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alt title(s): The Landmine Narrator: And so the children learned to function as a society. And eventually, they were rescued, by, oh, let's say... Moe.
An Ass Pull is a moment when the writers pull something out of thin air in a less-than-graceful narrative development, violating the Law Of Conservation Of Detail by dropping a plot-critical detail in the middle, or near the end of their narrative without Foreshadowing or dropping a Chekhovs Gun earlier on.
In cases where a character suddenly gets a new skill without explanation, it's usually explained away as a Chekhovs Lecture or Chekhovs Skill that was forgotten earlier.
An Ass Pull used to resolve an unwinnable situation for the protagonists is a Deus Ex Machina. An Ass Pull used in the same way for the villains is a Diabolus Ex Machina. An Ass Pull doesn't necessarily have to resolve or derail a situation, though; many times, an ass pull is just used without any greater plot implication. Please limit examples on this page to ones that don't fit in either of the other two.
The term is also used to describe something that the characters make up on the spot.
There are also times when the term may be used literally, typically combining Victoria's Secret Compartment with You Do NOT Want To Know. See also Shocking Swerve. Given certain examples, Wing Pull could fit into this as well.
As this trope frequently concerns plot twists, there are unmarked spoilers below.
Examples
Anime and Manga
- A variation was used in Mahou Sensei Negima, where the other characters force Chisame, who just wants to be normal, to get a magical pactio with Negi for the sole reason that her artifact might be something useful for their situation. Turns out that it's exactly what they needed. Although it kind of makes sense, in that the artifact is based on the person's personality, so they had some idea of what to expect.
- They do it again when Asakura reveals her pactio and again the artifact is exactly what the group was in need of. The total convenience of it was lampshaded repeatedly by the other characters.
- A classic and fairly divisive one comes in Getter Robo Armageddon: Genki Saotome, former token Cute Kid of the cast (a type practically required by and endemic of 70s television), was retconned into a girl (an Action Girl at that) so that s/he could be part of the new Getter team. This was foreshadowed a little in the actual Armageddon OVA before the big reveal, but just why everyone treated him/her like a boy during the original Getter shows is basically completely unexplained. Some consider this a slaughter of a character's original concept but others see it as an absolutely hilarious and ingenious subversion, as by the time Armageddon was produced in 1998 the Cute Kid was the deadest of Dead Horse Tropes; the original Genki would not have worked in a show like Armageddon at all.
- Occurs a number of times in Pokémon when one such creature evolves just at the right time, often in the middle of a battle. Especially noticeable as the game mechanics only allow evolution after a battle has ended. This is not the only game mechanic to be played around with in the animé ("Pikachu! The horn!" in his battle against Blaine's Rhydon, for instance).
- Bleach's most recent arc has been pulling so many of these it seems that it just gets ridiculous. We've got Nel having an adult form which wasn't even hinted at, four Big Damn Heroes moments from the captains, Ichigo getting a new form out of nowhere, Kira being a former fourth squad member so he could have healing powers, and Yammy being the 0 Espada for no apparent reason other than to have a plot twist.
- Hitsugaya got cut in half by Halibel! If untreated, he could be the first fatality in Bleach! Just kidding... he prepared an ice mirror/clone of himself that bleeds and gasps "What the Hell" when cut in two, and he did it all in the space of a few seconds to take an attack he couldn't have possibly seen coming! What a guy!
- Earlier on in the Soul Society Arc, Yoruichi reveals that since they went in on the day the cleaners were in the dangai, they went back in time seven days, something that had never been hinted at before or had any logical basis. Then again, this is proved pointless almost as soon as it's revealed, as Rukia's execution is pushed forward, leaving the heroes only one day to save her.
- Chapter 449 of Naruto where Pain/Nagato brings back to life all the people he killed in the Hidden Leaf Village.
- Fist Of The North Star has been guilty of making up the story as it went along, but the most obvious asspull is the revelation that the Land of Asura is the birthland of Kenshiro, Toki, and Raoh during the second half of the series, leaving behind their elder brothers Hyoh and Kaioh. This wouldn't so bad if it weren't for the fact that we already saw the ruins of Raoh and Toki's home village in the first half, as well as the graves of their birth parents, with no hint of any other blood-related sibling.
- Running a close second would be the scene where Mamiya revealed that she was branded as a 'conquest' by Juda. This scar is instantly recognized. Even though Rei, the rival of said Juda, had seen Mamiya butt-naked twice before — hell, he even personally shredded her clothes off once.
- In the second episode of Death Note, L manages the extremely improbable task of finding Lind L. Tailor, a death row inmate whose arrest, trial and conviction were never reported in the media, and uses him as his stand-in to prove how Light can kill people.
- He only had to find someone who hadn't been reported in Japanese media- if his hunch of Kira operating from within the Kanto region were correct (it was) then someone convicted outside of the region would work just fine (he did).
Comics
- Deadpool hinted at a literal version of this, since he wouldn't describe where he had kept some of his teammates' weapons during one adventure. He did, however, say that "it involved a lot of lubricant".
