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* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': This is part of [[BigBad Slade's]] M.O.:
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': This is part of [[BigBad [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Slade Slade's]] M.O.:
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* In the Season 2 finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Oliver needs to inject Slade with the cure for the mirakuru, but can't get close enough to do it. Slade has kidnapped Laurel, the woman Oliver loves. Knowing that, and having recently found out that Slade had cameras all over his house, Oliver has a conversation with Felicity in front of the cameras and tells her that Slade took the wrong woman, and that she's the one he loves. Slade kidnaps her and attracts Oliver to her. What Slade didn't see is that Oliver gave Felicity the cure and the whole thing was a plan to get her close to him and use it. It worked.
to:
* In the Season 2 finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', ''[[Characters/ArrowverseOliverQueen Oliver Queen]]'' needs to inject Slade with the cure for the mirakuru, but can't get close enough to do it. Slade has kidnapped Laurel, the woman Oliver loves. Knowing that, and having recently found out that Slade had cameras all over his house, Oliver has a conversation with Felicity in front of the cameras and tells her that Slade took the wrong woman, and that she's the one he loves. Slade kidnaps her and attracts Oliver to her. What Slade didn't see is that Oliver gave Felicity the cure and the whole thing was a plan to get her close to him and use it. It worked.
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J'onn and Batman keeping files on the heroes isn't a Batman Gambit; they're being Crazy Prepared (if driven by paranoia in J'onn's case in particular)
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* "Tower of Babel", the JLA story where Batman's files are revealed and even JLA: Year One, where [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn]] did much the same thing, by a period of time.
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!Franchise/TheDCU
to:
%%
%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
%%
%%%
{{Batman Gambit}}s throughout the various incarnations of Franchise/TheDCU.
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* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** This is the kind of planning that allows Lex Luthor, with no superpowers, to be a threat to Superman nearly every time the two of them meet.
** A Pre-Crisis Superman story had Luthor falling in love, turning good, curing a deadly disease, marrying, and even allowing Superman to read his mind (with a machine) to convince his former foe that he'd changed- but it was all a trick; [[MemoryGambit he erased his own memories of the plan]] and arranged it so that he ''genuinely'' believed he had reformed in order to lure Superman into an inescapable trap. His only error was that he had to make himself forget that ''he was already married'' (to an alien woman) for the plan to work... and Superman was aware of that.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', when Franchise/{{Superman}} shoves ComicBook/LexLuthor's robot into the ground, the mecha's head detaches from the body and blasts off. Superman flies after it and discovers that it is a decoy. Meanwhile, Lex gets away laughing loudly.
** Superman pulled one of these on ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.
** ''ComicBook/WarWorld'': Superman's plan to destroy the titular super-weapong was goading Mongul into firing at Supergirl and him until overloading Warworld's circuits.
--->'''Supergirl:''' Uh-Oh! Something tells me Mongul isn't kidding anymore!\\
'''Superman:''' Perfect! He's reacting exactly as I'd hoped he would!
** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'': A group of pirates raid a freighter to distract the Coast Guard. Meanwhile, the main body of their band captures a Government facility.
** ''ComicBook/TheThirdKryptonian'': As fighting Amalak's men off, Superman suddenly shouts "I have to protect Kandor" and flies off, knowing Amalak will think him stupid enough to give away the city's location, and give chase.
** In ''ComicBook/HelOnEarth'', [[WellIntentionedExtremist H'el]] was counting on ComicBook/{{Superboy}} to destroy most of his [[TimeMachine Star Chamber]] because he was actually destroying the fueling station for his ship and freed his ship from its launchpad, helping H'el in his plan to resurrect Krypton at the expense of Earth.
** ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': If you subscribe to the theory Lex Luthor is Leo Quintum, Superman allowed him to see the world through his eyes if only briefly to reform him.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman'', villain Xviar gaslights Superman into believing he's undergoing a psychotic break by chemically treating his Clark Kent suits so that they block off his powers. Xviar's trick convinces Superman that he needs to forfeit one of his dual identities, so he spends extended lengths of time out of his apartment, trying to find himself, as Xviar sets a trap to turn him into a ticking bomb. Xviar's scheme falls apart when Clark Kent is called as a witness in court. Being in a hurry, Superman picks a spare suit he keeps in his office, which hadn't been touched by Xviar, and finds out he still has powers as Clark Kent.
** ''ComicBook/SupermanUnchained'': Anticipating Wraith's species will soon invade Earth using the equation, Lex Luthor creates a syringe with synthetic solar energy that will transform whoever uses it into a solar bomb. He wants Superman to use it so that he can defeat the invaders and get himself killed in the process. Luthor does not anticipate, however, that Wraith would take the syringe and use it on himself.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'', Lucy Lane has a plan to lure Supergirl out and into a trap. First Lucy tricks Kara via false evidence into believing her friend Thara: is the titular villain; and helped Reatron murder her father. Then Lucy puts on her Superwoman suit and parades Reactron around Metropolis, goading a very emotional Kara into attacking them.
** Supergirl's specialty regarding Batman Gambits is using them to OutGambit villains' Batman Gambits.
** A double subversion occurs in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #304. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl's direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) including visiting the bottled city of Kandor, and eventually decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping'' Supergirl would depower herself. After listening to the powerless heroine her beg a little, she shoves Supergirl into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so it seems. [[spoiler: Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl actually figured the plan out, and was [[OutGambit outgambitting her]] with her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed while investigating records in a Kandor dental clinic, something a superpowered descendant would not have]].
** In ''Action Comics'' #362, Mr. Mxyzptlk (well, a relative of his) commands everyone in the 40th century to believe Supergirl is a criminal. Supergirl is captured with Kryptonite, tried, and sentenced to have the word "OUTLAW" branded on her forehead. Afterwards Kara is marginalized, insulted and bullied until she cracks and decides that "[She's]] been branded an outlaw, so [she'll] be one!" just like Mxy had planned. Or rather, planned, but failed. Supergirl's act of rage was an act to fool him into revealing himself which he did.
** In the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, two villains tried to pull off separate Batman Gambits to defeat Supergirl:
*** ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'' tries to use Supergirl's rage against her by taunting her into not holding back. As such, Dr. Veritas teleports them out of the Block to prevent their fight from damaging it. Once outside, Lobo calls his ship and flies to Supergirl's old apartment in New York, hoping to calm her down. He then tries to be friendly to her offering to mentor her so she can learn to control her rage. Big mistake. Supergirl has had it with people trying to manipulate her and gives him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
*** [[spoiler:Worldkiller-1]] had taken over the body of an alien warlord and wanted to steal Supergirl's body. However he couldn't destroy his host body. So he goaded Supergirl to use her EyeBeams on him until she reduced his body to ashes involuntarily.
** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2005 story arc]]'' "Girl Power", Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have to spot an imposter Supergirl. Superman hits both Supergirls, assuming that his real cousin will not retaliate. His plan fails because both girls fight back.
** In ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'', Supergirl, who has been captured by Harry Hokum, spits on his face while he is wondering what to do with her. As expected, Hokum gets so mad that he forgets about cutting her up on the spot, and orders she is dragged to a cell instead. On the way, Kara taunts his minion Splyce until the alien fires her solar blasts at her. Supergirl feels her cells recharging, but she pretends to pass out; and after being dumped into a cell, she breaks her handcuffs and makes her getaway.
** In ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'', villain Klax-Ar wants to find the Earth's location so he can use his weaponized sled to take over the world. Kara's blows seem ineffectual against his flying vehicle, which has been built from the remains from a broken-down Superboy Robot, so she pretends to flee in panic, knowing Klax-Ar follow her trail. When they arrive in Earth, Klax-Ar thinks Supergirl has made a stupid mistake until his vehicle malfunctions, and Kara explains their robots have been rendered inoperative by Earth's pollution.
