History Main / ExplosionPropulsion

* In ''WebVideo/StampysLovelyWorld'', the minigame "Whale of a Time" {{exploited|Trope]} this mechanic, using TNT to launch players up into the air (while negating explosion damage using water), allowing them to land in various designated colourful hoops [[SoftWater in the lake the minigame was built on]]. This became {{defied|Trope}} when an update nerfed the power an explosion propulsion could have, rendering the minigame non-functional and "broken".

* Shanks tried to do a rocket jump by using a rocket launcher to get to the top of the tower in ''WebVideo/DoomsdayArcade''. [[spoiler: He ended up getting his legs blown off.]]

* Ironhide does this in Creator/MichaelBay's 2007 film version of ''Film/{{Transformers}}''. Its awesomeness is severely diminished by a [[{{Narm}}random screaming lady]] who's in the shot for no reason. Which lead to a Podcast/RiffTrax joke, "A whole lot of effort to get a peek down her shirt."

* In the ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' film "Countdown to Heaven", in order to escape the bomb-loaded [[spoiler:Twin Tower Building A]], Conan must [[spoiler:accelerate the prize sports car through the building's window at just the right time so that the bomb explosion will propel them to the swimming pool atop the adjacent building.]]

* You can replicate the fundamental principle behind firearms in ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' by detonating explosives like ExplosiveBarrels inside a tubular object filled with any projectile of your choice, including [[AbnormalAmmo chairs, teddy bears, ragdolls, etc]].

* In the end of Part 2 of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', [[spoiler:Cars]] is defeated by Joseph throwing him into a volcano, which, [[spoiler:due to his newfound [[MaskOfPower Stone Mask]] [[AdaptiveAbility powers]],]] makes him react by turning himself to stone. The volcano then erupts, causing him to be propelled to space, unable to turn back.

%% Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions62
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', Ranma and Akane are falling from hundreds of feet in the air thanks to the [[BlowYouAway tornado]] created by the [[FinishingMove Hiryuu Shouten Ha]]. Intent on revenge, [[TricksterMentor Happosai]] uses the force of his Happodaikarin (a highly-concentrated explosive) to boost himself up to their height; both he and Ranma use the updraft from the explosion (and Happosai's "flying squirrel" costume) to slow their descent.

* In season 2 of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'', the Ptolemaios II [[spoiler:uses an enemy mobile suit's particle beams to accelerate into Earth's atmosphere for a crash landing after its propulsion systems run out of GN Particles]].
* In the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' this is a HandWave applied to Char's famous "three times faster" Zaku II: the Zaku isn't actually capable of propelling itself that fast, but during the Battle of Loum, in which Char made himself a legend, he used the explosions of Federation battleships to accelerate to such speeds. That said, Char's Zaku ''is'' faster than normal, but only 33% faster under its own power.
* This is commonly used on ''Anime/SDGundamForce'', usually on mooks when BloodlessCarnage ([[MechaMooks to an extent]]) is in effect. In one instance, Zero, Bakunetsumaru and Genkimaru are trapped in a well in the ground when a bomb drops in and the force of the blast frees them.
* In ''Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise'', [=BUILD DiVERS=] use this trick to get into space without Alus noticing them, using the Avalanche Rex Buster to perform laser propulsion to give the Nepteight Gundam power to launch the team into space. These are [[MythologyGag nice nods]] to past Gundam series, specifically ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDCE73Stargazer''

* In the ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' film "Countdown to Heaven", in order to escape the bomb-loaded [[spoiler:Twin Tower Building A]], Conan must [[spoiler:accelerate the prize sports car through the building's window at just the right time so that the bomb explosion will propel them to the swimming pool atop the adjacent building.]]
* Bakugo from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' does this, possessing a superpower that lets him create explosions from his hands that are powerful enough to launch him into the air. Soon after it inspires Midoriya to improvise a version of the trick himself to ride the explosions of several landmines.
* In the end of Part 2 of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', [[spoiler:Cars]] is defeated by Joseph throwing him into a volcano, which, [[spoiler:due to his newfound [[MaskOfPower Stone Mask]] [[AdaptiveAbility powers]],]] makes him react by turning himself to stone. The volcano then erupts, causing him to be propelled to space, unable to turn back.

