History Main / PutDownYourGunAndStepAway

'''Pluto ''and'' his hostage''': (variations on a theme of "OhCrap.")

* In the bodice-ripper ''Whisper To Me Of Love'', as the villain holds the heroine hostage and orders the hero--her husband--to "Throw down your pistol at once!" The hero practically laughs at this, knowing full well that if he obeys, he's a dead man. He instead takes the shot and kills the bad guy.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'':

* In ''[[VideoGame/PoliceQuest SWAT 4]]'' at least this happens sometimes, though there is no button to drop your own weapon, and as a police officer that would be a stupid move anyway. It's entirely possible to shoot the suspect, but that is risky.

* The ''Film/IronMan'' movie subverts this. Stark is facing a group of terrorists who have taken human hostages, and he apparently can't hit them with his arm repulsors without harming the civilians. Not at once, at least. Instead, [[spoiler:he targets each individual terrorist and shoots them with precision shoulder-mounted shots simultaneously]].
* In ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' movie, a villain grabs Mina Harker and holds a knife to her neck. The rest of the League reluctantly puts down/away their guns so he won't hurt her. However, Mina is more powerful than she seems. She handily wrestles the villain into submission, [[spoiler:bites his neck and drains his blood]]. It turns out she's a [[spoiler:vampire]]. Poor villain!

* Used in the final standoff of Creator/JohnWoo's ''Film/TheKiller''. The triad boss Johnny Weng has taken Jenny, the Killer's girlfriend, hostage and orders him and his CowboyCop partner to lay down their guns. [[spoiler:The cop takes the wounded syndicate hitman, Paul Yau, hostage in turn and tries to get Johnny to let her go, only for Johnny to cross the MoralEventHorizon and put a bullet through Paul's head with a second gun before reaffirming his threat. The Killer and the cop lay down their guns, with their plan being the Killer pulling the spare gun out of the cop's pants and shooting the triad boss. Once the guns are down, Johnny shoots the Killer, the Killer falls, grabs the cop's spare gun, and puts a bullet in the bad guy's gut, knocking him away from Jenny. Then the two of them have a shootout on the ground, but as the Killer only has one gun to Johnny's two, the Killer goes down with both of his eyes shot out and dies in a very tragic fashion, and the task of taking the triad boss down goes to the cop in one of the director's most tragic endings]].

** Inverted in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', with Indy being the one holding the gun (or in this case, the RPG launcher), and Belloq calling his bluff to blow up the Ark of the Covenant (with the Nazis present strongly objecting).

* Averted in ''Film/NavySeals''. When Charlie Sheen's character is confronted by a hostage-holding terrorist on a ship, he motions as if he is going to place his MP-5 on the ground, but in the middle of the motion, he pulls the trigger, scoring a head-shot and killing him instantly.

* Subverted in the 'Just That Good' sense on ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. Dobson is holding a gun to River's head and trying to convince Simon to come quietly. Mal walks up the gangplank and shoots the Fed through an eye without missing a beat, or even breaking stride.
-->'''Dobson:''' I'm not playing any more. If anyone makes so much as ''*BLAM*''

* A subversion in TheFilmOfTheSeries ''Film/{{SWAT}}''. In the opening bank robbery, a robber takes a customer hostage and demands that the hero and his partner drop their weapons. The hero's partner simply shoots the hostage, then the hostage taker. Instead of props being given all around, the hostage ends up suing the city, and the hero's partner ends up fired and becoming the RivalTurnedEvil.

* In ''Literature/TheVorGame'' by Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold, Miles Vorkosigan finds a different solution:

* In the Franchise/StarTrek novel ''Memory Prime'', a villain makes Kirk toss his phaser aside. Kirk does, but we're told he never left anything to chance if he could control it—he had actually practiced throwing a phaser so that it was in just the right spot that he could dive and grab it again. But the villain then fries the phaser with his own weapon, so it doesn't work out.
* In another Franchise/StarTrek novel, Literature/StarTrekTheLostEra: ''Well of Souls'', a violent criminal demands Captain Rachel Garrett and her ship's doctor toss their weapons aside. His hostage is Garrett's young son, so she does so. The doctor hesitates (no doubt knowing you don't comply with this sort of demand), but then follows the captain's lead.
* In yet another Franchise/StarTrek novel, ''Imzadi'', a Sindareen raider has taken Deanna hostage and makes Riker drop his phaser. Riker complies, and then tells the raider that he brought a fully-armed team of SpaceMarines as backup. Once the raider is distracted by a bit of movement in his peripheral vision, Riker attacks him so that Deanna can escape. (It later turns out that Riker was bluffing -- he was using remote-controlled drones to simulate the presence of hidden troops.)

* In ''Literature/HonorHarrington Honor Among Enemies'', a warlord/hostage taker insists Harrington meets with them without her or her guards carrying weapons. She agrees, and calmly goes through their weapons scanners...which only scan for contemporary, powered weapons. [[RockBeatsLaser Her many-centuries "obsolete" and antique .45 automatic is, however, undetected in her briefcase.]]
* This happens in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Grave Peril'', albeit with a sword instead of a gun. Harry even points out how dumb it is to comply, but given that the hostage was Michael's ''pregnant wife'', it's understandable that he wasn't thinking logically.

* Jack West, Jr. in Six Sacred Stones subverts this twice in as many nanoseconds, headshooting two hostage-taking guards before they finish their line, while wearing [=NVGs=] in a pitch black room.

->''"In a hostage situation, you have to be {{cruel to be kind}}. The more you care, the more leverage they have. Like buying a car, you have to make them think you can walk away."''

