History Main / BuildingSwing

** When not in the Batmobile, Batman swings dramatically across Gotham City on his Batrope. Maybe just when the traffic's bad. He's first shown doing this on the cover of ''Comicbook/DetectiveComics'' #27. Initially, he simply tied the rope to a Batarang and threw it at a nearby building. In the live-action ''Series/Batman1966'', Batarang and rope sequences were used from time to time, along with walking up the side of a building. A GrapplingHookGun was introduced in [[Film/Batman1989 the 1989 Tim Burton movie]], though in this case, he tended to use them just to go straight up, or horizontally on a zipline rather than swinging like Spider-Man, but he started using the gun for building swinging in the comics and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. Batman has noted that operating in Metropolis is difficult because the buildings are farther apart from each other.

* ''ComicBook/GastonLagaffe'': Would you believe ''accidental'' building swing is possible? Lagaffe manages this with his "non-frozen ice cream", which proves quite stringy and also [[{{Understatement very slightly sticky]]. When a string stuck to his fingers hits an overhead rotating fan, Gaston is thrown out of the window, but he saves himself by desperately tossing the super-sticky string sticking to both his hands over the street into another building to stop his fall. The strip naturally makes plenty ''Spider-Man'' references in the process.

** Along with wall-crawling, web-slinging is Spider-Man's defining characteristic. His web-shooters manufacture the lines from chemicals, and in most incarnations are technological devices rather than an innate power (though the Film/SpiderManTrilogy changed this, and the comics followed suit... [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay for a while]]). Spidey's arms not coming out of his sockets, as would generally happen with normal people, is HandWaved (justifiably) with his super-strength. On one occasion in the '90s cartoon, he loses his powers temporarily, and mentions how much it hurts when he tries to use the webshooters to get around. He also uses his wall crawling ability to stick his hands to the web strings, otherwise it'd easily slip out of his hand when he swung from it. Also, his spider-sense allows him to be confident that he would consistently have his web-lines hit safe anchor points to swing from. His web cartridges tend to resemble BottomlessMagazines... [[DependingOnTheWriter except when]] [[RuleOfDrama running out would be more dramatic]].

** When not in the Batmobile, the [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries animated Batman]] often uses a high-tech grappling gun to swing dramatically across Gotham City. Maybe just when the traffic's bad. In the live-action ''Series/Batman1966'', Batarang and rope sequences were used from time to time, along with walking up the side of a building. Batman first used his grappling gun in the 1989 Tim Burton movie, though in this case, he tended to use them just to go straight up, or horizontally on a zipline rather than swinging like Spider-Man. Batman has noted that operating in Metropolis is difficult because the buildings are farther apart from each other.

** Doflamingo is capable of doing this with his Devil Fruit power, the String-String Fruit, which essentially turns him into Spider-Man, although the strings he shoots from his body are so thin that they're almost invisible most of the time. He doesn't using it on just buildings, but also on ''clouds'' as well, which allows him to swing from cloud to cloud and traverse over the ocean extremely fast.

** Doflamingo is capable of doing this with his Devil Fruit power, the String-String Fruit, which essentially turns him into Spider-Man, although the strings he shoots from his body are so thin that they're almost invisible most of the time. He doesn't using it on just buildings, but also at ''clouds'' as well, which allows him to swing from cloud to cloud and traverse over the ocean extremely fast.

* During the Water-7 Arc in ''Manga/OnePiece'', Luffy uses his rubber arms to swing around Water-7 after the Straw Hats are accused of trying to murder Iceberg. Nami, carried under his free arm, isn't a big fan.

* ''VideoGame/{{Extrapower}}'': The purpose of the building monkey enemy, using their elongated arms to swing up and through buildings for better assault ability.

-->-- ''Franchise/SpiderMan''

Often, the swinging violates laws of physics that are [[BellisariosMaxim better left alone]]. It's hard to do realistically in live action and is not often used there. (The '70s [[Series/SpiderManJapan Japanese live-action version]] of ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' made very limited use of web-swinging, relying more on a flying car and a [[HumongousMecha giant robot]]/spaceship.) For a similar conveyance technique used more often in {{Anime}}, see RoofHopping. If you are looking for the traditional ''Franchise/{{Tarzan}}'' approach to jungle navigation, see VineSwing. Common in the toolbox of a SpiderManSendUp. Compare FastRoping.

