History Main / WheresTheKaboom

* PlayedForDrama in the ending of ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 4}}''. The C4 charges planted on [[BigBad Admiral Chang's]] destroyer fail to explode, so one of your teammates must head back down the zipline to rewire them. Whichever one you send down [[HeroicSacrifice will die]] when the charge blows. Alternatively, you can TakeAThirdOption and refuse to send either of them down... [[DownerEnding resulting in Chang's warship sinking the USS Valkyrie]], killing [[TheCaptain Captain Garrison]] and [[BigGood Jin Jie]] and destroying your best chance of ending the war.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' has the legendary robots, randomly spawned variants that as well as being stronger will also detonate after being destroyed in a really dangerous blast. The timing of the explosion can be random and unpredictable, taking a long time to go off in very rare circumstances, causing a player waiting for the bomb to wonder where the kaboom went. The same thing happens with cars primed to explode.

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', Salazar is listening into an ear trumpet, wondering about the lack of, rather than a kaboom, "the satisfying sound of one's impalement" after Leon gets dropped into a booby-trap. Also toyed with a bit when he ''gets'' a kaboom when Leon, hanging from his belt-mounted grappling hook (amazing how often that thing comes into play!), shoots the other end of the trumpet and causes Salazar [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments to flip his lid.]]

* Occasionally in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', bomb items (and [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Electrode]]) will fail to explode. In all cases of Electrode doing this, and many cases with the bombs, the explosion will occur unexpectedly a few seconds later. This CAN cause players to die from getting too close after the explosion fails, or it could cause a reaction that looks like this but was actually an attempt at being a CombatPragmatist, expecting the Kaboom to go off anyway and trying to use the extra time to throw the explosion the other way.

* In the ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' between ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} and [[ComicBook/TheMask Big Head]], [[spoiler:Big Head ends the fight by producing a nuclear bomb to finish off Deadpool's decapitated head. After the countdown on the bomb ticks to detonation, nothing happens. Confused, the Mask taps the side of the bomb, causing it to ''then'' explode]].
* At the end of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', [[spoiler:Andy the Smart-Ass Bomb finally blows up as a space ship carrying Tucker's "son" and Chruch's girlfriend zooms off. There isn't an explosion at first, and Grif is horribly disappointed. Just as soon as he looks down, there's a huge boom in the sky, leaving the Reds impressed and Grif demanding it again. Of course, this is a serious insult to the Blues.]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': This happens at the end of Volume 5. After [[spoiler:rigging bombs across Haven Academy, Adam tries to blow all of it in an attempt at TakingYouWithMe. After clicking the button, he pauses, confused, then hits it again.]] No explosions occurred, because [[spoiler:Ilia [[HeelFaceTurn disarmed all of them]] ]].

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''VideoGame/SpiderAndWeb'', the spy protagonist's equipment includes explosives, but like the rest of the equipment, your detonator is not always reliable.
* During Episode 60 Part 1 of ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' after attempting to [[TakingYouWithMe self-destruct]] on Perfect Cell, Android 16 realizes his countdown went into the negatives, as Bulma had previously removed the nuclear device.
-->'''Android 16:''' Where's the kaboom!? There was supposed to be a Cell-shattering kaboom!
[[/folder]]

* ''In WebVideo/CodysLab'', [[https://youtu.be/eCiu1EyKir4?t=429 this happens]] on episode 6 of the Cody's mine series. He is trying mine in an abandoned mine on his land using black powder explosives, and the voltage from the blasting generator turned out to be insufficient to travel all the way into the mine to detonate the explosives. With a more powerful diesel generator [[https://youtu.be/eCiu1EyKir4?t=478 the kaboom finally happens]]. [[https://youtu.be/eCiu1EyKir4?t=855 Later]], they encounter a BatScare.

-->'''Delta Leader:''' Misfire? Misfire!! Who packed that charge?!

