History Main / BaitAndSwitchGunshot

Someone is pointing a gun at our hero. Our hero is rooted to the spot, either trying to talk to the gunman or frozen with fear. The gunman points without shooting for a while, then BANG! there is a loud gunshot. The hero jerks in fearful anticipation and a few seconds pass before they realise - they aren't hurt at all.

One of six things happens then:

Not to be confused with StagedShooting, which is generally where both the shooter and the target are acting to make non-lethal ammo look real. See also FramedForHeroism. If the person doing the shooting in instance (1) is actually the hero, then we have a case where the villain Thought They Won A Gunfight - Thought Wrong.

* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 2'', Max interposes himself between Mona and Winterson, both of whom are about to attempt to kill the other. A gun goes off, and for a moment it's unclear who fired their gun at whom - only to reveal that Max has shot Winterson to protect Mona.

* A variation occurs in the Pixar film ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'': As Lightning [=McQueen=] races blindly down the road towards what turns out to be Radiator Springs and not the interstate, the Sheriff chases after him. As this happens, what sounds like gunshots are heard, leading [=McQueen=] to believe that the Sheriff is shooting at him. It turns out that the noises are actually being caused by the Sheriff's tailpipe backfiring, as he hasn't gone so fast in years.

* Near the end of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'', in it's DarkestHour, after the Japanese pulls an AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs and your titular character is about to be executed, cue a gunshot as the screen turns black. But then it's revealed that your supposed rival, Colonel Matsumoto, has fired a shot saving your life by gunning down the soldier about to execute you. And then you learn the truth that Matsumoto pulled a DefectorFromDecadence by betraying the Japanese after receiving orders to massacre a village.

* A version of this is done with a sword in ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh''. [[spoiler:During the period when Conrad is pretending to be a traitor, Yuri is captured, tied up, and presented to Conrad to kill. Conrad takes the sword, walks up to Yuri, and then there's a swish as the sword is swung... only to show that Yuri's bindings have been slashed through and Conrad is taking down the guards around them.]]

'''Brian:''' ''[]'' That's... better.

** Occurs in the episode ''And Then There Were Fewer'' when [[spoiler: Diane Simmons, the murderer of James Woods and several others, is about to shoot Lois at the edge of a cliff. A gunshot is heard, but instead Diane was shot by Stewie from a distance.]]
** Also used in the episode "Lois Kills Stewie." [[spoiler: Stewie has Lois pushed to the floor and is about to shoot her with a shotgun. We see Lois flinch, but then we find out that Stewie had been shot from behind by Peter instead.]]

'''Brian:''' That's... better?

* Done in ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' during one of the Queen Berry episodes.

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'':

* Underplayed at the end of ''Anime/{{Patlabor}} 2'': Shinobu confronts the BigBad with a shotgun. She points it at him and does a DramaticGunCock, but then just fires a flare shell in the air to signal the others.
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' Season II episode 9 ends with a SmashToBlack and a gunshot. Episode 10 reveals what happened.

* ''Series/{{UFO}}'' episode "ESP". John Croxley lures Ed Straker and Alec Freeman to the ruins of his house with the intent of killing them. While he's pointing a gun at them two shots ring out - and Croxley crumples to the ground, dead. Paul Foster appears behind Croxley holding a gun. He heard Croxley threatening Straker and Freeman and shot him to save their lives.

* After Wrestling/VinceMcMahon fired Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Austin then kidnapped a wheelchair-bound Vince and dragged him to the middle of the ring. He then decided to shoot him only for the gun to be revealed to be a toy gun with a [[Main/BANGFlagGun flag]] saying "Bang 3:16".

* ''[[Film/TheWildGeese Wild Geese II]]''. Scott Glenn's character is walking through the forest with a girl while a man with a scoped rifle takes aim...and shoots a boar. This CatScare gives a plot excuse for the subsequent CoitusEnsues moment.

* ''[[Film/TheWildGeese Wild Geese II]]''. Scott Glenn's character is walking through the forest with TheChick while a man with a scoped rifle takes aim...and shoots a boar. This CatScare gives a plot excuse for the subsequent CoitusEnsues moment.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1494593944092631900
%% Image kept on page per IP thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1565070630041363000
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

* In William King's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''Literature/SpaceWolf'', the Chaos Space Marine is facing Ragnor, who can not move under a spell. He hears a shot. Then he realizes he wasn't hit, and that Strybjorn must have regained consciousness and shot the Chaos SpaceMarine.
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''Dead Sky Black Sun'', when Uriel and Pasanius are facing the Iron Warriors and Uriel goes down, he hears shots and wonders why he is not dead. [[spoiler:Then he realizes that the Unfleshed have reached them.]]
* Played with in the ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' books, where Thursday uses a ''literal'' plot device, labelled "A shot rang out", to this effect.

* Non-firearm example: The last chapter of ''Literature/DarklyDreamingDexter'' ends with the line "And the knife came down". The epilogue takes place at a funeral. At first it's made to seem as if [[spoiler:Dexter's sister Deb]] was the victim, but in fact it's revealed to be [[spoiler: Detective [=LaGuerta=]]].