** In ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'', the eponymous crimelord needs to lure Supergirl out of hiding in order to set up a HoneyTrap, so she gets Derek Marlowe to drive around Stanhope College, where Supergirl is often sighted. Then her mooks drag Derek out of his car and start beating him up, raising a very loud and public ruckus. Just as expected, Supergirl hears his shouts for help, scares the mooks away, and Derek pretends to fall for his "savior".
** ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman1961'': As watching several inmates pounding boulders, Lex Luthor spots a strange glowing stone, and he immediately punches a guard. Luthor is put to work on the rock pile, which gives him a chance to examine the strange boulder.
** In "ComicBook/EscapeFromThePhantomZone", ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} taunts and baits Xa-Du until he becomes so mad that he blurts out that he lied to his minions about getting them out of the PhantomZone. His minions, who let Xa-Du slaughter plenty of them to fuel his power, believing he would set the survivors free, are not ''amused''. Realizing that he has been baited and his minions have turned against him, Xa-Du gets angrier at Babs, who reminds him that she ''told'' she ''knew'' his kind.
** This is the kind of planning that allows Lex Luthor, with no superpowers, to be a threat to Superman nearly every time the two of them meet.
** A Pre-Crisis Superman story had Luthor falling in love, turning good, curing a deadly disease, marrying, and even allowing Superman to read his mind (with a machine) to convince his former foe that he'd changed- but it was all a trick; [[MemoryGambit he erased his own memories of the plan]] and arranged it so that he ''genuinely'' believed he had reformed in order to lure Superman into an inescapable trap. His only error was that he had to make himself forget that ''he was already married'' (to an alien woman) for the plan to work... and Superman was aware of that.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', when Franchise/{{Superman}} shoves ComicBook/LexLuthor's robot into the ground, the mecha's head detaches from the body and blasts off. Superman flies after it and discovers that it is a decoy. Meanwhile, Lex gets away laughing loudly.
** Superman pulled one of these on ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.
** ''ComicBook/WarWorld'': Superman's plan to destroy the titular super-weapong was goading Mongul into firing at Supergirl and him until overloading Warworld's circuits.
--->'''Supergirl:''' Uh-Oh! Something tells me Mongul isn't kidding anymore!\\
'''Superman:''' Perfect! He's reacting exactly as I'd hoped he would!
** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'': A group of pirates raid a freighter to distract the Coast Guard. Meanwhile, the main body of their band captures a Government facility.
** ''ComicBook/TheThirdKryptonian'': As fighting Amalak's men off, Superman suddenly shouts "I have to protect Kandor" and flies off, knowing Amalak will think him stupid enough to give away the city's location, and give chase.
** In ''ComicBook/HelOnEarth'', [[WellIntentionedExtremist H'el]] was counting on ComicBook/{{Superboy}} to destroy most of his [[TimeMachine Star Chamber]] because he was actually destroying the fueling station for his ship and freed his ship from its launchpad, helping H'el in his plan to resurrect Krypton at the expense of Earth.
** ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': If you subscribe to the theory Lex Luthor is Leo Quintum, Superman allowed him to see the world through his eyes if only briefly to reform him.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman'', villain Xviar gaslights Superman into believing he's undergoing a psychotic break by chemically treating his Clark Kent suits so that they block off his powers. Xviar's trick convinces Superman that he needs to forfeit one of his dual identities, so he spends extended lengths of time out of his apartment, trying to find himself, as Xviar sets a trap to turn him into a ticking bomb. Xviar's scheme falls apart when Clark Kent is called as a witness in court. Being in a hurry, Superman picks a spare suit he keeps in his office, which hadn't been touched by Xviar, and finds out he still has powers as Clark Kent.
** ''ComicBook/SupermanUnchained'': Anticipating Wraith's species will soon invade Earth using the equation, Lex Luthor creates a syringe with synthetic solar energy that will transform whoever uses it into a solar bomb. He wants Superman to use it so that he can defeat the invaders and get himself killed in the process. Luthor does not anticipate, however, that Wraith would take the syringe and use it on himself.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'', Lucy Lane has a plan to lure Supergirl out and into a trap. First Lucy tricks Kara via false evidence into believing her friend Thara: is the titular villain; and helped Reatron murder her father. Then Lucy puts on her Superwoman suit and parades Reactron around Metropolis, goading a very emotional Kara into attacking them.
** Supergirl's specialty regarding Batman Gambits is using them to OutGambit villains' Batman Gambits.
** A double subversion occurs in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #304. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl's direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) including visiting the bottled city of Kandor, and eventually decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping'' Supergirl would depower herself. After listening to the powerless heroine her beg a little, she shoves Supergirl into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so it seems. [[spoiler: Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl actually figured the plan out, and was [[OutGambit outgambitting her]] with her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed while investigating records in a Kandor dental clinic, something a superpowered descendant would not have]].
** In ''Action Comics'' #362, Mr. Mxyzptlk (well, a relative of his) commands everyone in the 40th century to believe Supergirl is a criminal. Supergirl is captured with Kryptonite, tried, and sentenced to have the word "OUTLAW" branded on her forehead. Afterwards Kara is marginalized, insulted and bullied until she cracks and decides that "[She's]] been branded an outlaw, so [she'll] be one!" just like Mxy had planned. Or rather, planned, but failed. Supergirl's act of rage was an act to fool him into revealing himself which he did.
** In the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, two villains tried to pull off separate Batman Gambits to defeat Supergirl:
*** ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'' tries to use Supergirl's rage against her by taunting her into not holding back. As such, Dr. Veritas teleports them out of the Block to prevent their fight from damaging it. Once outside, Lobo calls his ship and flies to Supergirl's old apartment in New York, hoping to calm her down. He then tries to be friendly to her offering to mentor her so she can learn to control her rage. Big mistake. Supergirl has had it with people trying to manipulate her and gives him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
*** [[spoiler:Worldkiller-1]] had taken over the body of an alien warlord and wanted to steal Supergirl's body. However he couldn't destroy his host body. So he goaded Supergirl to use her EyeBeams on him until she reduced his body to ashes involuntarily.
** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2005 story arc]]'' "Girl Power", Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have to spot an imposter Supergirl. Superman hits both Supergirls, assuming that his real cousin will not retaliate. His plan fails because both girls fight back.
** In ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'', Supergirl, who has been captured by Harry Hokum, spits on his face while he is wondering what to do with her. As expected, Hokum gets so mad that he forgets about cutting her up on the spot, and orders she is dragged to a cell instead. On the way, Kara taunts his minion Splyce until the alien fires her solar blasts at her. Supergirl feels her cells recharging, but she pretends to pass out; and after being dumped into a cell, she breaks her handcuffs and makes her getaway.
** In ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'', villain Klax-Ar wants to find the Earth's location so he can use his weaponized sled to take over the world. Kara's blows seem ineffectual against his flying vehicle, which has been built from the remains from a broken-down Superboy Robot, so she pretends to flee in panic, knowing Klax-Ar follow her trail. When they arrive in Earth, Klax-Ar thinks Supergirl has made a stupid mistake until his vehicle malfunctions, and Kara explains their robots have been rendered inoperative by Earth's pollution.
** In ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'', the eponymous crimelord needs to lure Supergirl out of hiding in order to set up a HoneyTrap, so she gets Derek Marlowe to drive around Stanhope College, where Supergirl is often sighted. Then her mooks drag Derek out of his car and start beating him up, raising a very loud and public ruckus. Just as expected, Supergirl hears his shouts for help, scares the mooks away, and Derek pretends to fall for his "savior".
** ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman1961'': As watching several inmates pounding boulders, Lex Luthor spots a strange glowing stone, and he immediately punches a guard. Luthor is put to work on the rock pile, which gives him a chance to examine the strange boulder.
** In "ComicBook/EscapeFromThePhantomZone", ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} taunts and baits Xa-Du until he becomes so mad that he blurts out that he lied to his minions about getting them out of the PhantomZone. His minions, who let Xa-Du slaughter plenty of them to fuel his power, believing he would set the survivors free, are not ''amused''. Realizing that he has been baited and his minions have turned against him, Xa-Du gets angrier at Babs, who reminds him that she ''told'' she ''knew'' his kind.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': This is part of [[BigBad Slade's]] M.O.:
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': This is part of [[BigBad Slade's]] M.O.:
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** ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'': In the crossover with the ''Night of Owls'', the Court of Owls forbids James Gordon from activating the Bat Signal in order to prove to the citizens of Gotham that there is nobody to rescue them. James, being James, refuses to cowed by their threats and activates the signal...which was what they wanted, since they knew he would never bow to their pressure and they had replaced the Bat-logo with the Owl symbol.
to:
** ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'': In the crossover with the ''Night of Owls'', Owls'' crossover, the Court of Owls forbids James Gordon from activating the Bat Signal in order to prove to the citizens of Gotham that there is nobody to rescue them. James, being James, refuses to cowed by their threats and activates the signal...which was what they wanted, since they knew he would never bow to their pressure and they had replaced the Bat-logo with the Owl symbol.
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** This is the kind of planning that allows ComicBook/LexLuthor, with no superpowers, to be a threat to Superman nearly every time the two of them meet.
to:
** This is the kind of planning that allows ComicBook/LexLuthor, Lex Luthor, with no superpowers, to be a threat to Superman nearly every time the two of them meet.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
** Superman pulled one of these on ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.
to:
** Superman pulled one of these on ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton''.''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.
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** In "ComicBook/EscapeFromThePhantomZone", ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} taunts and baits Xa-Du until he becomes so mad that he blurts out that he lied to his minions about getting them out of the PhantomZone. His minions, who let Xa-Du slaughter plenty of them to fuel his power, believing he would set the survivors free, are not ''amused''. Realizing that he has been baited and his minions have turned against him, Xa-Du gets angrier at Babs, who reminds him that she ''told'' she ''knew'' his kind.
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* During CreatorMarkWaid's run on ''Franchise/TheFlash'', Abra Kadabra successfully takes Linda Park out of Time to the extent that literally nobody remembers her with the hope that this would result in Wally being lost in the Speed Force without Linda as his "lightning-rod". After Wally regains his memories of Linda during a trip to an alternate universe and Linda escapes, the two return to their home universe but find that everyone else is basically unable to see Linda. In order to force Abra Kadabra to undo his spell, Wally poses as Eobard Thawne and reinforces how he doesn't believe Kadabra's talk about Linda, anticipating that Kadabra's ego would drive him to undo the spell so that he can prove he scored such a decisive victory over his enemy.
to:
* During CreatorMarkWaid's Creator/MarkWaid's run on ''Franchise/TheFlash'', Abra Kadabra successfully takes Linda Park out of Time to the extent that literally nobody remembers her with the hope that this would result in Wally being lost in the Speed Force without Linda as his "lightning-rod". After Wally regains his memories of Linda during a trip to an alternate universe and Linda escapes, the two return to their home universe but find that everyone else is basically unable to see Linda. In order to force Abra Kadabra to undo his spell, Wally poses as Eobard Thawne and reinforces how he doesn't believe Kadabra's talk about Linda, anticipating that Kadabra's ego would drive him to undo the spell so that he can prove he scored such a decisive victory over his enemy.
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!!Comic Books
[[index]]
* BatmanGambit/{{Batman}}
[[/index]]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
!!Comic Books
[[index]]
* BatmanGambit/{{Batman}}
[[/index]]
----
[[folder:Comic Books]]
!!Comic Books
[[index]]
* BatmanGambit/{{Batman}}
[[/index]]
----
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[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films]]
[[folder:Films]]
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[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
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[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
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[[/folder]]
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Added DiffLines:
* During CreatorMarkWaid's run on ''Franchise/TheFlash'', Abra Kadabra successfully takes Linda Park out of Time to the extent that literally nobody remembers her with the hope that this would result in Wally being lost in the Speed Force without Linda as his "lightning-rod". After Wally regains his memories of Linda during a trip to an alternate universe and Linda escapes, the two return to their home universe but find that everyone else is basically unable to see Linda. In order to force Abra Kadabra to undo his spell, Wally poses as Eobard Thawne and reinforces how he doesn't believe Kadabra's talk about Linda, anticipating that Kadabra's ego would drive him to undo the spell so that he can prove he scored such a decisive victory over his enemy.
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!!Franchise/TheDCU
!!The following have their own pages:
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!!Comic Books
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!!Films
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood'', Red Hood targets Black Mask, who breaks the Joker out of Arkham to kill him. The Joker [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder uses Black Mask and his colleagues]] as bait to draw out Red Hood. [[spoiler:However, the gambit was actually Red Hood's; the Joker was his real target all along and he had gone after Black Mask in order to make him desperate enough to turn to the Joker and save him the trouble of breaking him out]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoBatmanMovie'', the Joker pulls this on ''Batman''. He captures all the villains of Gotham, taking away Batman's purpose, thus tricking Batman into sending him to the Phantom Zone to recruit more powerful villains. [[spoiler: And releases them all on Gotham.]]
** He doesn't seem to have learned from this in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie2TheSecondPart'', as [[BigBad Queen Watevra Wa'nabi]] tricks him into a [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe matrimonial ceremony]] by appealing to his ego and desire to one-up Superman.
* Ironically enough, the Joker pulls off one of these after another in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. The bank heist at the beginning requires every one of his henchman dispatching each other at just the right time, with no slip-ups... even including the last henchman figuring it out at exactly the right time to be standing in just the right spot when the school bus comes crashing through the wall. The escape relies on another example: the school bus joins a line of other school buses, which the Joker knows the police will ignore.
** His escape from prison is a masterful example of this. The Joker pushes Batman's buttons and taunts him until Batman gets angry enough to smash the Joker's head against the one-way glass. He then does the EXACT SAME THING to the guard watching him, causing him to lower his guard and allow the Joker to take him hostage using one of the glass shards from the broken mirror. And then of course he uses his leverage to get the other cops to give him access to a phone. Had Batman not smashed the Joker into the window, or had the glass not splintered in just the right way, or had the guard just left and locked the door, none of that would have worked.
** He has one fail on him, though. His last plot hinges on the civilian ferry seeing the prison ferry as an acceptable sacrifice and/or the prison ferry being ruthless enough to sacrifice the civilian ferry. In the end, the civilian ferry couldn't bring itself to blow up the prisoners, and the prison ferry decided that EvenEvilHasStandards.
** In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Bane's plan hinges on Bruce Wayne and a few other people responding exactly the way he predicts they will every step along the way.
*** Perhaps the most audacious example of this is that the inmates of the prison won't tell Bruce that the child who escaped was Talia -- they leave it up to him and he assumes it was Bane. Justified by the fact that the person telling the story thought it was just a legend of the prison, and didn't fully believe it himself.
* The ending of ''Film/SupermanII'' hinges on ComicBook/LexLuthor selling out Superman and telling Zod about the "take away all super powers" device... which Superman, having seen this coming, had set to affect everyone ''outside'' the device.
