History Main / TrainTopBattle

* ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbender - The Lost Adventures'' has "Combustion Man on a Train" where Aang fights "scary big explosion guy", while a little girl and all the other passengers learn to meditate as the train gets destroyed around them.

** One Golden Age story climaxes in a battle between Batman and ComicBook/TheJoker atop a moving train. A punch from Batman sends the Joker off the edge of the train and over a cliff in a NoOneCouldSurviveThat moment.
** A similar occurrence is seen at the climax of ''MadLove'', ending with the Joker punched into a smokestack. [[JokerImmunity He survives, to the surprise of no-one: Least of all Joker. ]]
--->'''Joker:''' Not Agaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!~

* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Captain America and Herr Kleiser had one back in WWII, in a train that transported parts for the superweapon that the Chitauri were building for the Nazis. Captain America [[CombatPragmatism blew the train up]].

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
** In one Golden Age story the cover depicted the titular heroine fighting Nazis on the exterior of a train passenger car. In the comic itself the confrontation with the Nazi spy takes place inside the train.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Diana fights a bulletproof alien disguised as Billy the Kid atop a high speed train he's trying to rob. The disguise, and target of his attack, are essentially due to him finding it hilarious.

* This happens in an episode of ''WebAnimation/DrHavocsDiary''. And of course, SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
-->'''Dr. Havoc:''' ''(to Brock)'' Well, well, well, what do we have-''(the train bumps a bit)'' woah! [[LampshadeHanging This is really fucking dangerous.]]

* ''Literature/ReconstructionSeries'' has one between the hero, Isaac Benjamin, and Elijah Carpenter. Of course, Carpenter spends most of it waiting for Isaac to [[PinkertonDetective get the hint.]]

[[folder:Websites]]
* ''Website/TheOnion'': [[http://www.theonion.com/audio/fight-on-top-of-moving-train-not-looking-good-for--13929 Fight on Top of Moving Train Not Looking Good for Area Villain]]
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Finn and the creepy conductor have one in "Mystery Train".
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In "Combat Camp", one occurs between Anne and Tritonio at the episode's climax, as Anne tries to stop him from getting away in the train heist.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|1987}}'': Happens in ''Back To The Klondike''.

** Paying homage to the above, the final level of ''VideoGame/UnchartedTheLostLegacy'' also takes place on and around a moving train as Chloe has to make her way to the front to disable the onboard bomb in order to stop it from blowing up a town. In addition to climbing around, through, and over the train cars, Chloe can also jump onto and hijack enemy 4x4s in order to bypass impassable train cars before jumping back on the train up further ahead.

* ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'' has two entire chapters take place in a moving train. Nathan Drake works his way to the front one car at a time, alternating between gunfights and crawling along the sides of the cars while dodging passing signal lights -- and then a helicopter gunship shows up and starts ''blowing cars off the train'' behind him. Nathan lampshades and complains about how the mooks continue to attack him and don't seem to notice the helicopter about to kill them all.

Note that if the track is electrified with overhead wires, climbing on the train roof usually results in immediate electrocution. So fights involving those trains tend to be fought inside the train cars. The voltage used on electrification systems is high enough to cause an electric arc from the wire to the hapless victim, and it ''does'' happen in RealLife. Still...

* ''Anime/CowboyBebop''':

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender - The Lost Adventures'' has "Combustion Man on a Train" where Aang fights "scary big explosion guy", while a little girl and all the other passengers learn to meditate as the train gets destroyed around them.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' has Indy getting chased along a line of circus train cars. One word: Rhinoceros.

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

* Happens in Kenneth Oppel's novel ''The Boundless.''

* The boss battle with Xi-Tiger in ''VideoGame/AlienSoldier''.

* The SNES adaptation of ''Film/BatmanReturns'' has one courtesy of the Red Circus Triangle who make use of their circus train to spirit away Gotham's first-borns with Batman intercepting it and making them go on his ride.

