UnexpectedShmupLevel in freefall. The ground acts as an AdvancingWallOfDoom, though it's hard to tell because the ground doesn't appear until the player takes too long.

-->-- '''LetsPlay/{{Slowbeef}}''' [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation as]] '''Meta Ridley''', ''LetsPlay VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''

* Moltz the Very Goonie in ''VideoGame/YoshisIslandDS''.

Seen often in video game BossBattle scenarios. Compare/contrast HighAltitudeBattle.

* ''VideoGame/JackieChansActionKungFu'' culminates with Jackie fighting a GiantSpider while falling on a [[BubblyClouds Solid Cloud]].

!!Examples

* Anime/AfroSamurai vs. Afro-Droid, part 2. Afro-Droid could fly, so the freefall portion was entirely its choice.
** This fight is also carried over to the video game adaptation.

* ''Franchise/TheMatrix''

** This was parodied in ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'':
--->'''Voldermort''': Hold it I don't remember you grabbing me and pulling me off a 500-foot tower!
--->'''Harry''': Would you rather make this just like the book? Where we stand around talking for half hour then have a 2-second battle?
--->'''Voldermort''': Good point GERONIMOOOOO!!!!!

* In ''Film/PacificRim'', Gipsy Danger and [[FinalBoss Slattern]] continue duking it out while they plummet into [[spoiler:the rift]], ending with [[spoiler:Gipsy Danger killing [[{{Kaiju}} Slattern]] by frying him with its ChestBlaster.]]
* In ''Film/BlackPanther2018'', T'Challa tackles Killmonger into the hyperloop, where they exchange strikes in midair, right after witnessing [[spoiler: Killmonger almost murder Shuri, his sister.]] Unusually for this trope, the fight is realistically short before they land on the transport tracks; both combatants are [[spoiler:empowered by the Heart-Shaped Herb and]] wearing vibranium combat suits, allowing them to survive the landing and continue the fight on solid ground.

* In ''Series/{{GARO}}'', the first battle between Saejima Kouga/GARO and Suzumura Rei/ZERO started out as an ordinary melee/sword fight and turn into this after they transformed into their armors while jumping to the top of two adjacent skyscrapers, in which after that, they proceed to fight while falling hundreds of feet between the skyscrapers. It's awesome.

* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': In "Enter Zoom", since Zoom is faster than Barry, Barry attempts to even the odds by making them both run off a building. Since neither of them can fly, Zoom's speed advantage is negated since both can only fall at terminal velocity. Unfortunately, Zoom gets the better of the midair brawl and forces Barry to take the brunt of the impact with the ground.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalSlug 3'', the final boss fight with Rootmars. You end up falling through the atmosphere while battling the alien mastermind. And you use his [[spoiler: possibly]] dead body as a platform to protect yourself from the impact of hitting the ocean.

[[BookEnds I'M STILL FALLIN'!]]