* In ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', [[spoiler:Ozymandias]]'s plan could only work assuming that the rest of the Watchmen, especially Jon, were able to be manipulated.
!!Live-Action TV
* In the Season 2 finale of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Oliver needs to inject Slade with the cure for the mirakuru, but can’t get close enough to do it. Slade has kidnapped Laurel, the woman Oliver loves. Knowing that, and having recently found out that Slade had cameras all over his house, Oliver has a conversation with Felicity in front of the cameras and tells her that Slade took the wrong woman, and that she’s the one he loves. Slade kidnaps her and attracts Oliver to her. What Slade didn’t see is that Oliver gave Felicity the cure and the whole thing was a plan to get her close to him and use it. It worked.
* In ''Series/{{The Flash|1990}}'' a criminal mastermind gathers a team to supposedly steal a foreign treasure. While the police sit on the treasure, he sends them out to pick the city clean. As it turns out they're just distractions to pull the police away so he ''can'' steal the treasure.
* Appropriately enough, ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' has a brilliant example of one, although it's done by [[spoiler: Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin]] rather than Bruce Wayne. [[spoiler: In exchange for information about his [[TheStarscream treacherous Dragons]], Don Falcone allows Cobblepot to be executed by Jim Gordon, who Cobblepot (correctly) believes he can persuade to fake his death. Cobblepot then is able to come back to Gotham, infiltrate a rival gang in order to act as TheMole, provoke his former boss and Falcone's treacherous underling Fish Mooney to overreact, kill her lover/conspirator on the orders of the rival crime boss, and get the rival crime boss to give Falcone a seemingly worthless piece of real estate]] as "compensation".
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** "[[Recap/SmallvilleS08E09Abyss Abyss]]": [[spoiler:Brainiac started [[LaserGuidedMemory removing Chloe's memories]], knowing that in his desperation, Clark would rebuild the [[DeusExMachina Fortress]] to save her, which allows Brainiac to take over the Fortress, fully morph Davis into Doomsday and possess Chloe, which is another gambit as Brainiac knows Clark will never hurt Chloe even with Brainiac inside her.]]
** The whole episode of "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E05Roulette Roulette]]" is one courtesy of [[spoiler:Chloe Sullivan]], who's revealed to have hired the villain in order to get Oliver to return to heroism and did it right under Clark's nose. Like all things involving Oliver, it is of rather dubious morality. She claims [[IDidWhatIHadToDo she did what she had to do]], and for the most part she anticipated Oliver's actions, but with [[PhysicalGod Clark]] involved but not knowing the plan, it could [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]] very easily.
** Amanda Waller pulls off one in "[[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice Absolute Justice]]". It looks like she's having the members of the long-retired ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica killed as a continuation of the government frame that originally put them out of business. Reality is [[spoiler: she's provoking the surviving JSA members to come out of retirement to get back in the game, and meet and inspire the new generation of superheroes, because of something coming that will cause the planet to need all of its heroes]].
!!Western Animation
* In one episode of a Creator/CartoonNetwork [[NoExportForYou Latin American bumper]], ''WesternAnimation/TheAquamanAndFriendsActionHour'', Lex Luthor tries to sabotage ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'s kids show by making [[RubeGoldbergHatesYourGuts an overly complicated scheme]] that will make a tractor, a mortal cobra, and a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot tractor driven by the mortal cobra]] (among other things) suddenly assault the live stage, and activates when Aquaman plays the guitar in an announced singalong. Lex even states that "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis it. cannot. fail]]!". At the end [[spoiler:it fails because Aquaman never actually ''plays'' the guitar and do playback instead. [[SpringtimeForHitler A Janitor at the night, however..]]]].
* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse:
** Examples from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' that '''were not''' planned by Batman:
*** In "Joker's Wild", an industrialist who is secretly going broke themes his new casino after ComicBook/TheJoker, while all the time denying the connection. He expects this to infuriate the Joker, who will come destroy the place, which will trigger the casino owner's multi-million dollar insurance policy. Unfortunately, Batman tells the Joker all this mid-rampage (when the Joker has set up a roulette-wheel style DeathTrap designed to blow up the casino and Batman at once), and the Joker decides a better revenge is confronting the industrialist "man to clown" as he says, and then take over the place. "But that doesn't let ''you'' off the hook," he tells Batman, before altering his device so it only disposes of Batman. (And true to BondVillainStupidity form, he leaves, letting Batman escape.)
*** Another such gambit appears in "Joker's Millions", which involves a gangster and rival of the Joker dying and willing him $250 million. On paper. What ''really'' happened was that only $10 million of the inheritance was real. The rival (who saw this as the perfect way to get even with the Joker before he died from his illness) was banking on the Joker's massive ego not allowing him to admit to being fooled, which makes things hard for the Joker when it's time to pay inheritance tax.
*** When Supergirl and Batgirl teamed up against Poison Ivy, Livewire and Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy threw some seeds at Batgirl, knowing Supergirl would vaporize them with heat vision, releasing a toxic gas.
---->'''Poison Ivy''': You are so predictable.
** In [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Superman]]'s show, the episode featuring Mxyzptlk was basically a series of Batman Gambit's on the part of Clark to get the fifth dimensional being to disappear almost as soon as he arrives. (The final one took a little longer, but Superman gets credit for apparently having thought up a rather clever one pretty much on the spur of the moment.)
** In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', the Joker pulled a pretty slick one, courtesy of the Royal Flush Gang. He broke them out of a top-secret government research facility and used them to keep the Leaguers busy looking for the 26 bombs he'd placed on the UsefulNotes/LasVegas strip. Meanwhile, he broadcast the whole thing on live television, pulling in huge ratings...
--->'''Joker''': And that was the point all along; this whole thing was a stunt to get as many of you watching as possible--and it worked! My Royal Flush Gang provided the conflict, the Justice League brought the star power. And I brought the [[PlotTwist shocking surprise ending]]; everyone watching the show right now is witness to my greatest joke ever."
** Also in ''Justice League'', Batman himself pulled one off in "A Better World". When the EvilTwin MirrorUniverse counterparts of the Justice League, the Justice Lords, take them captive, Lord!Batman explicitly tells League!Batman that he's already thought of everything he could do to try to escpe and League!Batman tells Flash in the next cell over that he's not even going to try because of that. In the next scene, Flash fakes a heart attack get to Lord!Batman into his cell and then turns the tables on him since ''someone'' had to get them out if Batman wasn't going to. Naturally, that was Batman's plan in the first place.
--->'''League!Batman''': I couldn't [do anything]. Not with him anticipating everything I could ever think of. But who could anticipate ''you?''
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'': The master of the Trope himself did it twice in the same episode, against the same villain. Said villain was using an amulet that could cause RapidAging or reverse aging. After using it to turn Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman into kids, he threatened to turn Batman and Robin into "feeble old men". Batman's response was "Do your worst!" and he did, only to have Batman and Robin dodge the blast as planned and it hitting the three de-aged heroes behind him returning them to adulthood. In response, the villain turned the amulet on a guy he had previously aged, turning the poor guy to dust in order to cover his escape. Batman -- now realizing his dependence on the thing -- put the dust in a canister, then put that inside a mannequin wearing a Batman costume. When the villain tried to the de-aging thing again, he zapped the victim's remains, restoring his body and true age. (And was easily disarmed of the amulet by said former victim.)
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': This is part of [[BigBad Slade's]] M.O.:
** In "Apprentice", Slade forces Robin to be his apprentice by infecting the other Titans with Nanoscopic Probes, which he can activate if Robin doesn't obey him. When he is about to destroy them, Robin decides to infect himself with the same probes. He tells Slade that if he loses his friends, Slade loses his apprentice. Slade angrily destroys the controller.
