Line #183 Main/CartoonBomb


1	[[quoteright:128:[[VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cartoon_bomb_6.png]]]]
2	-> ''"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"''
3	-->-- '''Batman''', ''Film/BatmanTheMovie''
4
5	If you ask a person to draw a bomb, this is probably what you will get: a spherical black object about the size of a bowling ball with a fuse sticking out of it. Sometimes it may have the word "Bomb" (or "Boom") written on it in bold letters. Very common in cartoons and comic books, and somewhat surprisingly in the relatively new medium of video games.
6
7	This actually has a basis in history: before the mid-19th century, contact or proximity fuses for detonating explosive payloads had yet to be developed. The only means by which an explosive shell or bomb could be feasibly detonated from a distance was by a slow-burning match cord. In Western militaries, these weapons often took the shape of an iron sphere with a match cord sticking out of one end, and the cartoon bomb ''is'' actually [[AluminumChristmasTrees a realistic representation of such ammunition]]. The resemblance to cannonballs is not coincidence; they were often designed to be fired out of cannons, or rather carronades, mortars or howitzers. (The "bombs bursting in air" from the US national anthem "[[NationalAnthem The Star-Spangled Banner]]" were of this variety.) A skilled bombardier could estimate how long it would take for the bomb to fly to the assumed target and cut the fuse to appropriate length so that the bomb would explode exactly at the desired moment.
8
9	Early hand grenades also took this shape, as did mortar bombs. In fact, the "pineapple" grenades used by Soviet, Franco-British Commonwealth, American, etc soldiers during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII were variations on this type of bomb. There were only three major differences. They included a built-in fuse lighter for convenience. (That's the handle-and-pin assembly made famous by the PinPullingTeeth trope.) They were oblong, and they had grooved skin so that they would fragment more easily and disperse shrapnel. (That's why they're called "frag" grenades.)
10
11	As Cartoon Bombs generally tend to appear in cartoons and comics, [[NonFatalExplosions they usually tend to not do any serious damage]] -- at least to characters. They may cause damage to their inanimate surroundings, but usually, the worst a victim within the blast range suffers is ClothingDamage and AshFace, both of which are usually healed by the next scene. As a result, when a Cartoon Bomb is seen in a work, it tends to be more of a slapstick prop as opposed to a deadly weapon. Despite these bombs being very old-fashioned, they're prominently used in many video games, since the black-ball with sparky fuse is very iconic and quickly recognized by players, and presumably because it is an easy item to model, especially in older games.
12
13	This is a subtrope of IncrediblyObviousBomb, but that also includes more realistic but still blatantly obvious bombs like the classic digital timer (often ticking to make it even more incredibly obvious) attached to a bundle of explosives (which is fairly common in cartoons). Compare PlungerDetonator, which is the standard cartoon way of setting off explosives from a distance. [[ShapedLikeItself Often thrown]] by BombThrowingAnarchists.
14
15	----
16	!!Example subpages:
17
18	[[index]]
19	* CartoonBomb/VideoGames
20	[[/index]]
21
22	!!Other examples:
23
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Animation]]
27	* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': One such bomb appears in Season 4 episode 32. Little M. is carrying several of them, and one of them drops next to a cannon; Little M. lights the bomb instead of the cannon, causing it to blow up on he and Big M.
28	* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf: Smart Dodging'' episode 29, the wolves throw bombs at the gate to Goat Village. The bombs they use are the typical cartoon bombs that are black in color, shaped like a sphere, and have a fuse at the top.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
32	* [=BomberNanimon=] from ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad''... provided you aren't watching the American dub, where ExecutiveMeddling led him to be renamed "[[{{Bowdlerise}} Citramon]]" and recolored orange to resemble a giant orange. [=BomberNanimon=] also appears (unedited) in the card game and some of the video games.
33	* Nice Holystone from ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' actually uses bombs like this as weapons, although given their small size, they're more like giant [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_bomb cherry bombs.]]
34	* ''Manga/ToLoveRu'': Saki Tenjouin uses one in the sports festival.
35	* ''Anime/DGrayMan'' filler episode "Lenalee's Love" features two of these: first a small one used by a (rather pathetic) akuma to attack Lenalee, and later a gigantic one by her overprotective brother Komui.