- Although Deadpool tends to operate within the established rules of his superpowers, frequently his solutions to situations are directly from Ass Pull territory.
- Douwe Dabbert has a magical knapsack which provides him with everything he needs in cases of emergency.
Film
- Literal Ass Pull hinted at in the third Pirates Of The Caribbean movie as well. That was a damned big gun, too.
- In The Matrix The undeleting of Agent Smith as a virus program and Neo's subesequent reduction in apparent ability when fighting the "upgrades" both feel like really stretched efforts to keep Neo from becoming too powerful for the plot to contain.
- Van Helsing - so the main character is becoming a werewolf and there's still no known way to kill Dracula. What's Dracula's weakness? Werewolf bites. Really? Really?
- Never mind the fact that Van Helsing is the archangel Gabriel. Never mind that there's no set up to it, other than the fact that he has spotty memory. Yes, that's right, if you're amnesiac, then you too could be an archangel. Even worse is the fact that it's totally extraneous to the plot.
Literature
Live Action TV
Tabletop Games
- The metaplot of Legend Of The Five Rings RPG's second and third edition may be considered full of Ass Pulls with killing off main NP Cs and even gods, as the authors simply interpreted the outcomes of official L 5 R CCG tournaments instead of coming up with something more coherent themselves. Way less than graceful.
- Every Dungeons And Dragons Dungeon Master ever will occasionally resort to this to keep things moving. If necessary to end the game after going Off The Rails, they may employ the "nuclear option".
Video Games
- Apparently where Max of Sam And Max keeps his gun, though it's still none of our damn business.
- Subverted in one of the Splinter Cell games: In a mission you have to get a USB drive from a guy, who has been taken hostage. When you get to him and take you can say "Where were you keeping this? It might be good to know." His response: "Not where you think I had it. I just have experience hiding things."
- Same series, same question: "Just wash your hands when you're done with it."
- In World of Warcraft, the "twist" of M'uru allowing himself to be captured and drained by the Blood Elves would have far more effective if everything in the game hadn;t pointed in the opposite direction (M'uru making active attempts at escaping, the Blood Elves becoming increasingly violent and arrogant about their stolen abilities, etc). One of the Blood Elf leaders, Lady Liadrin, pulling a complete 180 in terms of personality in the space of three seconds didn't help the plot development seem any less of an ass pull.
- The original lore of the Blood knights was an Asspull as well. The light (power from faith), suddenly being able to be siphoned like gasoline from the recently created Naaru. The worst part was Thrall and Cairne not caring as they got power from it. It's so bad that the above change could be considered an Authors Saving Throw.
- Likewise, the whole notion of the Blue Dragonflight suddenly turning hostile and thus providing a convenient source of killable mobs in the Northrend expansion is a shameless ass pull. Note that in the preceding Outland expansion said Blue Dragonflight actually helps you defeat the final boss...
- Not to mention that the whole reason that Malygos went insane in the first place is because Deathwing wiped out the entire Blue Dragonflight 10000 years ago, which means there shouldn't be any blue dragons around at all except Malygos.
- This can be applied to the ending of the game Legendary, wherein Deckard's Signet is revealed out of entirely nowhere to be the blueprint for the construction of another Pandora's Box.
- Literal Ass Pull in Final Fantasy X: Kimahri is shown reaching behind himself whenever he uses an item, but all he wears back there is a loincloth...
Webcomics
WesternAnimation
- Avatar The Last Airbender- Energybending, at least for some fans.
- Ozai accidently unblocking the chakra allowing Aang to enter the Avatar state also qualifies.
- This one is arguable. It's a source of resentment at the beginning that Aang would not be strong enough to handle Ozai without being able to go into his Avatar State. And with how furious the fights can get, it's amazing that he never got hit in that spot before.
- In Thunder Cats, there are so many Asspull moments that go in favor of the good guys, it is annoying. The Sword of Omens in particular seems to gain new powers every episode. As Mumm-Ra once said, it's always used to "pull [Lion-O's] fat from the fire." Whenever the good guys are in a bind, it's always the Sword of Omens that saves the day.
- Apparently, Cheetara has untapped extreme power. All that one has to do is piss her off royally. Then, she's capable of exuding brilliant rays of psychic energy that can disable a mobile fortress, knock the good guys out of a trance, and destroy machines. What?
- Even the Big Bad Mumm-Ra has his own Asspull moments. There are moments in the show that Mumm-Ra seemed to be killed off for good, but he somehow comes back:
- Fighting a Genie underground, causing a cave-in that traps them both.
- Lion-O defeating Mumm-Ra in his final day of the Anointment Trials. It seemed permanent.
- Mumm-Ra trying to open the Star of Thundera, which causes a massive explosion that Mumm-Ra seemed to be consumed by.
- Even when the Ancient Spirits of Evil get sick of Mumm-Ra's failings and give him an ultimatum to kill off the good guys or else he'll be banished from Third Earth. As expected, Mumm-Ra fails and gets exiled. What happens next? He ends up on New Thundera.
- Grounder blowing into his hand and getting a pumpkin in Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog.
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