** Then there's the whole [[spoiler:Terra]] business. Throughout Season 2, [[spoiler:Slade manages to successfully lure the newcomer into joining his side and helping him through with his plot to take the Teen Titans out. Even though it backfires on him in the end, there was still one thing that he was victorious in doing: stopping the Teen Titans from getting a SixthRanger, because she ends up as a statue by the end of the season and regardless of what might have happened to her afterwards, she never comes back in her normal capacity again.]]
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* One of Tim's final acts in the ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'' before becoming Red Robin involves poisoning ComicBook/LadyShiva with a toxin that will only effect her with an elevated heart rate in preparation for a fight before Shiva has even challenged him.
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* One of Tim's final acts in the ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'' ''ComicBook/Robin1993'' before becoming Red Robin involves poisoning ComicBook/LadyShiva with a toxin that will only effect her with an elevated heart rate in preparation for a fight before Shiva has even challenged him.
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** A Pre-Crisis Superman story had Luthor falling in love, turning good, curing a deadly disease, marrying, and even allowing Superman to read his mind (with a machine) to convince his former foe that he'd changed- but it was all a trick; he erased his own memories of the plan and arranged it so that he ''genuinely'' believed he had reformed in order to lure Superman into an inescapable trap. His only error was that he had to make himself forget that ''he was already married'' (to an alien woman) for the plan to work... and Superman was aware of that.
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** A Pre-Crisis Superman story had Luthor falling in love, turning good, curing a deadly disease, marrying, and even allowing Superman to read his mind (with a machine) to convince his former foe that he'd changed- but it was all a trick; [[MemoryGambit he erased his own memories of the plan plan]] and arranged it so that he ''genuinely'' believed he had reformed in order to lure Superman into an inescapable trap. His only error was that he had to make himself forget that ''he was already married'' (to an alien woman) for the plan to work... and Superman was aware of that.
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*** ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' tries to use Supergirl's rage against her by taunting her into not holding back. As such, Dr. Veritas teleports them out of the Block to prevent their fight from damaging it. Once outside, Lobo calls his ship and flies to Supergirl's old apartment in New York, hoping to calm her down. He then tries to be friendly to her offering to mentor her so she can learn to control her rage. Big mistake. Supergirl has had it with people trying to manipulate her and gives him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
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*** ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'' tries to use Supergirl's rage against her by taunting her into not holding back. As such, Dr. Veritas teleports them out of the Block to prevent their fight from damaging it. Once outside, Lobo calls his ship and flies to Supergirl's old apartment in New York, hoping to calm her down. He then tries to be friendly to her offering to mentor her so she can learn to control her rage. Big mistake. Supergirl has had it with people trying to manipulate her and gives him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
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** ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman1961'': As watching several inmates pounding boulders, Lex Luthor spots a strange glowing stone, and he immediately punches a guard. Luthor is put to work on the rock pile, which gives him a chance to examine the strange boulder.
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** In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Batgirl needed to lure ''ComicBook/LexLuthor'' to Gotham City to "bring him, set him up, and take him down". So she announced that she'd allow him build a new factory in Gotham, knowing that Luthor's ego wouldn't let him miss a chance to go there and show his genius off. Her plan worked, but thanks to ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'''s help.
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** In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Batgirl needed to lure ''ComicBook/LexLuthor'' ComicBook/LexLuthor to Gotham City to "bring him, set him up, and take him down". So she announced that she'd allow him build a new factory in Gotham, knowing that Luthor's ego wouldn't let him miss a chance to go there and show his genius off. Her plan worked, but thanks to ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'''s help.
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* ComicBook/TheJoker, in his more serious interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable. And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's savvy enough to see through them. Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.
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* ComicBook/TheJoker, in his more serious some interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable. And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's savvy enough to see through them. Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.
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** A double subversion occurs in a story from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl’s direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) including visiting the bottled city of Kandor, and eventually decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping'' Supergirl would depower herself. After listening to the powerless heroine her beg a little, she shoves Supergirl into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so it seems. [[spoiler: Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl actually figured the plan out, and was [[OutGambit outgambitting her]] with her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed while investigating records in a Kandor dental clinic, something a superpowered descendant would not have,]]
** In another story, Mr. Mxyzptlk (well, a relative of his) commands everyone in the 40th century to believe Supergirl is a criminal. Supergirl is captured with Kryptonite, tried, and sentenced to have the word "OUTLAW" branded on her forehead. Afterwards Kara is marginalized, insulted and bullied until she cracks and decides that "[She's]] been branded an outlaw, so [she'll] be one!" just like Mxy had planned. Or rather, planned, but failed. Supergirl's act of rage was an act to fool him into revealing himself which he did.
** In another story, Mr. Mxyzptlk (well, a relative of his) commands everyone in the 40th century to believe Supergirl is a criminal. Supergirl is captured with Kryptonite, tried, and sentenced to have the word "OUTLAW" branded on her forehead. Afterwards Kara is marginalized, insulted and bullied until she cracks and decides that "[She's]] been branded an outlaw, so [she'll] be one!" just like Mxy had planned. Or rather, planned, but failed. Supergirl's act of rage was an act to fool him into revealing himself which he did.
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** A double subversion occurs in a story from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]].''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #304. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl’s Supergirl's direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) including visiting the bottled city of Kandor, and eventually decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping'' Supergirl would depower herself. After listening to the powerless heroine her beg a little, she shoves Supergirl into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so it seems. [[spoiler: Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl actually figured the plan out, and was [[OutGambit outgambitting her]] with her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed while investigating records in a Kandor dental clinic, something a superpowered descendant would not have,]]
have]].
** Inanother story, ''Action Comics'' #362, Mr. Mxyzptlk (well, a relative of his) commands everyone in the 40th century to believe Supergirl is a criminal. Supergirl is captured with Kryptonite, tried, and sentenced to have the word "OUTLAW" branded on her forehead. Afterwards Kara is marginalized, insulted and bullied until she cracks and decides that "[She's]] been branded an outlaw, so [she'll] be one!" just like Mxy had planned. Or rather, planned, but failed. Supergirl's act of rage was an act to fool him into revealing himself which he did.
** In
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** In ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'', the eponymous crimelord needs to lure Supergirl out of hiding in order to set up a HoneyTrap, so she gets Derek Marlowe to drive around Stanhope College, where Supergirl is often sighted. Then her mooks drag Derek out of his car and start beating him up, raising a very loud and public ruckus. Just as expected, Supergirl hears his shouts for help, scares the mooks away, and Derek pretends to fall for his "savior".
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* In ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'', Lobo attacks Atrocitus, trying to get the bounty on his head. The White Lantern Battery orders Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris, and Sinestro to help Atrocitus, so they do. After Lobo is driven off, the four of them vow to work together to find the missing emotional entities. Atrocitus hired Lobo to attack him in the first place and take a dive, in order to get the others to trust him. As payment, Lobo is given a Red Lantern Ring.
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* In ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'', Lobo attacks Atrocitus, trying to get the bounty on his head. The White Lantern Battery orders Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris, and Sinestro to help Atrocitus, so they do. After Lobo is driven off, the four of them vow to work together to find the missing emotional entities. Atrocitus hired Lobo to attack him in the first place and take a dive, in order to get the others to trust him. As payment, Lobo is given a Red Lantern Ring.Ring.