* In ''Skeleton Key'', the third ''Literature/AlexRider'' novel, the climax has the BigBad General Alexei Sarov standing over [[TheHero Alex]] with a gun. He has him dead to rights, and the chapter simply concludes with Sarov saying "Good-bye, Alex", and the narration reading "He raised the gun and fired a single shot." In the next chapter, we learn that [[spoiler: Sarov actually committed suicide. That single shot was fired straight into his own heart]].
** The first book, ''Stormbreaker'', also does this. Herod Sayle has Alex cornered on the roof and has him at gunpoint, and the narration says "There were two explosive cracks." But it's Sayle who falls over dead, shot by [[spoiler:Yassen]].
** We get another instance of this in the seventh book, ''Snakehead''. Anan Sukit has a gun pointed at Alex, trying to escape a fighting ring on a boat, and three shots are fired. Sukit drops his gun into the water, then falls over, three bullets in his back courtesy of [[spoiler:Ben Daniels (aka Fox from ''Stormbreaker'')]].
** Finally, the last book, ''Scorpia Rising'', features this trope in its climax, after Alex and Julius ([[spoiler:the Dr. Grief clone from ''Point Blanc'' given surgery to look exactly like Alex]]) have engaged in a chase-slash-gunfight through the streets of Cairo. After confronting an injured Julius (hit by a taxi), Alex goes to walk away, but notices Julius scrambling for his gun. The chapter ends on these two lines:
--->''Julius fired a single shot.\\
[[spoiler:But Alex fired first.]]''

* ''Literature/JoePickett'': Happens in ''Below Zero''. A wounded April is lying next to a wrecked car when the trio of hitman brothers who are chasing Robert show up. When she says she doesn't know where Robert has gone, one of the three lifts his gun and aims it at her. She shuts her eyes and hears a gunshot. When she realises she is not dead, she opens her eyes in time to see the hitman fall over with a hole in his head, having been shot by Nate who has just arrived.
* ''Literature/BoredOfTheRings'' does this without firearms, when Karsh is about to subject Moxie and Pepsi to a little ColdBloodedTorture:
-->"Ho ho!" chortled the narc as he stood over Moxie like some housewife sizing up a kielbasa. He raised the flaming iron and Moxie screeched at the sound of a blow. But when he opened his eyes again, his torturer was still standing above him, looking oddly different in expression. It was then that the boggie noticed that his head was missing. The body collapsed like a punctured whoopee cushion, and over it, triumphant, was the leering figure of Goulash.
* Done InSpace in ''[[Literature/ToTheStars Starworld]]'', by Creator/HarryHarrison. After an apparent HopeSpot where the Earth fleet has been decisively defeated, the rebels are shocked to find several battleships waiting in Earth's orbit, and their admiral reveals they've been LuredIntoATrap. As there's NoKillLikeOverkill, missiles are also launched from Earth to help finish off the rebel fleet... only for them to strike the battleships.
* Then there's arguably the climatic moment in ''[[Literature/TheHungerGames Mockingjay]]'' when [[spoiler:Katniss shoots Coin instead of Snow.]]
* In Jason Matthews's ''Literature/RedSparrow'', [[spoiler:in the middle of the exchange of Dominika for Korchnoi, a sniper is perched on the Russian side of the bridge, described to be setting her sights on Dominika. When the sniper shoots, it's revealed that her intended target was Korchnoi, who gets killed after Dominika has crossed back to Russia and right before he reaches Gable, Nate and Benford]].
* In one of his early short stories, Literature/{{Biggles}} was on the receiving end of a variant of Type 2. Through a series of unfortunate misunderstandings Biggles came to the conclusion that a pilot from another squadron was a German spy and was pursuing him in his own fighter, when the other plane swung around and opened fire... on a German aircraft that was on the verge of getting the drop on Biggles, who had been getting ready to open up with his own guns lest the 'spy' get away with valuable intelligence.
* ''[[Literature/FelseInvestigates The Piper on the Mountain]]'' by Creator/EllisPeters: At the climax, Dominic is forced to watch helplessly as the murderer maneuvres into position to kill the title character. A shot rings out... and the murderer crumples to the ground, felled by TheCavalry.

* The Korean series, 3 Days, has this trope. Bad guy is about to kill the president, when the main character shows up behind him with a gun. Main character struggles to make decision as bad guy is his mentor. There is a gunshot and after a commercial break it is revealed main character was the shooter.
* In ''Series/BabylonBerlin'' Moritz comes across [[spoiler:Bruno's]] supremely illegal army-grade weapons stockpile in the cellar. [[spoiler:Bruno]] catches him. Then [[spoiler:he]] grabs a sniper rifle and leads the boy out into a deserted compound next to the house, where [[spoiler:he]] orders him to walk several paces out in front... [[spoiler:to lay out a couple of cabbages for Moritz to innocently practice targets on, while Bruno quietly gets back to relocating the rest of the guns]].
* Subverted, inverted and then averted in a sketch of a 1970s German slapstick comedy show. There, a thief threatens a passerby, claiming that he trains a gun at him in his trenchcoat pocket. The passerby, however, sneers that he knows that it's only his index finger. Suddenly then, a shot rips out of it, killing the passerby instantly. The thief, however, quite shocked himself, quickly pulls his hand out of the pocket (he had indeed ''mimed'' a gun the whole time) and blows madly at his churned, smoking index finger.
* ''{{Series/Bones}}'': Booth and Brennan get a call from Aubrey that shots were fired when Sweets tried to serve a warrant on one of the guys who framed Booth for murder. They, and the viewers, expect to see a wounded Sweets, but it was actually Sweets who fired the shot and wounded his attacker. Sadly, they hit him in the stomach with something large in the process, and he is fatally wounded by the blow.
* Used in the last two episodes of ''Series/BurnNotice''. Sonya threatens to shoot Fi if Michael doesn't shoot her. A gunshot rings out, and in the next episode it's revealed that Michael shot Sonya in the back.
* Done repeatedly to death, flipped over and done again every two hours in ''Series/TwentyFour''. Usually with Jack Bauer doing the shooting.