* [[http://www.againwiththecomics.com/2010/01/asgardian-dynamite.html Dynamite Thor]], a GoldenAge comic character who used to fly by propelling himself through the air with small, controlled detonations of dynamite. Check out the link because mere words cannot describe the brilliant lunacy of this character.

%%* The volcano in ''WesternAnimation/SpaceChimps'', kind of.

* Subverted in the first ''Film/IronMan1'' film: near the beginning, Tony Stark is near one of his own bombs when it blows up, sending him flying several yards. However, in spite of his bulletproof vest, he gets enough shrapnel in him to kill him if it's not removed [=ASAP=].
* In ''Film/LastActionHero'', Slater is propelled into the air while attempting to outrun a TimeBomb.
* Not voluntary example: In ''Film/MissionImpossible'', [[spoiler:Ethan Hunt jumps off a helicopter in the climax just as he put explosive gum on it. The blast practically pins Ethan on the train he was jumping onto.]]
** Far less voluntary than the one in the [[Film/MissionImpossibleIII third movie]], which launches him ''sideways''.

* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series features the Morph Ball Bombs, and ExplosionPropulsion is arguably their primary function. Most of them that you'll ever use will be to send Samus airborne while she's in Morph Ball form.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bulletstorm}}'', Gray, Ishi, and Trishka escape from a crumbling building dangling above a cliff by jumping in an elevator car. When it isn't moving fast enough to make it out, Ishi points out a series of explosive containers and tells Gray to shoot them.
* Any game whose physics engine allows [[RocketJump rocket jumping]].
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s Soldier is one of a small handful of characters where rocket jumping is [[AscendedGlitch a canon ability of his]] rather than an exploit, with him showing it off in multiple trailers, the "Meet the Soldier" cinematic, and the comics, and having multiple unlocks designed specifically for rocket jumping. One piece of media claims that the rocket launcher was invented before the staircase, so for a few decades, the only way to get to the second floor of a building was to detonate explosives under your feet.
* Some orbital strikes during sidequests in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' will fling the player a ways away if you're caught too close to them.
* In ''VideoGame/ProjectFirestart'', shooting the explosives in the armory is typically a poor idea. Stand near the doorway, though, and the blast shoves Jon out.
* A player in ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'' detonated [[http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/39947 700 decouplers]] simultaneously and reached the Mun in 13 seconds.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', minecarts are propelled by detonating a bomb in the caged section of their rears.
* ExplodingBarrels in ''VideoGame/HypeTheTimeQuest'' can will send Hype and his foes flying if they are too close when they blow up. In the Second Era, there is also a little girl standing on barrels that will be send flying up into the clouds if Hype shoots the barrels with his crossbow. She gets back on Earth only during the ''Fourth Era'' (which takes place approximatively ''one entire century later'').

%%* [[Webcomic/EightBitTheater Black Mage]] did [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2002/12/24/episode-229-blast-off/ a variant]] with a "[[KamehameHadoken Boatdoken!]]"

* UsefulNotes/{{NASA}}'s hyper-sonic rocket sled. The Series/{{Mythbusters}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSVfYwdGSsQ are very fond of this one]]. [[AwesomeButImpractical Even if it doesn't tell them anything useful about the myth they're busting]].