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!!The following have their own pages:
[[index]]
* BatmanGambit/{{Batman}}
[[/index]]
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[[index]]
* BatmanGambit/{{Batman}}
[[/index]]
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!!Franchise/TheDCU
* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'':
** In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Batgirl needed to lure ''ComicBook/LexLuthor'' to Gotham City to "bring him, set him up, and take him down". So she announced that she'd allow him build a new factory in Gotham, knowing that Luthor's ego wouldn't let him miss a chance to go there and show his genius off. Her plan worked, but thanks to ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'''s help.
** ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'': In the crossover with the ''Night of Owls'', the Court of Owls forbids James Gordon from activating the Bat Signal in order to prove to the citizens of Gotham that there is nobody to rescue them. James, being James, refuses to cowed by their threats and activates the signal...which was what they wanted, since they knew he would never bow to their pressure and they had replaced the Bat-logo with the Owl symbol.
* ''ComicBook/{{Chlorophylle}}'': Zizanion, unable to attack Mithron because of his guards, delivers a message announcing he will make the palace blow up at midday. Bouclette, as a precaution to protect the king, has him immediatly moved to a different, more isolated castle in the country. Turns out this is exactly what Zizanion expected them to do, as it makes it easier for him to place the bomb in this more isolated and unguarded castle before Mithron arrives. Fortunately, their car ends up with a damaged tyre and they arrive too late, causing the castle to blow up without them inside.
* ComicBook/TheJoker, in his more serious interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable. And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's savvy enough to see through them. Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' graphic novel, the premise is that Joker, somehow, gets out of Arkham through the front gate. It's suggested but never stated that he was legally released. Later, he intimates to the Riddler that this was a sham.
--->'''Joker''': "The best place to hide, Edward, is in sanity!"
* "Tower of Babel", the JLA story where Batman's files are revealed and even JLA: Year One, where [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn]] did much the same thing, by a period of time.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** This is the kind of planning that allows ComicBook/LexLuthor, with no superpowers, to be a threat to Superman nearly every time the two of them meet.
** A Pre-Crisis Superman story had Luthor falling in love, turning good, curing a deadly disease, marrying, and even allowing Superman to read his mind (with a machine) to convince his former foe that he'd changed- but it was all a trick; he erased his own memories of the plan and arranged it so that he ''genuinely'' believed he had reformed in order to lure Superman into an inescapable trap. His only error was that he had to make himself forget that ''he was already married'' (to an alien woman) for the plan to work... and Superman was aware of that.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', when Franchise/{{Superman}} shoves ComicBook/LexLuthor's robot into the ground, the mecha's head detaches from the body and blasts off. Superman flies after it and discovers that it is a decoy. Meanwhile, Lex gets away laughing loudly.
** Superman pulled one of these on ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.
** ''ComicBook/WarWorld'': Superman's plan to destroy the titular super-weapong was goading Mongul into firing at Supergirl and him until overloading Warworld's circuits.
--->'''Supergirl:''' Uh-Oh! Something tells me Mongul isn't kidding anymore!\\
'''Superman:''' Perfect! He's reacting exactly as I'd hoped he would!
** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'': A group of pirates raid a freighter to distract the Coast Guard. Meanwhile, the main body of their band captures a Government facility.
** ''ComicBook/TheThirdKryptonian'': As fighting Amalak's men off, Superman suddenly shouts "I have to protect Kandor" and flies off, knowing Amalak will think him stupid enough to give away the city's location, and give chase.
** In ''ComicBook/HelOnEarth'', [[WellIntentionedExtremist H'el]] was counting on ComicBook/{{Superboy}} to destroy most of his [[TimeMachine Star Chamber]] because he was actually destroying the fueling station for his ship and freed his ship from its launchpad, helping H'el in his plan to resurrect Krypton at the expense of Earth.
** ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': If you subscribe to the theory Lex Luthor is Leo Quintum, Superman allowed him to see the world through his eyes if only briefly to reform him.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman'', villain Xviar gaslights Superman into believing he's undergoing a psychotic break by chemically treating his Clark Kent suits so that they block off his powers. Xviar's trick convinces Superman that he needs to forfeit one of his dual identities, so he spends extended lengths of time out of his apartment, trying to find himself, as Xviar sets a trap to turn him into a ticking bomb. Xviar's scheme falls apart when Clark Kent is called as a witness in court. Being in a hurry, Superman picks a spare suit he keeps in his office, which hadn't been touched by Xviar, and finds out he still has powers as Clark Kent.
** ''ComicBook/SupermanUnchained'': Anticipating Wraith's species will soon invade Earth using the equation, Lex Luthor creates a syringe with synthetic solar energy that will transform whoever uses it into a solar bomb. He wants Superman to use it so that he can defeat the invaders and get himself killed in the process. Luthor does not anticipate, however, that Wraith would take the syringe and use it on himself.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'', Lucy Lane has a plan to lure Supergirl out and into a trap. First Lucy tricks Kara via false evidence into believing her friend Thara: is the titular villain; and helped Reatron murder her father. Then Lucy puts on her Superwoman suit and parades Reactron around Metropolis, goading a very emotional Kara into attacking them.
** Supergirl's specialty regarding Batman Gambits is using them to OutGambit villains' Batman Gambits.
** A double subversion occurs in a story from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl’s direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) including visiting the bottled city of Kandor, and eventually decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping'' Supergirl would depower herself. After listening to the powerless heroine her beg a little, she shoves Supergirl into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so it seems. [[spoiler: Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl actually figured the plan out, and was [[OutGambit outgambitting her]] with her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed while investigating records in a Kandor dental clinic, something a superpowered descendant would not have,]]
** In another story, Mr. Mxyzptlk (well, a relative of his) commands everyone in the 40th century to believe Supergirl is a criminal. Supergirl is captured with Kryptonite, tried, and sentenced to have the word "OUTLAW" branded on her forehead. Afterwards Kara is marginalized, insulted and bullied until she cracks and decides that "[She's]] been branded an outlaw, so [she'll] be one!" just like Mxy had planned. Or rather, planned, but failed. Supergirl's act of rage was an act to fool him into revealing himself which he did.
** In the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, two villains tried to pull off separate Batman Gambits to defeat Supergirl:
*** ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' tries to use Supergirl's rage against her by taunting her into not holding back. As such, Dr. Veritas teleports them out of the Block to prevent their fight from damaging it. Once outside, Lobo calls his ship and flies to Supergirl's old apartment in New York, hoping to calm her down. He then tries to be friendly to her offering to mentor her so she can learn to control her rage. Big mistake. Supergirl has had it with people trying to manipulate her and gives him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
*** [[spoiler:Worldkiller-1]] had taken over the body of an alien warlord and wanted to steal Supergirl's body. However he couldn't destroy his host body. So he goaded Supergirl to use her EyeBeams on him until she reduced his body to ashes involuntarily.
** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2005 story arc]]'' "Girl Power", Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have to spot an imposter Supergirl. Superman hits both Supergirls, assuming that his real cousin will not retaliate. His plan fails because both girls fight back.
** In ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'', Supergirl, who has been captured by Harry Hokum, spits on his face while he is wondering what to do with her. As expected, Hokum gets so mad that he forgets about cutting her up on the spot, and orders she is dragged to a cell instead. On the way, Kara taunts his minion Splyce until the alien fires her solar blasts at her. Supergirl feels her cells recharging, but she pretends to pass out; and after being dumped into a cell, she breaks her handcuffs and makes her getaway.
** In ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'', villain Klax-Ar wants to find the Earth's location so he can use his weaponized sled to take over the world. Kara's blows seem ineffectual against his flying vehicle, which has been built from the remains from a broken-down Superboy Robot, so she pretends to flee in panic, knowing Klax-Ar follow her trail. When they arrive in Earth, Klax-Ar thinks Supergirl has made a stupid mistake until his vehicle malfunctions, and Kara explains their robots have been rendered inoperative by Earth's pollution.