* In ''Series/CimarronStrip'', Marshal Crown is cornered at gunpoint by the wanted criminal Ace Coffin. All of a sudden, Coffin is [[InTheBack shot from behind]] by [[spoiler: Screamer]].

%%** Also done in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E2TheMindOfEvil The Mind of Evil]]".

* In ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'' Season 1 finale, a gunshot rings out just as the Reverse-Flash is about to kill Barry making it appear someone shot him in the back. [[spoiler: It was actually Eddie committing HeroicSuicide... which [[SubvertedTrope has the same effect anyway]]]].
* ''Series/AmazingRace'' Canada had a variation during a detour requiring teams to compete in trap shooting (use a shotgun to hit clay targets launched in the air). The final two teams are racing to compete the challenge so they can avoid elimination. They are both shown needing one more successful hit and the footage alternates between the two shooters getting ready. The camera than cuts away, we hear a shot and the sound of a target breaking and the show goes to commercial before we get to see which team hit the target and completed the challenge first.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
** Season 1 episode 6: A corrupt ESU sniper on Fisk's payroll positions himself on a rooftop across the street from an abandoned building where Matt is holed up with Vladimir. Upon getting the green light from James Wesley, we see him aim through the sniper scope at Ben Urich, standing down below. He fires...and hits Detective Blake, who he's been paid to eliminate because Blake is a liability to Fisk after Matt stole information on the Russians from him. Then he guns down two uniformed cops to make Blake look like the victim of a random attack.
** Season 3 episode 10: The entire episode builds up to one. Dex, sent by Fisk to kill Karen as revenge for her killing James Wesley, corners Karen in the Clinton Church while Father Lantom is doing evening mass. After temporarily incapacitating Matt, [[MythologyGag he seems about ready to kill her with one of his batons just like he did in "Guardian Devil"]]. We get an extreme close-up of Karen's face as she closes her eyes and prepares to embrace her imminent death. Dex throws the baton, we hear the sound of it impacting flesh, Karen gasps and her eyes widen...and the camera pulls back to reveal the baton sticking out of [[spoiler:Father Lantom]] standing next to her.
* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': At Piranha Jones's party, Piranha waves a gun and prepares to shoot Luke for fun. He points the gun at Luke, and a gunshot occurs... from Bushmaster's men launching an armed attack on the party (this same man had been earlier seen by Luke hanging out in the crowd a few minutes before the attack).
* ''Series/KnotsLanding'': In the SeriesFinale "Just Like Old Times", Nigel Treadwell points a gun at Nick. A shot is heard. Treadwell falls over dead. It turns out that Vanessa shot him while he had his back to her.
* ''Series/DeadMansGun'': In "The Impostor", Leo is confronted by outlaw Wild Joe Tate, who knows that Leo is not the real John Hayes. Hayes takes the gun off Leo and is about to shoot Leo with it. There is a gunshot, and then Tate topples forward. The camera then pans up to show SoiledDove Angela standing on the stairs holding a derringer.
* ''Series/JakeAndTheFatman'': In "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan", the killer has the drop on Jake. There is a close-up on Jake and the sound of a gunshot. The camera then cuts to the killer who is stand with his gun in hand. He then topples forward, revealing [=McCabe=] standing at the end of the corridor with a smoking gun in his hand.

* Happens all the time in team first person shooters like ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' or ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' when you find yourself staring down the barrel of an opposing player's gun just to see them get head shot by one of your allies before you can react.
* In the original ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' and it's sequel on the NES, at the end of the first level, Ryu would invariably meet with a character holding a gun. In the first game, he gets shot (though it later turns out to be a tranquilizer bullet). In the second game, however, the shot strikes the monstrous boss he just defeated moments before, who was attempting a deadly final attack on the ninja's back.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** A variation ([[spoiler:involving a blank]]) is one of the possible outcomes of the duel near the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''.
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' Mantis [[spoiler: demonstrates her PeoplePuppets power by forcing Meryl to put a gun to her head. The camera pans away, and you hear a gunshot. Then the camera change to reveal that Johnny just arrived and shot Mantis to save Meryl.]]
*** Used again in the end, where Solid Snake [[spoiler: decides to [[AteHisGun eat his gun]]. He loads the pistol and puts it to his mouth before the camera pans upward to the sky. A gunshot is heard before fading away from the scene.]] TheStinger, however reveals [[spoiler: that he chickened out and shot the ground instead]]

* In the ending of ''Dead Connection'', the protagonists are held at gunpoint by the Mafia boss. A gunshot rings out, before the screen changes to reveal that he was shot dead, by a woman whose fiancee had been killed earlier in the game.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the party is imprisoned due to their connection to Barret after a man with a gun on his arm ([[spoiler:actually Dyne]]) slaughters a bunch of people. When the party confronts Barret, he tells them to leave, aims his gun, fires... and hits a spy who followed them in.
* Sazh in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is so devastated when he finds out [[spoiler: Vanille caused his son Daj to become a l'Cie and, by extension, a crystal]] that he puts a gun to his head. The screen goes black, a gunshot is heard and in the next scene he's transported off in what looks like a futuristic glass coffin. It's later revealed he [[spoiler: couldn't do it, fired into a wall and then got knocked unconscious in a fight]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', a flashback shows [[spoiler: Joshua seemingly shooting and killing Neku.]] A later version of the same flashback reveals that [[spoiler: Joshua actually shot, but did not kill, Minamimoto, who was standing behind Neku, and who then apparently shot and killed Neku.]] At the end of the game, though, [[spoiler: the same flashback is shown...but this time, it's revealed that Minamimoto actually shot back at Joshua, who simply time-stopped the bullets. Minamimoto then fled, and Joshua shot and killed Neku for real.]]

* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', [[spoiler:when Kerrigan break Raynor out of his prison, he was furious that Kerrigan was infested again (in which she did it by her own volition). She prompted PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou by pointing his revolver on her head, in which Raynor fire the gun but only fired at the wall. He misfired as he knew that she is important in a prophecy to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.]]
* In a flashback in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga 2'', [[spoiler:Heat O'Brien]] points a gun at [[spoiler:Serph Sheffield]] when the latter approves of an experiment that would most likely kill [[spoiler:Sera]], but [[spoiler:the real Argilla]] shoots [[spoiler:O'Brien]] before he can do anything.

* A variation occurs in the Donald Duck cartoon "WesternAnimation/DonaldsCrime". Donald is made to feel so guilty about robbing his nephews' piggy bank that he feels like a criminal. At one point, he thinks he's being fired at when he hears what sounds like a gunshot, but it's actually some lightbulbs dropped by a cat rummaging through a garbage can.

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': We see Captain America through a telescopic sight, then the sight moves to a HYDRA soldier who's about to shoot him, who's then shot by the sniper, revealed to be Bucky Barnes.
* ''Film/NightOfTheComet''. Reg and Sam are tied up back-to-back, with Willy playing "Scary Noises" (the sounds of the revolver's hammer clicking on empty chambers) while the rest of the stockboys enjoy the game. With one bullet left in the gun, Willy points it at Reg's forehead....and multiple shots ring out, taking out Willy and the gang of stockboys. Reg and Sam have been rescued by the scientists from the desert think-tank.
* ''Film/IShotJesseJames'': During one of their nighttime prospecting jobs, Soapy and Bob sit around a campfire to eat their meal. Suddenly, Bob pulls his gun on Soapy and stares intensely before firing at him. Turns out he was actually shooting a mountain lion that had appeared right behind Soapy. Also an example of {{Stab The Scorpion}}
* In ''Film/TheManWhoShotLibertyValance'', this ends up [[spoiler: being the twist in the movie.]] Ransom is being shot at by the titular Liberty Valance out in the street. Ransom has his gun out at the time and appears to have fired when Liberty Valance is shot and drops dead. Ransom is hailed as a hero, [[spoiler: but in reality, Tom, who was nearby, was the one who pulled the shot. He goes to his grave only telling Ransom the truth about what had happened that day, and when Ransom later tells that to a reporter years later, they decide not to reveal it.]]
* In ''[[Series/DavyCrockett Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier]]'', as Davy gains the upper hand in a fistfight against Bigfoot Mason, a member of Bigfoot's gang aims his rifle at him while his back is turned. A gunshot is heard, but it then turns out that Charlie Two-Shirts shot Davy's would-be assassin with his own rifle.
* ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'': Ilsa Faust is brought to the Big Bad, who holds out a gun and shoots . . . only to strike the Mook standing behind her. Bonus points in that Faust and said Mook jerk in response together before the Reveal.
** Ruthlessly mocked by ''WebVideo/CinemaSins'': "'Bad guy acts like he's gonna kill one person, then ends up killing a completely different person as a surprise' cliche. Either that, or his aim is really that bad".
* Hilariously subverted in ''Film/AnimalHouse''. Bluto and D-Day give Flounder a gun to shoot Neidermeyer's horse in the Dean's office, and the two are assured that the gun is filled with blanks. Flounder, not having the heart to kill the animal, aims the gun to the ceiling and shoots. The horse suffers a heart attack and dies, and when Bluto and D-Day hear the ungodly thump of the horse dropping to the ground, they panic, wondering whether or not the gun actually had blanks in it.
* At the climax of ''Film/RedSparrow'', [[PrisonerExchange Dominika is being traded back to Russia]] in exchange for TheMole going to America. Nate says [[ExactWords the mole will never make it across the tarmac alive]], and indeed we're shown a Russian sniper lining up on the tarmac. The sight picture shows Dominika ([[spoiler:who at this point is ''also'' a mole for the Americans]]), [[spoiler:but then Uncle Vanya, whom Dominika framed, gets a BoomHeadshot instead]].
* ''Film/FortyGuns'': Savage has lured Griff into an ambush. He has him in his gun sights. There is a shot, and Savage slumps forward, having been shot by Chico who has returned unexpectedly.
* ''Film/{{Sunset}}'': At the end of the fight on the pier, Alfie has seized the gun and drawn a bead on Tom Mix. There is a shot and, after a second, Alfie topples forward and Wyatt walks into sight, Peacemaker in hand.
* ''Film/TheArtist'' has a clever play on this in the climax, owing to its nature as a SilentMovie. [[spoiler:George, reaching his DespairEventHorizon, [[DrivenToSuicide is shown putting]] [[AteHisGun a gun to his mouth]], and just as the tension escalates, SmashCut to a TitleCard reading "BANG!"... which then immediately cuts to Peppy outside his house, having crashed her car [[InterruptedSuicide on her way to stop him]].]]
* ''Film/JohnnyReno'': One of Yates men is on the roof and gets a bead on Reno as he leaves the sheriff's office. There is a shot, and then the rifleman tumbles from the roof. The shot came from Sheriff Hodges, who has decided to come down on Reno's side once and for all.
* At the end of ''Film/TheFinal'', [[spoiler:Dane]] has shot [[spoiler:Kurtis]] and is standing over him, preparing to finish him off. There is a gunshot and [[spoiler:Dane]] falls over, revealing that [[spoiler:Emily]] has shot him.
* ''{{Film/Widows}}'': Veronica is seemingly shot by [[spoiler:her husband Harry, returning to steal after having faked his death]], but in his underestimating of her, he missed her drawing and firing her gun first.
* ''Film/TheMountie'': By holding Cleora at gunpoint, Pachek forces Grayling to reveal himself and drop his weapon. Pachek levels his gun at Grayling and starts squeezing the trigger. A shot rings out. [[spoiler:And Pachek falls dead as the camera pans to reveal that Robert Johnson has arrived just in time to save Grayling's life.]]
* ''Film/TheGentlemen'': [[spoiler:A rather lengthy one. The film opens with Mickey sitting in his pup when a hitman appears behind him. There is a shot and the viewer sees Mickey's table and his drink splattered with blood. [[HowWeGotHere Much later]], it's revealed that Ray had entered behind the hitman and shot him as he drew on Mickey, the blood on the table being the hitman's.]]
* In ''Film/BlondeSavage'', Blake is in the lawyer's office, watching to see if Harper leaves the police station and planning to shoot him if he does. Harper exits the station, and there is shot and he falls over. The lawyer looks at Blake and the remarks that Blake didn't shoot. Blake is equally confused as to what just happened, but when they get outside they learn that Harper had been attempting to escape and had been shot by the Inspector from inside.
* ''Film/BlackAngelVol1'': While Zill is beating up one of Nogi's thugs, the man's partner arrives and pulls a gun on him. As it looks he is about shoot Zill, there is a gunshot. The camera pulls out to reveal that Ikko has arrived and just the guy on the floor, cowing the one with the gun into dropping it.
* ''Film/SirArthurConanDoylesSherlockHolmes'': After his mechanical dragon crashes, the BigBad crawls out of the wreckage. Watson goes to help him, but the villain pulls a gun on him. He is about to fire and there is the sound of a shot, and the villain slumps forward; having been shot by Sherlock who has just landed by parachute behind him.
* ''Film/DeathRidesAHorse'': After Bill and Ryan take down their mutual enemies, Ryan allows Bill to kill him for his involvement in the murder of Bill's family. However, due to Ryan's assistance and the fact that he didn't actually participate, Bill shoots an outlaw about to kill him instead.
* ''Film/DarkHeritage'' ends with Clint and Mr. Daniels pointing guns at each other. Daniels comments that this has to end and there is a gunshot. Then Daniels topples forward to reveal his wife standing behind him holding a smoking gun.
* ''Film/Piggy2022'': At the end, Sara [[spoiler:kills the man who abducted her bullies (and killed one of them). The survivors ask her to untie her but one of them calls her "Piggy". Sara points the shotgun toward the girls and shoots... at the chains holding them up, choosing to let them live.]] Then she walks away.
* In ''Film/TheLastRitesOfRansomPride'', Early Pride is standing over Juliette with a gun in his hand. after they finish their QuoteToQuoteCombat, he levels it at her. There is a shot and the screen goes black. [[spoiler:When the film resumes, Juliette awakens in the Pride's house, and Champ reveals that he shot his father to save her.]]