36	* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': EvilMentor Happosai has his signature technique, the Happo Fire Burst, which consists of him throwing the Japanese equivalent of cartoon bombs (they're round, seemingly made from layered paper, and have cartoony fuses on top) at whoever has ticked him off. Exaggeration and combination with HyperspaceArsenal mean Happosai is able to pull bombs ''bigger than himself'' from his shirt.
37	* The opening of ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove Second Season'' has a blue bomb with a pink heart get passed around between the main cast members; when it finally explodes (while Nyarko is offering it to Mahiro), it just sprays streamers everywhere.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Comic Books]]
41	* In the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' story ''[[Recap/TintinTheBrokenEar The Broken Ear]]'', Corporal Diaz throws one through Alcazar's open window. Tintin picks it up and throws it right back, hitting Corporal Diaz on the head and knocking him into a fountain basin. Earlier, Tintin's suitcase is switched with one full of these in order to frame him as a terrorist.
42	* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': In the book ''Le Grand Duc'', the Russian anarchist assassin is shown throwing these all along the path of the Grand Duke and his adjutant. [[spoiler:Naturally, they all fail.]] The anarchist is then heard to yell ''Неудача!'' ("[[BilingualBonus Fail!]]") every time he fails.
43	* Often seen in ''ComicBook/TinusTrotyl'', as you might expect. One of them even replaces the O in the comic title.
44	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': While the explosive in the actual comic is of a sleek silver inconspicuous design the cover for issue #47 depicts Franchise/WonderWoman and a robot duplicate fighting over a round black bomb with a lit fuse.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
48	* ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'': Newt Gingrich, during his time as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, appeared as one.
49	* One of the most well known of the controversial Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons featured the prophet with one of these in place of his turban.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
53	* Inspector Clouseau (played by Creator/PeterSellers) gets subjected to these in nearly each one of the ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' films. For example in ''Film/RevengeOfThePinkPanther'', he has just received one from members of the French Connection.
54	* ''Film/BatmanTheMovie'' has a hilarious scene revolving around trying to dispose of one of these. Oh, Batman. Because asking a nun to get out of your way is apparently more difficult than not running a bomb all around town when you have no idea when it's going off!
55	* A critical prop in Creator/BusterKeaton's ''Film/{{Cops\|1922}}'' -- his horse-drawn cart gets in the middle of a police parade, an anarchist tosses such a bomb that lands on the seat next to him, he absently lights a cigarette with it and tosses it over... well, that's how these run-ins always start, don't they?
56	* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'', one of Saruman's orcs uses one of these to blow open Helm's Deep. This is somewhat justified as it's the first bomb ever in Middle Earth, or at least since the First Age. Worst. Olympics. Ever.
57	* In the 1982 film version of ''Film/{{Annie\|1982}}'', a villain uses one of these to try to kill Warbucks.
58	* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'': Grenades shaped like this were used, which was likely a historically accurate depiction.
59	* ''Film/MasterAndCommander'' also accurately depicts the use of these early hand grenades.
60	* ''Film/TheLastOfTheMohicans'' (1991): Played historically straight. The siege of Fort William Henry is ended by a French 18-inch mortar bombardment. The lighting of the separate fuses for both the huge iron ball, and the mortar that will then lob it over the walls, can clearly be seen.
61	* Creator/HaroldLloyd lost a finger and thumb to a prop bomb like this; later films had him wearing a specially designed glove to disguise the injury.
62	%%* ''Film/GetCrazy'' (1983) "It's ticking!" "It's traditional!"
63	* A trailer for ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers2011'' shows one flying out of a cannon... in slow motion, and 3D.
64	* The unnamed puppeteer in ''Film/FunnyMan'' loses half of his head when, thanks to a dimensional portal to a ''Theatre/PunchAndJudy'' show on a beach being watched by the eponymous antagonist, a cartoon bomb (labelled as "bomb") is placed on his head and explodes.
65	* One of these is used in ''Film/GhouliesIIIGhouliesGoToCollege'', when a rival college member tries to blow up his rival's dorm room, one of the Ghoulies beats him to death [[BloodlessCarnage bloodlessly]] with a frying pan which causes the bomb to fly out the window and into the security guard's golf cart, which causes a massive explosion that only leaves him with [[AshFace blackened skin]] and [[ClothingDamage burnt clothes]].