* In ''Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise'', [=BUILD DiVERS=] use this trick to get into space without Alus noticing them, using the Avalanche Rex Buster to perform laser propulsion to give the Nepteight Gundam power to launch the team into space. These are [[MythologyGag nice nods]] to past Gundam series, specifically ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDCE73Stargazer''

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* In ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'', the [[NighInvulnerability nigh invulnerable]] Stitch propels himself to Gantu's ship by driving a gasoline truck into a volcano, sitting on the tank and ripping a hole on the side so that it blows up.
* In the movie ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'', as the ship and its crew are trying to escape a star that has just collapsed to form a black hole. The new hole was explosively belching X-rays in waves after sucking in the supernova remains [[note]]as real black holes do.[[/note]] The ship absorbed the explosion's power via its 'solar sails' to in turn supercharge its engines and rocket launch back to safety. DoNotTryThisAtHome.
* The volcano in ''WesternAnimation/SpaceChimps'', kind of.

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

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* [[Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja Dr. McNinja]] does it [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=20&issue=13 here]].
* [[Webcomic/EightBitTheater Black Mage]] did [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2002/12/24/episode-229-blast-off/ a variant]] with a "[[KamehameHadoken Boatdoken!]]"
* Elliot of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', does it [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-02-10 here]] with Tedd {{Lampshading}} the Goo [[MadeofExplodium exploding]].

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Shanks tried to do a rocket jump by using a rocket launcher to get to the top of the tower in ''WebVideo/DoomsdayArcade''. [[spoiler: He ended up getting his legs blown off.]]
[[/folder]]

* WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender: in "Beach", Aang creates a shield of air to protect himself from Combustion Man's blast and it pushes him high in the air.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E9CloakOfDarkness "Cloak of Darkness"]] while preparing to escape the Tranquility Ventress uses an explosion to propel herself down an air vent.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operación_Ogro Operación Ogro]], the plot to assassinate Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, the confidant, prime minister, and presumed successor to [[UsefulNotes/TheFrancoRegime General Francisco Franco]]. Four ETA members posing as student sculptors rented a room on the street Blanco used to go to church, dug a tunnel under the road, and packed it with 80 kilograms of explosives. When a second set of "electricians" detonated the bomb as Blanco's car passed over it, the vehicle that weighted almost two tons ''[[ExplosionPropulsion sailed over 60 feet into the air]]'' before landing on a second-floor balcony of a building the next street over.

* Bakugou from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' does this, possessing a superpower that lets him create explosions from his hands that are powerful enough to launch him into the air. Soon after it inspires Midoriya to improvise a version of the trick himself to ride the explosions of several landmines.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* This happened in an episode of ''Series/TheWildWildWest''. James West stood on some improvised explosives (bullet gunpowder?). When they blew up, he was boosted up to where he needed to go.
* Series/{{Buck Rogers|InTheTwentyFifthCentury}} placed a "25th Century cherry bomb" under a conveniently abandoned helmet to launch himself up to a ledge.
* Discussed and played straight in ''Series/TheLibrarians2014'', during season 2. The team uses grenades to explode themselves to the other side of a hole. Colonel Baird states that this is not how grenade works, but since [[spoiler:the team is actually inside a video game]], it works.

* Happens in ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' ''all the time''. To non-transformed rangers.
* That was the plan of Blon Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Boom Town". She got herself elected Lord Mayor of Cardiff and sponsored the construction of a nuclear power plant in order to get it to overload and interact with the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Cardiff Rift]], resulting in a massive explosion. She would then ride the explosion with the tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator (basically, a high-tech surfboard that projects a shield around the "rider") to another planet.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion]], a catastrophic explosion of a ship full of explosive material bound for World War I, managed to propel a half-ton ship anchor over two miles away.

* The end of the 2009 ''Film/StarTrek'' film has them [[spoiler:escape from the pull of a black hole by blowing up their warp reactors behind them, and then riding the explosion out.]]

* This comes in handy at the end of one of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' books. Question: What is the best plan when [[spoiler:a wizard and a succubus are trapped in a cave that's rigged with explosives and is going to blow up any second]]? Answer: [[spoiler:The wizard makes out with the succubus and uses the emotional energy generated to create a shield that basically turns them into a cannonball.]] Truly, this series is CrazyAwesome.

* Happens in ''SuperSentai'' ''all the time''. To non-transformed rangers.