History Main / InertialImpalement

* Subverted in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'': The Rohirrim cavalry charges down a steep incline where orc pikemen are massing. However, [[DawnAttack the sun rises just in time]] for the orcs to be dazzled, and the charge completely breaks the line apart. Played straight earlier, when Aragorn leads an elven counter-charge. At least one elf is shown impaling himself on an orc pike, while Aragorn swats one aside with his sword just before it happens to him.

Sub-trope of ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice, InertiaIsACruelMistress, and when the one impaled is a villain, SelfDisposingVillain. Also overlaps with DeadlyDodging, when the dodging results in the enemy impaling himself on something. Sometimes, when other movement methods are involved, you can have {{Telefrag}} instead. Compare SpikesOfDoom and TheSpiny. See also BullfightBoss.

Sub-trope of ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice, InertiaIsACruelMistress, and when the one impaled is a villain, SelfDisposingVillain. Also a subtrope of DeadlyDodging, for when the dodging results in the enemy impaling himself on something. Sometimes, when other movement methods are involved, you can have {{Telefrag}} instead. Compare SpikesOfDoom and TheSpiny. See also BullfightBoss.

This is a situation involving an enemy charging at the hero, who then defensively puts a nasty, pointy surprise in front of them. Result: The enemy [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice runs onto the pointy end]], and there may be a moment where the hero and their enemy stare at each other before they [[MortalWoundReveal reveal that the foe has just killed themselves]]. By waiting until the last moment to reveal the victor of the battle - when the hero and the enemy are close enough to touch - the situation comes to an exciting and dramatic conclusion.

* An issue of ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' has him fighting The Incredible Hulk for a sample of his blood. During the fight, Hulk leaps into the air and lectures Deadpool on how much he sucks. When we cut back to Deadpool, we see that he's set up a broken sign post into a weapon during Hulk's [[TalkingIsAFreeAction mid-leap monologue]], and Hulk lands on it.

** In the second part he travels to a parallel world stuck in MedievalStasis with a bit of {{Magitek}}, again reverting to 12. When his friend is wounded, he learns that thanks to TimeTravel everybody's destiny had been written down centuries ago. Each person is given a medallion on the day of birth with the predicted fate, and "little brother's" medallion says he'll die by midnight. Determined to ScrewDestiny, the hero heads off to fight the Great Chancellor, who is prophecized to lead the state to bright future and who does nothing to stop the current internal strife. The duel is brutal, the chancellor is strong and fast, but the hero is trained in superior techniques. However, to his frustration he realizes [[HonorBeforeReason he cannot murder in cold blood]]. When the desperate enemy tries one last attack, the hero barely manages to dodge and raises his rapier at the last moment. And his opponent's inertia causes him to be impaled on it. Thus, every prophecy is broken, and his friend survives the night.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': TheChosenOne's first kill as a FarmBoy is a [[BeastMan Trolloc]] who tries to distract him by talking, charges him, and is run through on a sword he'd just picked up for the first time.

* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': This is how [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju Rodan]] is defeated. Although it's ultimately non-fatal, his fight with Mothra ends when, whilst he has her pinned to a skyscraper, he lunges his jaws towards her head and ends up impaling his shoulder on her freshly-drawn stinger, crippling him for the remainder of the FinalBattle.

** An episode has a vampire charging Buffy from the side. An experienced vampire hunter by this point, Buffy casually holds out her stake without looking, and dusts the vamp without breaking stride.
** In "Gingerbread", Buffy is [[BurnTheWitch tied to a stake]] so tightly she can't break her bonds. The MonsterOfTheWeek rushes at her, so she breaks the stake and bends forward, impaling it on the tip.
-->'''Buffy:''' ''[still leaning forward]'' Did I get it? Did I get it?

* ''Series/FridayThe13thTheSeries'' episode "Night Prey". A vampire hunter attacks a vampire but the vampire knocks him down. The vampire then leaps onto the man but is impaled on a crucifix the man is holding up, killing it.
* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' Claire gets impaled ''in the head'' after falling on a tree branch and [[GoodThingYouCanHeal temporarily]] dies.
* One particularly tough LockedRoomMystery in ''Series/JonathanCreek'' appeared to be caused by a suit of samurai armour stabbing someone through the chest. It was actually caused by [[AnimalWrongsGroup animal rights protesters]] sending the victim an envelope laced with a hallucinogen. When he licked the envelope, the delirium caused by the drug drove him to climb his bookshelf, slip, and fall onto the raised katana of his lovingly restored samurai armour, the whole thing being one giant NecroNonSequitur.
* In the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' episode "The Other 48 Days," Ana-Lucia discovers Goodwin is TheMole. He attacks her, flinging himself onto the pointy walking stick she's been carrying around all episode. Because of AnachronicOrder, we actually see the grisly result in the episode ''before'' that one.
* In the superhero drama ''Series/{{Misfits}}'', [[spoiler: while trying to rescue his friends from the Virtue organisation, Nathan falls off the roof of the community centre and is impaled on a metal spike. He dies instantly, but due to his power of immortality, he is resurrected several days later (by which time the poor guy has been ''[[HeroicBSOD buried alive]]'')]].
* In the ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' episode "Footnote to Murder", the VictimOfTheWeek is killed with a [[SwordCane sword umbrella]]. It's eventually revealed that a woman who didn't even ''know'' it was a sword umbrella was using it to fend off his unwanted advances, and in trying to move it out of the way while lunging at her, he managed to expose the blade and impale himself before he even realised it was there.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' first pilot episode "The Cage". During the illusory battle between Captain Pike and a Rigelian warrior, Pike is kneeling in a courtyard holding up a broken spearhead braced against the ground. The warrior jumps down on him and impales himself on the spearhead. Watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpnuULBPF5s#t=11m50s here]].
* One episode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' is "The Once And Future King," wherein Gary Pitkin, an Elvis impersonator, gets transported to 1953, where he meets the real Elvis Presley. At first, Elvis thinks Gary is his stillborn brother Jesse, BackFromTheDead. However, when Gary begins coaching Elvis about his music, Elvis is reviled. The two men begin to fight, breaking a guitar at the neck. Then Elvis lunges at Gary; Gary rolls aside, and Elvis impales himself fatally on the jagged guitar neck.
* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': In "Dangerous Prey", Morloch is defeated when he leaps off a platform towards Xena, only for Xena to hold up a sharpened log that impales him.