[[AC:It's best to give examples of when this trope is played with]]

** Subverted in one episode. A mook has a gun pressed to Faye's head and demands Spike drop his. Without hesitation, Spike shoots the hostage taker cleanly between the eyes and the whole scene quickly devolves into a BlastOut.
** Also subverted in TheMovie: A mook caught robbing a convenience store holds his gun up to an elderly woman customer. Spike just reminds the mook that, as a bounty hunter, Spike is paid for catching criminals rather than saving innocents, so the woman's life is worthless to him. This pisses off both the criminal (who points his gun at Spike instead of the hostage) ''and'' the woman (whose thrashings allow her to slip free), conveniently giving Spike a clear shot at the bad guy.

* ''Film/FortyEightHours'':

* Averted and potentially Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/PillarsofEternity''. Early on in the game, the caravan [[PlayerCharacter the Watcher]] is traveling with is ambushed by Glanfathan tribesman. The Watcher confronts the lead raider, who has a blade to the throat of another caravan member and tells them to put down their weapons or his hostage dies. There's a long list of potential responses, one of them being to point out that the Glanfathans clearly intend to kill the entire caravan, so there's no incentive to make it easy for them. The leader repeats his demand, but it's clear he's already effectively conceded the point.

* Averted and potentially Lampshaded in [[Pillars of Eternity ''VideoGame/PillarsofEternity'']]. Early on in the game, the caravan [[PlayerCharacter the Watcher]] is traveling with is ambushed by Glanfathan tribesman. The Watcher confronts the lead raider, who has a blade to the throat of another caravan member and tells them to put down their weapons or his hostage dies. There's a long list of potential responses, one of them being to point out that the Glanfathans clearly intend to kill the entire caravan, so there's no incentive to make it easy for them. The leader repeats his demand, but it's clear he's already effectively conceded the point.

* Averted and potentially Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/Pillars of Eternity''. Early on in the game, the caravan [[PlayerCharacter the Watcher]] is traveling with is ambushed by Glanfathan tribesman. The Watcher confronts the lead raider, who has a blade to the throat of another caravan member and tells them to put down their weapons or his hostage dies. There's a long list of potential responses, one of them being to point out that the Glanfathans clearly intend to kill the entire caravan, so there's no incentive to make it easy for them. The leader repeats his demand, but it's clear he's already effectively conceded the point.

* Averted and potentially Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/PillarsofEternity''. Early on in the game, the caravan [[PlayerCharacter the Watcher]] is traveling with is ambushed by Glanfathan tribesman. The Watcher confronts the lead raider, who has a blade to the throat of another caravan member and tells them to put down their weapons or his hostage dies. There's a long list of potential responses, one of them being to point out that the Glanfathans clearly intend to kill the entire caravan, so there's no incentive to make it easy for them. The leader repeats his demand, but it's clear he's already effectively conceded the point.

* Averted and potentially Lampshaded in ''[[VideoGame/PillarsofEternity]]''. Early on in the game, the caravan [[PlayerCharacter the Watcher]] is traveling with is ambushed by Glanfathan tribesman. The Watcher confronts the lead raider, who has a blade to the throat of another caravan member and tells them to put down their weapons or his hostage dies. There's a long list of potential responses, one of them being to point out that the Glanfathans clearly intend to kill the entire caravan, so there's no incentive to make it easy for them. The leader repeats his demand, but it's clear he's already effectively conceded the point.

* In ''Film/BadBoys'', the liquor store clerk holds both [[Creator/WillSmith Mike Lowrey]] and [[Creator/MartinLawrence Marcus Burnett]] at gunpoint for mistaking them for robbers. The two then hold him at gunpoint in order to have him drop his gun.

* "VideoGame/ShounenKinindenTsumuji" has Tsumuji forced to drop his shuriken weapon to protect his friend Peach, but then gets immediately knocked out after doing so.

The heroes will do ''exactly'' that, and it's usually only a stroke of luck that saves them from the villain just plugging them right then and there, or worse, killing the hostage anyway. That or a case of BondVillainStupidity. It's implied that [[KarmicDeath karmically this is the right thing to do]], though, so that stroke of luck will happen nearly every time as a "reward."

The heroes will do ''exactly'' that, and it's usually only a stroke of luck that saves them from the villain just plugging them right then and there. That or a case of BondVillainStupidity. It's implied that [[KarmicDeath karmically this is the right thing to do]], though, so that stroke of luck will happen nearly every time as a "reward."

* In the Jerry Ahern TwoFistedTale ''The Takers'', the sadistic DaddysLittleVillain has a knife to the throat of the hero's LoveInterest. The hero (being a gun writer) states that he's not going to throw down his weapons, he's going to set them down, and carefully places his pistols on the ground, while dropping a hint that now would be a good time to bring down her CombatStilettos on the villainess' foot...

* In the bodice-ripper ''Whisper To Me Of Love'', as the villain holds the heroine hostage and orders the hero, her husband, to "Throw down your pistol at once!", the hero practically laughs at this, knowing full well that if he obeys, he's a dead man. He instead takes the shot and kills the bad guy.

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' pilot when TheMole takes Malory hostage and [[IdiotHero Archer]] responds to this... by taking Lana, his fellow agent, as a hostage ("classic misdirection"). The mole replies that it isn't a game and that he will kill Archer's mother, "Just picture her lying there dead in the street…", at which point Lana points out in disgust that she feels Archer's erection poking her back. Horrified, the mole lets Malory go but gets brutally gunned down before he can deliver a WhatTheHellHero.

* {{Subverted}} on ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''. When a mook in a SpaceWestern colony puts a revolver to T'Pol's head and tries this trope, security officer Reed just [[StunGuns stuns her with his phaser]], then shoots the mook while he's gaping at Reed's apparently ruthless action.