* ''[[Anime/DragonBallZ Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury]]'' features one during a segment where Goten and Trunks are searching for the dragon balls. One of the passengers aboard said train has it, but the problem is it's also being held up by bandits, forcing the kids to fight them off.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''
** The original game had a series of battles on top of a train.
** ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'': The opening cutscene involves Zack jumping from a helicopter onto the roof of a speeding train and fighting off attackers.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' doesn't have an actual battle, but it has a (kinda) traintop stealth mission.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' In one trailer, it has Noctis and gang face off against several soldiers, and Noctis performs a Warp Strike to catch the helicoptor nearby.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', you can actually fight some Dream Eaters onboard a Solar Sailer in [[Film/TronLegacy The Grid]]. Like in the film, the sailer takes on the appearance of a freight train with the cargo, not present in the game fortunately, being [[spoiler:deactivated programs being shipped to be [[BrainwashedAndCrazy rectified]]]].
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'': The Solar Sailer battle in [[Film/{{Tron}} Space Paranoids]], though the sailer looks more like a flat boat than a train. And unlike the one in The Grid, it's an actual battle with a weight limit.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero1'' had a stage where the second portion was on and in a train and the boss was inside the engine.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero2'' had an entire stage that was a train, with the boss pulling up on another train at the end and the battle involving both of you jumping between the trains.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero4'''s ''intro'' stage took place on fast-moving trucks.
** Slash Beast / Slash Beastleo in ''VideoGame/MegaManX4''. Most of the stage is set on moving railway cars, save for a small area over damaged track. The battle itself takes place in a large, low, flat moving railcar.
** Averted in ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' with Crescent Grizzly. The first half of the stage is in a convoy of trucks, mimicking the [[LocomotiveLevel Military Train]] stage in X4. By the time you get to the battle, however, you're in a room similar to a rock quarry.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'' has a stage consisting of several small battles in sub-areas of sorts. The last of these is this, not counting the OptionalBoss before the actual stage boss battle.

* In ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden II'' for the UsefulNotes/{{NES}}, Ryu is in a hurry to get to the Lahja mountains. His solution: climb onto the top of a train and fend off the enemies that attack him as he makes his way to the locomotive.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'':
** In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', this happens against the GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Smorgs. To simply ''reach'' the boss fight itself, you also have to hammer your way through a veritable horde of them on top of the Excess Express first.
** In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'', Larry Koopa is fought on top of the Sunset Express after he hijacked it.

* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts1'' opens up with one of these.

* The N64 ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' game features a level where Spidey has to hold off hordes of lizard men while atop a subway car.
* The ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2'' video game tie in recreates the battle with Doc Ock on the train.
* ''VideoGame/SpiderManVsTheKingpin'' has several levels where Spidey fights on top of a subway car. The boss fight with the Vulture occurs at the end of one.

* The Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse apparently has trainlike vehicles that allow for this, just going ''really fast''.

* ''VideoGame/SunsetRiders'', essentially a side-scrolling Wild West shoot-em-up, has the requisite moving train level. Depending on the version, it can either take place on top of the train where you shoot both at enemies coming in from the sides as well as the ones poking up from the windows below and where not jumping over the quickly-approaching girders in time means [[OneHitPointWonder instant smashy death]] or riding alongside of one, where you need to jump over logs dropped from a wagon so your horse doesn't trip over them and cause you to die in a similar way

* The third level of the first ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' game for the Game Boy takes place on top of a series of moving trucks.
* The final battle against Karai in the SNES version of ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTournamentFighters'' takes place on top of a commuter train.
* The 1800s level of ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime'' was set on a moving train of flatbeds. Other than Foot Soldiers riding up on horses and boarding, it could have been a ground level and not changed the essence of the gameplay.