66	* Bob-Ombs in ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993''. They're ''tiny,'' about the size of a golf ball, yet they're the most feared weapon in all of Dinohattan. Mario pulling one out of his work belt is enough to send a large crowd of people [[OhCrap running in a blind panic!]]
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Literature]]
70	* ''The Literature/AnarchistCookbook'': A caricature of "[[BombThrowingAnarchists the crazed anarchist]]" holding one of these appears at the beginning of chapter 4.
71	* In one of Duncan Ball's ''Selby'' books, a librarian is seen brandishing one of these bombs and threatening to blow it up. [[spoiler:Subverted because it turns out to be made out of papier mâché.]]
72	* In the thirteenth book of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles, Ghost Story,'' the army of ghosts uses some of these, along with the 'pineapple' grenades, when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Harry leads them to reenact the storming of Normandy Beach]].
73	* Leet uses one in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' to fit his and Uber's theme of ''Videogame/{{Bomberman}}.'' It works about as well as it would in an actual cartoon due to the nature of his power: he can create anything, but if it's similar or identical to something he's created before it's more likely to fail or break down.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
77	* Series 3 of ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' had an anarchist (played by series writer Ben Elton) throw one of these at the Prince of Wales [[TooDumbToLive who thinks it's just part of the play]]. It even worked like a cartoon bomb, as in the next scene George is fine save for [[AmusingInjuries a few bandages]], commenting about how much of a close shave it was before changing the topic.
78	* The ''Classic Series/{{Concentration}}'' rebus for "blond bombshell" (#103 in Steve Ryan's book) includes this type of bomb.
79	* ''Series/ISpy'': Robert Culp lit one of these off his cigarette in the opening credits.
80	* ''Series/TheScarletPimpernel'': One episode had the more realistic version; a hand-sized metal sphere with a fuse, used as a grenade.
81	* In episode 8 of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', the "It's" Man is handed one just before he says his word. It explodes over the closing credits.
82	* ''Series/UltimateForce'': Henno, having jumped out a transit stuffed with tertiary explosives, is on the cliff face when the van detonates, the yield supposedly capable of shifting an entire city block sideways, and Henno climbs up with no apparent ill effects from an overpressure that would normally have collapsed his lungs, throat and sinuses.
83	* The dungeoneers of ''Series/{{Knightmare}}'' would run across a room-sized CartoonBomb from time to time, causing panic and hasty directions to head towards the nearest exit.
84	* ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'': A pair of vaudeville clowns kill off a number of folks -- one with such a bomb, complete with "BOMB" painted on it in big white letters.
85	* On ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', one is used to try to kill the Bundy family in England. It gets pushed into an elevator with the D'arcys, where it explodes. The elevator opens to show Jefferson and Marcy with [[AshFace burnt clothes, wild hair and stunned expressions, but generally OK]], meaning the cartoon bomb actually behaved like it was in a cartoon!
86	* Used occasionally on ''Series/TheMuppetShow''.
87	** The Swedish Chef finds one in a coconut; a chicken being cooked by the chef lays one; one is used in Rowlf's version of "The Cat Came Back", and one is even used as a joke by JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf.
88	** The Swedish Chef successfully cooks [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj0_GjAG1-c a chicken with one]] on ''Series/JimmyKimmelLive''.
89	** Crazy Harry, the show's pyrotechnics "expert", would almost never appear without a lit one of these, a lit stick of dynamite or a PlungerDetonator.
90	* ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'':
91	** A DontTryThisAtHome promo spot has Jamie holding one of these while wearing a bomb suit. After Adam spouts the line and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere makes a break for it stage right]], [[spoiler:Jamie holds up a sign which says, "Not a Real Bomb"]].
92	** In the "Dive to Survive" myth, when J.D. is setting up some plastic C4, Jamie comes up to remold it into a ball and cover it in black tape specifically to invoke this look. Quoth J.D.:
93	--->'''J.D.''': [[DeadpanSnarker I'm sure you'll get that]] [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes roadrunner]] [[DeadpanSnarker this time.]]