* Twice in ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' "Intoccabile Acte II". [[spoiler:The first time a mook is firing into three small waterfalls where Kirika may be hiding; as he turns to face the third waterfall a shot rings out, which turns out to be Kirika firing first. And when the Intoccabile appears to have stabbed Mirielle, it turns out that Kirika has shot her blade in half]].

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'':
** In the penultimate episode, when Johan cannot sufficiently motivate [[AllLovingHero Dr. Tenma]] to shoot him and finish what he started (and therefore manage to [[spoiler:achieve the perfect suicide while proving Tenma's worldview that "all lives are equal" to be wrong]]), he [[WouldHurtAChild points a gun at Wim Knaup, a boy that had followed Tenma to the grounds of the confrontation]]. Tenma, driven to extreme desperation, prepares to go through with the act to save Wim's life, and soon after, a gunshot rings out [[spoiler:and Johan collapses with another bloody exit wound in his head]]. The audience is initially led to believe that Tenma pulled the trigger by the reactions of Nina, Rudi Gillen and Tenma himself, but it turns out that it was [[spoiler:Wim's drunk father, who happened upon the scene and saw "the devil" threatening his child]].
** Another example occurs in [[EvasiveFightThreadEpisode the episode]] preceding that one, where [[spoiler:Roberto]] seemingly has Inspector Lunge at his mercy after shooting him in the shoulder, and prepares to deliver the ''coup de grâce''. A gunshot is heard as the footage cuts to the outside of the hotel they are in ... only for it to later be revealed that Lunge had a second concealed pistol that he used to shoot [[spoiler:Roberto]], who is now lying on the bed momentarily stunned.
* In the finale of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', [[spoiler:ZAFT Chairman Gilbert Durandal]] is confronted by not one but two gunmen, [[spoiler:Kira Yamato and his former lover Talia Gladys]]. A shot rings out, and it turns out neither of them shot him. His killer is [[spoiler:Rey Za Burrel, a clone who he'd been a father figure to. '''Everybody''' betrayed Gilbert, but due to the way the series was handled, it usually comes with little or no explanation.]]
* A version of this is done with a sword in ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh''. [[spoiler:During the period when Conrad is pretending to be a traitor, Yuri is captured, tied up, and presented to Conrad to kill. Conrad takes the sword, walks up to Yuri, and then there's a swish as the sword is swung... only to show that Yuri's bindings have been slashed through and Conrad is taking down the guards around them.]]

* In ''Anime/AngelCop'', Angel's first act on camera is to save Raiden in a BaitAndSwitchGunshot scene.
* Done in ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' during one of the Queen Berry episodes.