* A [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Y0L5Z-KwU Dr. Pepper ad]] for ''Spider-Man 2'' spoofs the web slinging by having a kid climb up a building and try to imitate Spidey by swinging across to another building with his own improvised grappling hook -- he doesn't factor in Spidey's abilities that make the swinging work, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and he ends up smashing face first into the nearby building.]]

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by an issue of the ''Bartman'' comic: "Almost there! And good -- I'm out of tall things to swing from!" In the same series, a "letter to the editor" asks how Bartman can swing when there's nothing in the background to hang a rope from. The answer? Springfield's notorious air pollution has apparently given clouds the consistency of ballistics gel.
* When not in the Batmobile, the [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries animated Batman]] often uses a high-tech grappling gun to swing dramatically across Gotham City. Maybe just when the traffic's bad. In the live action ''Series/Batman1966'', Batarang and rope sequences were used from time to time, along with walking up the side of a building. Batman first used his grappling gun in the 1989 Tim Burton movie, though in this case he tended to use them just to go straight up, or horizontally on a zipline rather than swinging like Spider-Man. Batman has noted that operating in Metropolis is difficult because the buildings are farther apart from each other.
* ComicBook/BlackWidow can do this thanks to grappling cables she fires from her [[SuperWristGadget gauntlets]]. Given she shares a spider motif with Spider-Man, it's likely her gauntlets were inspired by his web shooters.
* Ted "ComicBook/BlueBeetle" Kord often used a grappling hook, as well as a trapeze suspended from his private hover-plane.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Bookhunter}}'', CowboyCop Agent Bay shoots down a power line and uses it to swing between two rooftops.
* Lampshaded in an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' where she has an adventure in Miami and notes that she will soon run out of rooftops if she doesn't change up her strategy that works so well in Gotham and NYC.
* ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'s billy clubs include a grappling hook function for swinging.
* The grappling-hook armbands worn by ''The Literature/DirtyPair''.
* ComicBook/TheFalcon initially got around with a glove with a built in grappling hook launcher. This was discontinued when he got his flying wing harness.
* ComicBook/PhantomLady in her solo adventures in the '40s and '50s would occasionally do this.
* Batman's cohorts ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, ComicBook/{{Robin}}, ComicBook/RedRobin, ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Spoiler]], ComicBook/{{Huntress}}, etc., travel in the same way. ''Batgirl Year One'' showed Barbara trying to swing from buildings for the first time. Batman and Robin have to intervene, however, because she used the wrong kind of cord. It wasn't that Barbara's cable wasn't sturdy enough, it was that it wouldn't stretch. Her cord would have put all the force of her fall onto her shoulders in an instant, ripping her arms out of her sockets. (Eventually Robin gave her a better cable to use.)
* The various incarnations of ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. Along with wall-crawling, web-slinging is his defining characteristic. His web-shooters manufacture the lines from chemicals, and in most incarnations are technological devices rather than an innate power (though the Film/SpiderManTrilogy changed this, and the comics followed suit... [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay for a while]]). Spidey's arms not coming out of his sockets, as would generally happen with normal people, is HandWaved (justifiably) with his super-strength. On one occasion in the '90s cartoon, he loses his powers temporarily, and mentions how much it hurts when he tries to use the webshooters to get around. He also uses his wall crawling ability to stick his hands to the web strings, otherwise it'd easily slip out of his hand when he swung from it. Also, his spider-sense allows him to be confident that he would consistently have his web-lines hit safe anchor points to swing from. His web cartridges tend to resemble BottomlessMagazines... [[DependingOnTheWriter except when]] [[RuleOfDrama running out would be more dramatic]].

* Back before later writers gave her the ability to fly Franchise/WonderWoman would occasionally use her lasso to swing between buildings in the rare cases when she couldn't just jump the distance safely. She would also swing from her plane to buildings frequently.

* The 2008 ''Film/GetSmart'' film subverts this at one point with an attempted swing into a window in the next building. [[CatchPhrase Missed it by THAT much!]]

* The grappling-hook armbands worn by ''The LightNovel/DirtyPair''.