History Main / SlippedTheRopes

* Harry Tasker does this in ''Film/TrueLies''. The cool part is that he had just told his interrogator ''exactly'' how he was going to kill the guy (thanks to {{Truth Serum|s}}), right before revealing the cuffs are off.

* Iago had this moment in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves''. This time, however, it wasn't easy, as he had to wiggle out of his ''very'' tight bonds.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Silverhawks}}'' has the villains break out Monstarin one episode after he got jailed again. As part of the plan, Hardware is brought in to be jailed, handcuffed, by Molec-U-Lar transformed into Quicksilver. Once inside, it turns out not only do the cuffs allow to be removed at any moment, they have an in-built jack strong enough to force the cell bars apart.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Silverhawks}}'' has the villains break out in one episode after he got jailed again. As part of the plan, Hardware is brought into tbe jailed, handcuffed, by Molec-U-Lar transformed into Quicksilver. Once inside, it turns out not only do the cuffs allow to be removed at any moment, they have an in-built jack strong enough to force the cell bars apart.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}''. In "The Boy Savior", Vi discovers that the Firelight who captured her is her childhood friend Ekko, now all grown up. The two argue, with Ekko being greatly distrustful of her, and Vi being angry over the Firelights ruining her reunion with Powder. Vi then remarks that Ekko really has grown up since he could now stand up to her and reveals she'd SlippedTheRopes by embracing him in a warm hug, referring to him as his old AffectionateNickname of "Little Man". When a shocked Ekko asks how long she was free, she says she was for the whole conversation.

* ''Manga/StarStrikeItRich'': Hina dislocates her own thumb to free herself from the handcuffs Ichika put on her. She then immediately snaps her thumb back in place.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Harry manages to slip from being bound with duct tape, noting that if duct tape was actually any good as a restraint the police would be using is instead of handcuffs. However, he has lamented more than once that his father (who was a stage magician) never got around to teaching him how to slip a pair of handcuffs.

* Ganta from ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'' did this, using his own blood.
* Franchise/LupinIII can only be handcuffed if he lets you handcuff him. During a ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'' episode, Fujiko uses this trait to convince Zenigata Lupin is possessed: there's blood on the cuffs, which means he had to fight his way out of them... something the normal Lupin wouldn't have to do.
* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'': Vash the Stampede once slid out of ropes to protect a young woman from bandits. Said bandits caught him before he could get back into them... the second time.

* ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' manga. [[http://www.manga-access.com/manga/N/Nausica___of_the_valley_of_the_wind/chapter/6/41 Yupa: "Heedra handler!" Said Handler: "if its slop you want, you'll get yours soon enough." Yupa: Holds up handcuffs, proceeds to kick their asses.]]

* In the ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' anime, Father Cornello arrives in the dungeons to gloat in front of the captured hero Edward. In the middle of it Edward lowers his hands from the shackles that were supposed to bind him and proceeds to eat some bread with Cornello being so caught up in his monologue that he takes a few seconds to even notice. It is then revealed that Edward was unbound the entire time and was just playing along for an EngineeredPublicConfession that he and his younger brother had set up.

* Iago had this moment in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves''. This time, however, it wasn't easy, as he had to wiggle out of his ''very'' tight bonds
* Done hilariously in ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' with Dr. Doppler. Turns out, he has abnormally thin wrists.
* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Roger Rabbit can slip out of his cuffs at any given moment, [[RuleOfFunny but ''only'' if it's funny to do so.]] He doesn't seem any happier about this fact than Eddie is.

* ''[[Film/BabylonFiveACallToArms Babylon 5: A call To Arms]]'' has Dureena Nafeel show the entire Thieves guild that she already loosened the bonds by simply dropping them, then knocking out the person who was taunting her about being restrained.

* Two of the kids from ''Film/ThePacifier'' did this, silently and quite impressively.
* Marv did this in ''Film/SinCity'', combined with BreakingTheBonds.

* Harry Tasker did this in ''Film/TrueLies''. The cool part is that he had just told his interrogator ''exactly'' how he was going to kill the guy, right before revealing the cuffs were off.

* In the Literature/{{Relativity}} story "Master Blankard's Pawn", the heroes escape ''right in front of the villain'' while he's is [[EvilGloating monologuing]].

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Rope escape is part of Tiza's Squad Four cross-training. It comes in handy in ''Literature/ManaMutationMenace'' when [[spoiler: Dosh Heleti tries to kidnap her. She escapes the handcuffs he uses, {{magic eye}}s him into paralysis and then uses the cuffs on him instead.]]
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Harry manages to slip from being bound with duct tape, noting that if duct tape was actually any good as a restraint the police would be using is instead of handcuffs. However, he has lamented more than once that his father (who was a stage magician) never got around to teaching him how to slip a pair of handcuffs.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. Oliver Queen does this in the pilot episode. It gets a CallBack in the fifth season premier, complete with a flashback to when he was introduced to the skill of dislocating his own thumbs.

* In ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox'', Layton and Luke get captured and tied up by a vampire who intends to drink their blood. Luckily, their captor did a sloppy job of securing the ropes, so after a quick puzzle, they manage to free themselves and continue their investigation. [[spoiler: This turns out to have been an InvokedTrope. Anton's standard procedure for dealing with intruders is to capture them, threaten them a little, then leave them alone so they can escape and flee to further spread his fearsome reputation.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3: Citadel'', after the final mission, [[spoiler: Maya Brooks]] is captured by Shepard's squad and cuffed with some kind of HardLight omni-cuffs, which she proceeds to try to hack before she's even left the room. She's perfectly capable of working the cuffs off in less than a minute. She's less capable of dodging gunfire from ten feet away.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Haley Starshine has ranks in both escape artist and use rope, meaning tying her up is doomed to failure.

* Lestrade does this at least once on the cartoon ''WesternAnimation/SherlockHolmesInTheTwentySecondCentury''.
-->'''Lestrade:''' Never put a cop in their own cuffs. They probably know how to get out of them.
* In the last episode of ''WesternAnimation/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'', Sam and Max get bored and do this [[RunningGag repeatedly]].

** In "Avatar Day", Aang is charged for murder in a former life, imprisoned with hands and head locked in a pillory, and casually slipped out of it during a chat with other inmates. In this case, it's implied Aang wasn't being limber, the stock just seems oversized.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': When the Space Amazons have Bender, Zap, Fry, and Kif chained up, to explain that Bender lacks certain parts he slips one hand out of the chains to demonstrate and then puts it back in the chain.

* Kid Flash did this to the Hive Five in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''.

* The Flash does this in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. He was arrested and cooperating with police, then when they went to uncuff him he just handed the empty cuffs to them as a way of showing that he was there purely by choice.

* Harry Houdini did this a ''lot''. On more than one occasion, police officers he challenged handcuffed him to something and walked away, saying, "We'll be back for you in an hour." Before they reached the door, Houdini would walk up to them and say, "Take your handcuffs with you."

* The President in ''Film/AirForceOne'' did this, and used a shard of glass to get out.

* In the episode "Wheel of Fortune" of ''Series/TheATeam'', Murdoch's been kidnapped by a militia group needing him to pilot a helicopter on an "unauthorized overseas rescue mission" only for Murdoch to figure out they're lying and using him for an casino heist in Las Vegas. They're holding an innocent Vegas showgirl hostage to try and force Murdoch to continue the mission but he escapes to go rescue the woman, only for the showgirl escape her rope bondage to rescue Murdoch. "I dated a magician" is how she explains getting out so quickly.