94	* The opening theme of ''Series/MissionImpossible'' has Ethan Hunt walking on a high wire with a fuse burning it away behind him. Sure enough, at the end he reaches a bomb and jumps for safety as it blows up.
95	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': Gilly's "Christmas Ornament" (from "A Very Gilly Christmas").
96	* One of these shows up in the early ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth." Interestingly it was designed to be an ''atypical'' bomb -- one that could melt through the normally invulnerable Dalek casings before exploding. Even better, the stereotyped bomb was developed by the leader of the resistance, a sterotyped anarchist.
97	* Series/TheGoodies are strapped to one by MadScientist Rat Fink Petal (played by Creator/PatrickTroughton).
98	* A RunningGag during some comedy skits in the Japanese GameShow ''Series/TakeshisCastle'', even though it comes in many forms of explosives, comedically resulting in ClothingDamage and an AshFace.
99	* In ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge,'' the bomb the villains hid to get rid of the Rangers (not caring about a good chunk of the city being wrecked too, natch) didn't have the fuse but was black and spherical.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Magazines]]
103	* ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'''s "ComicStrip/SpyVsSpy".
104	* ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'': One of Creator/CharlesAddams' cartoons features a hobo carrying a large paper bag with a fuse sticking out asking the guy sitting next to him on a park bench, "Got a match, fella?"
105	* A ''Geek Monthly'' photoshoot from 2007 with ''Series/TwentyFour'' star Mary Lynn Rajskub had action photos of her holding such a bomb [[http://www.24spoilers.com/2007/03/27/mary-lynn-rajskub-geek-monthly-photo-shoot-and-interview/ (seen here at 24spoilers.com).]]
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Music Videos]]
109	* Music/{{Garbage}}'s video for "Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough" ended with the band performing in front of a giant metal globe with a lit fuse sticking out. However, that was just a stage prop; the [[WhyAmITicking real bomb was the robot clone]] of Shirley Manson, who had [[KissOfDeath killed]] and [[KillAndReplace replaced]] the original.
110	* In Music/TheAlanParsonsProject's video for "Let's Talk About Me", the neglected wife uses this to take out her lazy husband. He unwittingly picks it up and uses it to light his cigar. Unaware of the danger, he then sets the bomb back on the table, where it rolls off and makes its way into the bathroom where the wife is hiding ... BOOM!
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Pinball]]
114	* These are used in ''Pinball/NoGoodGofers'', which is a given as it stars two cartoonish troublemaking gophers.
115	* These litter the wheel in ''Pinball/JackBot'''s [[WizardMode Casino Run]], and hitting one [[{{Whammy}} drains all your collected cash and ends the Run instantly.]]
116	* ''[[Pinball/BugsBunnysBirthdayBall Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball]]'' has them around the playfield.
117	* Played straight with the bomb targets in ''Pinball/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkleAndFriends''.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
121	* In an infamous promo spot for Wrestling/{{WCW}}'s 1993 ''Beach Blast'' PPV, a one-eyed midget hired by Wrestling/{{Vader}} and [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sid Vicious]] plants one of these bombs on a boat in an attempt to kill their rivals, Wrestling/{{Sting}} and Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith.
122	* Shows up in the crowd fairly often, where fans of Wrestling/{{Batista}} brings signs shaped like a bomb with the text "Batista Bomb" on them, referring to his finishing move.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Software]]
126	* The Platform/AppleMacintosh used the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomb_(symbol) bomb symbol]] in its "Sorry, a system error occurred" alert box (before OS X).
127	** To show Platform/MacOS X's new memory system, during one demo Apple showed an application built specifically to crash — which now didn't lock up the entire OS. The application was called "Bomb.app", and featured the fuse on a cartoon bomb burning until the bomb went off.
128	** The old Mac program Sound Edit had a fake system error box with an exploding bomb, followed by an icon of a blown-out computer when you selected "About Sound Edit".
129	* The Platform/AtariST used the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Row_of_bombs row of bombs]] to indicate system crashes.
130	* In some Platform/{{Linux}} distributions (for example SUSE 10), the default wallpaper for "root" user is the bomb on red background. To emphasize how dangerous it is to work as a superuser.
131	* [[https://emojipedia.org/bomb/ There's an emoji for that.]]