* ''VideoGame/TimeSplittersFuturePerfect'' in the ''Bond'' parody level. The second part is on a train. After you apply the emergency brakes, the camera [=PoV=] cuts between the train and your partner's girlfriend, making it look like she's about to be run over. As the train grinds to a halt, the camera pans out... [[spoiler:showing several dozen feet of track between her and the train.]]
* In an inversion of TheProblemWithLicensedGames, the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToons'' game for the NES (The one with the Amusement park setting) has Hampton Pig on top of a Train Ride, having to fight several enemies, avoid getting stranded on disengaged cars, and fight [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Arnold the Pit Bull]].
** The SNES game also has a battle taking place on a train, except it's Buster Bunny doing the fighting in this case. It even uses the above-mentioned Standard Snippet as background music in one part.
* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderTheLastRevelation'' has one of these. With {{ninja}}s.

* Stage 7-1 in ''VideoGame/ViceProjectDoom''.
* ''VideoGame/WarioLand'':
** In ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3'', there are two levels in Parsley Woods taking place in/on a train. Falling onto the rails while the train is in motion is instant death.
** There are also levels like this in ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'', Wreck Train and Derailed Express. You've got both fighting across the top of the train and making your way through the carriages though.

* The Armored Train level in ''VideoGame/WildGuns''.

* In ''VideoGame/YoshisCraftedWorld'', "Gator Train Attacks!" features a battle against the titular Gator Train, which rides on rails parallel to Yoshi's.

* ''Fanfic/EmbersVathara'' contains a Traintop battle in Ba Sing Se between [[spoiler:Zuko and Shirong vs Azula and Ty Lee]].

* In ''Fanfic/TurningRedSecretsOfThePanda'' A fight between Mei and [[spoiler:Howard]], as well as between [[spoiler:Xia]] and Jason, takes place on top of a freight train which is [[spoiler:taking members of the Lee family whom Jason had abducted to a container yard. Howard loses his life during this fight]].

** Buckfire in ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'' starts out as a fight on top of the train, but Buckfire likes to use his MeteorMove to destroy the footing, resulting in him and Grey/Ashe duking it out inside the train once the ceiling is wrecked beyond any hope of standing on it.

** ''Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoningPartOne'': In the trailer Ethan grapples with a foe atop a train once more, each fighting over the same knife.

** The first boss battle of ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'' starts out on top of a train car, then falls inside it as the boss slowly demolishes the roof.

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'', Larry Koopa is fought on top of the Sunset Express after he hijacked it.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', against the GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Smorgs. To simply ''reach'' the boss fight itself, you also have to hammer your way through a veritable horde of them on top of the Excess Express first.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'': In the 3DS version, the Spirit Tracks stage pits the Smash fights this way. While it is one of the constantly moving and changing stages featured in Smash Bros., the fighters do battle on the Spirit Train from the game the stage is based on and it's constantly changing train cars that it pulls throughout the fight.

* The third level of the first ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' game for the game boy takes place on top of a series of moving trucks.

* In ''VideoGame/WarioLand: Super Mario Land 3'', there are two levels in Parsley Woods taking place in/on a train. Falling onto the rails while the train is in motion is instant death.
** There are also levels like this in The Shake Dimension, Wreck Train and Derailed Express. You've got both fighting across the top of the train and making your way through the carriages though.
* The battle against Janus and crew in the Prologue of ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 3}}''.

* The end of the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoon "Hare Trigger" has WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and WesternAnimation/YosemiteSam having a scuffle on top of a train.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': In "Performance" the heroes first encounter the episode's villain while on a train. Naturally they all end up on the roof of the carriages.

* ''VideoGame/ChaseTheExpress'', being [[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard on a Speeding Train]], have plenty of stages and two boss fights where you're on the titular express's top swapping lead with enemies.

* An action-adventure game for the first Playstation, ''VideoGame/CovertOpsNuclearDawn'' (known also as ''Chase the Express''), has a few of these due to taking place onboard a high-speed train-The Blue Harvest. Three boss battles included. The first boss fight has you shooting a bosses' Mooks and jumping over to his freight train to finish him off. After you jump to the other train, The Blue Harvest speeds ahead, leaving you behind. After you kill the boss, you have to line up the freight train with the Blue Harvest and jump back to it before the freight train hits a disused bridge.

* ''VideoGame/SunsetRiders'', essentially a side-scrolling Wild West shoot-em-up, has the requisite moving train level. Depending on the version, it can either take place on top of the train where you shoot both at enemies coming in from the sides as well as the ones poking up from the windows below and where not jumping over the quickly-approaching girders in time means [[OneHitPointWonder instant smashy death]] or riding alongside of one, where you need to jump over logs dropped from a wagon so your horse doesn't trip over them and cause you to die in a similliar way.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb "You knew we’d]] [[LampshadeHanging end up here eventually, right?"]]]]

* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' opens up with one of these.

!!Examples

** "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession17MushroomSamba Mushroom Samba]]" features a three-way battle on a train between Ed and Ein trying to apprehend Domino, Shaft trying to kill Domino, and Domino trying to escape both parties. The battle comes to a stop whern the train does, thanks to a cow standing on the track.

-->'''Joey:''' So you dueled this guy on top of a moving plane?\\

--->'''Joker''': Not Agaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!~

* [[http://wraith11.deviantart.com/art/Cairo-Express-387806488 This fan art]].

* The second WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit film ''WesternAnimation/TheWrongTrousers'', in theme with its parodies and pastiches of various film tropes in a mundane setting, sees [[BigBad Feathers McGraw]] trying to get away in the locomotive while Wallace and Gromit are in hot pursuit... only it's a model train and the chase takes place entirely within their house. The size of their living room is exaggerated to a ridiculous degree to make the scene work, and at one point Gromit has to grab a box of spare track and lays it down in front of the moving train to avoid derailing it. Wallace is an ordinarily-sized human and can only fit on the train by balancing on one foot (the [[ItMakesSenseInContext Techno-Trousers]] helped a little there) while being a small penguin Feathers is able to fit rather comfortably in the locomotive's tender.

* In ''Film/AntMan1'', befitting with the size-changing gimmick, part of Ant-Man's battle against Yellowjacket is a ''toy'' traintop battle, atop a Bachmann model of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'', no less.

* In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', Captain America and Ultron battle on top of a moving semi.

* The climax of Creator/JohnWoo's ''Film/BrokenArrow1996'' features a damn spectacular one at the end.

* The titular character in ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' fights a Skrull on top of a moving [[UsefulNotes/LosAngelesMetroRail LA Metro Rail]] Blue line train.

* As the jetliner carrying despot Generalissimo Esperanza and his rogue [=CIA=] cronies builds up speed for take-off in ''Film/DieHard2'', the hero John [=McClane=] and the dragon Major Grant grapple atop the aircraft's left wing. [[spoiler:Grant gets toppled into one jet engine's intake, killing him. The fight also let [=McClane=] catch sight of the fuel dump valve on the wing's leading edge.]]

* ''Film/MadMax''

* ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries''
** The finale of ''Film/MissionImpossible1996'' is a fight atop a train. This is at least partially Subverted: They do have a Traintop Battle, but it's on the high-speed TGV. They can barely move because of the enormous wind resistance.

* The film version of ''Film/{{Priest 2011}}'' has the FinalBattle between the Priest and [[TheDragon Black Hat]] take place on top of, and briefly inside, the train carrying the vampire invasion army to the human cities.

* In ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'': a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange ends up on a train top, where Strange pulls the fight into the Mirror Dimension where he can distort reality including duplicating the train and making it fly!

* The ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: {{Literature/Eisenhorn}}'' trilogy features a traintop sword-fight between Eisenhorn and the mercenary captain Clansire Etrik. However, the train is not moving at the time, which is probably a good thing since it is noted as being able to make a trans-continental crossing in a day.
** It is, however, coated with ice and in the middle of a blizzard, so that may even things out.

* ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett''. Happens when the Tusken Raiders try to heist a speeder train, and made even more of an InterestingSituationDuel thanks to the [[WeaponizedExhaust large thruster mounted on the roof]]. The Tuskens only win because their best warrior goes ''inside'' the train and fights his way along the carriages until he gets to the Pyke soldiers who have their heads stuck out the roof hatches keeping Boba and the other Tuskens pinned down, and kills them from below.

[[folder:Pinball]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/501313 The Ballad of Cripple Kane]]'' starts out with of course, a saloon brawl, a horse chase, but it ends up on a ''train''. Oh wait you knew that, reading the trope and all. It's still '''''awesome!'''''

* ''Website/TheOnion'': [[http://www.theonion.com/audio/fight-on-top-of-moving-train-not-looking-good-for--13929 Fight On Top Of Moving Train Not Looking Good For Area Villain]]
* ''Literature/ReconstructionSeries'' has one between the hero, Isaac Benjamin, and Elijah Carpenter. Of course, Carpenter spends most of it waiting for Isaac to [[PinkertonDetective get the hint.]]

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' episode "The Limited" has ISIS escorting a radical Nova Scotian separatist back across the Canadian border via train. Archer keeps talking about how it's been, like, his life-long dream to fight on top of a train. And in the show's [[DeconstructiveParody semi-deconstructive]] spirit, when the time comes, he finds it's not all it's cracked up to be.
-->'''Archer:''' Oh my God. This is going to be aaAH SHIT! (''gun gets ripped out of his hands by the wind'') Aah! The dust! It's like being shot in the eyes by a... glitter gun!
** Not to mention the protracted discussion about how, unless you've coordinated rescue via a helicopter or something, you're ultimately still ''on the train'', therefore it's a kind of pointless endeavour.
** Invoked in the episode ''The Big Con'', where the final event in the Agent Skills Competition is to take over a train -- simulated on stage.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' had this happen during the season 1 finale.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': Happens in ''Back To The Klondike''.
* In one ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' fantasy sequence, Stewie has an ImagineSpot about a fist and knife fight with someone on top of a moving 19th century train over a MacGuffin.

* Done twice in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''.

* The end of the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoon, "Hare Trigger" has WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and WesternAnimation/YosemiteSam having a scuffle on top of a train.
* ''{{WesternAnimation/Motorcity}}'': Mike Chilton and the Burners have one against "Red" in "Like Father, Like Daughter"

* ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'': Taz, Wendal and Thickley at the end of "To Catch a Taz".
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' loves this trope, with many fight scenes taking place on the tops of speeding trucks.

* This was also done in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'' episode Railroad Rage. Here, the primary Autobots had to prevent the Stunticons from attempting to rob a train of its power core.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheWrongTrousers'': Gromit and Feathers [=McGraw=] engage in one of these using the [[ChekhovsGun model train]] in Wallace's living room.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'' has a stage consisting of several small battles in sub-areas of sorts. The last of these is this, not counting the BonusBoss before the actual stage boss battle.

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' has a massive three-way one featuring [[DarkActionGirl Chane]], [[AxCrazy Ladd]], and [[OneManArmy Claire]], plus another featuring [[CowardlyLion Jacuzzi]] and the Lemures' leader Goose.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' New Testament Volume 8, Touma ends up fighting Freyja on a moving train. It leads to scenes like Freyja using her SummonMagic while the train is passing through a tunnel and [[WeHaveReserves not caring]] when Touma knocks her minions into the walls or ceiling. Eventually, Index and Mikoto jump on the train to help Touma out, and the three eventually convince her to surrender peacefully.

* ''Anime/TekkonKinkreet'' Features a fight with Black and White against the Aliens move to the top of an elevated train.

** The MushroomSamba episode.
-->'''Ein:''' Thanks!\\

** Spike's first battle with Vincent in TheMovie occurs in one.