* One episode of the ''Manga/BlackLagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail'' OVA ends with Roberta about to shoot [[spoiler:Garcia, having convinced herself he's just a hallucination]], and cuts away just as she fires. The next episode reveals that the American troops she's been battling throughout the OVA arrived just in the nick of time, and she turned and shot one of them instead.
* At one point in ''Manga/DeathNote'', Soichiro is alone in a car with Light and Misa and pulls a gun on the former, accusing him of being Kira. Misa screams at Soichiro to stop, a gunshot is heard, we cut to commercials... and when we cut back it's revealed that Soichiro missed on purpose. Apparently, his belief was that if Light really was Kira, he would have caused him to die of a heart attack before he could fire[[note]]Soichiro didn't know about the Death Note at that point[[/note]], and the fact he didn't do that helps convince Soichiro that his son is innocent.
* Underplayed at the end of ''Anime/{{Patlabor}} 2'': Shinobu confronts the BigBad with a shotgun. She points it at him and does a DramaticGunCock, but then just fires a flare shell in the air to signal the others.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** Played with in ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]''. As Dio approaches after revealing his vampirism, Jonathan is urged to shoot him, but can't bring himself to pull the trigger. A gunshot goes off, and it's revealed Speedwagon was the one to fire on Dio, with Jonathan beside him, still shaking.
** In ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'', [[TomesOfProphecyAndFate Thoth]] predicts that [[TheProtagonist Jotaro]] will end up getting shot by Hol Horse's FightingSpirit, Emperor. However, the book ''itself'' ends up getting shot, and after the bullets tear through its pages, it shoots Hol Horse in the face as well.

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' #12, right after Nightcrawler saves Colonel Wraith, the mutant-hating head of Weapon X, from an exploding helicopter, Wraith pulls out a gun to shoot him. The next panel shows a gun being fired, and in the next three, it becomes clear that Wraith was gunned down by Nick Fury, who had arrived with hundreds of SHIELD agents.
** ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': One of the Skull Serpents was about to kill Terry. O'Reilly saved him in the nick of time.

* In the DeathWorld of ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'', ComicBook/NickFury's reduced to an [[GoMadFromTheRevelation insane survivalist]] with a LackOfEmpathy. After beating up Philip Sheldon, he pulls a gun on him and pulls the trigger only for it to be revealed he was saving him from a ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind by a rabid dog.

** Inverted in ''ComicBook/GothamCentral'', when Joker escapes custody and steals a handgun in Central precinct, he corners Stacy and prepares to shoot her, saying "Kiss kiss" followed by the ''Bang Bang'' sound effect... Of Captain Sawyer shooting him.
** Speaking of which, there's also the Joker's BangFlagGun which at first plays this trope straight by (seemingly) being a prop, then subverts this trope by actually being a lethal spear gun, with the flag acting as the spear.
* A rare reversal of the Hero's and Villain's roles occurs in ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead''. Rick is about to finish off [[spoiler: Negan]], delivers his PreMortemOneLiner, and there's a full 2-page spread of the "Blam!" The next page reveals that Rick's gun has been [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands Blasted Out Of His Hand.]]
* ''ComicBook/ButtonMan'': After Harry blackmails Senator Jacklin, his former handler Cora offers to run away with Harry after she already tried to have him killed. When he tells her to go to hell, she prepares to shoot him, but the Senator shoots her first to protect his own interests.
* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': When Lord Parsifal and his Knights of Justice visit the impregnable castle Altenberg to persuade the Knights of Light to rid themselves of their corrupt leadership, the commander in charge of the castle orders his soldiers to kill Parsifal with crossbow bolts despite the high priest having granted Parsifal safe passage. His soldiers fire on their commander instead.

* In ''ComicBook/CombatKellyAndHisDeadlyDozen'' #4, TheNeidermeyer Captain Conner is about to execute ComicBook/NickFury and 'Combat' Kelly on trumped up charges of mutiny. He levels his rifles at the pair, and there is close-up panel of a rifle barrel firing. Then there is a panel of Conner pitching forward and the reader discovers that the shot was actually a LastBreathBullet from 'Bullseye' Miller.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', Indy gets cornered in Marion's bar by a Nepalese thug, and a gunshot is heard. Indy jumps and grabs for his stomach, only to find no bullet. The thug slowly lowers his gun, some blood trickles from his mouth, and he falls to reveal Marion behind him with a smoking gun.

* ''Film/{{Ajami}}'': The first time we see the drug deal, early in the film, the scene cuts away after the gunshot in such a way that it seems that Dando has just shot Malek. When the scene is shown again at the end, it reveals that instead of Dando shooting Malek, it was actually young Nasri, with his brother's gun, shooting Dando square in the chest.
* Done to the letter in ''Film/TheThirteenthFloor''. The good girl is running away from her mad husband from the future (don't ask), and finds herself in a wide open space with nowhere to go. Said husband lifts his gun and she closes her eyes, ready for the worst. The camera stays on her, there is a bang and she shudders - but a second later she opens her eyes, and we see the husband has been shot by another good guy instead.
* ''Film/KillerAngels'' has an example without any deaths. When hitman Michael is assigned to kill Yau-li, the secret agent investigating him, despite the fact that Michael is InLoveWithTheMark, Yau turns around allowing Michael to finish her off. Cue gunshot... and Michael had actually shot himself in the arm.