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
135	* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Goblins'': One of these shows up in a sample scenario. [[spoiler:It's fake.]]
136	* ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}} 2020'': An icon of one brute-force cracking program is described as 'a cartoon bomb with a burning fuse'.
137	* One of your units in ''TabletopGame/{{Stratego}}'' is a Bomb, depicted as being of the cartoon variety. Defeats any enemy except the lowly 8th-rank Miner.
138	* ''TabletopGame/{{Too\|n}}oooooooon!''
139	* ''TabletopGame/{{Hanabi}}'' has round, black bomb tokens with lit fuses.
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Toys]]
143	* As a tie-in to the 2000 movie ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'', CVS sold plushes of the main characters. Boris Badenov was depicted as shooting a bang gun, while his significant other Natasha Fatelle held one of these.
144	* The 1965 "Time Bomb" game/toy by Milton Bradley looked like this, a black ball with a fuse. The game was basically like the old-fashioned "hot potato" game, as people would toss the toy bomb to each other, and whoever was holding the bomb when the timer ran out was the loser. (It made a bell sound, not boom.)
145	* ''Franchise/{{Tamagotchi}}'': Bakutchi is a black-colored, round bomb Tamagotchi with a fuse on the top of his head debuting on the ''Tamagotchi Connection V5''.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Web Animation]]
149	* Zeeky H. Bomb from ''WebAnimation/TheDementedCartoonMovie''. He's also sentient and capable of talking, but the only things he ever says are, "Here I am!", "Uh..." and, most frequently, "[[TheScottishTrope Zeeky Boogy Doog]]".
150	-->"You've [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom doomed]] us-" BOOM!
151	* [[ADogNamedDog A bomb named Bomb]] is a character in ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity''. He got DemotedToExtra in season 2.
152	* Similarly, in the show II was inspired by, ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'', there is also a bomb character, [[ADogNamedDog Bomby.]] Unlike Bomb from II though, he joined in season 2 and is still a contestant in season 5.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Web Comics]]
156	* ''Webcomic/MountainTime'' occasionally underscores bizarre Aesops (such as "Don't rush to conclusions when [[http://mountaincomics.com/2010/07/22/we-are-the-future-so-you-dont-have-to/ identifying bricks"]] or "Never question a [[http://mountaincomics.com/2011/09/01/mountain-time-292/ constricted cowboy]]") with scenes depicting a cartoon bomb using various methods to kill a cartoon steak.
157	* When certain Danish cartoons were in the news for other reasons, ''Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower'' complained that their choice of bomb was unrealistic.
158	* ''Webcomic/SquareRootOfMinusGarfield'' features them in a few strips - one [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=265 blows up a pool]] [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=818 and Garfield himself,]] to say nothing of the aptly titled [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=298 "A Bomb."]]
159	* ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'' : [[http://cucumber.gigidigi.com/cq/page-328/ Put on the Sea Train]] by [[MadScientist Cosmo]], who was '''driving''' it.
160	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Diane, Charlotte, and Andrea find themselves fighting a spider-vampire [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2154 wielding six such bombs at once.]]
161	* ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'' the Lewellyn family crest shows a dragon holding one.
162	* Ash from ''Webcomic/LatchkeyKingdom'' has an affinity for explosives, and is introduced carrying a bag full of Cartoon Bombs to throw at intruders to their cave.
163	[[/folder]]
164
165	[[folder:Web Original]]
166	* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'' has a bomb like that in its "Sutek's Tomb" game.
167	* One is used in the ''[[Website/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]'' MiniGame ''[[https://thecrewofthecoppercoloredcupids.wordpress.com/2019/12/19/cupid-christmas-tree/ Cupid Christmas Tree]]'', where it is hidden among the Christmas ornaments. If it is added to the tree in place of a real ornament, the tree will explode, though the Cupid character will be unharmed.
168	[[/folder]]
169
170	[[folder:Web Videos]]
171	* The fan parody ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFkx-uEsw1g Steam Trek]]'' has cartoon bombs, part of the dastardly plot (around the four-minute mark).
172	* The [[spoiler:[[Franchise/StarWars death bomb]]]] in ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee''.