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'':
** Ozymandias needs super-powerful Dr. Manhattan out of the picture in order to carry out his plan. To accomplish this, Ozymandias connives to induce cancer in several of Manhattan's associates, then arranges for him to appear on a live television talk show where a journalist will ambush him with the accusation of having ''caused'' the cancers. This predictably drives Manhattan (whose emotional connection to humanity had been weakening for years) to decide that life on Earth isn't worth the hassle and teleport to Mars.
** The Comedian's murder had already left Rorschach wondering whether someone was "gunning for masks" (i.e., planning to kill all the active and retired superheroes). When Dr. Manhattan is forced into exile, Rorschach recognizes that he was framed, and becomes ''convinced'' that a mask-killer is at work. He's wrong, but Ozymandias decides to encourage Rorschach's belief by making ''himself'' the next target. Through intermediaries, he hires an assassin to kill him, then evades the attack, disarms the assassin, and kills him in a way that looks like suicide. This not only convinces Nite Owl and the others that Rorschach is right, but also puts Ozymandias himself beyond suspicion. Later, Ozymandias contrives to have Rorschach arrested under circumstances that make ''him'' appear to be the mask-killer.
** In the end, Nite Owl and Rorschach discover that Ozymandias is responsible, but when they (along with Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre) confront him with the evidence, he reveals that his plot has averted World War III, and the others can't ever disclose what they know without jeopardizing the peace and possibly bringing about the destruction of all life on Earth. They are forced to help him cover up his crimes. It's also implied that Nite Owl and Rorschach only uncover the truth because Ozymandias has left the evidence for them to find on his office computer, protected only by a very weak password (and a user interface that actually ''tells'' them when they have a partial match and encourages them to keep guessing). By luring them to his Antarctic headquarters while Ozymandias's masterstroke is being carried out in New York, he ensures that they can't interfere with it (and, in fact, don't even know it's happening until too late).
* One of Tim's final acts in the ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'' before becoming Red Robin involves poisoning ComicBook/LadyShiva with a toxin that will only effect her with an elevated heart rate in preparation for a fight before Shiva has even challenged him.
* In ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'', Lobo attacks Atrocitus, trying to get the bounty on his head. The White Lantern Battery orders Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris, and Sinestro to help Atrocitus, so they do. After Lobo is driven off, the four of them vow to work together to find the missing emotional entities. Atrocitus hired Lobo to attack him in the first place and take a dive, in order to get the others to trust him. As payment, Lobo is given a Red Lantern Ring.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'':
** In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Batgirl needed to lure ''ComicBook/LexLuthor'' to Gotham City to "bring him, set him up, and take him down". So she announced that she'd allow him build a new factory in Gotham, knowing that Luthor's ego wouldn't let him miss a chance to go there and show his genius off. Her plan worked, but thanks to ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'''s help.
** ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'': In the crossover with the ''Night of Owls'', the Court of Owls forbids James Gordon from activating the Bat Signal in order to prove to the citizens of Gotham that there is nobody to rescue them. James, being James, refuses to cowed by their threats and activates the signal...which was what they wanted, since they knew he would never bow to their pressure and they had replaced the Bat-logo with the Owl symbol.
* ''ComicBook/{{Chlorophylle}}'': Zizanion, unable to attack Mithron because of his guards, delivers a message announcing he will make the palace blow up at midday. Bouclette, as a precaution to protect the king, has him immediatly moved to a different, more isolated castle in the country. Turns out this is exactly what Zizanion expected them to do, as it makes it easier for him to place the bomb in this more isolated and unguarded castle before Mithron arrives. Fortunately, their car ends up with a damaged tyre and they arrive too late, causing the castle to blow up without them inside.
* ComicBook/TheJoker, in his more serious interpretations, is immune to the Batman Gambit based simply on the fact that he is completely unpredictable. And moreover, that if he can be bothered, he's savvy enough to see through them. Worst of all is if Batman finds himself on the receiving end of a gambit orchestrated by the Joker, something writer Scott Snyder did heavily during the times he used the character in the New 52. After all, the Joker knows Batman just as well as the Bat knows him.
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' graphic novel, the premise is that Joker, somehow, gets out of Arkham through the front gate. It's suggested but never stated that he was legally released. Later, he intimates to the Riddler that this was a sham.
--->'''Joker''': "The best place to hide, Edward, is in sanity!"
* "Tower of Babel", the JLA story where Batman's files are revealed and even JLA: Year One, where [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn]] did much the same thing, by a period of time.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** This is the kind of planning that allows ComicBook/LexLuthor, with no superpowers, to be a threat to Superman nearly every time the two of them meet.
** A Pre-Crisis Superman story had Luthor falling in love, turning good, curing a deadly disease, marrying, and even allowing Superman to read his mind (with a machine) to convince his former foe that he'd changed- but it was all a trick; he erased his own memories of the plan and arranged it so that he ''genuinely'' believed he had reformed in order to lure Superman into an inescapable trap. His only error was that he had to make himself forget that ''he was already married'' (to an alien woman) for the plan to work... and Superman was aware of that.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', when Franchise/{{Superman}} shoves ComicBook/LexLuthor's robot into the ground, the mecha's head detaches from the body and blasts off. Superman flies after it and discovers that it is a decoy. Meanwhile, Lex gets away laughing loudly.
** Superman pulled one of these on ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, ''and himself'' in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton''. After rescuing ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} from being a Female Fury, Supes inducts her as an official hero and sort of parades her around Earth. Angered about losing his prize, Darkseid comes to Earth and seemingly vaporizes her with his Omega Beams. Superman goes apeshit over losing her and beats Darkseid to a pulp and seals him inside the Source Wall. Superman then meets with Supergirl, who used a device to teleport away at the last second, and reports that the plan was successful. They were able to goad Darkseid into coming to fight them personally, and the mere ''sight'' of Supergirl's seeming death was able to trigger Superman's UnstoppableRage so he could curb stomp Darkseid's ass. Batman muses that the plan had no input from him, it was all Clark, and it was brilliant.
** ''ComicBook/WarWorld'': Superman's plan to destroy the titular super-weapong was goading Mongul into firing at Supergirl and him until overloading Warworld's circuits.
--->'''Supergirl:''' Uh-Oh! Something tells me Mongul isn't kidding anymore!\\
'''Superman:''' Perfect! He's reacting exactly as I'd hoped he would!
** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'': A group of pirates raid a freighter to distract the Coast Guard. Meanwhile, the main body of their band captures a Government facility.
** ''ComicBook/TheThirdKryptonian'': As fighting Amalak's men off, Superman suddenly shouts "I have to protect Kandor" and flies off, knowing Amalak will think him stupid enough to give away the city's location, and give chase.
** In ''ComicBook/HelOnEarth'', [[WellIntentionedExtremist H'el]] was counting on ComicBook/{{Superboy}} to destroy most of his [[TimeMachine Star Chamber]] because he was actually destroying the fueling station for his ship and freed his ship from its launchpad, helping H'el in his plan to resurrect Krypton at the expense of Earth.
** ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': If you subscribe to the theory Lex Luthor is Leo Quintum, Superman allowed him to see the world through his eyes if only briefly to reform him.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman'', villain Xviar gaslights Superman into believing he's undergoing a psychotic break by chemically treating his Clark Kent suits so that they block off his powers. Xviar's trick convinces Superman that he needs to forfeit one of his dual identities, so he spends extended lengths of time out of his apartment, trying to find himself, as Xviar sets a trap to turn him into a ticking bomb. Xviar's scheme falls apart when Clark Kent is called as a witness in court. Being in a hurry, Superman picks a spare suit he keeps in his office, which hadn't been touched by Xviar, and finds out he still has powers as Clark Kent.
** ''ComicBook/SupermanUnchained'': Anticipating Wraith's species will soon invade Earth using the equation, Lex Luthor creates a syringe with synthetic solar energy that will transform whoever uses it into a solar bomb. He wants Superman to use it so that he can defeat the invaders and get himself killed in the process. Luthor does not anticipate, however, that Wraith would take the syringe and use it on himself.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'', Lucy Lane has a plan to lure Supergirl out and into a trap. First Lucy tricks Kara via false evidence into believing her friend Thara: is the titular villain; and helped Reatron murder her father. Then Lucy puts on her Superwoman suit and parades Reactron around Metropolis, goading a very emotional Kara into attacking them.
** Supergirl's specialty regarding Batman Gambits is using them to OutGambit villains' Batman Gambits.
** A double subversion occurs in a story from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. Supergirl encounters Black Flame, a woman who seems to be a super-powered Kryptonian, in the process of some rather destructive vandalism. The villainess claims she's from the distant future of the year 4000, and "invites" Supergirl to view her time using a computerized exhibition device. It shows the heroine a terrible future where Black Flame extorts wealth from thousands of worlds (as in, she can blow them to little pieces if they don't comply). Worst part: she's Supergirl’s direct descendent, "Supergirl XXV", and the citizens of this distant future despise the first one just as much for starting this hated family line. Supergirl is naturally very upset, and after pursuing numerous leads (she senses something fishy here) including visiting the bottled city of Kandor, and eventually decides to unearth a chuck of gold kryptonite, and use it to erase her own powers, eliminating the possibility she could pass them down to a descendant, in effect, making Black Flame RetGone. Then Black Flame appears with a cruel laugh, revealing her ''true'' identity, that of an assistant of a criminal from the Kandor who was interred in the Phantom Zone. Black Flame had set up the plan out of revenge, leaving Kandor and using something called Red-K to increase her size, then pulled the ruse ''hoping'' Supergirl would depower herself. After listening to the powerless heroine her beg a little, she shoves Supergirl into a pit of quicksand and watches her drown. Or so it seems. [[spoiler: Black Flame gets a big surprise as the Red-K wears off, shrinking herself to normal size, because Supergirl actually figured the plan out, and was [[OutGambit outgambitting her]] with her own BatmanGambit; now that she's shrunk, Supergirl grabs her, showing her the - fake - chuck of gold kryptonite and shoving her inside a make-up compact that holds a few minute grains of ''real'' gold kryptonite. As she ships the criminal back to Kandor, the last panel of the story shows the one flaw in Black Flame's plan - a cavity in her teeth with a dental filling that Supergirl noticed while investigating records in a Kandor dental clinic, something a superpowered descendant would not have,]]
** In another story, Mr. Mxyzptlk (well, a relative of his) commands everyone in the 40th century to believe Supergirl is a criminal. Supergirl is captured with Kryptonite, tried, and sentenced to have the word "OUTLAW" branded on her forehead. Afterwards Kara is marginalized, insulted and bullied until she cracks and decides that "[She's]] been branded an outlaw, so [she'll] be one!" just like Mxy had planned. Or rather, planned, but failed. Supergirl's act of rage was an act to fool him into revealing himself which he did.
** In the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, two villains tried to pull off separate Batman Gambits to defeat Supergirl:
*** ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' tries to use Supergirl's rage against her by taunting her into not holding back. As such, Dr. Veritas teleports them out of the Block to prevent their fight from damaging it. Once outside, Lobo calls his ship and flies to Supergirl's old apartment in New York, hoping to calm her down. He then tries to be friendly to her offering to mentor her so she can learn to control her rage. Big mistake. Supergirl has had it with people trying to manipulate her and gives him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
*** [[spoiler:Worldkiller-1]] had taken over the body of an alien warlord and wanted to steal Supergirl's body. However he couldn't destroy his host body. So he goaded Supergirl to use her EyeBeams on him until she reduced his body to ashes involuntarily.
** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2005 story arc]]'' "Girl Power", Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have to spot an imposter Supergirl. Superman hits both Supergirls, assuming that his real cousin will not retaliate. His plan fails because both girls fight back.
** In ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'', Supergirl, who has been captured by Harry Hokum, spits on his face while he is wondering what to do with her. As expected, Hokum gets so mad that he forgets about cutting her up on the spot, and orders she is dragged to a cell instead. On the way, Kara taunts his minion Splyce until the alien fires her solar blasts at her. Supergirl feels her cells recharging, but she pretends to pass out; and after being dumped into a cell, she breaks her handcuffs and makes her getaway.
** In ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'', villain Klax-Ar wants to find the Earth's location so he can use his weaponized sled to take over the world. Kara's blows seem ineffectual against his flying vehicle, which has been built from the remains from a broken-down Superboy Robot, so she pretends to flee in panic, knowing Klax-Ar follow her trail. When they arrive in Earth, Klax-Ar thinks Supergirl has made a stupid mistake until his vehicle malfunctions, and Kara explains their robots have been rendered inoperative by Earth's pollution.
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'':
** Ozymandias needs super-powerful Dr. Manhattan out of the picture in order to carry out his plan. To accomplish this, Ozymandias connives to induce cancer in several of Manhattan's associates, then arranges for him to appear on a live television talk show where a journalist will ambush him with the accusation of having ''caused'' the cancers. This predictably drives Manhattan (whose emotional connection to humanity had been weakening for years) to decide that life on Earth isn't worth the hassle and teleport to Mars.
** The Comedian's murder had already left Rorschach wondering whether someone was "gunning for masks" (i.e., planning to kill all the active and retired superheroes). When Dr. Manhattan is forced into exile, Rorschach recognizes that he was framed, and becomes ''convinced'' that a mask-killer is at work. He's wrong, but Ozymandias decides to encourage Rorschach's belief by making ''himself'' the next target. Through intermediaries, he hires an assassin to kill him, then evades the attack, disarms the assassin, and kills him in a way that looks like suicide. This not only convinces Nite Owl and the others that Rorschach is right, but also puts Ozymandias himself beyond suspicion. Later, Ozymandias contrives to have Rorschach arrested under circumstances that make ''him'' appear to be the mask-killer.
** In the end, Nite Owl and Rorschach discover that Ozymandias is responsible, but when they (along with Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre) confront him with the evidence, he reveals that his plot has averted World War III, and the others can't ever disclose what they know without jeopardizing the peace and possibly bringing about the destruction of all life on Earth. They are forced to help him cover up his crimes. It's also implied that Nite Owl and Rorschach only uncover the truth because Ozymandias has left the evidence for them to find on his office computer, protected only by a very weak password (and a user interface that actually ''tells'' them when they have a partial match and encourages them to keep guessing). By luring them to his Antarctic headquarters while Ozymandias's masterstroke is being carried out in New York, he ensures that they can't interfere with it (and, in fact, don't even know it's happening until too late).
* One of Tim's final acts in the ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'' before becoming Red Robin involves poisoning ComicBook/LadyShiva with a toxin that will only effect her with an elevated heart rate in preparation for a fight before Shiva has even challenged him.
* In ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'', Lobo attacks Atrocitus, trying to get the bounty on his head. The White Lantern Battery orders Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris, and Sinestro to help Atrocitus, so they do. After Lobo is driven off, the four of them vow to work together to find the missing emotional entities. Atrocitus hired Lobo to attack him in the first place and take a dive, in order to get the others to trust him. As payment, Lobo is given a Red Lantern Ring.