* Done in ''Film/TheLookout'' when Lewis (who is blind) is being held at gunpoint by Bone; the gunshot is Chris killing Bone, and Lewis wonders out loud if he's dead.
* A Type B example in ''Film/UndercoverBrother''. The villainess White She Devil is pointing a gun at the two heroes, with one of her thugs standing on each side of them. WSD fires two shots - and the thugs fall dead. It turns out she fell in love with Undercover Brother while seducing him to her side.
* In ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone'', Maritza Petrovich and her Nazi minions are guarding the two heroes. The heroes try to attack them and Maritza fires her submachine gun - killing the two guards. She explains that she's a plant in the Nazi organization.
* ''Film/BabylonAD'' has a particularly effective one. [[spoiler:Vin Diesel's character is hit by fighter drones while escorting Aurora and Sister Rebecca across the Bering Strait. His 'friend' Finn decides to take Aurora for himself, believing she's a priceless viral weapon. When Sister Rebecca objects he says matter-of-factly: "''You'', I don't need." A shot then rings out...and Finn falls dead, revealing the NotQuiteDead Vin Diesel holding a pistol. The scene works because Rebecca is not a main character, and thus more likely to get shot -- she does in fact get killed later on.]]
* Shows up in ''Film/TheMummyReturns''. Granted, no savvy viewer should fall for that one, since not only is the false shooter a random mook aiming for a major character, but he's also going for a point-blank shot through the chest(which tends to make its victim do something a bit less subtle than look shocked). Also, trailers show that main character would participate in the big battle which hadn't happened yet.
* ''Film/Ronin1998'' plays the "thought he was dead" variation with Jean Reno's character rescuing Robert de Niro's.

* In ''Film/SixteenBlocks'', whether the gunshot is false or real is the key difference between the two endings.
* ''Film/EscapeToAthena'' (1979). After LaResistance seize the submarine refueling depot, a machine gun is seen swivelling menacingly towards the heroes, but when it fires it kills a German guard on the roof who was about to shoot David Niven, as one of the good guys has already taken over the bunker.
* In ''Film/BatmanReturns'', the Penguin uses his "dazzler" umbrella while talking to Max Schreck, which is supposed to divert the victim's attention to the umbrella so the Penguin can catch him off-guard and use the second function, which is a rifle. For a second, Max thinks he's been shot, but the Penguin calls him a "big baby", having only used blanks. ("You think I'd go through all this trouble tonight just to kill ya?" he scoffs.)
* ''Film/JamesBond''
** ''Film/{{Thunderball}}''. As Largo is about to shoot Bond, Domino shoots him from behind with a HarpoonGun.
** And in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', Bond is being chased by mooks when he's suddenly confronted by a veiled figure pointing a crossbow...who shoots the mook running up behind him. She removes the veil to reveal herself as the female protagonist.
** And in ''Film/{{Spectre}}''. As BondGirl Lucia Sciarra arrives home from her husband's funeral and walks out to the courtyard, two assassins loom behind and take aim. We hear two muffled gunshots. . .and as their bodies fall to the ground and the focus clears, we see that Bond has killed them both.
* ''Film/MyFellowAmericans'', a film about two ex-presidents Kramer and Douglas trying to clear their names of a kickback taken by the incumbent, comes to a climax after [[spoiler:the two make it to the White House and are racing to a press conference to expose the scandal. An evil NSA agent by the name of Colonel Tanner pulls his car onto the White House lawn, cutting the two off, all while screaming orders to shoot the presidents at two Secret Service snipers on the roof, claiming they are imposters. He raises his gun after the snipers hesitate. A shot rings out. Cue DisturbedDoves. Tanner falls dead by one of the snipers, who reveals he knew they were the real presidents, as he had met them while dressed as Dorothy Gale during a gay pride parade. He had given them a bracelet which was sticking out of Kramer's pocket.]]
* ''Film/JudgeDredd'': When a Capture Team member is about to shoot Dredd, Judge Fargo shoots the CT member from behind. Later at the end, when Dr. Hayden was going to kill Dredd, Judge Hershey shoots her from behind.
* ''Film/HardBoiled'': At one point during the hospital shootout featuring the iconic [[TheOner long tracking shot]], a henchman suddenly steps out and holds Tequila at gunpoint, while Alan who's backing Tequila up turns to point his gun at said henchman. Cue offscreen gunshot. [[spoiler: In the very next scene, said henchman is marching Tequila to the hideout where all the bad guys are gathered... only to reveal that the henchman is actually Alan, disguised in his clothing and his face obscured by a cap]].
* ''Film/UnderSiege'': As Doumer (Colm Meaney) is about to shoot Chief Ryback (Steven Seagal), several shots ring out and Doumer falls to the deck dead. Behind him is standing Jordan Tate (Erika Eleniak), Ryback's LoveInterest, with a gun in her hands. She has TakenALevelInBadass just in time to save him.
* Happens in ''Film/{{Taken 2}}'' after a rooftop chase scene.

* ''Film/TheKillingRoom'' (2009): Several volunteers are locked in a room for a psychological experiment, only to be killed off one-by-one, with the implication being that only one man (if any) will be allowed to survive. [[spoiler:In the end it's down to two people, one of whom seems more likely to survive. The other has a gun with one bullet, so he decides to kill himself in a HeroicSacrifice. As he quickly shoves the gun in his mouth there's a gunshot, and bloodsplatter, then several ''other'' gunshots -- the researchers have burst into the room and shot his companion, as the test is meant to recruit people capable of sacrificing themselves in {{Suicide Attack}}s.]]