173	* Roy pulls out a cartoon bomb during his battle with Simon in ''WebVideo/TheCartoonMan''. He actually uses one in the battle with [[spoiler:Oswald Sherzikien]] at the end of ''[[WebVideo/TheCartoonMan Journey of the Cartoon Man]]''.
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Western Animation]]
177	* Very common in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoons. The one Missing Lynx tries to plant on a bridge in ''Confusions of a Nutzy Spy'' had "Hallelujah, I'm a Bomb" on it.
178	* Seen in some ''Franchise/TomAndJerry'' cartoons, to the point that they're almost the only type of weapon used in at least one case. Amusingly, there's an episode when Jerry tries to attack Tom with a microscopic bomb; the latter thinks it's harmless, but its power is as big as that of a regular-sized bomb, as he learns the hard way.
179	* Pick a Creator/TexAvery short, and chances are the one you pick will have a bomb of this type somewhere in it.
180	* The villain of the Creator/VanBeurenStudios Little King cartoon "The Fatal Note" uses such a bomb to try assassinate the eponymous king, but he fails miserably.
181	* The ''WesternAnimation/WallaceAndGromit'' short "WesternAnimation/AMatterOfLoafAndDeath" has a spherical black ball with lit match cord hidden inside a birthday cake. It tumbles out to reveal itself, complete with "BOMB" printed in white lettering, because people in Wallace's universe are just that stupid. Gromit has the same trouble disposing of it that Batman had in ''Film/BatmanTheMovie'', done as an AffectionateParody.
182	* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' villain Splatter Phoenix, who can create objects out of thin air with magic paints, [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] it, lamenting about having "''[To] resort to making a ({{beat}}) '''cartoon bomb'''!''"
183	* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' has at least five in the opening sequence alone. Not to mention the page image.
184	* Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', when the Monarch and his henchmen reminisce about the good old days. 24 happily refers to it as simply a "round bomb", while miming the shape with his hands. He also once implemented a PlungerDetonator.
185	* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Game Over for Owlman!", in the big climactic fight scene, ComicBook/TheJoker basically pulls out a big Cartoon Bomb and runs around, giggling like the maniac he is, for the entire fight.
186	* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'': In the opening sequence, Gadget thinks he's arresting Dr. Claw, but then the chair spins around, it's a phony arm, and guess what's on the chair? Then the explosion forms the title, with the Inspector himself forming the "I". They're occaionally used by MAD Agents (natch) during the show, though they actually tend to be bright red as opposed to black.
187	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'': A favorite of The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight. For bigger jobs, though, he uses a more advanced, disc-shaped IncrediblyObviousBomb, complete with visible timer and beeping.
188	* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', they are used by Heloise on Lucius, and by a weevil on Beezy in the same episode.
189	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Not surprisingly, these are occasionally seen in some "Itchy and Scratchy" segments, although they tend to do a lot more damage to poor Scratchy than to the majority of other victims on this page.
190	* In ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'', one of the short cartoon segments was called "Donald's Dynamite", in which WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck finds a Cartoon Bomb while doing some mundane activity (fishing, bowling, et cetera) and tries increasingly desperate and zany things to dispose of it, none of which work.
191	* In an early episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', when Meg is trying to interview Quahog mayor/resident CloudCuckoolander Adam West, he ditches her by having an aide slip her a cartoon bomb. The explosion leaves Meg with AshFace, and a Daffy Duck-like bill, which she uses to say "Of course you realize this means war!"
192	* This also shows up near the end of the first act of the ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' episode "[[Recap/MrBogusS2E7BogusPrivateEye Bogus Private Eye]]". Bogus and Brattus confront the weasels in the sewers while disguised as gangsters, which includes Brattus trying to blow open a safe with a cartoon bomb, with disastrous results.
193	* On an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'', the detective is visited by a Robin Leach-type character who insists someone is trying to kill him. As evidence, he shows Duckman a note, a gun, a knife, and finally a cartoon bomb with the fuse lit. Duckman dismisses the first three as coincidental; when presented with the bomb, he nonchalantly says, "I get these every day," and casually tosses it out the window.