* ''Film/TheFifthElement'': Subverted. After planting a bomb to evacuate the cruise ship, Zorg stops the countdown himself with only five seconds to spare -- only to have his former underlings arm ''their'' bomb, right next to him, [[YankTheDogsChain on a five second timer]].

* In the Season 1 finale of ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2006', Bouncing Boy tries to detonate the bomb to destroy the Sun-Eater, but it fails due to the primary conductor coil being broken on impact. [[spoiler:This forces [[ExtraOreDinary Ferro Lad]] to go in there and act as a makeshift conductor to trigger the detonation, [[HeroicSacrifice saving the whole solar system at the cost of his life]].]]

* In the Season 1 finale of ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', Bouncing Boy tries to detonate the bomb to destroy the Sun-Eater, but it fails due to the primary conductor coil being broken on impact. [[spoiler:This forces [[ExtraOreDinary Ferro Lad]] to go in there and act as a makeshift conductor to trigger the detonation, [[HeroicSacrifice saving the whole solar system at the cost of his life]].]]

* An early episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}'' had the camp being shelled when a bomb lands in the middle of the camp and fails to detonate.

* ''Film/TheFifthElement'' subverts this nicely. After planting a bomb to evacuate the cruise ship, Zorg stops the countdown himself with only five seconds to spare -- only to have his former underlings arm ''their'' bomb, right next to him, [[YankTheDogsChain on a five second timer]].
* Also subverted in the film ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone'' where the explosives go off but it seems like they have failed to do anything. Mallory and Barnsby curse Miller (the explosives expert) as they walk away but then the dam starts to shake and the cracks grow larger until it finally collapses. Turns out it's the pressure of several million tons of water against the now-damaged dam that does the work, not the explosion.

Nothing. The detonator has failed [[FinaglesLaw at the worst possible time]], [[UnplannedManualDetonation leading someone to have to go back and activate the explosive/device manually]]. Or worse, the enemy simply dismantled the bombs or jammed the detonator before the bombs could be set off, and gets to rub the hero's face in it. Usually PlayedForDrama rather than [[PlayedForLaughs comedy]]. One exception is in cartoons, where the bomber themself will inevitably go back to check, and have it explode ([[NonFatalExplosions harmlessly]]) in their face.

This is the trope you ''really'' want to invoke when a LandMineGoesClick

Nothing. The detonator has failed [[FinaglesLaw at the worst possible time]], [[HeroicSacrifice leading someone to have to go back and activate the explosive/device manually]]. Or worse, the enemy simply dismantled the bombs or jammed the detonator before the bombs could be set off, and gets to rub the hero's face in it. Usually PlayedForDrama rather than [[PlayedForLaughs comedy]]. One exception is in cartoons, where the bomber themself will inevitably go back to check, and have it explode ([[NonFatalExplosions harmlessly]]) in their face.

-->'''Bob:''' There were plenty of brand-new bombs, but you had to go for that retro '50s charm!

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TwentyOneJumpStreet'' when Schmidt and Jenko find themselves in a high speed chase, running away from some drug dealers on motorcycles. Firstly, a biker falls off his bike, and his bike impacts a truck carrying numerous propane tanks, which fall onto the street and breach. Jenko and Schmidt both brace themselves for an explosion but it never happens, much to their confusion. A second time during the chase, another biker fires blindly into the fuel tank of a gasoline truck, before falling off, and the gas on the street ignites. Once again Jenko and Schmidt brace themselves for an explosion, which never happens, much to their confusion. A third time, another biker falls off his bike, and his bike impacts a truck carrying a bunch of chickens...which explodes...much to Jenko and Schmidt's confusion.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', this is played for laughs, when Link sets the third pearl into its slot, the statue starts to glow. Link runs for cover, but nothing happens. Confused, he goes back to the statue to check...only for it to blow up in his face, causing him to fly hundreds of yards away, flying right into the wall of the tower that is rising from the ocean, only to fall back into the water hundreds of feet below, and have his [[ExpositionFairy boat]] collect him.