In theory, if you or somebody you care about are being held at gunpoint, you have to do what the other guy tells you.
In practice, a lot of different things can happen.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch Gunshot: The scene makes it look for a few seconds like the character with the gun followed through with their threat to kill the unarmed character, only it turns out that another character shot them dead.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Another character shoots the gun out of the gunman's hand.
- Brandishment Bluff: It's not a real gun.
- Stick 'em Up: It's a stick, not a gun.
- *Click* Hello: A character introduces themselves to another with a Dramatic Gun Cock.
- Defensive Failure: The armed character is unable to shoot and the target simply takes their weapon from them.
- Disarm, Disassemble, Destroy: Victim takes the gun from the gunman and disables it.
- Distract and Disarm: The victim (usually) distracts the gunman and disarms them.
- Dramatic Gun Cock: When you hear this sound, a gunfight or shootout is likely to happen.
- Gun Struggle: The character held at gunpoint and the one with the gun start to battle for the gun.
- Bullet Holes and Revelations: The gun goes off in the struggle, but who was injured by it is left as a surprise reveal for a moment.
- Forced Friendly Fire: The unarmed character not only succeeds to get control of the gun, but they also force the armed character to open fire on any friendlies of his that are standing nearby.
- Gunpoint Banter: Banter between characters holding each other at gunpoint.
- It Works Better with Bullets: The victim thinks that, or tells the gunman that, the weapon is empty or that the gun doesn't work.
- Finger in a Barrel: Sticking your finger in the barrel to make the gun misfire when it goes off. Do Not Try This at Home.
- Hostage Situation: The gunman takes the victim hostage...
- Human Shield: ...and uses them as cover from other potential gunmen.
- Bulletproof Human Shield: A human body is portrayed as actually making good protection against gunfire.
- Mexican Standoff: Multiple characters hold each other at gunpoint.
- Not With the Safety On, You Won't: The character being held at gunpoint tells the gunman the weapon is on safety. Whether it actually is varies.
- Put Down Your Gun and Step Away: The gunman uses a threat to shoot the victim to get a third character to disarm themselves.
- Russian Roulette: The gun is rigged so that it may or may not fire lethally when triggered—typically by loading a limited number of chambers on a revolver. The gunman uses this to threaten the victim with impending death as the trigger is pulled.
- False Roulette: The gunman used sleight of hand to make it look like the gun was loaded.
- Shameful Strip: On occasion.
- Shotgun Wedding: Stereotypically the bride's father forcing the groom to marry her at gunpoint after they slept together.
- Shoot the Hostage: Another character resolves the situation by shooting the character being held at gunpoint.
- Shoot the Hostage Taker: Another character shoots the gunman.
- Stop, or I Shoot Myself!: A character holds themself at gunpoint.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: The target doesn't believe the gunman has the guts to actually shoot.