194	* One animated sequence on ''Series/SesameStreet'' taught the word "peligro" [[note]]Spanish for "danger"[[/note]] by having the "O" be a cartoon bomb, which detonated at the end, after the two parts of the word said the whole word simultaneously. (The "GR" seems to have been a suicide bomber, in retrospect.)
195	* ''WesternAnimation/TheDickTracyShow'':
196	** The episode "Bomb's Away" takes this and adds a timer to it. It's called the Kapow Bomb which could level a city. Stooge Viller and Mumbles have it and are demanding a ransom for it.
197	** Another episode, "Fish Filchers," has Hemlock Homes pulling one of these out of a cannon through the fuse slot.
198	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "Shell Games", Patrick tries to open a walnut using a black ball-shaped bomb, but Tony throws it away (to Squidward's house).
199	* {{Discussed\|Trope}} in the ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' episode "[[Recap/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012S1E9TheGauntlet The Gauntlet]]": When Donatello attempts to defuse a bomb made by the Kraang and says that he didn't expect it to be so complex, Leonardo points out that something designed by interdimensional aliens would be highly complicated and asks him if he was expecting a big round ball with a lit fuse that said "bomb".
200	[[/folder]]
201
202	[[folder:Real Life]]
203	* The emoji for "bomb" (💣) is usually, you guessed it, a cartoon bomb.
204	* A diagram of a cartoon bomb appeared in [[http://youtu.be/YcUTm850BIc this speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu]] to the United Nations in 2012. Netanyahu drew a red line on the cartoon bomb, to argue that Iran must not acquire enough medium-enriched uranium to build its first nuclear bomb. Unsurprisingly, his critics widely mocked his use of a cartoon bomb drawing. Creator/JonStewart had an appropriately [[HollywoodMagnetism cartoony]] [[http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/vkw7yr/bore-games solution]] (at ~5:20).
205	* Reflecting its real-life origins, a stylized cartoon bomb appears in insignia of several real-life ethnic-Europeans' military units, including several elite ones. Grenadiers were an elite force since before the 20th century most people were too weak (as a result of poverty-induced childhood malnutrition) to throw them (repeatedly). Examples include, but are not limited to, the British Grenadier Guards, the French Foreign Legion, the Italian Carabinieri, the artillery troops of Finland, Norway, and Portugal, and the Danish Royal Guards.
206	* A Finnish fireworks gadget, ''Tykinlaukaus'' ("Cannon Shot") is a tennis ball-size sphere of black styrofoam with black powder inside. Equipped with a thread fuse, it is intended to look exactly like the cartoon bomb.
207	** The Tykinlaukaus has an American counterpart, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_bomb cherry bomb]], which looks similar (but usually isn't black). Historically associated with practical jokes and teenage hooliganism, but they're a bit of a DeadHorseTrope nowadays as the modern ones are a lot less powerful (and a lot harder to get).
208	* Subverted, during TheLowMiddleAges (Ca.1300) when gunpowder was discovered in Europe, they made [[{{BFG}} big ass]] [[HandCannon hand cannons]] which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, [[BoomStick a cannon attached to a wooden base]], and hand grenades which have the same form as the "cartoon" bomb, and it has a fuse made of hemp. Now, [[FridgeLogic why is this a subversion]]? Because they weren't made of metal, but rather [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/88/04/10/88041033a5839ce456a9aa2566d48f3d.jpg they were made]] [[FridgeBrilliance from clay]], if they were made of metal they wouldn't be able to explode, the only metal part is the caltrops that were contained in the bomb. [[http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/7617/Medieval_Grenade_1.jpg Here, take a look.]] these were used until UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.
209	* One of these maimed Creator/HaroldLloyd early in his career. When on a photoshoot, he was handed one to hold. Thinking it was an inert prop, he jokingly lit it with his cigarette. [[StuffBlowingUp It wasn't.]] In the end, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he lost a couple of fingers on his right hand, was temporarily blinded and suffered some lacerations to his face.]][[note]]For the rest of his life, he was doing those insane stunts such as in ''Film/SafetyLast'' with ''only three fingers on his right hand.''[[/note]]He was well and truly lucky that that was the extent of his injuries. [[DontTryThisAtHome Whenever something looks like an explosive, treat it as such -- you may not be as lucky as Lloyd.]]
210	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CartoonBomb