* In ''Film/{{Mirage 1965}}'', during a RussianRoulette scene, as we expect the henchman to pull the trigger on the hero for the third time, we hear a shot and see the baddie collapse. Then the camera shows the LoveInterest as she holds the smoking gun.
* In ''Film/LayerCake'', when the sniper aims at a person who appears to be the target, a shot is fired and we see a GoryDiscretionShot of blood splattered on some leafs. We assume the target was hit, but the next camera shot reveals that it was Mr Lucky who got hit by another sniper.
* ''Film/TotalRecall1990'': Cohaagen has Quaid at gunpoint in the underground mine and is about to shoot him. Shots are fired and Cohaagen is shot...by Melina, Quaid's ActionGirl companion.
* ''Film/AfterTheSunset'': As local gangster Moret holds the hero Max and his girlfriend Lola hostage, there's a struggle, a gunshot, Max's body jerks. . .and as Moret falls to the floor, we see that the fatal shot came from either FBI agent Stan or local FairCop Sophie.

* Used in [[http://www.explosm.net/movies/148/ This]] short ''Webcomic/CyanideAndHappiness'' flash toon.
* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob''--[[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/269 Jerry shoots at Molly and her clone,]] the implication being that [[ExpendableClone one (probably the clone) will die.]] Instead, he was aiming at a ''different'' target (the hitting of which [[CreatingLife creates]] a completely different [[{{Kaiju}} large problem).]]
** [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20100706.html Done again]] when Bob and Hibachi are hit with a DeathRay. Jean and Voluptua see this and [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20100710.html flip out]] accordingly. Fortunately, Bob was carrying an anti-death ray gizmo.
* Used in ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'', [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1368.html with a Nazi firing squad]]. It's a slight variation, since the shot heard was [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1380.html a warning shot by a rescuer]]
* Happens in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', with a [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2007-04-29 slightly different form of type A]]. We hear the bang and see a hole in the good guy's forehead. THEN we see the bad guy fall over and find out: "It's not a bullet hole. It's the, umm... muzzle."

* ''Film/{{Ronin}}'' plays the "thought he was dead" variation with Jean Reno's character rescuing Robert de Niro's.

* Played with in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood''. As Dio approaches after revealing his vampirism, Jonathan is urged to shoot him, but can't bring himself to pull the trigger. A gunshot goes off, and it's revealed Speedwagon was the one to fire on Dio, with Jonathan beside him, still shaking.

* In the season 2 finale of ''Series/{{Justified}}'', [[CorruptHick Doyle Bennet]], the dirty sheriff stands over Raylan, who has already been shot and knocked off his feet in the preceding gunplay. Doyle points a gun and says "This bullets been on its way for 20 years" and we hear a crack of gunfire and see Raylan jerk, but the camera quickly pans back to Doyle to reveal the gunshot hole in his forehead. He's been taken out by Raylan's fellow US Marshal sniper, Tim, who neither the audience nor Raylan knew was hiding in the hills.

* ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' has a non-firearm example at the climax. When Crixus is trying to persuade Doctore to join in the rebellion, Doctore suddenly throws his sword towards Crixus... and kills a Roman soldier who was about to strike Crixus from behind.

* Brilliantly done in episode 61 of ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', where Yang thought he was dead for sure when [[spoiler: the Alliance soldier ordered to execute him]] pointed his gun at him and a shot was fired. Turns out that the shot was fired by Frederica Greenhill, who managed to rescue Yang in the nick of time.

* A variation occurs in Disney's'' WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'': Tarzan has an uncanny ability to imitate any sound he hears. When he takes Clayton gun from him, he scares him by making the sound of a gunshot.

* Another variation occurs in the Pixar film ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'': As Lightning [=McQueen=] races blindly down the road towards what turns out to be Radiator Springs and not the interstate, the Sheriff chases after him. As this happens, what sounds like gunshots are heard, leading [=McQueen=] to believe that the Sheriff is shooting at him. It is revealed, in actuality, that the banging sound is actually caused from the Sheriff's tailpipe backfiring, since he hadn't gone so fast in years.
* A cruel version at the start of ''Animation/WarOfTheWorldsGoliath''. As a child during the first Martian invasion, Eric Wells freezes at the sight of a Martian tripod, which aims its heat ray and fires...killing his parents who have just rushed from cover to save him. The Martian pilot then dies from bacteria poisoning before it can kill Eric too.

* One arc in ''Series/EastEnders'' ended with [[BashBrothers Phil and Grant Mitchell]] being marched out into the woods by Danny Moon to be killed and buried. Danny brings Grant to his knees courtesy of a shovel upside the head, pulls a gun on him, and a shot rings out. Phil looks shocked, Grant looks shocked, ''Danny'' looks shocked... then he falls down dead, having been shot by [[CainAndAbel his brother]] Jake, who's undergone a HeelFaceTurn and arrived just in time to save the Mitchell brothers.

** At the end of the first episode, the titular BountyHunter and the droid IG-11 finally find their target, [[spoiler: which turns to be a baby of Yoda's species]]. The Mandalorian wants to take it in alive, but IG-11's contract specifically said the target had be killed. The droid raises his blaster, it cuts to a GoryDiscretionShot as we see the red glow of the laser blast illuminated on the Mandalorian's helmet... followed by IG-11's body crashing to the ground with a [[BoomHeadshot smouldering hole through his head]], shot by the Mandalorian.

* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': At Piranha Jones's party, Piranha waves a gun and prepares to shoot Luke for fun. He points the gun at Luke, and a gunshot occurs...from Bushmaster's men launching an armed attack on the party (this same man had been earlier seen by Luke hanging out in the crowd a few minutes before the attack).

* After Wrestling/VinceMcMahon fired Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Austin then kidnapped a wheelchair bound Vince and dragged him to the middle of the ring. He then decided to shoot him only for the gun to be revealed to be a toy gun with a [[Main/BANGFlagGun flag]] saying "Bang 3:16".

'''Brian:''' That's...better?

One of five things happens then: