History Main / PrecisionGuidedBoomerang

* Averted in the first ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' game for the NES; boomerangs follow a fixed path, and if the player doesn't catch them on the return, they are lost. Boomerang-wielding {{Mooks}}, on the other hand, play it straight. Though not so much in other ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' games with Michelangelo's [[FightingWithChucks nunchaku]], which are usually thrown in special attacks to make him less of a CloseRangeCombatant.

* Sette of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'', whose Inherent Skill is the ability to fully control the flight path of her Boomerang Blades.

* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's shield is basically a giant, indestructible boomerang, capable of flying through a hail of weapons fire (ballistic and laser), tagging multiple targets and returning to Cap's hand without even losing velocity. Handwaved by it being made from an alloy of the indestructible metal vibranium, which is able to absorb vibrations. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d somewhat by the fact that Cap's temporary replacement, John Walker, could never get the shield to do more than fly in a straight line, while Cap (as "The Captain") was pulling off nearly identical feats with an inferior copy.

** When Cap (temporarily) dies, Iron Man looks for somebody else to take up the shield. Everybody who tries to throw the thing accomplishes little more than making themselves look like idiots. Then Iron Man goes to ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}, who ''is'' [[ImprobableAimingSkills good enough to pull it off]], but after a brief trial period deems himself unworthy to be the new Captain America. Cap's former sidekick ComicBook/BuckyBarnes then ends up as the new Captain America, and his cyborg enhancements allow him to pull off the crazy shield-throwing tricks.

* So does Marvel's ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} with his billy club. Most JustForFun/{{egregious}}ly in one of Creator/KevinSmith's issues, where Daredevil throws it through a glass window where, instead of shattering the window completely, it just leaves a small hole, approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. Then it bounces around, knocking out the {{mooks}} and returns through the ''exact same hole''.
* Creator/MarvelComics [[TheWestern Western]] villain the Fat Man (originally a foe of ComicBook/KidColt) was an expert with the boomerang: able to win showdowns against gunslingers (being able to throw faster than they could draw and fire) and always having the boomerang return to him regardless of what it hit.
* ComicBook/TheMightyThor's hammer Mjolnir is enchanted by Odin to always return when thrown, among other things. Justified, as this ability is explicitly magical.
* ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} has even been shown doing this with escrima sticks (which aren't even meant to be thrown to begin with), bouncing them off the heads of two mooks, a wall, the floor, and back to his hand.

* One of the lesser-known tricks of Franchise/WonderWoman was the ability to do this with her tiara - though in this case, it's justified by the tiara being [[AWizardDidIt magic]]. Much like Batman's Batarangs, it was a pretty bloodless weapon in the old days, but ComicBook/PostCrisis became a DarkerAndEdgier (literally) tool of destruction that [[OffWithHisHead beheaded]] a ''God'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 at least once]]. She most famously used it on a mind-controlled Franchise/{{Superman}} since Kryptonian NighInvulnerability is no match for magic.

* Film/{{Blade|Trilogy}}'s glaive is used in this fashion right from the word go: in the opening sequence of [[Film/{{Blade}} his first film]], he stood at the entrance of a circular room, while several vampires stood at regular intervals around it, ready to attack him. He proceeds to decapitate all of the vampires with a single throw, before the glaive dutifully returns to his waiting hand.

* The Glaive from ''Film/{{Krull}}'': a magical five-bladed throwing weapon controlled in flight by its wielder's will. Lost at the end when it couldn't free itself from The Beast's body. Justified (assuming the Glaive even qualifies) due to the fact that this ridiculously powerful [[AWizardDidIt magic weapon]] could fly, cut through {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le barriers, and ''hover in place.''

* Franchise/WonderWoman's ability to do this with her tiara as mentioned above, came up several times in her [[Series/WonderWoman1975 70s live-action series]].

* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'': In [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 the original game]], your wrench can be thrown boomerang style in a straight line and will always come back after hitting a target only you are unable to move after releasing your boomerang. From the sequel and on you CAN move after throwing your boomerang and it always come back to wherever you are (though you can only move maybe a couple feet in the time the wrench is flying). Justified, as both the wrench and armor Ratchet wears are stated to be magnetized.

** In "The Western Air Temple", Sokka became the worst abuser in history. [[spoiler:[[AwesomenessByAnalysis Based on the angle of two firebending attacks]], he is able to locate and hit an enemy hundreds of feet away, at least one floor up, ''from behind a wall'', and it still comes back. Add to this is the fact that it is a headshot, and when the guy gets back up and tries to attack again '''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard he explodes]]''']]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnIa1-dzmoE Seriously]]. While it was '''completely insane''', [[RuleOfCool it's pretty awesome]] -- and awesome enough InUniverse that ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' reveals that even nearly 30 years later, he's still bragging about it a little (and can you really blame him?). Granted, there ''was'' {{Foreshadowing}} in a previous episode that [[spoiler:[[GoForTheEye hitting his third eye]] causes his mind/firebending to backfire and blow up in his face]], so there's at least a reason for ''that'' part.

* In the "A Better World" episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', Franchise/WonderWoman uses her tiara as this against [[spoiler:Justice Lord Wonder Woman]].

* In the classic Disney short "Mickey Down Under" (1948), WesternAnimation/{{Mickey|Mouse}} uses a boomerang that's borderline self-willed. It barely needs to be thrown and just flies in circles at the slightest touch. Pluto struggles for a while with it, and both he and Mickey end up chased by the boomerang at the end.

* The '''boomerang-{{a|nAxToGrind}}x''' from ''Film/TheBrothersGrimm''. {{Justified|Trope}} in that it is enchanted.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts [[UpdatedRerelease R]]'' gives us Gall Gruner who [[DualWielding wields]] a {{Machete|Mayhem}} and an [[AnAxeToGrind Axe]] that can attack again after being thrown.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': [[ProngsOfPoseidon Tridents]] can be enchanted with the "Loyalty" enchantment, which makes your Trident return back to you after it's thrown and hits something.

** At one point in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' Captain America breaks up a fight between Thor and Iron Man by throwing his shield in such a way that it bounces off both of their heads and returns to him.
** Downplayed in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', where Cap has a magnet in his gauntlet that helps him catch the shield.
** Lampshaded in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', when Spider-Man comments that Cap's shield appears to not obey the laws of physics.
* ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}'': During their fight in the Mirror Dimension, the Ancient One creates a pair of fans with her magic and sends one bouncing against the heads of the Zealots before coming back to her hand.

* ''Series/{{Batwoman|2019}}''. Averted in "Who Are You", when Batwoman uses one of Batman's batarangs and misses, on the return trip it sails to her right and [[PricelessMingVase destroys a priceless vase]] behind her. Luke recalibrates them after this to account for her shorter arms.

* In ''Series/{{The Outer Limits|1963}}'' episode "Fun and Games", the alien creature Mike and Laura fight has a boomerang with a serrated edge. It can return to the person who threw it even if it hit something while in flight.

* Franchise/WonderWoman's ability to do this with her tiara as mentioned above, came up several times in her [[Series/WonderWoman1975 70's live-action series]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Robin's Birdarangs are examples, and one of his many shoutouts to ''[[Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman Gatchaman]]''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'''s most colorful apprentices from "The Tick vs. Education": the Babyboomerangotan! A man [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys in an orangutan costume]]... throwing baby dolls which returned to him. Except for the doll dubbed "the middle child", which ''exploded''.

In fiction, however, a boomerang is virtually a living creature possessed of the single goal of returning to the thrower's hand, come hell or high water. This results in boomerangs doing things that are flatly impossible, such as continuing to fly after [[PinballProjectile striking multiple targets]] then returning to the user. It becomes humorous in video games, particularly older ones where boomerangs are crudely programmed to return to the player after being thrown. If you're still moving, it'll chase you all over the screen until you stop to catch it.

** Parodied in an old ''ComicBook/{{Rat-Man}}'' story, where Cap (turned into a lawyer-friendly version of himself for reprints) first has his ability increased to ridiculous levels ([[RuleOfFunny as in "the thrown shield can even pass the vacuum between a strike and the other" ridiculous]]) and then tries to teach it to the title character. Keyword: ''[[EpicFail tries]]'' ([[EyeScream just ask Nick Fury's formerly remaining eye]]). It's also shown that Cap wasn't originally that good... After all, [[EyeScream how do you think Nick Fury lost his eye]]?

This trope covers all weapons that can perform this trick, not just boomerangs. Many of the examples below involve weapons that aren't even meant to be thrown, like shields or escrima sticks. Does it really have to be stated that the RuleOfCool is involved? See also BoomerangComeback for when the boomerang initially seems to miss and then catches the target by surprise. Many of these weapons also are a PinballProjectile where they adjust their course by bouncing off things rather than aerodynamic maneuvering.

* So does Marvel's Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} with his billy club. Most JustForFun/{{egregious}}ly in one of Creator/KevinSmith's issues, where Daredevil throws it through a glass window where, instead of shattering the window completely, it just leaves a small hole, approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. Then it bounces around, knocking out the {{mooks}} and returns through the ''exact same hole''.

* Comicbook/{{Nightwing}} has even been shown doing this with escrima sticks (which aren't even meant to be thrown to begin with), bouncing them off the heads of two mooks, a wall, the floor, and back to his hand.

* ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamSeries'':

* ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'' has a precision guided '''[[MacheteMayhem machete]]'''.

* ''Videogame/SengokuBasara'' has Goto Matabe, who uses a "Fang Blade" that can be tossed like a giant boomerang in order to clear crowds of enemies. It also serves as a useful torture device, either for sawing into the enemy or crushing them between the blades like a vice grip.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': Elly's Scythe in Lotus Land Story. Even if you FIRE at it, it just blocks the attack and makes Elly [[ThatOneBoss more of a pain than she already was.]]
* ''Videogame/TribesVengeance'' features the Buckler, a weapon/shield exclusive to the Assault class. When the thrown, the buckler will follow the player's crosshair, then after a certain point (or upon hitting an enemy) will bounce back in mid-air to return to the player's hands. If the buckler gets caught on an object, it will teleport back to the players hands.

* Thrown melee weapons in ''Videogame/{{Warframe}}'' will always come back to the player, allowing them to OneHitPolykill enemies in the way. The Glaive (originally featured in ''Videogame/DarkSector''), Kestrel boomerang, and Halikar mace will all come straight back to the user (though enemy Halikars take a curving path); and the Halikar [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands will take enemy weapons with it]]. Several other weapons like the various [[SinisterScythe scythes]] can be thrown with certain melee stances equipped; the "Reaping Spiral" stance will hurl the scythe forward while it spins through enemies and goes straight through cover and riot shields, before returning to the users hands.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** ''Dungeons & Dragons'' also has the Dwarven Thrower and Hammer of Thunderbolts, which are inspired by Mjölnir. Additionally, the ''returning'' enchantment can be applied to any throwing weapon to turn them into an [[ImprovisedWeapon impromptu boomerang]].
** Early editions of the Unearthed Arcana supplement had the Axe of Hurling and Darts of Homing as well. But averted with the Dagger of Throwing - with all the other returning weapons, you'd think it'd do so but instead it just does double base damage when thrown.

** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': to reveal "Odin" as Loki in disguise, Thor throws his hammer and stands just behind him, casually reminding him of the fact that his hammer ''always'' returns to his hand. Loki takes the hint and drops the disguise.

* ''Film/TheRoadWarrior'' has the Feral Kid's sharp metal boomerang. It slices off fingers and returns to him without a problem. The Feral Kid wears a special glove to catch it, though. Too bad poor Toadie didn't have one of those. Subverted when his intended target [[TheDragon Wez]] dodges it, and it keeps going and kills Wez's lover instead.

** One appears briefly in ''Literature/RaisingSteam'' as a sneak-attack by the fundamentalist Dwarves. Vimes sees it coming toward Moist and yells for him to duck; just as Moist is standing back up, Vimes pulls him down because it was coming back.

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. Averted in "Who Are You", when Batwoman uses one of Batman's batarangs and misses, on the return trip it sails to her right and [[PricelessMingVase destroys a priceless vase]] behind her. Luke recalibrates them after this to account for her shorter arms.

* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' episode "Fun and Games", the alien creature Mike and Laura fight has a boomerang with a serrated edge. It can return to the person who threw it even if it hit something while in flight.

* In ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'', an artifact football will always return to where it was thrown... a few hours later, after circling the ''entire world''. Said football later revealed to be [[spoiler: an Artifact tracking device, that scans the planet for signs of Artifact activity, which is then uploaded to Warehouse 13's computer system]].

[[folder:Web Original]]

** In "The Western Air Temple", Sokka became the worst abuser in history. [[spoiler:[[AwesomenessByAnalysis Based on the angle of two firebending attacks]], he was able to locate and hit an enemy hundreds of feet away, at least one floor up, ''from behind a wall'', and it still comes back. Add to this was the fact that it was a headshot, and when the guy gets back up and tries to attack again '''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard he explodes]]''']]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnIa1-dzmoE Seriously]]. While it was '''completely insane''', [[RuleOfCool it's pretty awesome]] - and awesome enough InUniverse that ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' reveals that even nearly 30 years later, he's still bragging about it a little (and can you really blame him?). Granted, there ''was'' {{Foreshadowing}} in a previous episode that [[spoiler:[[GoForTheEye hitting his third eye]] causes his mind/firebending to backfire and blow up in his face]], so there's at least a reason for ''that'' part.

** Yumi's tessen fans act like this. It helps that she can use telekinesis to control them. Though in an episode she and Odd switched bodies, Odd was unable to make them return.

* In the classic Disney short ''Mickey Down Under'' (1948), WesternAnimation/{{Mickey|Mouse}} uses a boomerang that's borderline self-willed. It barely needs to be thrown and just flies in circles at the slightest touch. Pluto struggles for a while with it, and both he and Mickey end up chased by the boomerang at the end.

* Link's boomerang allows for limited control. Once he upgrades to the magic boomerang, it can travel the full length of the screen. The boomerang in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' physically locks onto multiple targets when you aim, and will hit them all when you release. And it's not even said to be magic! The similar Gale Boomerang in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' ''is'' explicitly magic, as it's inhabited by the "Fairy of Winds". One little trick with the boomerang in ''The Wind Waker'' was to throw it upwind then sail down wind and watch as the boomerang chases the boat when trying to return to Link.

* ''Film/TheBeastmaster'' inherits a "caber," a pivoted, curved, bladed throwing weapon. He usually hits with it, but it also curves around and at least once homes in on a mook. How he catches the spinning bladed without losing fingers is an open question.

* ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'': The Eagle's primariy weapon is a small boomerang with the edges of the wings sharpened. It repeatedly goes through several {{Mooks}}' necks 1) without slowing down due or 2) alteration to its aerodynamics. The only time it doesn't come back is when someone catches it, or he doesn't mean for it to come back, which usually means StuffBlowingUp.

* ''Times of Lore'' from Creator/OriginSytems, one available weapon is a magic axe that you throw at people and [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang it will return to your hand]].

This trope covers all weapons that can perform this trick, not just boomerangs. Many of the examples below involve weapons that aren't even meant to be thrown, like shields or escrima sticks. Does it really have to be stated that the RuleOfCool is involved? See also BoomerangComeback for when the boomerang initially seems to miss and then catches the target by surprise. Many of these weapons also utilize PinballProjectile where they adjust their course by bouncing off things rather than aerodynamic maneuvering.

* Your [[DropTheHammer hammer]] in ''VideoGame/GodOfThunder'', when thrown, comes back directly towards you, no matter how much you move after throwing it. If there's an obstacle in its way, it will stop against the obstacle and hover in mid-air until you move aside to give it a clear path to you.

In fiction, however, a boomerang is virtually a living creature possessed of the single goal of returning to the thrower's hand, come hell or high water. This results in boomerangs doing things that are flatly impossible, such as continuing to fly after [[PinballProjectile striking multiple targets]] then returning to the user. It becomes humorous in video games, particularly older ones where boomerangs are crudely programmed to return to the player after being thrown, even if you're still moving. It'll just chase you all over the screen until you stop to catch it.